Livingstone Primary & Nursery School WK1 SEP 2016

Friday 9^th September

We look forward to another promising year at Livingstone and would like to extend a warm welcome to our new families and new members of staff; Ms Morrison (Yr1), Mr Smith (Yr3), Miss Finn (Year 5), Miss Alonso (Dos Santos) and Miss Pianko. Over the next couple of weeks more children will be joining Nursery and Reception class from families who are new to the school. We welcome them to Livingstone and look forward to working in partnership on the path to educational success!

It is extremely important that all parents provide us with any changes to contact details as soon as possible. Any changes to addresses and telephone numbers should be given to the office in case of an emergency.

Please let us know if your child has any medical conditions and ensure that the appropriate medicines (e.g. asthma pumps) are sent into school. The medication should be given to the office named and with clear instructions. If your child has a severe medical condition please speak to the office staff as they may need a health care plan and this requires the involvement of the school nurse.

School begins at 8.50am and ends at 3.15pm. Please make sure that children are brought to school on time every day.  They should be in the playground by 8.50am when the whistle blows.  Children must also be collected on time at 3.15pm. The attendance of every child is closely monitored. Please telephone if your child is away from school or write a note if you know in advance, as this ensures our records are kept up to date.  It is most important to let the school know if another adult is collecting your child and please remember that it is not permitted to take pupils out of school for holidays. Please make sure your children are closely supervised in the morning as only one senior member of staff is on duty from 8.40am. Children that are in school at 8:30am or before should be enrolled in the Breakfast club in the Cabin. Only independent travellers from Year 5 and 6 are allowed to be left in playground. Children are not permitted to ride bikes or scooters into the playground or play on the apparatus before and after school especially children under the age of seven as the equipment was not designed for young children.

Breakfast Club starts at 8am. Breakfast is free to pupils who come with their parents and there are activities set up for all ages. Parents wanting childcare at this time of the morning need to complete application forms available in the office and pay £2.00 per day.

The Cabin Club is now running every evening from 3.15pm-5.45pm at a cost of £6.00 per session which is unchanged from last year. Sessions need to be booked and paid for in advance via the school office. Activity clubs are starting on the week beginning Monday 14th Sept. There is a £3.00 fee per session for the enrichment clubs. There are no charges for the Challenge Clubs and team sports practice. It is very important that your child/ren are picked up from class and from clubs on time, failure to do this may result in your child/ren placed in Cabin Club and being charged £3 or fined. Persistent late collection or poor behaviour at any club may result in the place being withdrawn.

Dinner Money should be paid in advance, weekly or half termly. Each meal cost £2.15 per day. The amount for next half-term is £70.95. We would also like parents to give written notice to office before children change to packed lunches.  Don’t forget if your child/ren bring a packed lunch to keep it healthy (sweets, chocolates or fizzy drinks will be returned home with a note).  Food products containing nuts are not permitted in school, as some children have nut allergies. Children in Reception and KS1 are entitled to a free meal, however ensure that you complete the forms if you are in receipt of benefits as this enables the school to claim additional funding. Reception get milk and fruit every day, KS1 get a fruit snack and older pupils have access to a tuck shop which sells healthy snacks at morning break for 20p.

Uniform Pupils have come into school looking very smart but not everyone has come in wearing the correct footwear. Please make sure pupils come into school wearing sensible school shoes. Fashion boots and sandals are not allowed and trainers should only be worn for PE and sporting activities.

PE Kit All children need to have a PE kit in school at all times.  This includes a white T-shirt, blue shorts, plimsolls and trainers.  They will also need a tracksuit/jogging top and bottoms for outdoor games.  Year 1 and Year 2 should come dressed in their jogging bottoms ready to do PE every Wednesday for creative Curriculum.

Swimming lessons take place every Friday, so please make sure pupils come in with a swimming costume and towel. Year 4 will be the first class to go swimming and they will swim every Friday morning from September until February half term. We have also organised an extra Friday afternoon session of swimming for pupils from other year groups in KS2 who need booster lessons (letters will be sent home).

Please do not park over the drives of our neighbours and please do not stop on the yellow ziz-zags as by doing this you are putting our pupils at risk and breaking the law. Also, please do not use inappropriate language in school and smoking is not allowed anywhere on the school premises or near the front of the school.

To cut down on queuing times at the office, please buy uniform on Tuesday - Friday afternoons only.

Payments for trips, school dinners, Cabin and Breakfast Club can now be made electronically but if you would still like to pay via the office, it would help if all payments are made in a named envelope with the correct amount.

‘Read with me’ sessions are starting next week in the library. This is an opportunity for parents /carers to come into the library to read with their child from 8:50am to 9:10am.

We would like to reassure parents that children without a family member will be supported by a member of staff and we have now added an after-school session every Thursday which is open to pupils from all year groups and their parents/carers who cannot make the morning session. This session is also for older pupils and their parents/carers who miss ‘Read with Me’. Any family member is welcome and younger siblings, though we do have to emphasise the time in the library is for reading/ book sharing with the pupils, it is not a play session!

Parent Teachers Association (PTA) We have an active PTA which meets on a regular basis.  We are always pleased to see new members, so please come and join us on Wednesday 5th October at 6pm for our AGM and welcome meeting. If you have any fundraising ideas for the PTA or would like to volunteer please contact Mrs Church through the school office.