An early weekly message (Wednesday 20 December)
This week’s message comes early, and it’s an unusual one because the majority of it is written by Mrs Weekes, the Head of School at Moortown Primary, one of our sister schools in Sphere Federation:
It was great to spend some time chatting to some of the children at St James’ last week – they were all confident and shared lots of positive things that happen in school. I am the Safeguarding Lead across Sphere Federation so the focus of my visit was to find out what the children felt about staying safe.
There are lots of things to talk about when it comes to staying safe. We talked about behaviour; where they felt safe; being online, at school and at home; and how they can keep themselves safe.
They had a really good understanding of what being safe means and knew that they were safe in school. The school rules were discussed and how they help to keep school a safe place. Children also told me what could be done if they, or someone else, was being bullied.
The online chat was interesting. The children shared a lot of great things that they can do online and how it’s great to be able to talk to family and friends using Facetime. However, it was clear that some of them spend a long time online with very little restrictions. It’s important to make sure that your child has time away from screens and that you make these expectations and boundaries really clear.
There’s a lot of things we can do around healthy and safe use of online devices to keep your child safe. One website with useful information is Internet Matters – please have a look and see what else you can do to keep your child safe.
Thank you for your support.
And some words from Miss Beatson:
As we come to the end of term, we’d like to say a ‘goodbye for now’ to Mrs Palmer who is going on maternity leave. Taking over the class is Mr Nash. He has worked as a music teacher in Halifax and more recently has been a member of staff at Scholes (Elmet) Primary, one of our sister schools in Sphere Federation. Mr Nash started at St James’ in September and he has been a great addition to the team here. The Spring term will be his final term of initial teacher training for Mr Nash. To ensure a successful transition, Mr Nash has been working in Year 2 for the last few weeks. We look forward to hearing the wonderful news of a new arrival in the Palmer household sometime in January.
We say a more permanent farewell to Miss Rigley this week. She has been a teaching assistant at St James’ for the last couple of years and is now moving on to pursue a career in dance. We wish her all the very best.
This week’s message (Friday 15 December 2023)
This week’s message has three healthy-themed messages…
Living and Learning
In Living and Learning sessions, your child has been considering mental health. As we come to the end of this unit of learning, it would be a great time to reflect on this more at home.
Self-care is all about what you can do to help yourself feel better or to keep yourself feeling good. It’s a way that we can look after our own mental health and wellbeing. It can help your body and mind to relax, drift away, or be more energised.
This self-care plan from Anna Freud walks children through a series of steps, helping them to create a simple self-care plan that works for them.
There are lots of different ways you can try self-care: dancing, spending time with friends, playing sports, laughing, drawing, spending time with pets – anything that makes you feel good! We have listed some activity suggestions in this booklet – give them a try and see what works for you.
Let us know what you think…
We’ve recently updated our policy around food in school. Our Food in School policy sets out key points for parents/carers and staff. For parents/carers, this includes guidance around special occasions, birthdays, rewards and the importance of alerting us if your child has a food allergy.
Please let us know your thoughts.
Don’t skip breakfasts
Research suggests that having breakfast every day has a positive impact on diet quality, weight status and even learning. You might like to read this recent article about the importance of breakfast for school children.
And one final message, this time from Wetherby and District Foodbank…
Wetherby and District Foodbank is here for anyone who is in need or hardship. All information shared is private and strictly confidential. The foodbank not only provides food and a listening ear but can also arrange free face to face local appointments with Moneybuddies who can help with debt advice and budgeting support. Get in touch with the foodbank: 07840 455725.
Have a good weekend.
This week’s message (Friday 08 December 2023)
We’ve two full weeks of term left. As we said last week, please do check out our calendar so you know what’s going on in the last week of the year – it’s a busy one!
Non-uniform day
One of the things coming up is a non-uniform day on the last day of term – Friday 22 December. Just like a place of work would have standards for a dress-down day, so do we – our Uniform Policy sets out expectations:
Pupils should dress appropriately and respectfully for school, even on non-uniform days. Clothes are inappropriate if they, for example, glorify violence, feature bad language, are very short (eg crop tops), or relate to age-inappropriate topics (eg computer games). When consulted (18.03.21), junior leaders described this as ‘setting appropriate’ clothing and clothing that is ‘well-judged’. Make-up (other than face paints as part of a specific costume) is not allowed. Flip-flops or high-heeled shoes are not allowed, even on non-uniform days, because they’re dangerous when running.
Thank you for following our policy.
Get reading
For those who celebrate Christmas, a book or two makes an ideal stocking filler or present. (And for those who don’t celebrate, reading over the forthcoming holiday is an ideal way to spend some time on cold, dark days!) Our Reading Curriculum Guide has a list of what we read in school:
- page 7 (Year 1 and 2)
- page 8 (Year 3 and 4)
- page 9 (Year 5 and 6)
The guide has a list of books we read as class novels and extracts from other books, plus poems and picture books. It doesn’t matter what you choose. You might want to get something by the same author, for example.
And finally, one more suggestion…
Last year, we recommended a play at Leeds Central Library. The recommendation went down well – we had a few families thank us for the suggestion and commented that it was really good value. Here’s the tip again. Check out Cinderella at Leeds Central Library. It’s a pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event suitable for children aged 5+. Hurry though – there are only a few seats left.
Have a good weekend!
Spring Attendance Competition
St James’ CE Primary is a happy and healthy place to be – and maybe even a lucky one, too!
Look out for our attendance competition next half term. All pupils with attendance of 96% or higher will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 Love to Shop vouchers!
