Dear Parents/carers
Thank you and Goodbye:
We will say goodbye to four members of staff this Christmas. They are all retiring, ready to enjoy a more relaxing lifestyle.
Mrs Woodcock will be leaving after 18 years of teaching at our school. A majority of pupils have been taught by Mrs Woodcock and have been fortunate enough to have experienced her caring nature and commitment to further their academic skills. She has also previously worked hard as part of the leadership team in supporting us in making effective changes to our school.
Mrs Priestley has had a real impact on many of our families for over 7 years, offering support in many different capacities as well as running coffee mornings. She has also been known to get stuck in at Robinwood swinging in a harness and getting covered in mud, looking after our children to make sure they have an amazing time.
Mrs Robinson has been a cleaner here for 10 years, keeping both classrooms and the Children’s Centre sparkling! We may not see her during the day, but she has really made a difference to our school.
And finally…Mrs Earnshaw is retiring after 33 years of working in our school. Her caring nature and welcoming smile has been enjoyed by many generations of our families, making a real difference to their time at our school. She is very much part of the foundations of our school and although she won’t be here every day, I am sure she will be back to help out and say hello.
All four ladies will be greatly missed and we wish them every happiness as they move forward to the next exciting chapter of their lives.
Year 3 parents evening:
Year 3 parents/carers should have received an email today informing them of the rescheduled parents evening next week. Please note that you will have to make a new appointment as any previous ones have now been deleted.
Robinwood:
Our Robinwood trip leaves next Friday (11th November) and returns on Sunday 13th November. Please make sure you have all the details you need in preparation for the trip.
Remembrance Service:
Year 5 will be leading our Remembrance Service on Friday 11th November. This will be at St Mary’s Church starting at 10.30am. Families and friends of Year 5 pupils are welcome to join us.
Events this half term:
Below this update there is a list of events that are taking place this half term. There are many different things happening so please pay careful attention to all the dates.
Tesco Community Tokens:
Earlier this year we applied for the Tesco Community Grant to make improvements to our outdoor areas around school. We are pleased to say that our application was successful!
This means when you shop at Tesco and are given a little blue token to put in the box our school will feature on one of those boxes. This started on Saturday, 1st October and runs all the way through to January.
It would be amazing if you could support our school by choosing the ‘Gomersal St Mary’s box’ for your token. The more tokens we get the bigger the grant for school!
Our selected stores are:
- Cleckheaton Superstore, BD19 3HS
- Birstall Express, WF17 9EH
Coffee Morning:
All welcome to our informal Coffee /Tea mornings (drink and natter). These are held every Tuesday after dropping your children off at School (8.45 till 10.00am). Under school age children welcome too as there are lots of toys for them to play with. Please join us in the Children’s Centre with Mrs Priestley suppling the drinks and biscuits.
Thank You
Parent Workshops
Tuesday Morning 9am-10.30am
ASC (Autism) Awareness 8th November 2022
Healthy Relationships with Food 31st January 2023
If you are interested in any of these courses, please see Mrs. Earnshaw to book a place.
(15 Places available for each course)
Financial Support:
Here is a website that might be useful if you are a family who are struggling with paying bills/debts/fuel costs/mental health/unemployment etc.
Cost of living | Kirklees Council
Training Days 22/23 reminder:
Here are the training days for the next school year:
| Tuesday 3rd January 2023 |
| Thursday 4th May 2023 |
| Monday 24th July 2023 |
| Tuesday 25th July 2023 |
Yours sincerely, Miss J. Barker
| Date | Event | Time and Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11th November | Remembrance Service Year 5 families and friends are welcome to attend. | St Mary’s Church 10.30am |
| 11th – 13th November | Robinwood weekend | Dobroyd Castle, Todmorden |
| 14th November | Odd Socks Day to support Anti-Bullying week No donations are required. | School |
| 18th November | Children In Need non-uniform Day Please bring in a donation. | School |
| 22nd November | Film Night Book tickets via ParentPay The cost of £3 per child which includes a cookie and a drink. Please book by Tuesday 15th November The film will be ‘A Christmas Carol’ (2009, PG) | Straight after school until 5.15pm |
| 25th November | Non-uniform for tombolas and hampers: EYFS – bottles Year 1 – chocolate Year 2 – cakes Year 3 –biscuits Year 4 – sweets Year 5 – smellies Year 6 – Christmas themed Wear non-uniform and please bring in an item for the tombola linked to your child’s year group. | School |
| 2nd December | Christmas Fair | 3.30pm – 5.30pm |
| 2nd December | At the Christmas Fair: Meet Elf on the Shelf and get a gift! Please feel free to take your own photos. We request a donation of £2.50 for this. Book on ParentPay in advance by Monday 28th November. | School |
| 6th December | Chat to Santa direct from the North Pole and get a gift! We request a donation of £3.00 for this. Please book in advance on ParentPay by Friday 2nd December. | School |
| 7th December | KS1 Nativity Only 2 audience members per child for each performance. Please try to leave smaller children/siblings at home. | St Mary’s Church 10am and 1.45pm |
| 8th December | A theatre company will be coming to school to perform a pantomime. We request a donation of £1.00 towards the cost of this. Please pay on ParentPay. | School |
| 9th December | Christmas Jumper Day for Save the Children Please make a donation. | School |
| 12th December | As a special leaving present to the children, Mrs Earnshaw is paying for Dazzling Darren to come to our school. He is a children’s entertainer and will be putting on two performances – one for younger children and one for the older children. There are no donations required. | School |
| 14th December | Year 1 and 2 Christmas party (afternoon) No donations are required. Children can bring clothes to change into for the party in the afternoon. | School |
| 14th December | Early Years party (morning) If possible please can all Nursery pupils attend in the morning so they can be at the party. No donations are required. | School |
| 14th December | KS2 (Years 3, 4,5 and 6) Christmas Concert Only 2 audience members per child for each performance. Please try to leave smaller children/siblings at home. | St Mary’s Church 2pm and 6pm |
| 15th December | Early Years Polar Express Day Children can come to school in their pyjamas. | School |
| 15th December | School Christmas Dinner | Children will select Christmas dinner on the day |
| 16th December | Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 Christmas party Children can come in non-uniform, but please note that Year 6 will still have PE in the afternoon No donations are required. | School |
