WELCOME TO YOUR NEW LOOK PEGASUS NEWSLETTER!

We hope you had a brilliant holiday and are excited and eager to start the new academic year.

It will be a big year for Priestmead.  We are celebrating our 80^th birthday, we are preparing for our new building and then in January 2017 we move into our new building, and we are also reviewing our curriculum following your feedback.

Our new-look newsletter and website follows on from your feedback over the last term, so thank you and do let us know what you think. 

ur new website has gone live!  It can be translated in over 50 languages. 

Visit: www.priestmead.harrow.sch.uk

 

MEET THE TEAM SESSIONS:

As flagged up at the end of last term, we would like to meet Y1-Y6 parents on:

TUESDAY 13^TH SEPTEMBER

3:30-4:30pm or 6:00-7:00pm

These sessions are for YOU, our Priestmead Parents/Carers.  We can offer a playground       supervision for the 3.30pm-4.30pm sessions for children between the ages of 4-11.  Under 4s will need to stay with parents. 

Each session will be in two parts for Parents/Carers, using a similar format to the meetings we held in July for Nursery and Reception parents:

Part 1:   Meet the school leaders, admin team & hear about safety

Part 2:   Meet your child’s teacher and see their classroom

 

STAR OF THE WEEK

Star of the Week is a chance for staff to recognise and celebrate children who either consistently make good choices with their learning and/ or behaviour, or have overcome a barrier to improve their learning/ behaviour, or are great ambassadors for the school through the way they exemplify our school values and are model citizens of the future.

To make it meaningful, there is no guarantee every child will get it.  Similarly we have some quietly brilliant children who deserve to be recognised more than once.  Your child will receive a reward in front of their peers, hear directly from their teacher as to why they were chosen and we will send you a postcard to celebrate your child’s achievements as well as put their name in this newsletter.

Keep encouraging your child to be the best they can be!

 

ATTENDANCE

Your child can come into school from 8.40am.  Registration is taken at 8.50am.  Most classes start with phonics, English or maths, so it is essential your child is in school on time.

We also expect high attendance.  A healthy diet, regular exercise and

positive parenting all contribute to your child achieving high attendance.  Call us from 7.30am if your child is unwell on 020 8907 5434.

 

START & END OF THE DAY

START OF THE DAY:

ONLY Reception, Y1S & Y1J line up and are walked into school with their class teacher from 8:40am.

ALL other classes will walk straight in from 8:40am.

Registration closes at 8:50am so learning can begin promptly.  If you arrive after 8:50am you must take your child to reception to sign in with Mrs Khan.

Reception:        Athens Playground

Year 1-Year 6:  Olympus Playground

END OF THE DAY: Children are dismissed at the following times:

3.15pm Year 1 (and Reception)

3.20pm Year 2, Year 3, Year 4

3.25pm Year 5, Year 6

 

TERM DATES

Attached to this newsletter you will find a list of the Autumn Term dates.

From next week, a two week calendar will be shown in the newsletter

Check our website for later dates...

 

BIKE & SCOOTER SAFETY Remember your child is welcome to cycle or scooter to school.  We advise a helmet. Do not scoot/cycle on school grounds and please be considerate on the streets.

 

As always, if you have any concerns, meet your child’s class teacher first – speak to the office and they will arrange an appointment for you. If there is something more urgent or private, a senior member of staff will always be made available to see you.  If you would like an appointment to see Mrs Gibson, Mrs Jadeja, Mr Rogers please contact the office.  To meet me, contact Mrs Yarabi. 

Sash Hamidi   

Headteacher

THANK YOU!

Nearly 200 families attended our “Meet the Teacher” sessions last week—a brilliant turnout, so thank you!

Thanks also for engaging in our Safeguarding and our “Planning for Emergencies” session.  As we said we will practice our usual full  evacuation for a fire for example, but also a “lock-down”.  We hopefully will never need it but     being prepared enables us to help you and our children feel safer.  Please discuss with your child.

