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NURSERY CHRISTMAS PARTY
A reminder that Nursery are holding their Christmas party on Monday 15th December from 12.30 – 3.00pm for all Nursery children. There will be no morning Nursery session on this day.

CHRISTMAS CRAFT MORNING
There are still tickets remaining for our Christmas Craft Morning on Thursday 27th November at 10.30am. Why not come along and enjoy a cuppa and a mince pie while helping your child to make a Christmas craft. Tickets cost £1.50 per adult (children are free) and are available now from the office.

HEALTHY TUCK SHOP
Our school council have suggested setting up a healthy tuck shop in main school. We would appreciate it if you would read the information in the link and complete and return the reply slip to us as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation.
Download file

WOW SCHEME
This year we are taking part in an initiative aimed at encouraging children to walk to school at least once a week. The scheme is called ‘Walk on Wednesdays’ and starts next Wednesday, 12th November.
Northumberland County Council is offering the chance for pupils to take part in a competition and win some fantastic prizes eg; bikes, gift vouchers and wristbands. All you have to do is ‘Walk to School on Wednesdays!’

LOOKING AFTER OURSELVES WEEK
This week our children have enjoyed a wide range of activities along the theme of ‘Looking After Ourselves”. The children have worked with policemen and fire fighters, enjoyed cookery demonstrations from ‘Expochef’ and keep fit from Bedlington High School. If you would like to see what our children have been up to please check out our website after half term at www.steadlanefirst.org.uk

COMMON APPLICATION FORMS
For parents/carers of Nursery and Year 4 children – all application forms must be in by Friday 24th October 2008 so that the LEA Schools Admissions team are able to offer your child a place in the first or middle school of your choice for September 2009. Application forms can also be filled in online at www.northumberland.gov.uk. Delays in filling in the form may result in your child not obtaining a place at their preferred school.

YEAR 1 VISIT TO WALLINGTON HALL
If you have not already done so, could you please return the reply slip and payment to school as soon as possible. Spare copies of the letter are available from the school office. Thank you.

OFSTED REPORT
As you are aware, we were inspected by Ofsted last week. We are very proud of our report, which you can find a copy of in the main school entrance. I would also like to thank all parents for their positive responses to the questionnaire and continued support for school.

Bedlington Station Residents Association are holding after school events for anyone interested. Please click below to view an enlarged version:

AUTUMN TERM SCHOOL CLUBS
Just a reminder that our extra curricular activities will start next week from Monday 29th September. Please assume that your child has a place, unless you have been informed otherwise. Cookery club is oversubscribed, so to give all our children the opportunity to participate, Year 1 members will attend for 4 weeks (up to half term) and Year 2 for the following 4 weeks (after half term). Also due to the popularity of Gardening club, we regret that Reception children will be unable to attend this term.

OFSTED INSPECTION
We have just been informed that our school will be inspected by Ofsted on 23rd and 24th September. An important aspect of the inspection will be views of parents and children about our school. We have a letter for parents which Ofsted have asked us to distribute and a questionnaire for parents to fill in. If you have not already received your copy please call at the school office. Thank you.

WELCOME BACK TO A NEW YEAR!
We hope that you have had an enjoyable (if not wet) summer holiday and your children are ready for the new challenges and exciting opportunities which lie ahead for them in the coming year. A list of diary dates for this term will be published next week.
As you will have seen, school has been full of activity over the summer holidays with the development of our outdoor area. This is just the start, keep watching for further developments over the next few weeks. For your child’s health and safety we would be grateful if they stay away from building works at the beginning and end of the school day.

END OF TERM
And so, we’ve almost made it to the end of term, or in fact the end of the year! I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all parents and friends of Stead Lane for their continued support since September. It has been a pleasure getting to know you all and a privilege working with your children.
Just a reminder that we break up at 1.30pm on Wednesday 23rd July. Children may bring a toy for the last day – but remember they are responsible for their own property!
Have a great summer holiday, let’s hope the weather improves, and we will see you all next term on Tuesday 9th September.
Yours Sincerely,
J.A.Jones
Headteacher

SUMMER FAIR & DISCO
It is not too late to buy a ticket for the Summer Fair & Disco! Available now from the office!

