Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Euro Final

  Fri 09 Jul 2021

  Dear parents / carers,

   

  Sunday night’s Euro 2020 final could be a historic moment and may be a once in a lifetime event! Following Boris’ suggestion, we have decided to allow children to arrive at school up until 10am on Monday morning to enable more of them to witness the final. If England win, children are also welcome to come to school in their sports clothes as they did last week (red, white, blue or football kits). If the result does not go England’s way though, we will have everyone in normal school uniform please.

   

  We of course want all of our children to come to school on Monday but appreciate that many of them may be up late the night before. Therefore we will keep our morning registers open until 10am.

   

  It’s absolutely fine if you want them to come to school at normal time – we will still all be here. There will be lessons starting at normal time so please don’t feel guilty if your child needs to arrive first thing.

   

  Breakfast club will still be operating as normal on Monday (but must be booked as normal through ParentPay).

   

  Please note that children in Y5 and Y6 need to be at school for 9:15 on Monday morning, as they have a school trip that day.

   

  Any problems or questions please just get in touch.

   

  Kind regards

   

  Mrs Yardley

• Virtual World Book Day Thursday 4th March

  Tue 23 Feb 2021 Virtual World Book Day

  VIRTUAL WORLD BOOK DAY – THURSDAY 4^TH MARCH!

   

  World Book Day is one of our favourite days of the year at Church Vale and although we can’t be together this year, we will still celebrate in style!

   

  A few challenges for you over half term:

  Storytime Star – Can you be Church Vale’s next Storytime Star? During the week of World Book Day we would like to fill our Facebook newsfeed and website with stories but we want YOU to be the storytellers. Can you choose your favourite book or chapter of a book and read it to our school? Remember to use your best story voice with lots of expression – you could even dress up or use props! Send your storytime video to Miss Law at jlaw3@churchvale.notts.sch.uk to be a Church Vale Storytime Star!

   

  Extreme Lockdown Reading Challenge – Your teachers have told me you are all still busy reading at home. Reading can be a great escape so it is more important than ever to get our noses stuck into a good book! Can you think of the most extreme way you can read in your house and garden and send us a photo? You could be reading on the trampoline, hanging upside down from your bed or even climbing a tree! Send your photos to jlaw3@churchvale.notts.sch.uk and the most imaginative photos will win a prize!

   

  World Book Day Quiz – Every year we host our amazing World Book Day quiz and it can get VERY competitive. This year we will be hosting a virtual quiz on World Book Day. We will announce all details after half term but we would like you to take part in the quiz and the whole day dressed as your favourite character from a book! We are always amazed by your efforts every year so we can’t wait to see your creations this year.

   

  Dressing up - Whether you are at home or attending a key worker bubble, we would like you to dress up as your favourite book character. You will be able to see your classmates' outfits during our class zooms and whole school quiz. 

   

  Your teachers will be planning lots of lovely reading activities for you and we hope it will be an amazing day to celebrate reading.

  Miss Law

   

• Autumn2 Lucy Trinder 2020 Writing Competition

  Wed 21 Oct 2020

  Calling all Church Vale Writers! 

   

  Lucy Trinder is a children’s author based in Mansfield and has launched a story writing competition for primary children aged 7-11. Attached is a document with all the details about entry. 

  Church Vale has some incredible writers so it would be lovely to see you getting involved. 

   

  If you'd like to enter, you need to send your super writing to the address on the attached document no later than 27^th November 2020.

  

• Flu Vaccinations

  Wed 23 Sep 2020

  Please find below the letter sent from the NHS about Flu Vaccinations at Church Vale - scheduled in for Monday 12th October.

   

  Dear Parent/Guardian,

  
  It is time for your child’s yearly flu vaccination!
  School Years: Reception, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 (children born between 01.09.2009 and 31.08.2016)

   

  Why get your child vaccinated?
  It helps keep your child safe from flu. Flu can be a nasty illness and sometimes causes really serious problems. It is a quick and simple nose spray that works the same as a flu jab. Giving your child the flu spray will stop the spread. This will help keep friends and family safe. Older people and those with illnesses are most at risk if they catch flu from children. It is free for your child. Flu changes so even if they had it last year they need it again this year.

  
  www.nhs.uk/child-flu has more information and tells you which children need the flu jab instead of the nose spray.

   

  How do you let us know you want your child to have the flu vaccination?
  Please fill in one online consent form for each child here …
  https://www.nottinghamshireimmunisations.co.uk/Forms/Flu

  The code for your child’s school is NG122731

  
  Please fill it in by 30th September 2020 to ensure your child gets vaccinated.
  Even if you do not want your child to be vaccinated please complete the form to let us know. The childhood flu programme runs until December 2020.

  
  What if my child is absent?
  If your child is away from school on the day, please contact us to book a clinic appointment. This vaccine is not offered by your GP unless your child is in an at risk group. If your child becomes wheezy, has a bad attack of asthma, or has started steroid tablets for asthma after you return this form, please contact the School Aged Immunisation Service.

