Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Welcome back. It is wonderful to see everyone after the summer holidays. The children have settled into their new year groups very well. It has been a fantastic start to the school year. The Reception children have settled in so quickly that we think they have been here for years. Well done, Reception, and we look forward to our new Nursery starters joining us soon.

 

Thank you for your support regarding the ban on smartphones (hopefully no mobile phones) in school. The children also understood why we are doing this and how important it is to keep them safe.

 

We are having a very special event on Friday, 26th September, from 4:30 to 6:30pm. Betty Layward turns 25 this year and we will be celebrating on this day. Families who attended here in the past are also welcome, so please help spread the word. If you would like tickets, please use this link to purchase them:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/betty-laywards-25th-birthday-party-tickets-1659121008599?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=email&utm_medium=sparkpost&utm_campaign=postpublish

It promises to be a wonderful event, and we look forward to seeing you there.

 

We counted our 20p coins last term, and the children raised £2013.92. This is an incredible amount and it is the most it has ever raised. Emerald class won with £261.81, so well done, Emerald class. Other classes were very close. Thank you so much for all your support with this.

 

One of our children, Gill, had an idea to collect shells, paint them, and sell them as bath bomb holders to raise funds while on holiday. With help from his sister, Elsie, who was his main sales representative, he managed to sell all his stock and raised £50. His dad’s company also donated, bringing the total amount raised to £200. Well done, Gill and Elsie — what an incredible effort and demonstration of kindness.

 

I know that each class or year group has a WhatsApp group, and it is lovely to hear how they are used to support school events. The purpose of a class WhatsApp group is to enable collective conversations with other parents for sharing information related to the PTFA and school events. Newsletters and the school website can be checked before contacting the class rep. It also helps gather support from parent volunteers for school events. A WhatsApp group should not be used to send personal messages or content, to be derogatory about the school, or to offer biased views of individual parents. Thank you for following these guidelines. We are very grateful for the support you give the school and for all the fundraising you do, as it makes a significant difference.

 

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher