Whole School Mass

Next Tuesday 8^th September the whole school (with the exception of Lower Early Years) will be walking to Church to attend a mass to celebrate the start of the new academic year (this will start at 9.30am). All parents, carers and family members are most welcome to attend. Please let your child’s class teacher know if you are able to help accompany the children to and from Church. Thank you in advance.

Uniform

It’s lovely to see so many of the children looking really smart in their new uniforms. Throughout this week we have been reminding pupils about our school rules concerning uniform. We ask that all pupils wearing a white shirt - also wear a school tie. Hair accessories (hair bands, bows etc.) should be small and plain in colour. For a full copy of our Uniform Policy please visit our school website:

http://www.st-marys.hillingdon.sch.uk/

Lunch Box Policy

As a part of our Healthy School accreditation we needed to put food policies in place that actively encourage pupils to adopt healthy lifestyles. Our school hot meals have been carefully planned and checked to meet strict government nutritional standards. Similarly our Pupil School Council developed a Lunch Box Policy to reflect healthy eating. Accordingly we ask that pupils do not bring the following items into school in their lunch boxes. A full copy of this Policy is available on our website.

Never allowed in school lunch boxes

·         Fizzy drinks ·         Sweets ·         Chocolate bars ·         Chips ·         Burgers ·         Hot food and drinks ·         Nuts ·         Items of food on skewer sticks ·         Fruit Winders

Allowed on Friday only

·         Crisps ·         Sweet biscuits (does not include savoury biscuits such as Mini Cheddars) ·         Food items covered in, or containing, chocolate (e.g. cereal bars) ·         Cakes

Early Bird Maths and Yr6 Kent Group

These groups will start during the week beginning Monday 14^th September.

Parents will receive a letter if their child has been selected to join the revised groups for this term.

Parents’ Information Meetings

Throughout next week, each class teacher will lead an information meeting for the parents of the pupils in their class. This session will cover the following areas:

·         Timetabling of different subjects

·         Curriculum/topic coverage

·         End of year class targets

·         Homework schedule

·         Home – school links

Each meeting will take place, in school, from 3pm until 3.25pm on the following dates:

Date	For Parents of Pupils in:
Tuesday 8th September	Early Years (lower and upper)
Wednesday 9th September	Years 1 and 2
Thursday 10th September:	Years 3 and 4
Friday 11th September	Years 5 and 6

Homework Schedule

Each teacher will provide details of their class homework schedule during their Parents’ Information Meeting next week. Generally, maths homework is given every Monday, new spelling lists on Wednesday and English homework on Thursday. We ask that parents hear their child read every night (at least 3 pages) and sign their Reading Record book. Thank you for your help with this in advance.

Parent – Teacher Communication

If you have any questions, or concerns, regarding your child, please speak to their class teacher in the first instance. We have an open door policy for discussing any matters with parents and all teachers are available after school if needed. It is not always possible to speak to individual teachers before school (as lessons/activities start as soon as the pupils come into school at 8.40am). If you would like to make an appointment, please send a message into school via your child’s book bag, or contact the school office.

Parents’ Evenings

Our Parents’ Evenings will take place on: Monday 14^th and Wednesday 16^th September 2015. These meetings will provide an opportunity for you to meet with your child’s new class teacher to discuss their targets and planned support for this term. There will also be time to ask any questions that you may have - following on from our Parents’ Information Meetings. Further information was included in a separate letter sent out this week.