Head Teacher Ms C Pumfrey Stifford Clays Primary School Whitmore Avenue, Grays, Essex RM16 2ST

01375 373866

Stifford Clays Primary School

Newsletter: Issue 7 2019-20

December 2019

L e a r n i n g T o d a y , L e a d i n g T o m o r r o w :

R e c e p t i v e R e s p e c t f u l P o s i t i v e H o n e s t D e t e r m i n e d

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have enjoyed three brilliant performances by our

Nursery and Reception children this week. Thank you

to the grandparents, parents and other relatives who

have provided such a fantastic audience.

As we head towards the holiday, we remain focused

on our learning so please ensure your child attends

every day that they are well. We are ensuring that the

Christmas events do not dominate too much as many

of our pupils enjoy the routine of the usual school day.

At the end of term, we will be saying “Good bye and

good luck to two staff members: Miss Fosh, our Office

Manager is moving away and Mrs Waite, our Year Five

Lead is taking up a post as a Headteacher. We wish

them lots of luck and happiness in the next phase of

their lives.

I am delighted to inform you that Miss Newton will

take on the role of Senior Administrator in charge of

the Office and Miss Springham has been formally

appointed as PA to the Headteacher following a

secondment from one of our other primary schools in

the Trust.

Please do join us for the KS1 concerts and the service

at St Cedd’s next week. I look forward to seeing the

Christmas jumpers being worn next Friday too!

Do have a lovely and very peaceful Christmas and we

will see the children back on Tuesday 7th January

2020. Ms Pumfrey

Contacting The School We are always keen to address any worries

or concerns that you have and would ask that you use the main school office email admin@scp.swecet.org for all contact

including queries and complaints. Please do not email any teaching staff member directly

for a number of reasons: firstly, the admin email is regularly checked every weekday between 8.00am and 4.00pm by the office staff, whilst teachers and other staff cannot access email during the day due to their work pattern; secondly, the admin staff are well placed to ensure that your contact is forwarded to the best person to deal with your issue quickly which is

important if you are worried and so this will ensure the

speediest possible response from the right person. As has been previously communicated, staff are asked to refer any emails sent directly to them to the admin email for the reasons above.

Help us to help you - please use the admin@scp.swecet.org for all communications.

Year 2 Art Gallery

Next Tuesday, Year 2 are finishing their

topic by creating an art gallery in the

KS1 Hall. We invite you to join us after

school to see the fantastic art we have

produced. We will also have

opportunities for you to join your child in creating their

own artwork. This will continue until 4:30pm. Thank

you for your support!

Parking Considerately

Please can you ensure that when you park

outside the school, you park considerately

and think of our neighbours. Some of the

parking areas nearby are for residents only.

Please DO NOT park on the zig-zags, and don’t use the

staff car parks or entrances as drop off/pick up points.

If possible, walk to and from school with your child to

reduce congestion outside the school.

Clubs For Spring Term 2020

Just a reminder that there are still

slots available for some of the clubs

on offer during the Spring Term

2020. You are now able to book

your child(ren) onto as many clubs as you wish,

subject to spaces being available.

To book onto free staff-run clubs, go to

www.schoolinterviews.co.uk and follow these simple

instructions.

1. Click on make a booking 2. Enter the event code – z5uda – for this event only 3. Enter your details – name, email address,

emergency contact number, child’s name etc. 4. Choose the relevant year group(s) for your

child(ren) 5. Choose club(s) 6. Check your email as confirmation of bookings will

be sent out automatically

Head Teacher Ms C Pumfrey Stifford Clays Primary School Whitmore Avenue, Grays, Essex RM16 2ST

01375 373866

To book Star Sports Clubs, go onto WisePay and

select the club(s) you require. Each club is £25 for 10

sessions. You can book as many clubs as you wish,

relevant to your child’s year group, and places are

limited to 20 pupils per session, on a first come, first

served basis.

All clubs will commence during the week commencing

13th January 2020.

Fidget Spinners & Other Gadgets

Please can you ensure that children do

not bring in any type of fidget spinners,

cubes or similar gadgets from home as

they can cause a distraction. If a child

needs an item, the school will provide it

when required in line with our SEN provision. Thank

you for your co-operation.