  
  If your child has this vaccination anywhere else, let the team know to stop them getting it again. Please email sais@nottshc.nhs.uk if you have any problems or questions and include your contact details, the team will be happy to help.

   

  Yours sincerely
  School Aged Immunisation Service

• Welcome Back!

  Sun 06 Sep 2020

  Welcome back everybody! 

   

  We are so pleased to have our children back at school. They have all settled into our new normal brilliantly and we are so proud of them all! 

   

  A few reminders: 

   

  • If you are happy for your KS2 child to walk round and meet you at the end of the day, please let them know. 
  • If possible, please could only one parent pick up and drop off to avoid a crowd. 
  • Please avoid sending children with any bags unless it is reading folder day 
  • Please ring school to speak to staff where possible 
  • Please remember to socially distance on school grounds and leave promptly, trying to avoid congregating at the bottom of the drive. 

   

  Thankyou! 

   

• Join in with the Notts Library Summer challenge!

  Fri 24 Jul 2020

  Click on the link to find out how to take part:

  https://youtu.be/V-qI0PfPBNo?list=PLmmZ5rr6WBIW3ruR0gasBXDZ_ASDEEFAX

  

• Take a look at our new dinner menu for September!

  Thu 23 Jul 2020
  The first week back we will be starting on 'week 2'. Our first school dinner on Thursday 3rd September will be roast beef! 

  

• Church Vale Holiday Calendar 2020-21

  Fri 17 Jul 2020
  Please see attached our holiday calendar for the next academic year. 

  

• Arrangements for September Return

  Tue 14 Jul 2020

  Dear Parents,

   

  We know many of you are anxious about what school arrangements will be in September, so we wanted to write to you as soon as it was possible to let you know. We are really looking forward to getting all of our children back and getting things back to as normal as they can be – but at the same time we have a lot of guidance that we need to follow in order to make things as safe as we can so there are several changes to many parts of the Church Vale day. Please note that it is the expectation that all pupils return after the summer – holidays will not be authorised and families need to be aware that there are still countries which, if visited, still require a 14 day isolation period once you return – the government are continually updating this list.

   

  Timings of the new school day

  Guidance states that we need to stagger the start and end times of different bubbles. It is really important that children turn up just before their allocated time. Children who turn up too early or too late run the risk of coming into contact with other bubbles which increases the risk of transmission. Should positive cases emerge after September, we need to ensure our bubbles have not come into contact so that we would only need to shut the affected part of school and minimise the disruption to our children and our families. Doors will open 5 minutes before for all.

  	Foundation & Nursery	Years 1 & 2	Years 3 & 4	Years 5 & 6
  Start time	9:00	8:40	8:50	8:30
  Lunchtime	11:45 – 12:30 Eat @ 11:45 Play @ 12:10	11:45 – 12:30 Play @ 11:45 Eat @ 12:10	12:15 – 1.00 Eat @ 12:15 Play @ 12:35	12:15 – 1.00 Play @ 12:15 Eat @ 12:35
  Home time	3:15	2:55	3:05	2:45

   

  If you have siblings in different bubbles who need to travel together, they can come at the time of the earliest child’s start time and leave when the last child finishes their school day. If your child is able to walk home, they can continue to do so but please ensure that you are confident in their ability to maintain social distance if they’re not with an adult.

   

  Entrances and Exits

  Each class will have their own entrance in September. Year 3 will use the 3/4 cloakroom door; Year 4 will come in and out through the ICT room and Year 5 will use the 5/6 cloakroom door. All other classes have their own door.

   

  Breakfast Club / After-School Club

  This has been the hardest aspect of reopening to organise in a way which adheres to the guidance and is why many schools are not offering this in September. We know that many of our working parents rely on wraparound care and would find it virtually impossible to get their children to school and get to work so we are determined to try to support these parents as much as we can.

   

  We will be offering breakfast club from 7:15am and after-school club until 5:00pm

   

  • We are asking parents to please only use it if they have no other options on that day – we will need to try and segregate the different bubbles which is very challenging when it could contain children from 4 different bubbles who are not allowed to mix.
  • You need to have booked a place by the end of the previous day.
  • Breakfast and afterschool club will only be for working parents who have no other options
  • Please do not turn up earlier than 7:15 for breakfast club
  • Breakfast club will continue to run in the mobile unless numbers get so high that we are unable to continue to do so safely.
  • After-school club will run a little differently. Numbers are always higher for the first hour so we will run it as follows:
    • Up until 4pm, there will be 4 separate after-school clubs; one for each of the phase bubbles (one for Foundation; 1&2; 3&4 and 5&6).
    • At 4pm, any pupils who are being collected will need to be collected from their key stage cloakroom door.
    • At 4pm, children who need to stay until 5pm will all be taken to the mobile where they will be together in the room but with different bubbles separated as much as possible at different tables. Again, we are asking that working parents only use this when they have no other options.
    • Children who are being collected between 4pm and 5pm need to be collected from the mobile.
    • Please be aware that picking up later than 5pm will incur a £20 fine which must be paid before you can use this service again – our staff who agree to work in after-school club have already had a very long day by the time it gets to 5pm and they deserve to be able to go home on time – we hope you understand.

