January 2016 Newsletter

JANUARY NEWSLETTER 2016 Hello, We have been pleased to welcome Lucy Baker back from her travels at the same time that we wish Emily Loughman ‘all the best’ on her maternity leave. Killer Whales had the advantage of two teachers for three enjoyable weeks!

We have also welcomed Lucy Griffin into Sardines following Claire Harwood leaving at Christmas. We said ‘goodbye’ to Delphine Pope in the New Year and now have a vacancy for a TA2, which is advertised later in the Newsletter. I look forward to informing you of the successful candidate in February.

With our continued commitment to ensuring we maintain excellent relationships with you, our parents and carers, we have a new member of staff working across the Trust as a Family Support Worker. I am delighted to welcome Liz Baker to the team.

She has already started to support our families on a Monday and Wednesday each week, later in the Newsletter we have a photograph, so that you can say ‘hello’ if you see her.

The New Year has been a wonderful opportunity for resolutions and many of our children have seen it as a time when they show us all how they are growing up; without putting any pressure on them we would like to develop their independence by moving parents’ ‘goodbye kisses’ to the entrance door and encourage them to walk into school by themselves. Please talk to us at the door if your child is not ready for this step yet, but I would like to thank those parents who have worked with us to support their child’s success in achieving this.

Jane Howard Headteacher

Attendance Percentages since September 2015 We are constantly trying to improve our attendance which remains below the national average and thank the PTA for their funding support in giving the winning class £10 each week to bank for their own financial management decisions. We will therefore publish the class percentages on each newsletter for your information.

Please help us by ensuring your child attends school at all times unless they are too ill to do so.

Well done to Clownfish, Sea Turtles, Lobsters, Cuttlefish, Killer Whales, Stingrays, Jellyfish, Sharks and / Dolphins for achieving 95% or above.

Minnows

88.4%

Lobsters

95.3%

Marlin

93.8%

Sardines

93.8%

Barracudas

94.9%

Jellyfish

96.3%

Clownfish

95.9%

Cuttlefish

95.4%

Sharks

95.9%

Seahorses

94.9%

Killer Whales

95.9%

Dolphins

95.8%

Sea Turtles

97.0%

Stingrays

96.2%

The average is 95%.

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Pugwash News‌‌ Winter Gardening - At Pugwash we garden all year round, the children helped to plant some broad bean seeds that we had begun to grow, the children will then help to care for these.

Ice Play - We were very excited to find ice out in the garden and loved exploring the texture of it and watching it melt so have continued this by putting some toys in ice that we have made for the children to play with.

More phonics fun - The children have been enjoying the various phonics activities with Chloe including a sound hunt where the children have to find objects that begin with the same sound.

Name Writing- The children have been working hard at their next steps to try and write their own name using their name cards.

Pugwash parents may have noticed the new 'library area' . At Pugwash each week children may choose a book to look at and take home with them so that parents can share the book as well.

Please remember, we encourage healthy eating at the nursery so can we ensure that treats are limited to one item in lunch boxes.

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Rye Primary News…..

Punctuality Penguin We are continually looking for ways to increase our attendance and punctuality, therefore we would like to introduce you all to ‘Punctuality Penguin’!

He will be awarded to the class who has the least late marks on a Friday, and will remain with that class for the following week.

We hope that this will help you to ensure your child arrives at school by 8.45a.m. at the latest.

Don’t forget, we open the doors at 8.30a.m. and welcome children in to do early morning learning. We are very pleased to find that since we started the early morning learning, there has been a marked improvement in the learning of those children who come in at 8.30, and we would love to see more children taking part in this valuable part of the day!

Duty Line If you have any concerns or issues which you would like to speak to one of our school nurses about, there is now a ‘Duty Line’ which is open Monday to Friday. The telephone number is: 01424 728368.

All discussions will be in the strictest confidence.

Poppy Appeal We have received notification from the Poppy Appeal that Rye Primary raised £246.41 and Pugwash £151.73 during the Poppy Appeal in November.

Christmas Collection As you know, our Christmas collections this year were in aid of ‘Mary’s Fund’ and we are very pleased to confirm that we raised an amazing £498.03!

Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Sports News On 15th January a team of our Year 6 children (Eric, Holly, Freya, Owen, Bea, Fletcher, and Nikita) took part in the Hastings and Rother Sports athletics final we came a fabulous 3rd out of 10 other schools in the area! Which was a great result, well done all of you.

Monday 18th January saw Ruby, Stanley, Oliver and Milena taking part in a Year 4 Badminton tournament against other primary schools in the area, they represented the school brilliantly and won the competition by a whopping 20 points!

Well done!

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Support your child’s Reading

Teaching Assistant 2 Vacancy

As you know reading is a key focus for our school

We currently have a vacancy for a TA2.

Working as part of a team throughout the school, but particularly in Key Stage 2 (years 3—6) this post will be mainly class based under the direct supervision of the classteacher. There may, at times, be the need to work in other areas of the school if necessary.

To help you support your child develop as a reader, you will soon receive some reading advice with useful tips and questions for you to discuss with your child during your reading time at home.

There is a different page for each year group and there is also a list of recommended books on the back which have been suggested by teachers, librarians and other children. Happy Reading!

Previous experience is not essential, but an ability to demonstrate your skills and understanding of children’s learning will be required.

‘Hello!’

My name is Liz Baker, I am the Family Support Worker for Rye Academy Trust. I will be working with families in all three schools; Primary, College and Studio School.

I am looking forward to working with the Rye Team to support the education of your children.

Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) We are pleased to inform you that we are starting our journey towards achieving this award.

The Rights Respecting Schools Award is a UNICEF UK programme that aims to put children’s rights at the heart of schools in the UK. We work with thousands of schools across the country to embed children’s rights in their ethos and culture to improve wellbeing and develop every child’s talents and abilities to their full potential.

Schools work with us on a journey to become fully Rights Respecting. The Award recognises a school's achievement in putting the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (CRC or UNCRC) into practice within the school and beyond.

Look out for more information to follow.