Whinstone Primary School Lowfields Avenue Ingleby Barwick

Transcription

1 Whinstone Primary School Lowfields Avenue Ingleby Barwick Stockton- on- Tees TS17 0RJ Friday 10 th Tel: Fax: Headteacher: Mr M Poppitt BEd. (Hons) Deputy Headteacher: Mr R Craig BA (Hons) February 2017 Dear Parents Newsletter Singing Performance by Charlotte Brown, Y4AC On Friday 3rd February, Whinstone held a singing concert at Thornaby Sports and Leisure Club. It was organised by our singing teacher Bethel Nutter. Mr. Good hosted the show which turned out to be a huge success. Everyone performed brilliantly and showed off their singing talents. Here are some quotes of what people thought of the show: Erin and Amy It was nerve-wracking performing on the stage Olivia It was my second performance and I really enjoyed it Ribbon It was scary, good and really good fun! Vania It was exciting because it was my first time at singing solo Jessica It was a great show and Mr. Good was a great host! The children all performed confidently and the show was once again very well attended. Thank you to everyone who supported the night and made it a memorable occasion for the children. Special thanks go to Bethel for organising the event and to Mr. Good for his hosting. Huge thanks and congratulations go to the children for being so talented - well done everyone! 2. World Book Day We celebrate World Book Day every year and will be again this year on the 2nd March. We are inviting children to come dressed as a character from a book or comic for the day. In the past we've had a fabulous range of outfits worn from Horrid Henry to Harry Potter, Mrs Twit to Mary Poppins! We are not asking for any contributions of money, just to enjoy the day! There will be prizes for winning costumes including the best dressed member of staff! Further details and updates will be sent out nearer the time Foundation Stage News Nursery and Reception have been learning all about 'People who help us' and 'Transport'. As part of these topics, we asked the Fire Brigade to come in. They arrived at school and talked to all of the children about how they help people, then the children got a chance to squirt the hose and even sit inside! It was great fun! The children all behaved impeccably and we are all very proud. Thank you Thornaby Fire Station for coming to our school!

2 4. Safer Internet Day 7th February, 2017 At Whinstone every day teachers take every opportunity to reinforce internet safety rules. On Tuesday this week, it was the nationwide day to mark Safer Internet Day 2017 with this year's theme 'Be the change: Unite for a better internet'. All classes across school have had special lessons, watched videos, made posters, had assemblies, created avatars, all creating valuable discussions on how they can keep themselves safer online. Over the coming weeks, Mrs Woodley, our Computing Leader, will be displaying the work from this week on our website. However, a video produced by Mrs Scott s Year 5 class is now live on the homepage of our website. Why not watch it with your child, and encourage an important conversation on how to stay safe online at home? The Safer Internet Day website also has a lot of videos and information for parents. Here is some recent essential safety advice on some APPs that your child may be using... On the APP Roblox: On the APP Musically: On general use of posting pictures of your child on social media: It is important that we, as carers, ensure that we are up to date with recent APPs, as unfortunately those aimed at children are not always as safe as they first seem. Do you ever wish you had more control over your child's time on the internet/apps? 'OurPact' is a free APP that gives you the power to block internet and apps across any network, inside and outside of the home. Whether you re looking for ios or Android parental controls, OurPact is trusted by families worldwide Words Competition This week, Mrs Todd has led assemblies across the school to promote the 500 Words Competition which is a national story writing competition. Children have been encouraged to look at the website, listen to previous winning stories, look at the handy hints and tips section and create their own story. We are running our own Whinstone competition parallel to the national completion (the same story can be used for both) and there will be winning stories selected and prizes given in each year group. The competition is for children from Y1 to Y6. The closing date for the competition is 23rd February and the website is Club The closing date for joining the Friends of Whinstone 100 club was due to be today but there are still some free numbers if you would like to buy some numbers. As well as supporting our school it also gives you an opportunity each month of winning 25, 15 or 10. The cost is 12 for the year, and this will give you entry in the monthly draw for a full year. Please send 12 to the office clearly labelled and get ready for the first draw. 7. Friends of Whinstone Valentine Cake Sale We would like to thank all of you who donated cakes toady, homemade or shop bought, for our Valentine Cake Sale. Also thank you to everyone who brought in money to buy the cakes which has resulted in the School Fund being increased by more than 300. This is a much appreciated contribution which will be used to support and enhance learning and opportunities across the school.

