St James E-News

11th February 2022

Welcome to the St James Primary School's E-News, a weekly roundup of the latest goings on at the school.

Latest Headteachers Blog

Dear Parents,

Over the last couple of weeks a number of you have contacted us about lunchtimes in the hall and how the children are feeling rushed and not eating properly as a result. This is clearly unacceptable and we have been making changes to the way the lunchtime service is run. Members of the Senior Leadership Team are now in the hall every day to support the Midday Supervisors. As some of you have suggested, once the weather gets warmer we will be able to let the children eat outside too.

Part of the issue is that the children are taking longer to eat the school packed lunches in particular, and I think this is because there are lots of different fiddly elements. As I have said previously, we are actively looking at alternatives and Mrs Nichol, our School Business Manager is contacting other local schools to see if we can work together on finding a new supplier, as these schools are also experiencing similar issues with Twelve15.

We are also seriously considering making our own packed lunches for the children, possibly including a jacket potato option, so we are putting a business case together to ensure the school is not out of pocket financially. If there is no risk for the school, then we will look into it further and then discuss options with the governors. I am determined the children will have the option of a healthy, tasty school lunch as soon as possible.

Have a lovely half-term!

Valerie Elliott

School Notices

Further Changes to our School App - Greenhouse have rectified a problem with our new app for users of Apple iPhones. Users may have noticed that they couldn't see alert notifications unless they opened the app. The app that is now available in the App Store no longer has this problem and iPhone users need to uninstall the app from their phones and reinstall the updated app. Details for setting up the app and the passcode are available when you click on this link to the webpage . Further instructions on how to personalise the app to receive the notifications are available here.
Family Service - St James Church will be holding their Family Service this Sunday morning, 13th February at 10.30am. All are welcome.

Half Term Eco Homework -The LEAF (Learning About Forests) programme encourages children to get closer to and take notice of nature and the environment around them through outdoor learning all year round, whatever the weather. This results in children learning about the natural world and converts time traditionally spent in classrooms to outside time. Whether that be counting acorns in maths or playing music in a forest, it all increases the number of hours children spend in nature. Please see the homework sheet on the Parent Portal.
Eco Team Fundraising Challenge - Our Eco Team are fundraising so that we can apply for our Eco Schools Green Flag. Please see the flyer on the Parent Portal for details.
Open Classrooms - these will take place after half term, at the end of the school day, giving parents an opportunity to view their child's work in the classroom. Please see the dates for each individual class. If possible, please carry out a lateral flow test in the morning of your child's open classroom.

Wednesday 23rd February - YR Penguins
Tuesday 24th February - Y4 Woodpeckers
Friday 25th February - Y1 Owls
Monday 28th February - Y6 Eagles
Tuesday 1st March - Y5 Kestrels
Wednesday 2nd March - Y2 Robins
Thursday 3rd March - Y3 Kingfishers

INSET DAY - Monday 21st February is an INSET Day and school will be closed to pupils. School resumes at 8.55am on Tuesday, 22nd February.
Parking - The school has received a complaint from a local resident regarding parking. Please ensure that you show consideration to our neighbours and park safely and legally when collecting and dropping off your children. Please ensure that you do not park across driveways or in resident's parking bays.
Additional Financial Support for Families - We are aware that some families may be experiencing additional financial challenges at the moment. If you are in this situation, we may be able to help you access some financial support. You can email our Home School Link Worker Helen Owen - hslw@st-james-elstead.surrey.sch.uk with regards to this.
Bikeability Cycling Instructor Vacancies - The Cycle Training Team at Surrey County Council are recruiting for Bikeability Cycling Instructors. Please click here for more details.
Drop in sessions with our Home School Link Worker, Helen Owen - The role of the Home School Link Worker (HSLW) is to support families with a range of issues at home or at school. 1:1 sessions are available on Wednesdays. To book an appointment, email Helen on hslw@st-james-elstead.surrey.sch.uk or ring the school office to request a call back.

Letters This Week

The following classes have had letters uploaded to the Parent Portal this week. Note: You will need to login to view this area.

Penguins
Whole school

Covid-19 Information

Please remember; if your child (or a member of your family) has Covid-19 symptoms please do not send your child to school - Please immediately arrange a PCR test for your child, if symptomatic, and inform the school office as soon as possible. Please do not send your child to school at least until you receive the test result and not before they are well.

From Monday 17 January, people who are self-isolating with COVID-19 have the option to reduce their isolation period after 5 full days if they test negative with a lateral flow device (LFD) test on both day 5 and day 6 and they do not have a temperature. For example, if they test negative on the morning of day 5 and the morning of day 6, they can return to their education or childcare setting immediately on day 6.

The first test must be taken no earlier than day 5 of the self-isolation period, and the second must be taken the following day. All test results should be reported to NHS Test and Trace. If the result of either of their tests is positive, they should continue to self-isolate until they get negative results from two LFD tests on consecutive days or until they have completed 10 full days of self-isolation, whichever is earliest. Anyone who is unable to take LFD tests or anyone who continues to have a temperature will need to complete the full 10 day period of self-isolation.

Further information on self-isolation for those with COVID-19 is available.

Whilst Government guidance no longer requires members of the household of someone testing positive to isolate for ten days, we would ask that you keep your child at home for the period of isolation to give a further level of protection to the physical and mental health of all members of our school family.

results@st-james-elstead.surrey.sch.uk