Overton St Helen's Primary School family news: Issue 3
Weekly Round Up
Another great week in school! This morning in Friday worship, we heard from every class who shared their work on the book Flotsam by David Wiesner. This was our whole school welcome back shared text; a curious short book made up of pictures only with no words! However this morning we saw written accounts, written descriptions of objects using wonderful descriptive language, complex sentences, intricate art work, an imaginative dance and a performance of a class poem - all amazing work produced by our pupils as they have settled back in to the new school year. It's fantastic to see the work that can be inspired by a book.
In the middle of the week, I had a very productive meeting with the House Captains, where we planned out the work they will do on behalf of the school this term. This will mainly be supporting our annual fundraising events which we hope our parents will support. Dates have been added to the section below, but our first big fundraiser comes up next Friday with Harvest Festival and then the Macmillan Coffee Afternoon. More details are below but we hope our parents will be able to join us for both.
It was also great to see our after-school clubs begin this week. We hope your children will enjoy being part of our activities this term.
Harvest Festival - next Friday morning (8.45am)!
Next Friday morning, the Worship Council will be leading our annual Harvest Festival and we hope parents can come and join us for this. Every year, we collect donations of food to give to Morecambe Foodbank; a very valuable and much needed organisation in our local community. We would be very grateful for many generous donations of tinned, packet or dried food. The foodbank also welcomes toiletries, cartons of UHT milk, items such as toothbrushes, nappies, baby food and even pet food. Anything we donate is always very gratefully received.
You are welcome to begin sending donations in from Monday next week, but could all donations be sent in by Thursday, to give our House Captains time to display them proudly, for Friday morning's service. Many thanks in advance.
Macmillan Coffee Afternoon - next Friday afternoon (1.15pm)!
It's a busy old day next Friday, as in the afternoon, we will be hosting our annual coffee afternoon in aid of Macmillan Cancercare. This is a particular charity that will mean a lot to some of us, not least school itself as Macmillan looked after our lovely Mrs Mall so caringly, in her last few months.
Our House Captains are running this event and need your help in two ways. First, they need parents to bake delicious homemade cakes (I noticed there has already been a specific request for Mrs Wannop's Biscoff Blondies on our Facebook page!) and then we need you to join us for a cuppa and a cake in the afternoon, giving generously in our collection buckets. Please bring friends and family to make this a great fundraising event. Our House Captains are eagerly awaiting to serve you! Cakes should be sent to school on Friday morning and here's another huge thank you in advance.
Road Safety
I was informed yesterday of a couple of instances outside of school where cars passed the school at speed during the morning drop off rush, causing a risk to parents and children. We are sure this wasn't any of our parents, but I would ask you to take great care and talk to your children about being vigilant when crossing Lancaster Rd. Our apparently quiet village can get very bust at times.
I will feed this back to the new PCSO who could perhaps do some early morning visits to keep an eye on things, but as we know, the police can't be outside every morning. Could I ask parents when parking, to make sure the place where children cross is as clear as possible, to allow cars who are passing, to be easily seen.
The Parish Council worked to help rectify this issue last year, installing flashing speed warning signs at either end of Lancaster Rd, however it is a shame that some people fail to take notice of these.
Next Friday the Fire and Rescue Service is coming in to visit two of our classes to talk about Road Sense and Safety.
Parent Governor Elections
A reminder about our upcoming Parent Governor Elections. The deadline for nominations is next Thursday 25th September. Please pass any completed nominations to the school office. Many thanks.
Stars of the Week
Well done to Imogen in Holly Class, Maisie in Elm Class, Millie in Willow, Imogen in Beech and Emery in Oak who are our Stars of the Week, for showing an amazing attitude to their learning. They have been focused, ready to learn, showing enthusiasm, great listening skills and have been confident to speak up in class. Well done all!
Dates for the Diary
Wed 24th Sep: Our Ladies Academy Open Evening 5pm - 7pm
Thurs 25th Sep: School 'Open Morning' for any potential new starters for 2026/27 - 10am - 11.30am
Thurs 24th Sep: Harvest donations in to school by this day please!
Fri 26th Sep: School Harvest Festival - led by Worship Council 8.45am
Fri 26th Sep: Fire Service Road Safety talks with Elm and Oak Class
Fri 26th Sep: Macmillan Coffee Afternoon - all welcome from 1.15pm
Thurs 2nd Oct: OSFA Annual General Meeting in school at 1.15pm
Mon 13th Oct: Rescheduled OAK Class Salt Marsh study at Sunderland Pt (weather permitting)
Wed 22nd Oct: 'Morecambe Bay Day'
Fri 24th Oct: School closes for half term break
Tues 4th Nov: School reopens for second Autumn half term
Wed 5th Nov: Flu Nasal Immunisations from 1pm
Fri 21st Nov: Children in Need 'Spotacular' event
Fri 5th Dec: OSFA Christmas Fair (2.30pm onwards)