Thanks also to all those who have requested an Extended Schools club.  It is a huge challenge to organise hundreds of children into clubs under preference order and my thanks to the Admin team who undertake this.  If there are queries, please come and talk to us.

Similarly Music lessons start this week!  Any    queries, let us know!

 

OUR NEW BUILDING

In 115 days time we will all be in our new building!  How exciting is that!

Currently our Fridays have been pretty much dedicated to building meetings—working out what will go where, what new things we need, logistics etc.  Busy times but great fun!

You will recall we were talking with the Local Authority regarding the use of our existing building once we move into our new building.  There have been many meetings over the summer and the    Local Authority plan to hold a formal consultation in the coming weeks.  We have ensured that we put our       Priestmead children’s needs first as  always!

This week—a “Wayfinding” focus for the new building!

 

Y3 & Y4 RESIDENTIAL TRIPS—Information

We are going to try and use technology to help us improve communication!  Tomorrow (TUESDAY) we will have an internet presentation on the residential trip for parents and children to watch from home (do not come to school).  There will then be a web LIVE CHAT option if you had any questions, all from the comfort of your home (or work!). Your child will bring home instructions tomorrow (Tuesday). 

6.00pm-6.30pm  ONLINE for Y3

6.30pm-7.00pm ONLINE for Y4

 

REMEMBER...any time off requests must be asked for in advance or they are unauthorised.  Unauthorised absences can lead to a fine from the Local Authority.  You must follow the school procedures.

RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS!

A local resident ended up leaving children she was due to collect stranded, as a Priestmead parent blocked her garage on the Service Road.  I am losing track of how many times I am stating this but do not park in front of the garages on the service road, do not block    resident driveways and please just park further away and walk in!

 

As always, if you have any concerns, meet your child’s class teacher first – speak to the office and they will arrange an appointment for you.  If there is something more urgent or private, a senior member of staff will always be made available to see you.  If you would like an appointment to see Mrs Gibson, Mrs Jadeja, Mr Rogers please contact the office.

To meet me, contact Mrs Yarabi.  Mr Hamidi

Headteacher

PARENTS EVENING - Online Booking

If you have a child in Reception – Year 6, you will be able to book your Parent Evening  appointment online from 5PM TODAY.  You will need to book a 10 minute appointment with your child’s class teacher at either of the meetings below:

When: TUESDAY 18^th OCTOBER 3:50PM – 7:40PM or When: THURSDAY 20^th OCTOBER 3:40PM-5:20PM

Booking Cut Off: FRIDAY 14^th OCTOBER 2015 AT 5:00PM

Appointments should be booked online by going to the following website: www.priestmead.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/

The link and a reminder of class names will also be available on the school website

 

PHOTOGRAPHS

All children will have their photograph taken on THURSDAY 6^TH OCTOBER with our school photographer, Ward-Hendry.  This will take place during the school day.

If you would like your children to have a photograph with their siblings, please collect your children from the playground at the end of the day and make your way to the Olympus Hall from 3:30PM.

 

FREE SCHOOL MEALS & PUPIL PREMIUM

If you are currently receiving financial support/ credits from the Government, you might be entitled to Pupil Premium to support costs for music lessons, trips and uniform.  Check at  https://pps.lgfl.org.uk/

 

YEAR 2 KS1 SATS INFORMATION MEETING—TUESDAY 4TH OCTOBER

A reminder to ALL PARENTS & CHILDREN IN Year 2

We will be going through important information about the KS1 SATS tests which all children in Year 2 will take next year in the Summer Term. 

Please arrive for a prompt 6pm start.  You can park on-site.  The meeting is in the Athens Hall and will last 45 minutes. It is repeated at 8.50am on WEDNESDAY 5th OCTOBER.

 

LUNCHTIMES

Some parents have been asking us how lunchtime works and how children select which hot meal they would like to eat each day.  Attached to this newsletter is a short guide of what happens, from looking at the menu in class, to arriving in the lunch hall.  We hope this will help to explain how this works at Priestmead.

