Welcome to the Chestnut Class. This information pack will hopefully answer lots of questions you may have about the class routines this year.
Drop off and pick up: Current pick up and drop off routines will remain the same as last year. The gate near the kitchen will be opened at 8:55am and at 3:20pm.
If your child is in Year 3 and you would like them to walk to meet you, please ensure you have completed the form given. I cannot let a child leave without an adult if you have not completed this form. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Seesaw – Your child came home yesterday with a new Seesaw code for this academic year. Thank you to all who have already signed up. We will be using this app as a means of communication to send messages and reminders to parents so please connect to your child’s account as soon as possible and check it regularly. Joining Seesaw allows you to see what your child gets up to during the school day and lets you see the progress they are making when they share work that they are proud of with you. When you download the app you will get a notification when your child posts a photo of their work for you to see. You can like or comment on these if you wish. You can access Seesaw on a tablet, phone, laptop or PC. If you have any questions or queries you can message us using the app and we will get back to you as soon as we can. It also enables us to send messages back and fore if you have any questions/concerns. It’s invaluable to us in school.
Twitter – Follow us on twitter to see some of the lovely things we do in school and for up to date news and events @CymerPrimary.
Name tags: Please make sure all of your children’s items are labelled. (Jumpers, cardigans, t-shirts, water bottles, lunch bags, wellies etc.) It is so much easier for your child (and us) to find lost items if they have their names on each item.
Reading Books: If your child had a reading book last year they will continue to go home with your child on Fridays. Please could you ensure they are back in school by the following Thursday so they can be listened to and changed ready to go back out. Some children have not yet had a reading book and these will be going out once we are confident that your child is ready to have a go. Every child develops differently and is ready to read at different ages, please don’t panic. If your child does not have a reading book they will instead have flash cards with sounds on them. Please play pairs matching, shouting out sounds, finding the sounds in books, magazines etc to encourage your child to read them confidently in preparation for a reading book. Any questions please send a seesaw message or pop in at the end of the day. There is a great free website: www.oxfordowls.co.uk to promote reading. Every little bit of additional help will make a massive difference to your child’s reading.
Read Write Inc.: During the course of this term we will move our reading scheme over to Read, Write Inc and our reading routines will change. We will let you know about this once we have it up and running.
P.E/Games: Thursday
Children will need to wear their P.E kit to school on a Thursday. They can wear joggers/leggings and trainers with their school uniform on top. Please no skirts or tights on P.E days and make sure your child has their water bottle in school every day but especially on a Thursday. There will be some Thursdays when we have a forest schools session instead of PE. On these days the children will need similar clothes to PE days, suitable waterproof coat and old trainers/wellies. We also have a selection of waterproofs in school the children can use. We will let you know of these days via seesaw.
Swimming sessions: Every other Tuesday we will go swimming, starting on 20th September. Children will need a towel, a swimming costume and googles. Please can you ensure your child is confident in dressing and undressing themselves in preparation for this. We walk up the pool and back so suitable coats will be needed.
Dinner: School dinners are currently £2.35 per day or £11.75 a week. Please pay via Parent Pay. You can find out what’s for lunch each week by accessing Neath Port Talbot’s Broccoli Bob Website.
Water bottles: It is important that children drink plenty of water to help them concentrate and learn in school. Please make sure your child has a water bottle with them every day with their name clearly labelled.
Parent Meetings: We are proud to operate an open door policy at Cymer Afan. The best way to contact us if you have any concerns/worries or questions is to pop us a message on Seesaw, or ring the school and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
HWB: HWB is a digital platform you can access on a smartphone, tablet or computer. We use HWB in a variety of ways in school. Children will now be expected to log in independently, so please can you practise this at home regularly? Log in details are attached to this letter.
Sumdog: Sumdog is new maths website we will be using to practise maths skills in a fun and enjoyable way. We would like children to practise logging on and playing a few fun math games. Please find attached their Sumdog log in details.
Homework: For now please can you practise with your child logging into Hwb and Sumdog and having a go.
Snack: Children are welcome to bring in a piece of fruit for a healthy playtime snack.
Text Service- Please make sure we have your current mobile phone number as the school uses this service to keep you updated on an school events or important and urgent notices. (E.g. school closure due to snow etc.)
Many thanks! We look forward to working with your children this year
Mrs Jones and Miss Thomas
