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NEWSLETTER October 2008

1 Harvest Celebration
2 Parents’ Evening
3 Learning Platform
4 Fair Processing
5 Reminder
6 Health Matters
7 Eco Update
8 Attendance
9 Diary Dates

Dear Parents

Thank you to everyone who attended the FOHF AGM. We have a strong committee and many volunteers who are keen to have ‘fun’ and organise extra funds for the school. They will begin planning the October disco and the Christmas Fair in the next few weeks.

1 HARVEST CELEBRATION
Our Harvest celebration will take place on Wednesday, 8th October. We will be supporting our local community by taking contributions to Grangemead Resource Centre and Hare Lodge. We will also be supporting Christian Aid, our chosen charity this year.

The celebration will be led by Rev Stan Tomalin. The children will be contributing with songs, poems, drama and art work. A special invite will have gone out to parents in Year 1 & Year 3 to join us for this occasion.

We ask that you support our celebration in the following way: the infant children to bring in produce eg, fresh fruit, vegetables, tinned foods, etc and the junior children to contribute towards Christian Aid (see attached envelope – KS2 only).

2 PARENTS’ EVENING
You should have received your letter this week about booking a time for the Autumn Parents’ Evening. The reception class parents must sign up first on the noticeboard in the reception porch area. If you have not seen this please ask your child’s classteacher. At this meeting, you will receive the updated Homework Leaflet which will refer to the new ‘Learning Platform’

3 LEARNING PLATFORM
All KS2 children should now have their individual logins for the school’s Learning Platform and since the start of term have had two assemblies about safe and responsible use of the internet.
Here is a quick reminder of just some of the benefits the Learning Platform brings: your child will be able to show you examples of their work, using the ePortfolio; teachers will be able to share lesson resources; copies of letters about visits and productions will always be available in each year group’s area of the platform; children with broadband connections will be able to do their homework online; newsletters permanently available online with the ability to subscribe to them so that you are notified when a new one is produced; main events and key dates in the school calendar will never be more than a click away.

There are two ways of accessing the Learning Platform: Go to the school website – www.hawkesfarm.co.uk – and follow the prominent link.
Go to www.school-portal.co.uk and select Hawkes Farm from the alphabetical list of schools.

Michael Thorn
Deputy Head / ICT & Inclusion Manager

4 FAIR PROCESSING NOTICE
Under the 1998 Data Protection Act, schools are defined as data controllers. Please find attached a letter outlining more details. If you require further information, please let us know in the office.

5 REMINDER
All children need to bring a coat to school for those chilly playtimes.

6 HEALTH MATTERS
Hello to new parents and old, we hope you had a wonderful summer.

From age 5 your school nurse takes over care from your health visitor, she is available to help you and your child throughout school life with a variety of topics: health, eating, vaccinations, hearing and vision, head lice, behaviour, teeth, bedwetting/soiling, bullying, worries and anxieties, growth and development. Your school nurse can be contacted via the school or may offer a school drop-in session.

Head lice are a continuous issue so a quick reminder of what and how to look for them and recommended treatments:
• They have 6 legs and no wings, they vary in size from a pinhead to the size of a sesame seed.
• The eggs of head lice usually take 7 – 10 days to hatch.
• Head lice cannot fly, swim or jump.
• Head lice are caught by holding your head up against the head of someone who has them.
• Most people only have a few lice (1 or 2 to start, maybe 12 or so if they have had them a while). Therefore you’re unlikely to find them having a quick look.

We advise weekly checking using a fine tooth plastic nit comb on wet hair – start at the roots so it’s touching the scalp. After each stroke, check the comb for lice. Comb all the hair. Don’t be too systematic as the lice move away. Look particularly at the back of the neck and behind the ears. If lice are found we recommend Hedrin lotion, shown to work on 70% of cases, also, bug-buster kits work in 57% of cases and are available to buy from a pharmacy or online at www.nits.net . Head lice are a community problem and about 20% of cases are amongst people over 16 or under 4 years old.

Best wishes from the school nursing team:
Mary, Eilish, Fiona, Heather, Lesley, Clair, Elizabeth, Penny and Kaia.

7 ECO UPDATE
Last year Mrs Van Dijkhuizen started an eco-team at Hawkes FarmSchool. Over the last year we have met regularly to discuss and support the school in becoming more sustainable and environmentally aware. We have already achieved a great deal and are looking forward to expanding on the progress already made. We would love more support, so if you are interested in finding out more and possibly getting involved, please speak to Miss Spalding.

