HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015!!!
Well can you believe it we have been in our new build for over a year now? In one respect it doesn’t seem like five minutes ago when we were packing endless amounts of boxes but in another if feels as though we have been here for years. The initial teething troubles seem to be behind us now and we continue to both enjoy and enrich our new school. The autumn term has been a very busy one and I think both staff and pupils were ready for the Christmas break. As well as implementing the new curriculum we also had the call from Ofsted, just before October half term, which signalled a one day maths inspection. We were thrilled with the ‘Good’ result, which is testimony to the hard work of Helen the subject leader and the rest of the staff.
This Christmas time was tinged with sadness as we said goodbye to valued members of our Kemball family. As you all know, Mrs Spooner, ‘The Boss’ decided to retire after 20 years in charge. It is very difficult to imagine Kemball without her and I know I have very big boots to fill!! She has however promised to be at the end of the phone when we need her so maybe not feet up quite yet!! (Sorry Mrs Spooner) Jen, our music teacher, has also moved onto pastures new after over 20 years at Kemball. The pupils loved their music lessons with Jen and the choir is a credit to her. She will be sorely missed. We are hoping to recruit a new music teacher for Easter. Keith our janitor has also retired. He was such a cheerful presence around school and nothing was ever too much trouble. We did our best to convince all of them to stay however none of them could be persuaded!! I can’t understand why haha. Although we move forward with trepidation I can assure you that Kemball will continue to thrive and exciting times lie ahead as the school continues to grow. On a happier note we have some new staff joining us in January. They are Khatija and Becky, support staff and John who has taken on the role of janitor.
Please look out for an updated medication policy that will be with you shortly. As you are aware policies and procedures are continually updated therefore it is important that you read the information, return the signature slip and adhere to the policy. The health and wellbeing of our pupils remains our priority and we value your continued support.
Anyway as you can see when you read the rest of our newsletter, pupils at Kemball School really do have fantastic experiences. It’s sometimes hard to imagine how much has been crammed into a term, no wonder we were all tired!!
Regards
Lisa Hughes Acting Head Teacher
Reminder – please ensure all money coming into school is given to the escort in a named purse or envelope. We cannot take responsibility for any money that has been placed in pupil’s bags.
Aynsley
Students in Aynsley class have had a busy term working really hard. In Literacy we have been discussing and looking at different forms of media and the children wrote and performed their own media play script. In Numeracy we have been relating multiplication to division and addition to subtraction, looking at time, symmetry and shape properties and presenting data in tables and graphs. Creative learning this term was linked to our topic "All About Ourselves" and the Religious Education focus was learning about festivals celebrated by different faiths. We made clay pot divas for Diwali and celebrated Hannukah by making mouth watering latke cakes enjoyed by all. Our class Assembly this term was about Remembrance Day marking 100 years since the end of World War 1. We made posters and poppy wreaths to commemorate this special day.
We explored the development of technology in History, from past to present. As part of this topic children had the opportunity to visit places of interest in the local area to see the impact of technology on our lives today. We have also been keeping fit and healthy this term learning to play Hockey and participating in weekly aqua aerobics sessions in the swimming pool. Well done Aynsley class! Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Computing
Over the past term staff and pupils have been embracing the new Computing curriculum. Pupils have very much enjoyed using iPad apps such as Beebot and Alex to control the actions of digital robots. Some pupils have even moved on to using programmes such as Scratch. This has allowed pupils to create their own character and backgrounds. Then pupils have learned how to control their characters movements. The sensory rooms continue to be extremely popular with all pupils. Being able to change the environment around them creates a feeling of security. This is reflected in the pupils ability to relax and be calm in these spaces.
The E-Safety team has been working hard. We have met twice to discuss how the school is moving forward in this area. We have discussed and agreed on a set of instructions for visitors to help keep us safe. We then designed cards with this on and the office staff are handing them out to all visitors.
Kathy
Minton 1
The Autumn term has been very busy in Minton 1 class. All the sudents settled into the class well. During the Autumn term, the topic we have been learning about was Medieval Britain, this was a fun and exciting topic for Minton 1 and they especially liked hearing about all the gruesome diseases like the plague and boils. As part of science, we have been learning about gases, liquids and solids comparing the differences between them. We then learnt about the skeleton and muscles which the pupils were extremely interested in.
