The Chronicle

October is Black History Month in the UK. This year, we have decided to move away from termly and half termly JDV challenges and are using a monthly theme to suggest activities to challenge and interest pupils.

Each month different activities will be suggested. Pupils do not have to complete all, or any of these activities. They are available to all pupils in all years, so pupils can choose to investigate something that they are interested in.  

Please bring any examples of activities that have been completed to Mrs Cowlishaw to share with the whole school.

Black History Month – October

In the UK, Black History Month is a national celebration that aims to promote and celebrate the contributions Black people have made to society. It’s also an opportunity to promote an understanding of Black history more widely and gives everyone the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture.

2024’s theme is 'Reclaiming Narratives'. This is about recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture.

Here are some activities to try:

Art

Investigate the life of famous artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Alma Thomas, can you create your own piece in their style?

The Brilliance of Basquiat

How to create an Alma Thomas collage for kids

Music

Here is an example of a listening calendar for October. Songs from 20 amazing, influential musicians. Which one is your favourite? Did this inspire you to listen to more music by any of these artists?

Sport

Find out about the lives of these famous sports people. What makes them so inspirational? How have they used their fame to change lives of others? Can you find any others that are just as inspirational to add to our list?

• Marcus Rashford
• Lewis Hamilton
• Tessa Sanderson

Historical Figures

These people have all been influential and have made history by doing something amazing. What can you find out about them? Can you find out about other historical figures to celebrate Black History Month?

• Walter Tull
• Mary Seacole
• Samuel Coleridge Taylor
• Diane Abbott
• Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Poetry

This week we celebrated National Poetry Day. Benjamin Zephaniah was a pioneer of dub poetry and one of the most influential and outspoken voices in contemporary British literature, and he was from Birmingham.

Here is his poem about Christmas Turkey. Do you like his style? What do you think his poem is about? Can you create two lines of poetry that rhyme, from the Christmas Turkey perspective? Write your own poem in Benjamin Zephaniah’s style.

"Talking Turkeys" Kinetic Text

Recommended reads – have a look at some of these books to expand you reading horizons.

• Race to the Frozen North – Catherine Johnson (The story of Matthew Henson and Captain Peary and the race to the North Pole)
• Respect – Michaela Morgan (Based on the amazing true story of Walter Tull)
• Hidden Figures – Margot Shetterly & Laura Freeman (A picture book of the incredible true story of the four women who helped NASA launch men into space)
• Counting on Katherine – Helaine Becker (A non-fiction book celebrating the life of Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who played a crucial role in the Apollo 11 mission to put a man on the moon)

I hope you enjoy these activities – please let me know how you get on, and bring in some examples of things you have found out!

Mrs Cowlishaw

You will notice that instead of a hard copy calendar, this year we have a new digital calendar. It includes an interactive contents pages and handy live links to emails, websites and phone numbers. All can be easily downloaded onto your device of choice and the calendar is designed to be mobile friendly for ease of reference.

All the schoool's publications can also be found on My School Portal under School Information and will be updated during the year as necessary.

This move to a ‘digital first’ approach for our publications, is part of the Foundation’s drive to be more sustainable, reducing paper use, printing and postage costs and providing a more user-friendly experience.

Michaelmas Calendar Card

School Day Timings

The school day commences at 8:30am promptly, and pupils should arrive at 8:20am for registration, to ensure that that they have plenty of time to get to their first lesson punctually.

Early Birds runs from 7:45am to 8:20am.

Any pupils arriving after 8:30am, must sign in at the School Office.

End of the day collection times and locations are as follows:

Registration

Pupils are electronically registered in the morning and after lunch. Registration closes at 8:30am and all children arriving after this time, will need to register with the School Office on arrival. Lateness is recorded and monitored closely. Persistent lateness and/or absence from school will clearly affect a pupil’s achievement and learning.

End of the day collection times and locations are as follows:

End of the day collection times and locations after Games Lessons (if not taking part in sports clubs) during the Michaelmas Term are as follows:

If you wish your child to have music tuition at school, then please complete the attached form and return it back to the school office. 

Reception are able to undertake Violin lessons only. Pupils in Junior 1 can access the full range of lessons available. 

