Ysgol Gynradd Tre Uchaf Primary School

NL28th June

Tre Uchaf Primary School
Newsletter for Parents Week Beginning 28th June 2021
Dear Parents,
A reminder of important dates for this week (see last week’s newsletter for all dates to the end of term)
Monday
STF Trip to Aberavon
Tuesday
Year 5 Transition morning
Wednesday
Year 3 Trip to Folly Farm
Thursday
Foundation Phase Trip (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) to Aberavon
Key Stage 2 Class Sports Day
9.15 – 10.00 Y3
10.15 – 11,00 JSTF
11.15 – 12.00 Y4
1.00 – 1.45 Y5
2.00 – 2.45 Y6

SPORTS DAY Routines
While many schools are not inviting parents in for Sports Days we are very fortunate in having a large school field and can do this safely. We feel that events such as these are important for the well-being of our school community so we are committed to making it happen! We are very grateful to you for following our rules and routines over these past 18 months so we trust you to do so with respect to Sports Days. The success and safety of these events will, of course, depend on everyone following the rules as follows;
• Each class will have a specific time slot of 45 minutes
• Only one parent may attend for each family
• Parents should arrive at the allotted time and not before
• Parents should leave as soon as the class have finished
• Parents will be seated to watch at a 2m distance from each other on the seats we have set out for you
• As normally happens on school premises parents should wear face masks when walking to and from the events. However, you can remove them once seated at a 2m social distance.
Please do follow these guidelines so that these events can be enjoyed safely by all. Unfortunately, I have been contacted by several parents who are concerned that other parents are failing to wear face masks on school premises and are not social distancing. Please respect our whole school community by complying with this request. This is the only way we will feel confident in allowing events involving parents to go ahead.
Expressive Arts
This week all children will be taking part in Expressive Arts Week. This means that the whole week (when not on trips or doing sports days!) will be devoted to Expressive Arts learning such as Drama, Music, Art, Film and Dance. So this should be an enjoyable week for the children all round!! We will let you know if and how you can attend our Expressive Arts Exhibition next Monday, depending on the success of Thursday’s Sports Day.
School Uniform Grant
The deadline for applying for this year’s School uniform Grant is Wednesday 30th June. Please use the link here to apply;
https://www.swansea.gov.uk/schooluniformgrant
This is for families who are entitled to free school meals with children currently in Reception, Year 1, Year 3, Year 5. We will let you know about the grant for the next year very soon.
Best wishes

C M Hewitt

NL21st June

Dear Parents,

We have a very busy time ahead of us as we try to fit in some important and fun end of term events for you and your children. I now have some dates for your diary!

Tuesday 22^nd  June         Nursery to stay for lunch  until 11.30

Wednesday 23^rd June      Year 4 Trip to Port Eynon

Thursday 24^th June             Year 5 Trip to St Madoc’s (leaving at 9am sharp!)

Monday 28^th June             STF Trip to Aberavon

Tuesday 29^th June              Year 5 Transition morning to Penyrheol

Nursery to stay for lunch  until 11.30

Wednesday 30^th June      Year 3 Trip to Folly Farm

Thursday 1^st July                 Key Stage 2 Class Sports Days

9.15 Y3

10.15 JSTF

11.15 Y4

1.00 Y5

2.00 Y6

Foundation Phase Trip to Aberavon

Monday 5^th July                 Arts Exhibition in the gym – staggered times to be confirmed

Tuesday 6^th July                  Year 6 Transition morning in Penyrheol

All children to visit their new classes/teachers

Nursery to stay for lunch until 11.30

Meeting for September Reception parents 11.30am

Thursday 8^th July                Year 6 Trip to Oxwich

Foundation Phase Class Sports Days

9.15 Y1

10.15 Y2

11.15 Reception

2.00 ISTF

Afternoon Nursery Trip and Sports Day

Friday 9^th July                      Morning Nursery Trip and Sports Day

Reports out

Monday 12^th July              Reserve Sports Day

Nursery Reports out

Tuesday 13^th July               Class Picnics and Fun Day on the School Field

Wednesday 14^th July        Meeting for September Year 3 Parents 2.15pm

Thursday 15^th July              Reserve Sports/Picnic Day

Friday 16^th July                    Year 6 Leavers’ Event on school field – 9.30

Year 6 Leavers’ Party on school field – 1.00

Last day of term!

