Ravenswood Primary School

Ravenswood Primary School

Week beginning 13th November 2023

Thanks to all of the Reception families who came along to the reading meeting this week. I hope you found it useful. Thanks also to everyone who came along to the In the Loop meeting on Tuesday morning. This week’s blog is mainly the minutes of this meeting including all of the dates that you will need for the run up to Christmas.

Dinners on the Ravenswood App

The Ravenswood App is giving us a little problem at the moment. In an ideal world, families at home can select the meal that their child is having each day and save time in completing dinner registers at school. The problem is that some children are getting to school and changing their mind, once they see what their friend is having and others are getting to the hatch and forgetting what they ordered at home. The children who are choosing their lunch at 9am in school are more likely to remember their choice at lunchtime. We are looking at ways to solve this problem, but for now it is easier for the children to choose their meal in school.

Attendance

As usual, we are aiming for all pupils to have 95% attendance in a school year. This means not having more than nine and a half days off. In the first half term, 335 of our pupils (67%) have greater than 95% attendance, but 81 pupils (16%) have less than 90% attendance. We rely on our families to support us with attendance in school. You will be aware that this is a national issue and I am coming under increasing pressure to use fines for persistent absence, which so far I have avoided.

Christmas

Christmas is fast approaching and we will be contacting you directly about tickets for shows and instructions for parties. Here are the key dates

Christmas shows

  • Nursery and Reception – Carols - Monday 11th Tuesday 12th and Friday 15th December (2pm)
  • Year 1 – It’s Christmas Time - Wednesday 13th (2pm) and Thursday 14th December (9:30am)
  • Year 2 – Whoopsie Daisy Angel - Thursday 14th (2pm) and Friday 15th December (9:30am)
  • Christmas celebration at St Gabriel’s for the whole school - Tuesday 19th December 5pm
  • Christmas parties will be as follows

Christmas parties

  • N Monday 18th December and Friday 22nd December
  • R Thursday 21st December
  • Y1 Wednesday 20th December
  • Y2 Tuesday 19th December
  • Y3 Thursday 21st December
  • Y4 Tuesday 19th December
  • Y5 Wednesday 20th December
  • Y6 Monday 18th December

There will also be the traditional Year 6 Fancy Dress parade on Thursday 21st December and we might have a special visitor on Wednesday 20th December, if he’s not too busy. Christmas lunch will also be on Wednesday 20th December. We are very aware that everything is getting more expensive and so ask that you don’t buy Christmas presents for the teachers. Save your money for your own family or make a donation to any of the charities who are desperate for your support at this time of year.

Headteacher appointment

You will be aware that I am retiring in July and the process of finding a new Headteacher is well under way. The Staffing Committee have shortlisted five candidates for the post and interviews will take place on 28th and 29th November. I will let you know the outcome in that week’s blog.

Road safety

This is an item that never seems to go away. Can I remind all drivers to drive and park responsibly at drop off and pick up times? Please don’t use the back lane at the car park entrance and please do not park on the school zig-zag lines, as this is prohibited. We do have a School Streets system in place which could result in a £1000 fine for anyone using the streets and back lanes around the school from 8 to 9:30am and 2:30 to 4pm. So far, we have seen a complete lack of enforcement of this system. I would encourage all of our families to complete the research questionnaire, which I sent via email on Tuesday.

Winter Fair donations

Thanks for all of the donations that were sent in this week for the Winter Fair. This is hugely appreciated. The fair take place in 1st December, straight after school. I look forward to seeing you there.

Volunteers

As promised, here is a picture of one of our volunteer teams. These are the Ravenswood Litter Pickers. They were fully kitted out with high vis, gloves, bags and picker sticks. They had a great time and collected a surprising amount of litter. Great job!

Football team

The Boy’s Football Team were out on Thursday evening for three league fixtures. They played well, winning two games and losing one. Well done to the whole team.