St Luke's C of E Primary School, Glossop

25.9.14

Dear Parents,

As I am sure you have heard poor Mrs McLaren has ruptured her Achilles Tendon. She will be off school until at least half term as she is not allowed to put any weight on it. We are very lucky to have secured the services of Mrs Beedle. I have cancelled the family assembly this Friday as Kites were leading it and it seemed unfair to ask Mrs Beedle to organise it so soon into her time with us.

Yesterday the whole school thoroughly enjoyed the theatre production of Sword in The Stone. Everyone became the chorus, once we had learnt the songs, and nine of the children were given acting roles. It was a magical production involving knights, jesters, woodland creatures and dragons.

This afternoon the children will be immersing themselves in the language and culture of three European countries as we celebrate European Day of Languages.

Tomorrow is our Cuppa for The Christie day. There will be a cake sale for the children in the morning where they can buy a cake for 20p (toast will still be on if your child would like it). In the afternoon the Charities Committee and Year Six have organised a coffee afternoon for you. They will be selling cakes and drinks. There is a raffle for two lovely hampers. There will be name the teddy and a stall selling coasters the children have made. Please do come along from 2.30pm to help us raise money for this good local cause. Thank you to everyone who has offered to bake cakes, donations are always welcomed.

The Glossop Jog is almost upon us, it is a week on Sunday 5^th October. If your child and or you would like to take part there is still time to sign up. Just let us know in the office and we will make sure you are registered. For those of you who have not taken part before it is a sponsored run, walk, stroll, toddle depending on your inclination round a circular route starting and ending at the playing fields on Fauvel Road. The number of ½ mile laps completed between 11 and 12 is counted. It is a fun way for the Glossop community to raise money for the Rotary’s chosen charity. This year the charity is Ruben’s Retreat.

Please could the children in year 5, Eagles, return their Whitby letters as soon as possible as we have to confirm numbers.

The Gardening Club has asked if you could send in any Morrison’s Gardening vouchers you get to help them buy equipment.

I have been asked to let you know about this community event –

October 9^th-15^th is Baby Loss awareness week. A  short memorial service in unity with others across the UK to show support for the Baby Loss Day will be held on October 15^th at 6.30pm at All Saints Catholic Church. Everyone is welcome to attend across the Glossop community – including friends in and out of the Parish. People whose lives have been touched by the loss of a baby during pregnancy or just after birth are specially invited. As part of the service a tree will be planted and stars will be placed with baby’s names or dedications.

For more information please contact Annette Bell 07890994684.

Yours Sincerely

Alice Littlehailes

Dear Parents,

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for Parents Information Night last night.  I hope everyone enjoyed it and learnt a bit about the new curriculum.

You should have received nomination papers for Parent Governor Elections.  All our present parent governors term of office finishes on 4^th October.  If you are interested in the post nominations need to be in by Wednesday 1^st October.  If you would like to find out more do contact me or speak to one of our governors.  If you have not received papers please let us know so we can make sure you have them.

The children in Year 5 and some of the Year 6 should have brought home letters about Bikeability which is the new updated cycling proficiency.  It is really important that children learn to ride safely on our roads.  They may well not be ready to ride on roads yet but this course will give them the skills they need later.  Please return the forms as soon as possible.  If the forms have not made it home let us know and we will give you some more.

The Merlins Class will be leading our assembly tomorrow and Kites Class on Friday 26^th we would love you to join us.

There is a meeting on Monday 22^nd at 6.30pm for the parents of Merlins Class about the residential at Whitehall.

We have an exciting week next week with a theatre group coming to school on Wednesday with a production of Sword in The Stone.  This will support our English teaching.  On Thursday we are celebrating European Day of Languages as part of our Modern Foreign Languages work.

On Friday 26^th as part of our work on Citizenship we are holding a Cuppa for the Christie.  Following on from our work for Macmillan Nurses last year we have decided to support our local cancer specialist unit The Christie.  There will be a cake sale for the children in the morning and you are invited to school for a drink and a cake from 2.30pm.  If anyone has been inspired by ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and would like to bake some cake it would be fantastic.  If you are planning to send in some cake please let us know so we can judge quantities.  I would hate for there to be too much cake! Or even worse too little.

The PTA AGM is on Thursday 25^th 7.30 at The Cricket Club.  This is not nearly as dry as it sounds.  The PTA meetings are a mix of a social and a business event.  The PTA works hard for all the children in school and needs as much support as possible.  Please come to the meeting if you can.