In maths, the students have been using their problem solving skills to work out measurements for capacity and length. They also worked on their time telling skills understanding the terms: o’ clock, quarter to, half past and quarter past which they were very competent at doing so. They have also been very busy practicing their doubling and times tables skills focusing in x2, x5, x10 and even x4!
Minton 1 have been working hard in literacy, they have been developing their independent skills by writing full sentences using connectives, adjectives and adverbs to create instructions, stories and storyboards.
For R.E, history and geography, Minton 1 have been looking at different climates across the world and even had a go at predicting the weather using rain gauges and wind socks. We have been looking at different religions and their historical buildings. We explored a mosque in Shelton and Stoke Minster looking at their features. This was part of our travel training. We have also been on several other trips this term, such as going to Stoke library to explore fictional and factual books. We even read some poems to our friends. After, we went to Tesco in Longton to taste new foods and practice our money skills. Finally, we went to Hanley to look at the lights, and buy presents for our loved ones.
We have been extremely busy this Autumn term and all of Minton 1 staff wish you a merry Christmas, and hope the children get lots of rest for our jam packed Spring term.
All the best for 2015,
Kirsty, Claire and Tricia (Minton 1)
Minton 2 We have had a fantastic first term and enjoyed lots of adventures. I would like to take this opportunity to thank parents for their continued support and welcome Sophie, a new member to the team in Minton 2.
The theme this term has been Medieval Britain and what a wonderful time we have had. As part of our history lessons we have explored castles and knights, dressed up in medieval costume and worked together using recycled materials to build a medieval castle.
In science and PSCE pupils learnt about the human body and healthy eating. Pupils really enjoyed a trip to the local carvery where they explored healthy foods before sampling a delicious roast.
In art we looked at Archimboldo, an artist who paints faces out of fruit. We took inspiration from his work and made our own fruit faces using a variety of mediums including printing, painting and collage.
Our ICT focus this term has been writing and drawing. We have been using the keyboard to insert text and learning to write our names on the computer. We have used a range of drawing packages to create images.
Pupils have had a great time in P.E. and enjoyed sports coaching, especially giant bowling. They have continued to enjoy the new pool area and have made good progress in swimming lessons.
Our Geography topic has been weather and we have explored different weathers and their effects. We also looked at seasons throughout the year and created a calendar. We ended the topic with a trip to the Snowdome, where we enjoyed sledging and snow tubing as well as meeting some real reindeers.
All the staff in Minton 2 wish you a happy start to the New Year and we look forward to a fun filled 2015.
Felicity, Christa and Sophie
Gladstone 1
Autumn 1 & 2
We have had an excellent fun-filled first term back at school. With new children joining us we have all enjoyed making new friends and getting to know each other better. Science Geography History
Rocks and Soils- We really enjoyed We have been learning about We learnt about the Stone Age getting messy looking at rocks and the United Kingdom- naming and Iron Age this term. Children soils. We carried out different countries and looking at pictures were able to create their own experiments but particularly enjoyed of the capital cities. We cave paintings. They all just getting our hands dirty. especially enjoyed the session enjoyed learning about
Magnets- We have been showing where we tried different foods- Prehistoric animals- trying to our magical talents using magnets even haggis- which was pronounce their long names! this term. We sorted materials that surprisingly popular. were magnetic and not. This topic has been very fun. ICT We are all becoming more capable and independent on the iPads this term- even the adults.
PE
We enjoyed having Fizzy Tots PSHE We have been
RE coaches in- they played lots of learning about how we games with us. In gymnastics we change from babies to Our World- We learnt about have been practising our adults. We also learnt about recycling and appreciating the balancing and jumping skills. world around us. people helping in the community. Christmas Journeys- We retold the Christmas story using Art/DT puppets we had created. We made our own iron age pots last term. This term we have
Christmas been creating photoframes for Fire Visit We have all been very excited pictures we have taken of our preparing for Christmas this friends. Linked to our PSHE work we year. We have all made had a visit from some Firemen. decorations and enjoyed making They showed us the different our pod into a Winter tools they use and we got to sit Wonderland. in the Fire Engine.
