What a wonderful start to the festive season we have had over the past few days!

Our talented pupils have given us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the meaning of Christmas, by bringing us the nativity in song, words, acting and dancing. From our youngest children in Kindergarten to our oldest pupils in Year 6, each performance was a joy to share in. Thank you so much to the children and staff who worked so hard to put the performances together: you should all be very proud.

Thank you too, to the Ridge Friends Association who organised two fabulous events – the Christmas Fayre on Friday and Breakfast with Santa on Saturday. Their efforts not only gave us lots of enjoyment, they raised a magnificent total of £2054.75 for the school. An amazing achievement!

Next week we have parties and a special visitor from Lapland coming to school: it promises to be a magical time!

Kind regards

Mrs D Hudson

Headteacher

Flip The Clown’s Elf Show

On Monday afternoon we are delighted to welcome ‘Flip the Clown’ to The Ridge. This special event has been gifted to the school by Amy Rikunenko in memory of her husband, Simon, who died recently. Amy and the family wanted to bring the children some extra Christmas cheer and we are very grateful for her generosity.

Thank you too for your donations to ‘Balls to Cancer’ a charity close to the family’s heart and one which Simon was a passionate fundraiser for.   Your donations to the charity have totalled £426.60

In other fundraising news, a total of £300.75 was raised for Children In Need.

Christmas Parties

Christmas parties will take place on Wednesday and Thursday next week. There will be music, games, fun and food.

• Wednesday  20^th December        2.00 - 3.20pm Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 Party
• Thursday 21^st  December            2.00 - 3.20pm KS2 Christmas Party

The children can come to school in their party clothes on the relevant day

Christmas Raffle, Name the Bear and Chocolate Sale 

• Raffle tickets for our Grand Draw continue to be on sale for a limited time. There are some amazing prizes including cash, gift sets, tickets for days out, food and health & beauty vouchers to name just a few! Winners will be drawn by the RFA early next week.
• Name the Bear – can you guess the name of a lovely teddy? Only 50p a go!
• Chocolate Sale – next week we will be selling chocolate at the end of the school day on the playground. Bars of Cadbury’s Fudge, Wispa, Dairy Milk Little Bars, Double Decker and Crunchie, along with bags of Treat Size Buttons will all be available at 20p each.

Last week our Tag Rugby Team took part in a tournament in Halesowen, hoping to repeat their success of last year when we were crowned Black County Champions. Sadly it was not to be and after a couple of controversial decisions which did not go in our favour, we were knocked out in the semi- finals.

Despite the obvious disappointment, everyone enjoyed taking part, and the ups and downs of taking part in such fixtures is a valuable part of developing positive competitor character. Thank you to Mr Lamb for coaching the team and taking them to the tournament.

Measles

Measles cases are on the rise locally, with confirmed cases in Birmingham. The NHS is calling on you to check your child's MMR vaccination status. Measles can lead to serious complications, but two doses of the MMR vaccine provide lifelong protection. Protect your children's health, contact your GP to catch up on any missed vaccinations. Please see the additional  information at the end of this newsletter.

GP Surgery Access Survey 

Our dedicated NHS and social care teams are working hard to keep everyone well, but there may be ways to make it even better. The COVID pandemic has changed healthcare and your input can help shape the future.

Healthwatch Dudley is our local champion for health and social care services. They are eager to hear about your GP appointment and service access experiences. If you've faced any obstacles, they are there to listen. Results from this survey will be anonymised and included within a report which will be shared with the public and those in charge of services in Dudley to enhance access.

The survey link: GP Surgery Access (smartsurvey.co.uk) 

Closing date: 29th February 2024. Contact for more information: hello@healthwatchdudley.co.uk 03000 111 001

Thank you for your on-going support with attendance: we know that there are lots of illnesses doing the rounds at the moment, including some flu like viruses, sickness and diarrhoea. This has not only affected children, staff too have been unwell.

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 96.37%

Reception - 96.00%

Year 1 – 98.28%

Year 2 – 95.99%

Year 3 – 97.32%

Year 4 – 95.67%

Year 5 – 97.99%

Year 6 – 92.96%

Well done Year 1!

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Mrs Hudson is the Designated Safeguarding Lead and any concerns should be shared with her or the Deputy Safeguarding Leads – Mrs Hadley, Miss Beddoes and Mrs Gledhill.  Where child protection concerns are raised, the school has a statutory duty to refer these concerns to children’s social care.

We are sure that many young people have devices on their Christmas list, whether that’s a tablet, phone or games console – the list goes on! Getting a device can be an exciting time for young people, but there may be safeguarding considerations for parents and carers as they consider buying it.

These useful blogs from the NSPCC and Childnet give top tips that will help you prepare for giving your child a device as a present and establishing ongoing conversation and guidance with your child about their relationship with it and how to stay safe online.

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-safety-blog/children-devices-online/

https://www.childnet.com/blog/christmas-2022/

You will be aware that there is work going on in High Park Avenue resulting in temporary lights. This is affecting the crossing patrol. Whilst Chris, our crossing patrol, is still crossing near the bottom of Gregory Road, he has requested that wherever possible pedestrians use the light controlled crossing further along the road, nearer to Ridgewood. Please take extra care during this time.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, please contact school in confidence. We have a small amount of funding which can be used to support families with essentials such food vouchers.

Full calendar dates for the academic year can be found here........  https://theridge.sch.life/page/detail/parent-dates-2023-2024 

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