New Year Upadate

5th January 2024Mr Bennett

Mortimer Primary SchoolHappy New Year! I hope this finds you well and 2024 is treating shaping up nicely.

A few things to update you on before we return on Tuesday 9th January 2024.

Parent App

Thank you again to every parent who has joined us on the Reach More Parents App. We now have over 80% of our children with a parent who has focused access to their child’s time at school. If you need help getting access, please let us know..

Parents’ Evening

Our Spring Parents’ Evening will run on:

  • Monday 15th January 2024
  • Monday 22nd January 2024

These are 10 minute appointments and we ask you to help us to keep these times. Teachers will discuss your child’s progress as we head into Spring and Summer terms and will build upon the report you have already received. If you need to meet further then we can facilitate another meeting at a different time.

Nb. Nursery appointments will be slightly different and parents will receive further details separately. You can still log in to view the system.

Bookings will open on Monday 8th January at 18:45

Bookings will close on Friday 12th January at 12:00 (lunch time)

We are now using School Cloud as our Parent Evening Booking System. This is accessible via our new parent app – Reach More Parents.  Login and go to the hub via the three horizontal lines stacked on top of each other on the menu bar. Tap Hub and then Parent’s Evening – tap Parent Login.

You will then be taken to our appointment system. This can also be accessed via https://mortimerprimaryschool.schoolcloud.co.uk/

You will need to enter a parent’s details and a child’s details. These must match what we hold on our school system (full names etc Use Alexander not Alex).

We have created a test parent evening event so you can see it works and this is live now. On booking a slot, you have the option to add a message. This is optional and can be left empty. If there was something you wanted to let the teacher know before your appointment you can add this here. There is also an option to have email confirmation sent to you.

We feel this system is a real update and we hope you find it easy to use. I have attached a user guide which may help.

School Meals Ordering

Please order your meals for next week asap (Tues 9th – Fri 12th)

We are now delighted to offer Halal meal options to our school dinners.

We are also altering our ordering system and making changes to our lunch time approach. Previously we asked parents to book on a Wednesday evening for the following week – if parents missed this deadline then offered meal options were limited.

To move forward from this, we are asking parents to book by a Sunday night for the week after.

Examples

  • Book by Sunday 7th Jan for week beginning Monday 15th Jan
  • Book by Sunday 14th Jan for week beginning Monday 22nd Jan

We appreciate this is a week in advance, but we feel it will make it easier to remember as parents get things ready for the week ahead on a Sunday. To support further, if parents forget (we know it happens), then please contact the school asap before the week begins and we will help book in your child’s meal choices. This moves away from only being offered a limited choice if you missed the deadline. We will send reminders to help remind you.

If you fully forget to book and only remember on the day that your child needs a meal, please contact the office and we will help as best we can. Choice will be limited on such short notice.

Remember you can book several weeks in advance. However, payment is needed at that time.

Obviously we ask that parents book on time to help the cook in charge order and not present the office staff with excess meals to book.

Remember: Book SUNDAY for the FOLLOWING week.

Thank you for your support with this!

School Uniform

We operate a simple but cost friendly school uniform approach at Mortimer. We ask that parents support us by ensuring pupils are inline with our expectations, especially in terms of footwear and jewelry. More details can be found on our website.

School yards

Just a reminder that both KS1 and KS2 yards open at 8:30am. We ask for pupils not to be unsupervised on site prior to this time.

Thank you for your support

Mr Bennett

Head Teacher

MPS

Parental Controls on New Devices

21st December 2023Miss A Marshall

With Christmas fast approaching, we must prepare to ensure that the devices our children may receive as gifts are not only a source of fun and learning but also of safety. Please read the following parental guide from the National College which provides some valuable advice on setting up new devices at home this Christmas. 

Download (PDF, 2.39MB)

 

A Quick Update

20th December 2023Mr Bennett
Mortimer Primary School

Dear all,

Wow…what a December! We rounded off our performances yesterday with the Nursery sing-a-long and the Choir singing some beautiful Christmas songs!

The panto for KS2 is currently in full flow…oh yes it is and we hope to have a special visitor before the week is out! There are just a few things to let you know before then:

  • Children’s raffle
    • We will be drawing the Children’s Raffle on Thursday 21st December. Tickets (£1) can be bought via Parent Pay. Even more prizes have been added this week!
  • Adult raffle
    • We will also be drawing the Adult Raffle on Thursday 21st December. There will be one winner! Tickets (£1) can be bought via Parent Pay. Even more prizes have been added this week to add to the initial prizes! It’s a fantastic hamper to win.
  • Final Friday
    • Children in Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 can bring toys on Friday. These must not connect to networks/internet or via BlueTooth. Electronic devices are best left at home. Board games or cards such as Dobble are ideal.
    • Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will have plenty of fun activities to mark to final day of term they don’t need to bring any toys
    • Christmas Jumpers can be worn again with school uniform.
    • We will finish at the normal time.

Thank you for your support

Mr Bennett

Head Teacher

MPS

Parent Governor Election Results

5th December 2023Mr Bennett

I am delighted to inform you of the successful Parent Governor Election.

Zoe Craig was elected to the Governing Body.

I wish to place on record my sincere thanks to both Simone Elliott and Kate Kavanagh for putting themselves forward for this role.

Thank you to everyone who voted, your support is very much appreciated.

