Front Page News

We’ve had a lovely Harvest Festival morning with Father Mark, cauliflowers were fluffy and the singing was just perfect! It is great to have some normality returning and being able to connect school with the community once more. The donations of food were gratefully received with Hospitality & Hope and The Key Projects taking our school harvest off to help many others.

The end of the half term is nearing and then thoughts will turn to Christmas!

Thank you for your continuing support.

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Just a few things to keep you up to date on:

1. Flu Nasal
2. DEAR (Drop Everything And Read)
3. Morrison’s Its Good to Grow
4. Leave of Absence
5. School Facebook Page
6. Parents’ Evening
7. Diary Dates

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1. Flu Nasal

Flu Nasal Vaccinations will be administered by NHS Team on Monday 11th October 2021.  This is for all children from Rec to Y6 who have returned a consent form.

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2. DEAR (Drop Everything And Read)

Tomorrow we are celebrating reading with the National Literacy Trust. At 10 o’clock, thousands of people across the country will join together to Drop Everything And Read. We will all be stopping what we are doing to enjoy reading together in our classes for ten minutes. Why not join us from wherever you are? Take time out of your day to stop and read for just ten minutes. Happy reading!

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3. Morrison’s Its Good to Grow

FREE gardening equipment for our school

For every £10 you spend (in store or online) at Morrisons, you’ll get a Grow Token to help our school get everything we need to get growing. Download the MyMorrisons app today to start collecting Grow Tokens and choose Mortimer Primary School to donate them.

We will be able to exchange the Grow Tokens for FREE gardening equipment to get kids growing. How it works…

1) Morrisons customers download the MyMorrisons app.

2) You sign in or register to MyMorrisons and select Mortimer Primary School.

3) Then scan the app at checkout or use online when shopping.

4) For every £10 spent you will receive a Grow Token to donate to our school.

5) We can exchange your Grow Tokens for free gardening equipment after the collection period.

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4. Leave of Absence (LOA)

As you are aware, a LOA will only be granted under exceptional circumstances. After half term, following your written request (which must be completed 1 month prior to the planned absence) you will now receive an email informing you of the school’s decision.

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5. School Facebook Page

We have moved away from our closed group and now run an open positive and promotional page. Please like and follow the page to see some glimpses into our school life.

https://www.facebook.com/Mortimer-Primary-School-273525164461401

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6. Parent’s Evening

We hope that you found the booking system easy to use. You can reuse the link to check the time you have booked or make changes. We look forward to seeing you on Monday 11^th or Monday 18^th October.

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7. Diary Dates

• 08.10.21 – 6KM Parent Assembly
• 11.10.21 – Flu nasal
• 11.10.21 – 14.10.21 Year 6 Bikeability (1 and ½ classes)
• 12.10.21 – Choir Practice resumes Y3-Y6 pick up at 4:30
• 15.10.21 – 4AS Parent Assembly
• 18.10.21 – 21.10.21 Year 6 Bikeability (1 and ½ classes)
• 22.10.21 – Show Racism the Red Card – Wear red day
• 22.10.21 – 3JDa Parent Assembly
• 22.10.21 – School closes for half term

Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback regarding our changes.

This can still be completed at https://forms.gle/SMgtMv8jb3ysXtkm8

Update for Monday 4^th October – Friday 8^th October

Please note the trial changes for next week:

• The turning circle will be open on the morning only.
• Parents can enter school grounds via vehicle to drop off only using the turning circle.
• Parents should not exit their vehicle.
• Cars will be unable to ‘pull in’ or ‘wait’.
• Please stop opposite the school steps to allow your child(ren) to exit the vehicle.
• Staff will be on hand to guide.
• The staff car park will remain closed.
• No access will be granted for pick up times at the end of the school day.
• Pedestrians must use the paths.
• We ask that all parents using the turning circle stick to the speed limits and only use if necessary.
• The safety of pupils, parents and staff remains our highest priority.

We continue to work with stakeholders to find the best solution.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Good news! Parents Evening just got a whole lot easier because you can now book your appointments online. We have two evenings Monday 11^th and 18^th October.

We will send a link to your mobile phone or email address which will take you to our online booking system to select a time convenient for you.

Invites will be sent: Friday 1^st October 2021 @ 4:00pm

Please follow these simple steps to book your slot:

1. Click the link that you receive through text and/or email to take you to the confirmation page. You will need internet access to do this.
2. Enter your child’s first name to continue. If you have more than one child, any of their first names will work.
3. Next you will be taken to the booking page. This will show your children alongside all of the teachers that you can book in with.
4. Click ‘Please Choose’ to be shown a list of available times that you can click to book.
5. After you have entered any notes, please click ‘Book this Slot’ to complete your booking. When the button has turned green you know your booking has been made.
6. At any time before the Parents Evening, you can click the link on your phone or email again to check your booking time or even un-book by clicking the green booked button.

