Wednesday 5th June 2024

Dear parents and carers of Stepney Park Primary School.

 

Welcome back to what is promising to be a very busy and fun-packed summer half term. We are looking forward to a range of exciting events, from Yr 1 and Yr 6 performances to trips, Arts Day, sports days and the after school Family Event which will happen during the last week of term. You will also receive a short school report before the end of the school year; I am sure you will agree that your children will have all made some fantastic progress.

Polling day/ Sports day 

As you know, the Government has called a general election for July 4th and as a result the Local Authority has once again asked our school to be a polling station.  Unfortunately, this means that the school will be closed for children on July 4th, and this has impacted on our sports days too.

Details for our sports days, to which parents are invited, are now as follows:

July 2nd: Yr 4,5 and 6 in Mile End Stadium

July 3rd: Yr 1,2 and 3 at school between 9.30am and 11.30am

July 16th: Nursery at school, am and pm

July 17th: Reception, at school, am

Further details about the sports days and how parents can attend will follow in due course, but please ‘save the date’ if you can.

Mixing classes from Reception to Yr 1 & from Yr 3 to Yr 4.

As you may know, we generally mix classes in one or two year groups each school year.

The rationale for doing this is as follows:

• Over time imbalances generally develop between classes in terms of:

  • attainment and SEND

  • behaviour 

  • numbers in each class. 

• Mixing classes creates :

  • Opportunities for children to develop relationships with a wider range of children in their year group. 

  • A stronger community and a stronger cohesion across the school, including for parents. 

  • A good preparation for future transition into secondary school and develops children’s resilience around this.

We have decided that the best times to mix classes will be at the end of:

• Reception - because we know enough about children at this point to ensure that we can create three well balanced Yr 1 classes

•  Yr 3 - because this is the halfway point between Yr 1 and Yr 6 and because variations between classes that have developed over time will have become clear.

We will of course carefully consult with the class teachers who know the children best and will also  take social dynamics into account 

We know that you may have some questions about this and would like to invite you to speak to one of the Assistant Heads about these or any concerns you may have.

We are in the process of deciding the new year group teachers and after this, children will spend time with their new teachers (and where applicable with their new class) during Transition Day, which will be on July 5th.

Pass it on weeks/ Uniforms

Following last year’s success, we will have our ‘Pass it on’ weeks again. During the ‘Pass it on’ weeks children do not need to wear their school uniform; instead they can come into school wearing appropriate clothes of their own choice.

We would like to ask you to donate unwanted  school T-shirts, cardigans and jumpers (with school logo) at any of the 4 school gates during the ‘Pass it on Weeks’.  Staff and children from the school council will be there to receive the uniform and thank you for your donation.

We will then wash, dry, fold and pack the spare uniform tops, and add  a clear sizing label.  Once this is completed, we will organise a ‘Pass it on’ give-away event. Parents can come into the playground at the end of the day and help themselves to the donated uniform, this is all free of charge.

The aims for ‘Pass it on’  weeks are as follows:

• Prevent waste: unwanted uniforms are not thrown away so we support the environment.

• Save families money: by giving away unwanted uniform tops, families do not need to purchase uniform tops in shops.

Dates are as follows:

• July 1st to July 10th: donate school uniform tops at the school gates. No need to wear a school uniform 

• July 10th and 11th: ‘Pass it on event’ in the school playground. Please come and help yourself!

Uniform reminder: 

• No tracksuit bottoms, even on PE days

• A skirt needs to be worn over leggings

• T-shirts and jumpers need to have a school logo

Term dates school year 2024-2025

The term dates for the next school year can be found here.

Please click on the ‘School term dates 2024-2025 drop down menu to see the relevant dates.

Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope to see you soon.

Kind regards.

 

Edith Philipsen

Headteacher- Stepney Park Primary School