It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of Neville Robbins, a dearly loved member of our community. Neville was a member of the local governing body at Gilmorton School for over 40 years. He supported all of our school events including church services, in school worship, plays, fundraisers, celebratory and commemorative events - always singing the praises of those involved.
Neville attended the original school (on the site of what is now The Crown pub) as a pupil in the 1930s. His two boys followed in his footsteps attending the school's 'new site' and two of his grandchildren followed suit.
We are so thankful for all that Neville has done for this school and the community during his remarkable life. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time.
We are planning a fitting tribute to Neville to take place after half term.
Message from Mr Watson
I cannot describe how much of a joy it has been to have our whole school family back together this term. The challenges that we are all facing have given us opportunity to reflect upon our school vision and how this is lived out every day at Gilmorton School.
We strive for excellence in everything we do, working under God’s guidance and endeavouring to enable all to flourish, bear fruit and live well together.
Our pupils have amazed me with their resilience and adaptability as they settled quickly back into normal school life. This term has focussed upon closing gaps in learning and making sure all pupils are making fantastic academic progress whilst ensuring their well-being is a top priority. I am very proud of each of them as well as the new pupils that have joined our school.
We have recently seen a number of really important developments at school, including finalised plans for remote learning should a child or whole class have to self isolate, our first virtual parent-teacher consultation evening and the introduction of virtual celebration assemblies. 12 months ago I never would have thought this school could make so much progress with technology. I would like to publicly thank the incredible staff team at Gilmorton School for what they have done to make this first term so successful for pupils. I feel very fortunate to lead such a skilled and committed team.
Thank you for all of the lovely messages of support we have received at school. These do mean so much to our staff during these challenging times.
School Applications - Important Dates
If your child will be four years old before 1st September 2021, you will need to apply for a primary school place. The closing date for primary school place applications to the Local Education Authority for First Time Admissions is 15th January 2021. Applications can be made online at www.leicestershire.gov.uk/admissions. As Gilmorton Chandler is the admissions authority, it is also important that you complete our local governing body admission form too. Just contact our friendly office staff and they will guide you through the process.
If your child is due to transfer from primary to secondary school in September 2021, the closing date for the return of applications is 31st October 2020.
Welcome to our new Reception class
It has been an absolute pleasure to welcome our new Reception class to Gilmorton School. Due to the lockdown they had only met their new teachers on a Zoom call before they started in September but Mrs Temple, Mrs Cross and Mrs Ghent are all really pleased with how the new Reception children have all settled. It has been great to see their confidence grow and now many of them run into school with big smiles and barely a glance back at parents dropping off. Whilst in school they have shown how resilient they are, learning all of the new routines and exploring their new environment after such a disruptive time over the previous few months. Through our topic ‘Super me!’ we have enjoyed getting to know the children, learning about their families and about their homes. After half term we are looking forward to teaching the children about a range of celebrations and light and dark.
New member of the LGB
During September 2020 Wendy Thompson finished her four year term as a Parent Governor at the school. We are very grateful to Wendy for her commitment to the school and the vast amount of time and energy she invested serving on the Local Governing Body. During her term Wendy was able to share her expertise in education and in particular provision for pupils with special educational needs.
Thank you Wendy for all that you have done for the school and the difference you have made to so many pupils and their families.
I am pleased to be able to introduce Aneska Button as our new parent governor. Anneska will begin a four year term in November and support in the strategic development of the school. We particularly look forward to drawing on her insight into education and sport as we strive to deliver a world class education to our pupils.
Welcome Aneska! We look forward to working with you.
Three new foundation governors are also set to join the local governing body. Once the Diocesan Board of Education have officially approved the nominations we will be able to share more information.
Normal school lunches are coming back
We are very pleased to announce that the normal school lunch menu will be coming back after half term. Arrangements have been made for all of the children to eat their lunch in the hall with their class. The hall will then be cleaned before the next bubble of children come in to eat. Parents and carers will be able to pre-order meals for their children. Before the partial school closures in March our school lunches had become very popular with pupils. We hope as we return to a normal and more varied menu our children would again enjoy a balanced nutritious meal, expand their tastes and give them energy for an afternoon of learning.
