Gibson News - Nov / Dec 25

KEY DATES

Friday 19 December ~ Early closure (12.30pm for Y1-4; 1pm for Y5-7)

Monday 22 December ~ Monday 5 January (inclusive) – school closed for Christmas

Tuesday 6 January ~ School re-opens for pupils

Parental Consultation

I will be sending out questionnaires in the coming weeks regarding updating a number of aspects of school life.  These will provide you with an opportunity to comment on our school uniform, after school activities, school vision etc. They will also provide more detailed information, however some of our initial thoughts are outlined below:

PE Kits

We are considering updating our school PE top and shorts.  Our current PE top has not been changed for over 25 years and we feel now is the time to modernise it.  Any change which happens would be on a phased basis and samples will be available to view in the school foyer to enable you to comment on it.  It would also be our intention for it to be available for purchase in Select Kidz and Wattersons rather than online.

School Vision

We are also reviewing our school vision. We firmly believe that the child centred ethos within our school is what makes our school unique. The current vision / motto of ‘Strive to Succeed’ still has a place, however we feel than an overarching vision statement combined with a few key words or aims is more appropriate.  Our overarching statement proposal is as below:

To create a happy, successful, continually developing school where children and staff are valued, enjoy learning and reach their potential

As a staff we are working on developing a number of options for our key words or aims which we will then consult with pupils and parents before any final decision is made.

PTA Meeting

At our latest PTA meeting we discussed a number of things including our Christmas Fun Day including Santa’s Arrival.

Raffles and Hampers

It was also suggested that we hold a number of raffles prior to our Y1 – 3 Christmas Shows and that a hamper is created for our pupils to buy tickets.

If you have any vouchers or gifts which would be useful for our Y1 – 3 parent raffles or sweets/chocolate/craft items etc which could be used to create a pupil hamper we would appreciate these being sent into school.

Christmas Fun Day Arrangements

Our Annual Fun Day will be taking place on Thursday 18 December which will be a non-uniform day.  

This year we have planned an extra special surprise for our pupils with the help of Santa; however, we require parental permission for the children to take part.  All pupils will remain under the supervision of their teachers and classroom assistants at all times.

To help cover the cost of our activities we require a £2 payment.  This should be made via the school money system where you will also be able to tick that you have given parental permission for our special surprise.

Online Testing

Year 4 – 7 pupils are completing online tests run by DE in both Literacy and Numeracy.  These tests are designed to support schools in planning for areas of development in both of these subjects.  Please note pupil data is for in-school use only.  If your child is going to be off school for a longer period of time please inform your child’s teacher as we will need to reorganise these tests.

SEAG

Our Year 7 pupils sitting the SEAG tests are almost there!

These tests will take place on Saturday 15 November and Saturday 22 November. They have worked incredibly hard and we are confident they will do their best. Should anything happen on the day or in the lead up to these tests please inform Mr Sterritt as soon as possible.

Visits, Trips and Events

INTO Film Festival at Strule Arts Centre

Year 6 & 7 are visiting on Wednesday 12 November

Year 3 & 4 will visit on Wednesday 19 November

Year 5 will visit on Tuesday 25 November

Armagh Planetarium – Year 4 will be visiting Armagh Planetarium on Thursday 20 November as part of their World Around Us topic, please note this should be paid for online.

Year 6 are taking part in an Orienteering event on Monday 24 November while Year 7 are completing a Sentinus Titanic Day on Monday 24 November.

Christmas Arrangements

Further details including dates for all our Christmas Shows will follow in the coming weeks; however, a few dates have been finalised including:

Christmas Shows:

·         Language Classes – Thursday 4 December at 1.00pm

·         Year 1 – Tuesday 9 December at 10.00am

·         Year 2 – Wednesday 10 December at 10.00am

·         Year 3 – Wednesday 10 December at 1.00pm

Thursday 11 December – Christmas Dinner

Monday 15 December (evening) – Year 4 – 7 Carol Service in St Columba’s Church

Thursday 18 December – Christmas Fun Day (non-uniform)

Year 1 Parents ‘Reading Together’ Programme

Our Year 1 teachers are running a series of ‘Reading Together’ sessions for Year 1 pupils and parents.  The first session will take place at 1.30pm on Wednesday 12 November.

School Dinner Price Increase

You will have no doubt heard through the media about the price increase for school meals. We also only learned about it this week. It is to come into effect in January and now means that a daily meal will cost £3.10 compared to £2.60 which it is presently. I understand this will impact a lot of households; however, it is unfortunately beyond our control.

Dinners will continue to be ordered through the online payment system as normal with the price increase automatically taking effect from January.

Open Night and Year 1 Admission

Our Open Evening is planned for Thursday 11 December from 4.00pm – 6.30pm.  It is our aim to showcase our school and allow parents and children come in and see what we offer. If you know of any new parent who would like to know more information, please ask them to contact me and I will be delighted to show them round or speak to them.

Year 1 Admission is once again an online process which takes place in January.  We will provide more information on this closer to the time.

Playground Markings

Following the excellent response to our Voluntary Contribution this year we are now able to order the markings for our Playgrounds.  We are now waiting on the company to install them, however this does require a spell of dry weather, although hopefully it should be able to proceed within the next few months. Thank you for your support!!

Attendance

Please note school starts at 9.00am sharp.  A number of children are consistently arriving late each day which is not only unsettling for the child but also means they are missing out on the plans for the day. 

Any pupil arriving after 9.15am will be marked as Late meaning they are marked absent for that session.  This will affect their overall attendance and could lead to a referral to Educational Welfare.

School Photographs

Your child’s school photograph was taken last week. Proof cards will hopefully be sent home this week. Orders can be placed through the office using these cards or online via the unique code sent home.