Bulletin 31st March 2017

Dear Parents

PHONICS & SATs KS1

The KS1 staff will be holding two key information meetings in April to help parents

understand the testing that will be taking place after Easter with the pupils in Yr 1 and Yr2.

Monday 3rd April 9.00 am – Phonics meeting for Yr1 parents

Wednesday 5th April 9.00 am - SATs information meeting for Yr 2 parents

REQUEST FOR HELP

In a bid to deter any further incidents of ‘Travellers’ trying to settle in the lower car park,

we have identified a ‘swing barrier’ at the rear of the school which no longer serves a

purpose there. As you will know from the news, budgets for schools are getting tighter and

tighter, we are keeping our fingers crossed that there may be a parent who is able to

assist/may know someone who is able to assist with ‘Removing the gate from its current

location and reinstating it, for use across the EXIT of the lower car park. The gate will then

be locked at 5pm each night and during the weekends.

TEACHER LED CLUBS

Please may we remind you that there will be NO teacher run clubs next week, w/c

3/4/2017. This also includes the Yr 4, 5&6 Football on the Astro Turf on Wednesdays after

school. Thank you.

BOOKBAGS

Storage of book bags is becoming as issue due to children having too many items attached to

their bags, please could you make sure that only one ‘Keyring/keychain or toy is attached.

Thank you.

WAITROSE – DONATION

Thank you very much for adding your ‘green token’ to our Big Red Library Bus appeal at

Waitrose Yateley we have been given a cheque for £235.00!

NON-UNIFORM DAY- FRIDAY 28TH APRIL - BRING A BOTTLE FOR

YATELEY MAY FAIR

The PTA will be running a bottle tombola stall at Yateley May Fair on Monday 1st May. The

event starts at 10.30 and it is a great day out for the family.

In exchange for donations of bottles children may wear their own clothes to school. All

bottles should be taken to the foyer area where the main double doors lead in to the hall.

Last year you were all very generous which meant we were able to raise £500 and it would

be great if we could achieve the same this year.

We are also looking for parents who are able to help on the day. If you are able to commit

to an hour please can you complete the reply slip which appears at the end of the bulletin.

Should you have any queries please contact Teresa Wilson (PTA Secretary) at

pta@potleyhill.hants.sch.uk or on 07745 226503.

Thank you for your continued support. The PTA

SPLASH – YR 3\4 PRODUCTION

Our Y3/4 production is now ready for its grand showing! This

will be to the rest of the school on Monday 3rd April, then to

parents on Tuesday 4th at 2.15pm and Wednesday 5th at

6.15pm. This is on a ticket-only basis to ensure the hall is not

over-crowded. We also ask that young children do not attend

the final, evening performance. Good luck Y3/4 – make a

“Splash”!

RECOMMENDED READS

Each year, children across the County take part in the Hampshire Picture Book and

Information Book Award. The winner of the 2017 Hampshire Picture Book Award

is Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor and illustrated by Jean

Jullien. And the winner of the 2017 Hampshire Information Book Award is Epic Book of

Epicness by Adam Frost.

Hoot Owl by Sean Taylor,

illustrated by Jean Jullien

From masterful storyteller Sean Taylor and

exciting, celebrated graphic artist Jean Jullien,

comes the laugh-out-loud tale of Hoot Owl. Hoot

Owl is no ordinary owl - oh no! - he's a master of

disguise! And he will use his expert camouflage

powers to trick his unsuspecting prey into

succumbing to him! Tiny animals of the night ...

beware! But, somehow, Hoot Owl's prey keeps

escaping... Hmmm, perhaps he isn't quite as

masterful as he believes. Will he ever succeed in

catching himself some dinner? Hilarity,

ridiculousness and very bad costume changes

abound in this wildly inventive new title.

Epi

c Book of Epicness by Adam

Frost

Crikey! That's dead scary. If all the dead people

on earth came back to life as zombies there

would be 101 billion zombies in the world. Aagh! Run for your life!

