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Welcome Letter – Chestnut Class 2022

Mrs Davies Leave a comment

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

Welcome Letter – Saplings Class 2022

Mrs Davies Leave a comment

Welcome to Nursery. This information pack will hopefully help answer lots of questions you may have about the routines this year.

Daily routine – Nursery starts at 9am and children are to wait at the Reception/Year1 gate where staff will meet you. At 11.20 the children will be collected from the same gate.

Seesaw – Thank you for signing up to Seesaw. When you download the app you will get notifications when photos are added to your child’s account and you can comment or like the photo/work if you would like to do so. We will also be using this app to send messages and reminders to parents and to share homework tasks. You can access

Seesaw on a tablet, phone, laptop or PC.

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, t-shirts, coats, shoes etc). This makes it much easier for us to find and return lost items if they are named.

PE – Thursday

Please can you send your child to school wearing joggers/leggings and trainers with their school uniform on top.

Forest Schools – ‘Fun Forest Friday’

‘Forest Schools’ activities will take place on a Friday. Please could your child wear joggers/leggings/trousers to school on a Friday. We have all in one water proof suits to put on before we go outside. We have lots of wellies in school in various sizes the children can use .

Snack- Please can you send in £1 a week for snack.

Parent meetings – We are proud to operate an open door policy at Cymer Afan however due to the current situation we cannot allow parents onto the premises at present. If you have any concerns/worries just pop us a message on Seesaw or ring the school and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Homework- We send out some fun practical activities for you to complete with your child, these help reinforce skills we have been practising in school. Please share any photos of the tasks you have been doing on Seesaw.

Text Service – Please make sure we have an up to date mobile phone number as the school uses this service to keep you updated on 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 Rowlands

Nursery Weekly Plan

Monday Fruit – Fruit money is 20p a day/£1 a week.

Tuesday –

Wednesday – CAPER books to be returned

Thursday PE – please can children wear trainers and tracksuit bottoms/leggings

Friday ‘Fun Forest Friday’ – please can children wear old tracksuit bottoms/leggings with normal uniform on top, and a coat.

Welcome Letter – Willow Class 2022

Mrs Davies Leave a comment

Welcome to the Willow 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 Foundation Phase gate will be opened at 8:55am and at 3:15pm.

Seesaw – 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.

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: All children develop at different rates. When your child is ready, they will bring home sound cards/flash cards/reading books and will then be given a specific reading day to bring in their book/words and reading bag. More information on this to follow.

Any practise your child can do at home will have a huge impact on how quickly they will learn to read. There is a great free website: www.oxfordowls.co.uk where you can access books online for all abilities. Please sit with your child for a few minutes every day to help them on their ‘reading journey’ by sharing books, talking about the book, looking closely at the illustrations, predicting what might happen next etc. and practising their sounds/digraphs with them. Every little bit of additional help will make a massive difference to your child’s reading.

Read Write Inc.: This is the resource we use to help children learn to read. There is some very useful information and activities on the Ruth Miskin website to give you some ideas on how you can help your child. https://www.ruthmiskin.com/parents/

CAPER Books: CAPER stands for ‘Children and Parents Enjoy Reading.’

Each week your child can pick a school library book to bring home and enjoy with their families. These will be changed every Friday so please make sure they are returned each week in order to pick a new one.

P.E/Games: Tuesday

Children will need to wear their P.E kit to school on a Tuesday. 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 Tuesday.

Forest Schools: ‘Wet Welly Wednesday’

‘Forest Schools’ activities will take place on a Wednesday afternoon and will run until October half term. Please could your child wear a warm coat, tracksuit bottoms, leggings or trousers to school on a Wednesday as we will be using the all in one water proof suits which are very difficult to put on over a school skirt/pinafore dress? Your child will also need access to wellies. We have so many wellies in school that we are hoping to provide all the children with wellies this year. However, if we are short of a certain size then we will let you know.

Dinner: School dinners are currently £2.35 per day or £11.75 a week (reception children are now free school meals). Please pay via Parent Pay. You can find out what’s for lunch each week by accessing Neath Port Talbot’s Broccoli Bob Website: https://www.broccolibob.co.uk/parents/schoolmeals.asp

Milk: The children will receive a cup of milk each morning as part of a Welsh Government Funded Scheme.

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.

Homework: Homework tasks are usually short fun practical activities to do with (not for) your child and depend on your child’s needs. The idea of these homework tasks is for your child to practise some of the skills they have been learning in school. Please share any photos of your child doing their homework through Seesaw as the children love to be able to share things that they have been doing at home with the other children in the class. There won’t be homework every week, so on the weeks that we don’t send homework, please can you continue to practise sounds/tricky words and numbers etc. to ensure your child doesn’t forget what they have already learnt.

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 Down, Mrs Quinn & Miss Prosse

Welcome Letter – Oak Class 2022

Mrs Davies Leave a comment

Dear Parents/Guardians,      

It has been great to have the children back to school! We’ve had a wonderful first couple of days back and it’s been so lovely to welcome back children into class and welcome our new comers. I look forward to having them all in class this year! Here is the new information for this school year and some reminders:

Seesaw – A new SeeSaw code was sent home with your child. 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/challenges that they are proud of with you. 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. If you are having trouble with the app, you can ring the school or speak to us at the gate.

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, 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: This year is slightly different in terms of reading books going home. Some children will continue to read novels and will be bringing them home with a reading record for yourselves and ourselves to sign. Some children will be given their books online through our Read, Write Inc scheme. More details will come in terms of this.   

Every little bit of additional help will make a massive difference to your child’s reading so reading as much as possible at home will really help your child! Reading for a few minutes every day can make a huge impact. It would be great for them to read with you and discuss the book by recounting what has happened, what they think will happen next, discussing the characters, discussing the characters feelings and etc. There is a great free website: www.oxfordowls.co.uk where you can access books online for all abilities.

P.E: Friday

Children will need to wear their P.E kit to school on a Friday. They can wear joggers/leggings and trainers with their school uniform on top. Please make sure your child has their water bottle in school every day but especially on a Friday.

Swimming: Tuesday Every other Tuesday we will go swimming, starting next week (13th Sept). Children will need a towel, a swimming costume and googles. Also, if your child has long hair then they will need to tie it back.

Outdoor Activities: Monday

Outdoor activities will take place on a Monday afternoon and will run until the end of Autumn term. Please could your child wear a warm coat, tracksuit bottoms, leggings or trousers to school on a Monday. Can they also bring wellies in a bag or older trainers. They may get wet or dirty so they may wish to bring spare clothes to change into to go home. These items of clothing are not to be left in school so they will be taken home with them every Monday. If the weather isn’t good then they will remain in class.

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.

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 and it is a fantastic resource for children to complete specific homework tasks. Most children know their username and password. If they do not, you can message us for their details.

Sumdog: Sumdog is the new maths website we will be using to practise maths skills in a fun and enjoyable way. We would like children to log in at home and play the games. Their details will be sent home soon.

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.)

Please do not hesitate to contact myself or come to the gates to see me or Mrs Jones about any concerns that you may have or whether you just want to have a check up on how your child is doing in school and in class. We look forward to seeing/hearing from you!

Mrs E. Davies & Mrs P. Jones

Rights Respecting

Mrs Davies Leave a comment

Our Mascot

Here is ‘Roary the Rights Respecting Lion’.

The ‘Rights Respecting School Council’ (prefects) meet on a regular basis to ensure that children’s rights are respected in our school. We are also the voice of the school and work closely with staff and pupils to make our school a better place!

 (‘Article 12 of the UNCRC – your right to be listened to and have your opinion respected’).