Anlaby Acre Heads Primary School
Autumn Newsletters
Staff Changes ++ School Extensions ++ School Meals
++ Literacy
Bits & Pieces ++ European Week
++ Happy Christmas
This will be the last newsletter of 1998 and looking back it has been quite an eventful year for the school. There have been many changes, not the least of which have been the changes in the school staff. The school resources for language and those for information and communication technology have been significantly enhanced. The National Literacy Strategy has been introduced. The children have taken part in the Africa Project, football training, a Fruit Day and many other exciting activities, including the school’s first residential trip for a long time. The school received the Health Promoting School Award and much needed additional funds from the increasingly successful Friends of Acre Heads. I could go on and on, but this is supposed to be a newsletter! So let me finish this by taking the opportunity to thank the whole school community for making 1998 such a successful year. It is only through the continued dedication of the school staff and governors, the commitment of the pupils and the support of the parents and wider community that we can be successful. Thank you all on behalf of the children who benefit so much from our effective partnership.
Mrs Watson, who has worked at the school as a part-time Non-Teaching Assistant, retired at the end of November and I am sure you will join us in wishing her a happy retirement. Until Christmas Mrs Watson’s job will be covered by Mrs J.Smith, who many of you will know as a helper and as a previous Non-Teaching Assistant at the school.
From January Mrs Murray will become a full-time teacher at the school. The recent rise in pupil numbers and a reallocation of various funds has enabled the school to do this. Effectively this means that there will be two year 3 classes and one year 4 class in the afternoons as well as the mornings from January. This significantly reduces the numbers in those classes in the afternoons, which up until now have been very large.
The school was recently mentioned in an article in the Hull Daily Mail about extensions to schools. Anlaby Acre Heads is on the Council’s list of school which would benefit from having larger classrooms and/or extra classrooms. Bids for funding to extend classrooms and also for new classrooms to replace the mobiles will be made in the next year or so. I shall let you know the results.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
From 1st January 1999 the contract for providing school meals will be taken up by a different company. Following research across the County the new company will be making two changes. Firstly, the size of portions will be changed so that both infants and juniors have the same sized portion, which will be the junior portion. Secondly, due to the change in portion size the cost of a school meal will be £1.10 for all children.
Please remember that it is essential that all money and a note are sent to school on Monday if your child is staying at school for a cooked dinner or a packed lunch at any time during the week.
I was recently very pleased to receive a cheque from the Friends of Acre Heads (and Santa Claus) for £2000 towards new books for the school. This money will help us to continue to provide high quality reading materials for the pupils and will supplement our recent spending on new reading books and books to support the National Literacy Strategy. Many thanks to all of you who have supported the events which the Friends of Acre Heads have organised.
The school’s introduction of the National Literacy Strategy continues to go well, with favourable comments from staff, pupils and parents. The Strategy is being phased in and so there are still resources to buy, teaching strategies to use and issues to be resolved, but in general it appears to be having a positive effect on the pupils’ skills in the use of language.
The Friends of Acre Heads have been collecting stamps over the last year or so and are continuing to do so. Please help with this collection by sending any stamps (from posted Christmas cards) to school to go into the collection box in the school’s entrance.
We are organising a second trip to Sutherland Lodge Outdoor Pursuits Centre next March. The original intention of these trips was that they would be for Year 6 pupils, so each year it will be Year 6 pupils who will be offered places first. Sometimes there may be places available for Year 5 pupils. This year places are open firstly for Year 6 pupils who did not go last year. If the places are not filled by those Year 6 pupils, additional places will be taken by other Year 6 pupils then offered to Year 5.
Places are available for Year 3 pupils to take part in weekly violin tuition at the school. If you are interested in your child learning how to play the violin please let me know.
|
Next March we will be having a European week at school. Classes will be finding out about the following countries in particular. France If you have anything (brochures, guide books, souvenirs, music etc.) which you feel may be useful to us and you are happy to lend these to the school we would be very grateful to receive anything which will help with this special project. |
 |
 |
Happy Christmas The Christmas edition of Headlines is now on sale. It is only £1, comes with a special free gift and is full of wonderful work and ideas from the children and in this case from many parents as well. Thank you very much to all those parents who worked alongside their children to produce items for the magazine. I have recently given the school web site a Christmas facelift and if you have access to the World Wide Web it is well worth a visit. If you do visit, please remember to sign the guest book – which has already been signed by people from all over the country and from other parts of the world. The address is www.acreheads.co.uk Many thanks to all of you who helped make or provided the wonderful costumes for the children’s Christmas performances. The children return to school on Wednesday January 6th 1999. |
HOME ++ NEWSLETTERS INDEX