Turquoise Class Information (Year 5/6)

Turquoise Class Information for Parents/Carers

Welcome to  Turquoise Class. Here is some important information about our class.

• Mr Willson is the teacher in Turquoise Class.
• Mrs Old, Mr Martin and Mrs Christie are our teaching assistants.
• Every Thursday afternoon, Mr Willson has time for PPA (planning, preparation and assessment). During this session, the children will have a combination of a PE lesson (with Sports Partnership) , an art lesson (with Miss Birch) and a French lesson (with Mrs Harbertson).
• Please use the door on the side of school near Dudley Street to come into Turquoise Class on a morning, the class will also be released from this door at the end of the day
• In KS2, the school day starts at 8.45am and finishes at 3.20pm, the school gates open at 8.35am and we encourage children to arrive promptly ready to start at 8.45am.

Alternative pick up arrangements

If you have made arrangements for your child to go home with someone different, it is essential you let us know. Please message via SeeSaw as soon as possible, preferably the day before, to allow us to receive the message in good time. For urgent changes on the day, please ring the office.

Clothing

Even though we are a non-uniform school, we do have a standard of dress that we expect from the children. In order to continue to have a no uniform policy, there are certain criteria which must be followed for the children’s comfort and safety.

Please ensure that the children follow this basic dress code:

• No hats/caps indoors
• No jewellery (especially necklaces, as they can be dangerous and could get pulled) 
• No dangly/drop earrings. Stud earrings only are allowed but must be removed for PE.
• No high heels
• No Oodies or onesies – these are not appropriate for school unless it’s pyjama day. 
• No cropped tops that show stomachs.
• A coat or jacket to school every day, which will withstand light rain.

The children should have clothes labelled with their name.

Please make sure your child comes to school in comfortable and practical clothes for a day in the classroom. 

May we also remind those older children that makeup should not be worn here at school.

Drinks in the classroom

The children are allowed to drink water freely during the day, especially when it is warm. They should bring a water bottle to school that can be kept in a specific area of the classroom and that has their name on it. Please encourage your child to take their water bottle home daily for cleaning and refilling. 

P.E.

We will be doing P.E. on Thursday and Friday afternoons. For the first 6 weeks, they will be swimming on a Monday.  Please ensure your child dresses in appropriate clothing on these days.

If your child wears stud earrings, it is school policy that these are removed for P.E. lessons. Please either teach them to do this themselves or remove them before they come to school that day, as we are not allowed to do it for them. Just a reminder that jewellery (apart from watches and stud earrings) should not be worn at school. Please also make sure that your child brings a bobble on P.E. days if they have long hair.

Home-School Communication

This year, we will continue to see SeeSaw as our home-school communication system. SeeSaw is a user-friendly app that will be used to share class updates and showcase your children’s work. Instructions on how to sign up have already been sent home with the children.

Reading books

We will hear children read regularly in class, including within groups and individually. Your child will bring home a library book that they have chosen, and some children will bring home banded reading books. If possible, please hear your child read for ten minutes each day, as this makes a big difference to the progress they make.  Please encourage the children to change their book as much as possible. 

Homework

We do not ask parents to do specific homework tasks. All of our topic knowledge organisers are on our website so that you can keep up to date with the learning the children are doing in school, and you may choose to do activities that link to this at home. 

Lunch and Payment

This year, we will continue to use the lunch ordering system called SchoolGrid. It allows you to view the school menu and associated recipes and place orders for your child’s school lunches. The system also helps us to safely cater for children with allergies and intolerances and give parents/carers more involvement in their child’s meal choices and nutrition.

You will be able to use the same login details as last year. Please contact the school office if you haven’t received this email or need any support with SchoolGrid. 

Medicines

If your child needs to take medicine during the school day, please take this to reception. You will need to fill out a consent form for us to administer this. For children with inhalers or epipens, please also do this, and we will discuss specific arrangements for your child. 

Toys

We ask that the children do not bring toys or footballs into school. We have footballs and playground equipment in school for the children to use.

Lost property

We would like to reduce the amount of lost property we accumulate in school. To help us reunite children with lost clothes, it is essential they have names on all items of clothing. Please help us by labelling all your child’s property, including water bottles and pack up boxes.

Best wishes, 

Andy Willson

a.willson@ebor.academy