Every year in England, school children in Reception and Year 6 have their height and weight checked at school as part of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). The School Health team will be attending school on Tuesday, 11th February 2025 to carry out these checks. Please refer to the attached information for further details and how to opt out.

Year 4 – Level 1 Bikeability Training (14th / 15th January)   Dear Parent/Carer I am pleased to share details of the above bikeability course and to ask you to complete the Microsoft Form to confirm if you wish your child to take part. We must provide numbers to Newcastle Council this week, so I ask that you complete the form no later than Wednesday 8th January. Bikeability National Standard cycle training, gives participants practical skills and understanding of safer cycling practices. Children in Year 4 are taught to ride with confidence and develop cycle skills within the school grounds. Pupils will be allocated a session (half day) on either 14th or 15th January once we have confirmed numbers. In order for pupils to participate, they must be able to ride their bike, without stabilizers and will need to bring their bike and helmet to school on their allocated day. Level 1 Bikeability takes place in a traffic free environment, usually the school playground. Instructors are provided by Newcastle City Council and are highly qualified. By completing Level 1, your child will be able to demonstrate the skills and understanding to be able to make a trip and undertake activities safely in a motor traffic free environment. To participate in Level 1 training, your child must be able to ride their bike without stabilisers, with basic control and balance whilst pedalling. They should be capable of changing direction and stopping. It is important to stress that this training is not suitable for children who cannot yet ride a bike. The bike must be in working order including inflated tyres, working brakes, chain and tight handle bars. How to check a cycle ( youtube.com )   Bikeability Level 1 - Maintain your cycle, Glide and Control your bike

Good afternoon Please find slides from tonight's information meeting. Kind Regards Mr Kennedy

With digital content ever more accessible to our pupils, school will sending regular online safety advice to parents to help them understand digital risks, guide children in responsible internet use, and address issues like cyberbullying, privacy concerns, and inappropriate content. We hope that this will ensure students are protected, foster open communication, and empower parents to support their child's online well-being. As well as sending out a link to our website's blog page, we will also post the information on our school Facebook site. This week, the focus is screen time addiction: I t can be challenging for parents and carers to know whether children are spending too much time on their digital devices. It’s even more of a conundrum to decide whether a child is just deeply engaged with the internet and social media, or genuinely addicted to it. As technology becomes more pervasive in all of our lives, many children and young people in particular are beginning to experience tech-related dependencies. As trusted adults, do we have the right knowledge to identify and support children and young people who might be developing an addiction to their devices? In this guide, you'll find tips on avoiding potential risks such as damage to health and wellbeing, app addiction and a lack of sleep.

We hope all of our pupils had a fantastic time yesterday and are left feeling inspired and invigorated by the visit from a top athlete!  There's 1 week to collect any sponsorship money for yesterday’s visit from Antony Cotterill, here’s a reminder of the great prizes you’ll get for your fundraising efforts in this short video: https://vimeo.com/1000798545     Remember that the money raised will go towards new sports equipment to improve levels of physical activity in our school!  If you’ve not sponsored your child yet, now is a great time to reward them for their hard work. You can sponsor them online here: https://sportal.greatathletes.org/events/landing , or bring the cash in with your sponsorship form. Thank you for all the sponsor money that has been returned to school so far, your Support is much appreciated.

*REMINDER * We are very excited to welcome our Great British Athlete, Antony Cotterill into school on Wednesday for our sponsored event. Please can all pupils wear their PE kit on Wednesday (Pupils in Y1-6 this is our usual PE kit, no bright colours or football kits) Reception pupils can come into school in comfortable clothes and trainers suitable for exercising in. If pupils have used the paper sponsorship forms, then all sponsor money should be returned to school, with the form, no later than Friday 29th November For those parents who wish to do this electronically, there are instructions as to how to set up your sponsorship page, below. If you’ve already got yours set up, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family!   If you need help with setting up your sponsorship page, watch this short video on how to set one up: https://vimeo.com/1000802304 Dear Parent/Carer    We’re very excited to be welcoming  Great   Athletes  to the school soon!    Top GB athlete, Atony Cotterill will be visiting us, and leading a  sponsored fitness circuit  with all pupils, followed by  a motivational assembly , and  Q&A  session. The aim of the event is to  inspire every child  to be more physically active, but just as importantly, encourage them to discover and pursue their  passion in life .    The event will both connect the pupils to an extraordinary athlete role model and  raise money for new sports equipment  to improve physical activity in the school, as well as supporting both  athletes  and para- athletes , so that they can continue to inspire the next generation.     This week, your child will take home a sponsorship form to use to help raise money for the event. You can also sponsor your child by visiting:  greatathletes.org   and clicking on the button “ Set up a Fundraising Page ”. Alternatively, you can scan the QR code to go directly to the online sponsorship page. As a thank you, pupils will receive the following thank-you gifts for meeting these milestones:   Raise anything: A5 sheet of motivational stickers  Raise £5 or more: sheet of stickers, plus a blue Great Athletes wristband  Raise £15 or more: all of the above, plus a red wristband with the athlete’s signature Raise £30 or more: all of the above, plus a signed athlete poster    Please ensure that the sponsorship form and money are returned to the school office  1 week  after the event has taken place.    Please also make sure that your children come to school on the event day with their PE Kits!  (We will send a reminder nearer to the event)   Thank you in anticipation of creating a terrific and memorable event.