The children are all enjoying this year’s clubs.  The children in the Year 2 / 3 sports club on Monday had a fantastic time but say they would like more people to come if your child would like to join this club just let us know.  There is also a Quest Club run by St Luke’s Church on Tuesday lunchtime open to children in Key Stage Two any child wanting to come along to this needs to have dinner first and then come to the Library.

Yours Sincerely

Alice Littlehailes

Dear Parents,
Welcome to a new school year. I hope you all had a lovely summer with your children. They have all come back sparkly and shiny and ready to learn. We welcomed our new reception children yesterday. The happy smiles they gave me every time I saw them were lovely.

Almost every Friday we have a family assembly, sometimes led by the children, where everyone is welcome to join us. Straight after the assembly this week the PTA are holding a meeting. As this is the first PTA meeting any new parents will have been able to come to the existing members have promised homemade cake! Please do try to come to this meeting as the PTA works hard for all the children in our school.

As the PTA kindly make Friday Toast and they will be in a meeting there will be no toast this week. It will start next week. For those who don’t know on Friday the children are offered the opportunity to bring in 20p and have a piece of toast at morning break. The children love this Friday treat. We are always looking for volunteers who could spare a bit of time on a Friday morning to cook and butter the toast. If you could help please let us know.

Parents Information Night This is an opportunity to come together, find out more about your child’s education and then meet their teacher or teachers in the classrooms. This year we are holding this event on Wednesday 17th September 7pm. We will be discussing the new curriculum and what it means for the children of St Luke’s.

Reception Class Parents Workshop Mrs Hillier is running a workshop 3.30 – 4.30 on Thursday 18th. The children can join me in the hall.

Most Clubs start next week you should have received a letter about them.

The Merlins Class will be leading our assembly on Friday 19th September.

Whitehall Trip There will be a meeting on Monday 22nd September at 6.30 for parents of the children in Merlins.

It saves trees and is more reliable if we can send you things such as the newsletter by email. If you are happy to receive an email copy, please let us have your email address.

I have been told about a great opportunity see below:

Little Stars Theatre Workshops. For 4-6 year olds. Make friends, develop confidence and have fun every Saturday 10am at the Partington Theatre Glossop. Lots of Drama games, Role-play, Fairytales, Disney songs working with movement,speech,music,drama and much more. Places must be booked. Call Penny Smith 01457 852281

Partington Youth Theatre. For 7 years up Tuesdays 5pm -6.15pm.  £2.50 per week paid termly. Make friends, develop confidence and self esteem . Loads of Drama games, improvisation,role-play, performance opportunities. We also tutor children for LAMDA acting exams. It’s a very friendly session with a great group of friendly and welcoming children. Call Penny Smith to book a place for your child 01457 852281

You may have heard lots of stories in the press about school kitchens not being able to cope with the new universal free school meals, I want to reassure you that our Gold Award winning kitchen is more than able to cope. They are offering delicious meals to the majority of our children. If your child is not having school meals at present and would like to give them a try just let the office know.

Alice Littlehailes

Dear Parents,

It feels quite sad to be writing the last newsletter of the school year. What a good year it has been. It is always such a pleasure to come into school and share in the lives of the lovely young people of St Luke’s. I genuinely feel privileged to do the job I do. Thank you to all the St Luke’s community; pupils, staff, parents, grandparents and friends that make this such a lovely school.

This week has been all about the play. I am so proud of all the Key Stage Two children for their performances. It is the last performance tonight to a packed audience. Please remember to bring your tickets with you as we have no leeway, we will be full to the rafters. Our thanks go to Glossopdale who have lent us a portable spotlight at the last minute.

The older children had a great adventure walk last Friday. I believe treasure was found by all.

The Family Fun Day was a really nice event. It raised £400 for your children. The PTA asked me to pass on this message: Thank you to all the staff and parents for helping at the Summer Fun Day. The PTA would especially like to thank the Communities Committee for organising and running the World Cup Cake stall, which raised £24 toward the final total. Thanks also to Andrew Smitham for his generous donation from the Loom Band Stall.

Rose Glenthon from the Library Service came into school to tell the children about the summer reading challenge. I know this is enjoyed every year by many of our children. A flyer should be in book bags about it.

The orchestra will be performing in assembly on Monday. If you would like to come along and listen you would be very welcome. The orchestra children need to be in school ready to start a rehearsal at 8.30 on Monday.

There was a dog in the playground on Monday. Please can I remind you that dogs and lots of children do not mix. Dogs should not be brought onto school grounds.

Remember the PTA Disco on Tuesday 5-6.30. The last of the year.

If you still owe dinner money for this year please pay it by Monday.

If I don’t see you before we finish, I hope you have a lovely summer and I look forward to seeing most of you in September. Those leaving us I wish you all the best for the future.

Alice Littlehailes