A huge well done to all of the children in school, especially our new starters. The new children have settled quickly and are doing incredibly well in school, partly thanks to the kindness and great role modelling from the children right across school. I couldn’t be more proud! The children certainly live our Bible passage from Luke 10:27.
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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. 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
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Welcome back to the final half term of this year. Where has the year gone? During this half term we have lots of activities and trips that will include being outdoors. Please ensure children have hats and water bottles with them every day. It may seem cooler some mornings but it can quickly heat up on the field and when we are out and about. Please put sunscreen on before school so that your child is protected from the start of the day.
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This weekend sees the country celebrate the coronation of King Charles III. Whilst the coronation is on Saturday, we are closed for the Bank Holiday on Monday 8th May. Sunday 7th May at 11.00am is the All Age Service at St Luke’s Church. It would be really lovely to have lots of families join in this service following the King’s Coronation. Please be aware that if you are thinking about your child attending Ripley St Thomas for High School, their Admissions Policy has changed slightly. Your child will still get points for attending a church school but no longer do they get ‘extra’ points for attending this school. In order to ensure your child gets a place it is highly recommended that they (and you) attend church regularly over a period of time. If you would like more information about this, please get in touch with Rev Caitlin or Mrs Armistead.
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Welcome back after the Easter Holidays. It has been lovely to start the Summer Term off with sunshine and dry weather. The children have been able to play on the field and get out into the garden. Let’s hope the good weather continues throughout the term! I have been notified that the NEU are holding two strike days this half term, Thursday 27th April and Tuesday 2nd May. At this point in time school will be open on both of these days. If this changes I will let you know.
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Please come and join us for all of the events in the lead up to the Easter Holidays: Wednesday 29th March 3.40pm – 4.40pm Choir Church Eucharist – School Hall. 6.00pm Easter Bingo – School Hall Thursday 30th March Easter Gardens to School 3.20pm Easter Outdoors – Meet in the School Hall. Friday 31st March 9.30am ZONES of Regulation Parent Workshop - Cabin
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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‘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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
Read MoreIt’s a lovely community. We all feel like a part of St Luke’s family. My child loves her teachers and knows other members of staff. It’s lovely to walk into school and people know my child’s name and always say hello to her, even teachers from other classes or Mrs Armistead.
ParentI know when I drop my kids off they are happy and safe and they both enjoy their time in school.
ParentThank you for not only teaching my daughter but also caring for her. She’s really happy at school and is making great progress in all areas of learning.
ParentThe staff have been so supportive of my child with Special Educational Needs. They are amazing and it makes me confident that my daughter is well looked after and if she has any problems they will help.
Parent of a child with SENDThe Reception Open Day really showed the school in a good light. The Headteacher showed us round and knew all of the pupil’s names. All of the children we met were friendly and polite but more importantly they were all smiling whilst learning.
Prospective ParentTeachers are very helpful, friendly and approachable
Pupil, Year 6
