Happy Half Term

The importance of play during lockdown

Mental Health and Wellbeing Resources and Information

Home Learning feedback

I have posted this discussion in Hwb Classes asking your children to give useful feedback to enable me to plan continued home learning after the holiday:

As it is Half term break next week, it seems like a very good time to check in with how home learning is going. You nor I, have ever had to work in a way like this before so we're learning to do this together with the help of your wonderful families!

So what I want to know is how are you finding the way I am doing it? Think about these questions and you will really be helping me out in setting the work for you in a way that is best for you after half term holiday:

-What type of work do you like best? Worksheets you can download, copy or print or more tasks/projects that you create for yourself in PowerPoint, etc.? Practical - go and do tasks or questions to answer on a worksheet?

- Do you like the daily discussion of what the new activities are each day?

-Do you like the activities being set everyday or would you prefer all the activities for the week to be set on a Monday and you work your way through them all week?

- Is there anything else you would like me to think about? A video recording from me now and again (well only when I have washed my hair!) or other ways we can work together?

I really want this home learning experience to be the best it can be for you, if you give me useful (polite) and honest feedback it will help me to support you, and I will try my very best to act on what you say if it is possible for me to do so.

Thank you! 

Miss Collins

I would really appreciate feedback from yourselves as parents too, as I know how difficult it is teaching your own children! Please feel free to email me with things that work well and things that you find difficult to carry out from the tasks set. It is the strangest way I have ever had to work in my career so far. I have your child's best interests at heart and want to make this time as stress free, yet useful to you all.

Thank you for your ongoing support during this strange time.

Miss Collins

email me at Collinsl39@hwbmail.net

Year 4 Future Home Learning

• What type of activities have your children enjoyed doing? (I hope there have been some!)
• What type of activities have your children really not enjoyed doing? 
• Do you prefer quick, short activities or a project style activity that takes longer to complete? 
• Is there any type of work you would like to see more/less of?
• Has it been easy to access the work via the Hwb class?
• Has the work been easy to download or have you had difficulty in viewing the work? 
• Were the Adobe web link presentations in the Hwb class folders useful and easy to use or did you find it difficult to use them?

Week 7 Home Learning Activities

Free School Meals information

From the 6th April the Local Authority have been paying a Free School Meal allowance directly to those families who are eligible. We have been asked to remind parents of pupils eligible for this allowance to register their bank account information with the Shared Benefit Service. 
This can be done using the link below, registering as a guest -
https://iweb.itouchvision.com/portal/f?p=customer:category_link:::::CUID,LANG:AA1D63703E0090511492E053148B01A8C0EB5792,EN&P_LANG=en
or alternatively you can call the Shared Benefit Service on 01495 742291 or 01495 742377

If you are already in receipt of these payments then there is no need for you to contact the service. 

We have been provided with a list of pupils for which no claim has been made to this date. I will be posting out individual letters to those parents early next week. Please note that any payments will be back-dated to 6th April.   

Many thanks

Keep safe, take care!

Hungry Caterpillar Outdoor Craft

Welsh Government - Hwb

Welsh Government – Hwb

As you will be aware, your child/ren use the Hwb for many activities in school. Welsh Government are offering some of these services for free at home.

Get FREE Microsoft Office and Minecraft at home!

All learners and teachers at our school are entitled to FREE Microsoft software to use at home.

You can download and install the latest Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as Minecraft: Education Edition on up to 5 laptop or desktop computers, 5 tablets and 5 smartphones.

https://hwb.gov.wales/microsoft

You will need to log into Hwb with your child’s username and password to begin.

Week 4 Home Learning

Elmer Activities

Year 6 Home Learning W/C 20th April

New Learning Tasks Week 3 - Week Beg. Monday 20.04.20

Free School Meals information - further update

Further to the information sent out yesterday we have now received the following information:

Monmouthshire County Council are currently reviewing how they make provision for our FSM learners to receive funding for a meal.  From the 6th April they are changing the way they provide free school meals, from this date they will credit the parent / carers bank account with £3.90 per day for each pupil entitled to FSM attending one of our schools, this will be paid on a Monday and cover one week in advance.

Please note the first payment will be for two weeks in advance to cover the Easter Holiday, given the timescales they are working to, the first payment will be in bank accounts on Wednesday 8^th April, but will include 2 days backdated payment to  Monday 6^th April.  

To enable them to do this, they need collect details from parents / carers for the benefits team to validate the payment, this will include bank details.  Could you please follow the updated link below to complete the registration form.  Without this they are unable to make payment. Please note the cut off for the first payment is Friday 3^rd April at 5pm.   

 https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/free-school-meals/

Key Worker Update

Monmouthshire County Council are reviewing if there is any demand to provide childcare provision for key workers over the weekends and the Easter Holiday, they are asking parents / carers to complete a form on their website to express an interest. Please note that the cut off for this is tomorrow, Wednesday 1st April, at noon.

The link to the website is below:

https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/school-closures/

Free School Meals information

The decision has now been made that the administering of Free School Meal entitlement while the education sites are closed will now be carried out by the Monmouthshire and Torfaen Shared Benefits Team. This will replace the current interim scheme of collecting a meal from Dewstow Primary School from Monday 6th April. 

An online application form has been set up for parents who are entitled to FSM to complete and supply the Shared Benefits Team with bank details so that weekly payments can be issued aimed at providing food for the children while they are at home.  This form is called FSM COVID 19 and can be found under this link 
https://iweb.itouchvision.com/portal/f?p=customer:category_link:::::CUID,LANG:AA1D63703E0090511492E053148B01A8C0EB5792,EN&P_LANG=en
Parents are encouraged to apply online as quickly as possible.
Many thanks
Shared Benefits team
Please note that meals can still be collected this week from Dewstow Primary between 12noon and 1pm. 

New ways to communicate

Fairtrade

Hwb Classroom and logins

Nursery Hwb logins

Wellbeing tips and resources for families

Updated information for Key Workers

Changes to the provision of childcare to support key workers

These are unprecedented times for all of us and as a consequence we have had to make some changes to the operation of the childcare hubs that I wrote to you about on Friday. This has been caused by the significant government regulations announced by the Prime Minister and First Minister of Wales last night. These focus on a need to rigorously enforce social distancing regulations and eliminate all unnecessary time away from home.

To that end we are proposing some changes to the provision of childcare for critical workers:

i. From Wednesday 25th March both parents in a family (where there are two parents) must be critical workers to access the childcare offer.
ii. We will continue to have two Hubs in Caldicot, pupils from Dewstow, Durand, Castle Park, Archbishop Rowan Williams and Ysgol Y Ffin should continue to attend Dewstow Childcare Hub
iii. Pupils from Rogiet, Undy and Magor Primary Schools should continue to attend Rogiet Childcare Hub.

