1. Archive Newsletter 14.09.17
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER DIARY DATES
Thursday 14th
3:20 – 4:00pm Phase 3 (years 4-6) parents invited to look around new building
Friday 15th
SPSA Own Clothes Day. Bright colours. £1.00 voluntary donation
Sunday 17th
2:00pm SPSA Happy’s Circus event in Shoreham. ADVANCE TICKETS ONLY
Monday 18th
Foundation Stage children stay until after lunch (1:00pm)
After school Football fixture vs St Thomas’ at Knole Academy
Tuesday 19th
2A, 2B, 6A, 6B swimming
Friday 22nd
Jeans for Genes Day. Denim item WITH HOME CLOTHES. £1.00 voluntary donation
Monday 25th onwards
Foundation Stage children stay all day
2:45pm Uniform Shop open
Tuesday 26th
2A, 2B, 6A, 6B swimming
Wednesday 27th
8:00pm SPSA meeting
Thursday 28th
Van Cols individual and sibling photographs
Friday 29th
Literary Festival in Main Hall with special guest Michael Rosen
Tuesday 3rd October
2A, 2B, 6A, 6C swimming
Wednesday 4th
3:20 – 4:00pm Phase 1 (years F&1) parents invited to look around new building
Monday 9th
2:45pm Uniform Shop open
Dear Parents/Carers
Welcome to the new and improved SPS!
After years in the planning and the summer holiday spent unpacking and setting up, we are finally in. There is the anticipated snagging list of small faults to work through and we are still tweaking a number of our procedures but we are absolutely delighted with our new school.
The first day was very special and the children were extremely excited to be finally stepping inside. It is very different to the previous building and a number of children and staff emerged looking lost from various parts of the building. This may continue for the first few weeks but it will not be long before the memories of the old school fade and this building will feel like home.
Reaching this stage has required a monumental amount of effort and we are indebted to Bowmer & Kirkland, our contractors, who have been truly amazing. Throughout the entire process they have been so supportive and gone out of their way to help and respond to our requests, which have been numerous.
I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the staff of SPS. The site team (Dan & Tom Gadd), led so ably by Briony Wood our departing bursar, spent the entire summer firstly packing up and moving the contents of the old school into the new and then ensuring that everything was in place ready for the children.
This was an onerous task (imagine moving house and multiply by a hundred!) but they can enjoy an enormous amount of pride in what they have achieved.
My thanks extend to the whole staff team who devoted a considerable amount of their summer holidays preparing the school for the new academic year. I am wary of identifying individuals because it was very much a team effort but in addition to Dan, Tom and Briony, I would also like to thank Ann Williams, our network manager.
The building is brilliant but without the IT infrastructure up and running, it would be very difficult for the school to function. Ann was here most days during the summer holidays, and it is down to her considerable hard work that we were operational from day one.
The fabric of the building may have changed but it remains very much Sevenoaks Primary. It is the people that make a school and we are incredibly lucky at SPS to have such a talented, committed and dedicated team of professionals who have produced a new school we can be proud of.
New Staff
I am delighted to welcome a number of new staff to our fabulous team. Sarah White is our new Assistant head teacher. In additional to her leadership responsibilities, she will also be teaching in Year 3.
Sam Hafford-Robson has joined the staff and will be teaching in Year 4 this year.
We have two new members of staff who will be joining the Phase 2 team. Kathryn Edwards has a long association with the school as a parent and a member of staff and she will be working as a teaching assistant in 3A. Emma Stuart is a new appointee to the team. She will also be working as a teaching assistant in 3C.
Last but not least, we welcome Natalie Houston to SPS. Natalie is the new School Business Manager and she will be replacing Briony Wood who will leave at the end of Term 1.
I am sure you will want to join me in welcoming all of the new staff to SPS at such an exciting time.
Alan Duffy
Road Crossing Patrol vacancy
We are actively recruiting for a Road Crossing Patrol person to replace Mrs James, who retired in July. The hours are 8:30 – 9:00am and 3:00 – 3:30pm, weekdays and term time only.
For further details and an application form, please email: manager@sevenoaks.kent.sch.uk or call Mrs Sermon on: 01732 453952.
Alternatively, applications can be made through Kent Teach: School Crossing Patrol vacancy
The closing date for applications is Monday 9th October 2017.
Jeans for Genes – Friday 22nd September 2017
Scarlett and Mollie in year 6 asked the school whether we could allow the children to participate in Jeans for Genes this year. We thought this a fantastic idea, so would like to invite the children to wear jeans (or other denim items) with home clothes to school on Friday 22nd September, with a voluntary ‘fine’ of £1.00 to take part.
