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Floreat Montague Park School Newsletter – Friday 30th November 2018

FMP NEWS

Windsor Castle

Gandhi and Curie classes have expanded their knowledge by visiting Windsor Castle this week.

On Monday, Gandhi class knew that the Queen was present as the Royal Flag was flying. On

Tuesday, Curie class witnessed the Changing of the Guard. The children were excited to meet

pupils from Floreat Wandsworth and they showed great kindness and friendship.

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Nursery – Little Street

Earhart Class thoroughly enjoyed their trip to Little Street.

They showed curiosity in learning about different professions and confidence in role-playing being

shopkeepers, hairdressers, builders and emergency responders.

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Forest School

Forest School provides an opportunity for adventure, endurance and safe risk-taking outdoors.

It therefore takes place every week whatever the weather – with the exception of thunderstorms

or high winds. Please provide appropriate clothing for your child according to the weather

conditions:

In winter, we suggest several layers to keep warm, a waterproof jacket and trousers or an all-in-one

suit, wellies, an extra pair of warm socks, a hat and gloves.

In summer, all children will need a long-sleeved cotton top and long trousers to protect them from

stings and insect bites, and a sun hat. Trainers may be worn and provide a better grip for climbing

than wellies.

Please provide clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. If you have any problems providing any

items, please speak to Mrs Smith or your child’s teacher.

The news we’ve all been waiting for! We are delighted to share the wonderful news that Mrs Harper-Cole has given birth to a baby girl. Isla Harper-Cole was born on Friday 23rd November and Mother and Baby are doing well. Mrs Harper-Cole has promised to bring Isla to meet us soon and we can’t wait to welcome her to our Floreat Montague Park family.

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School Reports, Parents’ Evenings &

Attendance We look forward to sharing an Autumn School Report with you on either Tuesday 4th or Thursday 6th December. Children are welcome, and each class will have a quiet play space available for them. On both evenings, please enter the school through the main entrance and proceed to a waiting area outside your child’s classroom ready for your scheduled meeting. Each meeting lasts 10 minutes and teachers will ensure that all parents have an equal share of their time. PUPIL ATTENDANCE: Please note that attendance percentages are graded as part of every child’s school record. This helps the Leadership Team to identify possible trends across the school and address them accordingly. Cases of lateness and unauthorised absences will form part of your child’s school record. At the end of each term a School Report will be presented to parents with an ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’ or ‘Requires Improvement’ mark relating to their attendance record. The following criteria are used:

97% and above, with no record of ‘lates’: Outstanding

97% and above, with a record of ‘lates’: Good

95-97%: Good

Less than 95% and/or a record of unauthorised absences: Requires Improvement

Well done to Mandela class who have achieved

over 98% attendance so far this academic year.

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EARHART DA VINCI OWENS GANDHI CURIE MANDELA

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Welcome to our New Staff

Mrs Neetu Sharma – Teaching Assistant

Mrs Sharma joins us from Earley St Peter’s CE Primary School,

where she has worked for the last two years. Mrs Sharma has a

Masters Degree and a natural talent for teaching and pastoral care.

Mrs U Kopparthi – School Meals Supervisory Assistant

Mrs Kopparthi has joined our lunchtime team after having helped out

at Forest School as one of our parent volunteers over the past year.

Mr J Nice – Teaching Assistant

Mr Nice has 5 years’ sports coaching experience with a variety of age

groups. He will be applying his teaching skills in the classroom and also

leading playground sports and after school clubs.

Miss L Lester – Kitchen Assistant

Miss Lester has joined our dedicated catering team to help provide

delicious healthy lunches for the children.

Pantomime Time!

On Friday 21 December 2018, Hobgoblin Theatre Company will be performing a Christmas pantomime:

The Greatest Fairy Tale Ever Told

All of the children will attend together. Morning Nursery children will be able to swap their session to the afternoon so that they don’t miss out - please let the office know if you want to swap your session. We

would appreciate if you would contribute to the cost of this performance, please pay £3.00 via Parentpay by Monday 17th December 2018

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Before and After School

Thank you to all parents for helping us establish a calm start and end to the school day – we could not have achieved this without your support! A quick reminder that all pupils come under the full care of parents and carers when they are on the playground before 8:30am and after

school finishes at 3:30pm. Please also keep siblings and non-Floreat pupils next to you at all times. Children should not use the climbing frame before school as we are unable to supervise the

numbers of pupils on there at any time. We also ask that children refrain from riding bikes and scooters until they are outside the school gates. Thank you for your co-operation and support

to keep all members of our community safe.

Reporting Your Child Absent from School

When reporting your child absent from school, please contact the school office directly or leave a voicemail (Option 1 when calling the main number) by 8:30am.

When speaking to a member of the office team or leaving a voicemail, the reason for absence must be made clear. If you state ‘unwell’, the office team will not authorise the absence until a

reason is provided, in line with school policy.

Milk Reminder

Milk is FREE for all pupils under 5. Should you wish your child to continue to receive milk at school after their 5th birthday, please visit www.coolmilk.co.uk where you can register and pay. Please be advised that Coolmilk will give you a start date and your child will not receive milk on the day of registration. Coolmilk is kept in fridges in school at all times and always drank within date.

