www.halfwaynurseryinfants.org
7th December 2015
Nativities
This year’s nativity plays will be held at the following times:
Year
Performance
When?
th
Nursery
Songs Around the Christmas
Tree
Tues 8 December 2.30pm
Weds 9th December 10.30am
F2
Traditional Nativity
Tues 8th December 2pm
Weds 9th December 9.15am
Y1 and 2
The Nativity
Thurs 10th December 9.15am
Fri 11th December 2pm
Ticket Needed?
No – Sign up in
Nursery for which
date you would like.
No – Sign up in
class for which
date you would like.
Ticket only – these
have already gone
out, so please check
book bags!
Please note that we have to operate a ticket system for Y1 & Y2 due to pupil numbers in the
hall, and health and safety practices. If you need to swap your tickets, please do so with
another parent as we hold no spare tickets at the office. If you have a ticket that you do not
need, can you please return it to the school office. Thank you.
Next Week in Miss Prendergast’s Class
Next week, Miss Prendergast will be taking unpaid leave and will not be in school for the final
week of term. Miss Prendergast will return to work for the start of the new year in January,
as normal.
Miss Prendergast’s absence will be covered by teachers with whom the children are all familiar.
These will include Mrs Ball, Mrs Russon, Mrs Hughes and myself.
The week will be a wind down for Y2 children after their impressive efforts in putting on the
nativity, and will be filled with Christmas craft activities, parties, trips out and a visit from
Santa himself!
Study Books for Y2
Following our recent SATS workshop a number of parents were asking for resources to use to
help at home. School has purchased 30 copies of each of the following study books and
workbooks:
Y2 Maths Study Book by CGP
Y2 Maths Work Book and Practice Questions by CQP
Y2 SPAG Study Book by CGP
Y2 SPAG Work Book and Practice Questions by CQP
Y2 Reading Study Book by CGP
All books are massively discounted from their RRP, with each book costing £2. If you would like
to buy any of the books, please place an order at the school office. There is no pressure to buy
these - we are simply meeting a request from parents to provide additional support and
information for those wanting it. Please take a look at the samples held in class.
Santa’s Grotto
A massive thank you to Sarah Johnson for setting up the grotto, and to Garyth Hawkins for
taking all the photos of the children with Santa. We couldn’t have done it without you! The
children had a wonderful time meeting Santa, so a big thanks to him for taking time out of his
busy schedule to come and visit!
Christmas Party Day – Thursday 17th December
Thursday 17th December will be Christmas party day when children will be able to come dressed
in party clothes. Kimmo will be coming to entertain us, and there will be party food in the
afternoon. Letters will be sent out later this week asking for food donations for the day.
Children will still have hot dinners or packed lunches as usual.
Y1 HJS Visit & Y2 Visit to Rose Cottage – Tuesday 15th December (am)
Y1 have been invited to watch the Junior School’s Christmas show on Tuesday 15th Dec at
9.15a.m. Teachers and TAs will accompany the children to the Junior School on that morning.
Please ensure that your child arrives in school on time, and with suitable clothing (in case of wet
weather!).
On the same day, at 11am, our Y2 children will be performing some of their nativity songs for
the residents of Rose Cottage. Again, staff will accompany the children on this visit, who will
be back in time for dinner.
The consent forms you signed for local visits when your children joined our school will cover
these trips. However, if you do not wish your child to take part, please speak to his/her class
teacher.
Christmas Jumper Day – Friday 19th December
Children can wear their Christmas jumpers on the last day of term! All we ask is for a £1
donation to be made, which will then be donated to the ‘Text Santa’ campaign.
Pavement Resurfacing
This week Amey will start resurfacing the pavements on both sides of Station Road outside the
school. Temporary traffic lights will be in operation, and parents/carers of children in nursery
may find that they need to make a slight detour to enter the school if the pavement adjacent
to the pedestrian entrance on Station Road is being worked on. The car park and entrance on
Rotherham Road North will not be affected.
