Newsletter 2nd February 2024

2nd February 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we step into the month of February, we welcome the promise of lighter evenings and the excitement of Valentine's Day the Six Nations! This month also marks a significant focus on keeping our pupils safe online as we observe Safer Internet Day, emphasising the importance of navigating the digital world responsibly.

In addition to these important themes, we would like to remind all parents to please ensure that medications brought to school are properly labelled with clear instructions. Without consent and named medications, we are unable to administer them.

Thank you to everyone who bought Christmas cards and other items. By taking part in the Cauliflower scheme we raised a fantastic £128 for school resources.

Class Fun

Class two has been celebrating the Chinese new year. The children have been experiencing the music, food and art from the Chinese culture this week. All of the children really enjoyed listening to the music and dancing. 

Safer Internet Day - advice for parents/carers

Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity to focus on online safety with your child. This year, Safer Internet Day is celebrated on 6th February 2024. There are some great resources here to help you with questions you might have about your child's internet use.

Watch the official 2024 Safer Internet Day film for parents and carers...

Vaccinations

This guide from the NHS tells you why vaccinations are important and safe, as well as who should have vaccines and when. Some illnesses, like measles and mumps, are starting to appear again in England. Vaccines offer the best protection against diseases like these. 

Early Help Webinars

Illegal Money Lenders - talks from the Stop Loan Shark team in February and March

The Stop Loan Shark team are providing talks that will give you a basic and working knowledge surrounding illegal money lenders (loan sharks) i.e. what makes them illegal, how they operate and find new borrowers, the effects that they have on borrowers, who we (the Stop Loan Shark team) are, how we operate plus how to link this knowledge into a conversation with a service user, family member or friend to find out if they could potentially be in debt to a loan shark. All the awareness talks will be held via Microsoft Teams and will start at 09:30. The links to the talks will be sent out to attendees as an Outlook calendar invite a few days before each talk. Talks can be booked until 11:00 the day before the talk.

Dates: 6th February, 22nd February, 21st March, 28th March

DCC Swimming Pool Safety Guidance Changes

This week and next we have staff attending a three day First Aid at Work course. This is because the statutory guidance for DCC schools has changed and all spotters (those on the side of the pool) have to have the full qualification. This is a significant change and may mean that your child swims less than previously whilst we increase our trained staff. Some schools have decided it is too costly and unmanageable, but we are hoping to be able to get back to as much swimming as we can.  

We are desperately seeking volunteers to join our PTFA and in particular to hold positions such as secretary treasurer etc. Without these roles we can’t run as a charity and therefore can’t access certain pots of money. As a working mum I understand that time is precious, but even a few hours a month would benefit the school and pupils.

If you think you can give a few hours please contact us ptfa@millwater.devon.sch.uk