We have to remember that the teachers and support staff who are working in our hubs are a vital part of the response to COVID-19 and keeping everyone in our Hubs safe is critical. Each of the Hubs are developing very clear regulations and rules to ensure that the highest standards of cleanliness, I would ask that you remind your children of the importance of this.
Also please note that:
• Children need to be at the Hub by 9.30
• Children need to be collected on time, 3.30pm.
• Please can children just to bring in water bottle / sandwiches (we have our disposable bags to take home and bring back) and any home learning rather than rucksacks.

Pupils eligible for FSM
From Wednesday 25 March 2020, we will be able to provide a hot lunch option to all of our children who are eligible for a free school meal. This will be made available from either of the school based childcare hubs (Dewstow or Rogiet Childcare Hub). This will be available between 12noon and 1pm.

Secondary aged pupils who are eligible for free school meals and are not in one of the hub school based childcare schools should collect their lunch from their normal school at the normal time.

We will be launching a new registration form at the end of this week. Please check www.monmouthshire.gov.uk on Thursday.
Yours sincerely
 Will McLean
Chief Officer
Children and Young People
 

Year 4 Parent Information

Year 4 – I hope everyone is well and staying safe at this difficult time. All children should now have access to Hwb.  Before we finished school I went over with them how to use the Hwb class and how to access their emails.  This is how I will predominately keep in touch with the class at the moment. 

Each child received a home learning pack with a range of activities suitable to consolidate and recap some of the skills developed to date.  It would be great if your child could complete these activities over the next two weeks.  However, I appreciate that this is a difficult time for people, as some parents still need to work as key workers etc. So I am asking that you complete what you can and do not feel pressured by what is set. 

Please encourage your children to log onto Hwb regularly as I hope to add links to suitable websites that may be of interest to the children and set discussion questions.  This is also where I aim to set future learning tasks. I have currently sent links to the Premier league who have a range of fun maths and english activities linked to football and a link to the David Walliams website, where the children will find access to a free David Walliams audio book each day.

If children wish to show me what they have done they have a few possible options.  They can either email it to me via Hwb or if they complete the work on J2E I can access this via my teacher area.  Alternatively they can keep the work to show me on their return to school.

I have told the children that I will be available during the day (Mon-Fri) if there is a problem, although I may not respond immediately.

Stay safe.

Mrs Sisson

Link for MCC Key worker registration form

Information for Key workers

Dear Parents and Carers,

Preparations to support key workers through the provision of childcare:

At the end of the school day on Friday 20 March 2020, all schools in Monmouthshire will close for the near future; we do not know when the return to school will be.

The Government has stated in its latest advice:

            ‘If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading. That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.’

From Monday 23 March 2020, we are establishing nine provisions across the county that will enable us to provide support and care for the children of key workers across the county.

This will enable those workers to continue to make their key contribution in the fight against COVID-19 and is in line with the strategic objectives of our response to the emergency.  We have chosen this scope of provision because it maintains the key objective of school closures i.e. reducing the transmission of the virus.

The nine schools (selected for their size and location) will be:

• Deri View Primary School (Abergavenny)
• Llanfoist Fawr Primary School (Abergavenny)
• Dewstow Primary School (Caldicot)
• Rogiet Primary School (Caldicot)

• Overmonnow Primary School (Monmouth)
• Kymin View Primary School Monmouth

• Thornwell Primary School (Chepstow)
• Pembroke Primary School (Chepstow)
• Raglan Church in Wales Primary School (Raglan)

Monmouthshire will follow the UK Government’s definition of ‘key’ workers – this can be found here. MCC will be sharing a registration form online this afternoon and all parents presenting on Monday morning are expected to present an id of a relevant service or industry sector.

The provision will be available for children in the following school years: reception to year 8 and will be open from 8.00 (breakfast club) – 3.30.

Members of staff from all of Monmouthshire’s schools will work in these settings not only the ‘host’ school.  The aim is to ensure that there is familiar face for all pupils.  It is our intention, through working with the schools to establish a shift pattern to ensure that there can be a continuity of provision capable of withstanding increasing illness and self-isolation.  Members of the CYP Directorate will also support these provisions and we will review our capacity and potentially look to utilise the skills and talents of our youth service.

Pupils eligible for FSM

From Monday 23 March 2020, we will also be able to provide a lunch to all of our children who are eligible for a free school meal.  This will be made available from each of the schools above and will be either a hot meal or a packed lunch on a ‘grab and go’ basis.  This will be available between 12pm and 2pm. 

Secondary aged pupils who are eligible for free school meals and are not in one of the hub schools should collect their lunch from their normal school at the normal time.

The situation we face is challenging and dynamic, these plans, as set out above, are in place for the first week.  At all times we will be reviewing the capacity of this offer to ensure that it remains suitable to meet its objectives.  We have additional schools on standby to augment the service.

All schools across Monmouthshire have made proactive plans to identify all vulnerable learners and staff who are not working at these hubs will be responsible for maintaining contact with these learners during the time of school closures.

Please refer to www.monmouthshire.gov.uk for details of registration, these will be available later this afternoon.

Thank you for your patience as we have worked to develop these contingencies, as I have said we will keep them continually under review and we can develop this offer is necessary.

Yours sincerely

Will McLean

Chief Officer

Children and Young People

Drama Ticket Refund

DRAMA PRODUCTION

Tuesday 17^th March 2020

Dear Parents / Annwyl Rhieni,

 Drama Production

Unfortunately following the latest Government advice to restrict social gatherings in relation to the Coronavirus outbreak we have taken the decision this afternoon to cancel our Drama Club performance for this year.

We will be refunding all ticket monies and will endeavour to do this by the end of this week.

We are videoing the dress rehearsal that is taking place this afternoon as all of the children in our drama club have worked extremely hard and we are very keen for the performance to be seen by their families. Once we have a completed video we will be selling this to drama club members only.

Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause. These are exceptional and unprecedented circumstances that change on a daily basis.

Yours Sincerely/ Yn Gywir,

 A.L.Waters

 Mrs Allison Waters

Headteacher

CORONAVIRUS

Monday 16^th March 2020

Dear Parent / Annwyl Rhieni,

Coronavirus

The issues and potential issues around the spread of the Coronavirus are being well documented in the media. I am conscious that it is an ever-changing scenario and the regular news updates, whilst keeping us informed, may also lead to speculation and alarm.  I want to assure you that we are doing all we can as a school to minimise the risk to your children.  The safety and well-being of all our pupils is paramount. We are following guidance issued by Public Health Wales.

Our children have been made aware of the need to wash hands regularly with soap and water and the importance of ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’ and these important messages are being reinforced regularly by staff. Our cleaning staff and caretaker have been briefed on the importance of the daily cleaning of touch points such as door handles, handrails, desk tops, taps etc.  All soap dispensers are regularly replenished and, although supplies are running low, hand sanitiser is available in key locations.  You may wish to send this in with your child for their own personal use if you can avail of it.  Please ensure it is clearly marked with their name.