Mr Bennett

Head Teacher

Download (PDF, 256KB)

New Communications App

4th December 2023Mr Bennett
Mortimer Primary School
Excellence for all
New Communications App – 4.12.23
Dear parents/carers,
You will soon be receiving your personal invite to our new Weduc Communication App. This may arrive via email or text. Each sign up code is unique so please don’t share your codes.
We are very excited to take our communications to the next level and keep parents in the loop and part of school life.
Full support for parents is available via Weduc if you have any difficulties. 
See the attachment for what to expect. It is very easy to navigate and use, so we hope you note the benefits very quickly. 
Thank you for your support
Mr Bennett
Head Teacher

 

Excellence for Pupils – Excellence for Staff – Excellence for Parents
Phone: 0191 455 4504
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mortimerprimary.co.uk

Autumn Reports

4th December 2023Mr Bennett
Mortimer Primary School
Excellence for all
Autumn Report – 4.12.23
Dear parents/carers,
Today, #name will bring home their 1st Autumn report.
This follows on from the ‘Meet the teacher’ sessions in September. Each report provides a snap shot of their time so far this term.
The ‘Moment of Excellence’ identifies a high point of the term so far for every child.
The report then covers key indicators areas of pastoral care and academia which we feel are important to share at this time. Numbers (1/2/3) are used to provide a scaled indication of where your child is currently.
A ‘2’ is positive and we are happy with children at this indicator. 
A ‘1’ identifies very high standards, whilst a ‘3’ tells us some support is needed to move forward. 
Parents’ evening meetings will follow quickly after Christmas. Details for these will be shared upon our return.
Thank you for your support
Mr Bennett
Head Teacher

 

Excellence for Pupils – Excellence for Staff – Excellence for Parents
Phone: 0191 455 4504
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mortimerprimary.co.uk

Be Internet Legends Day 2023

27th November 2023Miss A Marshall

To raise awareness of online safety, our school will be partaking in ‘Be Internet Legends Day’ on Tuesday 28th November. 

As our children engage more and more with the internet for educational purposes, entertainment and socialising with friends, their exposure to various online risks increases. At Mortimer Primary School, nurturing a culture of online safety is of utmost importance to ensure our pupils’ wellbeing.

To further promote this culture, we are also encouraging families to take part in raising awareness by watching the following video. 

Latest News

23rd November 2023Mr Bennett

mps letter headed paper2 (2).jpg

Dear parents/carers,

The term is passing at a great pace and we are already well into week 3!

Please see the latest news!

Christmas Market & Christmas Walk Around

As shared by the PTA, Friday 1st December is our Christmas walk around and we have also added a Christmas Market!

We will have a number of stalls on the KS2 yard and some extras in the hall and the Christmas walk around will start from 3:40.

Things to buy and do

·         Raffle prizes

·         Guess the name of the elf

·         Higher or Lower game

·         Xmas Jumper Swap

·         Hot chocolate

·         Hot dogs

·         Family photos by the Christmas tree

·         Book stall

·         Cakes, crisps and drinks

See your child’s Christmas crafts that have been made in school!

KS2 children will exit via the main door on this day only and we would like Year 5 & 6 to leave at 3:25 for this day only. Don’t worry if you need to collect at 3:30, we will keep them safe.

Gates to the KS2 yard will open at 3:30. The walk around will be accessed by the Year 3 & 4 doors at the top of the KS2 yard.
Parent Governors

We are delighted to have three candidates running for Parent Governor. The ballot will be open from Monday 27th November to Friday 1st December (noon). Papers will be sent home this week. Each family will receive two ballot papers regardless of how many siblings are in school. Please bring ballot papers to the school office from Monday.
Autumn Report

As part of our 6 point parent plan, the new Autumn Pupil Report will be with you very soon. This will be a snap shot of the autumn term and cover areas such as how children have settled, behaviour, relationships and a positive moment from the term.
Communications

We are very close to launching our new communications system for parents. We are excited that this will make things a lot easier for parents to stay up to date and share more of your child’s experience at Mortimer.

We will be using the Weduc – Reach More Parents app (available on Andriod and iPhone). The attachment provides more information about this service.

The app will provide areas such:

·         Focused news feed

·         Calendar of events for your child(ren)

·         Report absences

·         Notices from school

·         Attendance level of your child

Further information will follow soon with parent activation codes before we launch fully. Help will be on hand, but it is very user friendly.
mps letter headed paper2 (3).jpg

 

 

 

Thurston Update (Good News!)

14th November 2023Mr Bennett
Dear parents/carers,
Thurston Update 14.11.23
Firstly, thank you for your patience and understanding this week. It has been far from ideal for all involved, but I am delighted to provide this positive update.
We are able to attend for the remainder of the week!
The weather looks better and there are no warnings in place. The Thurston Centre has no damage and the roads are clear.
Pupils will depart Wednesday 15th November at 9am. Parents are again welcome to join us in the hall.
We hope to secure a late Friday departure at 1pm. This will provide the children with time to complete a further activity. Therefore we would expect children to return to school at approx. 5pm, but we will update on the day.
Children will need a packed lunch tomorrow as per the arrangements from Monday.
We have approached the subject of refunds with Thurston and we expect this to be a positive outcome.  We will provide full details once confirmed.
We hope you and your children are pleased.
Many thanks
Mr Bennett