Parent Questionnaire
Please find attached our end of year parental questionnaire for completion. Your feedback is so
important and we use it to help further improve our school and make learning here the best it
possibly can be. Last year our parental questionnaire helped shape parent workshops, parents’
evenings, school reports, our school council and homework. Please return your competed
questionnaire to the school office by Monday 14th December. Thank you for your time and
support.
Attendance
Attendance figures for the week beginning 30th November were as follows:
Class
The Crafty Chameleons
The Enormous Crocodiles
The Rainbow Fish
Attendance
99.2%
97.5%
96.8%
The Hungry Caterpillars
The Gruffalos
The Elmers
92.3%
92.4%
94.4%
Overall attendance last week was 95.3%. However, I know that there are sickness and cold
bugs around at the moment, so I am sure that attendance will return to its usual high level very
soon.
Grammar Gossip
Grammar gossip is our new feature each week! It aims to give small chunks of information and
knowledge about Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG). This week it’s the turn of
QUESTIONS.
The answer is ‘Father Christmas’. Can you compose 5 questions which give this answer. Don’t
forget to use ? at the end of your questions.
Halfway Junior School News
EXTREME READING CHALLENGE
Winner announced Friday 18th December. The child with the most obscure and entertaining
photo will win a book voucher.
CHRISTMAS APPEALS/DONATIONS
Please continue to support our Christmas appeals below with your generous donations.
CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCE – A MIDWIFE CRISIS!
Preparations for our Christmas performance are now well underway. The children have
auditioned and have been told what part they will be playing in the show. We need a few
extra costumes and would like to borrow any sheep, camel, donkey, angel wings or angel halos.
These can be actual costumes or onesie style outfits. Please let the office know if you can
help us out.
REMINDER - CHRISTMAS MARKET – THURSDAY 10TH DECEMBER 2PM
Our Family and Community Group are looking for donations for our Christmas Market Tombola
stall. Suitable items include, sweets, biscuits, chocolates, tinned/dried foods or toiletries.
If you would like a stall at the Christmas Market the cost is £10 please contact the office to
book. Children will be selling items in their classes and stalls will be in the hall. This
promises to be another fabulous Halfway event. Everyone is welcome.
HALLAM FM MISSION CHRISTMAS –REMINDER
Please continue to support the Hallam FM Mission Christmas appeal. Your gift can be for
boys or girls, aged 0-18 and needs to be unwrapped. Donations brought to school before 14th
December when Lillie (Y5JO) and her mum will transport them to Hallam FM for distribution
to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire community.
With best wishes,
Steve Varnam
Headteacher
HALFWAY NURSERY INFANT SCHOOL
Parents’ and Carers’ Views of the School – Questionnaire 2015
As we approach the end of the school year, we would welcome your views about our school, as part of our
self-evaluation process. For this reason we would be very grateful if you could take a little time to complete
the questionnaire below. This will help us to evaluate how effective we are, and will contribute to our ongoing
school improvement. Please return completed questionnaires to the school office by Friday 11th December
2015.
Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly Don’t
agree
disagree know
1
My child likes school.
2
My child is making good progress.
3
Children behave well.
4
My child is not bullied or harassed at school.
5
My child feels safe at school
6
Teaching is good.
7
I am kept well informed about how my child
is getting on.
8
I feel comfortable about approaching the
school with questions, or a problem, or
complaint.
9
Staff expect my child to work hard and do his
or her best.
10 The school is led and managed well.
11 Staff treat my child fairly.
12 The school seeks the view of parents and
takes account of their suggestions and
concerns.
13 Staff explain how I can help my child at home
14 The school provides appropriate homework.
15 Staff encourage my child to become mature
and independent.
16 There is a good range of activities that my
child finds interesting and enjoyable.
17 The arrangements for my son or daughter to
settle in when he or she started at the school
were good.
18 I am kept well informed about what events
and activities are happening at school.
Yes
No
19. Would you recommend our school to another parent?
What do you see as the main strengths of the school?
What, if anything, is the one thing you would wish to see improved in school?