There may only a few weeks left in this academic year, but there is so much to fit in. Year 6 will begin their Boyz noyz / Songbirds songs next week in preparation for their leavers festival. We are hoping that they will be able to visit St Mary's for a leavers service and have many other exciting activities planned to mark the end of their time at KSM.
In the rest of the school, children are working really well both in the classroom and outside. Staff have also been working hard on our new exciting curriculum. In the coming weeks we will be giving you sneak peeks at the changes. It truly is a curriculum for Knutton - Rooted in the community and reaching out to the world.
Effort of the week
EYFS - Dakota C.
Robins - Year 1 - Skylar B.
Kingfishers - Year 2 - Mickey H.
Nightingale - Year 3 - Harvey H.
Windsor - Year 4 - All Windsor class.
Brunel - Year 5 -Wyatt T.
Darwin - Year 6 - Jensen G.
Well done everyone, you are demonstrating our school motto ' Together we succeed and shine…" and exemplify our vision, “We shine like bright stars in the sky” Philippians 2:15" you are all role models for the rest of the school and community.
TT Rock Stars
Don't forget, there are only a few weeks left. Please encourage your child to play at home. It is fun and knowing times tables helps with maths at school.
Please encourage your children in Years 2-6 to keep practicing and help us to win our upcoming competitions against Kingsland, St Saviour’s, St Michael’s and Hungerford.
Knutton Community Library
The library is open for click and collect between 10am and 2pm every Saturday. Books can be ordered via BorrowBox (www.borrowbox.com) and collected from the library.
"Through the App., you can download audio books and e-books. Just like the Library you can browse, order, and acquire any book of your choice. I have used this facility for nearly two years now and found it very easy and convenient to use especially during lockdown when access to the Library was curtailed. I would highly recommend the use of this free service to anyone." - John Pollock, Library Volunteer
Lateral flow home test kits are now available for collection from Knutton Community library. Simply drop in between 10am and 2pm and ring the bell. Two boxes may be collected per person.
The library now has it's own facebook page. Click on the link below for library updates and information.
Social media
A reminder of the age restrictions on certain social media and apps. Please be alert to what your children are engaging in online.
Your school needs you!
Please consider joining our Local Governing Committee. Parent governors play a vital role on governing bodies, holding the unique position of having a parental viewpoint of the school. The role involves three meetings per year.
EYFS update
New starter packs have gone out to all new Nursery and Reception children. If you have a child born in 2019 or 2020 please let us know and we will add them to our waiting list.
We at KSM believe that the secure foundations provided by a high quality Early years learning environment, curriculum and staff ensure that all children have the best start to their education.
Attendance
Daily attendance is vital to your child's wellbeing, in maintaining friendships and achieving potential. Unless too poorly to attend, children need to be in school, on time every day. Well done to everyone who has been in school every day that they could this week. Keep up the good work.
Sleep affects how we function during the day, and for kids, it can be a factor in how well they participate and perform at school, as well as having an impact on behaviour.
The Alice pantry
We have large stocks of food, hygiene and personal products in our Alice pantry. If you need a little help, please do let us know and we will do all that we can to support your family.
Leavers hoodies
Orders for year 6 leavers hoodies have now closed. We have been informed by Smart uniform that they have been sent for printing and will be notified when they are ready for collection.
Nursery Admissions
Nursery intake packs have gone out this week. If you have not received one for your child who is 3 between 1/9/2020 and 31/8/2021, please contact the academy office. If you have a child who is 3 before 31/8/2022. Please let us know and they will be placed on the waiting list for next year.
As a school nursery, we are able to offer an early year’s curriculum which fully prepares our children for their Reception year, from Summer 2021 our nursery provision is full time. We are very excited about this change and hope that it will support families and children. The children already doing full days have settled into the new routine well and are really enjoying their days, parental feedback has been very positive too.
