Dunalley Primary School eNewsletter

Welcoming you back to school - September 3rd 2024

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Welcoming you back to school - September 3rd 2024

Welcome
Dropping off your child
Morning messages for teachers
Collecting your child
Year 6 Walking Home
Home-school partnerships
REMINDER: Year 1 to 6 Family Open Mornings
Parent Pay & Edulink
Children with Dietary, Medical & Asthma Needs
Yr6 - Pittville Talk
PTFA News & Updates
Medicine and First Aid
Free Uniform
AiP Lunches

It has been an absolute pleasure to welcome everyone back to school and nursery this week. Your children are quickly adjusting to their new routines and are already learning, achieving and having fun together.

We are also delighted to welcome new families to our community. We look forward to getting to know you all in the coming weeks and sharing Dunalley life with you.

Dropping off your child

The main entrance

This is the drop off point for children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 (and their older siblings).

To make the morning drop off smoother for our younger children, from Monday, we ask that all families who drop children at the main entrance at 8.40am follow the one-way system shown below.

This will make the entrance less chaotic for the children and aid a steady flow of families on and off site. Please note that our new Reception children will also be using this entrance at this time next week - it will be busier.

Please try to say goodbye to your child(ren) as you walk through the EYFS field towards the entrance and make sure that they are carrying their belongings. We hope that this will mean that the flow of families doesn't need to stop at the drop off point.

Staff will open the double doors at 8.40am.

The main field gate

This is the drop off point for children in years 3, 4, 5 and 6.

We are pleased that the council have widened the pavement outside the main field gate. Whilst this aids congestion slightly, it is still important that children do not arrive at school too early so that they do not block the pavement or risk stepping into the road.

A member of staff will open this gate just before 8.45am so that the children have time to walk to their classroom for registration at 8.50am.

The 8am drop off for children attending Earlies and Early Birds

Please continue to enter the site via the main pedestrian gate.

Children attending Earlies (our wraparound childcare provision) will be welcomed through the main reception area.

Children attending Early Birds (our before school booster sessions) will be registered via the double doors to the left of reception.

Please do not use the staff car park as a short cut at any time - it is not safe.

Morning messages for teachers

If you have messages for the teachers in the morning, please write them a note. You can either give this to your child to give to the teacher when they get to their classroom, or hand it to a member of staff at the entrance.

Please remember that teachers are not able to see you at this time as they are busy welcoming children into their classrooms and getting ready for the day ahead. The staff who are supervising that entrances are always happy to pass on last minute messages that you haven’t been able to jot down.

Collecting your child

Children in Reception, year 1 and year 2 need to be collected via the central playground at 3.10pm.

Children in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 finish school at 3.15pm.

Staff are only allowed to dismiss children to adults who have the appropriate consent.

This means that it is very important that you let the teacher know, via a morning note, if someone else is collecting your child on a particular day, e.g. for a play date. This means that that your child can be dismissed straight into their care at home time.

If there is a last-minute change to your pick up plan, you can phone the main office and staff will update class teachers at the earliest opportunity.

Please be aware that staff will not dismiss children to adults that they are not expecting and that contacting parents/carers to seek their permission to do so can take some time at this busy time of day.

We ask that all families leave the site as quickly as possible at the end of the school day. This enables children who are attending after school clubs and Lates to enjoy our grounds at the earliest opportunity as we need to secure the site before the children are allowed outside.

Year 6 Walking Home

With parent/carer consent children in Year 6 are allowed to leave school by themselves at 3.15pm.

Parents/Carers of these children need to decide if it is safe to allow this independence.

If you would like to give consent for your child in Year 6 to walk home alone, please complete the following form:

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/Year6WalkingHome/

Please let us know if your plan changes during the course of the year.

Home-school partnerships

Teachers are really keen to work in partnership and catch up with you when the need arises. If at all possible, teachers are happy to chat at the end of the school day when they have safely dismissed the rest of the class. Please wait until they are free to talk.

Teachers sometimes need to dash off to meetings or run clubs at the end of the day and an impromptu catch up is not always possible. If this is the case, teachers will contact you at the earliest opportunity to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet.

If you’d like to schedule a meeting with a teacher, please phone the school office or email [email protected]. Teachers are always happy to facilitate this.

Sam Ashton, our Family Support Worker, is also very happy to meet with you and/or organise a time for you to meet with teachers.

REMINDER: Year 1 to 6 Family Open Mornings

We are looking forward to welcoming parents and carers into school next week at the following times:

Year 1 and 2 families – Wednesday 11th September – 9-10am

Year 3 and 4 families – Thursday 12th September – 9-10am

Year 5 and 6 families – Friday 13th September – 9-10am

How it will work:

Please drop your child off at school at their usual time.
Class teachers will register the children as usual and then take them to the hall for their assembly.
Teachers will then welcome you into school via the main entrance and share key curriculum and practical information with you in their classrooms - there will be opportunities to ask questions.
Children will then join you in the classrooms at approximately 9.40am.

