DE LUCY SCHOOL High Achievement in a Caring Community

FORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER Issue 7: Tuesday 19th December 2017 www.delucyprimaryschool.co.uk

Dates for your Diary The correct dates for the INSET days in June are:-

Thursday 19th June Friday 20th June

18th June

School Council Bake Sale

24th June Year 2 - Tigers Eye Trip

24th June

KS2 Sports Day UKS2 9.15am-10.45am LKS2 11.00am-12.30pm

25th June

KS1 Sports Day KS1 9.30am-10.30am

Reception & Nursery AM 10.45am-11.30am Nursery PM 2pm

26th June

Year 6 – Trip to Joss Bay

9th July Year 5 – Trip to London Eye

11th July

French Day Summer Fair 3.30pm-5.00pm

13th July

Year 5 - closing date for 11+ Bexley Test

23rd July

Last day of Summer Term School Finishes at 2pm

Relentlessly

Headteacher’s update

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY December 18th – 9am - Inclusion Coffee Morning – Asthma 18th –2.30pm – Y3 & Y4 Christmas Concert 18th – 1.30pm Y5 & 6 Carol Concert in school 19th – 9.30am – Year 1 Christmas Concert 19th – 10.30am – Year 2 Christmas Concert 19th - 2.30pm – Year 3 & 4 Christmas Concert 20th – 9.30am - Year 5 & Y6 Christmas carol service @church 20th – Christmas Dinner 20th – Last day of term – finish at 2.00pm 21st – 1st January – Christmas Holiday January 2018 2nd – INSET DAY 3rd – Return to school 8th – 5 – Beverley Naidoo – Hornimann Museum 11th – 5 - David Almond – Hornimann Museum 15th - 5 - Rick Riordan - Hornimann Museum 15th – Primary school application deadline 19th – Reception Road Safety Workshops February 2018 8th – 3 - Roald Dahl trip to Museum of London 9th – 3 - Ted Hughes & 3 Anne Fine trip to Museum of London 9th – Break up for half term – normal time 12th – 16th – Half term 19th – Children return to school 27th – Year 5/6 Netball Team – St Pauls March 2018 13th - Year 5/6 Netball Team – St Pauls

Dates for this academic year are available from the school

office or on our website

http://www.delucyprimaryschool.co.uk/Term-Dates

Here’s just a few of the ‘key events’ of the term:

- New reception and nursery children started our school

and settled well

- We began offering the 30 hours in nursery to working

parents

- School library built (still to be officially opened)

- A number of sporting events attended, including some

firsts such as cross country

- Lots of trips and visits to support the curriculum

- Friends of De Lucy Disco

- EYFS Bring your dad to breakfast

- A number of parent coffee mornings organised by the

inclusion team

- Car Free Day

- Junior Travel Ambassador training

- Black History celebrations

- Anti-Bullying Week

- Reception Phonics meetings

- Year 6 SATs meeting

- A number of fundraisers (Foodbank, Children in Need,

Macmillan and Friends of De Lucy)

- The creation of the De Lucy Tech Team

- Panto week!

Last but not least our Christmas performances and carol

concerts. I am sure that those of you who attended agree that

the children did a great job! I’d also like to thank all the staff

who made them possible.

As a reminder we finish on Wednesday 20th December at 2pm

and pupils return on Wednesday 3rd January 2018.

If you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas! If you don’t,

Happy Holidays! We look forward to seeing you all in the new

year.

Kerry Lodge

As we come to the end of a school term I always

like to take a minute or two to reflect on the term

gone by; thinking about what has gone well and

tasks for the new term! There was so much to

celebrate that I had to write it down!

THE ‘PUPIL PREMIUM’: SUPPORT YOUR SCHOOL BY APPLYING FOR

FREE SCHOOL MEALS Please take up your entitlement to Free School

Meals if you have not done so already. It will

greatly help to improve the funding the school

receives and therefore the amount we can

spend on improving all kinds of resources and

opportunities for our children. The forms are

available in the school office.

Curriculum Update

A very exciting time at school as the children have been busy finishing off the term’s learning and have been experiencing the world of theatre through visits to the school and trips out of school.

Year 5 and 6 enjoyed a train ride to The Orchard Theatre in Dartford to see ‘Cinderella.’ The show was amazing with lots of dancing, singing and some magic tricks thrown in as well! It was a real treat for adults and children alike.

“It was an exciting, fun performance. It exceeded my expectations.” Mr Lewis, Senior Premises Manager Packed with all of the traditional pantomime ingredients they knew to expect, Cinderella also featured stunning scenery, beautiful costumes and plenty of boos and hisses. They cheered as Cinders went from rags-to-riches, outwitted her very ugly sisters and met her dashing Prince Charming. They saw pumpkins and mice, carriages and horses, glitz, glamour, beautiful dresses, comedy and of course a glass slipper!