Spode 2
Again, the Autumn term has been a very busy time for Spode 2 class, as we welcomed the five Reception children back after the summer holidays and invited three new Nursery children to start their ‘transition visits’. All the children quickly settled in to ‘Early Years Foundation Stage’ life and began to develop relationships and work well with their Keyworkers, the class teacher and each other.
During the first part of the term our topic focussed on ‘Ourselves’ and we learned about ourselves, our families and friends. Through both physical development and Communication & Language we explored a variety of different things that the children could do, their interests, and introduced different feelings and emotions. We then moved on to learning about ‘who’ and ‘what’ helps us at school and at home. Thank you for sharing your personal family photographs with us, the children really enjoyed looking at their own photos and those of their friends, which lead to some lovely small group discussions.
The second part of the term whizzed by, as it was the run up to Christmas and our topic focussed on all different ‘Festivals of Light’. We started off at the beginning of November learning about the British Traditions of Bonfire night and then moved on to Diwali and Hanukkah. Of course Advent and Christmas were part of our learning activities as we prepared for the school nativity and also continued our topic learning about all the ‘Festivals of Light’. This term the children have enjoyed a selection of Christmas stories both traditional nativity based and those of Santa and Winter bears. The children really enjoyed sitting in our role play area ‘Winter Bear cave’, reading stories to each other and the Bear family, and their favourite was “Can’t you sleep little bear?”. To end the term the Reception children went on a class trip to The Snow Dome in Tamworth, and FUN was had by ALL!
What a lovely way to end 2014.
From Kerry, Mandy &
Emma (Spode2)
Coalport
T’was the 19th December and in Coalport House
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The pupils were snoring, the staff there too,
Too tired and worn out to know what to do.
They were dreaming of tinsel, of decorating the tree
The baubles and lights, so delightfully twee
The Christmas time songs, the smells and delights,
The gingerbread houses, the staff in green tights.
We’ve made the Christingles, the decorations are done,
The crackers are pulled, the dinners are gone,
The Nativity play was so lovely and blessed
Those fine members of staff, now incredibly stressed!
Coalport pupils in truth are our bright stars,
They shine each day and bring love to our hearts,
We’ve loved our year in our Coalport den,
So, if you please Santa, we’d like to do it again!
Doulton 2
This term has been very busy in Doulton 2. Our sensory stories have been Jason and the Argonauts, The adventures of Perseus and Zog. We have all explored many props and done lots of mark making in shaving foam, sand and many other exciting sensory materials.
In maths we have been looking at number and colours. Children have experience a range of numbers and counting songs and been able experience counting out objects up to 5. Everyone really enjoyed our colour song and dancing with bright colours.
During our topic of the Greeks we have made bread, dressed up in togas, made laurel crowns and had a medal ceremony. We have also made our own Greek pots and painted them in our own styles with support. The children have really enjoyed this topic and found out lots about the Greeks.
For Re we concentrated on Christmas and have experienced being wrapped up in tinsel and dressed up in Santa hats. We also made our own Santa hats for the Christmas meal. We made our Christmas cards and presents for our families, we really hope you enjoy them!
Best wishes from Katy, Amy, Donna and Ceara
Paragon 1
Hello everyone and welcome to our first newsletter of the school year. We welcomed three new class mates from Spode; Noah, Esther and Bisma to join our existing class members; Katie, Elise, Ewan and Damion. We also welcomed a new staff member – Katie, to join the Paragon 1 team
We have had a number of trips this term. Our first one was to Oak Tree Farm. This was a new experience for some of our class and they enjoyed it just as much as we hoped they would. We made the most of the glorious late summer and did a spot of harvesting. We used the vegetables we picked and dug up to make a soup for our tuck – it was very tasty and most children were eager to taste the food they had made. We followed this with a trip to Morrisons. The children had to take a good look around them to find the fruit and vegetables to match the photos of those that we had talked about in our science work about healthy eating. It was really pleasing to see them so interested in the healthy foods on offer. On our visit to Westport Lake we had a really good think about the features we might find in a lake environment. The children had a photo card of natural and man made geographical features to find and they all did really well to find them. It was a real pleasure to see them so engaged in their task. At the end of the first half term we visited Beaudessert Park farm. This was a first visit for many of the class. We ground wheat to make flour, harvested some vegetables, and made our own bread – it was delicious.
The class also made visits to the local Café on the Blurton estate. The children walked the route from school to the café, and many remembered the features that we had to pass to find our way to the café such as; bus stops, car parks, street signs and road markings like zebra crossings. We got to know the staff there and worked together on a fund raising coffee morning for Save the Children in December. Thank you to those families that came along and contributed a donation to Save the Children.
We held our own class coffee morning at the end of the first half term. Many thanks to those who turned up. The children really enjoy seeing you in school and it gives us a chance to share what we are doing in class.
In October we welcomed a new class mate, Angel. The girls have really enjoyed having her join them and she particularly enjoys it when they all take part in dressing up. After the half term break we welcomed another new class mate Roman, bringing our class up to nine members.
We started our topic on seasonal change with a walk to a local park. We looked at the trees and plants and used our observations to make autumnal collages back in school. As part of our history work we have been learning about Florence Nightingale. The class have learned how important Florence thought it was for a hospital to be clean. They have mixed up their own cleaning solutions and helped to clean our class – just like Florence. They were also really interested in the things she took with her to help the soldiers and enjoyed watching Magic Grandad take them back in time to the hospital where she worked. You can find the clip we watched on Youtube. The children were fascinated by “The lady with the lamp”
In our science work we have been learning about our bodies and about the seasonal changes. The children have really enjoyed the practical investigations linked to the weather changes. They have made and explored ice. Explored gloves that can keep their hands warm and dry. Used wind power to move things and make sounds.
The school Nativity supported our class RE topic on the Christmas Story and it was a great way to reinforce the main parts of the story. For some this was their first performance in a school production in front of an audience, quite a daunting task but they all did brilliantly! We hope you all enjoyed the performance.
The children all enjoyed the Christmas activities, including the Christmas fancy dress, Christmas jumper day and Christmas disco. They have all been really interested in the Christmas Story and are looking forward to celebrating the occasion.
We are looking forward to all the new things that we can learn in the New Year and hope you have had a lovely Christmas break
Julie, Katie and Amy
Gladstone 2
During the Autumn term we managed to fit our trip in, had our assembly and started to attend some new clubs such as French and football. We said goodbye (for a while) to Shelley who left us to have her baby and hello to Tabatha who came to work with us.
SCIENCE (Materials, Properties and Changes) – We looked at the different materials that things are made from and how they are good for the job they do. Then, we did some testing on things like shopping bags to find out which was the most tear proof, waterproof or strongest. In the second part of the term, we looked at how we could separate solids or solids and liquids and how some foods can be changed and then changed back. Chocolate and popcorn tasting proved popular.
GEOGRAPHY (Contrasting Location) – We looked at where each of us lives. We studied maps of our area and then compared it with where Buxton is. On the way to Buxton, we looked at how the landscape changed and how Buxton itself is different to where we live. It gave us the chance to talk about city and countryside. The children really seemed to enjoy their time in Buxton, (we even saw a tightrope walker in the park) but nearly all said they would still prefer to live where they do.
HISTORY (Vikings and Anglo Saxons) – We made Viking long ships and jewellery to protect a warrior. We learnt that Vikings were buried with their possessions and decided what we would take with us (lots of x-boxes apparently!) The complete the study, Ian came dressed as a Viking.
RE (Journeys) – We looked at why people go on journeys and in particular why some people make religious journeys. In the second part of the term we looked at how some religions celebrate important occasions.
PE (Gymnastics and Swimming) – The class continued to swim and the swimming instructor has started to assess where each child is up to with their swimming skills. In Gymnastics, we looked at moving in different ways and making different shapes and then tried to apply that to moving in ways that a piece of music suggested.