Morrison's vouchers
We are now collecting Morrison's vouchers as part of the 'let's grow' initiative. We realise that there is no local store, but if friends and family do shop at Morrison's please let them know that we would be thankful for any vouchers they have collected.

Love in a box
In previous years Hawkes Farm has supported the charity Mustard Seed, by collecting gift boxes. These are then taken to disadvantaged children in other countries for distribution. We will shortly be giving each child a leaflet about the 'Love in a Box' scheme so that you can participate if you wish. Please send your child in with their gift boxes after the October holiday. All boxes will need to be in Year 2 by Thursday, 13th November ready for collection on the following day. Thank you for your support.

8 ATTENDANCE
A reminder to all parents that we do not authorise holidays in term time. If you decide to take your child out during the school term, on their return to school you will receive a Fixed Penalty Warning Letter and this will trigger a five month period of monitoring. If, within this period a further unauthorised absence of 5 days or more takes place, a Fixed Penalty Notice will be issued. The fines are £50 per parent, per child, and if not paid within one month, the fine rises to £100. If the fine remains unpaid after 6 weeks from issue, the matter is then referred to court.

Please note that the Fixed Penalty Warning letter does make reference to the Anti-social Behaviour Act and some parents are shocked when they first receive this.

If you are concerned about how this directly affects your family, I am happy to talk through the implications with you. Please ask if you are unsure.

9 DIARY DATES
Please note the INSET days for this year.

Wed 8/10 Harvest Assemblies – Infant 9.00am Yr 1
parents. Juniors 10.15am Yr 3 parents
Thur 9/10 Swimming Pool Working Party – 2.30pm
“ “ “ Year 6 SATs Meeting – 6.00pm
Fri 10/10 FoHF Disco (see separate letter)
Tue 14/10 Parents’ Evening (3.30pm – 6.00pm)
Thur 16/10 “ “ “ (4.30pm – 7.00pm)
Fri 24/10 Last day of Term

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s education, please come and speak to your child’s classteacher.

Yours sincerely

Mrs V Cobb
Headteacher

SEPTEMBER, 2008 – JULY, 2009

TERM 1 (Inset - Wed, 3rd September, 2009)
Wed, 3rd September to Fri, 24th October, 2008
Autumn Holiday – Mon, 27th October to Fri, 31st October, 2008

TERM 2 (Inset – Thur, 20th November)
Mon, 3rd November to Fri, 19th December, 2008
Christmas Holiday – Mon, 22nd December to Fri, 2nd January,2009

TERM 3 (Inset – Mon 5th January, 2009)
Mon, 5th January to Fri, 13th February, 2009
February Holiday – Mon, 16th February to Fri, 20th February,2009

TERM 4
Mon, 23rd February to Fri, 3rd April, 2009
Spring Holiday – Mon, 6th April to Fri, 17th April, 2009

TERM 5
Mon, 20th April to Fri, 22nd May, 2009
May Bank Holiday – Mon, 4th May, 2009
May Holiday – Mon, 25th May to Fri, 29th May, 2009

TERM 6 (Inset – Mon, 1st June & Wed, 22nd July, 2009)
Mon, 1st June to Wed, 22nd July, 2009

SEPTEMBER, 2009 – JULY, 2010
INSET DATES TO BE ADDED

TERM 1
Thur, 3rd September to Fri, 23rd October, 2009
Autumn Holiday – Mon, 26th October to Fri, 30th October, 2009

TERM 2
Mon, 2nd November to Fri, 18th December, 2009
Christmas Holiday – Mon, 21st December to Fri, 1st January, 2010
TERM 3
Mon, 4th January to Fri, 12th February, 2010
February Holiday – Mon, 15th February to Fri, 19th February,2010
TERM 4
Mon, 22nd February to Wed, 31st March, 2010
Spring Holiday – Thur, 1st April to Fri, 16th April, 2010
TERM 5
Mon, 19th April to Fri, 28th May, 2010
May Bank Holiday – Mon, 3rd May, 2010
May Holiday – Mon, 31st May to Fri, 4th June, 2010

TERM 6
Mon, 7th June to Fri, 23rd July, 2010

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