Dear Families,
We understand that Scarlet Fever is circulating in the community. Please read this important information.
Important Information on School Meals
Pupils in Pembrokeshire are to receive £11 credit on their dinner money accounts as part of Pembrokeshire County Council’s cost of living support scheme. The £11 credit will be given to junior pupils in primary schools* and all secondary school pupils to spend on school meals.
It will be available to use until the end of the 2023 summer term. The one-off credit will be automatically be added directly to pupils’ dinner money accounts on Monday 12th December.
Parents have the option to opt out, if they wish, by emailing cashless.catering@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
*Excludes junior pupils in receipt of free school meals.
Junior pupils who have free school meals won’t receive the extra £11 on their accounts (as there are no extra items for purchase in junior school canteens) but secondary school pupils who have free school meals will receive the extra £11 on their accounts as they can spend the extra money in the cafeteria.
Thank You Mr. Rees
It is with great sadness that we must report that Mr. Rees will be leaving Johnston School at the end of the Autumn term.
Mr. Rees joined Johnston School in 2018 and quickly became a valued member of staff in our Learning Resource Class for Key Stage Two pupils. Mr. Rees has always created a warm, kind and inclusive atmosphere in his classroom and many children have benefited from the support and guidance which he has been able to offer. Many children, who had struggled in other settings, have achieved a great deal at Johnston thanks to the help of Mr. Rees.
As an LRC teacher, Mr. Rees has developed a reputation as an excellent practitioner throughout the county, working closely with Mrs. Wood to continually improve the provision in the classroom. Welly Wednesdays, bucket times, are only a few of the ideas which Mr. Rees has enjoyed leading.
Mr. Rees has also contributed a great deal to the school in other areas. He has shared his love of the Welsh Language and singing as well as running sports clubs and sharing his enjoyment of Cricket. Mr. Rees has supported residentials and provided guidance for school plays and other events.
We would all like to wish Mr. Rees the best for the future and we hope that he will come back and visit us regularly!
L.R.C. Staff Arrangements
In January, Mr. Colville and Mrs. Gibbens will be sharing responsibility for the teaching of our LRC Two Class. Mr. Colville is an experienced teacher and has taught in the LRC for a number of years. Mr. Colville has a passion for sport and the outdoors and he is looking forward to sharing this with pupils.
Mrs. Gibbens is also an experienced LRC teacher and most recently has been working in LRC One, at Johnston C.P. School. Mrs. Gibbens is looking forwards to using pupils interests to drive learning and supporting pupils to make excellent progress across the curriculum.
On Tuesday 13th December, we are going to hold a coffee morning in class so that parents have a chance to meet Mr. Colville and Mrs. Gibbens and ask any questions which they may have.
Summary of Christmas Events
- Wednesday, December 7th Christmas Dinner Day. Pupils are welcome to wear a Christmas Jumper.
- Monday, December 12th Christmas Bingo.
- Thursday, December 15th Early Years Christmas Concert - 14:30-15:30.
- Friday, December 16th Early Years Party and LRC1 - Please could children bring in their own small plate of food to eat at the party.
- Friday, December 16th - Raffle will be drawn live at 13:30 (a link will be posted on Seesaw).
- Monday, 19th December - School Museum Opens (More information to follow).
- Tuesday, 20th December - Christingle Concert. 17:00-17:45 and 18:15-19:00.
- Tuesday, 20th December - Year One and Year Two Christmas Parties. Please could children bring in their own small plate of food to eat at the party.
- Wednesday, 21st December - Year Three, Four and LRC 2 Christmas Party. Please could children bring in their own small plate of food to eat at the party.
- Thursday, 22nd December - Year Five and Six Christmas Party. Please could children bring in their own small plate of food to eat at the party.
- Thursday, 22nd December - Rev. Marcus will be holding a Christmas Service for all pupils. Last day of term.
- Friday, 23rd December - School closed for an Inset Day.
Bingo on Monday!
Attendance
Now we have settled into school and routines are re-established, a few reminders about attendance and punctuality.
Our approach with attendance:
Our school target is for all pupils to have an attendance of 97% or above. Although illness does happen, wherever possible children should be in school if they are well enough to attend. Any non illness or medical absences will be unauthorised, other than in exceptional circumstances.
Days missed quickly build up and have a real impact on learning. What absence means in real terms:
- 90% attendance = 1 day missed a fortnight = almost 4 weeks missed in a year
- 80% attendance = 1 day missed a week = almost 8 weeks missed in a year
Interesting (and shocking) facts:
- A child with 90% attendance throughout their school life will have missed the equivalent of more than a year's worth of school lessons.
- Only 35% pupils who have less than 90% attendance achieve five or more good GCSEs, but
- 73% of pupils who have an attendance of 95% or more will achieve this.
In recent weeks our whole school attendance has dropped to 93.21% placing us 16th out of 54 primary schools in Pembrokeshire. Please could everyone support us as much as possible to improve this figure.
New Lunch Menu
Information from Welsh Water
Ymadrodd y Bythefnos
Sawl ..... sy' yma?
How many ... are there?
Sawl rwler sy' yma?
Mae tri rwler yma. There are three rulers here.
Bonjour!
- The Christmas Story
- L’histoire de Noël
Friday Afternoon Provision
Friday afternoon provision will be back up and running from the first week of term.
Please register so that we are able to provide appropriate staffing levels.