Expression of Interest Form

Please see the attached menus for the Michaelmas Term. These rotate on a four weekly basis.

Menu Week 1

Menu Week 2

Menu Week 3

Menu Week 4

Please ensure that everything your child brings to school is clearly labelled.  This especially includes uniform and sports kit. Excellent personalised labels may be purchased from easy2name.com or ablelabels.co.uk. We ask for support from parents to ensure that their children take full responsibility for looking after their property carefully.

We discourage pupils from bringing valuable items into school.

Lost property will be displayed outside The Gables on a Friday for collecting.  At the end of each half term, any unclaimed items will be donated to charity or the PTA.

Individual Health and Medical Information

Further to the email that was sent out regarding your child's health notes on ISAMS, please do remember to check this for accuracy and update the School Office accordingly.

Diarrhoea and Vomiting 

Children must stay off school for 48 hours after the last instance of diarrhoea or vomiting.

Short-Term Medicines 

In general, most short-term medicines, e.g. antibiotics, cough medicine, seasonal hay fever medication etc should be managed so that it is not necessary for the medicines to come into school.

If this is not possible, the medication should be brought to the School Office by yourself, not your child, in it's original packaging, clearly named with your child’s name and class, and with a completed Administration of Medication Form. 

Long-Term Medicines

If your child suffers with a chronic medical condition and has been prescribed medication to take whilst at school, the medication should be brought to the School Office by yourself, not your child, in it’s original packaging, clearly named with your child’s name and class, and with a completed Administration of Medication Form. 

Further documentation may need to be completed, e.g. Inhaler Consent Form, Care Plan etc. Please discuss this with the School Office.

Administration of Medication Form

Individual Care Plan

Inhaler Consent Form

Asthma Individual HealthCare Plan

Aftercare needs to be booked through My School Portal. You are able to book the whole term in advance, and you are able to cancel this yourself, should you need to.

https://princethorpe.myschoolportal.co.uk/login 

The sessions available are:

Session 1 - 3:30pm to 4:30pm (includes drink and biscuit)

Session 2 - 4:30pm to 6:00pm (includes tea)

Both Sessions - 3:30pm to 6:00pm (includes drink, biscuit and tea)

The costs for Aftercare are £5.00 per hour, or part thereof. You will only be charged for the time that your child spends in Aftercare.

If you require tea, please ensure that you have booked by 12:00pm on the day.

Please ensure that you book Aftercare in good time, as the School Office will be unable to log in to book Aftercare on your behalf.

Should you need to Cancel Aftercare, please see the following Instructions...

Please note that you can’t cancel  Aftercare on the same day as the booking!

• Bookings (Clubs and Activities)
• Drop Down Menu – Upcoming Bookings
• Which will show this…….
• (CH After Care Michaelmas Term)– next date – Time etc.
• View Booking Details  
• Confirm cancellation of booking
• Cancellation type - Please Select from the dropdown menu ….
• 1) All sessions which can be cancelled –
• 2) Only cancel sessions between specific dates
• 3) Cancel specific sessions only
• Select the date you want to cancel
• Confirm

Informing the School of pupil absence

Parents must inform the school via the online absence form on My School Portal or telephone 01926 514444 and leave a voicemail on Option 1, as soon as possible, before 9:00am, if they know that their child will not be in school for either the whole day or any part thereof. For unplanned absence, parents must complete the Absence Form. This can be found on the dashboard or in the My Children section of My School Portal.

If a pupil has a pre-planned appointment, e.g. medical, please inform the school in advance on the Requesting Student Absence: Planned Form, which can be found within the My Children section of My School Portal. This can then be pre-coded on our attendance system. Having alerted the school for any reason of absence it is not necessary to follow up the absence with a written note.

We ask that, where possible, all pupil appointments (e.g. medical or dental) are made out of school hours, to avoid disruption to learning.

Holidays

Parents are strongly discouraged from taking their children out of school and family holidays should always be taken in the school holiday period which is published over a year in advance. Permission for leave of absence for valid reasons such as a family funeral, should be sought in writing and in advance via My School Portal, with as much notice as possible. Pupils with persistent absence may be asked to provide medical evidence.