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Car Wash Cancelled

Unfortunately the weather is against us today, so we need to cancel the car wash.

Please pencil in your diaries the 17th October, although we will confirm this.

A huge thank you to the volunteers who helped organise this event!

Latest Newsletter – Car wash, key messages meetings, thank you’s and more!

Summary

  1. Car wash tomorrow!
  2. Thank you’s!
  3. Covid-related costs
  4. Key messages meetings
  5. Mr Blake and Mrs Barbour

Details

  1. See details below. Takes place 3rd Oct @ St Mark’s! Support our school through FOSM! If it has to been cancelled because of terrible weather, we’ll update our website in the morning.
  2. Thank you for your generosity for our non-uniform day today. We’re quarantining the donations and counting it next week, but we are so grateful. Thank you also for those who were able to have school dinners on Thursday too. We had a helpful increase in dinner uptake, and this will help us in next year’s funding.
  3. I promised to update you on our school finances. Covid is hitting us hard, like it is for all schools, businesses and families. Adding together the additional costs of managing our school in a covid-safe way, and the loss of income from our usual sources (including breakfast club and lettings), we will be approximately £30,000 below what was already a tight margin. It’s a very significant amount. We are committed to being a safe environment for children and adults, and this is a priority over the budget. The government reimburse very little of the covid-related costs (if any!). Your generosity through FOSM events and other methods is so much appreciated.
  4. We look forward to meeting you at our key messages meetings this. Please make sure you know your google classroom login. The links will be posted on the classroom streams. We won’t be recording the meetings, but will share the PowerPoints shown.
  5. I wanted to give a shout-out to Mr Blake and Mrs Barbour, and our entire site team. They have been amazing in keeping our school clean and functioning throughout this covid-time. Always above and beyond, and always with a smile! I know you join me in thanking them.

FOSM Events – Non-School Uniform and more

FOSM Car Wash
Saturday 3rd October
School Car Park
KS1 10am-11:30am
KS2 11:30am-1pm
Children in both? Choose your time!
£5 – small car
£8 – SUV/MPV/large car
£10 – van
Card and cash accepted
The event will be Covid safe, too!

 

Parent Lottery – Win £25,000 each week and raise money for school. Click here for more info. It’s an ongoing event.

Look out for Christmas Cards and Scavenger Hunt details coming soon!

Join the FOSM Facebook group here.

Star Learners This Week!

Well done to:

  • Year R: Ruby S, Zoe, Alisha
  • Year 1: Jessica, Darcie, Elizabeth
  • Year 2: Isabelle Ru, Luke, Isla, Novak
  • Year 3: Harry C, Zane, Monica, Theo M, Ayden
  • Year 4: Harry A, Eunice, Riker, Dexter, Tyler
  • Year 5: Milly, Lucille, Sienna
  • Year 6: Zac W, Sophie Wi, Jackson, Nevaya, Jack L

“Key Messages” Meetings – Online – Via Google Meet

We’re running  a ‘Key Messages’ meeting for each year group- a bit like the curriculum evenings run before. It will last about 30mins, and includes time for you to ask questions. Links will be posted in Google Classrooms shortly before the meeting. Meetings take place on Google Meet (not zoom).

  • Year 1 – Mon, 5 Oct, 4pm
  • Year 2 – Mon, 5 Oct, 5pm
  • Year 3 – Tues, 6 Oct, 4pm
  • Year 6 – Tues, 6 Oct, 5pm
  • Year 4 – Thur, 8 Oct, 4pm
  • Year 5 – Thur, 8 Oct, 5pm

For Year R parents: The online meetings held before the summer have covered the same content as these will do, so they won’t be run for Year R. Parents’ Evenings are coming up, and there is important information here.

Parents’ Evenings – Online

These will also be held online. You will have received an email giving details for booking a time slot soon. Your video meeting will last a maximum of 10 minutes (it cuts off at 10 minutes!). The video service is run by the same UK company that book the parents evening – you will be given a link, and no additional software/app is needed. To be clear, it’s not Google Meet or Zoom.

  • 21st Oct 2020, Wed 16:20 – 18:30
  • 4th Nov 2020, Wed 15:40 – 17:40
  • 11th Nov 2020, Wed 16:00 – 18:00

For Year 6 parents: 4th November is the week of the PGL trip. Should the trip go ahead, we will just rearrange the bookings made for that day.

Regular Notices

Year R Tours – September 2021

Interested in joining St Mark’s for September 2021? We’re running tours and online sessions. Click here to find out more

SCL After school care and Half Term Child Care

Click here for Half-term child care booking! Held at Hatch Warren Community Centre.

Click here for regular after school care at St Mark’s.

 

Covid Reminders

  • Use the email covid@stmarksce.org.uk if you have questions or need to report symptoms or a positive case.
  • Please keep us updated – for example, of test results.
  • Read this letter from Public Health England about symptoms and testing.
  • NHS Symptoms Check
  • If a child or parent is at home because of symptoms, please keep the siblings off too. IE the whole household needs to isolate, and the person with symptoms needs to get a test.
  • We are moving online with homework, spellings and Google Classrooms. If you need help with technology, please do let us know by emailing the office.
  • If a child is off school but able to work, then Google Classroom work is available – and it should be completed. Teachers spend a lot of time making sure this work is available so no-one misses out!