Year 3 Trailblazer Project – Parents Invited

Year 3 parents are in invited into

school on Wednesday 15th January

2020 at 2.45pm to celebrate the

successful completion of our

trailblazer project. Children’s work

from the project will be on show for you to see and

discuss with your child. You can come to class through

the main office at 2.45pm. We will look forward to

seeing you then.

St Cedd’s Church Carol Services w/c 16.12.19

Just a reminder that the children will be

going to St Cedd’s Church during the week

commencing 16th December 2019 and you

are welcome to come along to walk

with us to the church for your child’s session(s).

Please see dates and times listed in the ‘Important

Dates For your Diary’ section for each year group.

Parent & Carer Information And Support

We have collated information about

a range of different services

available within our local community

that can offer children and their

families support and advice. These services include

support groups for children with additional needs,

specialist support agencies for both children and

adults, a range of different support groups for parents,

respite services and special events for children with

additional needs and useful telephone numbers. This

information will be sent to parents via email and can

also be found under the parent tab on our school

website. Copies will also be available in our school

main reception area.

Please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Fisher or Miss

Hinz if you would like any further information about

these services or have any other questions.

Year 3 Mighty Metals

On Monday 9th December

2019, Year 3 were joined by

Mr Barber who makes suits

of armour from the 16th

Century. He came into

school to talk to us about the

different metals that he uses

when he makes armour: this helped us with our

learning in our Cornerstones topic ‘Mighty Metals’.

After our workshop, we designed our own suits of

armour, labelled them with the different types of

metal and explained why they would be good to use

in a suit of armour.

Poppy Appeal

Thank you to everyone who donated money

for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. We

raised a total of £387.21 for this worthy cause.

Reverse Advent!

Our Reverse Advent project is going

really well. Each family is asked to send

in a food item or two, which will be

collected and then taken to the

Thurrock Food Bank. Specific details are

included at the end of the newsletter

but please send donations in via your child’s class.

There will be a special acknowledgement for the class

who creates the most impressive Reverse Advent

offering.

Karate Club Achievements

Head Teacher Ms C Pumfrey Stifford Clays Primary School Whitmore Avenue, Grays, Essex RM16 2ST

01375 373866

Some of the Children who attend the after-school

Karate Class had their Grading examination the

weekend before last and we would like to celebrate

their success and achievement:

Anayo graded to yellow belt.

Caiden graded to yellow belt.

Shay graded to orange belt.

Logan graded orange belt.

Kayin graded to blue belt.

Well done to all five children.

The Big Question

Giving children a chance to think

independently and then discuss

their opinion is a really important

life skill. Please take the

opportunity to discuss the question below with your

child. Share the question with them, give them 2

minutes thinking time and then ask them what they

think. The idea is that there is no right or wrong

answer, but it is an opportunity for them to explore

their own ideas and develop their speaking and

listening skills. The question for this week is:

"Why do we have Christmas trees?"

School App

We have a school app where you can access

newsletters, calendar dates, term dates,

get in touch with the school via phone or

email, connect with Twitter and the School

Website and report a pupil absence. To download the

app, please click the following link:

https://www.schudio.com/free-school-app/

Head Teacher Ms C Pumfrey Stifford Clays Primary School Whitmore Avenue, Grays, Essex RM16 2ST

01375 373866

Nativity

Well done, Nursery

children! You have

done three brilliant

nativity performances

this week and we are

all very proud of you!

You smiled, danced,

did the actions and sang your hearts out. You were

FABULOUS! Give yourselves a big pat on the

back…..and take a bow!

Chatterbooks

Nursery is sending home your child’s Chatterbook.

Please take the time to update it and add a few more

pictures. If you have lost your child’s Chatterbook,

PLEASE tell Nursery staff and I will give you another

one. Please return your child’s Chatterbook during the

FIRST WEEK BACK after Christmas.

Nursery Sharing Books

I will be keeping the Nursery Sharing Books in Nursery

for the Christmas holiday and will reissue them during

the first week back. If you have still not given the book

bag back, could you please do so as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Back to Nursery

Nursery reopens after Christmas on Tuesday 7th

January 2020 at the usual time.

Christmas

All of us at Nursery would like to wish our parents,

children and families a wonderful Christmas. I hope

you enjoy the festive season and can spend lots of

lovely time together with your family. Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year!