So… for the full Spring 1 half-term, Monday 08 January to Friday 09 February (five weeks), if your child reaches a good level of attendance – that’s 96% – their name will be entered into a prize draw. We’ll select one lucky winner on the last day of the half-term (Friday 09 February).
Remember, arriving late for school counts as an unauthorised absence. This affects a child’s overall attendance figure, and that might mean they lose out.
So far this term, 40 pupils have 100% attendance and 80 pupils have over 96% attendance – well done to the children and their families!
This week’s message (Friday 01 December 2023)
It’s the first day of December and the weather certainly matches the season!
We’ve still a while to go before the end of term and there’s lots of learning and socialising to be done in the next few weeks. The last week of the Autumn term – coming up in three weeks’ time – is always a busy one. Please check our school calendar for all the events happening so you don’t miss out.
Talking of events…
Today’s been a busy one in school.
We started the day with the last of three open sessions for prospective new parents for a September 2024 Reception place. If you know of anyone who has a child start school, please mention us!
And we ended it with another open session – this time for you, our existing family of parents, to check out all the learning in our topics so far this year. If you managed to come along, thank you! There’s another topic review on Monday 18 March, and before then, a Watch Us While We Work session on Friday 26 January.
Just two more things in this week’s message…
First, a quick reminder: if you’ve got any new contact details for you or other contacts, please remember to let us know. We need up-to-date details for the people on our lists in case of emergencies. (The people on our lists are the ones you gave us when your child school – in most cases, this will be three different people.)
Second, here’s an extract from an Ofsted blog…
Persistent school absence is one of the most significant ongoing impacts of the pandemic. The latest data shows that nearly 1 in 4 pupils were absent for 10% of school sessions in autumn 2022, nearly double the position in 2019. We remain very concerned about the effect this will have on children.
As the Department for Education (DfE) points out in its blog Why is school attendance so important and what are the risks of missing a day?, we know that the highest attendance rates are linked with the best outcomes at all key stages. Even missing small amounts of education can mean a child misses important sections of the curriculum and may therefore struggle to learn concepts that are built on what they missed.
And it’s not just about the academic opportunities. There’s value in the whole school experience. Learning with peers, enjoying sport and music, building relationships with adults beyond their families, and building friendships – these are the building blocks of well-being and a good life. School contributes so much to this.
It is therefore vital that children are in school as much as possible.
Thank you for helping to make sure your child’s in school. Don’t forget to check the NHS site to decide – in most cases, it’s fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold.
Have a great weekend – stay warm!
Vacancies
We currently have some job vacancies at St James’. Please check out our vacancies page on the website or contact the school office for more information.
Wetherby in Bloom visit
Wetherby in Bloom have kindly donated 500 bulbs to brighten up our playground. Some children, parents and staff have been helping the Wetherby in Bloom volunteers plant them ready for Spring. We thank them for their donations and support.
This year’s school charity
After voting in classes, the Junior Leadership Team had the final vote on the charity we will be supporting this year. There was an overwhelming majority for The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. This is a Leeds based charity.
This is their mission:
‘Our vision is to support hearts for life and our mission is to support the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit as a world-class centre of excellence – by providing the funding and resources needed to care for a patient’s heart, mind, family and future.’
We look forward to raising funds to support this fantastic charity.
This week’s message (Friday 24 November 2023)
On these darker, colder mornings, it’s still a highlight of our day to stand at the school gate and be greeted by happy and healthy children ready for a day of learning in class and socialising in school.
This week’s message has various things to check out…
Check out these seven top tips
The week’s Living and Learning statement has been I know how important it is to make careful choices when online. Use this page from Childline to support your discussions at home – just reading the website alongside your child will help. Check out Childline’s seven top tips.
Check out the checks
Children in Year 1 and in Year 4 take part in national assessments – the Government calls these ‘checks’. They take place towards the end of the school year.
If your child is in Year 1, they’ll do a phonics screening check. Someone in school will carry out this with each child on a one-to-one basis in the week beginning Monday 10 June 2024. The phonics screening check is an assessment of your child’s phonics knowledge – a fundamental key to learning to read.
If they’re in Year 4, they’ll do a multiplication tables check. This is carried out online. It’ll take place in the first half of June 2024. The purpose of the check is to determine whether your child can fluently recall their times tables up to 12 (including the division facts), which is essential for future success in Maths.
Read more about these assessments by clicking on the links.
Check out the dates for all national assessments.
Check out these ways to support good mental health
Young Minds is a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents. They’ve produced this advent calendar full of top tips for wellbeing. It’s worth a look, whether you use it as a calendar or just decide to give one or two of the tips a try. We like the tip on Monday 4th – easy, but so effective!
Check out The Big Ambition
The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has launched The Big Ambition, a national survey of children and young people across England. Has your child taken part yet?
The survey wants to hear from children across England on what they think is important. The Children’s Commissioner writes:
I want to ensure that the voices of all children in the Yorkshire and the Humber area are fairly represented in the findings so that I can share their views with the most senior members of the country.
I must reiterate that it is vital that all children have their voice heard through this survey because, as Children’s Commissioner for England, I have a statutory duty to protect and promote the views and interests of children. The Big Ambition provides a much-needed opportunity for the children of England to tell political decision makers what is important to them ahead of the General Election. I will be sharing their responses with Government to ensure that children’s voices are heard.
Wreath making
Last night, some of our parents and staff had a wonderful time making Christmas wreaths. This was a PTA organised event to raise some funds for school but also a chance for people to get together and have fun.
The finished products look great!
