9th September 2015
01/16
Dear Parents
I would like to welcome you and your children back to school and to extend a warm welcome to our new
children and parents who have joined Oldfield this term. I am delighted to see parents and guardians
walking to school, but please can I stress the importance of using one of the zebra crossings and
ensuring that you only step onto the crossing once the cars have stopped. I have real concerns
about how visible pedestrians are on the Bray Road crossing and have been in touch with the Local
Authority about it.
Holidays and Leave of Absence
Headteachers are no longer allowed to grant this leave – only in Exceptional Circumstances can leave be
granted for children in term time. Please see a copy of our attendance policy on the website at
www.oldfieldprimary.com under policies.
New Staff
I hope you will join me in welcoming a number of new staff who have joined us this September. We have
two new teachers, Miss Hailey Leverett in Year 2 and Mr Kim Levin in Year 4. Miss Charlotte Burston is a
trainee teacher on the Graduate Teacher Training Programme and is joining Mrs Kilgour in Year 5. Miss
Nicola Povey, Miss Jessica Heard and Mrs Kinga Bazant have joined us as Teaching Assistants. Miss Alison
Ward and Mrs Jill Finan also join us as lunchtime controllers. Welcome to them all.
Lateness
The whistle will be blown at 8.50am for the start of the school day. It is a parent’s responsibility to ensure
children arrive at school between 8.35am to 8.50am every day. Please note, children should not be in
school unsupervised before 8.35am. The school gates will be closed at 9.00am every morning. If you are
arriving at school after 9.00am, please go to the school office to sign your child in and a member of the office
staff will take them to their classroom. The gates will be opened at 3.10pm as usual, in preparation for
parents to collect children at the end of the day at 3.20pm.
School Office Hours/New Telephone System
Our school office is open from 8.30am to 4.30pm daily. We have a new telephone system with a number of
options to choose from. Option 1 is for reporting a child’s absence, please leave clear details of the child’s
name, Year, class-name and reason for absence. Option 2 is for extra-curricular activity updates, we will
leave any messages about activity cancellations here. Option 3 is for any other enquiries, I would ask you to
avoid using this option just before the start and end of the school day as this is an extremely busy time and
there may only be one person in the office.
Term Events and Activities
A list of dates for events currently planned for the year is attached to this letter. The extra curricular clubs list
will be sent out as soon as possible.
Please look out for letters in the book bags as and when additional clubs become available. Unfortunately,
there will be no after school clubs for Early Years during the Autumn and Spring terms. The children are
very young and we feel that the school day is already long enough for them. Clubs may be available to them
during the Summer term, but we will advise you nearer the time.
As we will have a number of after school clubs running this term, we would be pleased to hear from any
parents who would be able to give up their time to assist staff in running them. If you are able to help, please
would you contact the person running the club, as detailed on the list, when it is issued. Thank you.
Lunches
Please note that the price of school lunches remains at £2.20 for children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. Cash only
please, or cheques in advance, for no less than £11.00, made payable to Caterlink Limited. You can
always pay for your child’s lunch weekly, monthly or termly. There is a post box for Caterlink in the main
reception area, outside the school office for you to use.
If you are sending your child with a packed lunch, we encourage healthy eating and would ask you not to
include sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks. We are a ‘nut free’ school and due to the increasing number of
children with allergies we would ask you to bear this in mind with regard to snacks and packed lunches. As
well as the two choices on the menu, there is a third choice of jacket potatoes with various fillings available
every day except Friday, when the third choice will be pasta. Copies of the menu have been sent home in
book bags today.
Infant Free School Meals
All children in Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage One (Years 1 and 2) are entitled to a free
school lunch.
Pupil Premium
Families are entitled to Pupil Premium if they are in receipt of family benefit or their annual earnings fall
below a certain amount. If you think you are entitled to Pupil Premium, please contact Jackie Kirk, School
Business Manager, for further details on how to apply. Those families who already receive the premium will
continue to do so without having to take any further action.
Travelling Book Fair
We will be having the travelling book fair in school on Monday, 21st September until Friday, 25th September.
You can come along with your children after school between 3.20pm and 3.50pm to inspect and purchase
books. As this will be taking place after school, Mrs Kilgour would be pleased to hear from anyone, (as soon
as possible) who could give half an hour of their time to help out.