ART & DT (Art about our and another location/Anglo Saxon thrones and Viking ships) – We made our trip to Buxton as part of our cross curricular studies and linked that to art from Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District. We created Clarice Cliff and Willow pattern designs to celebrate the pottery industry and drew a skyline of bottle ovens. For Buxton, we made a well dressing picture and painted a Peak District landscape.
PHSE (Knowing how I am changing/Rights and choices) – We studied germs and how we can keep ourselves and the room clean. Then, we looked at how we keep ourselves safe and where we feel safe, before thinking how we would deal with situations that were unsafe.
ICT (Graphical modelling) – We used a paint and graphic program and used clip art to create a room layout. After becoming more familiar with the menu buttons on Word, we inserted shapes to make pieces of art. Then, moving onto programming and controlling, the children worked on being able to type in instructions for direction and distance to get an object to move around the screen or through a maze.
We have tried hard on our listening skills by doing weekly news challenge on the computer. We have to listen and watch some news items and then be able to answer some questions about what we saw and heard. We also watch Newsround daily and talk about what is happening in the news.
Happy New Year!
Ian, Rachel and Tabatha
DOULTON 1
HAPPY NEW YEAR from everyone in Doulton 1! It seems a long time ago since we broke up for Christmas but before starting 2015, we would like to tell you a little about what we did last term.
During the Autumn term, Doulton 1 have been learning about ‘Light and Dark.’ This was a very sensory topic for our children and so it provided them with lots of fun activities and learning experiences. We were able to learn about many different festivals of light celebrated at this time of year.
When learning about Bonfire night, we made firework pictures, created firework dances using colourful scarves and built a bonfire using branches and twigs we found on our sensory walk. We explored the texture of clay and developed our fine motor skills when making divas for Diwali and made marks in scented oils when learning about Hanukkah. However we had most fun learning about Christmas! We enjoyed listening to the sensory nativity story and even had the opportunity to show you all what little stars we are when performing in our school nativity ‘Shine Star Shine.’ We have explored Christmas traditions such as making cards, cookies, calendars. We made our decorations and spent time decorating our class tree, listening to festive music, exploring the sensory contents of our Christmas boxes and of course had a visit from the big man himself – SANTA! We hope you liked all the gifts sent home at the end of term and that you all had a fantastic Christmas!
As always we have been busy exercising – going for brisk winter walks, soft play, attending the sit to stand or rolling programmes with the physios, accessing our physio equipment and of course our class favourite – REBOUND therapy!
We have enjoyed our sensory story ‘Night Monkey! Day Monkey!’ where we were able to explore our topic further by visiting our light room and playing with the hand held light toys in our black out tent. We also explored light sources such as the light box, projector and disco ball.
In maths we have had great fun learning about shapes by playing with building blocks, the shape feely bags and boxes, stickle bricks, inset puzzles and shape sorters. We have had fun singing along to shape rhymes whilst drawing 2D shapes in the sand.
We have had many new children join our class this term and so have been given the opportunity to make new friends and learn how to play alongside and with others. We have enjoyed learning how to take care of ourselves in our PHSE sessions where we have played in water whilst washing our hands and faces, brushed our hair and teeth using our own brushes and enjoyed meal and snack times together where we have tried hard to hold and use our spoons and cups on our own.
Thank you all for supporting Doulton 1 last term. You have all been great with communicating via the diary and sending in meds, nappies and wipes as requested. Please can I emphasise the importance of ensuring that we have the correct information regarding your child’s medication and health and that we are informed of any changes immediately. Please ensure that you send in all medication prescribed via the pharmacy labelled with your child’s name, the dose and the expiry date. Failure to send in medication, rescue meds, pumps and suction units could lead to your child being sent home for their own safety. We appreciate your understanding in this matter. As always if you have any questions or queries please contact a member of the Doulton 1 team.
Kelly, Clare, Sam and Michelle
School Council
This term we have had great fun participating in many whole school activities set up by our School Council. With your support and generosity we have collected more food for our local food bank this Christmas. We have also organised a Christmas dress up day where Theo (Doulton 1), Alethea (Minton 2), Jack (Gladstone 2) and Paige (Spode 2) won prizes for their fantastic Christmas clothes. We used the money raised from this event to fund our Christmas ‘Frozen’ themed disco. This was a huge success – party games, prizes, dancing, party food, bubbles and SNOW!!! We cannot thank you enough for your support with these activities – all the children have enjoyed them immensely.
