Johnston Community School Friday, 1st April

Mobile 'Phones

As a school, we aim to support pupils in as many ways as possible. For this reason, we have decided to provide advice and support around pupils' use of mobile 'phones. In recent years, this area has become an increasingly hard landscape for parents to navigate.

Are 'phones good for my child?

There have been numerous incidents in local schools linked to mobile 'phone usage, Whatsapp and other social media platforms. Mobile 'phones intensify bullying, bombard children with adverts and encourage children to compare themselves to others. As well as this, a modern mobile 'phone is designed to distract and they often work to shorten our attention spans. At a time when we are aiming to support pupils to develop their learning skills, this is not supportive.

The legal age for social media is 13, therefore, no pupils should be using these platforms. The legal age for WhatsApp is 16.

Most adults would understand that we wouldn't give a child car keys and allow them to drive, as, whilst some might manage to move the car in the drive way, and, they might even get quiet good at starting the engine, they are very likely to injure themselves or others. This is a useful analogy when we are thinking of a modern smart 'phone - the consequences of pupils accessing inappropriate material or making an inappropriate post online can have repercussions for pupils' life chances. Employers look at social media.

Furthermore, it is important to note that the internet on a modern smart 'phone allows pupils to access almost anything which they might search. We know that mobile 'phones are detrimental to child development and do not support children to develop into happy, confident individuals. As a school , we are promoting an understanding that children in primary school do not need mobile 'phones. As adults, it is our duty to protect children from danger and upsetting information. Therefore, we have taken the following steps as a school:

• If it is absolutely essential that pupils bring a mobile 'phone to school, the 'phone must be left in the bottom of the pupil's bag. We can not accept any responsibility for broken 'phones.
• Pupils must not access or use their 'phones whilst on the school site. This includes when walking through the car park. We have had several issues where pupils have been looking at 'phones and stepped out in front of a car.

If parents feel that it is absoloutely essential that pupils use a mobile telephone, we are promoting brick 'phones which are not internet enabled. These 'phones allow pupils to call parents for safety reasons, but they do not allow them to use the internet.

Here is an example:

New Lunch Menu

Tennis Opportunity

Easter Menu - Wednesday, 6th April

Dates Reminder:

The period between now and the Summer holidays is often very busy in school. So that we are able to provide as much notice as possible, we will publish a reminder of key dates each week. The newsletter is added to our school website each week so that parents are able to revisit information.

1. Easter Holidays Begin - 11th April.
2. School Inset Day - 25th April.
3. Pupil return for the Summer Term - 26th April.
4. Y6 Pwllcrochan trip - 26th May
5. URDD Football Tournament - 26th April.
6. School Open Day (Schools as far away as Cardiff visiting Johnston) - 10th May.
7. Y6 Darwin trip - 28th April
8. P.C. Thomas visiting classes as part of our curriculum work- 19th May
9. Break up for half term - 27th May
10. Pupils return to school - 6th June
11. Year Five visit Llangrannog - 20th June - been cancelled
12. Year Three go surfing - 28th June
13. Year Four go surfing - 29th June
14. Year Six visit Bala - July 4th
15. Last day of school - 14th July
16. Dates for Sports' Day and school performances will be added soon!

Competition Time!

Friday Afternoon - Booking Form

• No need to re-book if you have already booked in for the half term.

Welsh Phrase of the Fortnight