 

As always, if you have any concerns, meet your child’s class teacher first – speak to the office and they will arrange an appointment for you.  If there is something more urgent or private, a senior member of staff will always be made available to see you.  If you would like an appointment to see Mrs Gibson, Mrs Jadeja, Mr Rogers please contact the office.

To meet me, contact Mrs Yarabi. 

Mr Hamidi

Headteacher

FINAL REMINDER—PARENTS EVENING

Online Booking

If you have a child in Reception – Year 6, you need to book your Parent Evening appointment online by FRIDAY.  

When: TUESDAY 18^th OCTOBER 3:50PM – 7:40PM  or

When: THURSDAY 20^th OCTOBER 3:40PM-5:20PM

Booking Cut Off: FRIDAY 14^th OCTOBER 2015 AT 5:00PM

Appointments should be booked online by going to the following website: www.priestmead.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/

The link and a reminder of class names will also be available on the school website!

 

THE PRIESTMEAD SCHOOL APP

 Going LIVE NEXT WEEK  is our NEW PRIESTMEAD APP!   Instant notifications! Emails! Messages! LIVE Calendar!  All in the click of an app! Details on MONDAY!

 

ATTENDANCE— A Reminder

Your child can come into school from 8.40am.  Registration is taken at 8.50am.

If your child arrives late to school, they must come to the School Office to sign in before going to class. Mrs Khan, will be at the computer screen to help you do this.  Once signed in, they will then be given a GREEN CARD which they will give to their teacher so they know they have signed in.  If you child is going to be absent from school please remember to advise the School Office by email, phone or in person by 9.00am on the day of absence. You are also required to contact the school every day of the absence until you child returns to school unless otherwise agreed.

Call us from 7.30am if your child is unwell on 020 8907 5434

 

WATCH OUT FOR THE AVIVA LINK!

 Thanks to links from two of our Priestmead dads, we have been accepted into the AVIVA Community Funding Competition to raise £25000 for our children!  The winners are decided through the most amount of votes received so we will need you to tell EVERYONE you know to vote for us!  The link will be sent by text, email and letter in the next few days!  Share, share, share!

 

Bye Bye Miss Sirianni

We sadly say goodbye to Miss Sirianni this week as she leaves the UK to move back home to Australia.  She has been inspirational as both an EYFS teacher and leading our IT—we will miss you! Good luck & keep in touch!

As always, if you have any concerns, meet your child’s class teacher first – speak to the office and they will arrange an appointment for you.  If there is something more urgent or private, a senior member of staff will always be made available to see you.  If you would like an appointment to see Mrs Gibson, Mrs Jadeja, Mr Rogers please contact the office.

To meet me, contact Mrs Yarabi. 

Mr Hamidi

Headteacher

PARENT OPEN MORNING - FRIDAY 4th NOVEMBER 2016

With our 80th Birthday approaching, our theme day will be “Going to Priestmead in the 1930’s and 1940’s”.  We would like all children to dress as a school child in the 1930’s and 1940’s while they spend the day having lessons from this period including playground games and lunch.

You are invited to come into school from 8:50am until 9:30am, starting in the Athens Hall and then moving on to your child’s class to see what it would have been like to be a pupil at Priestmead 80 years ago!

 

EXTENDED SCHOOL CLUBS - PARENT EVENING

A reminder that teacher run clubs DO NOT run on parents evening nights. 

The following clubs WILL RUN on Tuesday & Thursday this week:

TUESDAY: Fun-Development, K-Kwon Do, Mad Science & Rock Choir will still take place as they are not run by class-based teachers.

THURSDAY:  Only Fun-Development will take place.  All other clubs are teacher run, so are cancelled.

If your child will not be attending a club for any reason, remember to let the office know.

 

REMINDER FOR YEAR 6 PARENTS

The deadline for submitting high school applications is the MONDAY 31st OCTOBER 2016 (aim to complete by 21st October to avoid last minute problems). Please ensure you have submitted your child's application by this date. When completing your application please remember to add Priestmead as your current school. If you need any further help or guidance please come and ask.

