Parkside Primary News Week ending: Friday 20th January 2023

____________________________

ROMANS

Year 4 time-travelled to a different part of history with a drama workshop about Ancient Rome. They explored many different aspects including the myth of Romulus and Remus; the different people of the Roman society; the different Gods of Ancient Rome; how feats of Roman engineering are still part of modern day Britain; the Roman Army and Roman Emperors.

____________________________

WORLD BOOK DAY

World Book Day will be celebrated on Thursday 2nd March. This year's theme will be 'fiction vs non-fiction'. We invite children and staff to choose their side!

If you choose fiction, come to school dressed as a character from a fictional story book or wear the colour red.

If you choose non-fiction, come to school dressed as something based on a non-fiction book or wearing the colour blue. Some ideas may be:

• A scientist
• An explorer
• An animal
• An astronaut
• A famous sportsperson

We will look across school at which genre is the most popular: will it be fiction or non-fiction?

____________________________

SPRING TERM CLUBS

Clubs will start week commencing Monday 23rd January. Parents should have received a text letting them know their child has a place.

Please note that any child who did not get a place this term is on the priority list for next term.

____________________________

PEDESTRIAN SKILLS

Well done to Year 4 who have taken part in pedestrian skills training this week with East Riding of Yorkshire Council. They have learned valuable skills to improve their personal safety.

____________________________

NEU STRIKES

The NEU have announced strike action on the 1st February, 28th February, 15th and 16th March. We are in the process of sorting out how school will be affected by the strike and will send a further communication out on Tuesday.

____________________________

PARKING

When picking up or dropping off by car, please park sensibly and safely. For the safety of everyone, please abide by any road markings and be considerate of others.

Please see the link below for rules on waiting and parking from the Highway Code.

____________________________

PARENT CONSULTATION EVENINGS

We will be holding Parent Consultation Evenings on Thursday 2nd March and Wednesday 8th March. Further details will be sent out before half term.

____________________________

TESCO VOTE NOW LIVE!

The customer vote for our project in Goole Tesco is now live! Voting continues until the end of March, so please vote for us using the blue tokens offered at checkout - if we get the most votes we could receive £1500!

Our project is titled 'Parkside Wild About Learning' as we hope to purchase wellington boots, waterproofs and equipment so that outdoor learning in our fabulous Wilderness Area can be enjoyed by the children all year round.

____________________________

ATTENDANCE

School Attendance is ‘everyone’s business’

Attendance Policy

Following the release of the Department of Education’s attendance guidance for all schools we have developed a Parkside Primary School Attendance Policy. Please click the button below ti view:

Regular attendance at school is vital to help children achieve and get the best possible start in life and here at Parkside Primary School we continue to place huge importance on attendance and punctuality. We recognise that children who frequently miss school often fall behind. We believe there is a strong link between achieving well in school and achieving good results.

We wish to work in partnership with parents and carers and so are seeking your full support in ensuring your child attends the school every day and on time.

What an absence means for your child?

If a child is consistent at gaining 90% attendance it sounds pretty good but what does it mean?

90% attendance a year means they are missing the equivalent of:

• ½ day of school missed every week
• 4 weeks of school missed a year or
• 1 whole year over the child’s school life

Research by the DfE suggests that a child absent from school for 17 days each academic year equals a whole GCSE grade drop in achievement.

What is the impact?

At primary school level, where pupils missing up to 14 days of school in key stage two are a quarter less likely to achieve level five or above in reading, writing or maths tests than those with no absence.

So, 90% is not as good as it first seemed.

Punctuality

It is essential that pupils form good habits of punctual attendance at school from the earliest age. Children who arrive late at school often:

• Miss vital parts of the lesson
• Disrupt the class when the lesson is underway
• Find it acutely embarrassing entering a class once the lesson has started

Please help your child reach their maximum potential by ensuring they are at school on time every day. If your child is ill, please contact the school the first morning of absence. Medical evidence will be requested for any absence due to illness five days or more. If your child needs time off to attend a medical appointment, where possible try to arrange these outside of school hours. Absences for other reasons will only be authorised where parents can show the Headteacher exceptional circumstances exist.

Rewards and incentives

As part of the Parkside Primary School attendance policy, we will be launching some of our new attendance initiatives including awarding extra play time to the classes with the highest overall attendance that week. This will be on a Friday afternoon and will coincide with afternoon break/mile. The class with the overall highest attendance will be awarded an extra 15 minutes, 2nd - 10 minutes and 3rd - 5 minutes.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding attendance please do not hesitate to contact Miss Curley, our Safeguarding and Attendance officer.

____________________________

TIMES TABLES ROCKSTARS

It's fantastic that many pupils are using Times Tables Rockstars at home. However, your child may be playing on a very out-of-date version.

It's important that they use the latest versions of the app and and website to ensure they receive the most secure, feature-rich and enjoyable experience of Times Tables Rock Stars. Some of the versions are so far behind that they're missing out on key updates.

If using the website at home, please visit play.ttrockstars.com/reset to load the latest version in your device's browser. Otherwise please update the Times Tables Rock Stars app from the app store.

____________________________

YEAR 2 OPEN AFTERNOON CHANGE OF DATE

Please note that the Year 2 Open Afternoon is moving from 1st February to Wednesday 8th February.

____________________________

DAILY MILE

We have had a look at how the Daily Mile can be made more engaging for the children. Each day the activities will vary, for example running/walking to music, dribbling with a hockey stick or shooting a basket as they pass. We hope this will add more fun and excitement to this valuable activity which improves the physical and mental health of children.