At this critical time, I would ask for your cooperation in keeping your child off school should they be unwell. Childhood illnesses spread very quickly due to their close contact with others in the school setting.  It is therefore essential that, in line with the latest advice, they should not be sent to school if they have the following symptoms:

• A high temperature or fever
• A new continuous/persistent cough
• Flu like symptoms or a heavy cold

They should not come to school and should self-isolate for 7 days. Please report any periods of absence and provide the reason, as per our usual procedure. We may contact parents during the school day to request they collect their children if they have a fever and/or a persistent cough.

Please also keep you child off school if they are vomiting or have diarrhoea. In both cases they should remain at home for 48hrs after the vomiting or diarrhoea has stopped. 

I understand that it can be difficult to arrange childcare at short notice however it is essential that you do so to avoid putting other children and staff at risk.

Our Senior Leadership Team is regularly assessing latest developments and discussing arrangements should circumstances deteriorate further. This includes consideration of school trips and planned events, particularly those that will result in large numbers gathering together.  All future trips may be subject to last minute cancellation.  Every effort will be made to minimise disruption and disappointment however, as previously stated, our main priority is the safety and well-being of our children. 

So far, the following decisions have been taken: 

• Brought forward our Drama Production
• Postponed Parents Evening to later in the year

The school will continue to use the following communication channels: 

• Schoop
• School website
• Letter

If you plan to travel overseas please follow the guidance issued by the relevant authorities on your return home.

As you will appreciate, this is a new and unprecedented situation for schools to manage and we appreciate your ongoing support as we seek to follow the advice given to us. I therefore urge everyone to follow the Public Health Wales guidelines and the points I have brought to your attention as together we play our part to minimise the impact of the Coronavirus.

Yours sincerely / Yn Gywir,

A.L.Waters

Mrs. Allison Waters

Headteacher / Pennaeth
 

Weekly Class Attendance Results

DRAMA CLUB NEWS

Friday 13^th March 2020

 Dear Parents / Annwyl Rhieni,

 Drama Production

We have taken the decision today to bring forward our Drama Club performance to 6pm on Thursday 19^th March. All of the children in our drama club have worked extremely hard and we are very keen for the performance to take place.

We do not know at this stage what will happen in the coming weeks in relation to the Coronavirus outbreak hence the decision to proceed sooner rather than later with the performance. However, those of you who are within vulnerable groups may wish to reconsider whether you attend. We will be happy to refund ticket monies should you decide not to or are unable to attend the rescheduled date.

Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause but these are exceptional circumstances.

Yours Sincerely/ Yn Gywir,

  A.L.Waters

Mrs Allison Waters

Headteacher

Information regarding Head lice

• Head lice are small insects (no larger than a sesame seed when fully grown) with moving legs. They live very close to the scalp.
• Nits are not the same as lice. They are the egg cases which stick to the hair, and look like specks of dandruff.
• You only have head lice if you find a moving louse (not a nit). Your head does not have to be itchy to have head lice.

• Because of children’s play activity and close contact, head lice are usually found on children, but can also spread to adults.
• Head lice are caught from close family and friends in the home and community, as well as at school.
• Head lice live in all types of hair – dirty or clean, short or long.
• Head lice walk from one head to another, when heads are close together – they do not fly, jump or swim.

• Regular brushing and combing of the hair will help to spot lice early.
• The best way to stop the spread of head lice is for families to check their heads by regular wet combing using a detector comb.
• Human head lice are not found on animals or household pets and are not transmitted from pets to humans.

• Check and treat all infected members of the family.
• Ask your GP or Pharmacist which head lice treatment to use. Creme rinses and shampoos are not thought effective and are therefore not recommended. The Pharmacist can advise on any evidence of resistance to treatment and therefore the most appropriate treatment to purchase. Also, the Pharmacist can advise on treatments suitable for people with asthma and other respiratory conditions.
• Always read and follow the instructions in the treatment pack.
• Apply the treatment carefully.

 
Further information can be found at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/health/protection/communicabledisease/publications/headlice/?lang=en

Weekly Attendance Class Results

Weekly Class Attendance Results

Weekly Attendance Class Results

Monmouthshire Budget Consultation update

Wednesday 26^th March 2020

Dear Parents/ Annwyl Rhieni,

Budget Consultation Update

You will recall that I wrote to you in January with details of Monmouthshire County Council’s annual budget consultation, asking you to take part and give your views on education funding across the county for 2020-21 and in particular the 2% funding cut that the council were proposing in a bid to balance their budget.

I am pleased to be able to write to you to announce that the council has withdrawn this proposed budget cut.

While we welcome this move (which at Durand would have resulted in approximately a £15,000 cut), delegated school budgets across Monmouthshire continue to sit below the level of funding that we need to properly develop our schools and provide the learning equipment and resources that are needed. Put simply, the gap between the funding that we receive and the costs that we have to meet continues to grow. Had this 2% cut not been proposed in the first place, the school would still have been (and thus still is) in a very challenging position to make ends meet.

As a school, we have been very grateful for the support that we have received from parents and carers in response to recent letters explaining our financial challenges. Thank you so much for your expressions of support and to those who took part in the recent consultation.

We are passionate about providing the best possible education for your child as well as communicating with you as parents and carers about the ongoing education funding crisis and what that looks like for your child’s education.

Yours Sincerely/ Yn Gywir,

 A.L.Waters

 Mrs. Allison Waters

Headteacher / Pennaeth

Weekly Class Attendance Results

Newsletter Spring Term Issue 1

Training Days

The Welsh Government have announced today that during the summer term this year, and for the following two years, schools will have an additional training day in order to prepare for the introduction of the New Curriculum for Wales in September 2022.

For this year we have decided to take this additional day on Friday 22^nd May. Please note that we still have two further training days this academic year which are being held on Monday 1^st June and Monday 20^th July.

St. David’s Day

We will be holding our St. David’s Day Eisteddfod celebrations in school on Monday 2^nd March with year group competitions as well as performances by each class. For this occasion we would like our pupils to wear traditional Welsh costumes / clothing - Welsh ladies, Miners, Welsh Rugby or Football players.

World Book Day

We will be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday 5^th March. This year we would like pupils to bring their favourite book and a cushion to school! Chepstow bookshop have agreed to join us again this year for pupils to use their World Book Day token.

Sports Relief

As a Sports Relief Super School we will be supporting Sports Relief on Friday 13^th March. On that day pupils can come to school dressed in sportswear. We ask for a contribution of 50p in order to fundraise for this event.

Parental Engagement

We are holding a Parental Engagement Event for this term after school on Wednesday 4^th March. This time we will be focussing on Mathematics and Numeracy in all our classes.

Parents Evenings

Our parents’ evenings this term have been arranged for Tuesday 24^th March and Wednesday 25^th   March. Your child’s class teacher will send out an appointment after half term.

National Tests

All our pupils from Year 2 to Year 6 will be sitting the Welsh Government National Test for Numerical Reasoning between Tuesday 28^th April and Tuesday 5^th May. It is very important that pupils are in school during this period. There is a change this year and pupils will only be sitting one written test. The other two tests, Reading and Numerical Procedural, will be online assessments and will be personalised to each pupil.

