School Year 2021-22

25th Aug 2021

I hope that you all had a great summer and I'm sure that all children are excited about starting back to school next week! All families will receive a letter next Wednesday containing some important information along with reply slips to be returned to the school as soon as possible. Below is some information which will help with your preparation in the meantime.

Class Bubbles

The school will be keeping class bubbles in place as much as possible to help mitigate against the spread of Covid-19 (more Covid-19 information to follow).

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club will begin as normal on Wednesday 1^st September 8.00-8.45am. The cost is £1.50 per day per child. Children attending will not be able to access the school grounds until 8.00am. Please notify the school via email (smone720@c2kni.net) if you wish your child to attend so that provision can be put in place.

Transfer Club

Transfer Club will begin on Monday 6th September at 8.00am.

Drop-off / Pick-Up Times

Children not attending the above clubs can be dropped-off from 8.45am and must report directly to class.

Primary 1 children will be walked to the new car park gate for collection at 12.15pm in September - 1.50pm thereafter.
Primary 2 children will be walked to the new car park gate at 2.00pm for collection.
Primary 3 children will be walked to the new car park gate at 2.50pm for collection (2.00pm on a Friday).
Primary 4 children will be walked to the new car park gate at 2.50pm for collection.
Primary 5 children will be walked to the new car park gate at 2.55pm for collection.
Primary 6/7 children will be walked to the new car park gate at 2.55pm for collection.

School Bags / Pencil Cases

Primary 1-3 children will not need a school bag but can purchase a pouch from school for £5.00 (more infomation in next week's letter). P4-7 can use a school bag if they wish (as homework will be via Seesaw, children may not need a school bag which will help alleviate some issues with space within the classrooms).

All children should have a clearly labelled, fully stocked pencil case - 2 HB pencils (we will provide thick pencils for younger children) – rubber – sharpener – colouring pencils / crayons (twistables are great for younger children and require less sharpening) – glue stick (P4-7 only) – ruler – whiteboard pens – highlighter – blue / black / red ballpoint pens (P7 only) – individual hand sanitiser / tissues.

School PE Top

Orders can be collected tomorrow night - Thursday 26th August - from the Rolo Sports Club Shop at the pitch from 7.00pm. Please ensure to adhere to social distancing guidelines.

School Dinners

Dinners will be available for all children from next Wednesday (menu to follow - P1 children will not stay for dinner / lunch until the beginning of October). Please remember the school's healthy snack and lunch policy (more information to follow).

Free School Meal Entitlement

All families that were in receipt of Free School Meals must reapply for the entitlement this year. Please reread the information below which was sent out at the beginning of June.

Parents / guardians who are currently in receipt of support for the 2020/21 school year will not be sent a pre-populated form for the 2021/22 school year. All parents / guardians (including new applicants) are required to apply on-line from Monday, 7th June 2021 via the EA website:

https://www.eani.org.uk/financial-help/free-school-meals.

It is recommended that parents / guardians apply during the month of June, or as early as possible, to enable applications to be processed for support to be in place for their children for the new school year. Parents / guardians are being advised of the importance of providing valid Bank or Building Society account details in the claimant’s own name. Payments cannot be made into Post Office accounts.

Parents / guardians whose child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs (Stage 5) and requires a special diet should contact the Meals and Uniform Section for a paper application form if they wish to apply under the special diet criteria.

The Free Schools Meals and Uniform Grants Helpdesk is operated by staff across the EA Free School Meals / Uniform Grants service. It is available to assist parents / guardians and schools who may have any queries. The Helpdesk operates Monday – Friday from 9.00am to 4.30pm and can be contacted via email: mealsanduniform@eani.org.uk. The telephone number which should be used for all enquiries is: (028) 9041 8044.

Further information including eligibility criteria for the 2021-22 school year and a list of Frequently Asked Questions to assist with any queries can be accessed by logging onto www.eani.org.uk/financial-help/free-school-meals

I look forward to welcoming everyone back next week. If you have any questions or queries please contact me in the school at any time.

S Mone

Principal