Skerton St Luke's CE Primary School

Newsletter - 10th March 2023

We are now in the season of Lent within the church year. I have been sharing daily reflections following the Church of England’s Lentern study called Dust and Glory. If you would like to know more about this please follow this link: Dust and Glory Our next community Eucharist with Choir Church will be in school on Wednesday 29th March starting at 3.40pm. The choir will have a quick rehearsal before we start and then parents and community member will be invited to join. Please come along and join in to support the project and hear the wonderful singing from our incredible children. ALL parents and community member are invited. Hot Cross Buns and cake will be available after the service. We will also be holding our Easter Outdoors after school on Thursday 30th March. Please join us in the school hall for hot cross buns and a tour of the reflection stations with your child. This was well attended last year and the feedback was really positive so please come along and join in. Last year many of you enjoyed participating in the Easter Gardens display in school. Please bring your Easter Gardens in on Thursday 30th March to use as part of the hall displays. A selection of the winning gardens will be taken to St Luke’s church to display during their Easter services. Kind regards, Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - 24th February 2023

Before half term you will have received information about your child’s attendance at school. We cannot stress enough how important it is that your child attends school every day, on time. The minimum attendance level which is expected for all primary aged children nationally is 96%. Good attendance is very important so that children are given as much opportunity as possible to develop academically and socially. When children are absent from school they often find it difficult to catch up on the work they have missed and can feel unsettled by this. If your child’s attendance is below 96% and does not improve, you will be contacted in order to discuss the situation further and you may be required to attend a meeting in school with Senior Leaders and Governors. We are asking for the support of all parents in improving attendance levels as we know that this is one of the main ways in which our children will be happy at school and achieve their full potential. Please note: You may be subject to a penalty notice if your child is consistently late for school or absent without an authorised reason. Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - 10th February 2023

Spring Half Term is upon us and there are loads of activities happening around the area to keep you and your children busy throughout the week. Lancaster City Council is providing affordable activities at Salt Ayre Leisure Centre salt ayre activities There are loads of ideas to help you enjoy your time together on the internet. After a quick search here are a few I found: money saving expert greenlands farm lancasterwall guys thatched hamlet the dukes baylight23 Asda has also announced that it will continue their ‘Kids Eat for £1’ and ‘Winter Warmers’ deal for pensioners during half term as well. If you know of any other deals that are on, please let us know and we can share with the whole school community. I have also been looking for some healthy budget friendly recipes to make for my family and thought I would share some of these with you: budget dinner recipes Budget-friendly lunches and dinners that use affordable ingredients. good to know Cheap family meals under £1 per head. taste of home 60 cheap dinner ideas. cooking on a bootstrap Jack Monroe’s amazing recipes making delicious food on a small budget (a personal favourite) I hope you find this information helpful. Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - 24th January 2023

Many of you will have heard that members of the National Education Union will be taking industrial action over the spring. The NEU has said it will hold strikes on: • Wednesday, February 1 (England and Wales) • Tuesday, 14 February (just Wales) • Tuesday, 28 February (Northern, North West, and Humber regions) • Wednesday, 1 March (Midlands, Western and Eastern regions) • Thursday, 2 March (London, South East and South West regions) • Wednesday, 15 March (England and Wales) • Thursday, 16 March (England and Wales) I am able to tell you that school will remain open as usual on Wednesday 1st February. I am unable to let you know whether we will be able to remain fully open, partly open or completely closed to pupils for the remainder of the dates, at this moment. I will conduct a risk assessment as to the extent to which we can safely open the school when I know further information. This cannot be assessed in advance and it may not be known until the day of the strike what the actual impact will be. I will endeavour to keep you updated as we come towards each of the proposed dates.

Newsletter - 6th January 2023

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Luke 10:27 Happy New Year! Welcome back to a new term and a new year. Over the last little while I have been gathering your thoughts about how you would best describe our school. Thank you to those parents who completed a Parental Questionnaire, your thoughts and ideas are much appreciated. Taking your suggestions and adding them to ideas from children, staff and Governors, we have a new Mission Statement: Live, Learn, Thrive Love God, Love Each Other Our Bible Reading builds on the reading that we have been using for a while: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Luke 10:27 Over this term we will be learning about what this means as a member of our school family. I will share this learning on Class Dojo so you can talk with your child about this learning.