Many thanks to you all for your continued support!

 A.L.Waters

Mrs Allison Waters

Headteacher

Weekly Class Attendance Results

Weekly Attendance Class Results

Spellings Homework

Weekly Class Attendance Results

Monmouthshire Budget Consultation

20^th January 2020

Dear Parents/Annwyl Rhieni,

Budget Consultation

You may be aware that Monmouthshire County Council are consulting on their budget for April 2020. Full details of the budget proposals can be found here: 

http://www.kinghenryviiischool.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DRAFT-REVENUE-BUDGET-PROPOSALS-202021.pdf 

There is also a video clip from Cllr P Murphy outlining the key aspects:

https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/latest-news/

The school is disappointed that part of the budget proposal is that all schools in Monmouthshire are expected to have a 2% reduction in their base funding.

At Durand Primary School, we have worked extremely hard over the past number of years to raise standards in what have been very challenging financial circumstances. A reduction of 2% would mean that Durand Primary School would lose around £15,000 from our budget. If approved this would impact on our ability to maintain all aspects of our current provision.

We ask for your support that you engage in the consultation process. There is a public meeting at 6.30pm on Wednesday 22^nd January in Abergavenny Library and this would be an opportunity for your voice to be heard.

The consultation closes on Monday 30 January.

Yours Sincerely / Yn Gywir,

 A.L.Waters

 Mrs. Allison Waters

Headteacher / Pennaeth
 

Showcase Event

Monday 20^th January 2020

Dear Parents/Annwyl Rhieni,

Pupil Showcase Event
 

 As you will be aware, from previous communications, this year we have decided to stop our usual class assembly format due to the huge impact in terms of time that these have on learning. These will be replaced with two Showcase events. We are holding the first of our showcase events next week.

The Showcase event for our Foundation Phase classes, Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, is being held at 9.15am on Thursday 30^th January and for our Key Stage 2 classes, Year 3, 4, 5 & 6, at 9.15am on Friday 31^st January. Both events will be in our school hall and will involve an exhibition of pupils’ works plus performances from each class.

Please note the change of start time from 9.30am to 9.15am this is so that you do not have to wait too long in the cold after bringing your child / children to school.

I hope that you are able to join us for this event and thank you for your support!

Yours Sincerely / Yn Gywir,

 A.L.Waters

 Mrs. Allison Waters

Headteacher / Pennaeth

Weekly Attendance Class Results

Starting Primary School 2020

Admission to Primary School - September 2020

Packs available to Parents

Parents may apply using the council’s online application system.  For more information, visit: www.monmouthshire.gov.uk - alternately, parents may request an application pack by telephoning the council’s admissions team on 01633 644508 or emailing: accesstolearning@monmouthshire.gov.uk
 
 
 
 
 
 

Weekly Class Attendance Results

Eco Competition

Newsletter - Autumn Term Issue 3

I can’t believe that the end of term has come along so quickly!

Pantomime

On Thursday we have our annual pantomime here in school provided by Chaplins Theatre Company. This year the pantomime is ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. A HUGE THANK YOU to our PSA who are funding the event again this year!

Winter Jumper Day

On Friday 20^th December we will be holding a Winter Jumper Day. We are not asking for donations for this - it is just for fun on the last day of term!

Christmas Concerts

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Christmas Concerts! I am sure you will agree that our pupils were amazing! Thanks to your kind donations - we raised over £500 towards the outdoor classroom!

 Pupil Showcase

We are holding two showcase events in January. The Showcase event for our Foundation Phase classes, Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, is being held at 9.30am on Thursday 30^th January and for our Key Stage 2 classes, Year 3, 4, 5 & 6, at 9.30am on Friday 31^st January. Both events will be in our school hall and will involve an exhibition of pupils’ works plus a performance from each class.

Parental Engagement.

Just to remind you to put the date in your diary for our next Parental Engagement event which is being held from 3.15pm on Wednesday 4^th March.

Pupil Safety

We are committed to providing a Safe and Secure environment for our pupils. Could I therefore please request your co-operation with the following:

• Verbal abuse will not be tolerated on school premises and Police may be contacted should any cases be witnessed or reported.
• Supervision of pupils when leaving the site is paramount particularly in the Alianore Road area as there is often heavy traffic.
• Pupils should not be on the school premises before 8.50am when we open the doors for pupils to come in to school. Should any pupils be on the premises prior to 8.50am they do so at their own risk.

I would appreciate your support with these matters.

Snow and adverse weather conditions

It will soon be that time of year again when we could be hit with snow! Should the school have to close, due to heavy snowfall either within Caldicot or in the outlying areas where our staff live, then there will be an answer phone message on our phone system, a message sent via our Schoop messaging service, a notice will be posted on our school website www.durand.wales and it will be on the Monmouthshire County Council website.

Staff Car Park

Please note that the internal car park is for staff use only. I have been informed that a number of parents are using this facility. The gates will no longer be opened each day at 3pm so I ask parents to enter and leave the site using another entrance when collecting their child from school.

Lost Items

This term we have had a number of lost clothing items that we have been unable to return as there is no name in the item. Could I please ask all parents to ensure that their child’s name is in every item of clothing that they bring to school as it is much easier to return should the item be mislaid.

P.S.A.

Our P.S.A. have been working very hard. I am delighted to say that they raised an amazing amount at our Christmas Fayre of approximately £900! Thank you very much to all of our P.S.A.!

Next Term

Just to remind you that the new term starts for our pupils on Monday 6th January.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us here at Durand!

Many thanks to you all for your continued support!

Happy Christmas / Nadolig Llawen!

A.L.Waters 

Mrs Allison Waters

Headteacher

Weekly Attendance Class Results

Forest School

Weekly Attendance Class Results

Drama reminder

General Election Arrangements

Wednesday 11^th December 2019

 Dear Parents/Annwyl Rhieni,

General Election

I am happy to say that school will be open as normal for all pupils from Reception up to Year 6 whilst polling for the Local Council Election takes place. Please note that only our Nursery will be closed for pupils on Thursday 12^th December due to the fact that the Nursery building is required for polling purposes.

We have arranged with Monmouthshire County Council to provide fencing in order to make the rest of the site secure for our pupils who will still be attending school. The fencing will run from the first pedestrian gate in Alianore Road to the double yellow gates at the side of the Nursery. Please note that these areas will be out of action on that day and that the first pedestrian gate on Alianore Road will be for polling use only on that day.

Pupils should be brought to and collected from school on that day either using the side entrance near Linnet Road or using the gate from the parent car park or through the double gates in the corner of the site in Alianore Road. Should parents require access during the day it will be the usual method via our security gate.

Hopefully this system will prove to be effective once again allowing us to remain open for all future elections.

 Thank you for your support with this matter.

