2024 – St Mark's CofE Primary School

3 weeks ago

11 October 2024 – Newsletter – BBC, Foodbank, Timers and more

Headlines

Thanks to your donations, we gave 391.36kg of food to Foodbank on Monday, which is equivalent to 932 meals. Thank you!
Huge thanks to the FOSM team for putting on the school disco, and staff for supporting it. We hope your children had fun.
Sophia, Jackson and Harry were interviewed by BBC South yesterday, and will hopefully be on TV on Monday – this is the day the council make the decision about the SCPOs (lollipop ladies). And welcome to our new School Crossing Patrol Officer, Mrs Anne Duggan.
There was a collision between two cars on Thursday morning by the Woodbury/Danebury Road roundabout. If anyone was a witness to it, please let us know.
Timer alert! At our parents’ evening sessions, class teachers will have a 10minute timer up on the board. Don’t be offended, we just have to keep to time!

Have a great weekend, Charles

Come to our Parent Drop-In

Our next session will be on Monday 14th October at 8:30am-9:30am in the church.

During the session, the school nursing team will be in attendance to support with any toiletting, eating or sleeping concerns you may have.

Mrs Elms and Mrs Haynes will be there to welcome you with tea, coffee and biscuits. Younger children are also able to attend.

Final call – Parents Evenings

Booking for our Autumn Term parents evenings will close on Monday 14th Oct at 12pm. Click here to book.

You are invited to book a 10 minute appointment to meet with your child’s class teacher(s) in person. Appointments will run from 3:40pm to 6:50pm on both evenings. You will have received an email from school on Tuesday 24th September with details about how to book online.

Weds 16th October (1/2) 3:40pm-6:50pm
Weds 23rd October (2/2) 3:40pm-6:50pm

🍬🍭 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

Your generous Harvest donations! Thank you!

Mia’s book, Winston The Titan Terrier, has won an award – the Literary Titan Book Award. You can order a copy of the book here!

Look after our animals

A free and fun family activity

Click here

⭐ Star Learners ⭐

⭐ Star Readers ⭐

⭐ Quietest Classes⭐

2B and 6C

⭐ 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

Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy

(1862-1918)This piece of music by French composer Debussy means ‘moonlight’.

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

Come to our St Mark’s Parent Drop-in

Next session – Monday 14th October at 8:30am-9:30am in the church.

This week, the school nursing team will also be in attendance to support with any toiletting, eating or sleeping concerns you may have.