Dear Parents/Carers

The start of term has gone well and the children have quickly settled back in to what is often the busiest time of the year.

The changeover of catering provider has largely gone smoothly and we are pleased with the definite improvement in the quality and presentation of the food. As we run through the first three weeks of the new menus, the children are getting the opportunity to sample foods which they have not tried before and we have heard many positives from them. One Year 3 pupil told myself and the manager from AIP that the Pizza was ”the best pizza I have ever tasted.” High praise indeed!

To coincide with this the school office has taken one step closer to becoming cashless – a move that I know is welcomed by many of you.  Please keep your eye on notifications from ParentMail as we move over more aspects of our central communication to this platform. If you have any problems with it, please contact the school office.

Kind regards

Mrs D Hudson

Headteacher

As mentioned above, we are moving over more aspects of our central communication to ParentMail, and absence reporting has now been enabled on the app.

If your child is going to be absent, you can now report this by....

- Using the absence tab on ParentMail

- Calling the office on 01384 818800

- Visiting school reception in person if you are dropping off another child

Please note that the school office opens at 8.30am

We will continue to use Class Dojo for direct communication with class teachers. However, please can we ask that for urgent messages, you contact the school office.  We've recently had a couple of instances where parents have sent time sensitive messages to Class Dojo. If the class teacher does not get an opportunity to check before school or at lunchtime, or the member of staff is absent these messages may be missed.

As you are aware, Mrs McGivney is only available in school on a Friday. After Easter we will have a new ‘triage’ system in place.  If you wish to speak to Mrs McGivney or arrange a meeting, please email Mrs Brown jbrown@ridge.dudley.sch.uk  who will liaise with Mrs McGivney the next time she is in school.

Our School Council play an important role. Lead by Mrs Melia, they consult and represent their classmates giving the pupils a voice in decision making in our school. They influence the events we organise and the charities we support and even take part in our recruitment for staff.

We run our elections for the School Council to coincide with voting in the local elections. The children learn all about democracy and get to cast their own vote using the booths that the adults use so that their experience is as close to  real life as possible. Elections will be taking place on Wednesday 1st May. Look out for further information coming out soon from Mrs Melia.

Last week, Ava in Year 1 gathered and donated a whopping 169 Easter items to the children’s ward. She wanted the children and families to be able to have an Easter hunt even when in hospital. They always look after Ava so her family wanted to give back. We are very proud of you Ava!

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 95.35%

Reception - 94.67%

Year 1 – 94.48%

Year 2 – 92.25%

Year 3 – 97.00%

Year 4 – 93.70%

Year 5 – 96.55%

Year 6 – 98.33%

Well done Year 6!

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.

School (including Kindergarten) will be closed for face to face learning on Thursday 2^nd May so that school can be used for voting. On this day, pupils will undertake the remote learning set by their teacher.

The school and Kindergarten will also be closed to pupils on Friday 3^rd May for an INSET day and on Monday 6^th May because of the Bank Holiday. 

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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