Ripon Cathedral School Update

Mrs Pitt is our mental health lead and has the following message for us all:

We’re excited to let you know that we have officially started delivering the myHappymind programme in school!

MyHappymind is a mental health and well-being programme that helps children build resilience, self-esteem, and emotional awareness. It is based on the latest scientific research about what we can all do to look after our minds and our mental health. Through fun and engaging lessons, children will learn how their brain works and how to develop healthy habits that support their well-being both in and out of school.

We have now begun Module 1: Meet Your Brain, where children are introduced to the different parts of the brain and how these help us to think, feel, and make decisions.

Once we have completed this first module, we will be providing parents with access to the myHappymind Parent App. This app gives you insights into what your child is learning, along with practical tips and activities to support their mental well-being at home.

We’ll be in touch again soon with details on how to access the app. In the meantime, if you’d like to find out more about the programme, you can visit https://myhappymind.org

Congratulations to our Stars of the Week celebrated in today's worship:

Reception - Barnaby for showing amazing behaviour for learning. You have been an excellent role model for your friends showing them how to 'be respectful' 'be safe' and 'be responsible', well done.

Year 1 - Leo for being a fantastic role model across the board! He consistently shows our school's 3Bs by being safe, respectful and responsible in everything he does. He also encourages others to do the same, well done Leo!

Year 2 - Adella for taking huge responsibility for her learning by listening carefully, following instructions, and taking time to complete her work neatly and to the best of her ability.

Year 3 - Ava-Rose for a super effort in every lesson, trying her best and showing perseverance when some things are tricky.

Year 4 - Alisa for great focus, participation and effort in our English writing and also for always showing our 'Three Bees'.

Year 5 - Jacob for showing a good example to the rest of the class by always demonstrating the school rules. He also did an amazing one line portrait in art!

Year 6 - Boaz for a wonderful start to Year 6. He is a kind and considerate member of the class who is always ready to contribute ideas in lessons.

Next week we will be electing our School Ambassadors and School Councillors! Children in Year 6 who wish to become a School Ambassador should prepare a speech which they will present to the school on Tuesday morning. The whole school will then take part in a secret ballot to elect their chosen Ambassadors. We always look forward to hearing what our potential Ambassadors have to say!

Each class will also select two School Council representatives. Any children who would like to put themselves forward for this role should prepare to tell their class on Friday why they would make a great representative for their class. Are they confident? Are they a good listener? Are they a good role model for others? Do they have great ideas about how to improve the school? If the answer to any of these questions is 'yes' they may have what it takes! They could write a speech or simply stand up and tell their classmates about their ideas. We look forward to sharing with you the results of our elections!

A reminder of the office team and our main responsibilities:

Mrs Rich - please contact for any queries about Nursery places, Oscar's childcare and finance. Email address admin@riponcathedral.n-yorks.sch.uk Please note that Mrs Rich does not work on Wednesdays so it is important to email Mrs Bingham with any general queries on that day (including Oscar's late bookings).

Mrs Bingham - responsible for attendance and most general day to day pupil information e.g. medicine authorisation forms, changes to pick up etc. Please also contact her regarding exceptional leave authorisation forms. rbingham@riponcathedral.n-yorks.sch.uk

Mrs Harriott - who has joined us on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to take on administration of staff induction and training.

At the start of a new school year, please can we remind you of a few ways we can make all our lives easier!

Absence

Please let us know early in the day if your child will be absent, together with the reason. You can put a message on the ScholarPack App or email rbingham@riponcathedral.n-yorks.sch.uk or phone us on 01765 602355. We ask for this information by 9.15am at the latest and for daily updates if your child is absent for more than one day.

Pick Ups

We can only allow children to go home with contacts you have named as having permission to do this. If we are in any doubt, we will phone you to double check if another adult arrives at pick up time. We are sure everyone would rather we are cautious and ensure that all children are kept safe. If you know that an adult who doesn’t normally collect your child will be doing so, please phone school or email the class teacher or Mrs Bingham (email address above). Thank you.

Uniform

Please name all uniform and coats, shoes, wellies etc. In order to avoid the mass build-up of lost property last year, we will be posting photos of larger or more distinctive unnamed items on Class Dojo on a regular basis. Please keep an eye out if your child is missing something before we assume it is to be sent to a charity shop!

Milk

All children under five are provided with a cup of milk every day. When your child reaches the age of five, you can register for them to continue to receive milk and pay for it on the Cool Milk website (see poster and links sent out by Mrs Bingham). If your child is eligible for economic free school meals, please use the same link.

School Meals

The menu is on the school website https://riponcathedralschool.org.uk/Lunches/ If you pay for meals, please ensure you go onto ParentPay regularly. If you owe two weeks’ worth of meals, we will ask for packed lunches to be brought in until the debt is cleared. Keeping in credit would be easier for all of us!

Meals for children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are government funded. The amount of funding we receive is based on three ‘headcount days’; the first of these this school year is Thursday 2nd October. The more children in these year groups who eat a meal that day, the more funding we get for the whole year so please can we encourage parents to allow their children to eat a school meal on 2nd October.

Flu Immunisation (not Nursery) Thursday 23rd October

Information was emailed on 10th September and the link is Vaccination UK Immunisation Please can everyone complete the online form so the Healthy Child team know whether they should be administering the nasal spray vaccination to your child or not. The team has informed us that the nasal spray is quick and painless but if your child cannot have it, an injection can be provided if you choose it on the form.

Park and Stride Vouchers

Mrs Bingham has now received the vouchers. Please email her with your car registration number/s and which child/ren it applies to, thank you.

Useful forms

We always require forms completing for administering medicines in school or if you unavoidably need to take children out of school in term time for holidays or other family circumstances. The forms can be found on the school website https://riponcathedralschool.org.uk/Forms/ Alternatively ask the office by email, phone or popping in! Medical appointments should be notified as other illness absences above.

Wednesday 17th September – Year 5/6 football tournament at Outwood Academy

Wednesday 17th September – ‘Meet the teacher’ and Open Classrooms 3.30pm-5.30pm (Nursery parents meeting at 4pm; Year 5 Lindisfarne meeting at 5pm)

Tuesday 23rd September – Year 3 trip to Bewerley Park

Wednesday 24th September – 9am Year 6 and Reception ‘Buddies’ Worship

Wednesday 1st October – 2pm Harvest Festival at the Cathedral led by Year 3 and Year 4

Wednesday 8th October – Year 5 Residential to Lindisfarne

Wednesday 8th October – 9am Year 2 Class Worship

Wednesday 15th October – 9am Year 1 Class Worship

Monday 20th and Wednesday 22nd October – Parents Evenings

Thursday 23rd October – Flu immunisation programme

Friday 24th October – SCHOOL CLOSED for Staff Training