NO STRIKE ACTION
Parents may be aware that some schools are closing next Wednesday and Thursday due to industrial action taken by Unison. Stead Lane will not be closed, business as usual!

SUMMER REPORTS
Today you will receive your child’s annual written report. While every effort has been made to check each report, if a mistake has slipped through, please accept our apologies and return to school to be corrected. Please sign and return the acknowledgement slip on the back of the report to let us know you have received it. All feedback is appreciated, so if you have any comments (especially positive ones!), that would be great.

YEAR 2 EXIT
Starting on Monday 7th July our Year 2 children will be exiting school via the conservatory.

PARKING
Thank you to all our parents / carers who have cooperated with school and not parked directly outside the school gates on the yellow zig zag lines. The police intend to make spot checks in the future and will be issuing tickets, so you have been warned!!

SENSIBLE FOOTWEAR
Can we please stress the importance of your child wearing sensible footwear for school. With the lovely sunny weather, we would all like to wear our flip flops, but unfortunately this type of footwear is not sensible for playing in the playground and numerous accidents have happened due to this. Also, in Nursery, the children like to play on the apparatus and need sensible shoes to enable them to do this. Thank you for your cooperation.

PARKING
Thank you to those parents who have respected our request not to drive onto school property. Please can we remind you to take care when parking outside of school, not to park on the yellow zig-zag lines outside the gate, or where you will block access for local residents.

LOST UNIFORM
One of our Year 1 pupils has lost her cardigan. It is from Matalan and has her name in. Could you please check any uniform your child has at home incase they have taken it by mistake. Thank you.

YEAR 2 FAMILY ASSEMBLY
Please note that Year 2 family assembly will be held at 9.10am on Friday 18th July 2008 not Thursday 17th July as we stated on previous newsletters. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

STAFF INFORMATION
We will be sorry to see Miss Bell leave us this Thursday 26th June. Her maternity cover for Mrs Beaton has come to an end and Mrs Beaton is returning. We wish Miss Bell good luck for the future.

YEAR 1 FAMILY ASSEMBLY
Our Year 1 family assembly is at 9.00am on Thursday 26th June. The children are really excited to share their work with you all so we hope you can come along.

Our newsletter dated 13.06.08 informed you that Year 1 is holding their family assembly on Thursday 19th June. The assembly is actually at 9.00am on Thursday 26th June.Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

BRAKE – GUINESS BOOK RECORD ATTEMPT
Well done to our children in Years 3 & 4 who took part this week in the largest national walking bus record breaking attempt. You may have seen us on the news as we walked around our local area to promote walking to school safely. For the full story, see last night’s Chronicle and Journal.

STARS IN THEIR EYES
Just a reminder that ‘Stars in their eyes’ auditions are to be held on Monday 16th June. If your child would like to take part please complete a reply slip and return to school (spare copies available from the office).If your child has already done this, please remind them to bring in their cd or any other items needed for their auditions on Monday.

SCHOOL ORGANISATION 2008-9
Next year there will be a number of changes to staffing in school. Mrs. Rowley and Mrs. Wing will both be on maternity leave and Mrs. Olsen will be working part time, as part of a phased retirement.
Nursery - Mrs. Mallin
Reception - Mrs. McLean
Year 1 - Mrs. Wing / maternity teacher
Year 2 - Mrs. Lockie
Year 3 - Mrs. O’Connor
Year 4 - Mr. Whitehead
Mrs. Olsen and Mrs. Beaton will be covering classes when teachers have their weekly planning and preparation time. We would also like to welcome Mr. Whitehead who will be joining our team in September.

HALF TERM BREAK
School closes today for the half term break and re-opens on Monday 2nd June 2008 at 9.00am (8.00am for Breakfast Club).

WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK
To encourage our children to adopt a healthier lifestyle, after the half term break we are holding a ‘Walk to School Week’. We are encouraging all children to walk to school or, if this is not possible, we ask parents to park a little distance away from school and walk the rest of the way or get off the bus one stop earlier. We hope you will try to participate. Each child will be given their own walk to school booklet in which they will receive a sticker every time they walk to school during that week. Any child who fills their booklet will receive a certificate. Thank you for your cooperation.

READING CHALLENGE
Thank you to all those who took part in our ‘Reading Challenge’. The children completed the challenge and we raised £573.95, half of which is going to buy new books for our school library and half to ‘International Book Aid’. Well done Stead Lane!

HEAD LICE
Can we please remind all parents of the importance of checking your child’s hair regularly as there have been cases of head lice reported in school. Thank you.

SCHOOL GATES
Can we please remind you that the school gates will be closed every morning at 8.45am and are to remain closed throughout the school day. If for any reason you need to open the gates please close them after you to protect our children. Thank you for your cooperation.

READING CHALLENGE
Well done to everyone who took part in our reading challenge! We managed to complete the challenge so our children have enjoyed treats this afternoon. Thank you to everyone who helped us to raise money for our school library and International Book Aid. If you have not already handed in your sponsor money please do so as soon as possible.

NEW CYCLE SHELTERS
As you may have noticed our cycle shelters are now finished. Please fill in a letter (available from the office) if your child is interested.

TEACHER TRAINING DAY
Please note: we have a teacher training day on Friday 2nd May and as it is bank holiday on Monday 5th May, school will close on Thursday 1st May and re-open on Tuesday 6th May at 9.00am.

SPONSORED BOOK CHALLENGE
We have had a report of children knocking on strangers doors for sponsorship. Although the challenge is for a good cause, for safety reasons, we would prefer that children receive sponsors from friends and family only.

BOOK CHALLENGE
Could you please ensure that all sponsor money and reading diaries or answer sheets (Nursery only) be returned to school on or before Friday 9th May 2008. Thank you.

TEACHER TRAINING DAY
Please note: we have a teacher training day on Friday 2nd May and as it is bank holiday on Monday 5th May, school will close on Thursday 1st May and re-open on Tuesday 6th May.

STEAD LANE BOOK WEEK
As mentioned in a previous newsletter, we are holding a book week next week, where the children will enjoy various activities. On Monday the children will get the chance to read in our reading tent, on Tuesday we are holding a coffee afternoon at 2.00pm where our drama group will be performing their play and there will also be a book fair. On Wednesday we are having a visit from a fantastic storyteller who is sure to thrill the children and our book fair will be open again from 3.00pm. On our final day, Thursday 1st May we hope that everyone will come to school dressed as a character from a book.

SCHOOL CLOSURE
School closes today for our Easter break and re-opens on Tuesday 22nd April 2008 at 9.00am (8.00am if you attend Breakfast Club). PLEASE NOTE: Monday 21st April is a teacher training day. Have a nice holiday!

SPRING FAIR
Thank you to everyone who supported our Spring Fair yesterday. Everyone had a great time and we raised money for our school funds!

SPRING FAIR
We are holding our Spring Fair on Thursday 3rd April 2008. We have various events for all of the family. Tickets cost £1.00 per child and this includes juice, crisps and a turn on some of our activities. Adults are free. Tickets can be reserved using the reply slip distributed earlier this week, if you did not receive one copies are available from the office.

SPRING FAIR APPEAL
During our Spring Fair we will be having a toy and book stall, bric-a-brac stall, tombola, raffles for adults and children and a cake stall. If you could donate to any of these stalls it would be greatly appreciated.

EASTER BREAK
School closes today, Thursday 20th March, for the Easter break and re-opens on Tuesday 25th March. Our annual Easter holiday is from Friday 4th April until Tuesday 22nd April. We wish you a very enjoyable bank holiday weekend.