Early Riser’s Club
Our Early Riser’s breakfast club has restarted and we will be welcoming a number of new EYFS children
from next week. Numbers are now almost at a maximum on most mornings, therefore pre-booking is
essential. Please note that refunds are not available for missed, pre-booked sessions. Early Riser’s club will
be in the large hall, please use the KS1 entrance where a member of staff will meet you and take you to
sign your child in. If you would like to contact the club directly, you can e-mail them at
earlyrisers@oldfieldprimary.com
Just a reminder that the sessions available and prices are:
8.00am with breakfast - £3.50
8.00am without breakfast - £2.50
8.25am onwards £1.50
E Mail Communication
We will continue to communicate electronically with all parents. During this term we will be sending home
Data Collection Sheets for you to check, change as necessary, sign and return to us. Please would you
make sure we have your correct e-mail address listed. This is particularly important for parents of new
children who have started this week, as we will be sending most letters and information by this method. If
you do not have access to a computer, please would you let the office staff know as soon as possible, and
we will arrange for paper copies to be made available for you. Spare copies can also been found in the
pigeon holes in the school reception area.
Any letters requiring a signed permission slip to be returned, will still be sent home as a paper copy.
Parents Governor
We currently have a Parent Governor vacancy and will be holding an election soon. A letter with further
information will follow.
Should you have anything you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or
myself.
Yours sincerely
Richard Jarrett
Headteacher
Academic Year 2015/2016*
Dates for your diaries:
September
11th
14th
21st – 25th
22nd
29th
Tae Kwon Do club starts 8.00am
Netball clubs start after school until 4.30pm (Years 5 & 6)
Drama club starts
First table tennis
First Year 3D Swimming
Choir starts 3.30pm
JR Rugby Starts Years 1 to 6
Judo starts
Pro-direct football starts for Years 1 to 6
First Year 3B Swimming
Active Gamerz after school club starts
French and Spanish Clubs start – KS2 only
Travelling Book Fair
Year 6 Residential Meeting 3.30pm
EYFS My Class Photo
October
8th
9th
23rd
EYFS Information Evening 6.00pm
Years 3 trip to Amersham Field Centre
School Photographer Portraits and Siblings
Half Term
Monday, 26th October to Friday 30th October 2015
15th
15th
16th
17th
November
2nd
6th
10th
12th
13th
16th
18th
19th
20th
27th
December
2nd
4th
8th
9th
10th
11th
14th
17th
18th
Christmas Holidays
Children return to school
KS1 Parents Assembly (not EYFS)
Report Cards to Parents
Year 6 Shakespeare Performance
Year 1 Phonics Evening 6.00pm
KS2 Parents Assembly (not Year 6)
Parents Evening - 4.00pm to 6.30pm
Year 6 trip to Reading University
Year 1 trip to Living Museum
Parents Evening 5.00pm to 7.30pm
Year 6 Parents Assembly
Mufti Day – Gifts and Toys for the Christmas Fair
Year 3 trip to Roald Dahl Museum
Mufti Day – Bottles for the Christmas Fair
OSA Christmas Fair
Christmas Shopping Morning
Last Year 3D Swimming
Year 1 Nativity 2.15pm
Year 2 Nativity 2.15pm
Last Pro-Direct Football
Last Year 3B Swimming
Year 1 Nativity 2.15pm
Year 2 Nativity 2.15pm
EYFS Sing-a-long 2.30pm
School Panto 1.45pm Years 1 to 6
Mufti Day
Kids Concert
Last day of term
Monday, 21st December to Friday, 1st January 2016
January
4th
5th
22nd
29th
Inset Day
Children return to school
KS2 Parents Assembly
KS1 Parents Assembly (not EYFS)
February
5th
10th or 11th
12th
NSPCC Number Day
Year 5 Dance Show
Last day of term
Half Term
Monday 15th February to Friday, 19th February 2016
22nd
26th
Children return to school
Report Cards to Parents
March
3rd
4th
7th
10th
23rd/24th
24th
Parents Evening 4.00pm to 6.30pm
World Book Day
Year 6 Bikeability (all week)
Parents Evening 5.00pm to 7.30pm
Year 4 to Ufton Court
Last day of term
Spring Holiday
Friday, 25th March to Friday, 8th April 2016
April
11th
12th
Inset Day
Children return to school
May
2nd
5th
9th
27th
Bank Holiday – School Closed
Inset Day
KS2 SATs Week
Last Day of Term
Half Term
Monday, 30th May to Friday, 3rd June 2016
June
6th
13th
17th
20th
22nd
27th
Children return to school
Year 3 trip to Rushall Farm
Year 6 Residential to Brenscombe
Year 6 return from Brenscombe
Sports Day
Reserve Sports Day
Class and Team Photos
July
5th
13th
19th
20th
21st
Year 6 Transition Day tbc
Parents Open Evening 6.00pm to 8.00pm
EYFS trip to Odds Farm
Leavers Assembly 9.30am
Last Day of Term
*Please note that dates may be subject to change, please check your fortnightly newsletters for updates