3 8. School Dinners Each day there is a choice of hot food and vegetables, plus there is a cold alternative including sandwiches and filled wraps. All choices can be accompanied by a side salad, a dessert and a drink. Next week we are on week three of the four-week menu rotation and the hot choices for next week are: Monday Beef Casserole with Dumplings, Jacket Potato with Cheese, (V), Tuna or Beans (V) Tuesday Chicken Curry, Vegetable Curry (V), Sausage Roll Wednesday Roast Gammon served with Pineapple, Cheese Pasty (V) Thursday Spaghetti Bolognaise, Quorn Bolognaise (V), Corned Beef Pie Friday Salmon Fillet Fingers, Cheese & Tomato Pizza (V) Dinner money for next half-term is 71.75, this can be sent into school, but many parents are now opting to pay over the phone by debit card to the catering department on or Head Lice We have had a small number of children presenting with head lice in school. It should be noted that school nurses no longer carry out routine head inspections, as these are considered ineffective and no evidence exists which suggest that head inspections prevent the spread of head lice. Parents/carers are responsible for keeping their family s hair clear of lice by: regular shampooing and conditioning hair; combing hair at least twice a day; regular combing with a fine tooth plastic or detector comb on a weekly basis to detect head lice; if head lice are suspected using the wet combing method to detect moving lice (see attached information leaflet); alerting friends, family and the school if head lice are detected, and letting them know that treatment is being undertaken. There is an information leaflet at the end of this newsletter. The NHS website offering advice for dealing with head lice can be accessed here: Dogs at School Polite Reminder Please can we remind all parents that dogs should not, under any circumstances, be brought into the school site, this is for the safety of the children. 11. The Family Hub Stockton Local Authority are very keen to support all families of the borough and have recently opened a Family Hub Service. this service accessed by telephone or drop in can offer advice and support with a host of issues e.g. child behaviour and development, housing, parenting and relationships. The Family Hub is open for a drop in session on Saturday between 10am and 4pm ideal for busy working families. Please see the attached leaflet for further information. 12. Gazette Tokens and Sainsbury s Active Kids Thank you for The Gazette Wish Tokens, we collected a total 7,975! This promotion is now finished but we are now collecting Sainsbury's Active Kids Vouchers. 13. Flat Stan First Aid Workshops for Children. Does your child know who to ring in an emergency? Do they know how to deal with a nose bleed? Do they know CPR? A local company called Quick Response' have started to provide 'Flat Stan' basic first aid training for children from age 3 upwards. A few of our children in year 3 took part in the training this week and thoroughly enjoyed it, saying that they had fun as well as learning new skills. The trainers, Angela and Stuart were fantastic at teaching the essential skills in a non-scary way, at child-level. Each child also receives a 'Flat Stan' booklet and certificate. If you are interested in enrolling your child, the lesson is 10 for 75 minutes and available at the Play Factory on Tuesday 14th or 21st February at 4.30pm. Contact Angela directly

4 14. Withdrawal of 5 notes The paper 5 nots cease to be legal tender on 5 th May Consequently, we will no longer be accepting these bank notes after Easter Royal British Legion This week we received a certificate from the Royal British Legion following our contribution to their annual appeal last November. We are delighted that the children and staff at Whinstone contributed a donation of This is an extremely impressive amount and I am very proud of all our combined efforts for this important charity. School closes today for the February half-term holiday. We are closed for one week and we will re-open on Monday 20 th February. Yours Sincerely, Mike Poppitt Headteacher 30 Minute Exercise Class (INSANITY) Come along to a 30 minute whole body exercise class in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere suitable for all levels of fitness. Don t be put off by the name INSANITY you just work at your own pace and intensity and you WILL achieve great results and you WILL feel better! Tuesdays and Thursdays pm, 3.25 per session. Either just turn up or call Julie for further information on

5 INFORMATION LEAFLET FOR PARENT/CARERS FACTS ABOUT HEAD LICE Head lice are small insects which are usually found close to the scalp where there is warmth, food and shelter from detection. They cannot fly, jump or hop and are spread where heads touch each other. Head lice are very common and affect most children some time in their life. Most head lice infections are not caught in school. HOW CAN I PREVENT/DETECT/TREAT HEAD LICE? 1. PREVENTION Children should have their own comb and be taught how to use it. Combing hair at least twice a day and regular shampooing and conditioning will help to prevent any head lice infection becoming established. 2. DETECTION Shampoo hair and apply plenty of conditioner to make the hair wet and slippery. Comb the hair from the scalp outwards, section by section, with a fine plastic tooth comb Use a detector comb, available from chemists, for at least 10 minutes over a sink, bath tub or disposable towel. If lice are present they will fall out or stick to the comb. The comb should be washed with water or wiped clean with a paper napkin between each stroke. Repeat this method as often as required, e.g. at routine hair washing sessions. 3. TREATMENT Wet-combing method It is recommended that this is a safe and effective way of treating head lice and should be used first before considering the use of insecticide lotions. This method of treatment should be carried out every 3 4 days over a 2 week period (a total of 4 sessions over 2 weeks). The principles of this method (sometimes called the bug-busting method) are: WASH, RINSE, CONDITION AND COMB. This method is as follows: 1. Wash the hair with ordinary shampoo. 2. Put ordinary conditioner on the hair. 3. Then either sitting upright or bowed over a sink, whichever is most comfortable, comb the hair with a wide-toothed comb to straighten and untangle the hair. 4. Untangle the hair using a close toothed plastic comb or lice detector comb purchased from the local pharmacies. 5. Slot teeth into a section of hair, right at the roots, touching the scalp gently. 6. Check the comb for lice between each stroke. Remove lice by wiping the comb on kitchen paper. The lice caught between the teeth should be removed with a cocktail stick or nailbrush. 7. Work all over the head, section by section, combing and cleaning until the comb comes through louse free. 8. Rinse the hair, leave the hair dripping wet. Use a wide toothed comb to straighten and untangle the hair again. 9. Keeping the hair wet, use the lice detector comb to comb the rinsed hair. Work all over the head until the comb comes through louse free. Once it is known that one member of the family has lice, the whole family should use this method to see if they have head lice.

6 Treatment with Insecticide Lotions/Rinses Insecticides are used when the wet combing method is not thought to be effective. Insecticides should only be used if live lice have been found in the hair it should not be used to prevent head lice, only to treat the condition. Insecticides are available from a pharmacy, without a prescription. It is important that instructions on use are followed carefully. After treatment, the wet-combing method should be used to check for head lice and to remove dead eggs. A second application is recommended seven days after the first one, but if the lice appear to be unaffected by the product (some lice may have developed resistance to a particular insecticide) or if the problem persists, you should seek advice from your GP, who can advise you on further treatments which may be only available on prescription. It should be noted that chlorine may lessen the effect of some insecticides and it is recommended that if the child has been swimming in a chlorinated pool in the 72 hours before treatment the hair should be washed and dried before lotion is applied. Swimming should not be banned after treatment.