Friday 9th February 2024

 

Dear parents and carers of Stepney Park Primary School.

It has been a wonderful half term indeed; children have continued to thrive in school and as you will have read from the children’s newsletters, they have had a range of exciting experiences this term, ranging from a visit from the ‘animal man’ to a visit from the ‘Teddy bear hospital’ and much more.

Remember that we will close at 3.30 pm today for a one week holiday. I hope you will enjoy the half term holiday with your families and am looking forward to seeing you all again on Monday February 19th  at 9.00 am!

Poetry Slam:

You may also have heard your child talking about our Poetry Slam, which happened this week.  Poetry Slam is essentially a competition where children perform a poem in front of an audience, either one that they found and liked,  or a poem that they wrote themselves. The children can do this on their own or as a group. Each class held their own competition and chose a winner, who then attended the finals. The reason for holding this competition (apart from encouraging a  general love of poems) is to help children build resilience, which is one of our school values. Having the courage to perform in front of an audience and deal with potential mistakes (for example forgetting a line when on stage) is not easy. Children who persevere during challenges develop resilience and self confidence over time, which is a great attribute to have in later life.

Talking to a Trusted Adult:

We have been talking to children about who they can go to when they are upset in school, or when they have seen or heard about things that make them feel unsafe. For various reasons, children do not always speak up when they should, which makes it hard for school to deal with these issues effectively and timely. Reasons could include:

•  A culture of ‘no snitching’ and not wishing anyone to ‘get into trouble’ but instead a wish to protect them, out of a sense of loyalty.

• Not realising the seriousness of something.

• A worry that they will get in trouble with the person they talk about, as they may get angry with them.

• A lack of confidence.

• Not knowing who to speak to. 

We understand all these reasons, but without children speaking out, we can’t help them and keep them safe. We would request that you also speak to your children about the importance of ‘speaking up’ when things happen. If you used the words ‘a trusted adult in school’ you would be using the same vocabulary at home as we do at school, which will help embed this concept. Thank you  

Repairs to chromebooks: 

Unfortunately, it has come to our attention that some children have carelessly/ deliberately damaged their chromebook, and repairing them has placed an increasing financial and administrative burden on the school. I would like to remind parents of our chromebook damage policy:

• If it happens for the 1st time: We will ask the parents to subsidise the repair and change them  £15 towards the cost. We will always inform the parents of the full repair cost  in order to reassure them that the school is not making a profit from this. We will also establish that there is a device at home- eg mobile phone, as homework must still be done online where needed. 

• If it happens for the 2nd time: We will have a formal meeting with parents and ask them for the full repair cost.

Half term swimming:

Mile End Leisure Centre has intense swimming lessons next week, during half term. 

Please visit:  www.better.org.uk/swimming-lessons  for more information

Measles:

We have recently seen a sharp increase in the number of measles cases across the country and in particular in London. For this reason, our school has been asked to host a measles vaccination clinic after school between 3.30pm and 5.00 pm on Thursday Feb 22nd, this has been requested and organised by the NHS vaccination team, who have identified children who have not yet been vaccinated. Parents of those children should have received an email from school inviting them to this clinic. If you have not received a letter, but believe your child needs the measles ( MMR) vaccine, please come along to the vaccination clinic, as this is a drop in clinic for all of those who need it too. There is no need to make an appointment for this.

Crossing patrol person:

We have a new crossing patrol person in our school, her name is Hamdi. She has noticed that not all families follow the safe road crossing rules, and has asked me to remind families of the following:

• Wait on the pavement behind her until she stops the traffic.

• When she stops the traffic and it's time to cross; always cross in front of her so she can see the families  safely across the road.

This is Hamdi:

Let’s give her a smile, a wave or a ‘thank you’ when she helps us cross the road safely.

 

Thank you for reading this newsletter.

 

Kind regards.

Edith Philipsen

Headteacher- Stepney Park Primary School