Check your worryometer! If you see a tiger shark

be very afraid, it will eat you. On the other hand if

it's a zebra shark - did you know they don't attack

people? Safe!

Is there anybody there? Messaging home from

outer space can take forever! If you're on Venus,

a message sent would reach home in 8 minutes

and from Neptune it would take over 4 hours!

Better check you're in range.

Seeing RED! You'll have to travel all the way to

Antarctica to see a red waterfall. It's called Blood

Falls and the water is turned red by the element

iron. WOW!

Top trunks! Find out all the things an elephant

does with its trunk. He would die without it.

GAV! GAV! It's barking, literally, a dog bark in

Russian. You'll find many of the noises animals make in different languages. WOOF! WOOF!

How cool is that!

BOYS HAIRSTYLES

There seems to be a new fashion in boys’ hairstyles with shaved sides and a ‘mop’ (rather

like a toupé) on the top – goodness knows which celebrity has started the trend!

However, please be advised that we do consider this to be an ‘extreme’ cut and it is

therefore not permitted under our uniform policy. If children are very keen for this style,

we would suggest that parents allow it at the beginning of the summer holiday so that it

has time to grow out before September.

SUMMER UNIFORM

During the summer term, children have the opportunity to wear ‘lighter-style’ uniform.

The following information is taken from our Uniform Policy to help parents when making

any purchases over the Easter holidays:

GIRLS Summer (summer term to Oct half term only)

Blue and white gingham/checked dresses

Black or navy, sensible, low heeled shoes with strap or laces (no open toed

shoes/sandals, no trainers)

Girls may continue to wear their normal uniform in the summer if they wish

Grey tailored shorts (standard fitting only, knee length)

BOYS Summer (summer term to Oct half term only)

Grey tailored shorts (no cargo-style shorts)

Black, sensible, low heeled shoes with strap or laces (no open toed

shoes/sandals, no trainers)

Boys may continue to wear their long trousers in the summer if they wish

BIG RED BUS LIBRARY

We are very excited that work is starting on the interior of the bus next week. Please

bear with us regarding library book exchanges whilst we are re-organising this area.

END OF TERM

The Spring term has flown by and ends on Friday 7th April at normal time: 3.15pm for

Infants and 3.20pm for Juniors. We return on Monday 24th April.

Y5 SWIMMING

This begins on the first week back – Tuesday 25th April – and continues weekly for 10

weeks. The cost of these lessons is covered by the school. Children need to have the

swim kits: a one-piece costume for girls and fitted trunks for boys. Long hair has to be tied

back.

GIRLS’ FOOTBALL FRIENDLY AGAINST VELMEAD

On Thursday 30th March, our girls' football team played a match at Velmead Junior

School. It was a tough game with our girls conceding 3 goals in the first half. However,

thanks to some jelly babies from Tamzin's Mummy and a pep talk from Miss Bucknell, the

girls worked hard on their defence and were creating more opportunities in the second

half. The final score was 4-0 but our spirits couldn't be dampened in the glorious sunshine

and the girls were literally cartwheeling off the pitch!

BOYS’ STANDING CUP FOOTBALL

As the bulletin was being written and sent last Friday after school, our boys' football team

were at South Farnborough Junior School battling it out for a place in the quarter finals of

the Standing Cup. The boys had had a gruelling week of football with training on Monday

night and representing Aldershot FC at a National Tournament on Wednesday but were

pumped and ready for the challenge. It was a tense game in which our boys dominated in

terms of possession, skill and shots on target however we were

struggling to get the ball to hit the back of the net! For a long time

the score was 1-1 but in the last 3 minutes our lads finished the

job and won the game 1-2.