Year 3 and 4 took a slightly shorter journey to The Tramshed in Woolwich to see ‘The Magic Lamp.’ The performance was put on by the indefinitearticles through the Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre (GLYPT) ‘The Magic Lamp’ was told using a projector, lights, paper, cooking oil, coloured ink

and shadow puppets. It is based on the original Iraqi folktale and tells the tale of a boy with a mysterious past who discovers a magic lamp, finds true love and defeats the demons of greed!

The children stepped inside a giant Bedouin tent where they met fantastical characters, explored enchanted treasure caves, visited opulent places and travelled far across barren deserts. Shadow puppets

danced across beautifully crafted scenescapes accompanied by a mesmerising original soundtrack. “To me, the best bit was when the boy who was touching the jewellery and was told not to touch it – it was really tense. It was cool how they made the jewels with oil.’ Timi and Juwon, Year 3

Nursery, Reception, Year1 and 2 enjoyed a visit from Blunderbus Theatre Company who put on a show entitled, ‘Lily and The Snow Bear’.

“I liked it when the mummy bear came out because he gets to see his mummy.” Torey, Reception “The nursery children liked the fact that Lily rescued the bear and got her home to mummy. It was a happy ending.” Mrs Macauley, Nursery Leader “It was funny when Lily kicked the slug worm’s backside!” Valdas Year 2. “The children went on emotional rollercoaster during the show.” Mrs Tetteh, Year 2 Leader. “I don’t have a favourite part – I liked it all.” Maya, Reception “It was really cute – and the children responded really well.” Mrs Smith, Year 1 teacher

“The children thoroughly enjoyed it. Most children and most of the adults cried at some point! It was a heart

rending tale of how everyone is different but equal.” Mr Wakeford, Year 6 Leader.

All of the classes have been very busy putting together their own fabulous Christmas

performances. There is lots of work that goes into every one of them and this year we have

been lucky enough to benefit on the technical side for the school’s new ‘Tech Team’ –

headed up by Mr Shurmer. Below is a picture of some of the children hard at work behind

the scenes learning how things go together to make everything run smoothly on the day!

Year 5 & 6 - Pupil mobile phones The school will allow pupils in Years 5 and 6 to bring their phones into school only if their parents/carers have

agreed for them to walk home alone.

Pupil mobiles are collected in the morning as the children come through the door by a member of staff and put

into class wallets and stored during the day at the school office. The phones will be returned to classes at the

end of the day by a member of the admin team.

Pupil mobiles are left in school at the parents/carers own risk. The school will not accept responsibility for

damage accident or loss. Letters have been sent home for parents to sign and return to the school office.

Paperless I’d just like to remind parents that we are a ‘paperless’ school but we send paper letters home if they have a slip

attached. If you haven’t already done so, please download our app. Very soon we will be introducing electronic slips

via the app…more information to come in the New Year.

School Meal increase April 2018 As previously mentioned in the schools budget letter sent out on 16th June 2017 from April 2018 the cost for a

school meal will increase to £2.59 a day (£12.95 a week). Our school meal provider GS Plus have confirmed that

there current meal charge rates will remain unchanged until March 2019.

Uniform reminders At the moment there are lots of girls who are wearing very large bows in their hair. Please can you ensure that

all bows are of a reasonable size and are in the school colours of red or black. Children who are wearing

inappropriately sized bows or bows of different colours will be asked to remove them by the class teacher. They

will be returned at the end of the school day. Hijabs should also be black or red in line with school uniform.

Healthy and Happy Packed Lunches http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/school-packed-lunch-inspiration

According to NHS choices a balanced lunchbox should contain:

Starchy foods like bread, rice, potatoes or pasta Protein foods like meat, fish, eggs or beans A dairy item, like cheese or yogurt Vegetables or salad and a portion of fruit

Xmas Jumper Children can wear a Christmas jumper or dressy ‘Christmassy’ on the 20th December

and you can make a donation if you would like to. Thank you

Complaints from Local Residents

Unfortunately it has come to our attention that there have been a number of issues recently with local residents

involving De Lucy pupils and in some cases parents as well.

Last week it was reported that a group of boys in De Lucy uniform (who we have been unable to identify) were

climbing on a car located near the rear entrance to the school. The car was covered over. These boys were not

escorted.

