Dear Parents/Carers

It was lovely to see so many parents at our sports days last week. It was great to see the children taking part and enjoying themselves and wonderful not to have the doubt over the weather - which even turned out to be a little warmer than expected!

Very well done to the Girl’s Football Team who took part in a tournament at Sandwell Academy on Wednesday. We are so proud of our very own Lionesses who represented the school so well, and only went and won the event! Congratulations girls! This week Year 2 represented The Ridge at the Key Stage 1 Music Festival up at Ridgewood. They sang beautifully and were a real credit to themselves and Mrs Rouse who had helped them prepare. The choir have also been rehearsing for the Key Stage 2 Music Festival, taking place at Oldswinford Hospital School this afternoon. Thank you to all the parents and carers who are helping with the transport to this event and to Mrs Rouse and Miss Howarth for preparing the choir.

Finally, we look forward to seeing you all tomorrow for our Summer Fayre. There are lots of exciting stalls and attractions and Ridge Friends have been very busy over the past few weeks preparing for the event. Please come along and give us your support. What with our Key Stage Two Performance of ‘Shakespeare Rocks’, our annual ‘Shorts and Shades’ family picnic, Ridge Has Got Talent, Discos, Clarinet Recital, the Leavers Fun Day and Assembly, the next few weeks promises to be hectic, but great fun!

Kind regards

Mrs D Hudson

Headteacher

The end of the year is quickly approaching. Next week you will be receiving your child’s end of year school report and with this, we will let you know which staff will be teaching which year group in September. On Wednesday 3rd^h July we have our Open Evening between 3.30 and 6.00 p.m. This is an opportunity for you to come into school to see your child’s work and to visit the class say hello to their new teacher for next year.  The children will have transition sessions with their teachers in their new classrooms on the afternoon of Wednesday 10^th July and morning of Monday 15^th July.

Although it has cooled down a little, in anticipation of some more hot weather to come, please make sure that your child brings their water bottle and their sun hat. Please also apply long-lasting sun-cream before they come to school.  We endeavour to provide access to shady spots at playtime and lunchtime and adapt the curriculum as best we can to keep the children out of the sun.

• Despite the heat, we ask that all children wear socks to school.
• Please keep trainers for PE days or Forest School. On all other days school shoes/sandals are to be worn as part of our school uniform.

Please see the parent pack for further details of our uniform requirements. Thank you for your support.

Ticketing information will soon be going out to Key Stage 2 Families for these performances. The evening shows start at 6.30p.m. and the doors will be open from 6.00 p.m. for the cast and choir to come in to get ready for the show.

After all the hard work that has gone into the productions, it is important that all the children return to school to take part – choir, actors and stage crew. If circumstances mean that your child is unable to attend, please make sure that their teacher knows as soon as possible, so that any adjustments can be made.  

We are looking forward to a fantastic run of performances!

On Friday 12th July we have our annual Shorts and Shades Picnic. The children can come to school wearing their shorts and a t-shirt and bring along their sunglasses.  Parents and carers are welcome to join us on the field from 2.00 p.m. Bring along a chair and a small picnic for yourself and your child and enjoy a relaxed hour or so. Children whose family are unable to attend can also bring a picnic but please don’t go overboard - it is only a short time after the children have had lunch! On a practical note it would be helpful if you could bring a bag to take home your own rubbish – thank you.

This event is an annual fundraiser. This year our fundraising is for The Childhood Tumour Trust https://www.childhoodtumourtrust.org.uk/ which has provided valuable support for one of our families. We really want to show our thanks for this support in a practical way. We are asking that each child and adult attending the picnic makes a donation. We are suggesting £2.00 per person but obviously you are encouraged to give whatever you can. Children can bring their donations in to school in the morning and there will be collecting buckets available in the afternoon. The charities signature colours are blue and green so if you can dress in these colours on the day, this would be an added significance but please do not go out of your way to buy anything; just wearing shorts and shades and making a donation is more than enough! Thank you.

We are working with Dudley Performing Arts (DPA) to provide music lessons in school and if you are thinking about starting lessons now is the time to start! The team at DPA have decades of experience and are the biggest provider of music education in our area. Students can start learning for as little as £8.50 a session and if you would like your child to start simply click on the link below to find out how it works.

Learning a musical instrument is a great thing for young people to do. It can help in all sorts of ways and research suggests that it can help children develop academically and socially. Lessons take place in school making it easy to fit in around your busy family lives and we hope that you will take up this amazing offer. https://www.dudley.gov.uk/things-to-do/dudley-performing-arts/information-forparents-and-young-people/music-lessons-in-schools/

As you are aware, Mrs McGivney is only available in school on a Friday so we now have a ‘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.

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 95.29%

Reception - 93.31%

Year 1 – 94.33%

Year 2 – 99.33%

Year 3 – 98.06%

Year 4 – 88.89%

Year 5 – 96.33%

Year 6 – 96.00%

Well done Year 2!

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.

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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