December Newsletter
Dear Parents/Carers,
We come to the end of a busy and fun filled term in school. The children have enjoyed many new experiences including special visitors, workshops, assemblies, competitions as well as our new immersive room. It has been a pleasure to witness the progress they have made since the start of September. We hope that they enjoy the holidays and come back in January with enthusiasm and energy for the new term and new year ahead.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the staff for all their hard work this term. Despite all the challenges, including battling through snow and sickness, they have demonstrated great teamwork and dedication and they continue to make Squirrels Heath a great place to learn. I wish them all a restful and well deserved break.
Fond Farewell
Unfortunately, we must say a sad farewell to some members of staff. Mrs Hammel, one of our teachers, will be moving to a new school closer to home. Mrs Collins, teaching assistant in Birch class, will be leaving the school after 13 years, to seek out pastures new. Mr Robson, who has tutored children at the school for the past 8 years, will also be leaving us. On behalf of the school community, I would like to thank them for their loyal and dedicated service and wish them well. They will be missed by both pupils and staff.
Welcome
In January we will welcome Mr Merchant to our teaching staff and Miss Treacy to our teaching support staff. We wish them well here and hope that they will be very happy at Squirrels Heath.
RHS School Gardening Award
I am pleased to report that the school has been awarded Level 4 of the Royal Horticultural Society’s School Gardening Awards which is a fantastic achievement! Along with our certificate, the school has received £100 worth of seeds which the children will help to plant next term.
Later in the year we hope to apply for Level 5, which is the highest level that can be awarded. Level 5 is given to a very small percentage of schools each year who help to promote gardening in their local community. If successful, the school will receive a plaque and a £200 gardening gift certificate. Pupils and parents can help us with our bid for the award. We will be sending out more information about this in the Spring term.
Christmas Bazaar
Thank you to everyone who supported our Christmas bazaar which raised an amazing amount of over £2000 so far! The children had a delightful day and really enjoyed visiting the stalls in the hall to purchase items and play games.
Santa Visit
Many of the children visited Father Christmas in his Grotto on Monday. A big thank you to Mr Robinson, Santa’s visit would not have been possible without him!
Christmas Carol Singing
Thank you to those of you who braved the cold temperatures and the snow to attend our Christmas Carol singing in the playground on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. It was lovely to see everyone and to hear the children singing. It certainly helped to share some much needed Christmas cheer.
End of term reports
The children were given their end of term reports to bring home last Thursday. We hope these reports give you further information about how your child is performing in school. If you have any questions about any of the contents in the report, please get in touch with your child’s teacher via the school office.
School App
We would like to encourage any parents who have not yet downloaded our school app to do so please. This is a great way for us to send reminders to you about events in school and also in case of inclement weather we are able to confirm whether school is open or not. Once you have the App installed you are also able to view the school calendar, news, letters and even report your child's absence. The App also has a link to our school website and the office e-mail and helps parents to access key information quickly.
If you have not already downloaded the App onto your mobile phone please follow these simple instructions:
- Search Greenhouse Schools
- Enter Squirrels Heath Junior School
- Enter the school code: 6472
- Tap on the cog (top right hand corner)
- Tap Notification Settings and select relevant year groups
Contact Information
Please ensure that you inform the school office as soon as possible if you change your mobile number or e-mail address. It is very important that we are able to communicate information to you, especially in case of emergency.
On behalf of the staff at Squirrels Heath Junior school, I would like to thank all our families for your support throughout this term. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope that you are all able to enjoy some quality time together over the holidays. We look forward to welcoming the children back to school on Monday the 9th of January.
