Dear Parents and Carers,

This half term seems to have sped past and I can’t believe that we are on holiday next week. It seems that regardless of the length of the half term, whether it has been a five week half term or an eight week one, everyone is always ready for the break when it comes!  Whatever your family plans are for the holiday, I hope that you enjoy the change of routine with some quality time with your children. Let’s hope that the weather is kind!

Please remember that Monday 19^th February is an INSET Day. On this day, staff will be working in school on further developing our curriculum.  We look forward to seeing you all back on Tuesday 20^th February.

Kind regards

Mrs D Hudson

Headteacher

Please see below February half term holiday activities for children taking place at DB Leisure!

We have our usual offerings of:

• Free swimming for children
• Fun activities for under 5s including Splash Time at Halesowen LC and Stay and Play at Crystal LC.
• Quids In football over at Dell Stadium
• Planet Play (soft play) at Duncan Edwards and Halesowen LC
• Soft play area at Crystal LC
• Waikiki Waves family disco (takes place in leisure pool) at Crystal LC
• SEN soft play sessions at Duncan Edwards and Halesowen LC, plus SEN family swimming sessions at all leisure centres.

Please see our weblink for further details https://www.dbleisure.co.uk/school-holiday-activities

Thank you to all the parent helper and staff, who enabled the children to have such a wonderful evening at the discos last night. There were some cool tunes, amazing dancing and bucket loads of sweets eaten! Everyone went home tired but happy. Special thanks to our DJ James Barnes!

Today we have said “goodbye” to Mrs. Plant our TA in Year 2. Although Mrs. Plant has only been with us since September, she has made a hugely valuable contribution to our children’s learning and their safety and fun at lunchtimes. We shall really miss her as she returns to teaching but hope that we may see her again in the future.

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 95.75%

Reception - 90.00%

Year 1 – 92.76%

Year 2 – 98.67%

Year 3 – 100.00%

Year 4 – 93.06%

Year 5 – 95.17%

Year 6 – 100.00%

Well done Year 3 and Year 6!

The RFA have arranged a Bags2School collection on Wednesday 13th March to help raise funds for our school. Your child should be bringing home a letter and a bag which explains what items can be accepted.

You can also follow the link below to the website which gives more information:

https://bag2school.com/what-wecollect

Bags can be brought into school on either Tuesday 12^th March or first thing on Wednesday 13^th.

Please DO NOT send bags in before this date as we are unable to store them.

Please remember to book your appointment to meet with your child’s class teacher and receive their mid-term report. Please contact the school office if you need any help with this.

We cannot emphasise enough, the level of concern caused by the rise in cases of measles in the West Midlands. Dudley Council Health protection Team have asked that we circulate the following message.

You may have seen recent media reports of rising measles cases across the West Midlands and the Black Country. The most effective way to prevent measles infection, and the possible serious complications it can cause, is by having 2 doses of MMR vaccine. 2 doses of MMR provide 99% protection against measles that is lifelong. It also protects against mumps and rubella. It is safe and effective, and a porcine gelatine free vaccine is available, if this is preferred.

The rise in measles cases is due to declining childhood immunisation rates, including the MMR, nationally over the past 10 years. The higher the immunisation rates, the less opportunity there is for measles infection to circulate, which helps to protect those who are vulnerable due to being unable to receive MMR vaccination (including babies under 1 year old, pregnant women if unvaccinated, and the severely immunocompromised).

It is not too late for children and adults to catch up on the MMR vaccine if they haven’t received 2 doses at the recommended ages of 1 year (1st dose) and 3 years and 4 months (2nd dose). Your GP surgery can be contacted to arrange an appointment. If you are unsure whether your child is immunised with 2 doses of MMR vaccine, you can check their ‘red book’, which is their personal health record. Children who have not had any MMR vaccines may have to stay away from school for up to 21 days if they are identified as a close contact of a confirmed measles case.

Please see the NHS webpages on measles and MMR vaccine for more information, and the below link or the attached flyer for local pop-up vaccination clinics for MMR:

 https://blackcountry.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/health-advice/measles#clinic

The sporting calendar has yet again been keeping our teams and Mr Lamb busy this week!

Our girl’s football team took part in a tournament on Monday last week coming 5th, and we also participated in a Sportshall Athletics competition on Tuesday where we came in 4th!  Well done to everyone involved, and thanks again to parents and carers whose support is so important to allow us to take part in these events.  Thanks again too, to Mr Lamb for preparing the teams.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the 'Guess the number of sweets'. We have met our target and can now by a Switch console.

The lucky winner was Violet in Year 6! 

Jane Evans and the OSCAR team.

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.

Children’s Mental Health Week will take place from 5 -11 February 2024. The theme this year is ‘My Voice Matters’.

My Voice Matters is about empowering children and young people by providing them with the tools they need to express themselves. When we feel empowered, there’s a positive impact on our wellbeing. Children who feel that their voices are heard and can make a difference have a greater sense of community and self-esteem. This year, we want children of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to be empowered to work together to create a positive change for their mental health and wellbeing.

During Children’s Mental Health Week, we want all children and young people to be able to say – and believe - “My Voice Matters.” We will be focusing on this theme in assemblies and lessons but as parents and carers, you play an important role in your child’s mental health. Place2Be have created some useful resources to support parents to take part in Children’s mental Health Week at home. Further information can be found on the link below.

https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/families/#resources

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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