St Bridget's C of E Primary School

Class 10 Swimming For 1 Week Starting Monday 3rd October.

8-9-22

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you all had an enjoyable summer break. The children arrived back at school full of energy and we have had a great start to the school term. During this week we have welcomed several new children in across the school as well as the new reception children. In Monday’s assembly we thought about the things we were grateful for in our life, what we have learned over the summer and thought about our school rules of safe, ready and respectful.

Social Media

Last year we spoke to children across the school about when they access social media. It was very interesting. All of the older children have regular discussions as part of their curriculum about the sensible use of social media and as a school we try to notify parents of any new apps that may be unsuitable. However, we have also noticed that a number of our younger children access social media such as YouTube or the internet using parents’ phones or devices. Understandably adult devices can access a wider variety of content and I am just asking parents to be careful when they let their children use their phones etc.

Increasingly, I think it is important for parents to model good behaviour when using social media. Setting screen time limits and rules on when screens are appropriate to use can teach your child the value of “unplugging” from devices for technology-free time. Social media can be exciting, but overuse can sometimes prevent you from enjoying other aspects of each day.

School Priorities for 2022-23

The official data for the school will only be published in November, however, our provisional data is exceptionally strong across the school and reflects the hard work of all of the staff and our partnership with parents. Having now reflected on this we have identified our priorities for the coming year and these can be found on our website with this link.

Feedback from reports

Thank you for all of the feedback on reports at the end of last term. Overwhelmingly, we received appreciative comments about the success of the school year and children’s enjoyment of school. Other comments included helpful feedback and we have reflected on these as a school as well.

Accessing Google Class for KS2 and Tapestry for KS1 and Reception

Just a quick reminder that teachers in EYFS and KS1 use Tapestry. (Year 2 will also use Tapestry, but there have been a few technical issues which will be sorted out by next week). Teachers in KS2 use Google Classroom. These online platforms are used to record homework for children, useful information such timetables and celebrate merit winners.

School building update – School Hall

Another aspect of learning from the pandemic was that our school hall is too small for the size of our school. We can barely fit the whole school in which is frustrating. The plans to extend the hall are currently with the LA and awaiting the go ahead.

Attendance update form the Department for Education

For you as parents, and for us as a school, our children’s welfare and education are of paramount importance. At St. Bridget’s CE Primary, we believe that one of the ways to achieve success and fulfilment is regular attendance and punctuality throughout the school year. As of 1^st September 2022, the DfE have released new guidance for schools entitled Working Together to Improve School Attendance which puts a greater onus on schools to reduce absence as far as possible; you can read a summary of the expectations for parents, schools and local authorities in this document.

Attendance will continue to be closely monitored in school and, where we see anomalies or where attendance is below 90% (which is classed by the DfE as being persistently absent) you will be contacted by school to discuss any possible support. You may also wish to access the FamilyToolbox for further support.

I acknowledge that each family is different and there are times when parents will need to request leave of absence for their child(ren) on rare occasions. Any request for leave of absence will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances and these must be outlined in writing, preferably in advance of booking, to me so that I can consider each request on its own merits. To guide me in determining what is ‘exceptional’ I will use the definition provided to Headteachers by the DfE which is “rare, short and unavoidable”.

As you will see from the above documents, levels of absence in schools will be closely monitored by the DfE and we have a Local Authority Locality Attendance Officer allocated to support our school with attendance. Whilst I always aim to work with parents to ensure the wellbeing of our children and their families, I will be unable to authorise absences outside of truly exceptional circumstances. Please be advised that any absences outside of the above circumstances will be classed as unauthorised and could be subject to a fine from the local authority.

Inset Days for 2022-23

Inset 1 - 1-9-22

Inset 2 - 2-9-22

Inset 3 - 21-10-22 subject to change

Inset 4 - 4-1-23 subject to change

Inset 5 - 5-6-23 subject to change

Dates for the year

I have been in contact with the Local Authority and raised a concern about the end of the Summer Term when the Golf Open comes to West Kirby and Hoylake. In the past schools have closed early or have changed some dates. As soon as I have information and agreement from the Local Authority I will let you know.

Sporting achievements

We have a school full of talented children. After the summer I have heard of the following achievements and I am always happy to hear more and celebrate them in the newsletter.

Well done Esme for representing Wales in dressage.
Well done to Eve and Isobel for their running. They have both completed the 5km Park Run in under 20 minutes which ranks them as no.1 and 2 in the country for their age.
Well done to Aurelia for making the u11 Cheshire Tennis finals

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Neil Le Feuvre

Social feed

St. Bridget's CofE
@StBridgetsCofE

On a wet and soggy afternoon, year 2 went exploring our local field habitat hunting for mini beasts in science.
6:52pm - 04th October, 2022
St. Bridget's CofE
@StBridgetsCofE

What a busy week for year 5 - swimming for class 9 and BikeIt training for class 10. The children have shown superb resilience and tackled their activities with determination. Well done! We are looking forward to another week of great fun! #faithhopeandlove
8:12pm - 02nd October, 2022
MEAS - Minority ethnic Achievement Service
@wirralmeas

We’re so proud of @StBridgetsCofE, @WoodchurchCofE, @CoopWoodslee and St Michael’s and All Angels who received their School of Sanctuary Award today. Also @WellLanePrimary and Hayfield Primary who renewed. You are all amazing! 🧡 @SchsofSanctuary https://t.co/47UxphamrJ

6:02am - 28th September, 2022
St. Bridget's CofE
@StBridgetsCofE

Look at the amazing artists we have in Year 3!
5:06pm - 27th September, 2022
St. Bridget's CofE
@StBridgetsCofE

In history, Year 2 have been exploring the question “What did Neil and Buzz do on the moon?”. They used historical sources to find out and then shared their answers to the class in a freeze frame. 🌙 🚀 🇺🇸
2:11pm - 26th September, 2022
St. Bridget's CofE
@StBridgetsCofE

Year 5 recreated the solar system as part of their inquiry ‘What is the solar system?’ Using balls for planets and string to keep them on their orbital paths we discovered the impact of the position of the planets from the sun. #toinfintyandbeyond 🪐☄️👽🚀🔭
11:37am - 23rd September, 2022
St. Bridget's CofE
@StBridgetsCofE

Well done to Year 4 who regularly support the Link Café.
1:19pm - 22nd September, 2022
St. Bridget's CofE
@StBridgetsCofE

Our new reception children have paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth by celebrating her life. We made crowns, marmalade sandwiches and fairy cakes 🎂👸🎂👸
3:37pm - 16th September, 2022
St. Bridget's CofE
@StBridgetsCofE

Come and join us this Sunday. All are welcome! We especially welcome new families to a service to consider “new beginnings”.
7:39am - 14th September, 2022
St. Bridget's CofE
@StBridgetsCofE

A poignant day in school, remembering the life and service of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II #longtoreignoverus #godsavethequeen
3:17pm - 11th September, 2022