It was lovely to welcome our families into school this week. The teachers valued the opportunity to share important updates and reminders whilst getting to know you.  Please don't worry if you were unable to attend due to work commitments, we will send you all links to the information that was shared.

Year 1 & Year 2

Year 3 & 4

Year 5 & 6

Mrs Godfrey is planning to host a series of parent/carer events this year which will give families the opportunity to get together to discuss how we can help our children to flourish in the complex world they are growing up in. 

This term the starting point for discussion will be a book published earlier this year by Jonathan Haidt - The Anxious Generation - How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

The book has been described as 'a crucial read for parents of children of elementary school age and beyond, who face the rapidly changing landscape of childhood. Haidt lays out problems but also solutions for making a better digital life with kids', (Emily Oster, Author of Expecting Better).

We strongly encourage all parents/carers to read this book and have therefore bought some copies which will initially circulate amongst families with children in years 5 and 6. You may also wish to gain an insight into the work of Jonathan Haidt by accessing his website and article linked below.

Please fill in the survey below if you would like to come along to a parent/carer event which considers the findings of research on this theme and explores how we can best help our children to thrive.  

We would like to provide an informal opportunity for our community to get together and support one another. The survey therefore invites you to indicate whether you would prefer to join us for coffee and cake during the school day, or cheese and wine during an evening event.

As soon as we have gauged interest and preferences, we will get back to you with times and dates.

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

We would like to remind our families that we run a Dunalley Pantry at school.

Our Pantry has been set up to help families who are struggling with the cost of living - we have a bank of products that are free to families in need.

Please contact Sam Ashton (our Family Support Worker) if you would like to use the pantry - she will be very happy to help.  You can catch her at the beginning of the school day, call her on 01242 512391 (select option 2), or email [email protected].

It is essential that you check the information we hold about your child(ren) annually and update us if required (parents can now see most information at any time on Edulink One).  

Please log onto Edulink One, click UPDATE INFORMATION, access your child(ren)'s personal information (it initially goes to your personal information) and scroll down to DIETARY NEEDS and MEDICAL CONDITIONS.

If your child does not have any of these needs you are not required to tick any boxes. 

If you have received a specific email about Asthma, Dietary or Medical need, please follow the instructions in full by 11 am on Monday 16th September.

We will be chasing families of children with any of these Needs until they have ticked the Parental Check 24/25 box(es) due to importance of this information being correct.

No Nuts
We would like to remind families that we have a NO NUTS policy at Dunalley Primary School and in our Nursery and Pre-school. It is very important that we follow this rule as we do have children in our school with severe nut allergies.

Healthy Snacks
Reception and KS1 children receive free fruit at for break time and we like to encourage all children in KS2 – years 3-6 - to follow the same healthy eating habits during their breaks too. Please encourage your child to bring any of the following for break times: 

• Cubes of cheese 

• Fruit or veg 

• Mini box or tub of plain dried fruit 

• Savoury rice cakes or bread stick 

If these can be placed in a re-usable, plastic box (named) then we can also do our bit for the planet. By not having items in wrappers or plastic bags we can minimise litter and prevent hazards for wildlife and Pippin our school dog who will try to eat wrappers and cling film if it is on the floor! 

Now that the weather is changing and autumn is certainly heading this way, please ensure that your children bring warm, waterproof coats and wellington boots into school everyday (the welllies can stay here). 

We have seen some children with their green fleece but no water proof coat, and as the weather is unpredictable they get wet.

Having wellies enables all children to access our lunchtime facilities too - the puddles are very tempting.  

We would like to invite all of our families to join us for an OPAL Stay & Play on Saturday 5th October from 10am - 12pm.

We hope that you can join us for some wholesome family fun in our fabulous grounds.

In April 2023 we were awarded the prestigious PLATINUM Award for OPAL - the highest award possible.

Our Outdoor Play & Learning (OPAL) initiative is absolutely outstanding. We are very proud to be an OPAL school, offering fabulous opportunities for all of our children.

We will be going for another award in April 2025 and would ask for your continued support at this time - we'd love your help increasing our supply of lose parts.

Donations

If you are thinking of having a pre-Christmas sort out please keep OPAL in mind for the usual donations:

• Dolls prams/pushchairs 
• Tennis balls/basketballs
• Chalks
• Large cars
• Buckets and spades 
• Beach & water toys
• Small play items - dolls, dinosaurs, cars etc.
• Old musical instruments
• Drainpipes
• Suitcases
• Planks of wood (suitable for making little bridges)
• Clipboards
• Binoculars
• Buckets or trugs

We have a black box outside our School Office for donations. You can also bring them into school for the attention of Sara Byrne (School Business Manager).

Please ensure that ParentPay accounts for Earlies or Lates are in credit.

As per our policies, attendance will not be allowed at Earlies or Lates if your account is in arrears. This is because we have activities and staffing costs to pay which cannot come out of the school budget. 

Accounts will be checked daily to ensure families using the facility are in credit in order to access their next booked session. 

Thank you very much for your understanding.