St James E-News

17th June 2021

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,

The announcement by the Government this week that they are keeping the current measures in place until at least 19th July means that, sadly, some of the PTA events and our Sports Day, in the usual format, have been cancelled.

It is hoped that we can hold some PTA events in September as a welcome back to school. We will still go a head with Sports Day and Leavers events for the children and we are thinking of ways we can share these with you.

Please do continue to follow the Government advice not to send your child to school if they are unwell, including if they have a cold. Please ensure that your contact details are kept up to date, if your child is unwell at school we will need you to collect them promptly.

Don't forget that Monday is our last INSET day of the year for staff training and we re-open on Tuesday 22nd June.

Best wishes for a lovely, long weekend,

Valerie Elliott

School Notices

Swimming - The children are really enjoying their swimming sessions. Please remember to pay for your child's swimming lessons and a donation towards the pool running costs (with Gift Aid if possible) by tomorrow morning. The letters regarding fees and donations remain on the Parent Portal on our website.
Healthy packed lunch information - Our team of lunchtime supervisors keep an eye on what the children bring in to the school for their lunch to ensure that they have enough nutrients to help their concentration in the afternoon. Please see our guide on the Parent Portal as to what should be considered when packing a healthy lunch for your child.
Distributing gifts and invitations - Since the return to school in March this year we no longer allow children to bring in birthday sweets or cake to share with the rest of their class. Although this currently isn't be allowed under Covid-19 guidelines it will become part of a revised policy to ensure safety for children suffering from food allergies, and as part of our healthy school ethos. Covid -19 guidelines also mean that we can no longer distribute gifts, party invitations and thank you notes. This too will become policy, to prevent staff spending more time getting the children ready to go home rather than supporting their learning. We ask that parents do not distribute these on the school premises.

Covid-19 Information

Please remember; if your child or a member of your family have Covid-19 symptoms please do not send your child to school - Please immediately arrange a test for the symptomatic member of your family and inform the school office as soon as possible. Your child and all members of your household will need to self-isolate at least until you receive the test result.
NEW COVID-19 INFORMATION FROM PHE - In response to the transmission of variants of concern, Public Health England (PHE) South East, is advising all close contacts of COVID-19 cases to get a COVID-19 PCR test (ideally 5 days after exposure or day five of isolation) whether or not they have symptoms of coronavirus COVID-19.
Weekend Results: It is very important that you continue to notify us of Covid-19 test results still over the weekend by using the below email address which is monitored out of school hours.
results@st-james-elstead.surrey.sch.uk

A negative result will require a confirmation from the school before your child and siblings can return to school. Please do not send your child back to school until we have been in touch with you.