Dear Parents and Carers, 

As we welcome the children back to a new and exciting year ahead, I would like to take the opportunity to extend an equally warm welcome to our families and friends of the school. I would also like to thank everyone for the kind words that I have received this week, something that has already made me feel a part of the school community.  

The children have made an excellent start to the year and have settled quickly into their new classes with enthusiasm and maturity. I have been impressed by both their happy and confident return and their ability to quickly transition from a summer at home to the busy life of school.

Our teaching team have been working hard with the children to ensure that together, we make the best possible start to a new year, to the ways in which they can be ready for learning, understand class routines and to prepare the curriculum for the term ahead. School leaders have been talking to the children in assemblies and at play about the ways in which they can begin to think about what they want to improve at this year, their aspirations, how they can feel confident in what their strengths are and what we all expect of them in their approach to learning and behaviour.

In the coming weeks we will invite parents and carers into school to join us for our classroom meetings. This will enable us to share some information with you about the term ahead and to welcome you to the class. The dates for these meetings are given below.

As always at the beginning of a new school year, there is a great deal of information to both request of parents and to share with you. Please look out for our various communications in the coming weeks and of course please contact the school office should you have any questions or concerns.

Finally, we will return to our full newsletter format next week, with classes sharing their successes and achievements.

Warmest regards

Mark Oldfield

Headteacher

Inset and Academy days for the rest of the year (these are days when school staff are in training involved in other school oepration - children are not in school on these days):

• Monday 6th January - Inset day
• Friday 23rd May - Academy day
• Monday 21st July - Inset day
• Tuesday 22nd July - Inset day

At the start of the new academic year, please ensure that the details we hold for your child (ren) are current and up to date.

If your contact details (email/ tel) or home address have changed, please let the school office know as soon as possible. 

If your child has a new allergy or medical condition, please visit the school office as soon as possible with details.  If your child requires medication in school, please ensure the school office has current in date medicine.  

Please pre book school lunches through your ParentPay account by at least 8am on the day of the meal.  Ideally lunches can be booked in advance for the term.  Free school meal lunches still need to be pre booked through the ParentPay system.

Please note that our two communciation platforms are email and SZapp.  If you don't have the SZapp app on your phone, please use the below instructions to download and link to it.  

SZapp_set_up_instructions.pdf

Next week we will be sending out the Home School Agreement for parents/ carers to fill in and also the annual Voluntary Contribution for trips and crafts letter.

Thank you

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Ahoy me hearties!  The Christ Church Pirates are setting sail!.....

On Thursday the Christ Church pirates set sail in true Bristolian fashion - whatever the weather!  We could not be more delighted with our new pirate ship, individually designed and built by our local Bristol playground designer TouchWood, and funded by our community through our amazing PTA and the great events they ran during the last year.   Truly the pirate ship is a work of art, with its Kraken tentacle rising to the beautiful robinia wood prow, its portholes and treasure chests, captain's helm and shipmate's telescope.  We are very lucky to have worked closely with TouchWood from conception to completion; the children have been on the journey from briefing to seeing the designs as they were progressing to the final completion of the pirate ship in the playground.  The pirate ship is designed as a Reception and Key stage 1 piece of creative play equipment, but we will have a rota of play intially to ensure all year groups are able to enjoy some time on it.  

We look forward to many happy years of sailing to come!