December Newsletter - 7th December 2020

7th December 2020

7th December 2020

NEWSLETTER: DECEMBER 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been a difficult few weeks in school with numerous classes having to self-isolate due to a small number of positive cases in the school community. I would like to place on record our thanks to everybody for being understanding with regards to the situation as we know how disruptive self-isolation is.

I would also like to thank the staff here at Lemington Riverside who have continued to work hard to provide education and care for your children whether they were in school or learning remotely via See Saw at home.

We hope that now we can have a smooth run-up to the Christmas holidays in the final two weeks of term. ‘Festive Fortnight’ begins today and this newsletter will bring you up to date with everything that is happening in school.

BENEFIT-RELATED FREE SCHOOL MEAL VOUCHERS:

If your child is entitled to benefit-related free school meals the Government are providing a £30 supermarket voucher per child for the Christmas break this year. These will be sent to you via your email and/or mobile phone number as a text message through a voucher distribution website called Wonde. It is vital that we have your up to date mobile phone number and email in school so that the voucher reaches you. The vouchers will be sent out on Friday – please let us know no later than 3:15pm on Thursday 10th December if you need to update your mobile phone number or email address.

SUPPORT FOR ALL FAMILIES:

We understand that the current times are difficult for all families and even if you aren’t entitled to free school meals times may still be tough. We are here to support in any way we can, one way we may be able to support is a discrete food parcel delivery service from school. If you feel that you would benefit from a food parcel over the festive period and you’re not entitled to the voucher scheme, drop me an email – headteacherLRPS@gmail.com – and I’ll organise a food hamper for you in complete confidence.

 

CHRISTMAS 2020 @ LRPS

And now on to the fun, festive stuff! We know that Christmas is quite different this year due to Covid-19, but the staff are doing our best to make the last two weeks as fun as we possibly can, whilst ensuring everybody stays safe!

Christmas Cards: We have a whole-class Christmas card in each classroom that all children can sign – the card will be displayed for everybody to see until the holidays. If children are bring cards/gifts into school, please note they will need to be quarantined in school for 48 hours before being given out.

Christmas Raffle: Our annual Christmas raffle will be taking place this year with tickets on sale for £2 per strip from tomorrow morning (Tuesday 8th December) – the tickets will be on sale every morning this week between 8:45am and 9:15am on the main playground. Please ensure that you socially distance if queuing and note that you will need the exact change as we cannot give change. The raffle will be drawn online on the morning of Thursday 17th December and prizes can be collected from the main playground between 3pm and 3:30pm on Thursday 17th December from the main playground. Any alcohol prizes must be collected by somebody 18 or over.

A visit from the Big Man himself: We have been in close contact with Santa Claus over the last few weeks and can confirm he is planning to drop-in to Lemington Riverside at some point next week to see all of the children! Like us, he has been very impressed with how brilliant they all been during 2020.

Christmas Dinner: Mrs. Baptist and the kitchen team will be serving a delicious Christmas dinner on Thursday 17th December. If your child does not usually have a school dinner, but they would like to join us for one on that day, please call the office on 0191 267 4315 or email admin@lemingtonriverside.newcastle.sch.uk to place an order!

Christmas Jumper Day: Children are welcome to wear Christmas jumpers and festive accessories on Thursday 17th December. We are not asking for any donations.

Christmas Parties: We will be having Christmas parties with class bubbles on Friday 18th December – children are welcome to wear non-uniform on the final Friday.

Christmas Performances: Despite Covid-19 and the recent self-isolation for many of our classes, we are producing ‘Mini, Virtual’ Christmas performances. These will be shared through our website in the final week of term. Please keep an eye out on our social media pages for when they are released!

We break up for the Christmas holidays at the end of Friday 18th December and school re-opens for all children at 8:45am on Tuesday 5th January 2021.

Finally, thank you to you all for being brilliant and understanding throughout everything that has happened during 2020. Wishing you a great Christmas and New Year, here’s to 2021!

Mr. Heeley

Head Teacher