Dear Families,

I would like to start by say hello to our new families and new staff who all joined us last week. Mrs Balmforth joins us as Keystage 1 leader, phonics lead and is teaching in year 1. Mrs Longdon, year 3 teacher and PSHE lead, Mr Darby, Year 4 teacher and PE lead, Mrs Thomas, year 5 teacher and Art/DT lead and Mrs Stanley PPA cover. I am sure you will not hesitate to make all staff and families feel welcome.

The first two weeks have flown by and the children have settled well into the school routines in different classrooms. We have been very busy reconnecting as a school. For the first time in 18 months we have been able to hold a whole class worship. This has been the first opportunity year one children have had to take part in a whole school gathering in the main hall. Slowly but surely we are embracing school life, trips and visitors with sports already starting. There is more information about this in this newsletter.

All children are looking very smart in their school uniform and are absolutely ready to learn so thankyou for your support with this. There seems to be some confusion regarding PE kit. Since the start of Covid and the change in wearing PE kit all day, we have asked Dancers to provide school logo hoodies. We are still allowing children to wear the black/blue hoodies previously purchased until families purchase a school hoodie which can be worn both inside the classroom and outside with the option for a school cardigan/jumper to be worn to prevent families from having to spend more money. If your child comes to school in the incorrect PE kit, you will receive a text message. If a breach in PE uniform continues, your child will be asked to wear school uniform and change into their PE kit before the lesson. Wearing an agreed uniform gives children a sense of belonging to their school, allowing pupils to share a common identity regardless of finance, background, culture or religion.

Our vision ‘Living Life in all its Fullness’ isn’t just about our children, staff and families, it is also about supporting the wider community to life their life in all its fullness. This sometimes means helping those that need support. School continues to support the Black Country Food Bank and we are respectfully asking you to donate unperishable items during Harvest period of Monday 4^th – 8^th October. We are very proud of the support we offer and would like to continue to support such a worthy cause.

Please ensure your child has a pair of wellies to keep in school, and as always please ensure they are clearly labelled with you child's name and class. 

We would like to wish Ruby in Year 6 all the best for the 20km walk she is participating in this Sunday to raise money for the MS Society. Good Luck Ruby! The whole school is behind you!

I appreciate there is a lot of information in this newsletter. Communication between school and parents is very important. We respectfully ask that you continue to keep these lines of communication open. Any changes to your child or family’s health or living circumstances can have an impact on their behaviour and learning in school.

Mrs Shepherd

Headteacher