We have reminded the children this week that when they arrive at school in the morning and leave in the afternoon that they should use the footpaths around the side of school. Unfortunately some children are walking across the car park and using the car park gates or walking across the grass and then jumping over the wall to get onto Laund Nook.
Thank you for you support in helping our children leave school safely by encouraging them to use the paths and not the 'shortcuts'.
Day for Ukraine - Wednesday 16th March 2022
We are looking forward to supporting ‘A Day For Ukraine’ tomorrow on Wednesday 16th March. We apologise for the short notice, but we only received information about it from the Department for Education today. Children will be encouraged to wear blue and yellow to school on Wednesday. Teachers will use the day to continue helping children understand what is happening in Eastern Europe. The day is being organised by First News Education. They have provided some information and resources to help teachers and parents talk to their children. CLICK HERE. We would also encourage families to look at the BBC Newsround website that has a special ‘Newsround’ page that explains what is happening in a manner to help primary children. CLICK HERE.
Please do not send any money to school on Wednesday 16th March.
Friday 18th March is Comic Relief day. On Friday we will allow children to make donations to Comic Relief and or the Ukraine appeal.
Finally please remember that this event, along with every other fund raising event organised by school is not intended to result in parents giving their child some money. We feel it is important to encourage the children to ‘earn’ any pocket money that you or they wish to donate by doing some jobs around the house or for a relative. All charity donations at St. John's are always voluntary and we hope that in encouraging children to ‘earn’ their donations that we help them improve their understanding of supporting others less fortunate.
We have been asked by Derbyshire catering and school meal service to share a survey link.
Please can parents and families support our hard working catering staff and team by taking a couple of minutes to complete the form. CLICK HERE
Thank you
Mr. Averis
Update at 8.30am - Friday 18th February
At time of writing Belper has an amber weather warning for high wind. Other parts of the country have a red warning.
St. John's has a risk assessment in place to ensure that children and staff stay as safe as possible today at school. Children will not be outside on the playground or field and will spend the day in their classrooms.
We will be monitoring the weather warning throughout the day and will post any information online should the weather warning alter for Belper.
Thank you for your support.
R. Averis
Children have brought home a copy of a letter this week with information about World Book Day activities on Thursday and Friday 3rd and 4th March. This letter is online CLICK HERE.
As well as all the activities on the letter children are invited to add some 'bling' to their scooter. Please feel free to decorate your scooter to match your book day costume. Miss Bennett will be choosing the best scooter to win a prize.
Many thanks to the families that completed our nursery admission survey in December.
Following this we are able to confirm that from September 2022 parents will be able to apply for their children to attend our nursery for up to 30 hours a week. This also means that children will be able to have their lunch with us and stay at school safely from 8.45am to 3.15pm.
More information is in our nursery admission policy - CLICK HERE.
The application form can be found on the last page of the policy - or on our Nursery information page for parents - CLICK HERE.
Information for parents that have already applied for places.
1) Parents of children that have joined our nursery in January 2022 or will be joining us in April 2022 are welcome to complete a new September 2022 application form if they would now like to apply for a 30 hour place.
2) Parents of children that have already applied for a place from September 2022 for 15 hours but now want to reapply for 30 hours are welcome to complete a new September 2022 application form.
3) Parents of children that have applied for 15 hours at any point in the future and want to keep their application for 15 hours do not need to do anything. Your 15 hour application still stands and will be used as your application for 15 hours.
Information for parents that still want to attend for 15 hours
We are still welcoming applications for children that want to attend for 15 hours. Having these children at our nursery and helping them prepare for school happily and safely is still our priority. With this in mind our new admissions policy gives priority to children applying for 15 hours.
We have been asked to share the information below in italics from Public Health England. If your child receives a letter and you have any questions please feel free to ring school and ask to speak to Mrs. Cooper our medical and welfare assistant.
Dental examination of reception and year 1 children as part of the National Dental Epidemiology Programme
The National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP)
Public Health England and Derbyshire/Derby City Local Authorities are undertaking the upcoming dental survey of 5-year-old children in reception and year 1 classes across England. The survey is usually undertaken every 2 years and provides information on the oral health of children. The aim is to support actions to improve oral health and reduce health inequalities and improve the provision of treatment services. Schools are selected to participate at random and participation in the survey is vital to the success of the survey and we thank you in advance for your support this year.
Support from Parents
The programme is delivered by a survey provider commissioned by the local authority and involves a dental examination of selected reception and year 1 children (approximately 25 children). If your child is one that is randomly selected, you will receive a letter informing you about the programme and requesting parental agreement to participate in the survey. The date confirmed for this dental survey at St John’s is Monday 28th February 2022.
I am pleased to share that on Monday and Tuesday the 14th and 15th February we will have mechanics from 'Big on Bikes' in school offering free children's bike maintenance, safety checks and minor repairs at school.
No appointment is needed. Parents just need to bring the 'broken' bike to school in the morning and the team will help, free of charge. They will have all the equipment and a free supply of parts such as inner tubes, brake pads etc to get most bikes back on the road safely.
I hope that you are able to take advantage of this offer.
Please note that not all repairs will be able to be carried out and it may be that the team will offer advice on how to repair more major problems if they don't have the equipment with them.
Mr. Averis
We have been asked to share the following information
Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Angelique Foster, wants to hear your views on crime and community safety.
Throughout the year, the Commissioner runs a survey asking for Derbyshire residents views on crime and community safety. This is done to ensure that the priorities the Commissioner sets for policing, community safety and victims services reflect the issues that matter most to you, wherever you live in the City or the County.
Using the responses from the survey, the Commissioner will work with the Chief Constable to ensure that resources are balanced efficiently with your concerns.
The Commissioner needs to hear from as many people as possible, from all age groups and backgrounds, to ensure the results are fair. This is where we are asking for your help.
If you could share the survey below with staff members and parents, it would be greatly appreciated.
To complete the survey, and to read a short statement from the Police & Crime Commissioner, please click the below link:
Listening to You – Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster
If you have any questions regarding the survey or would like any more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Thank you for your help.
Kind regards,
Stephen
Stephen Powell
Engagement Lead Officer
Parents are invited to complete an online PSHE survey. It should only take a couple of minutes.
Mrs. Girling has shared information and a link to the survey on our PSHE curriculum page.
To find our more about the survey CLICK HERE.