Fairway Primary School

12th September 08

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back to a new school year. I hope you all had a very good summer holiday. A special welcome to all of the new Nursery and Reception Class parents/carers. I am confident that your children will enjoy their time with us and settle in quickly at Fairway.

THE NEW FAIRWAY IS COMING!
As you are probably aware, Fairway Primary School and Children’s Centre (and Northway School) are being rebuilt. We (a parent governor and myself) went to our first rebuild meeting on Tuesday and over the next six weeks I will be out at a lot of these meetings. It is a very, very exciting time for Fairway. We want to involve all stakeholders in this process so we will be asking the children and you about what you would like to see at the new Fairway. I will keep you updated on developments but at present they (Kier Building Group) plan to start the rebuild in September 09 which is only a year away! If you already have some ideas just drop me a note, all ideas will be brought to the attention of the planning team.

Pirates’ Day Friday 19th September
Ahoy thar me harties! It is National Pirates’ Day next Friday so we are going to have a really exciting day. We will be finding treasure, singing shanties, making telescopes and lots of other great stuff. Children can come dressed as pirates (parents/carers you can get dressed up too!) to set the scene.

Birthday Lunch Bunch
The “Special Birthday Lunch” gives your child the opportunity to celebrate their birthday with their friends. Children will still have their normal school dinner/ packed lunch but we will make it extra special for your child and their guests. We will reserve a special table for the “dinner party” where your child plus five of their friends will sit.
To book your child’s “Special Birthday Lunch” please complete a form (available in the entrance area) and hand it in to the school office at least 2 weeks before the lunch. This will be on a first come first served basis (only 1 party per day) so book early to avoid disappointment.
Emergency Contact Sheet Yr 1 – Yr 6
Parents/carers in all classes, with the exception of Nursery and Reception will have received a new (yellow) contact sheet. Please fill this in as soon as possible and return it no later than Friday 19th September. Note that the emergency contacts numbered 1, 2 and 3 are in addition to the parent/carer information. We will always ring the parent/carer first, then use the other contacts if necessary. Also, please ensure that dietary restrictions are included in the medical conditions section even though it may be for religious or other non medical reasons. This is vital information for us and 100% return is necessary. If you do not receive a form, please come to the office to collect one as soon as possible. It is important that we have the two other names on the contact form filled in so that, if for any reason we cannot contact you in an emergency, we have other people we can try.

Collecting and Delivering Children
Please remember always to let staff know who is going to collect your child. Nursery to Yr 2 children are only allowed to be collected by the people you have informed us about.
Dinner Money
Once again, please ensure that Dinner Money is paid every Monday (£1.95 a day x 5 days = £9.75 a week).
If you have an entitlement to Free School Meals (even if you are not taking it up) please can you bring up to date documents into the office by Wednesday 17th September.

Year 6 – Bude School Journey

Yes they are off to sunny Cornwall again!!!! Year 6, Mr Smith, Mrs Popat and Mr Putman leave for Bude on Sunday 14th September. They shall return on Friday 19th September. I know they will have a great week.

PE Kits (Rec – Y 6)

Please ensure that your child has a PE kit in school permanently. It should only be taken home at half term to be washed. PE kit consists of:
Plain white T shirt (no collar)
Black shorts
Plimsolls
Drawstring bag for storage (available from Mrs Watt at school)
ALL PE KITS MUST BE NAMED – if your child’s is not named, please come in to collect it, name it and return it to school. Thank you.

Swimming (Y1 and Y2)

All children need to wear a swimming hat (girls and boys). A voluntary cost of £1.50 per session would be greatly appreciated. Reception class will start lessons after Christmas.

Naming Clothes (Rec – Y6)

Please remember to name all items of school uniform. It is very important to name all clothes especially in the Infant department. Please name socks and pants as well, as these items will be removed when swimming.

Class Assemblies
Class assemblies are on Tuesday mornings at 9:10am. The dates are as follows:-

Reception Class -         14th October
Year1                  -        25th November
Year2                  -        11th November
Year3                  -        7th October
Year4                  -        21st October
Year5                  -        9th December
Year6                  -        2nd December

The children really like you to be there to support them. You may bring younger siblings but please sit by the door if you do, so you can leave if they become restless.

Comics
Research shows that many boys are reluctant to begin reading. In order to help address this and extend our reading choice at Fairway, we would like to add to our comic selection in to the library and classrooms. If you have any that are in good condition that you would like to donate to school we would appreciate it. Thank you.

Head Teacher Drop Ins (Ms Parker)
The parent /carer drop ins are at 3pm on a Tuesday. It is not a time to talk about your child’s progress, as this should be done with the Class Teacher, but any other matters you wish to discuss.
Secondary Places for Year 6 - 2008
Mill Hill High School                 -           20                                London Academy                     -           3
Christ College                           -           1                                 Henrietta Barnet                       -           1
Queen Elizabeth’s Boys            -           1                                 Wren Academy                        -           1
Hendon                                    -           1                                 Schools out of Borough            -           1
St Mary’s                                 -           1

Message from School Nurse (Rec to Y6)
If you receive any health questionnaires from me, please return them to school promptly as this allows me to make an assessment of your child’s health and deal with any concerns you may have. There is information about the drop in service on the parent/carer notice board by the children’s entrance.
Carol Allen
Mill Hill Clinic
Hartley Avenue
020 8959 3005

Open Forum for Parents/Carers
Come along and speak to the Senior Leadership Team (Ms Parker, Mr Putman, Mr Smith and Miss Carponen) about school matters. Individual children/Teaching Assistants will not be discussed. There will be refreshments first and the Forum will start 15 minutes after. The next one is on 21st October at 3:30pm. There will be a crèche for primary aged children (Rec to Y6). Please come along and share your concerns/ideas with us.

Home Learning Projects (Y3, 4, 5 & 6)
The Governors have reviewed the HLP and have decided that these will no longer be compulsory. Making them compulsory barely increased the number of children that completed a project, just the amount of admin chasing them up!!!! We hope you will support your child with this work and come along on the assessment days when they share their projects. (Dates given in advance by separate letter). We have had some fabulous work produced and a selection of the last HLP is always on display in the corridor by the library, so come and have a look.

Introducing ‘Coach Nick’
We now have sports coaches coming in to school for three days a week. Most of you know Coach Louis, he will be teaching on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the same as last year. Coach Nick will teach on a Monday.

Neil Griffiths – author/storyteller extraordinaire
Please keep 15th October (7:00pm) free. We have an inspirational speaker coming to school to talk to parents/carers about reading, so put this important date in your diary.

Important Dates For Your Diary

Sunday 14th September                                    Y6 residential visit to Bude
Friday 19th September                                      Pirates’ Day & Y6 children home from Bude
Wednesday 24th September                              Hearing & Vision test for Reception
Thursday 25th September                                  Circus Workshop – Rec, Y1 & Y2 &
                                                                        Countryside Fair Education Visit Yrs 3,4,5 & 6
Thursday 2nd October                                       Community Police to speak to Yrs 3,4,5 & 6
Friday 3rd October                                            Prospective parent/carer tour 9:30am
Tuesday 7th October                                         Year 3 Assembly
Tuesday 14th October                                       Reception Assembly
Wednesday 15th October                                 Neil Griffiths ‘So you want to read a story workshop’ for children, staff and parents/carers (parents/carers 7:00pm)
Thursday 16th October                                     Year 4 Education visit to the National Gallery
Tuesday 21st October                                       Year 4 Assembly & Open Forum for parents/carers – 3:30pm
Wednesday 22nd October                                 Come and talk to your child’s teacher. Details by letter to follow.
                                                                        3:45pm – 6:00pm
Thursday 23rd October                         Come and talk to your child’s teacher. Details by letter to follow.
                                                                        5:00pm – 8:00pm
Friday 24th October                                          Fairway’s Got Talent (info to follow)

HALF TERM MONDAY 27TH OCTOBER – 31ST OCTOBER

Friday 7th November                                        Prospective parent/carer tour 9:30am
Tuesday 11th November                                   Year 2 Assembly
Tuesday 25th November                                   Year 1 Assembly
Tuesday 2nd December                         Year 6 Assembly
Friday 5th December                                         Prospective parent/carer tour 9:30am
Tuesday 9th December                          Year 5 Assembly
Tuesday 16th December                                    Year 5 Educational Visit to the Ragged School Museum &
                                                                        Rec, Y1 & Y2 – End of Term Production pm
Wednesday 17th December                              Rec, Y1 & Y2 – End of Term Production am
Friday 19th December                                       Party day – non uniform day £1 for not wearing uniform – this is not a voluntary contribution

END OF TERM FRIDAY 19TH DECEMBER
SCHOOL AND CHILDREN’S CENTRE CLOSES AT 2:00PM
SCHOOL AND CHILDREN’S CENTRE-OPENS
TUESDAY 6TH JANUARY 2008