Gibson News - October 2025

KEY DATES

Monday 27 October ~ Friday 31 October (inclusive) – school closed for Half Term Break

Parent Interviews

o   Year 4 – 7 Parent Interviews will be taking place week beginning Monday 20 October.

o    Year 1 – 3 Parent Interviews will however take place in January / February. 

All our parent meetings are face-to-face meetings in school.  Details regarding times and dates of our Year 4 – 7 interviews have been distributed.  If you have any queries regarding this, please contact us at school.

PTA Meeting

Our next PTA meeting will be held on Wednesday 8 October at 7.00pm in the school staffroom.

We will be planning for our Hallowe’en Disco and Christmas Fun Days including Santa’s Arrival.  We would love to see new members joining us.  Please be reassured it is not expected to be time consuming, and we are grateful for any help that people can offer.

Hallowe’en Disco – Our Annual Hallowe’en Disco will be taking place the last week of term. We will confirm dates after our PTA Meeting on Wednesday night.  Entrance fee is £3 per pupil.  Only pupils from Gibson PS may attend.

·         Year 1 – 3 pupils should attend from 6.00 – 7.15pm 

o   Drinks and snacks will be provided

·         Year 4 – 7 pupils can come from 7.30 – 9.00pm

o   Tuck shop will be available

o   Glowsticks will be on sale

Year 1 – 3 pupils should be collected from the School Dining Hall using the outside doors to ease congestion at the main entrance.

NO pupil will be allowed to leave without an adult collecting them from the school as it will be dark outside!

Wings Appeal – We will once again be supporting the RAF Wings Appeal in school.  Badges go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday 8 October, costing £1.50.

Poppy Appeal – As in previous years we will be supporting the Poppy Appeal.  The usual range of items will be on sale once we return from the half-term break.

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.  More details to follow.

Flu Vaccination – Our school nursing team have confirmed that flu vaccinations will be administered in school on Monday 20 October.  Consent forms have already been issued and returned for this.

School Photographs – This year all pupils will be taken individually on Tuesday 4 November and with their siblings on Wednesday 5 November.

Roadworks, Car Parking and School Crossing Patrol

Given the additional pressures caused by the ongoing roadworks we are asking for patience and understanding from ALL users of our car park.

Recently cars have been parking in bus bays which causes a hazard for our pupils.

Cars are NOT ALLOWED to use the Bus Lane (lane closest to the school) which is only for EA Buses and EA Taxis.  Similarly, cars are not permitted to enter the Staff Car Park due to safety reasons.

Children MUST cross the Old Mountfield Road via the School Crossing Patrol lady as it is the safest place for them to cross!

Harvest

Our Harvest celebrations take place in school with a special assembly on Tuesday 21 October.

School Uniform Labelling

There are an increasing number of items gathering in our lost property room due to not being labelled.  These can quite simply be returned if your child’s name is written onto all items of clothing (especially jumpers and coats).  We appreciate these are expensive to replace and it frustrates everyone when an item of lost property cannot be returned. 

Year 1 Nursery Rhyme Day

Our Year 1 pupils are celebrating Nursery Rhyme Day by dressing up as their favourite character on Thursday 16 October.  This will be a fun way for pupils to further their learning on their Nursery Rhyme topic.

Cross Country Events

Mr Kane will be accompanying a selection of pupils to a number of Cross-Country Events at Castlederg High School in the coming weeks.  Good luck to all involved.

Family Contribution

A big thank you to all those who paid our family contribution request online.  This money will be used to update the markings in the playgrounds. The quote to complete this work is £7703 and we aim to get this completed within the coming weeks. This simply could not have happened without your support!  Anyone who is yet to contribute can do so online or by sending £30 to the school office in a marked and sealed envelope.

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.