Newsletter - 25th November 2022

If your child is having difficulties in school, please contact the class teacher to discuss your concerns in the first instance. If you need further advice or support, please make an appointment to speak to a member of the Pastoral Team, the Special Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator or Mrs Armistead. If we are unaware of the issues/ concerns then we can’t fix them. Most of the time issues arise from misunderstanding and miscommunication and are solvable through working together. Please remember we have your child’s best interests at the heart of all we do. We are well on our way towards Advent and Christmas. We do our very best to ensure you have the dates and times of all events in school, however sometimes events crop up. I urge you to check the ‘Dates for your Diary’ which is at the end of this newsletter to ensure that you don’t miss out on any activities in school. *Please note change in start time for Reception Nativity. It is also important your Parent App notifications are turned on so you do not miss any important messages. WARM SANCTUARY – Parents and carers are always invited to join us for Celebration Worship on Friday mornings in the school hall. I would like to extend the invitation for parents and carers to stay after the children have gone back to class, have a cup of tea or coffee and a chance to be in the warm environment for a while. Please feel free to bring your phone or tablet (with chargers) and use the school electricity to charge your equipment before the weekend. If you are finding things a struggle at the moment please make an appointment to come and speak to myself or one of our pastoral team in school. Maybe we can help to signpost you to further support or just be a listening ear. Sometimes just a chat can ease your stress and let you know you are not alone. Please feel free to ring school and choose Option 3 to speak to a member of the Pastoral Team. Kind Regards, Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - 4th November 2022

Welcome back to Autumn 2. This half term is a very busy one in school as we head towards Advent and Christmas. I urge you to check the ‘Dates for your Diary’ which is at the end of this newsletter to ensure that you don’t miss out on any activities in school. WARM SANCTUARY – Parents and carers are always invited to join us for Celebration Worship on Friday mornings in the school hall. I would like to extend the invitation for parents and carers to stay after the children have gone back to class, have a cup of tea or coffee and a chance to be in the warm environment for a while. Please feel free to bring your phone or tablet (with chargers) and use the school electricity to charge your equipment before the weekend. If you are finding things a struggle at the moment please make an appointment to come and speak to myself or one of our pastoral team in school. Maybe we can help to signpost you to further support or just be a listening ear. Sometimes just a chat can ease your stress and let you know you are not alone. Please feel free to ring school and choose Option 3 to speak to a member of the Pastoral Team. Kind Regards, Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - 14th October 2022

It has been another busy half term in school and we have a number of things to really celebrate. Firstly, the opening following the building works was really lovely with a number of past staff visiting us and joining in the celebrations with the Bishop of Lancaster, Right Reverend Dr Jill Duff. Everyone commented on how the school looked and how polite and engaged the children were. This made me feel very proud. Year 6 had a very successful residential visit to London. Due to the train strikes scheduled for the day of travel, the children and staff had to travel down the night before so they ended up with three nights away. Everywhere they went members of the public commented on how well behaved they were and how polite and well-mannered they were. Thank you to all of the parents who supported us and trusted us to take care of your children. Year 4 and Year 3 have both been out of school on school trips linked to their curriculum. Year 4 to Trough of Bowland and Year 3 to Lancaster Castle. In both cases the children were well behaved and listened and responded well. The children have reported that they had a fantastic time and enjoyed their learning. We have further visits and activities coming up and I look forward to seeing parents at some of these as well. Please keep an eye on the ‘Dates for your Diary’ which is at the end of this newsletter. Kind Regards, Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - 26th September 2022