True True 3 (``````````` (``````````` 4 7 2 2979840 4835542 287 693840 693840 2979840 2286000 333946 333946 710035 376089 1692822 982787 2439666 746844 3098032 658366 4493717 1395685 4989873 341825 -2 0

Tues 18th Oct	Parent Evening 1 3:50pm-7:40pm
Thurs 20th Oct	Parent Evening 2 3:50pm-5:20pm
HALF TERM	School Closed for Half Term Saturday 22nd October to Monday 31st October Children return on: TUESDAY 1st NOVEMBER
Mon 31st Oct	FINAL Closing date for Year 6 to apply for Secondary School via Harrow          e-admissions portal (aim to complete by 21st October to avoid last minute problems)
Fri 4th Nov	8:50am-9:45am Open Morning for our Parents and Governors. Dressing up day for  children staff and you!
Sat 5th Nov	Priestmead Primary 80th Birthday Reunion Day! Are you a former Priestmead pupil? Do you have children who attended Priestmead? Did your parents attend Priestmead? If so, come along to our Birthday Reunion Day. More details can be found on our School Website from THURSDAY!
Friday 11th Nov	3 Butterflies Class Assembly (Please meet in the Athens       Playground)

 

REMINDER: PARENT OPEN MORNING

FRIDAY 4th NOVEMBER 2016

Remember to come along to our parent open morning on FRIDAY!

You are invited to come into school from 8:50am until 9:30am, starting in the Athens Hall and then moving on to your child’s class to see what it would have been like to be a pupil at Priestmead 80 years ago!

With our 80th Birthday approaching, the theme for the day will be “Going to  Priestmead in the 1930’s and 1940’s”.  We would like all children to dress as a school child in the 1930’s and 1940’s while they spend the day having lessons from this period including playground games and lunch.  Staff will also be in costume.

You may have seen details of our 80th Birthday Reunion which is on Saturday.  Although we would love to have you all here with us, with 80 years worth of visitors we just won’t have enough space.  On Friday, we will be celebrating the 80th birthday in school with our current children and would like to use Saturday as an opportunity for our ex students & staff to return.

 

BIC HANDWRITING OLYMPIAD

You may remember back in the summer term, we gave children the chance to enter the ‘BIC Handwriting     Olympiad’ competition.  We have received some wonderful news from BIC and Maria in Y6 Sombrero won GOLD!

As part of the winning package, Start-Bee will be coming into school to complete writing   assessments with our Year 6 children and the school will receive a fantastic hamper full of great BIC stationary.

Congratulations to Maria and all of the children who took part.

 

NEW Parent Governor Elections

We need you!

Keep any eye out for details of our Parent Governor Election letter which will be sent home next week.

Our parent governors are very valuable members of the governing body.

We rely on them to bring a set of specific skills to help hold the school to account, as well as bring a parent perspective to help us to decide what is best for all our pupils/students. 

If you think this may be something that you would be interested in, have a look at the Governors section on the school website.

TERM DATES

Fri 4th Nov	8:50am-9:45am Open Morning for our Parents and Governors. Dressing up day for  children staff and you!
Sat 5th Nov	Priestmead Primary 80th Birthday Reunion Day! Are you a former Priestmead pupil? Do you have children who attended Priestmead? Did your parents attend Priestmead? If so, come along to our Birthday Reunion Day. More details can be found on our School Website!
Friday 11th Nov	3 Butterflies Class Assembly (Please meet in the Athens Playground)
Mon 14th Nov	Children In Need week begins
Fri 18th Nov	NON UNIFORM DAY Children to wear something ‘Spotty’
Tues 22nd Nov	6:00pm—EYFS parent workshop in the Athens Hall
Wed 23rd Nov	9:00pm—REPEAT: EYFS parent workshop in the Athens Hall
Fri 25th Nov	PPA Christmas Fair!
Mon 28th Nov	SUN Nursery parent meetings in the Zeus Library
Tues 29th Nov	MOON Nursery parent meetings in the Zeus Library
Fri 2nd Dec	2 Owls Class Assembly (Please meet in the Athens Playground)
Wed 14th Dec	9:15am & 2:30pm Early Phase Winter Concert
Thurs 15th Dec	9:15am & 2:30pm Early Phase Winter Concert
Fri 16th Dec	Christmas Jumper Day (Non uniform day) & Christmas lunch! End of Term for children 3:15pm/3:20pm/3:25pm