We must proceed cautiously, particularly with events which involve bringing parents onto the premises. I am sure you will understand that in order to keep everyone safe we must put the following in place over the coming weeks;

• Some events will be strictly staggered through the day
• Only one parent per family will be permitted to attend school events
• The wearing of masks and social distancing will be essential for parents
• Each class will travel on their own bus for trips
• All trips will be to outdoor venues

Please follow any guidelines we give you as it would be such a pity to spoil the end of this school year through over-crowding of adults. Thank you!

IMPORTANT

The children are really looking forward to our end of term events but in the circumstances we must be extra careful to ensure everyone is safe. This means that we can only include children who follow instructions consistently. We will not hesitate to exclude children from trips and fun events if we do not feel confident that they will remain in their contact groups and follow staff instructions immediately and without question. Let’s hope we can include everyone and finish this difficult year on a positive note!

I will put all these events on the Schoop calendar for your convenience so that you receive timely reminders!

September Classes

We have now just about worked out our staffing structure for September and we will be letting you and your children know over the next couple of weeks who will be teaching which class in September.

I hope you are and your children are looking forward to these final few weeks of what has been a challenging year as much as we are! Thank you for your continued support during these strange times!

Yours faithfully

C M Hewitt

Tre Uchaf Primary School

Parents’ Newsletter 28^th May 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

Today we finish for half term and your children are more than ready for a break. Most of your children have worked very hard this half term to catch up on time lost due to school closure and I am very proud of the effort they and their teachers have put in.

Monday 7^th June is an INSET Day during which staff will be developing a new format for reports which we hope you will find informative and easier to understand. Staff will also be working on the school environment so that both indoor and outdoor areas support all the exciting learning opportunities we have planned for the final half term of this difficult year.

We know that the children need lots of things to look forward to in school at the end of this challenging year and we are busy planning to do what we can to make up for those experiences they have missed out on due to covid restrictions. Some school trips have already been planned and plans for arts and sporting events are underway.

Class Photographs

There will be outdoor class photographs taken on Wednesday 9^th June. Please send your children to school in school uniform on that day, even if it is  their gym day. May I remind you that gym days are not a ‘non-uniform day’! Children must wear their school jumper over their gym t-shirt and comfortable leggings or joggers. preferably in black or grey.

School Car Park

I need to remind you again that children should not be riding their bikes and scooters across the school car park or in the yards at the beginning and end of the school day. This is very dangerous for them and for families arriving in school.

We have experienced some tampering with staff cars and are currently investigating this by adjusting our CCTV cameras so that we can see who is doing this. If you have any information about this would you please let us know.

Homework and Reading

Many children are completing their homework every single week and reading regularly and I would like to say well done to those children and their families for their commitment to this. However, we have too many children persistently failing to do this. I know how busy everyone is but may I remind you that the children need to be supported in this more than ever before as they prepare to move on to their next class. Our year 6 children in particular need to develop good habits of organisation in readiness for comprehensive school where homework expectations will be much higher.

Today we are appointing a new deputy head teacher! This will be a new member of staff and we will inform you all about this as soon as possible. I am confident that our governors will do you proud and make a good appointment.

May I wish you and your children a happy half term break and we look forward to welcoming you all back on Tuesday 8^th June.

Yours faithfully

C M Hewitt

Tre Uchaf Primary School

Parents Newsletter Week Beginning 24^th May 2021

Dear Parents,

This is our final week before half term and some of the children are tiring and ready for a break! We hope they will come back refreshed and ready for the final six weeks of this very strange year. We will do our very best to make these weeks as productive and enjoyable as possible.

Schoop! One Final Reminder!!

There are still too many parents not fully signed up to Schoop! Please note that signing up is a two stage process so don’t ignore any prompts from Schoop to give further registration details once you have downloaded the App and entered the school code. I know it’s a bit tricky as I didn’t get it right the first time myself!

Absence

We still have quite a few ‘unauthorised absences’ on our registers because we don’t have reasons for children’s absences. Please remember to let us know the reasons for your child’s absence straight away by phoning school or using the ‘Schoop’ absence messaging system.

DATES

Just another reminder of important dates ..