Thank you to all of you for your support for the local food banks through our harvest festival on Friday. All of your donations went to St Luke’s Church to be presented during the service on Sunday and then distributed to local food banks. Food Boxes As you may be aware there is a huge demand for boxes and support from the local food banks and they do an amazing job in helping people in our community. We have been fortunate enough to receive donations from Rapid Relief Team who provide boxes with food that has a long shelf life for people to access. If you, or anyone you know, could do with support from this charity, please contact Mrs Armistead direct to arrange – head@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk OR 01524 65445. School Opening On Tuesday 27th September the Bishop of Lancaster, Right Reverend Dr Jill Duff, will be in school to conduct the official opening of our new build. This will be conducted in the hall at 9.30am and all of the children and special guests will join us. Unfortunately we don’t have enough room in school to invite all parents to join us, but we would like to invite you to come for a look around school from 3.30pm on Tuesday 27th. You’ve seen the changes from the outside, now come and see them inside the building. Ways to get involved • Join in Friends of Skerton St Luke’s (FOSSL) activities. All parents of pupils at the school are automatically members of FOSSL so anyone can come along to meetings and join in with all fundraising etc. For more information email friends of skertonstlukes@gmail.com or DM on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/friendsofstlukesschool • Become a School Governor. School governors are volunteers who work together with the Headteacher and the local authority to improve education and other outcomes for all pupils. The governors meet as a full governing body three times per year. If you would like to know more about this role please contact Mrs Armistead on 01524 65445 or email contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk. • Volunteer to listen to children read. If you have some time to spare, a good grasp of written English, and if you enjoy spending time with children, you could become a school reader. For more information please contact Mrs Goodwin on 01524 65445 or email contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk. • Offer to lead an after school club/ lunch time club in the Spring or Summer Term. We love offering different extra-curricular activities to the children in school. If you have a particular skill that you would like to share with children then consider offering to lead a club in school. Some examples might be gardening, sewing or cooking. For information please contact Miss Garnett on 01524 65445 or email contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk. • Join Drop In on Wednesday straight after school. Parents can join their child in the classroom to chat about and see what they have been learning. No need to book, just turn up. Kind Regards, Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - 15th September 2022

We continue to be in the official time of mourning following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As you will be aware, Monday 19th September is a Public Holiday for the funeral, therefor school will be closed. Thank you all so much for a fantastic start to the new school year. The children are all working hard and the atmosphere in school is incredibly positive. We would love more parents and family members to get involved in school and there are a number of ways you can do this. • Join in Friends of Skerton St Luke’s (FOSSL) activities. All parents of pupils at the school are automatically members of FOSSL so anyone can come along to meetings and join in with all fundraising etc. The next meeting is on Friday 16th September at 9.15am in the Cabin on the school playground. For more information email friends of skertonstlukes@gmail.com or DM on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/friendsofstlukesschool • Become a School Governor. School governors are volunteers who work together with the headteacher and the local authority to improve education and other outcomes for all pupils. The governors meet as a full governing body three times per year. If you would like to know more about this role please contact Mrs Armistead on 01524 65445 or email contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk. • Volunteer to listen to children read. If you have some time to spare, a good grasp of written English, and if you enjoy spending time with children, you could become a school reader. For more information please contact Mrs Goodwin on 01524 65445 or email contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk. • Offer to lead an after school club/ lunch time club in the Spring or Summer Term. We love offering different extra-curricular activities to the children in school. If you have a particular skill that you would like to share with children then consider offering to lead a club in school. Some examples might be gardening, sewing or cooking. For information please contact Miss Garnett on 01524 65445 or email contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk. • Join Drop In on Wednesday straight after school. Parents can join their child in the classroom to chat about and see what they have been learning. No need to book, just turn up. Kind Regards, Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - 2nd September 2022

Welcome to the new school year 2022-2023 Welcome back to all of you. I hope you all have enjoyed a fabulous summer and are looking forward to the new school year. A huge welcome to our new children and families who are joining us and we hope that you are made to feel very welcome and arriving at school, on time, looking very smart and ready for a fabulous learning year. I pray that it is an uninterrupted year in school so that we can really focus on ‘Opening Minds. Learning through Challenge and Celebrating God’s World’. In this newsletter I have included lots of information that you will need for the year ahead and dates for your diary for this half term. I look forward to the year and working with all of you. Please, continue to look after yourselves and each other. Kind Regards, Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - Friday 24th June 2022