School Lottery
The Friends of Gilmorton School (FOGS) have raised a huge amount of money for the school over the years. This funding has enabled the school to fund those extra things that makes attending Gilmorton School so special. Due to the pandemic many of the events FOGS would normally arrange have had to be cancelled. We are thinking about new and innovative ways to fund raise for the school and hope to be able to announce some plans in the near future.
The School Lottery has become an even more important source of funding for our school. Thank you to all those who are currently taken part as it really does make a difference for us. If you would like to join please click the button below.
To ensure the school remains compliant FOGS may need to be set up as a more formal PTA at some point this year. If you would like to get involved with this project please email office@gilmortonchandler.leics.sch.uk.
House Captain & Vice Captains
Pupils in year 6 were invited to stand as house captains during this half term. Candidates were asked to write and record a speech sharing their manifesto pledge and pupils in all classes were able to democratically vote for their new house leaders. The standard of competition was immense and all the pupils who took part should be very proud of themselves.
Public Google Calendar
We recognise the importance of giving parents and carers plenty of notice of event so that they can plan ahead. This can be particularly challenging in a primary school environment where everything moves at such a fast pace. To improve how we share dates with you and keep you informed about important events and activities we have set up a school public Google calendar. You should now be able to click on the link below to access the calendar and the dates automatically pull through into your online calendar.
School Banner Competition
Key Stage 2 pupils have been invited to enter a competition to design a banner to be displayed at the front of our school to encourage active travel to and from school. A large number of our pupils already walk, cycle or scoot to school and we are encouraging as many as possible to join in. We recognise due to the large catchment area that walking, cycling or scooting to school isn't an option for everyone but please consider how you might park safely away from the school and get your child active for the last part of the journey.
Congratulations to our winner Lauren whose design will now be turned into a huge vinyl banner to be displayed at our school gate.
As always we remind parents to park safely and considerately. The junction outside of the school is already challenging so please do not park on double yellow or zig zag lines.
Black History Month
We pride ourselves on being an inclusive welcoming place of learning. Black history Month is a great opportunity to educate our pupils on issues relating to equality, diversity and tolerance.
We strive for excellence in everything we do, working under God’s guidance and endeavouring to enable all to flourish, bear fruit and live well together.
Each class has been learning about a range of inspirational people to develop a better understanding of their challenges and accomplishments and how we can learn from them to live well together.
Year 3 learnt about Henry Box Brown, a 19th-century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate in 1849 to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Harvest Celebration
The school harvest celebrations continued this year albeit in a slightly different manner. Sharan Marsh, a Pioneer Minister in the Diocese of Leicester, led a harvest themed Collective Worship for Year 2 and 3. The children were encouraged to be thankful for all that they have and to consider those in the world who do not have enough.
Thank you to everybody who brought in food to donate to the local food bank. We hope it will make a real difference to the families who will benefit from it and show they are not forgotten.
Science Ambassadors
Our science ambassadors have been bringing science to life in every classroom this term. Each month these leaders they will demonstrate a simple science experiment to their class. This week they have carried out an invisible ink one using lemon juice and a lamp.
They are also running a competition - Design a poster or simple pamphlet about an endangered animal. It is free to enter and there will be a little prize for Rec/KS1 and KS2. Please put name and class on the back. Closing date is Thursday 29th Oct.
Reminders
- School photographs proofs were sent home with pupils on the 9th October and orders can only be placed online. The online cut-off date for orders to be returned to the school is 30th October 2020.
- Please do not visit the school unless you have an appointment. There is only space for one visitor at a time in the school reception area.
- The school is a nut free zone. For the safety of pupils with allergies please do not send any products to school in lunchboxes or as snacks.
- Ideally water bottles should have a sports cap so they do not leak if they are knocked over.
- Pupils must not use the adventure playground/trim trail after school. It must only be used whilst under the direct supervision of school staff.