   

  PE

  Schools need to reduce the number of objects which are travelling between home and school. As a result, from September, children will need to come to school in their PE kit on their allocated PE day and will stay in this kit for the whole day. Each class will have one allocated day and we will make sure you know what day this is in plenty of notice. Also, please ensure that children are not wearing any jewellery on their PE day.

  As a reminder, PE kit needs to be:

  • Black or navy jogging bottoms / tracksuit bottoms
  • Black or navy shorts
  • A plain white t shirt
  • They can wear a black or navy tracksuit top or sports top too
  • Appropriate footwear for sport

   

  Reading Books

  Despite the requirement to reduce the number of objects which move between home and school, reading has not become any less important. Therefore, we will still be sending reading books home. Classes will have a book changeover day – books ready to come back to school will be put into a quarantine box for 48 hours and cleaned before they will be put back onto the shelf for another child to choose.

   

  Water Bottles

  Most of our children are fantastic at bringing their water bottle and remembering to take these home each day so that they can be washed and filled with fresh water. Some of our pupils though routinely forget to bring theirs or rarely take them home to be washed – this is really important when we return in September as we do not want children to be having to use a shared cup.

   

  Other changes to the school day

  • Children will stay within their year group bubbles for the majority of the day. For the purposes of breaktimes and lunchtimes etc. we will have children in ‘phases bubbles’ (Foundation; 1&2; 3&4, 5&6).
  • There will be no large events such as whole school assemblies.
  • School dinners will go back to being hot dinners in September rather than sandwiches. You can of course still send your child with a packed lunch if you wish.
  • There will be no tuck shop for the foreseeable future.
  • When we return in September, we will not be offering any after-school clubs.
  • Regular handwashing will take place for all children throughout the day.
  • Staff will perform additional cleaning with antibacterial spray throughout the day for commonly touched surfaces in the classrooms.
  • Due to the need to prioritise, reading, writing and maths, each class will only have 1 PE lesson. However, all classes will try and have ‘physically active minutes’ spread throughout the day when it is not their PE day.
  • No parents or carers will be able to come inside school unless to attend an appointment.
  • Educational visits will not take place until further notice.
  • If a child or staff member displays symptoms, they will be isolated and will need to go home as soon as possible. They will then need to arrange for a test urgently and cannot return until they have proof of a negative result. School are led to believe that we will be supplied with some home-test kits for such an eventuality during the Autumn term.
  • In the event of a confirmed positive test for Covid-19, we would shut down that bubble for 14 days. Pupils in that bubble and all people within their household would then need to strictly self-isolate for 14 days.

   

  Church Vale will be moving to a cashless system

  Coins and notes present a high risk of transmission which is why most shops are currently only offering card payment. In light of this, and to make running school more efficient, we will be moving to a cashless system using a service called ParentPay. You will receive a text asking you to reply with your email address in the coming days. We will be adopting a cashless system from September and Mrs Kirk will be writing to you with all of the details that you will need in order to get signed up.

   

  The ParentPay system will be used for all transactions such as:

  • breakfast and after-school club
  • trips and tuckshop once they are able to take place again
  • water bottles, reading folders, badges, uniform etc.
  • most importantly… school dinners

   

  We hope that you appreciate why we have had to put all of these measures in place. We want the Autumn term to be as fantastic, enjoyable, and as normal as it can be for our children. Thank you for your continued support, understanding and cooperation.

   

  The Staff of Church Vale Primary School

• Positively Empowered Kids Festival Saturday 18th July FREE

  Mon 06 Jul 2020 Positively Empowered Kids Festival Saturday 18th July FREE

  ONLINE FAMILY FESTIVAL 18TH JULY

   

  A note from the Festival Organisers:
  Join Positively Empowered Kids on Saturday, July 18th for an all-day FREE Family Festival live on facebook, to
  uplift and inspire families!
  We have a ‘Camping’ theme, inviting families to put up a tent in your garden or build a den in your home
  for that ‘Festival’ Feel.
  Through fun and interactive entertainment from our network of experts, we will be releasing those ‘feel
  good’ chemicals in the brain to enhance our wellbeing and happiness levels (and even our immunity!).
  A taster of what we have in store ……
  Try out family Zumba, Drumming, Sports Challenges, Singing & Dancing, Hip Hop/Breakdance, Storytime
  and other fun activities!
  There is a wealth of entertainment during the day, including some Nottingham based entertainers: Zumba
  with Charm, Helping Kids Achieve, Beat Feet, Empower Education, Positive Pants & Little Legs.
  LIKE our facebook page @PEKfamilies and join us at 9:15am as we launch the day!
  Look out for our launch of our ‘Family Empowerment Hub’ at this event, where you can register for free
  workshops and activities for your family!

   

  Check out our website (new site launching mid-July) www.positivelyempoweredkids.co.uk
  Facebook @PEKfamilies Instagram & YouTube Positively Empowered Kids Twitter@EmPowerKid2020
  Do get in touch via email positivelyempoweredkids@gmail.com