Yours Sincerely / Yn Gywir,

  A.L.Waters

Mrs. Allison Waters

Headteacher / Pennaeth

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Drama News

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Fairtrade

ParentPay Christmas Dinner option

Newsletter Autumn Term Issue 2

General Election

On Thursday 12^th December our Nursery only will be closed for polling so there will be no school for Nursery pupils on that day. For the safety of our other pupils fencing is being provided to ensure that our pupils are kept separate from the general public coming onto our site to vote.

Harvest

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Harvest festivals on Tuesday 22nd October and Wednesday 23^rd October. I am sure that you will agree that they were wonderful occasions. Many thanks for your donations for the Caldicot food bank.

Children in Need

Thank you to everyone for supporting Children in Need with us. It was wonderful to see our school mentioned on the programme for our fundraising efforts. The final total that we raised was a fantastic £157.50!

Sporting Success

Football

On Thursday 10^th October both our Year 4 and Year 5 / 6 football teams took part in our area Community Development Football tournament. I am delighted to tell you that our Year 4 team were overall winners and will now be going forward to the Monmouthshire Finals to be held in February. Well done to both teams!

Christmas Concerts

Our Nursery and Reception concert, ‘Welcome Little Baby’ is being held on Friday 13^th December in our school hall starting at 9.30am and our Year 1 and 2 concert, 'Shine Bright like a Diamond’ is also being held on Friday 13^th December in our school hall starting at 2.15pm.

Due to the fantastic level of attendance at our Key Stage 2 concerts we have, once again, decided to have two separate concerts this year. The Year 5 and 6 concert, ‘Christmas around the World’ is being held in our school hall on Wednesday 11^th December starting at 2.15pm. The Year 3 and 4 concert, ‘Hosanna Rock’ is being held in our school hall on Thursday 12^th December starting at 2.15pm.

Christmas Parties

Every year we hold traditional Christmas parties in school for our pupils. In the past we have always asked parents to donate a food item for the ‘tea’ that we have at the end of the afternoon. This year our PSA have very kindly agreed that they will provide the funds for us to purchase all the food items for the ‘tea’ at the parties.

The parties this year are being held on the following dates:

Years 5 & 6 -Tuesday 17^th December

Years 3 & 4 -Wednesday 18^th December

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 - Thursday 19^th December

Nursery - Friday 20^th December during their session

Pupils can come to school dressed in their party clothes on the day of their party. All parties are held during the afternoon and pupils will finish at normal school time.

Pantomime

We have once again booked a Pantomime ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ to come to school on the morning of Thursday 19^th December. Once again, as a thank you for all of your support, our PSA have decided to fund the event this year.

Winter Jumper Day

On Friday 20^th December we will be holding a Winter Jumper Day. We are not asking for donations for this it is just for fun on the last day of term!

P.S.A.

This year we have a very small PSA group so we would welcome further support from any parents who have some time to spare. The next event is our Christmas Fayre on Friday 6^th December starting at 2.15pm. A letter with further details is being sent out by our PSA.

Governor News

Just to let you know that the following people are our current Governing Body members:

            CCllr Jim Higginson               Chairperson

            Mrs Lucinda Lund                  Vice Chairperson

            Mr Henry Higgins

            Cllr Maria Stevens

            Mrs Sue Millar

            Ms Ceri Middleton

            Dr David Price

            Mrs Emma Wilcox

            Mrs Lisa Wilton

            Mrs Sian Dolbel

Many thanks to you all for your continued support!

 Mrs Allison Waters

Headteacher

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Nasal Spray Vaccine

Nasal Spray Vaccine

School Photo's

School Photo's

Please indicate clearly on the proof photo the quantity and pack/packs that you require and return it to school as soon as possible.

Wye Valley Studios have asked if you are placing an order that the proof must be returned as it carries a unique reference number for identification purposes.

Packs are priced at £15.00 for PRINTS ONLY and £18.00 for MOUNTED PHOTOS

Can you please make sure that you have placed your order through Parentpay by Sunday 10^th November and that you return the proofs to school to ensure that we have your purchased photos delivered to us in school before we break up for the Christmas holidays.

Please note that unless we receive payment and have the proofs returned to us we are unable to order your photo’s.

Many thanks

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Swimming LessonsInformation

Swimming Lessons

Your child has the opportunity to take part in swimming lessons which are part of the National Curriculum at Caldicot Leisure Centre. Under the Health and Safety regulations the following guidelines needs to be adhered to:

All jewellery must be removed. Children who have recently had their ears pierced are unable to participate in swimming lessons until they are able to remove their own studs.

No open cuts or wounds.

If your child has been ill recently, it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that their child is fit and healthy before they commence swimming lessons.

Long hair must be tied back.

In accordance with school policy swimming caps must be worn.

Swimming lessons will start for Year 3 – on Friday 8^th November and run every week until Friday 13^th December at 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm.

This letter is for your information only.

Eco-Committee Clothes/textile Collection

Clothes/Textile Collection

• Clothes
• Bedding
• Shoes and Boots
• Handbags
• Towels
• Hats, scarves and gloves

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Harvest Service

Harvest Service

KS2 - Harvest Service

Harvest Service

Asthma Inhalers

Asthma Inhalers

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Parental Engagement Event

Thursday 17^th October 2019

 Dear Parents/Annwyl Rhieni,

Parental Engagement Event

Just to remind you that our next ‘Parental Engagement Event’ for this year is being held on Wednesday 13^th November from 3.15pm and all parents are invited to come and join us. The opportunity is available for you not just to visit your child’s class but other classes within the school.

Our Foundation Phase classes, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will be focussing on Reading and how parents can support at home. Our Key Stage 2 classes, Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, will be demonstrating ICT activities and games that can be used to support their child’s learning at home.

I hope that you are able to join us for this event and thank you for your support!

Yours Sincerely / Yn Gywir,

 A.L.Waters

 Mrs. Allison Waters

Headteacher / Pennaeth

Information for PE

Physical Education

Forest School

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PSA - DVD Film Night

DVD Film Night

On Wednesday 23^rd October the PSA are holding a cinema style DVD showing for our pupils in years 3-6. The film being shown is ‘The Secret Life of Pets 2’ which is certificated as U and has been chosen by School Council and year 6 pupils.

The children attending will stay after school finishes going straight into the school hall. An American style hot dog, crisps and a drink will be provided for all children.

The film should finish at approximately 5.15pm when the children are to be collected from the school hall. The cost is £2.50 per child and this includes interval snacks.

To enable your child to participate, could you please make a payment of £2.50 payment through your ParentPay account no later than Monday 21^st October.

Unfortunately if we do not receive payment via ParentPay your child will not be able to attend the showing.

Many Thanks

PSA

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Admission to Secondary School 2020

Admission to Secondary School - September 2020

https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/starting-secondary-school/

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Newsletter Autumn Term Issue 1

Welcome to the first newsletter of the year. I hope everyone had an enjoyable summer although it seems like so long ago now already!

I would like to send a very warm welcome to all our new families who have joined us this year!