Half Term                              31^st May – 4^th June

INSET Day                             7^th June

Class Photographs              9^th June

Year 5 swimming starts      Friday 11^th June

Year 5 Transition Day          29^th June

Year 6 Transition Days        5^th and 6^th July

Last Day of Term                 16^th July

Plants

Nigel our caretaker has made us some fabulous planters that really enhance our school environment.  If you have any cuttings or plants that you would like to donate to school he would be delighted to use them. He is often pottering around near the gym in the mornings so please have a chat to him if you can help in any way.

The Boot Room Project..

If you have any unwanted football or rugby boots that you would like to donate, please leave them in the box just outside the main foyer.

New Deputy Head Teacher

On Friday the governors will be interviewing candidates for the Deputy headship of Tre Uchaf. This will be someone who is new to the school and I am confident that the governors will make an excellent choice. We should be able to let you know on Monday who has been appointed

Please remember I am always happy to take a call from you if you want to discuss anything. Alternatively, you can email me on HewittC23@hwbcymru.net

Yours faithfully,

C M Hewitt

Tre Uchaf Primary School

Parents Newsletter Week Beginning 17^th May 2021

Dear Parents,

Many thanks to those of you who have asked your children not to ride bikes and scooters in the yards this week. The situation has improved with just a couple of children not yet complying. Could you also please remind them that they should not be playing football in the yards before school as there are many parents, some with babies in prams.

Schoop!

There are still too many parents not fully signed up to Schoop! Please note that signing up is a two stage process so don’t ignore any prompts from Schoop to give further registration details once you have downloaded the App and entered the school code. I know it’s a bit tricky as I didn’t get it right the first time myself!

Absence

Please remember to let us know the reasons for your child’s absence straight away by phoning school or using the Shoop absence messaging system. May I remind you that if your child has been sick they must not attend school until 48 hours after their last bout of sickness. I do realise that this can be very frustrating for families but this is the rule we have been given by Public Health Wales.

DATES

Just a reminder of important dates ..

Half Term                              31^st May – 4^th June

INSET Day                             7^th June

Class Photographs              9^th June

Year 5 swimming starts      Friday 11^th June

Year 5 Transition Day          29^th June

Year 6 Transition Days        5^th and 6^th July

Last Day of Term                 16^th July

The Boot Room

We are taking part in the Boot Room project which enables you to donate unwanted football and rugby boots to children who may not be able to afford new boots. You can leave you donations in the box in our outside foyer and we will arrange for them to be collected.

Please remember I am always happy to take a call from you if you want to discuss anything. Alternatively, you can email me on HewittC23@hwbcymru.net

Yours faithfully,

C M Hewitt

Tre Uchaf Primary School

Newsletter for Parents Week Beginning 10^th May 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

School Trips!

We were delighted to hear this week that we are once again allowed to take the children on school trips, which is lovely news! The teachers are already thinking about trips which will enhance the topics the children are currently doing. We will still keep the classes in their contact bubbles which means that classes cannot share buses. We will try our best to keep costs down and will let you know about trips in plenty of time.  This doesn’t include residentials so we are planning to take our Year 5 and 6 children on some extra special trips instead.

Bikes and Scooters!

It is lovely to see so many children coming to school on their bikes and scooters. I would ask you to remind your children that they should not be riding them around the yards at the beginning and end of the day as this is a hazard and an annoyance to parents and younger children. Thank you.

Schoop

We are still looking for that first full class to sign up to Schoop! As I have said before it is so important that we are able to contact you quickly and to let you know the latest news. Reward for the first class to have every family signed up!

Just a few dates for your diary….

Half Term                              31^st May – 4^th June

INSET Day                             7^th June

Class Photographs              9^th June

Year 5 Transiton Day           29^th June

Year 6 Transition Days        5^th and 6^th July

Last Day of Term                 16^th July

We will let you know the dates  as soon as we can if we can run Sports Days and Concerts!!

Best wishes

C M Hewitt

Tre Uchaf Primary School Newsletter W/b 26^th April 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

Parent Phone Calls

Many thanks for making your appointments for parents evening phone calls this week. We had an excellent take up on this and teachers now have spoken to nearly every family! If you still haven’t managed to talk to your child’s class teacher please contact them either through DoJo or by email and they will find a time to fit this in. If you have any concerns following your phone call please don’t hesitate to contact me either by phone or by email on HewittC23@hwbcymru.net.

Communication

A few of you still haven’t registered with ‘Schoop’, our new texting system. It is really important that you do this so that we can contact you at short notice if necessary eg in the event of your child’s class having to isolate. We wouldn’t want you to miss out on important information so please go to our Parents Page on the website to find out how to do this.