Lost Property

We have listened to parents’ concerns regarding the reclaiming of lost property. The majority of uniform will find its way back to the right coat peg if it is named. For items that are not

named, we now have two large plastic boxes located by the Year 1 exit. We hope that this helps with finding lost uniform – please give us feedback to serve the children in the best way possible.

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Safeguarding

Mr Venables, our Chair of Governors, writes: “In my role as Safeguarding governor, I visited the school last week to complete the termly safeguarding audit. In fact, the school’s safeguarding systems and procedures have been audited by both the NSPCC and another consultant in recent weeks. All have been impressed with the systems and procedures in place. Of course, we must never be complacent about this and that is why checks are made every term. I was particularly impressed to hear how the school has introduced an electronic system to record all incidents. There is a dedicated computer terminal in the staff room for this and governors are updated regularly on any incidents that have occurred (on a no names basis, of course). Staff safeguarding training is, I am pleased to say, very rigorous. I would like to thank all staff for how seriously they take safeguarding but I would highlight Ms Dean, in particular, who has done a fantastic job of collating all the required records and information relating to safer recruitment of staff, governors and volunteers. I will return next term to complete the next audit.”

Volunteers

We are full of appreciation for the many parent volunteers who assist with Forest School, trips and tasks around the school, including our extensive gardens. We are ready to welcome more parents to come in and help and we are setting up a system for regular volunteers in school. Please email the office if you would like to serve the children and staff by volunteering your

time and skills in school.

Communication

A number of parents have asked for communication systems to be improved, especially the number and type of

emails that are sent out. Senior Leaders, along with the Office Team, are therefore reviewing how the school

communicates with parents. Please help us to serve you best by answering the 2 questions below. You can email

your answers to Miss Davis at ch.davis@montaguepark.floreat.org.uk or give them to the school office:

1. What is working well in school relating to communication (newsletters, emails, face to face etc)? 2. What and how could we improve?

We will provide feedback to parents in the next newsletter regarding action to improve communication, going

forward. We very much appreciate the helpful suggestions received from parents regarding successful communication systems experienced in other settings.

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Traffic and Parking

Following on from meetings with David Wilson Homes (DWH) and parent representatives, we are pleased to share many

very positive developments in road safety around our school:

1. The footpath adjacent to the sang that is prone to flooding: DWH will investigate raising the levels to prevent

this. 2. Concerns regarding deliveries during school drop-off time and contractors parking on the road adjacent to the site

and in the school drop-off car park: DWH have advised the following –

All suppliers have been contacted reinforcing that deliveries are not to turn up during this period. All deliveries will now be turned away if they do turn up.

The school drop-off car park has now been enlarged by 6 spaces with another 6 spaces being made available from mid-December.

Signage is being erected at the site entrance highlighting delivery times. Our site labourer is still aiding in the crossing of children and their parents in the morning and afternoon.

3. A query was raised about the quality of the turf on the other side of the school entrance: DWH will commit to replacing the turf in this area. DWH will get these works instructed.

4. Suggestion that we use the land opposite the school adjacent to the bridge as our temporary contractor parking

area: DWH will need to speak to Wokingham Borough Council on this as they will be commencing construction of the bridge in the new year leading to south of the railway.

In addition to this, we have received the following email from the Chief Executive Officer of DWH:

“I would like to assure you that we are taking this issue very seriously and our Regional Managing Director will ensure that the issue is addressed and you are fully updated. If there are any other matters that arise please do not hesitate

to contact me.”

Finally, communication between school and our local MP continues and we are grateful to him for contacting Wokingham Borough Council and DWH.

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We have had a request from our neighbours asking that when parking for school drop-off and pick-up,

parents please park considerately. The spaces marked ‘V’ on the estate are for visitors and you are able

to use these. Please do not park in any numbered spaces, as these are the private property of the

residents and should be available for them to use at all times.

Activity Day and Non-Uniform Day

We had two road safety assemblies for the

children during Road Safety Week, teaching

the children the Green Cross Code and how to

cross the road safely. Ask your child to sing

our Road Safety Song for you!

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Dates for your Diary

4th December 2018 – Parents’ Evening

6th December 2018 – Parents’ Evening

8th December 2018 – PTFA Christmas Fair

10th December 2018 – Owens Class visit to Suffolk Lodge

11th December 2018 – Da Vinci Class visit to Suffolk Lodge

12th December 2018 – Nursery Christmas Performances 9:00am and 3:00pm

14th December 2018 – School Disco - details to follow from PTFA

18th December 2018 – Owens, Gandhi & Mandela Nativity

19th December 2018 – Da Vinci, Curie & Mandela Nativity

20th December 2018 – Christmas Lunch

21st December 2018 – Activity Day – Hobgoblin Pantomime Show

21st December 2018 – Last Day of Term

23rd December 2018 – Christ Church Nativity in the school car park 3:00pm

7th January 2019 – Inset Day

8th January 2019 – Start of Spring Term