July 2021 Newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers,

We come to the end of a rather challenging year for us all. Thank you to parents and carers for your co-operation and support throughout the year not only with the restrictions in school, which made drop off and collection times tricky and difficult, but also for the encouragement and assistance you provided to your children during the lockdown period and the rest of the school year. Thank you for working with us to ensure the best for the children.

I would also like to thank staff for their commitment, hard work and dedication. Throughout the academic year, they have worked together as a team not only to ensure that all the children’s needs were met but also to ensure that learning was as fun and enjoyable as it could possibly be!  I wish them all a well-deserved rest.

Most importantly I would like to say thank you to the children. On the most difficult of days, when the news we received made us wonder when things will get better or easier, you made our efforts worthwhile. Your smiling faces, your passion for learning and your sheer energy and resilience brightened even the darkest days. You are all amazing and we cannot wait to have you back in September. Have a lovely break with your families.

To the year 6 pupils leaving us, a very sad farewell. We hope that you have all enjoyed your time with us and that you will remember the school with fond memories. You will always be part of the Squirrels community. We wish you all the very best of luck in secondary school and beyond

Fond Farewell to Mrs Pearson

Sadly, Mrs Pearson, who has been a member of our support team for eight years, will be leaving us today. On behalf of the school community, I would like to thank her for her service to the school and wish her well in her future endeavours.

New Staff

We would like to welcome Miss Sheenan to our teaching team. Also joining us are Mr Henry, our new Site Manager, and Mr Robinson, our new Assistant School Keeper. We hope that they will all be very happy during their time with us.

New classes

From September our new class arrangements will be as follows:

Start Times and End Times

We have been advised by the Department for Education that we will no longer be required to form bubbles in September. Therefore, we will revert to the arrangements we had in place before Covid. All children will be allowed to arrive at school from 8.30am, entering the premises either via the front gate in Salisbury Road or the back gate in Brentwood Road. The children will be permitted to walk straight into their classrooms where they will be met by their teacher and complete some early morning work. Registration for Y5 and Y6 will be at 8:45am and registration for Y3 and Y4 will be at 8:50am. To help ease congestion at the end of the day, from September Y5 & Y6 will finish school at 3.05pm and Y3 & Y4 will finish at 3.15pm. All children will be dismissed from the main playground.

Please bear in mind, that these arrangements are subject to change and are dependent on our local situation and government guidance. If changes are necessary, they will be communicated via ParentMail so it is important that you check your emails regularly.

Breakfast Club

We will be offering a Breakfast Club again in September to pupils in all year groups. There will be a club for children in years 3 & 4 and a club for children in years 5 & 6. Breakfast options will include cereal or toast, milk and juice. The charge is £4 per session, payable in advance, via sQuid or if you are in receipt of childcare vouchers we are now registered to accept vouchers from Edenred, Care 4, Government Childcare, Faircare, Sodexo, Reward Gateway and Computer Share. Pupils are asked to arrive at the front side gate on Salisbury Road at 7:45am where they will be met by a member of staff. 

If you would like to enrol your child but have not yet completed the Google Form please contact the school office.

Skip-a-thon

We would like to thank everyone for taking part and supporting our Skip-a-thon which raised a grand total of £1428.63. This money has been put towards our new sensory garden. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I hope that they will continue to improve their skipping skills throughout the summer. A big thank you to Mrs Cross for organising the event.

Wild World Heroes, Summer Reading Challenge 2021

Your child has already brought home a bookmark telling you about this year's Summer Reading Challenge run by Havering Libraries. 

Here is a message from Donna Byrne, our local librarian - 

The Reading Agency and libraries are excited to introduce Wild World Heroes, Summer Reading Challenge 2021; a celebration of nature and action for the environment, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund UK.

During the summer holidays children aged 4-11 can sign up at their local Havering library from 10^th July, then read any six library books of their choice to collect special stickers and rewards along the way – all for FREE. This year only two library visits are needed, one to pick up a pack and a second to return a completed Book Review sheet in order to receive a medal and certificate.  Parents and carers will be discussing books and giving out stickers to their children.

Visit https://www.havering.gov.uk/events/20039/libraries for our free Summer events.

We hope to see as many Squirrels Heath Junior children taking part as possible. It is a great way to keep reading over the Summer Holidays and for them to have fun! If they complete the Challenge they will be presented with a certificate.

Keep reading!

I hope that you all remain safe over the summer and that you are able to enjoy some time quality together with your families. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Thursday 2^nd September.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs M Shipton

Head Teacher