Welcome back!
A warm welcome to this new academic year. We hope you had an enjoyable summer break. It’s been wonderful to welcome back familiar faces and see so many new ones. This week our pupils have been ready and excited to learn which has been a delight to see in school. We are keen to get started with the wide range of exciting learning opportunities this term.
Some reminders,
- Please use our website as the first point of call for information. This is updated regularly by staff and has a wealth of information for our school community.
- Please showcase our values of being Ready, Respectful and Safe in and around our school site with your children. Being prompt and using the main school entrances as a safe way to enter our site. Please don’t cross the car park. Ensure we are all courteous to our local residents by respectful parking choices and keeping our families safe by travelling carefully to and from school.
- Families who use the rear playground, please drop children off at the green gates, encouraging children to walk to their classes independently to meet the staff who are ready to greet them. This will help our new Reception pupils to find their line and prevent a large crowd of people on the playground, as this makes it tricky for young children to navigate around.
- Club information has been sent via parent pay, please book these early to avoid disappointment.
- Wraparound care needs to be booked and paid for by parents using our advance booking system on parent pay, only in extreme circumstances can this booking be completed by our office staff team. Bookings should be completed by the Thursday before the required week. We are monitoring the frequency of late bookings and administration time, which may result in administration fees.
Playtime snacks
YR,1 & 2 have a daily snack provided by the national fruit scheme. This is mainly a piece of fruit but often vegetables, the items vary weekly and are seasonal. The snacks are located in the classrooms and the timings of snacks are managed by the individual class teachers.
Y3, 4, 5 & 6 can bring a piece of fruit from home to eat at playtime as a healthy break time snack if they would like to, this is optional. We ask that this is only a piece of fruit, no biscuits, nuts or fruit bars please. A small tub with chopped fruit ready to eat is also acceptable, children are encouraged to sit or stand until they have eaten their fruit to prevent any choking hazards when playing.
Healthy Packed lunches
In school we are required to ensure pupils are eating a healthy lunch. If parents choose to send a packed lunch, this must also be healthy and in line with guidance, particularly for Early Years pupils. A school lunch should consist of a balanced meal including a range of the main food groups, not just sugary snacks. This year the guidance for Early Years pupils has been updated and we have changed our menu offer in line with this. We encourage all of our pupils in Reception to have a school meal.
For those in Y1-6, please find the link to the NHS packed lunches guidance below.
Lunchbox ideas and recipes – Healthier Families – NHS
The below items should not be in packed lunches and are not part of a balanced meal at lunchtime:
- Fizzy drinks or squash
- Chocolate spread or crisp sandwiches
Please remember that nuts are not permitted due to allergies in school.
Please see your child’s class teacher in the first instance or a member of our leadership team with any queries about school lunches.
Menu
Please find a copy of our latest menu below.
Hodnet Parent Leaflet and Menu September 2025
Next week we will be on week 2.
Celebrating Success. Certificate of Achievement 5.9.25
Well done to everyone who received awards or shout outs today. We are very proud of you.
- Class R – The whole class for a fantastic start to school life at Hodnet. We are very proud of you.
- Class 1 – Myla for making a fantastic start in class 1 and for showing kindness to her classmates.
- Class 2 – Lacie for amazing effort in her work and always being ready to learn.
- Class 3 – Megan for setting a great example of how we learn in class 3.
- Class 4 – Clara for being focussed, engaged and motivated to learn. Well done Clara, a great start.
- Class 5 – Evan for listening and getting on with his work all week, a super start, well done we a re all really proud of you.
- Class 6 – Eva for creating a super entry in our class ‘Reading Recommends’. A fantastic role model, well done.
- Lunchtime – Lily C in class 6 for helping Reception pupils at lunchtime.
- Raffle ticket – Isaac C in class 2.
Celebrating Success. Book Worm 5.9.25
Well done to everyone who received awards or shoutouts this week, we are very proud of you.
Today we celebrated reading in our celebration assembly, with praise for lots of children for their reading at home and reading throughout the curriculum in school.
- Class 2 – Isaac
- Class 3 – Eden
- Class 5 – Wren
Congratulations to all our chosen Book Worms, your reading at home and school was excellent this week.
Remember to keep up those good reading habits.
Weekly House Points 5.9.25
Weekly house point totals are:
Owls = 79
Badgers = 49
Squirrels = 74
Foxes = 54
Well done to the Owls .team this week.
Upcoming events
A reminder that we will be hosting meet the teacher coffee and curriculum chats next week. Paretns are warmly invited to find out about the learning ahead and find out ways in which we can work together to ensure the best for the children in our care.
Curriculum and Coffee sessions will be held in the classrooms from 8.45-9am, children will need to go straight to the hall for registration with Mrs Lyall. Dates below:
- Monday – Y5&6
- Tuesday – Y3&4
- Wednesday – Y1&2
- Thursday – YR
Swimming at Market Drayton Swimming pool will start for Y5&6 on Friday 19th September for 5 weeks, this takes us up to half term. After half term, swimming starts for Y3&4 on Friday 7th November for 5 weeks.
Please look out for letters with information about swimming including the small charge that we ask for as a contribution to the cost of transport. We cover the swimming teaching costs as a school, as swimming in on the curriculum, however we ask for support to help with the shortfall in coach costs. We also ask for parents to send back the reply slip about children’s swimming ability.
Y6 Bikeability starts on Monday 22nd September, please look out for information.
We will be working with the NSPCC over the next few weeks, focussing on their speak out to stay safe campaign. Each class will watch a specific age related assembly and the NSPCC team will come in to deliver workshops to Y2, Y5 and Y6 on Tuesday 23rd September.
Save the date for a MacMillan coffee afternoon on Friday 26th September in the school hall from 2pm. We welcome cake donations on the day and children are welcome to come to school wearing green.
Please see our website for all diary dates including class assemblies, events and school visits.
Coffee & Chat Early help team drop in’s
On Tuesday 9th September, our Early Help drop in, coffee and chat will be held in our library 9.30-11.30, no need to book. Please pop in if you would like to chat to Jo Ruff who can offer friendly help and support with parenting and family needs. Jo’s sessions will be on the first Tuesday of every month going forwards 9.30-11.30 in school.