Also would you please ensure we have your correct phone numbers and also alternative contact details in case we need to contact you in the event of your child’s illness or an accident.  There have been times when we have been unable to contact parents or other relatives and children have had to wait a long time to be collected from school.

Social Media

Many of our older children are using apps such as whatsapp despite them having a much older age rating. In the interest of your child’s well-being, please remove your child from any groups that are using inappropriate language and monitor messages closely.

Nuts

Some of our children have a nut allergy. Please do not send any nut products into school in packed lunches including Nutella sandwiches and/or hazelnut spread.

Getting Back to ‘Normal’

School is slowly beginning to return to ‘normal’. Violin lessons have started again and take place on Thursdays so please ensure your children bring their instruments and music to school each week, not forgetting to bring them home again to practise!

Kerbcraft is taking place in year 2 on Thursdays each week, outside in the school yard, so please ensure your child has a coat to wear in chillier weather.

We are still unsure about sports events and concerts this term but we will do our very best to do something within the guidelines we are given for June and July.

Looking Ahead

Following the appointment of Mrs Davies as head teacher from September the governors are busy recruiting a new deputy head teacher. This will all be finalised by half term and we will let you know who has been appointed as soon as this has been confirmed.

We will have decided on the new class structure by early July and we will let you and the children know who their new class teacher will be around that time. There will be plenty of opportunities for transition to their next class and we are still hoping that year 6 will be able to have their transition days in Penyrheol Comprehensive on 5^th and 6^th July. Before this time our year 6 will have been visited by staff from Penyrheol so that they can ask questions and find out more.

May I remind you that next Monday 3^rd May is a Bank Holiday so there will be no school. Let’s hope this lovey weather continues so that the children can enjoy lots of outdoor time both at home and at school!

Thank you again for helping to keep our school community safe by following our rules and routines and minimising your family contacts for just a little bit longer!

Best wishes

C M Hewitt

Newsletter for Parents Week Beginning 19th April 2021

Dear Parents,

We have had a very positive first week back in school and have been working your children quite hard! On the whole they have been cheerful and ready to learn and are pleased to be back with their friends and their teachers!

Thank you for continuing to follow our safety rules and for arriving with your children at the right times. We have had great attendance this week but please ensure you call school if your child is not well enough to come to school or if there is another reason why they cannot attend. Most importantly please let us know if your child, or someone in your household, has a positive covid test. We will be following up all unexplained absences.

Parents ‘Evenings’

You should by now have heard from your child’s class teacher about how you can book a phone call for ‘parents evening’. You will have a choice of a school time or an after school appointment. It is so important that you talk to your child’s class teacher next week so that you know how they have settled back into school and what you can do to ensure they keep up with their learning.

If you have any concerns following your discussion with your child’s class teacher please don’t hesitate to contact me for a chat.

Your Child’s Progress

We will be assessing the children’s progress over the next couple of weeks but there won’t be any National Tests this year. These assessments will be as informal as possible so your children don’t need to worry about them. We will let you know if we have concerns about your child’s progress.

Summer Term Dates

We are still unsure about what events will be allowed later this term but it unlikely that Year 5 and 6 residentials will take place. It would be good to think we can have some kind of Sports Days

and end of year events and we will do our best to make the best of it all! We will give you plenty of notice of any events which can take place.

There will be just one INSET day this term – 7th June which is the first day after half term.

Thanking you for all your support,

C M Hewitt

Parents Newsletter 26^th March 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

Well here we are at the end of yet another unusual term! Finally we have all our children back together and almost every single one of them seems happy to be in school with their friends and learning face to face once again.

As you know, school finishes for Easter today and we return to school on Monday 12^th April. Please remember to book your children into Breakfast Club by Friday morning each week as we have to limit numbers for each year group.

Kids’ Club will restart after Easter so please book your child’s place in the usual way. With changing work patterns, numbers of children requiring kids club are falling, making the club less able to pay for itself. I’m sure you will understand that it will only be possible to continue kids club beyond the May half term if there are enough bookings coming in.

