1 week ago

18 October 2024 – Newsletter – Survey, BBC and FOSM Updates, and Luke Murphy MP visit

Headlines

Please can you complete our parent survey here. One per child. Thanks! We really value your feedback.
We will be holding a sibling photo session on 18th November. On this day, we will also arrange to take the photos of any children who were absent for the September photo session.
For those who bring in YoYo snacks in lunches, remember we don’t do trading cards in school. It can really cause chaos!
Book Fair coming soon – keep an eye out for an email with all the details.

Have a great weekend, Charles

Homework and Learning

W/B 21st October

Click Here

Breakfast Club

Did you know we offer a daily breakfast club with 3 different start times?

The sessions are as follows:

Sessions with our supervised drop-off system in the school car park:

7.30am with breakfast -£5.00 per day
8.00am with breakfast – £2.75 per day

Sessions where you will need to park off-site and walk in:

8.20am without breakfast – £1 per day

What breakfast do you provide? We offer a selection of cereals, toast with spreads, fruit and fruit juice.

What is the drop-off system? A member of staff will help your child out of the car and guide them to the ramp which leads directly to the hall.

Can we choose not to have breakfast? Yes you can, but the cost remains the same.

What if I arrive at 7:50am? The cost is still £5.oo.

Do you provide any 1-1 support? No, unfortunately we are unable to do this at breakfast club.

Farewell Mrs Wood :(

Mrs Wood, one of our LSAs in Year 5, will be finishing at St Mark’s next Friday. She has worked at St Mark’s for over 8 years, working in a variety of year groups and roles. We will miss her, and wish her all the best in her new adventures: she is going on to work for a charity that helps adults overcome their barriers to employment. Thank you for all you’ve given, Mrs Wood!

St Mark’s pupils making a difference to our community

BBC Radio

BBC South Today

FOSM Updates

A huge thank you to you and our FOSM team for helping our children. Recent purchases from your giving include:

New PE equipment – used in all year groups
New Chromebooks and headphones- used for computing lessons and interventions
Sand for our Year R and Year 1 sand pits, as well as storage sheds
Astro turf for outside Year 1 and Year 2
Wireless microphones for school performances for all year groups
Ongoing resources for the farm and forest school
A new paper trimmer
… and Friday’s disco raised over £1,000 – amazing!

🍬🍭 Sweet Jars 🍭🍬

Thank you so much to those of you who have already sent in a sweet jar for the Sweet Tombola at the Christmas Fayre. If you would like to help, please can we ask that the sweets are wrapped – see picture. The jars can be jam jars, pasta sauce jars any kind or size, as long as they are clean. Any donations would be greatly received. Thank you!

St Mark’s Photo Reel

Children enjoying Forest School Club

Luke Murphy MP visits St Mark’s

He met our school council, and we presented him with an Agent of Change Badge!

Christmas Boxes – Thank you SO much

These amazing boxes will go to children in Eastern Europe, delivered by The Rotary Club.

Izzy competed at the Welsh Open Championships on Saturday and secured a gold medal. Her third gold of the year! Congratulations Izzy!

Look after our animals

A free and fun family activity

Click here

⭐ Star Learners ⭐

⭐ Star Readers ⭐

⭐ Quietest Classes⭐

Puffins and 3P

⭐ Attendance Updates ⭐

Our target over the year is 97%. Last year’s attendance was 95.8% – above national levels, but we’d like it to be much higher.

Our current attendance percentage is 97% 😊

Weekly Attendance by Class

What's the impact on missing school?