The quarter finals and (if we get there) semi-finals will be played

on Monday 3rd at Samuel Cody. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

CRICKET COACHING

KS2 children will be benefiting from professional cricket coaching

after half term in their PE lessons. This summer is a hugely exciting

one for cricket and for women's cricket in particular, as the

Women's World Cup will be held in England. For any budding

cricketers and/or fans of sports stories we would recommend the

Glory Gardens Cricket Club series - there is a new book in the series too. Now is the

time to get your child enthused about this traditional English sport!

RECOMMENDED PROCEDURES FOR PARENTS

We know that when parents have a concern that relates to their child at school, they often

feel the best way forward is to ask to see the Headteacher or Deputy Head – whether this

is pastoral, curriculum-related or staffing-related in nature. However, it is our experience

that many of these concerns can often be most quickly resolved by talking first to the most

appropriate person. The flow chart below outlines who this will be.

Learning Concerns Pastoral Concerns Concerns relating to

particular learning or

physical needs

Issues relating to

staff

Concerns &

Queries relating

to school

administration

Please raise your concern

with your child’s class

teacher in the first instance:

Ladybirds: Miss Hook/ Mrs

Willcocks

Caterpillars: Mrs Stark Doves: Miss Barton

Hummingbirds: Mrs Wilson/

Mrs Djeneralovic Puffins: Mr Cullington

Sharks: Miss Boxall

Whales: Miss Bucknell Dolphins: Mrs Smith/ Mrs

Burningham Leopards: Mrs Bellingall

Tigers: Miss Miles Lions: Mrs Richards

Y6 morning teachers: Mrs

Samuel & Mrs Cross

(Pastoral care covers our support

of your child’s individual needs,

their emotional wellbeing and

helping them with any personal

problems they may be

experiencing at school)

Where a concern is related to a

special need and you feel an

adjustment may be required to

support successful learning e.g.

issues related to ASD (Autistic

Spectrum Disorders), dyslexia,

dyspraxia or physical disabilities

Please contact

reception who will

forward your

concern to the

most appropriate

person.

Please speak to

Mrs Conroy

Senior Admin

Officer

Please raise your concern

initially with your child’s class

teacher. They may enlist the

help of our school ELSA

(Emotional Literacy Support

Assistant) who is Mrs Horton

Please raise your concern

with your child’s class teacher

in the first instance

Please arrange an

appointment with our

SENCo, Mrs Burningham

If you feel the class teacher is unable to help, please contact the

Key Stage Manager. Our Key Stage Managers are responsible

for the behaviour and pastoral care of each of their year groups:

Mr Cullington: YR, Y1 and Y2 (EYFS & KS1 Manager)

Mrs Burningham: Y3 – Y6 (KS2 Manager)

Please make an appointment to see our Deputy Headteacher,

Mrs Inglis, if you remain concerned after following the steps

above.

Please make an appointment to see our Headteacher, Mrs

Clarke, if you remain concerned after following the steps

above

Teachers are available after school for informal conversations and appointments can be made with all of the above by

contacting the school office on 01252 876106 or emailing adminoffice@potleyhill.hants.sch.uk,

If you are writing to the school, it is really helpful if you can give us as much information about the background of your

concern or complaint as possible, including who it involves, and what you would like the outcome to be.

Our Chair of Governors, Mrs Sashi Kissun-Gray, is also here to support when a parent has a concern or complaint. She can be contacted

through the school office.

Our full school complaints policy can be found on our website at www.potleyhill.hants.sch.uk or a hard copy can be obtained from the school

office.

Please remember that social media IS NOT an appropriate platform to raise any concerns with the school.

‘TOP HAT OF THE WEEK’

Child/ren Reason

Caterpillar Henry F For using his Green creative thinking hat to paint beautiful

daffodils.

Ladybird Charlie B For using his creative Green hat when painting a beautiful

daffodil picture.

Dove Lucas B For using his White thinking hat to write some longer

sentences using the word ‘and’.

Hummingbird Diego G For using his Blue thinking hat to successfully add 2 digit

numbers.

Puffin Oliver S-B For using his Blue thinking hat to assess which resources to

use when adding in Maths.