Training Days

The following days have been allocated as training days for this academic year:

Thursday 24^th October        

Friday 25^th October

Monday 4^th November

Monday 1^st June

Monday 20^th July

Schoop

Just to remind everyone to update their Schoop settings to take into account the change of Year group from September. Many thanks.

Photographs

‘Wye Valley’ photographers will be in school on Tuesday 15^th October to take individual photographs and sibling photographs. They will be available before school from 8.15am to take group photos with non-school siblings. Please note that we will organise the individual and in-school (including Nursery) sibling photos.

Parents Evening

Our Autumn term Parents Evenings are being held this year on Tuesday 8^th October and Wednesday 9^th October. Your child’s class teacher will send an appointment to you for one of these dates closer to the date.

Harvest

Due to the fact that we always have an incredible amount of support from parents who join us for our Harvest Service we are changing the format this year. We will be now be holding separate Harvest Services for Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 pupils. Our Foundation Phase Harvest service for pupils from Nursery up to Year 2 is being held at 9.30am on Tuesday 22^nd October and our Key Stage 2 service for pupils from Year 3 up to Year 6 is being held at 9.30am on Wednesday 23^rd October. I am delighted to tell you that our link minister, Reverend Brackpool, will be joining us for both of these events. Once again this year we will be collecting items to donate to the Caldicot Food bank. Parents are welcome to join us for their child’s event! 

ALDI’s Kit for School

We have decided to try and collect the stickers from ALDI to enable us to enter their competition with a chance of winning £20,000 for our school. If you shop at ALDI between now and 3^rd November you can collect a sticker for every £30 that you spend. Please ask friends and family to help with this and send in your stickers to school to stick on the large collection poster. Many thanks.

Parental Engagement Events

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for our ‘Experience your Child’s New Class’ event last week. We will be holding three further events this year all starting at 3.15pm on Wednesday 13^th November, Wednesday 4^th March and Wednesday 1^st July. Details of these will be sent out nearer to the date.

Showcase Events

This year we have decided to stop our usual class assembly format due to the huge impact in terms of time that these have on learning. These will be replaced with Showcase events. During the Showcase events there will be an exhibition of the activities and learning that has taken place within each class together with a performance from each class involved. These events will be take place for our Foundation Phase classes, Nursery up to Year 2, on Thursday 30^th January and Thursday 9^th July and for our Key Stage 2 classes, Year 3 up to Year 6, on Friday 31^st January and Friday 10^th July. All of these events will start at 9.30am. 

Parking

Although we have a car park for our parents to use I am aware that this is not big enough for everyone to park in and many parents still have to use the road side for parking at the beginning and end of the day. Could I please request that should you need to park on the roadside you are mindful of local residents and do not block driveways and that you stay clear of parking near a road junction.

Could you please ensure that the two disabled spaces in our parent / visitor car park are kept free for use by blue badge holders. Many thanks for your cooperation with these matters.

Bikes and Scooters

We are happy for our pupils to ride their scooters or bikes to school accompanied by their parents, but do not allow these to be ridden in our school grounds, as it can be a danger to others, particularly younger pre-school siblings. Please ensure that your son / daughter dismounts their bike or scooter before entering the school grounds. Scooters and bikes can be left, at your own risk, in the fenced area provided by our PSA near the Alianore Road entrance. Please note that our green cycle shelter is for use by our Year 5 & 6 pupils only.  Thank you for your help with this matter. 

Attendance

This year the school has, once again, been set a very challenging target of 95.5% with regard to pupil attendance by the Local Authority. In order to encourage high attendance we operate a half termly attendance award system – pupils with 100% attendance will receive a certificate and gold sticker and pupils with over 95% will receive a silver sticker. We also have a weekly whole class star system and each half term there is a reward for the class with the highest attendance for that period.

Can I please remind parents that it is very important that pupils attend registration at 9am and 1pm in order to secure their ‘present’ mark. Pupils can then be collected after registration to attend any medical appointment that they require. We are currently in the process of reviewing our policy with regard to holidays during term time as this was highlighted as an issue during our recent Estyn review inspection. Any absence from school has an impact on a child’s education and I would like to also point out that any pupil arriving late to school will miss valuable teaching input.

Pupil Absence

Could I please remind parents to use our dedicated absence line for reporting pupil absence as this saves valuable time in the mornings. When leaving a message please give a reason for your child’s absence. Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.

Good Conduct Awards

As a school we operate a half termly ‘Good Conduct Award’ system where we reward pupils with a certificate who have shown excellent conduct and behaviour both within the classroom and around the school. This is part of our school ethos encouraging both good behaviour and good manners. 

School Uniform

Thank you to everyone for ensuring that their child has the correct uniform for school. It is wonderful to see nearly all pupils in the correct school uniform. However, we have already found that a number of items do not have names in them. Can you please ensure that all of your child’s clothing has their name clearly marked. Thank you!

Free School Meal Entitlement (FSM)

Could I please urge all parents who may be entitled to receive FSM for their son/daughter to make an application even if you feel that your child will not eat all of the meals that are offered. As a school we receive additional grant funding based on the number of pupils who are entitled to FSM to provide additional support and resources for pupils within the school. If you would like further information or help with this please see Mrs Williamson in our school office. 

PSA News

All parents/guardians of pupils attending Durand Primary School are automatically, together with all staff, members of the School’s Parent Staff Association (PSA). Some parents/guardians and staff choose to form our School’s PSA Committee. If anyone is interested in supporting this small hard-working group of people please come along to the AGM at 3.15pm on Tuesday 24^th September.

Governor News

The Governing Body would like to remind parents of the following general rules that are printed in our School Handbook:

General Rules / Guidelines for Parents

1. Pupils should not enter school grounds before 50am. The school will not accept responsibility for any pupils on site prior to this. From 8.50am staff are available to supervise pupils. 
2. Pupils are not permitted to use any of our outdoor equipment and no ball games are to be played on either yard before the start of school.
3. Only pupils with permission from a member of staff are allowed to remain in the school building during breaks. These pupils will be supervised.
4. The only jewellery permitted to be worn by pupils whilst at school is a wrist watch and one pair of stud earrings.
5. Electronic games, personal music players (Ipods, MP3 players), mobile phones and toys should not be brought to school without prior permission from the Headteacher or class teacher.
6. Pupils must not make use of the school grounds during evenings, weekends and in the holidays, unless they are part of a supervised club. 
7. Chewing gum is not allowed in school at any time and no-one is allowed to eat or drink during lesson times, other than from water bottles provided.
8. No roller skates, skateboards, scooters or bicycles are allowed to be ridden on the school premises unless it forms part of a supervised activity e.g. Foundation Phase play and Safe Cycling.
9. Parents and pupils should not bring pets on to the school site for Health and Safety reasons without prior permission from the Headteacher.
10. Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is not permitted anywhere within the school site in line with Monmouthshire County Council Policy.