Do you have a spare laptop you don’t need?

Do you have a laptop lying around, which we can use to support children at home? Doesn’t need to be new or quick. We blitz it, and install all the software necessary. That way a child who doesn’t have access to a laptop for home learning can really benefit. If you can help, please email the office.

Friends of St Mark’s (FOSM) AGM

Our FOSM team (PTA) work incredibly hard for our school. We run an AGM, which is a public meeting for all parents/carers to share ideas, discuss events, and see how St Mark’s can be supported financially. It also strengthen’s our community, too! Please do join us online!

Date: Tuesday 13th October, 7:30pm. Online only. The Zoom link is here.

FOSM is now a registered charity – can your business help us in anyway?

What is your child learning this term?

Read the following for your child’s year group to find out more! It includes information about homework, reading, general expectations and more. The Knowledge Organiser helps you to know the knowledge the children should be learning for their project. Test them and see how they are getting on!

Online Forms

  • Absence Request form – going to be absent (e.g. wedding, funeral, holiday etc)? Use this form
  • Pupil Premium Form – have your work/benefit circumstances changed? Complete this form so we can check if your child is elligible for free school meals and other support at school.
  • Getting Home Arrangements – tell us how your child gets home each day.
  • Mobile Phone Request – for older children needing to bring a phone to school

Recent Posts – have you missed anything?

Going to be absent?

We’ve moved our absence request form online. This is for absence requests such as holidays, weddings, funeral, special events, and more. You don’t need to use this form for sickness or self-isolation (but please email/phone the office if they are unwell).

Fundraise whilst you shop!

Email and Contact Details

If you don’t receive the school newsletter and year group emails via email, you can sign up here!

Remember, if you change your contact details, please let the office know here.

Get in touch with us

Email Us
Phone Us
Visit Us

Year 5 Creativity

Space Art

Over the last few weeks, the children in Year 5 have been looking at work by the artist Peter Thorpe. He was originally a book illustrator but was also a huge fan of all things Space. Rather than wasting his leftover paint from his illustrating jobs, he started to paint some abstract space paintings. Inspired by his colourful images of rockets and planets, the children designed their own pictures in his style. Firstly, the children did this on squares of paper using coloured pencils and then they transferred these onto paving slabs using chalk. The creativity that the children have demonstrated has been exceptional. Here are some examples of their beautiful art. 

Year 2: A few Updates

We have had another brilliant week in Year 2. We just wanted to update you with a few reminders: 

  • Non-uniform & PE Day On Friday 2nd October, we have a whole school non-uniform day for FOSM. They have asked that the children wear a colour from the rainbow. Despite this being our PE day, we are encouraging children to take part. We just ask that whatever rainbow colour(s) they choose to wear, that their clothes are also suitable for our outdoor PE lesson. This could be colourful leggings/jogging bottoms, t-shirts, sweatshirts etc. Please make sure they are not clothes that you would be worried about getting a little bit of mud or dirt on; as the weather forecast is not so good for the end of the week! 
  • Spellings are issued every Monday and will be available on Google Classroom (2R, 2BT, 2B). We practise these in class but we also ask that children practise these at home too. Children will be tested on these spellings each Friday. 
  • Homework will include reading at home on a daily basis, daily spellings, and Maths homework which will also include Numbots. Login details for this will be sent home in homework books next week. These books are to be kept at home so that you will always have the login details that you need. We also ask that homework is kept at home to avoid the passage of paper between school and home. Where work is uploaded to Google Classroom we will also provide an answer sheet so that your child can check their answers. 
  • Reading Folders These came home last week and need to come into school each day with only the child’s reading books in them. 
  • Reading Books  Reading books will be changed at least once per week. Unfortunately due to quarantine rules, we are unable to change books more frequently than this. We do encourage you to read other books that you have at home, with, and to, your child. Daily reading is extremely important. We will aim to send home a banded Oxford Reading Tree Book, a banded Big Cat Book and a Library Book each week. Library books can be kept at home and brought back in on the day requested by your class teacher. We will put this information on your Google Classroom class page in the ‘stream’. 
  • Year 2 Google Classroom Many of you will have noticed that we are uploading work to the Year 2 Google Classroom daily. This work is for children who may need to self isolate with other family members and only needs completing if this applies to your child. If your child has been at school, they do NOT need to complete this work. 
  • Emails Please feel free to contact us via our year group email address year2@stmarksce.org.uk. This is the best way to contact us as chats at the door are more tricky with our staggered drop offs and pick ups and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. We will get back to your emails as quickly as possible. This may be the end of the school day as we are in class with the children. 

Thank you as always for your support. We hope you will be able to make our ‘Key Messages’ meeting on Monday 5th October at 5pm. 

 

The Year 2 Team