Please note, both participation and monetary donations are purely voluntary and we would not want any child to feel obliged to take part.
For further information on this most worthwhile cause, please click on the link below.
Good attendance
Sevenoaks Primary School is committed to the continuous raising of achievement of all our pupils. Regular attendance is critical if our pupils are to be successful and benefit from the opportunities presented to them.
Only the Headteacher can authorise absence for approved reasons. Schools have discretion to allow absence in term time for special circumstances only such as:
- For service personnel and other employees who are prevented from taking holidays outside term-time if the holiday will have minimal disruption to the pupil’s education
- When a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis, such as death or terminal illness of a person close to the family
- For attendance at a funeral
- For attendance at a wedding of a close family member
All other absences are only authorised by the head teacher where there are exceptional circumstances, and the absence cannot be avoided.
Please email through any term time absence requests to absence@sevenoaks.kent.sch.uk or by letter to the Head Teacher, Mr Duffy.
Midday Supervisor vacancies
The school has positions available for Midday Supervisors. The hours are 1.5 hours per day, term time only.
To apply, please contact the school office on: manager@sevenoaks.kent.sch.uk or drop by the office for an application form.
Absences from school
You can report your child’s absence from school via the following email address: absence@sevenoaks.kent.sch.uk
Once you have emailed your child’s absence from school, there will be no need to follow up with a letter to the class teacher when your child returns to school. However, please note that we are unable to accept any other messages to the class teachers, school office or club leaders via this email address.
The telephone answer machine will still be in use to report absences (01732 453952, Option 1) or alternatively please call in to the school office.
Medical Reminders
- We would like to remind parents/carers that following a bout of sickness or diarrhoea, children must not return to school until 48 hours after their final episode of illness
- Should your child (or their siblings) contract an infectious disease (particularly chicken-pox or cold sores) please inform the school office as soon as possible, as we have a child in school with a weakened immune system
- Should your child have asthma, please ensure that you supply the school with an in-date inhaler as soon as possible. Parents/carers will need to bring the inhaler into school in its original packaging with the prescriber’s information label attached and to complete the necessary paperwork
- PLEASE NOTE THAT WE OPERATE A ‘NO NUTS’ POLICY IN SCHOOL
- Polite notice – NO MEDICATION SHOULD BE BROUGHT INTO SCHOOL BY A PUPIL. Should your child be prescribed medication by a doctor that requires administration during the school day, it is the responsibility of the parent/carer to bring in that medication (such medication to be in its original container, complete with dosage instructions). As before, prescribed medication will also require parents/carers to complete the necessary paperwork
- ONLY PRESCRIBED MEDICATION CAN BE ADMINISTERED BY A MEMBER OF STAFF
- If your child has any changes to their medical information, please email the details to manager@sevenoaks.kent.sch.uk.
Uniform Shop opening dates
The uniform shop will be open on the following dates:
25th September
9th and 30th October
13th and 27th November
11th December
It is located in the Studio, and access is through the exit door to the building.
Parenting Children Course
Sessions are being offered from September to November at the Vine Evangelical Church, Hitchen Hatch Lane, Sevenoaks.
Subjects covered will be: building strong foundations, meeting our childrens’ needs, setting boundaries, teaching healthy relationships and our long term aim.
For further details and to book your place:
Hever Castle Triathlon
Melisande, one of our relatively new Year 6 pupils, is a keen triathlete! At her previous school, they would enter events as a team and, as a new starter here, she would like to find other Sevenoaks Primary pupils that might like to participate.
The Hever Triathlon is split into two age groups:
Saturday 23rd September 8 – 10 year olds
Sunday 24th September 11 – 15 year olds
For further information, please click Hever Castle Triathlon details
or do tell your child to come find Melisande in class 6B.
BOOT CAMP IS BACK!!!
Feeling lethargic from the long holidays, lost your MOJO or just want to feel fit and energetic? Boot Camp runs all through term time at 9:00am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday on the top field, for just £5.00/session, pay as you go.
Exercising outdoors is fantastic for the mind and can be more challenging for the body than the gym. We do a whole range of cardio, core work, HIIT, games, interval and circuit training and no session is ever quite the same as the last, so you can’t get bored.
Come along with a friend and see if you like it! It is also a fantastic way to get to know new people. Exercises are modified to suit all fitness and abilities in a fun and supportive environment. You don’t have to be super fit to come, Boot Camp will get you fit!
If you have any queries, contact Ali Lennon – Alison.lennon2@btinternet.com or just turn up from 9:00am – 10:00am.
Friends outside school are also welcome.
