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.

Update - Thank you for such a positive response to the Knit and Natter, family craft club. We would like to welcome you into school for the first session, which will begin on Tuesday 5th November. The session will take place in the KS2 dining hall. If family members could wait on the KS2 Yard, a member of staff will come and collect you at 3.30pm. Your child will remain in school and you will meet them in the hall. If you have any questions, please contact the school office and ask to speak to Mrs Dowling. Many Thanks Dear Parents/Carers We would like to introduce a new after school club for pupils and their family members. The knit and natter club will take place on a Tuesday, after school, 3.30 - 4.30pm in the KS2 dining hall. The club will provide and opportunity for adults and pupils to work alongside each other to craft, knit or crochet together, share skills, and meet new people. You can bring a project you're already working on or start something new. See images below for further information. If you would like to register your interest in the club, please complete the short form by clicking this link https://forms.office.com/e/vceaeCqvpb We think this will be a fantastic opportunities for families to work together on some lovely projects. Refreshments will be provided as well as all of the resources and equipment needed for the project work. If you have any further questions, please contact Mrs Dowling, via the school office.

*UPDATE * Due to the high levels of demand for this club, unfortunately, we will not be able to offer a place to all pupils. We will choose pupils names from a hat. If your child has a place you will receive a text message - please look out for this message. The Drama club will begin on Tuesday 5th November. It will finish at 4.30pm with pick up from the KS2 Yard Any children who were not able to secure a place, will go on a waiting list and we will let you know if a space becomes available. We will hopefully run another Drama club in the summer term and will keep all names on our list so that children who did not get a place on this occasion will be offered places first. If you no longer require a space, please let the office know as soon as possible so we can offer this place to another pupil. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. __________________________________________________________________________________ We are excited to start a new Drama club, after half term. This will run on a Tuesday after school (3.20pm - 4.30pm) for pupils in Year 2 - Year 6. Children will take part in fun activities which will focus on some of the basic techniques of drama and help them to make the best use of an actor's three main tools: the voice, the face and the body. Pupils will take part in drama games, improvisation and performance. Pupils will work towards a performance which will be shared with parents and the wider school. Please click the link below to register interest as numbers are limited. If we are over-subscribed we will need to draw names from a hat and add your child's name to the waiting list if they do not get a place. Pupils will be informed if they have a place by the end of the week. https://forms.office.com/e/3ehVt3G2h6 If you have any further questions about this club, please contact Miss Dowdney via the school office.

We are very pleased to be working with Children North East to host the Ways to Wellbeing programme. Children North East recognise that everyone may struggle with their mental wellbeing at some point in their lives. Young people naturally go through a huge brain development in their adolescence and this can make distinguishing normal changes from a developing mental health diagnosis difficult. The Ways to Wellbeing programme has been developed to support you to better understand children and young people’s emotional development and to explore subjects related to mental health and wellbeing such as anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and eating disorders. They will offer tools and information for parents to understand and support their children’s emotional health. In these sessions, they will offer resources and guidance to support specific emotional wellbeing concerns. We will also go through a wide range of information for those wishing to understand more about emotional wellbeing and how that relates to their children. Who is Ways to Wellbeing for? Parents and carers of children and young people who have concerns about the mental health and wellbeing. We also welcome adults who have concerns about a young person in their life, such as extended family and community leaders. When and Where does Ways to Wellbeing take place? The programme will be delivered at English Martyrs' Primary school (in the KS1 Hall) 2pm Tuesday 22nd October Please contact Laura Moran for further information 0191 2747463 Laura.Moran@emcps.co.uk

We would like to invite you to attend a Phonics and Reading meeting for Reception parents/carers which will take place on Wednesday 6th November 2024 at 2.30 pm. Entrance is via the bottom gates on Netherby Drive which will be open from 2.20pm for a prompt 2.30pm start, and the meeting will take place in the Key Stage 2 Main Hall. The purpose of this meeting is to come and find out how to support your child at home with their phonics and reading homework. Please note the meeting will be finished in time to pick up your child/ren as normal.