Our Parents meetings will take place on the following days/times for pupils in the Oscar Romero Centre:- Tuesday 19th November and/or Thursday 21st November 2024 We have a system which will allow you to book your appointment for the date and time that is convenient to you which will be sent to the primary contact we have named for your child. Please note meetings will be held face to face in the Oscar Romero Centre, and you can access the school building via the entrance on Harnham Gardens. We look forward to meeting you .

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Dear Parent and Carers   The school is due to have an inspection undertaken by the Catholic Schools Inspectorate on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th November 2024.  The inspection is both a diocesan and a statutory responsibility.   In the organisation of the Church, the bishop is the ‘first teacher’ in the diocese with responsibility for the formation and education of his people, with particular responsibilities in schools.  The inspectors working for the Inspectorate act on his behalf to fulfil this responsibility.   The purpose of inspection is to report to and advise the bishop on the quality of the Catholic life and mission of the school, of religious education and of collective worship. Of course, it also stands to inform parents and the wider Catholic community.   Inspectors will observe learning and acts of worship, talk to staff and pupils, analyse data, and discuss emerging issues with the school’s leadership. The inspection culminates in a written report that will be sent to you.   The view of parents is very important, and we shall be sharing with the inspectors any evidence we have of parents’ views of the school. The inspectors would also like to hear directly from you.  We appreciate that we have not given you very much time, but it would be helpful if you could complete the questionnaire, which can be accessed here.  Responses to the questionnaire go directly to the inspectors, are anonymous and individual responses cannot be identified. Any responses received after noon on 15 November 2024 may not be considered. I will also send a direct link to this questionnaire in a separate message.   Thank you for taking the time to complete the questionnaire. We look forward to sharing the outcomes of the inspection when the report has been received.   Yours sincerely       Miss M Elliott Headteacher

This week is national Anti-Bullying Week, with the theme: Choose Respect . To highlight the campaign, we invite pupils and staff to wear odd socks on Wednesday 13th November, to celebrate what makes us all unique. Pupils will take part in a special assembly on Wednesday highlighting the importance of  'Choosing Respect' and bring an end to bullying which negatively impacts millions of young lives. We will also spend time thinking more about this theme on Friday as part of our Children in Need Day, in school. This year, we’ll empower children and young people to not resort to bullying, even when we disagree and remind adults to lead by example, online and offline. Imagine a world where respect and kindness thrives — it’s not just a dream, it's in the choices we make.

Dear Parent/Carer We are pleased to be able to offer our German after school club, beginning on Thursday 21st November and then running each Thursday, after school until 4.30pm. This will be fantastic preparation for our trip to Gelsenkirchen, in the summer term and will also allow pupils to take part in some extra projects with our partner school. I would strongly recommend that your child attends the club if they are taking part in our summer trip. We will be using some fantastic resources in the German club, produced by the Goethe Institut including the introduction of Felix und Franz - two mascots that will feature heavily in the programme of activities. Pupils will learn through songs, videos, games and crafts allowing for us to have lots of interaction and fun as we develop our language skills together. Please can you confirm your child's attendance by completing the very simple form below. Confirm attendance here Please note that German club will still continue to run on nights where we also have parent evenings . The last session of this term will be Thursday 19th December

Dear Parents/Carers On Friday 15th November, English Martyrs' school will be supporting the annual Children in Need Charity campaign. Pupils are invited to come into school wearing something bright coloured, yellow, spotty or Pudsey ears! (no football strips please) This year, we will focus on the theme of respect and pupils will take part in some activities to explore this theme throughout the day. We would welcome a donation of 50p for wearing non-uniform. All money raised will go to support local charities. Thank you for your continued support.