Categories	Learning days lost
Acceptable sickness & unforeseen absences.	98% = 4 days
	97% = 6 days
	96% = 8 days
Attendance below 95% is of concern to the school & you will be contacted automatically.10 days unauthorised absences for holidays over the year mean you will only achieve 95% attendance. Sickness & medical appointments, although usually unavoidable & authorised, will add further to your child’s absence record.	95% = 10 days
	94% = 12 days
	93% = 14 days
	92% = 16 days
Poor attendance Attendance below 90% is a serious concern. Your child has now missed nearly 4 weeks’ education. You may be referred to the Early Help team at the local authority.	91% = 18 days
	90% = 20 days
	89% = 21 days
	88% = 23 days
	87% = 25 days
	86% = 27 days
Very poor attendance	85% = 29 days
	84% = 31 days
	82% = 35 days
	80% = 39 days

Reminder of the new rules

School Dates, Lunches, and Clubs

View the full calendar here. Subscribe on either Chrome/ Android or Apple

Meals
PE Days
PE Uniform details can be found here. Remember, football shirts, hoodies, or general day-to-day clothing are not acceptable as PE kit.

Year R
- Monday – Indoor PE
- Thursday – Indoor PE
Year 1
- Mondays – Indoor PE
- Thursdays – Outdoor PE
Year 2
- All classes – Fridays – Indoor PE
- 2G – Tuesday – Forest School
- 2CL – Wednesday – Forest School
- 2B – Thursday – Forest School
Year 3
- Tuesdays – Indoor PE
- Fridays – Indoor PE
Year 4
- Wednesdays – Indoor PE
- Fridays – Outdoor PE
Year 5
- Tuesdays – Outdoor PE
- Wednesdays – Outdoor PE
Year 6
- All classes – Mondays – Outdoor PE.
- 6F – Wednesdays – Forest School
- 6B – Thursdays – Forest School
- 6C – Fridays – Forest School

After School Clubs

When do clubs start? Clubs started last week. You will have received an email to confirm your place in club.

Day	Club	Pick up time	Pick up place
Monday	Forest School	4:45	2B
	Chess Club	4:00	6B
	KS2 Choir	4:15	Small Hall
	Board Games Club	4:00	1TM
	Lego Coding Club	4:10	6C
	KS2 Girls’ Football	4:10	3P
Tuesday	Art Club	4:10	2CL
	Art/Craft Club	4:10	4PR
	Calm Club Yrs 5&6	4:00	3SG
	Recorders Club	4:00	3D
	Dance Live	4:10	Small Hall
Wednesday	Cookery Club	4:10	Office
	Multi-Skills	4:10	Small Hall
	Calm Club Yrs 3&4	4:00	3SG
Thursday	Photography Club	4:10	5P
	Scratch Coding Club	4:00	5DS
Friday	Netball	4:10	Small Hall
	Year 1 & 2 Choir	4:00	1TM

Music Info
Full School Calendar
Information - breakfast and afterschool clubs, uniform etc
- Breakfast Club – just show up – details here.
- SCL after-school club – click here for full details.
- Uniform – click here for details, including Skoolkit ordering
- School bags – can be ordered here
- Absence – Please report absences via phone or email here by 9am. If you need to request a future absence, please use this form.
- Are you eligible for Free School Meals and further funding for the school? Check online here.
Foodbank Support

In worship this week…

Music of the Week

Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)

Saint-Saens was a French composer. Danse Macabre means Dance of Death. Can you hear the harp at the beginning of the piece of music playing a single note 12 times? This is to represent midnight.

Being a parent is tough!

Managing your child’s emotional outbursts: Setting boundaries and ways of dealing with tantrums

Read a helpful article from the BBC here.

Parental control guides

Community News

Red Riding Hood

The Parish of Basingstoke Down is delighted to offer you a family treat this festive season! We have invited Saltmine Theatre to bring their production of ‘Red Riding Hood’ to Hatch Warren Community Centre on Saturday 23rd November, 6-8pm. This modern-day twist on a classic fairy tale with a positive message about belonging is now open for booking. Do join us!

We are charging a small fee for tickets- £3 for individuals and £10 for a family of up to five. All of the money that we raise will be shared between the charities supported by St Mark’s School (in the case of St Mark’s it will go to the Mud House Foundation) and Kempshott Juniors (in the case of Kempshott Juniors it will go to the Lily Foundation). See you there!

Click here to buy your tickets!