Dates for your Diaries / Calendars

In order to help parents plan, as well as the dates indicated above, we have set the following dates for this academic year:-

Harvest Service – Foundation Phase, Tuesday 22^nd October at 9.30am

                      - Key Stage 2, Wednesday 23^rd October at 9.30am

Children in Need – Friday 15^th November

Parental Engagement events – 

                            - Autumn, Wednesday 13^th November, 3.15pm

                            - Spring, Wednesday 4^th March at 3.15pm

                            - Summer, Wednesday 1st July at 3.15pm

Showcase events – Foundation Phase, Thursday 30^th January at 9.30am

                              - Key Stage 2, Friday 31^st January at 9.30am

                              - Foundation Phase, Thursday 9^th July at 9.30am

                              - Key Stage 2, Friday 10^th July at 9.30am

Christmas arrangements – Christmas dinner, Wednesday 4^th December

       - Year 5 & 6 Concert, Wednesday 11^th December at 2.15pm

       - Year 3 & 4 Concert, Thursday 12^th December at 2.15pm

       - Nursery and Reception Concert, Friday 13^th December at 9.30am

       - Year 1 & 2 Concert, Friday 13^th December at 2.15pm

       - Year 5 & 6 Party, Tuesday 17^th December, 1.15pm

       - Year 3 & 4 Party, Wednesday 18^th December, 1.15pm

       - Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 Party, Thursday 19^th December , 1.15pm

       - Pantomime (in school) Thursday 19^th December, 9.30am

       - Winter Jumper Day, Friday 20^th December

St. David’s Day celebrations – Monday 2^nd March

Sports Relief Day – Friday 13^th March

Drama Production (Drama Club only) – Thursday 2^nd April at 5pm

Music Concert – Foundation Phase, Thursday 18th June at 2pm

                         - Key Stage 2, Friday 19th June at 5pm

Sports Day – Tuesday 12^th May (with reserve dates on Tuesday 19^th May, Wednesday 20^th May,Thursday 21^st May and Friday 23^rd May)

Moving-up Day / Year 6 visit Caldicot School – Date to be confirmed

Enterprise Fayre – Friday 3^rd July

Year 6 Leavers Assembly -   Wednesday 15^th July

Please note that the dates were correct at the time of publishing but could be subject to change.

Term Dates for 2019-2020

 Plus May bank holiday on Friday 8^th May 2019.

I look forward to working with you all this year!

Many thanks to you all for your continued support!

Mrs Allison Waters

Headteacher

Forest School News

Weekly Attendance Class Results

Drama news

Parental Engagement Event

Tuesday 3^rd September 2019

 Dear Parents/Annwyl Rhieni,

Parental Engagement Event

I would like to invite all parents to meet their child’s new the teacher at our ‘Parental Engagement Event’ which we are holding on Wednesday 11^th September starting at 3.15pm. All parents are invited to come to school to ‘Experience your Child’s New Class’.

This open event will give you the opportunity to look around the classroom, speak to the teacher and get valuable information about their learning for this year.

I hope that you are able to join us for this event and thank you for your support.

Yours Sincerely / Yn Gywir,

  A.L.Waters 

Mrs. Allison Waters

Headteacher / Pennaeth

Weekly Class Attendance Results

Newsletter Summer Term Final Issue

New Term

Our Year 1- Year 6 pupils return to school on Monday 2^nd September. Please note that our Nursery and Reception pupils have all been given their return/start dates separately.

Training Days

There are five training days to be taken during the 2019-20 academic year. The dates we have allocated for these are:

Thursday 24^th October 2019

Friday 25^th October 2019

Monday 4^th November 2019

Monday 1^st June 2020

Monday 20^th July 2020

Music Experience Days

We have been able to provide our pupils with a Music Experience day using the funds raised at our two Music concerts held earlier this term. All of our pupils from Reception up to Year 6 enjoyed Celtic Band workshops delivered by Mr Stewart. This was a great day enjoyed by all!

Visiting Author

A big thank you to Mr Mike Robinson, one of our Dads, who has written his first children's book 'Ely the Elephant' for coming to school to share this and work with our Foundation Phase pupils.

Good byes

Very sadly we will be saying goodbye to some of our members of staff who will be leaving us at the end of this academic year, our midday supervisors Mrs Williams and Mrs Wall and Miss Morgan who has stepped in whilst Mr Moses has been off school. We wish then all well and good luck for the future as they all embark on their new adventures!

Signing in and out system

Over the Summer Holidays we will be having a new electronic signing in and out system installed for visitors, late arrivals, signing in and out for appointments. We require all pupils to be accompanied by an adult to the main office to enable them to sign in for their child.

School Uniform

Our uniform is white t-shirt/shirt/blouse, red sweatshirt/jumper/cardigan and grey trousers / skirt. Please note that for safety reasons sensible footwear should be worn. We have noticed that a number of pupils are wearing hooded tops / jackets to school that are not school uniform colours. Our main school uniform colour is red and we would expect pupils to wear jumpers / sweatshirts / fleece jackets / hooded top / jackets that are red. Could we please ask that when you are purchasing new uniform ready for September that you adhere to this as from September we will be asking pupils who wear the wrong colour jumpers / sweatshirts / fleece jackets / hooded top / jackets to leave these in the cloakroom areas. Many thanks for your support with this matter.

Stationery Items

I would like to request that pupils do not bring in stationery items from home. We provide all the stationery that your son / daughter need for use in school. Pupils often bring in pencil cases with numerous items within them, these take up a lot of space on pupil tables and pupils get very upset when items get lost or broken. I appreciate your cooperation with this matter.

Personal Items.

May I remind parents that any personal items brought into school are at a pupil’s own risk we do not take responsibility for any items that may get lost or broken. We prefer that such items are not brought to school. Please note that we do not allow pupils to bring mobile phones or other electronic devices to school.

Meet the Teacher

We normally hold a parental engagement event during the summer term for parents to meet their child’s new teacher. Unfortunately we have not been able to hold that event this year due to staff absence. Instead we will be holding this event at the beginning of the Autumn term on Wednesday 11^th September from 3.15-4.15pm. Hope you will be able to join us.

Parents Evening Dates

Just to give you some advanced notice that we have set our Parents Evening dates for the Autumn term as Tuesday 8^th October and Wednesday 9^th October. Further details will follow in September.

ICT

During the summer holidays we are having 30 Chromebooks installed and some of our existing laptops upgraded. A big thank you to our PSA for helping us to fund this project.

Enterprise Fayre

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our first ‘Enterprise Fayre’. This was a new experience for us with our pupils organising their own stall / events. I know that the pupils involved really enjoyed the experience and we thank our PSA for partnering with us for this event to raise money for the school. Each class have made their own money to spend on items for them to use in school with the winning class being awarded the Enterprise winner’s trophy for the most profit made per head.

I know that many of our pupils will have been inspired to aim for even greater things next year!