Dolphin Amelia H For using her White thinking hat to help achieve full marks in

her arithmetic paper.

Whale Poppy P For using her White, Red and Blue thinking hats when learning

and delivering her lines in our Splash performance. Poppy is a

treat to watch!

Shark Daniel H Using his White thinking hat to remember facts about how we

find and write fractions of objects – including tricky key

vocabulary.

Leopard Aniella M For using the thinking hats in English to compose a great story

opening, create a setting and convey emotion.

Lion Fraser J For using White and Blue thinking hats to some tricky

reasoning questions in Maths.

Tiger Leo W Use of his White & Green thinking hats to make links in

poetry.

INSETS FOR 17/18 ACADEMIC YEAR

We have now agreed our 5 INSET days for the next academic year. These will be:

Monday 4th September

Thursday 4th January

Friday 5th January

Friday 4th May

Monday 23rd July

Please see the attached school terms and holidays sheets before booking any holidays.

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO PARENTMAIL PAYMENTS

We have recently been reviewing our charging procedures for all payments after Easter.

Please read the attached letter carefully to see how this will impact on payments for all

activities and services and contact the school office if you have any further questions.

Examples of changes Existing price New price

School Dinners £2.10 (£2.15 HCC price

from 1st April)

£2.20 (after Easter)

Music Lessons £78 £79.20

Early Bird Club £4 £4.10

Reminders….

SAINSBURY’S ACTIVE KIDS VOUCHERS

It’s that time of year again! ‘Active Kids Vouchers’ can be collected instore and online at

Sainsbury's from 25 January until 2 May. Collecting for Active Kids is a great way to help

your school obtain new resources for PE, Food Technology as well as many other topics. If

you or any relatives shop with Sainsbury’s and would like to send your vouchers in, we

have a collection box in the school’s main reception area. Thank you for your support.

CALENDAR DATES

DATE EVENT

Monday 3rd April YR1 Phonics Information meeting 9.00 am

Y3/4 production to rest of school

Tuesday 4th April Y3/4 production to parents at 2.15pm

Wednesday 5th April YR2 SATs information meeting 9.00 am

Y3/4 production to parents at 6.15pm

Friday 7th April End of term

Monday 24th April SUMMER TERM BEGINS

Thursday 27th April 6.00 pm Marchants Hill Parent’s info evening

Friday 28th April Mufti day for May Fair – bring a bottle

w/c Monday 8th May Y6 SATS

Monday 15th May E-safety day. Workshop for Y6s

Friday 19th May Class Photos

Monday 22nd May – Wednesday 24th May Y4 PGL residential trip

Thursday 25th May PTA Disco

29th May – 2nd June HALF TERM

w/c Monday 5th June Streets Ahead training for Y2 pupils

Tuesday 6th June New YR information evening at 7pm

Thursday 8th June Y3/4 trip to Marwell Zoo

Friday 9th June Sports Day

Book Fair arrives

w/c Monday 12th June Y1 Phonics screening

Thursday 15th June 6.00 pm France 2017 Parent’s info evening

Tuesday 20th June Potley Proms – Disney theme

Friday 23rd June Reserve Sports Day

Tuesday 27th June Move up afternoon

Tuesday 4th July Y5/6 production to parents 2pm

Wednesday 5th July Y5/6 production to parents 7pm

Thursday 6th July Y6 Induction Day at secondaries

Move up day for rest of school

Friday 7th July Summer Fun Night

Annual reports out to parents

w/c Monday 11th July – Friday 14th July Y6 residential visit to France

Wednesday 12th July Y5/6 to Paultons Park

Thursday 13th July Y5 Technology day at Frogmore CC

Monday 17th July Y6 Leavers Fun Afternoon

Y4/5 to World Para Athletics Championships

in London

Friday 21st July LAST DAY OF SUMMER TERM for children

(INSETs booked on 24th and 25th)

9.30 Leavers Assembly

Mrs Heather Clarke Mrs Hannah Inglis

Head Teacher Acting Head Teacher

Email: adminoffice@potleyhill.hants.sch.uk www.potleyhill.hants.sch.uk

Hannah Inglis

Parentmail charges for online payments

We are delighted with your very positive response to Parentmail, with 95% of you now

registered and using it to make payments, respond to forms and emails and book parents

evening appointments. If you would still like to register, but are unsure how to go about this,

please do contact the office.

