27 September 2019

Dear Parents                                                                                  

On Wednesday we welcomed back our Year 6 children from Alton Castle. Again all the staff were highly complimentary of the children’s reverence, manners, behaviour and enthusiasm. Well done Year 6! They had enjoyed a wonderful few days which I am sure you will enjoy seeing and hearing about in next week's newsletter when the children have completed their follow up work. As Miss Hill says ’Year 6 had a wonderful time during our retreat at Alton Castle. All the children were extremely polite, well behaved and enthusiastic. They enjoyed all of the activities and made lots of new friends with children from Our Lady of Fatima. This was an important first step on their journey to Confirmation as the mediations, prayers and hymns deepened the children’s faith. It was fantastic to see the children grow in confidence and in their faith during our time at Alton Castle’. Well done Year 6!

A reminder that at 6.30pm this Wednesday October 2 we will be holding a Year 6 Information evening at school. At this meeting Miss Hill will explain the aims and expectations for our Year 6 children, SATs assessment, preparation for High school, attendance etc and how through school and family we can support our children as they move onto the next stage of their lives. I am delighted to say Mr Hodgson, Principal of Hagley Catholic High School will join us for this meeting. Mr Hodgson will give a short presentation on Hagley Catholic High School and answer any questions you may have. I would encourage all Year 6 parents to attend as previous years feedback informs us that parents find the meeting extremely useful and informative.

On Thursday 3 October the PTA will be holding their Annual General Meeting at the Brinton Arms at 6.30pm. The PTA had a very successful year last year and worked very hard, but are very keen to listen to all new ideas and welcome all new parents whether they are new to the school or have just not been to PTA meetings before. For those parents who are new to the school the PTA meetings are a good way to get to know other parents and to socialise whilst supporting the school.  There is no pressure to take a leading role so please do come along – the more people who get involved the better!  On Thursday 17 October we will be holding our annual Harvest Thanksgiving in school at 9.15am – please join us if you can. As usual our harvest gifts will be sold and the proceeds donated to the Father Sunny Trust – a charity supported by both school and parish. We would be very grateful for any food items that can be donated for this on the Thursday morning. Thank you.

After the voting in of our new sports captains recently, preparations for the new sporting year began with the training of this year's 'Sports organising crew'. Mr Lindley, one of the sports partnerships' mentors, came to explain what the expectations will be from the crew this year and the responsibilities they will be given. The school sports crew events and items will be seen in future editions of the weekly newsletter.

Many congratulations to our new School Council. All of the children have voted for who they wish to represent them on the Council. It is an important lesson in developing their understanding of democracy, listening to others viewpoint and having a ‘voice’ in school matters.

Also many congratulations to Jacob Bianco in Year 2. Jacob has been in the local football team, Stourport Swifts, since he was 4 years old. Jacob has recently been scouted for Birmingham City and starts an eight week course in October. We wish him every success. Well done Jacob.

Parents Evening will be held on Tuesday 5 November  4.00-7.00pm and Wednessday 6 November 5.00 - 7.00pm. Please sign up for an appointment via the school life app.

We will be holding our ‘Open Morning’ next Saturday 5 October and all current parents and prospective parents are invited to visit, chat to staff and look around the school. There will be tea and coffee in the hall providing an opportunity for prospective parents to chat more informally with myself and other staff. Please feel free to come along and take advantage of this opportunity and encourage any friends or neighbours with school age children to come along too. As I have said before there can be a misconception that only Catholic children can apply to our school. We welcome applications from all families of all or no faith. If you know of any families who are presently applying for a school place please encourage them to attend the Open morning or contact me to arrange a visit and tour of the school. Applications for Reception Class 2020 must be completed online by 15 January 2020.

Hagley Catholic High School will be holding their annual Open Day on Saturday 12 October from 9.00am to 12.00pm. If you have a child in Key Stage 2, it is never too early to start thinking about High Schools. The vast majority of our children transfer to Hagley at the end of Year 6, so do take this opportunity to take a look at the school. Our Year 6 children have now received their High School transfer forms.  If you have any queries regarding transfer please do not hesitate to speak to us.

On Monday 14 October our school photographer will be in school to take individual photographs of every child. We will ensure photographs with siblings are also taken. We would ask that the children wear winter uniform of white shirt /blouse and tie .If you would like a photograph of your child with their baby or pre school siblings please come into the school hall at 8.30am for a group photograph.We are still awaiting the return of several data collection sheets. If you have still not checked and returned yours could you please do so by Monday, 30 September. This information is vital both from medical information but also so we can contact you in the case of an emergency. If you have mislaid yours please contact the office and Mrs Brown will provide a new copy. Thank you.As many of you will have heard on the news a little 5 year old boy in Worcester, Oscar Saxelby Lee, is suffering a rare form of Leukaemia. In order to help raise the necessary £500 000 for further treatment his Primary school have contacted all schools to ask for help. In response to this appeal , we will be holding an ‘Oscar Day’ when the children can wear their own choice of clothes on Thursday 10 October. We ask for a minimum donation of £1 but please if you can donate more please do. Many thanks in anticipation of your support. Please remember little Oscar in your prayers.A reminder that Friday 11 October is a staff INSET day and school is closed for the children. The school calendar is updated weekly, could you please check regularly for new dates, events and meetings.

If you have any queries or concerns regarding your child’s academic, social or emotional needs please do not hesitate to contact me or their class teacher. Many thanks for your continued support and we hope you enjoy your weekend.                               

KE Savage

Well done Jacob!

St Wulstan's Sports Crew

Emmaus CMAC
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