As of Monday 27th June we will be able to use the new front office in school. Access to classes through the new class doors at the start and end of the day will continue. So, all pupils should come into school between 8.45am and 8.55am as usual via the playground entrance. All playground gates will be closed for access from 8.55am, which is the official start time. All pupils who are late, arriving after 8.55am, must be accompanied by an adult and enter through the front office. Access will only be via the new pedestrian gate at the front of school. NO ACCESS will be allowed via the school playground during school time i.e. after 8.55am and before 3.15pm. Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - Tuesday 14th June 2022

Welcome back to the second half of the summer term. We have another busy half term in school so please note all of the upcoming dates and events at the end of this newsletter. As you will have seen, the building works are now nearing completion and children can already access classrooms from the external doors onto the playground. This has had a huge impact in school all ready. Please be aware that these doors access straight into the classrooms, so do not knock on doors or peer through windows as this will disrupt learning in the classrooms. All children arriving late MUST come to the main entrance with a parent in order to sign them in. Currently the entrance is across the playground, next to the hall. We anticipate that in the next couple of weeks the new front entrance will be accessible, in which case visitors and late arrivals will come to the front of school. We will let you know when this happens If you have further concerns, questions or feedback please get in touch via contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - Monday 9th May 2022

Thank you to those of you who completed the Parent Carer Survey last term. I have analysed what you have said, shared your positive and complimentary feedback with staff and governors and taken on board your suggestions and concerns. As the survey was anonymous I am unable to talk directly to those parents who had specific concerns and so would encourage anyone who is unhappy about something to contact me directly so I can deal with the issues. I have actioned a number of issues raised in your feedback: You said: Online parents evening is not long enough. We did: We hope to return to face to face parents evenings following Covid restrictions. We know that 10 minutes twice a year is not long enough to share all that we know about your child. We encourage you to come into school to as many activities as possible. Starting in June, we will have open classrooms after school each Wednesday from 3.20pm – 3.45pm. Please feel free to come into school and see what your child has been learning. You said: School has taken a long time to get back to normal following the pandemic. We did: As the country was opening up we continued to keep social distancing in place as we were struck by further ‘waves’ of Covid amongst pupils and staff. Our risk assessments will always look at the health and safety for this school. Other schools make their decisions following their own risk assessments for their setting. During the Spring Term we had a number of staff absences due to covid and other illnesses, we managed to cover this amongst ourselves and not close classes. Since Easter we have been able to invite parents into school for more activities. We thank you for your patience and will continue to assess the risk as we go forward into the summer term. Please do join us in school for Friday Celebration at 9.10 each week. Further in school activities are shared on our school newsletter. Some positives include: The teachers and staff have done an amazing job throughout Covid. Thank you. My child loves school. The school have really helped me as a parent. Thank you. If you have further concerns, questions or feedback please get in touch via contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk Mrs Armistead

Newsletter - Friday 22nd April

Welcome back to the Summer Term. Each half term we learn about and celebrate a new Christian Value in school and this half term we are thinking about Friendship. The children will explore what makes a good friend and what it means to be a good friend to others. Each term we also work on building skills for learning and this term we are learning to be resilient learners. Please talk to your child/ children about these concepts at home. As you will be aware, rules around Covid testing and self-isolation have now come down to local organisations deciding what works best for them. We are asking that if your child is unwell with Covid symptoms, please keep them at home for 3-5 days or until they feel well enough to return. We will continue to teach children to follow good hygiene in school, including regular hand washing. If you are not sure about what to do, please email contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk OR call 01524 65445 to speak to a member of staff. Welcome to our new Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator A huge welcome to Mr Marc Molloy who joins us as our new SENCO in school. Mr Molloy was previously at St Luke’s as a teacher and SENCO and has now returned after a time teaching at The Loyne Specialist School. He brings his expertise around all areas of SEND as well as new skills developed in his time at The Loyne. If you would like to arrange a meeting with Mr Molloy to discuss your child/ children, please email contact-us@skertonstlukes.lancs.sch.uk or call 01524 65445.

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