Make sure you book your parents evening ASAP to ensure you get the best time for you.

You can see the full parent guide here https://gb15.behaviourwatch.co.uk/public/gb/user_manuals/parents_evening/parent_guide.pdf

Please note:

The booking will come through to the main contact that we have for each child. Only one parent will receive the link. This is (generally) the person who receives our text communications and down as contact 1. You will receive a text and email if we have both of these pieces of information from you.

Dear Parent/ Carer,

PARENT GOVERNOR ELECTIONS

Mortimer primary school

Nominations are required for 1 Parent Representative to the Governing Board of the above-mentioned School to serve 4 years from the date of appointment.

As a parent/carer you are eligible* to: –

(a)    stand for election to the Governing Board.  You will need to contact the school to obtain a copy of the nomination booklet and complete it within the timescales detailed below.

(b)    NOMINATE or second other parents of pupils at the school.

(c)    VOTE in an election, should one be necessary.

The timetable for electing the new Parent Governor is as follows :-

• Nomination booklets will be available upon request from the school from

           Monday 4^th October 2021.

• Completed nomination booklets are to be returned to the Head Teacher by

• If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies, ELECTIONS will be held commencing Monday 18^th October 2021. (Details of any election will be sent at a later date, if appropriate).
• The results of the election will be declared by Tuesday 2^nd November

*  Information concerning qualifications and disqualifications from standing for election may be found on the nomination form. 

Yours sincerely

Mrs C. Henderson

Governors Support and School Admissions Manager

Where have the last 3 weeks gone?

School life is picking up quickly and now singing is filling our hall again! There is plenty to tell you about…

1. School car park
2. Parents’ Evening Booking
3. Facebook changes
4. Reading Newsletter
5. Harvest Festival
6. Dates for the Diary
7. Year 6 SATs 2022
8. Wild Challenge

1. School car park

We are still working through a few teething troubles and are continuing the closure of the car park. Please spare a few minutes to give your views on the car park via our questionnaire https://forms.gle/7sTenoybPR2jCQ4k8 The car park will remain closed until we can assess the results of the questionnaire.

2. Parents’ Evening Booking

For our October parent meetings (Mon 11^th & Mon 18^th October) parents will be able to book their appointment times with their child’s class teacher. A link will be sent out via email and text. Parents will then be able to decide on the time and day they see the class teacher. All appointments will take place in school face to face. Further info will follow early next week.

3. Facebook changes

As a school we moving away from our closed Facebook group onto an open Facebook page. Please like the new page https://www.facebook.com/Mortimer-Primary-School-273525164461401

We now use Facebook as an information sharing platform only.  

4. Reading Newsletter

Mrs Douglas has been busy again…check out the very first reading newsletter (As attached) and all that is happening.

Also check out our 1^st Reading Champions of the year! https://mortimerprimary.co.uk/reading-champions/

5. Harvest Festival

We will be holding the Harvest Festival for our children in the Infant and Junior classes on the morning of Thursday 7^th October.

Following the service food parcels, made up from Harvest donations which are displayed at the Harvest Festival, will be distributed to local senior citizens, and local food banks and charities.

We hope that each child in our Nursery and Infant classes (EYFS/KS1) could bring in a small quantity of either FRESH PRODUCE (fruit, vegetables, etc) or TINNED OR PACKET PRODUCE.  It would be very helpful if these gifts were brought into school on Monday 4^th, Tuesday 5^th or Wednesday 6^th.

Our junior children (KS2) will be asked to make a donation, proceeds of which will be used to help a good cause overseas. It would be very helpful if these donations were brought into school on Monday 4^th, Tuesday 5^th or Wednesday 6^th.

6. Dates for the Diary

Parent Assemblies

Friday 1^st October – 2SK Mrs Keighery

Friday 8^th October – 6KM Mrs Mackay

Friday 15^th October – 4AS Mrs Stelling

Friday 22^nd October – 3JDa Mrs Davidson

Other events

Monday 11^th October – Parents’ Evening #1, Flu nasal vaccination & Year 6 Bikeabilty

Monday 18^th October – Parents’ Evening #2 & Year 6 Bikeabilty

Friday 22^nd October – School closes for half term

You can see all dates across the year at https://mortimerprimary.co.uk/school-calendar/

7. Year 6 SATs 2022

The key stage 2 tests are timetabled from Monday 9 May to Thursday 12 May 2022. We ask that you support the school by not booking holidays for this period.

8. Wild Challenge

Check out our latest success at https://mortimerprimary.co.uk/gold-certificate-in-the-rspbs-wild-challenge/

 Have a lovely weekend!