Watch out, watch out, May’s about!

Our photos in this week’s newsletter show you the great opportunities that were shared between everyone on last Friday’s Book Look. A huge thank you to all the families who turned into school. There were only about 10-12 families overall in school who were unable to make it – and some of the children were really upset. If you would like to come and see your child’s books and you could not make it last week, or you forgot, please speak to your child’s teacher as we want all the children to have a chance to share the pride they have in their progress with someone special from home.

And the Y3/Y4 children’s learning expedition to Moat Brae went very well, as you can see from the delight and engagement the children showed in the photos. Behaviour as always was spectacular from the CVPS children and a special thank you to the staff team who made it possible. We are really looking forward to your inspiration being transferred into your theatre production!

TikTok – What is it? Is it safe?

TikTok is a video sharing social media app which lets users create, share and view user created videos. According to the TikTok terms and conditions, users have to be at least 13 years old. However, we are aware that some children in school are on the app or have access to the app on a family member’s device.

There are many different dangers associated with the app. Children may be viewing inappropriate content, can receive messages from strangers and could be putting themselves at risk by sharing personal details.

E-Safety is an important part of our curriculum in school, but it is important for children to be reminded of the dangers outside of school.

Safety tips for parents:

* talk about online dangers
* use privacy settings
* enable restricted mode
* explore and learn yourself
* report and block inappropriate content
* moderate screen time

May is the month in schools…for assessments, summer plans and at CVPS residentials!

May is the month when we complete statutory assessments in Y2 and Y6 and this week we have tried to complete Y2’s allowing them plenty of time later in the month in case of Covid absences. They have completed half of the papers so far, and will be doing the other half next week. They have absolutely tried their hardest and some have even said they enjoyed the brightly coloured papers! Keep up with the great attendance and early nights as they are due to complete two more papers next week! Well done so far Y2! results are shared after marking and moderation takes place in the June school reports.

And next week our Y6 pupils are so so ready to complete their sats papers. I’m incredibly proud of the way that they have shown such maturity during the preparation for this, especially since a somewhat disrupted start to the academic year with a change to their teacher. However the personal progress made by each and every member of the class has been superb and in our practices their progress has been outstanding. Bacon butties are back on the breakfast menu for Y6 from 8.15 next week, from Monday to Friday to give them a good start to the day. Every one of us wishes them the best of luck, and that they keep their heads with lots of options for mindfulness during the ‘real thing’!

And Y4 are set to head away first thing Monday morning for their residential at Robinwood! The children are all very excited about this and we know they’ll have a fantastic time.

With Y6 off to Paris the week after, (group passport confirmed!) it’s all a great range of memory-making experiences that we are really proud to have in place and we know they will all come back from that little bit more mature having been away from home.

SMART watches

We are aware that some children in school are wearing smart watches. These have been used in school as calculators, for recording and taking images. We have taken the decision that smart watches are not acceptable as part of the school uniform despite whether apps can be removed or not. Please do not allow your child to wear a smart watch to school. They are an additional unnecessary interruption and a barrier to effective learning that are best kept outside of school. A plain, inexpensive analogue watch is always a preferable option which has the added value of helping the children to learn how to tell the time!

Family Support Worker Amy’s Update

WOOHOO! We have 4 classes with 99% this week – I can’t believe it! Then we have the other classes not very far behind. Amazing work. Big week for Y6 next week, so please make sure you are on time and ready for the day. I am sure you all will
be though as there are bacon sandwiches on offer!

Reminder – please remember that all absences need to be reported to the office as soon as possible with a reason provided. If the school office is closed, you are able to
leave a voicemail message that the admin team will pick up.

Paul’s Outdoor Idea

Happy Friday to everyone,
This week’s idea is to again get out and about and enjoy the fresh air. I have made an extra effort to get out this week especially with the lighter evenings and mornings.

When you are out and about I would like you to set up a trail for your family or friends. Make arrows from twigs and see if they can follow them. Maybe you could put a cross where you do not want them to go. There are some examples in the picture. I used to do this when I was a scout and loved setting trials for my friends.
Enjoy the outside.