Please do not worry if you are unable to attend the meetings due to work commitments, we will post year group curriculum information and reminders on the school website as quickly as possible.

Parent Pay & Edulink

Parent Pay

Please ensure all accounts are in credit at all times. Accounts in arrears may face linked services being withdrawn. Reception and new starters will receive log in for Parent Pay during the first week. You can access all services before you have log in details to pay.

Edulink

Edulink is our chosen communicaton platform. Each parent requires their own individual account.

Please log onto Edulink One and check and update, if required, all the data relating to yourself and each of your children.

When you log in it will show your data, you then need to click on your child's name/photo to check the information we hold about them.

Please ensure all addresses, contacts and medical conditions are correct.

Children with Dietary, Medical & Asthma Needs

Children with Dietary, Medical & Asthma Needs - ONLY

We use the form at the link below to collect additional information to that which we can collect via Edulink.

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/DietaryMedicalAsthmaInfoCheckSeptember2024/

You can log onto Edulink One at any time and see the information we hold about your child(ren). Click on UPDATE INFORMATION and MEDICAL INFORMATION for details.

Children with Dietary Needs:

Please click the link above and complete Q1 to Q4.

Children with Medical Needs:

Please click the link above and complete Q1, Q2 and Q5.

Children with Asthma Needs:

Please click the link above and complete Q1, Q2 and from Q5 ensuring you fill it in with expiry date of the inhaler in school.

Please ask your child to give it to their teacher, in a clear holder first thing tomorrow.

We understand that some doctors will not prescribe a spare for school. Inhalers that are to go home each day will be kept in the child's school bag. Please highlight if this is the case on the form.

IT IS ESSENTIAL AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FAMILY TO COMPLETE THIS FORM EACH YEAR IF THEIR CHILD HAS A DIETARY, MEDICAL OR ASTHMA NEED. If you child does not have one of these needs, please do not complete the form.

Individual Healthcare Plans

If your child has an Individual Healthcare Plan, you will receive a link to complete a new form for this year.

Yr6 - Pittville Talk

Year 6 families are invited to stay in school on Monday 9th September at 3.30pm to hear about transition to Pittville School.

PTFA News & Updates

Welcome back to the new school year, we are looking forward to another exciting year with everyone at Dunalley. We have many exciting things planned and we hope you will be able to join us.

13/09/2024 - Frozen Friday

Look out for our ice cream sale after school on the field on Friday 13th September. Please bring cash.

20/09/24 PTFA Meeting

Please join us for our next PTFA meeting on Friday 20th September at 1.45pm in the school meeting room to see what we’re up to and see if you would like to get involved.

ASDA CASH REWARDS

We have signed up to Asda's Rewards who are donating to school throughout the UK. Every time you shop at Asda, you can earn money for our school. All you need to do is download the Asda rewards app, click on 'cashpots' on the toolbar and select Dunalley. We appreciate your support with this initiative which ends on 30th November.

Uniform Donations

We are planning a uniform sale this term, please donate your unwanted good quality items to the school office and we will confirm a sale date soon.

Used clothing collection

Please save your donations for our used clothing collection later this term, we will confirm a date shortly. The school will benefit from everything you are able to donate.

If you are interested to help out, please email [email protected]

Medicine and First Aid

Medicine

If your child requires medicine during the school day, please complete a Medicine Form on Edulink One. We are not able to administer medication without this.

Medicine will be administered once a day at 12.15pm in all but exceptional circumstances.

First Aid

Families of children that bump their head will receive a message via Edulink One. If the bump is of concern, parents/carers will also receive a telephone call.

Free Uniform

We have lots of unclaimed uniform items here at school, should you need anything for your child(ren) please pop along and see Sam Ashton or contact her via family[email protected].

AiP Lunches

Menu & Choosing a Lunch

Children choose their lunch option during morning registration. You can access the menu via Edulink or the school website.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

Reception, year 1 and year 2 receive Universal Free School Meals and do not need to pay for lunches.

Year 3

Families with children in year 3 are now required to pay for AiP school lunches. Your children will come home with reminder log in details for Parent Pay this week.

AiP Prices

COSTS: £2.58 per day, £12.90 per week and £69.66 for this half term. It is essential that your child's lunch account on Parent Pay is always in credit.

3 Feb	Yr6 School Beat - Internet Safety All day

5 Feb	Yr6 Robotics Workshop All day

5 Feb	Yr1 Making Rockets 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

12 Feb	3.30-6.30 Family meetings - in person All day

13 Feb	3.30-6.30 Family meetings - virtual All day

27 Feb	Yr3 Visit All day