Gomersal St. Mary's CE(A) First & Nursery School

It is that time of year again and the years do really fly by! Christmas is a lovely time in school. Everyone is busy, there are lots of things happening in school and the children are getting more excited by the minute! It is also a time when we get to see more of parents as you come to support the Christmas festivities.

Our Christmas performance this year was called ‘The Card Shop’ and the children put on three fantastic performances with over 300 parents and friends attending! (Despite the wild and windy weather!) The children really enjoyed performing for their family members and made us feel proud once more.

The children and staff in Class 4 went to the United Reformed church on Oxford Road to work with Year 4 from Gomersal Primary school on Christmas activities. They really enjoyed the afternoon.

Children in Class 2 went to St. Mary’s church and sang some favourite carols for the people who go to luncheon club. They were made very welcome and were much appreciated. It is also good for the children to know that they can contribute to making people feel happy, especially at Christmas.

Our Christmas Fayre was a huge success. Thank you for your support both at the event and by donating tombola prizes, cakes etc. A big thank you to those parents from the HSA who gave up their time to help us on the night. They had their own £1 stall which was a great success. They raised £220! Also thank you to Jamie Dyson’s Dad for donating the book bags and fleeces for us to sell. The total raised was £1486 including HSA funds! This money will be put into School Fund to be used for improving learning across the school. I will let you know how the money will be spent.

Secret Santa has also been very busy with over 230 presents being purchased and wrapped. I am sure there will be some happy faces on Christmas morning!

I am meeting with colleagues from Kirklees council in January to discuss further plans to extend the school in preparation for September 2012 when the school becomes a full Primary school. As well as an additional classroom, we will be looking at additional hall space and kitchen and dining facilities. I will keep you informed of the outcomes.

New School website

Mr Pitts, our Year 5 teacher, is in the process of setting up a new website. He has already put some photos of the Christmas performance on the website but we would like to know what parents want from a school website. If you could let us have your views that would be really helpful. You can take your ideas to the office, or use the contact form here. Thank you.

New Parent Governor

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Sam Johnson who is our new parent governor. There were three candidates for the role. Thank you to those parents who put forward their votes.

Reminders

If you have a child who will be 3 years old between now and Easter they will be eligible for a place to start in the Nursery. Please check that they are registered with us. Just pop into the office to see Mrs Earnshaw. Thank you.

Absence

If your child is absent from school can you please ring us after 8am as there is no cover in the office before then. Also I would like to thank parents for their efforts in getting their children to school on time. It does have a positive impact on your child’s learning and well being.

HSA

The next meeting of the HSA is on Thursday 12^th January at 7.30pm at the Bull’s Head pub in Gomersal. They are becoming a very active bunch and will welcome new members. Please pop along and have a drink and see what you think!

Dates for your diary

• School closes for the Christmas holidays: Friday, 16^th December
• School re-opens: Wednesday, 4th January
• Nursery re-opens: Wednesday, 4^th January

On behalf of the staff and governors I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.

Mrs Scott