A very warm welcome to the start of the new academic year.  It has been lovely this week to catch up with the children and hear about their exciting adventures during the summer break.  I hope that the start of term has been smooth and positive for you all.

Welcome meetings
During the week beginning the 18th September, we will be holding our welcome meetings for each year group.  These are an opportunity for you to meet the new teaching team and to ask any questions that you may have about the curriculum or general points about the year ahead.  I hope that you are able to attend.  They will be taking place in the Old Hall between 8:45 and 9:15.

Monday 18th September - Year 1
Tuesday 19th September - Year 2
Wednesday 20th September - Year 3
Thursday 21st September - Year 4
Friday 22nd September - Year 5

Nursery and Reception have already held their induction meetings and Year 6 will be having a meeting to include the welcome meeting, secondary transfer and school journey.  We will be sending out the date for this next week.

PSA coffee morning for Reception families
Please join us for an informal coffee morning on Friday 15th September at 9:00 in the Old Hall.  This will be an opportunity for you to meet other parents and members of the Parent Staff Association.  You can find out about what activities and events are planned and how you can support the team with their fundraising and community events.  I hope that you will be able to attend.

Class Assemblies
Every year, each class put on an assembly for their parents to showcase some of their learning and for you to enjoy seeing your child perform with their friends. These will be taking place after October half-term on a Friday morning at 9:00 in the Old Hall.  The schedule is as follows:

School Meals
Apologies for the issues this week with the ordering system for school meals - I have been advised by our school meals provider, Caterlink, that the system has now been sorted and everyone in the school should be able to order a free school meal.  They are also looking into the process for refunding parents who had to pay for a meal that should have been free! It would be fantastic if we could get some more families taking advantage of the free meal offer - please try and encourage your child to give it a go.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras
As you have been previously informed, the ANPR cameras on Dickerage Lane are now operational to ensure that all road users are legally parked.  This has made a big difference this week with the safety of the crossing and the ability of pedestrians to use the pavement with ease.  Hopefully this positive start will continue.  Remember that the Matalan / Aldi car-park allows up to two hours of free parking and the new pathway around the rear of the new flats makes the short walk even quicker!

Free Saturday coding and digital making sessions at CoderDojo Kingston University

Youngsters aged 7 - 17 at all levels of experience, from beginner to expert, can create video games, web pages, build robots or explore digital electronics at sessions hosted in Kingston University’s cool STEM Outreach suite. We offer activities using Scratch, Python, Unity and Raspberry Pi computers and microcontrollers.

Sessions are led by technology professionals, KU computer science staff and students. Kids under 13 must be accompanied by a parent or carer. Bring a laptop if you have one, or you can book one of ours.

Sessions are held one Saturday afternoon each month during school term, from 2:00 – 4:30pm, with booking through Eventbrite. Email us to register and to receive the calendar of sessions: KingstonUniversity.uk@coderdojo.com

For more information visit www.coderdojoku.org

Ian Hutchings

Headteacher