Gibson News - September 2024

KEY DATES

Monday 28 October – Friday 1 November         – Hallowe’en Holidays

Friday 20 December – School closes at 12.30pm for Y1-4 & 1pm for Y5-7

Monday 23 December – Friday 3 January (inclusive) – Christmas Holiday   

All key dates are on the school website (www.gibsonps.co.uk – under Parents - School Closures)

Asda Cashpot – We have registered for the Asda Cashpot for Schools rewards.  This provides free funds for schools based on your shopping and costs you nothing! There are 3 steps

1 – Download the Asda Rewards App and register for Cashpot for School – then select Gibson PS

2 – Shop in store or online with Asda and they will donate a percentage of your total to us

3 – Asda donate the money to the school PTA.

Please encourage as many as possible to sign up to this as it is a free cash bonus for our school!

School Communication with Parents – Once again we will be sending letters, newsletters and permission slips via e-mail.  It is therefore essential that all parents regularly check their nominated email account to receive up to date information.  If your details have changed or you need further assistance, please contact the school.

Teachers will be contacting you all shortly with a welcome email.  This will allow you to contact them via email if you need anything.

Year Group Meeting – All classes are planning a meeting for all parents to outline what you and your child can expect this year including what topics will be covered etc.  This does give both teachers and parents an opportunity to meet face to face which has not happened in quite some time.  Your attendance at these meetings would be appreciated:

The meetings are on the following dates:

·         Language Unit – Mrs Shortt’s class - Friday 20 September at 9.30am – 10.30am

·         Language Unit – Mrs Davidson/Mrs Beggs class – Friday 20 September at 10.30am – 11.30am

·         Year 1 – Individual parent meetings with teacher (Monday 9 Sept – Thursday 12 Sept)

·         Year 2 – Monday 16 September at 2.30pm

·         Year 3 – Wednesday 11 September at 2.30pm

·         Year 4 – Wednesday 11 September at 3.15pm

·         Year 5 – Mr Kane’s class on Thursday 12 September at 3.15pm

·         Year 5/6 – Mrs Baird’s class on Thursday 12 September at 3.15pm

·         Year 6 – Mrs Maguire’s class Thursday 10 September at 3.15pm

·         Year 7 – Monday 9 September at 3.15pm

Additional Activities – As usual we will be running a series of Additional Activities for our pupils. They are always very popular and normally all activities are over-subscribed.  Details regarding these will be sent home via email shortly.  These will begin from:

o   Year 2 & 3               Monday 23 September from 2.00 – 3.00pm

o   Year 4 – 7                Friday 20 September from 2.00 – 3.00pm

Free School Meals & Uniform Grant – Given the spiralling costs of everything it is essential that everyone eligible applies for free school meals.  While lots of you already have applied please note that until we are notified by the EA you will still be charged for dinners.  Given the delay in the application process it is VITAL that applications are submitted ASAP.  If you need any assistance with this, please contact me at school.

Breakfast & Afternoon Clubs – School opens at 8.30am every morning.  Children can be left off any time up until school starts at 9.00am sharp. Please note NO pupils are allowed past the pupils’ gates before 8.30am.  If you require supervision for your children before this time or after school, we offer the following:

o   Breakfast Club – Runs every school day from 8.00am costing £1.50 per day or £6 per week – no advance booking required.

o   Late Class – For pupils in Y1-3 who wish to stay until 3.00pm to ease collection.  Costs £1 per day, no booking is required, and money should be sent to class teacher.

o   Busy Bees Club – This service runs from 3.00 – 5.00pm every school day. Costing £8 per day this needs to be booked and paid for in advance via the Eduspot online payment portal.

Allergies – We continue to have a significant number of children who have severe allergies and are required to have Epi-pens.  Please note no NUT products can be sent into school.  Specific classes will be notified about other allergies which impact them. Thank you for your help with this.  If you have any special dietary needs or any new allergies, please contact the school office asap.

Policies – A number of new policies will be sent home via email and will be available on the school website.  If you wish to discuss anything within these, please contact Mr Sterritt at school.

PTA – We hope to hold a ‘Back to School’ outdoor event at the beginning of October, more information will be sent home in the coming weeks.  Our first PTA Meeting of the year will take place in the near future and we are always looking for new members. Please look out for the date and come along if possible.

Year 4 – 7 Parent Interviews – In line with previous years we will be holding Teacher Interviews for pupils in Year 4 – 7 from Monday 21 October to Thursday 24 October. We will provide times for these in a few weeks. Year 1 – 3 teacher meetings will be held in February.

After School Activities – In recent years we have moved our After School Activity programme to Fridays from 2-3pm to ensure all pupils have the opportunity to experience them.  However, we are considering inviting external coaches into school to run different activities on specific afternoons after school.  This will however have a cost attached, which is usually around £5 per session.  I will be sending an online survey out in the coming days with more information to gather your opinions.

Parental Contribution – A letter was sent home today regarding our Parental Contribution.  As always, we are extremely grateful for this contribution and it enables us to provide more opportunities for the pupils.  We would appreciate it if this could be paid by Friday 27 September.