Mrs Roberts

Thought for the Day

Head Teacher Ms C Pumfrey Stifford Clays Primary School Whitmore Avenue, Grays, Essex RM16 2ST

01375 373866

Head Teacher Ms C Pumfrey Stifford Clays Primary School Whitmore Avenue, Grays, Essex RM16 2ST

01375 373866

Important Dates for your diary…

New dates in BOLD

Deleted dates in RED

DECEMBER 2019 16th Year 5 Carol Service at St Cedds 9.30am 16th Year 6 Carol Service at St Cedds 11.00am 17th KS1 Carol Concert 9.15am

17th Year 3 Carol Service at St Cedds 9.30am 17th Year 4 Carol Service at St Cedds 11.00am 17th Netball Match against

Woodside HOME 3.00pm

18th Year 5 Visitors – Portals to the Past 18th Year 1 Carol Service at St Cedds 9.30am

18th Year 2 Carol Service at St Cedds 11.00am 19th KS1 Carol Concert 2.15pm 20th School Christmas Jumper Day – pupils can

wear their Christmas jumper

23rd December – 3rd January Christmas Hols

JANUARY 2020 6th Non Pupil Day 7th Pupils Return To School 13th Girls Football Match Against Woodside

HOME 14th Reception Literacy

Workshop 3.20pm

14th Boys Football Match Against Thameside

HOME

15th Year 2 Visit to Rainham Marshes

16th 3L Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 16th 6S Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 22nd Year 5 Visit to Cressing Temple Barns

23rd 2D Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 23rd 6MA Sharing Assembly 2.50pm

28th Reception pupils – height & weight measuring

28th Reception Maths Workshop

3.20pm

30th Year 6 Height & Weight Screening

30th 3M Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 30th 5W Sharing Assembly 2.50pm

FEBRUARY 2020 4th Year 3 & 4 Prime VR Visitors to School 4th PSA Disco - EYFS 4.30pm-6.00pm 4th PSA Disco – Y3 & Y4 6.30pm-8.00pm

5th KS2 Choir Performing at O2 ‘Young Voices’ 6th 1ME Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 6th 4H Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 11th PSA Disco – Y1 & Y2 4.30pm-6.00pm 11th PSA Disco – Y5 & Y6 6.30pm-8.00pm

13th 2P Sharing Assembly 2.50pm

13th 6B Sharing Assembly 2.50pm

17th February – 21st February Half Term FEBRUARY 2020 24th Pupils Return To School

MARCH 2020 3rd Year 6 SATs Meeting 5th World Book Day 5th Bedtime Stories 6.00pm-7.00pm 5th 3S Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 5th 6S Sharing Assembly 2.50pm w/c 9th PSA Mothers’ Day Shop

12th 1MI Sharing Assembly 2.50pm

12th 4O Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 16th Parents Evening 3.30pm-6.00pm 17th Parents Evening 3.30pm-5.30pm 18th Year 3 Trip to Barleylands

19th 2G Sharing Assembly 2.50pm

19th 6J Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 26th 3H Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 26th 5B Sharing Assembly 2.50pm

APRIL 2020 2nd Easter Egg Raffle

2nd 1V Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 2nd 4B Sharing Assembly 2.50pm 3rd EYFS Workshop 3.20pm

6th April – 17th April Easter Holiday

APRIL 2020 20th Pupils Return To School

29th April-1st May Year 4 Residential 30th 3L Sharing Assembly 2.50pm

30th 5H Sharing Assembly 2.50pm

8th May Bank Holiday MAY 2020

11th-14th SATs week 14th Year 3 Trip to British Museum 14th Class Photographs 15th Class Photographs 20th PSA Movie Night 5.00pm-7.00pm 22nd EYFS Workshop

25th May – 29th May Half Term

JUNE 2020 1st-5th Year 6 Residential

w/c 8th PSA Fathers’ Day Shop 13th-14th PSA Camp Night 23rd Race for Life 3.30pm-4.30pm 26th Year 2 Visit to Hever Castle 29th Jun-3rd Jul Year 6 Transition Week

JULY 2020 6th Sports Day 7th Sports Day 8th Open Evening 10th EYFS Workshop

14th Year 6 End Of Year Performance 15th PSA Year 6 Leavers’ Event 6.00pm-

8.00pm 16th Commendation Assembly 17th Last Day Of Term

Please note dates are subject to change