Kelly
Paragon 2
Paragon 2 have enjoyed another term at Kemball School, we have loved learning new things and developing new experiences.
What we have been learning this term –This term our theme has been Homes and Materials which we have been able to explore in different subjects such as Design and Technology, Science and Geography.
In Geography we have been learning about the United Kingdom and looking at the different things which represent each country in it such as their flags, food and music.
In Science we have continued to look at materials in our homes and exploring different objects. We have been able to experiment with these objects and tested out the different properties.
Visits- Hanley Fire Station came to visit us to tell us how they put out fires today, and how it was very different in 1666 when the Great Fire of London happened. We really enjoyed sitting in the fire engine and looking at all the uniform they have to wear now.
Awards and celebrations
A big well done to all in Paragon 2 for all the awards, Stickers and treats we have been giving this term for all your hard work and good behaviour! The treat box will be restocked for January!
We just wanted to say big well done to Angel who has joined us in Paragon 2 this term and has settled in perfectly into her new school.
Class News!
From all of us in Paragon 2 we hope you had a lovely Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Paragon 2 would just like to say a big thank you to Mrs Spooner, Keith and Jenny who will be leaving this term.
Emily Ceris, Amer and Chloe
Home School Link
A Happy New Year to you all!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and didn’t over indulge!! (But then again, if we can’t eat, drink and be merry at Christmas when can we?) I know I say it every year – THE DIET WILL START ON MONDAY!! (Which Monday? Which month? Who knows??) Thank you to everyone who contributed towards the Christmas hampers and buying the raffle tickets. I’m not sure how much has been raised but it all helps, and we do appreciate your continued support. The bag packing in Tesco, Longton, also raised in excess of £600. A ‘BIG’ thank you must go to the staff and pupils at OSSMA for their help and support on that day.
This last term has absolutely flown – I really don’t know where the time has gone! The coffee mornings at the beginning of the term in the primary department, were a huge success. It was lovely to see so many of you, lots of new parents too. The children are always so proud of their achievements and want to show their work off to mums and dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles and anyone else who visits. The ‘Dove’ coffee mornings also went very well, particularly the short course on ‘Self Esteem and Self Confidence.’ Thank you to all those who attended. As requested by a few people, ‘Dove’ will be returning in the new year. I will keep you notified of dates and courses available.
Thank you to the parents who continue to support each other and myself on Thursday mornings. You are welcome to come along anytime for a chat, a laugh, a cry and while you are here have a tea, coffee and a slice of toast. Please never feel you have to attend every week, you don’t. A warm welcome awaits and it’s always nice to see new faces. If you’ve not been for a while it’s always worth a quick call to ensure it is taking place that particular day.
Along with Janet (Stoke Minster) I will be running the Family Links Nurturing Programme again in the New Year. If you would like to be part of this please let me know. The parents who have previously completed the course found it both helpful and very informative. They went away from it feeling more positive about family life and confident in putting different strategies in place at home. I must pass on my best wishes to the staff who are retiring/leaving at this time. Liz has been my neighbour since we moved to the new school (our offices are next to each other) and has been very quiet and considerate (as neighbours go) – keeping her music turned down, no shouting or banging doors etc. I just hope the person moving in is the same, LISA!!! Seriously Liz I hope you have a long, happy and healthy retirement, YOU DESERVE IT! Jen – I have so many happy memories from our ‘Nursery’ days. I know it’s been a standing joke – 2.30pm every day, ‘Thanks girls, see you tomorrow.’ Yes, tidy up time and changing ready for home!! I loved every minute Jen, as I have loved being involved with you taking the choir to various places and inviting guests to listen to them in school. Good luck with everything Jen! I know you’ll be missed. And there’s Keith too! It will be very strange not seeing you about the place in your ‘hi-vis’ coat (where did you get that from Keith?) Who will notice when our cars have flat tyres or we’ve left the lights on? Car park attendant was only one of your many, many titles. Please feel free to ‘pop in’ and see me and the parents on a Thursday morning, you could even bring ‘the bride!!’ Good luck Keith and best wishes for a long, happy and healthy retirement with plenty of caravanning years ahead.