CONSERVATORY
Work is nearly complete on our conservatory which will enable small groups of children to work out of the classroom. The conservatory was made possible from a Small Schemes Grant which we received through our governor, Councillor Bill Ashbridge, to whom we are extremely grateful.

LOST
A child in Year 4 has lost their tracksuit. It is a white jacket with orange print and green bottoms, with the nike logo on both. The size of the tracksuit is 7/8 years. If your child has brought it home by mistake please return it to school as soon as possible.

MILK IN MAIN SCHOOL
Please fill in and return the attached milk form if you wish your child to receive milk.

HEAD LICE
As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we have had several cases of head lice in school. Unfortunately this week there have been more cases brought to our attention throughout the whole school. Once again can we please stress the importance of checking your child’s hair regularly and immediate treatment if needed. Thank you.

TRINITY YOUTH WALKING BUS
There are to be slight changes to arrangements for children who attend Trinity Youth after school club. Two of our teaching assistants, Mrs. Cotton & Mrs. Williamson, will now be working alternative weeks walking the children to Whitley Memorial First School.

REWARDING GOOD BEHAVIOUR
This half term we have updated our whole school behaviour policy (copies available from the school office). Displayed in each classroom is a set of “Golden Rules”.

Our Golden Rules

We are gentle | We do not hurt anybody
We are kind and helpful | We do not hurt the feelings of others
We work hard | We do not waste our own or others’ time
We look after property | We do not waste or damage things
We listen to people | We do not interrupt
We are honest | We do not cover up the truth

AFTER SCHOOL CHILD CARE PROVISION
A number of parents have expressed concern that Trinity Youth will no longer be providing a pick up service from school after half term. Following a meeting with Trinity Youth and the Children Information Service this week, I can confirm that the service will be continuing after half term.

In the meantime, I am seeking to employ a supervisor from school who will be responsible for walking our children to the after school club, so that the service can be guaranteed in the future

NEW OUTDOOR ADVENTURE TRAIL
As part of our drive to become a more Healthy School we have been thinking of ways to improve the playground facilities for children in Key Stages 1 and 2. The children have said that they’d like some equipment like the children in Nursery and Reception. We have approached the school Governors and Councillor Bill Ashbridge, a long serving Governor here, has managed to secure funding to pay for an adventure trail for the main play area.
School has benefited from a number of small scheme grants over the years. We really appreciate that Councillor Ashbridge values our community and our children’s needs.

HEAD LICE
Several cases of head lice have been reported in school this week. Could we please remind parents to be extra vigilant and regularly check their child’s hair.

YEAR 4 TRIP TO RISING SUN COUNTRY PARK
This trip takes place on Monday 4th February. If your child has not yet returned their reply slip, please do so as soon as possible as we cannot take them out of school without your consent.

WATER BOTTLES
It is the school’s policy that all children have access to water in the classroom at all times during the day.
As part of our push to become a more Healthy School we have purchased a water bottle for every child in main school.
The bottles should be taken home every night, washed, refilled with water and returned to school the next day.
Bottles should not be refilled with juice – they are for water only.
If your child has milk they will continue to also have their milk as usual.
If a bottle is lost – you may purchase a replacement at a cost of £1.00.

EVENTS THIS TERM
We have another exciting programme of events planned for this term. Please see reverse of letter – worth keeping on the kitchen wall!

SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENTS
Active Mark
Last term our schools commitment to physical activity and exercise, both within the planned curriculum and through extra-curriculum activities was rewarded with accreditation of the Active Mark Award. We were successful because our children participate in high quality PE which is significantly above the national average, we hold an annual sports day and we have met or bettered the national average for the percentage of children who participate in sports clubs linked to school.

WELCOME BACK!
We hope you have had a good Christmas and send you our very best wishes for 2008. This promises to be another exciting term in school with many opportunities for our children. We have successfully bid for funding to develop our school garden and create a story telling area, which will be designed in consultation with our children and school council. Our Year 4 children will also be commencing a Creative Arts project with artists from the Sage, where they will be performing with other schools in Bedlington in the summer term.