P.S.A.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped on stalls, the BBQ and behind the scenes for the summer ‘Enterprise' fayre. Everyone had a great afternoon. Special thanks to Emma Pickwell and her employers 3663 for supplying the food for the BBQ & to Vivian Baldwin of Zeus Handling UK limited for the refreshments. Also to S&R Whistance, Wye Valley Studios and all those who donated raffle prizes, decorated pots and gave bottle donations. All this helped to raise a fantastic PSA profit of around £1,100  - Well done everyone!

A huge thank you to our PSA for all their hard work as they continue to raise funds for the school. Our PSA had been fundraising to help us install a daily mile track however, due to the huge cost (around £16,000), we have decided to forgo this project. The PSA have instead provided funding to help us purchase a set if 30 Chrome books and are providing funds to help us set up a new art room for the pupils to use with Miss Ley.

The P.S.A. are always looking for extra help and support so if you are able to help out please let a committee member know! The next meeting will be the AGM which will be held at the beginning of the Autumn term.

Term Dates for 2019-2020

Plus May bank holiday on Friday 8^th May 2020.

Finally I would like to take this opportunity to wish our leavers all the best in their new school. They have been a credit to us here at Durand and we are very proud of them. GOOD LUCK!

Thank you for your support this year and I hope everyone has a very enjoyable summer break and I look forward to seeing you all again in September.

Many thanks to you all for your continued support!

Mrs Allison Waters

Headteacher

Weekly Class Attendance Results

Drama News

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Challenge Time

Challenge Time

Foundation Phase Author Visit

Monday 1^st July 2019

 Dear Parents/Annwyl Rhieni,

 Foundation Phase Author visit

One of our Year 6 parents, Mr Mike Robinson, has started to write children’s books. His first book ‘Ely the Elephant’ has now been published and he has offered to come in to school to read his story and talk to our Foundation Phase pupils about his book and being an author. In this book Ely asks ‘What is the meaning of life?’ and goes on an adventure to find the answer.

Mr Robinson will be visiting school for the morning on Tuesday 9^th July to visit our Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes. During his visit there will be the opportunity for the pupils to purchase the book ‘Ely the Elephant’ for a cost of £3.99 if they wish to.

 Thank you for your support with this.

Yours sincerely/Yn Gwir,

  A.L.Waters

Mrs. A. L. Waters

Headteacher/Pennaeth
 

Enterprise Fayre

Friday 28^th June 2019

Dear Parents/ Annwyl Rhieni,

Enterprise Fayre

We are holding our very first Enterprise Fayre on Friday 5^th July starting at 2.15pm. This is a joint venture between the pupils and the PSA. All families are invited to join us

Each of our classes have planned activities / will be making products to raise funds at the fayre. The class that makes the most profit will be awarded our new enterprise trophy. Each class will decide how they spend the profit that they make.

Our PSA will be joining us for this event and will be providing refreshments and a barbeque together with a few of their most popular stalls.

Parents of pupil in Nursery up to Year 5 may collect their children from school early on that day at 2.10pm. Any pupils that cannot be collected early for any reason will be kept in school until our normal finish of 3.10pm. These pupils will either be supervised collectively by members of school staff in our Year 1 classroom or supervised by staff on their class stall.

Please note that all of our Year 6 pupils will actually be running events at the Fayre.

Thank you very much for your support.

Yours Sincerely/ Yn Gywir,

A.L.Waters

Mrs. Allison Waters

Headteacher / Pennaeth

Weekly Class Attendance results

Governing Body Annual Report to Parents

ANNUAL GOVERNORS SUMMARY REPORT

FOR PARENTS

YEAR 2017/18

Durand Primary School

Alianore Road, Caldicot

NP26 5DF

Telephone: (01291) 422296

Email: durandprimary@monmouthshire.gov.uk

Website: www.durand.wales

Chair of Governors: C.Cllr Jim Higginson

Headteacher: Mrs A Waters             

Deputy Headteacher: Mr A Moses

Monday 24^th June 2019
 

Dear Parents,

I am pleased to provide you with the ‘Governors’ Annual Summary Report for Parents’ covering the last academic year, 2017/2018. A copy of the full annual report is available on request from the school office should you wish to see one. All of the information contained in this Report is a legal requirement.

If parents would like the opportunity to discuss the contents of the ‘Governors’ Annual Report for Parents’ there will need to be a request made from 10% of parents, in writing, to the Headteacher by Monday 8^th July 2019 and a meeting with the Governing Body will then be arranged.

Yours Sincerely,

 C.Cllr Jim Higginson

Chairman of Governors

No meeting was held under Section 94 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013.

Future Election of Parent Governors

All parents, guardians or carers of pupils attending the school will be eligible as candidates and all parents/guardians/carers are entitled to vote. If you would like to know more about being a governor, contact the Chair or Vice Chair via the school and arrangements will be made for an informal chat about the commitment required.

There are currently no Parent Governor vacancies.

End of Key Stage Assessment

Foundation Phase Comparative data as a percentage

(School 2018, National 2017)

Foundation Phase Indicator:                       School: 93.1               National: 82.6

N-not awarded                     D-disapplied              W-working towards Outcome 1

Key Stage 2 Comparative data as a percentage

(School 2018, National 2017)

Core Subject Indicator:                    School: 96.3               National: 89.5

N-not awarded                     D-disapplied              W-working towards Level 1

School Targets

The school sets targets for pupil attainment at the End of Foundation Phase (Year 2) and the End of Key Stage 2 (Year 6).

Below are the School’s targets for the next three years.

Attendance

In order to improve attendance rates and reduce the level of absence we operate a half-termly reward system for individual pupils. Pupils who have achieved 100% receive a certificate and gold sticker.Pupils who have achieved 95%+ attendance receive a silver sticker. In Spring 2017 a weekly class award system was introduced with a half-termly reward for the class with the best attendance.

Following on from the Estyn Inspection recommendation to improve attendance the Governing Body decided to introduce a half termly letter programme identifying to parents the attendance level for their son / duaghter for that particular half term together with the cummulative attendance level for their son / daughter for the year so far. This was introduced in the Summer Term 2018.

New Classes for September 2019

Tuesday 25^th June 2019

 Dear Parents/ Annwyl Rhieni,

New Classes for September 2019

Today we have held our ‘moving up’ day when your son/daughter had a chance to spend time in their new class with their new classmates and teacher.

The classes have been set as follows:

Nursery         Mrs. L. Wilton

Reception     Mrs. J. Dunn

Year 1            Mrs. L. Johns

Year 2            Mr. W. Marangon

Year 3            Mr. R. Wilks

Year 4            Mrs. C. Sisson

Year 5            Mr. A. Moses

Year 6            Miss L. Collins

PPA                Mrs. K. Noblet and Miss S. Ley

Many thanks for your support.

Yours Sincerely/ Yn Gywir,

  A.L.Waters

Mrs. Allison Waters

Headteacher/ Pennaeth

Weekly Class Attendance Results

Weekly Class Attendance Results

Weekly Class Attendance Results