Dear Parents/Carers You are receiving this message as you have paid the requested deposit for the Germany trip. Thank you for paying promptly and allowing me to proceed with the trip planning. I wanted to give you an update on where we are currently at in terms of the planning and preparation. We now have submitted confirmation of numbers to the DfE who have approved our funding and made the necessary amendments (funding dependent on pupil numbers). I am very pleased to say that the trip is now financially viable and as mentioned in the initial meeting, I will look at ways to further support the trip and reduce costs as much as possible for each family. Thank you to those parents who have already been able to help with this through contributions from their employers or through ideas for fundraising. We will look at this and other ideas when we next meet. I have been given approval from Bishop Bewick Trust to book flights, after negotiating a group deal with Eurowings. Hopefully, the flights will be booked on Monday. As this is a special group booking, they do not require any further individual details from you at this stage. I have also identified some accommodation, which I think will work really well, in the city of Essen – around 30 minutes from the centre of Gelsenkirchen but with fantastic transport links. This will also allow the children to experience two neighbouring but very different cities. I have spoken to the owner who is excited at the prospect of hosting our group and has been extremely helpful in his communication. This is a smaller accommodation, and although our current numbers do not allow me to book the whole venue for a sole booking, as this would increase the cost significantly – the layout of the accommodation will allow us to have our own space, away from any other guests. We will have the majority of the rooms booked and there is potential that the remaining rooms will not actually be taken (especially if they hear that there are a large group of Primary school pupils staying for the week!). However, I will visit the accommodation in early December and ensure that it meets all safety requirements and will share all of the information with you, on my return. I would like to invite you to a meeting on Tuesday 17th Decembe r where I will be able to share information around travel, accommodation and an updated itinerary. I will also be able to arrange the paperwork for travel documents and passports for those children who do not currently hold a valid British Passport. In order for as many people to attend the meeting as possible, I am happy to host the meeting straight after school in person or at a later start time, virtually via Teams. I will send out a link nearer the time to see what the preference would be.   Thank you all again for your support and enthusiasm for the trip. I know it will be a fantastic experience creating memories for a lifetime.   Mr Kennedy

An overview of what your child will be studying in RE this term, key dates and home learning suggestions.

Links Pray as you Go  https://pray-as-you-go.org/ Ways into Silence and Stillness— Ways into Silence and Stillness ( diocesehn.org.uk )   Our Father in different languages —     The Lord’s Prayer in the World's Languages - Catholic Bishops' Conference ( cbcew.org.uk )

Dear Parents and Carers We would be grateful if you could donate any non-perishable food this week to donate to Joe’s place and people in our parish. Any tins, packets of pasta rice etc would be wonderful. Donations can be handed in to the class teachers. We are always so amazed by the generosity of the English Martyrs' community and appreciate your support with this appeal. On Friday 11th October (this Friday) we invite children to come to school dressed in bright clothes as part of the 'Brighten up this Harvest' campaign.

Dear Parent/Carer A reminder for those parents/carers who have expressed an interest in the Y5 trip to Gelsenkirchen, that there will be a short meeting at 3.30pm this afternoon, after school. The meeting will take place in the Y5 classrooms – Y5 pupils are welcome to attend and there will also be provision for additional pupils and siblings to be supervised in another classroom. I strongly advise that parents/carers attend, if possible, but I appreciate that some of you may not be able to make the meeting. I will send out slides with the information shared to those who have expressed an interest. However, I will need to have numbers confirmed by Monday 30th September in order to meet funding deadlines. I will contact those who cannot attend today's meeting, on Monday. This will be to seek confirmation of a place on the trip and to share information regarding overall costs, payment plans and a non-refundable deposit, which will need to be paid. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible, this afternoon. Mr Kennedy

An exciting morning for our Year 6 pupils, as they were given their extra responsibilities, for the year and presented with their special badges. During a special celebration of the Word – pupils were invited to come and receive their badges. Our Year 6 pupils will act as ambassadors for the school in many areas; supporting the staff, leadership team, pupils and the wider English Martyrs’ community. In addition, roles were also allocated to our House group captains, chairs of the school council our Head and Deputy boy/girl. We know that they will all be fantastic role models this year and will do their very best in their roles to offer support and guidance to the English Martyrs’ School family. We pray that they develop patience and understanding as they share their gifts with others, wisdom to make good choices and to embrace their roles with confidence and kindness. May our Year 6 pupils shine brightly as leaders and friends in our school community.

School has been contacted by a member of the public in relation to an incident of dangerous driving which took place on Thursday 19 September; following collection of pupils at the end of day at approximately 3.35pm. We were informed that an uber registered vehicle did a U-turn on Netherby Drive, and then proceeded to mount the pavement where children and parents were walking home. Furthermore another vehicle followed the same manoeuvre and did the exact same thing, mounting the pavement on turning the vehicle. We were also particularly saddened to hear that the children who had entered the vehicle were also shouting out of the window in a rude and arrogant manner when the driver was confronted about this. Whilst car parking and how members of the public drive is outside of school's jurisdiction, the safety of our pupils and parents is of paramount importance to us and should feel safe approaching and leaving the school building. I can assure you that the police have been notified of this incident and have details of the car/s involved and any further incidents will be reported to the policy and local authority. There will also be patrol cars in the area at the start and end of day collections. Thank you to those of you who continue to park in a respectful and considerate manner, and we would ask that if you do witness any dangerous driving and/or parking this is reported directly to the police and local authority.