Phonics and early reading
At KSM we use the RWinc phonics programme to teach early reading. We have added a wide range of videos to our web page to help you to help your child with their phonics and early reading. By working together, we can support our children to learn to read, write and spell whilst fostering a love of reading and writing.
Teaching reading using phonics is probably very different to how you learned to read and can be confusing. Each week we will add another video to support you to help your child to learn. This weeks video explains how we blend the sounds to read words and 'Fred talk' to spell. If you would like some sound cards to use at home, please ask your child's class teacher.
Star Reader
This week's star readers, who have read and logged their reading consistently this week are:
EYFS - Frankie
Year 1 - Jensen H.
Year 2 - Holly P.
Year 3 - Keira
Year 4 - Coley B-P.
Year 5 - Summer K.
Year 6 - Cassie
Each child will be bringing home a special book to enjoy and keep.
Uniform
A reminder that children should be wearing full school uniform and PE kit on their designated PE days. If you are struggling to buy new uniform, please let us know, we will help if we can. Uniform requirements can be found on the academy website.
Black school shoes or plain black trainers are compulsory uniform items.
Please ensure that t-shirts are appropriate for school - crop tops may not be worn.
Wider symptoms of Coronavirus
You will know that the three main symptoms of COVID-19 are a high temperature, a persistent cough or a loss of smell or taste. If anyone in your family or support bubble experience any of these symptoms you must all self- isolate straight away. They must get tested with a PCR test not a lateral flow test. This can be booked on https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or ring 119.
However, it has become apparent that this virus can present in all kinds of ways and there is now a wider set of symptoms which some people have also been testing positive with.
Some of the wider symptoms include:
• Diarrhoea or tummy ache
• Congestion or runny nose
• Headache
• Fever or feeling shivery
• Muscle or body aches
• Sore throat
• Rash
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue/ extreme tiredness
• Nausea or vomiting
There is no need to be overly anxious if your child does get one of the wider symptoms – it is far more likely to be a normal childhood illness than Covid but we want you to check.
You should NOT bring your child to school if they are unwell but book a PCR test to be certain. Better safe than sorry!
Communication
We will continue to email and text information out to you all. Please do check our website regularly and the section home learning for links to class timetables.
Don’t forget to follow your child’s class on Twitter for regular updates about learning, activities, clubs etc.
School meals
Next week is week 3.
This week is week one of the golden ticket promotion. There are prizes on offer each week for children who find a golden sticker on their lunch.
Safeguarding and support
The welfare of our children is always our priority. If you ever feel you need to talk to anyone in school regarding safeguarding or any welfare issues we can help with, please contact the office and ask to speak to Mrs Rowlandson or Miss Middleton who are the Designated Safeguarding Leads, if they are not available please speak to Mrs Birchall who is the Deputy Designated Safeguarding lead.
Have you got a serious concern about the safety of a child or young person up to the age of 18?
Do you think a child or young person is being harmed or is at risk of being harmed?
Are you worried that a child is living in circumstances where they are treated badly and not cared for properly?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions and you don’t believe that the child or young person is being supported by an allocated worker, please contact the First Response Service immediately. (Click on the link below)
Collective worship at KSM
This week's collective worship has been based on forgiveness and the story of Jonah and the Whale.
Jonah 4:1-4
Prayer of the week
Dear God,
We sometimes find it hard to admit we have done something wrong and to say sorry
Help us to say sorry at the right time
Forgive us for those times when we don’t accept our part in something or don’t say sorry
Amen.
Church News
Click on the link below for news, services and information about St Mary's Church, Knutton.
The Elim Chuch continue to run free food Friday’ sessions, between 11am-1pm each week. People are invited to visit the Cornerstone Community Centre on Mill Street, Silverdale, to collect free food. There are no restrictions, or referrals needed, no paperwork to fill in- just go along for free food to take home. Everyone is welcome and it’s first come first served- when it’s gone, it’s gone so don’t miss out.