Until now, school has been able to cover the cost of online payments (ie Credit/Debit card

and PayPal transaction charges), so that these are not passed on to you, but our increasingly

tight budget unfortunately means that we will no longer be able to do this. As a result, there

will be a very slight increase in the cost of school dinners, music lessons, Earlybird club, day

trips and so on from the Summer term onwards.

Therefore, from Monday 24th April, the cost of a school dinner will rise from £2.10 to £2.20

(£11.00 for a whole week). All Hampshire schools will see an increase of 5p per meal to

£2.15 from April 1st onwards, so we do not consider an additional 5p increase to be

excessive and we will not bring this into effect until after Easter. Music lessons will cost

£79.20 for the Summer term. Earlybird sessions will cost £4.10 after Easter. We will also add

1.5% to the cost of day trips and in-school visits. For a trip costing £10.00 for example, this

only represents 15p of the total cost. Payments for the current Year 6 French trip will be

unaffected.

Please note, school pays a percentage transaction charge for both Credit cards and PayPal

payments, but in addition to this, PayPal charges us 20p per transaction. That means that

whether you pay £2.10 for a single school dinner or £42 for a month of school dinners, we

are charged 20p on both transactions regardless. At the moment, we are trying not to pass

this on to you (as it would then be unfair on parents who only pay by Credit card). But to

keep these 20p charges to an absolute minimum, we would ask you please if you are paying

by PayPal, to pay for siblings’ school dinners together so that we are only charged once.

Similarly, if you have multiple items to pay for in the same week, such as a trip, school

dinners and Earlybird club, please try to do this all in one go. And please try to pay for at

least a week’s worth of dinners at a time, rather than just one day, if you are using PayPal.

We appreciate that it is not fair to pass any charges on to parents who still wish to pay by

cash/cheque via the office. For various reasons, it is not possible to set an online price and a

cash/cheque price for the same payment item on Parentmail, so instead we will refund the

difference between the actual cost of items and the increased cost due to online transaction

charges, to parents paying by cash/cheque. However, rather than returning a constant

stream of pennies to you, we would aim to refund you the full amount once at the end of

each school term. We will review this after the Summer term once we have seen how it

works in practice.

We do hope that the ease and convenience of using Parentmail to make online payments will

outweigh the very slight increase in costs incurred by doing so and that the majority of you

will continue to pay for all school items online.

If you have any queries about online transaction charges, please contact the office.

Reply Slip – PTA QUIZ NIGHT– Friday 31st March

(ADULTS ONLY) I would like …..… Tickets at £3.00 each = £….…………………

Team Name …………………………………………… (Max 6 people)

Total enclosed £……………………… (Cheques payable to Potley Hill School PTA)

Completed by …………………………………………………. (Print Name) Child’s name

& Class……………….………………………… (for ticket return)

Please can you provide your email and/or mobile number should we need to contact you

Email............................................................................... Mobile Number ……………………………

SPLASH! (Year 3/4 2017 production) - Reply Slip

I would like ______ copies of SPLASH! at £5 each.

Total £____ (cheques made payable to Potley Hill School PTA)

Child's Name: ________________________________________

Class:________________________________

Signed:_________________________________ (Parent/Guardian)

REPLY SLIP – MAY FAIR - 1ST MAY

I am able to help man the stall between; - (please circle answer/s)

10.30-11.30 11.30-12.30 12.30-13.30 13.30-14.30

Parent Name………………………………………………………………………………

Email………………………………………………………………………………………

Contact Number……………………………………………………………………………