Best wishes to everyone; let’s look forward to another term at the start of 2015. Please remember I can be contacted in school at any time, so keep me busy!
Fiona Home School Link Worker
______
Hello all, May we just take this opportunity to wish you a happy New Year for 2015!
The school nursing team held a drop in clinic at Kemball School on the 15/01/15. Letters were sent home for all parents/carers with the option to attend. The drop in clinic is offered to discuss any aspects of general health and wellbeing that you may have about your child. We would like to thank those who attended and hope you gained some benefit. We will be aiming to offer this service on a regular basis. However it has not yet been decided how frequent the drop in clinic will be. As a team we will evaluate the success and appreciate your feedback. Any suggestions that you have to how we can support families during drop in will be valued and taken into consideration.
Thank you
Rebecca Platt - Clinical support practitioner And Amanda Stubbs – School nurse
Important reminders
We would just like to reiterate some important reminders to keep our pupils safe and well.
We would like to thank those who have returned care plans and other health related documents. Those outstanding are to be returned as soon as possible. Health and school rely on you to keep us updated with relevant information in order to keep your child safe and well.
Previous news letter sent home Re: helping us to keep your child safe and well. We would like to remind you we will support you and your child where possible but parents/carers have the responsibility to provide us with all necessary equipment and medicines. As you will appreciate class areas are very busy. When sending medications into school please make a note of the expiry date and estimate how long it will last, giving you time to get a new prescription. We do aim to inform you when medication is low or it is due to expire; essentially this is your responsibility.
As you know medications may be sent home during holidays. Medicines must be sent in to school on your child’s first day back. Please ensure labels and dosages are correct and that we are informed of any changes. If the dose is incorrect on prescription labels this will affect staff administering medication. Medication should be managed at home where possible. We appreciate this cannot be avoided for some of our most vulnerable children or those with a medical condition. However if your child is taking a short course of antibiotics and requires it to be given three times daily this can be managed at home, before and after school hours. Medication sent to school must be given to bus escorts and not put in your child’s bag. This is not safe practice.
If your child has rescue medication it is vital we have this in school at all times. Without rescue medication your child will not be able to come into school for their safety.
If your child is off poorly or has a medical appointment please inform staff via the home school diary or contact the office and they will make the class staff aware. Just to remind you if your child has sickness and diarrhoea you must keep your child off for two full days after the last episode and if unsure then three full days is advised to be safe. Failing to keep your child off for the correct period of time will result in school contacting you to collect your child.
If your child requires suction please send their suction unit into school daily, either in the original bag or another suitable bag clearly named. Plastic bags are not acceptable as they are likely to tear and cause damage to the equipment. Please make sure the unit is fully charged and free of secretions at all times to prevent the spread of infection. Can we please remind those who have not already sent a spare gastrostomy feeding tube into school, you need to send one in as soon as possible? This will be kept and stored for your child’s use only. It is precautionary and your child’s tube will only be replaced in an emergency.
Thank you for your support.
Rebecca And School staff
Hello everyone,
Just wanted to say a huge ‘Well done’ to the choir and the pupils in Lower School for their hard work and lovely performance of ‘Shine star shine’ There were so many lovely comments from parents and friends. A big thank you also to all the staff who sorted out the stage, the costumes and worked so hard with all the children.
The choir thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the MacMillan Centre at the North Staffs Hospital, where we sang Christmas songs in waiting areas. I am always very proud to take our children out, and this was no exception. They put a lot of smiles on people’s faces.
It is lovely to hear that Minton 1 are now going over to OSSMA to share in their music lessons. This is a great opportunity to work together and hopefully there will be lots more joint ventures in the future.
I would also like to take this opportunity of saying a huge thank you to all the pupils that I have worked with at Kemball, who have been fantastic. Also to the amazing staff here who have been so supportive. And finally…….. thank you to all the past and present parents who have supported our activities. It has been a great privilege to work with everyone.
Have a very Merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy New Year.
Jen