 

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

SATURDAY 17^th DECEMBER to see below:

Later Phase (Y5 & 6) return on THURSDAY 12^th JANUARY 2017

Middle Phase (Y2,3,4) return on FRIDAY 13^th JANUARY 2017

Early Phase (N,R, Y1) return on MONDAY 16^th JANUARY 2017

Children return on a staggered basis into our new school!

NEW Parent Governor Elections — We need you!

You should have received your Parent Governor Election nomination form on Tuesday.

The closing date for nominations is MONDAY 21st NOVEMBER 2016. 

Nominations should be posted into the Ballot Box at the school office.

Our parent governors are very valuable members of the governing body.  We rely on them to bring a set of specific skills to help hold the school to account, as well as bring a parent perspective to help us to decide what is best for all our pupils/students.

If you think this may be something that you would be interested in, have a look at the Governors section on the school website.

https://www.priestmead.harrow.sch.uk/harrow/primary/priestmead/site/pages/statutoryinformation/governors

 

ASSEMBLY THEME:  Remembrance Day & Awe & Wonder of Music

 

THINK BEFORE YOU PARK

Please, please, please think before you park..  The yellow zig zag lines are there for a reason and cars should not stop or park on them at any time.  We are shocked to see elderly grandparents being “kicked” out the car in the road as the driver doesn’t want to walk in themselves!  We need to make sure our        children are getting into school safely and can cross the road safely.  Thank you for helping us respect for each other, and our local neighbours.  A reminder that children and adults should come off bikes and scooters when they enter school grounds.

 

NURSERY PARENT OPEN DAY MEETINGS

Remember to book your appointment online to see Miss Green on either MONDAY 28TH NOVEMBER (Sun Nursery) or TUESDAY 29TH NOVEMBER (Moon Nursery): www.priestmead.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/

To log in, you need your name and email address and your child’s name and class (N Sun or N Moon)

FREE SCHOOL MEALS & PUPIL PREMIUM

If you are currently receiving financial support/ credits from the Government, you might be entitled to Pupil Premium to support costs for music lessons, trips and uniform.  Check at  https://pps.lgfl.org.uk/   

 

100% ATTENDANCE CLASSES W/B 21st October: 1 Starfish, 4 Rock, 5 Platinum & 6 Andromeda! (97.9% Whole School )

Friday 11th Nov	3 Butterflies Class Assembly
	(Please meet in the Athens Playground)
Mon	Children In Need week begins
14th Nov
Fri	NON UNIFORM DAY
18th Nov	Children to wear something ‘Spotty’
Mon	Online booking opens for the Early Phase Winter Concert (2 tickets per family)
21st Nov
Tues	6:00pm—EYFS parent workshop in the Athens Hall
22nd Nov
Wed	9:00pm—REPEAT: EYFS parent workshop in the Athens Hall
23rd Nov
Thurs	Y1-Y3 Flu vaccinations administered today (nose spray)
24th Nov
Fri	PPA Christmas Fair!
25th Nov
Mon	SUN Nursery parent meetings in the Zeus Library
28th Nov
Tues	MOON Nursery parent meetings in the Zeus Library
29th Nov
Fri	2 Owls Class Assembly
2nd Dec	(Please meet in the Athens Playground)
	Winter Serenade—Letters will be sent home to those children taking part.
Wed	9:15am & 2:30pm
14th Dec	Early Phase Winter Concert
Thurs	9:15am & 2:30pm
15th Dec	Early Phase Winter Concert
Fri	Christmas Jumper Day
16th Dec	(Non uniform day) & Christmas lunch!
	End of Term for children
	3:15pm/3:20pm/3:25pm