We continue to receive complaints from local residents regarding illegal parking in local roads when children are

being dropped and collected from school. The primary concern is the safety of children when pathways are being

obstructed. A secondary concern which has arisen the use of inappropriate language which some parents are using

towards local residents when they are being asked not to block their drives or block the road. This is not only

unnecessary but is also not setting a good example to the children who are witness to these exchanges. If you drive

your child to school, please park in a suitable place, and avoid the cul-de-sacs close to the school which are becoming

blocked.

Since September there have been a number of reports of children swinging on gates of local houses and sitting on

walls etc. In some of these reports the children have been unescorted, however on some occasions parents have

been with their children and when residents have asked for children to stop this, it saddens me to say that on some

occasions a torrent of abuse has been the response from parents.

Can I please ask that if your child walks home alone that you speak to them about appropriate social etiquette in

regards to the property of local residents. Can I please also request that parents refrain from using abusive and

insulting language to local residents.

Attendance As we go into the New Year, we will be reviewing attendance and writing to parents. As a reminder please see the

information below.

Persistent Absenteeism (PA) under 90%: A pupil becomes a ‘persistent absentee’ when they miss 10% or more schooling across the school year for whatever reason. Absence at this level is doing considerable damage to any child’s educational prospects and we need parent’s fullest support and co-operation to tackle this. We monitor all absence thoroughly. Any case that is seen to have reached the PA mark or is at risk of moving towards that level of attendance is given priority and you will be informed of this immediately. Under 95% Attendance under 95% is monitored fortnightly to prevent pupils moving into the Persistent Absentee (PA) bracket. One of three letters is issued

1. Informing you that your child’s attendance is below 95% 2. If attendance has declined following receipt of letter 1 3. Improvement of attendance above 95%

Statutory School Age

Children are not of compulsory school age until the term after their 5th

birthday. At De Lucy we still monitor attendance

and issue the following letters informing the parent of their child’s attendance and the school’s expectations.

1. Children who are non-compulsory school age 2. Children who are now of compulsory school age 3.

The school will keep parents updated with attendance in early years (Nursery and Reception) even if your child is not at

statutory school age to encourage good attendance habits.

Lates and Absences Please can you ensure that if your child is going to be late due to an appointment or absent that you leave a message on

the 'absence line' before 9am on 020 8310 5290 option 1 as this is a school requirement.

Greenwich families don’t miss out!

Many families miss out on education benefits (such as free school meals, clothing grants and journey grants), tax credits and social security benefits because they do not know they can claim. Royal Greenwich’s updated 'Benefits for children at school' leaflet summarises the main sources of help available for families and includes information about recent and forthcoming benefit changes, such as the rollout of Universal Credit in June 2018. The leaflet is now available on the Royal Greenwich website: www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/benefits Greenwich council’s Welfare Rights Service is keen to ensure that local families are claiming their full entitlement and are encouraging residents to call their telephone helpline on 020 8921 6375 for a free benefit check.

Bikes and Scooters Reminder that bikes and scooters are not to be used in the school grounds and

should be walked out of school. Thank you

De Lucy Mobile Reminder: Please can you save the De Lucy

mobile number onto your phone 07860 063

024

Thank you

ATTENDANCE Please see attached for your information

Class %

08 12 17

%

15 12 17

Eric Carle 85.71 91.84

Michael Rosen 86.57 90.28

Claire Freedman 92.59 97.94

Jill Murphy 97.44 94.44

Nick Butterworth 90.00 90.00

Anthony Browne 96.83 95.24

Julia Donaldson 97.01 92.31

Simon Bartram 85.78 85.78

Francesca Simon 94.22 93.78

Dick King-Smith 97.47 96.97

Quentin Blake 97.58 89.37

Anne Fine 98.41 90.87

Roald Dahl 98.02 97.22

Ted Hughes 94.84 94.84

Dav Pilkey 92.59 93.00

Jeremy Strong 92.89 91.56

Michael Morpurgo 92.06 99.60

Beverley Naidoo 97.78 96.67

David Almond 98.85 87.74

Rick Riordan 99.62 96.93

Louis Sachar 91.85 89.26

Malorie Blackman 94.25 95.02

Whole School Our aim is for 96% or

above!

96.9 96.6

Well done to Rick Riordan for having the highest attendance up to w/e 08 12 17

Well done to Michael Morpurgo for having the highest

attendance up to w/e 15 12 17

Friends of De Lucy Coffee

Morning Our Parents’ Coffee morning has also started up again. If you

have time for a coffee and would like to lend a hand with

fund raising events, do drop in on a Friday from 9.00-

10.00am in the Parents’ Room.

FOOD BANK OPENING TIMES

The Foodbank will be open as normal on the

following days over the Christmas period:

Up to and including Friday 22nd December 2017

Wednesday 27th December 2017

Tuesday 2nd January 2018 onwards

They will close every other day during the Christmas

period.