Weekly Newsletter

Headteacher - Mr J Parkinson

Associate Assistant Headteacher - Miss L Whale

Associate Assistant Headteacher - Mr K Reynolds

Dear Parents and Carers,

We would like to warmly welcome all our families back to Larks Hill and wish you a very Happy New Year! We hope you enjoyed a restful and enjoyable Christmas break.

The past four days have been incredibly busy and productive. Pupils have returned to school routines brilliantly and have settled back into learning with positivity, focus and enthusiasm. It has been a pleasure to see how well they have engaged with their new learning, particularly as each phase has begun work on their new canon texts for this term.

On a side note, across school, pupils have demonstrated excellent attitudes to learning and have quickly re-established expectations in classrooms. We are very proud of how smoothly the transition back into school life has been and look forward to an exciting and productive term ahead.

We finished off the first week back at school with a MFL Spelling Bee - well done to all those who participated and congratulations to our winners!

As we move into the spring term, we would like to gently remind families of the importance of:

• Good attendance and punctuality, ensuring pupils are in school on time each day and ready to learn
• Reading regularly at home, supporting our ongoing focus on reading for pleasure and fluency
• School uniform and PE kit on PE days
• Communication, using MCAS, ClassDojo and the school office for any queries or updates

Thank you, as always, for your continued support with this.

Sophie - Reception

Jenson - Year 2

Seth - Year 3

Arnie - Year 4

Vivienne - Year 5

Arthur - Year 6

Our Headteacher's Award winner this week is Deacon - Year 1. For working so hard and making great improvement across all areas of his learning. Well done Deacon!!

Our TT Rockstars this week are:

Heather - Year 5

Monroe - Year 4

Lochlan - Year 4

Leo - Year 4

Following Christmas, we are aware that some children – particularly our older pupils – may have received new electronic devices such as smartphones or tablets. As children become more active online, we encourage parents and carers to take time to review device settings, parental controls and online use together at home.

The following resources may be particularly helpful:

• Internet Matters have produced a clear and practical guide for parents on setting up and managing Android smartphones, including parental controls and safety settings:
  https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/smartphones-and-other-devices/android-smartphone/
• The Children’s Commissioner has also created a very useful guide for parents and carers on managing children’s digital lives, offering advice on online safety, screen time and digital wellbeing:
  https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/what-i-wish-my-parents-or-carers-knew-a-guide-for-parents-and-carers-on-managing-childrens-digital-lives/

Working together to support safe and responsible online behaviour helps ensure our children can enjoy the benefits of technology while staying protected.

We hope you will join us for the next Junior Park Run at Pontefract Racecourse on 18th January!

Staff will be running alongside staff and pupils from other primary schools and we would love to see lots of you there.

We are pleased to announce that this year’s parents’ evenings will be face to face appointments held in the school hall on Wednesday, 28th January and Wednesday 4th February from 3.30pm and 6pm, offering up a 10 minute appointment per child.

For split families or for those who feel they may need a longer appointment, please contact your child’s teacher to arrange a separate appointment.

​Appointments will be available to book through MCAS and the sessions will go live for booking at 6pm today.

We’re proud to share that Pontefract Academies Trust is ranked 1st in the North of England and 6th across all England for Key Stage 2 attainment. This means our children are achieving some of the strongest results in the country – a testament to their hard work, our brilliant teachers, and the support you give at home. A huge thank you to all our parents and carers for the difference that you make every day.

Thank you once again for your support. We look forward to a positive term ahead!

Yours sincerely,
Mr Reynolds

Next Thursday (15th January) is school Census Day! On Census days we encourage all children to have a school lunch, especially children in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2, who all receive Universal Infant Free School Meals.

So if your child usually has a packed lunch but would like a school dinner on this day, they are welcome to do so. The menu for the day is: Beef Burgers (or veggie burgers) with wedges, vegetables and salad with a special bun for pudding. The other usual options of wraps, sandwiches and jacket potatoes will also be available.

For children in KS2, school meals can be paid for on MCAS in the usual way.

There is no need to let us know if your child will be having a school dinner on this day, they can simply tell their teacher when they do the register in the morning.

The menu for next week is Week 3

Please see below our Spring Diary Dates. Please note that some dates may be subject to change and more events or activities may be added. We will endeavor to keep you informed of any changes or additions throughout the term.