Head teacher Appointment

I am very pleased to be able to report that our current Deputy Head Teacher, Mrs Louise Davies, has been appointed as your new Head Teacher from September! Our staff are thrilled about this and I’m sure the children will be too when we tell them. There were many strong applicants for the role and the governors and the Local Authority were unanimous in their decision to appoint Mrs Davies following an excellent interview and outstanding presentation! Personally I am delighted to be leaving Tre Uchaf in such good hands and I know that the school will go from strength to strength under Mrs Davies’ leadership.

This means that soon we will be appointing a new Deputy Head. We will be advertising this job as soon as possible and will keep you informed as soon as we have news.  Exciting times!

Parents Meetings

You will have the opportunity to speak with your child’s class teacher by phone during the week beginning 19^th April. You will have the choice of a school time or an after school time slot and we will let you know on the first day back which days are available and how to book. It is more important than ever that you have this meeting with your child’s class teacher after such a disrupted year.

Year 6 Transition

Arrangements are being made for the Year 6 transition to Penyrheol. Staff from Penyrheol will visit Tre Uchaf to discuss all our year 6 children, including any needs they may have. There are also transition days planned for 5^th and 6^th July. These will go ahead if they possibly can.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Easter-time. I hope you and your children can enjoy some sunshine and outdoor time during this holiday!

Yours faithfully

C M Hewitt

Parents Newsletter Friday 19^th March 2021

Dear Parents,

It was a pleasure to welcome our Key Stage 2 children back to school this week! They have returned in good spirits, pleased to see their friends and ready to learn! Let’s hope for a healthy and covid free final term.

We have been giving the children lots of opportunities to exercise in the outdoor areas so please ensure they are wearing appropriate footwear so they can run around and improve their fitness!

Safety for All

May I remind you that the safety and success of a continued and permanent return to school depends on all of us following the rules. The previous one way system is back in place and all parents should enter and leave the site using the correct gates. We have noticed a few parents entering through the junior yard gate. There is now a No Entry sign on the gate to remind you that this an exit only. Thank you for helping with this as this will minimise the risks of parents crossing paths.

We would like to thank everyone for wearing face masks on the school site but need to remind you that masks should be worn properly ie over both the nose and mouth! Social distancing has been generally good but please keep a check on this and ensure you stay 2m away from others, even if they are your friends!

Most importantly, we need to ensure that no child attends school if there is someone who has had covid symptoms in their household, until that symptomatic person has had a negative test. If we become aware that any child has been in close contact with someone with covid symptoms we will ask you to collect them, and any siblings from school. If the child appears at all unwell they will be isolated until you collect them. If you are in any doubt about whether your child should attend school please contact school to discuss it. Thank you.

Comic Relief

The children enjoyed the Comic Relief activities in school today and we raised £ 216.  Many thanks for your donations.

Parents Evenings

As in the Autumn Term we will carry out ‘Parents Evening’ by phone during the week beginning 19^th April. This went well in the Autumn Term and proved to be more efficient with less queuing! We will be offering appointments both during the school day and after school. Your child’s class teacher will let you know how you can book a slot. As you will realise this won’t be like our normal parents evening as we won’t be able to share your child’s work with you. However, we know that many of you will have seen the work your child has been doing during school closure and will be in a better position than ever before to understand your child’s learning. Please do book a slot and be assured that we will not be making any judgements on how you managed the difficult challenge of getting your children to engage in remote learning!

New Head Teacher Appointment

As you should already know from the video included in my newsletter of 22^nd February, I will be retiring at the end of this academic year. This is nothing to do with the pandemic as I made this decision quite some time ago! I have family who live far away and a baby grandson to spend time with so it’s time for me to move on to the next chapter. The Governors are in the process of appointing a new head teacher and this should be finalised before we finish for Easter. May I assure you that they are working extremely professionally to ensure you have the right person to lead the school from September. I will update you when we have confirmed news on this.

Easter Fun!

On Friday 26^th March the children are invited to join in with our usual Easter competitions. Foundation Phase (infant) children are invited to create and wear an Easter Hat. Key Stage 2 (junior) children are invited to decorate an egg and bring it in – any theme is fine! All activities will be done in a socially distanced way eg an outdoor Easter hat parade!

School finishes for Easter on Friday 26^th March and we return on Monday 12^th April. Half term is from 31^st May – 4^th June. Please stay safe and keep to the restrictions for just a little longer so that we can keep school open and safe for the rest of the school year.

Thank you again for everything you have done during school closure. We will do our best to give your children everything they deserve now that they are back with us in school.

Yours faithfully

C M Hewitt