A polite reminder to ensure that school has the most up to date emergency contact information. Please contact school via admin@hod.318education.co.uk if you have new information, including phone numbers, this academic year. It is vital that we have emergency contact details for every child.

Weekly house point totals are:

Owls = 47

Badgers = 50

Squirrels = 41

Foxes = 53

Well done to the Foxes team.

Well done to everyone who received awards or shout outs today. We are very proud of you. A brilliant start to the new term, keep it up!

• Class R – All of class R for a fantastic start to school life at Hodnet. They have shown kindness and respect and have had a superb start. Well done.
• Class 1 – Charlotte, for being respectful and responsible and showcasing a superb learning attitude in the classroom.
• Class 2 – Rory, for persevering in all activities even with his broken arm.
• Class 3 – Harry T, for his fantastic attitude to learning and for always doing the right thing.
• Class 4 – Dylan, for a fantastic start to Hodnet School.
• Class 5 – Archie, for being ready to listen and to learn, well done.
• Class 6 – Daisy, for a fantastic start to Hodnet School.
• KS1 Headteachers – Oliver L in class R, for sharing his ideas in assembly and for showcasing our values around school. Well done, what a star!
• KS2 Headteachers – Maeve in class 5, for showcasing our school values and being a role model to others in assemblies. Well done, what a star you are!
• Raffle ticket – Theo in class 5.
• Lunchtime award – Arlo in Class R for being polite and confident when talking to lunchtime staff, well done.

A polite reminder that the playground equipment including the exercise machines are only for use within the school day with the supervision of school staff. Please do not allow children or siblings to use them at the end of the school day. This is for insurance purposes. We thank you kindly for your cooperation with this request.

Diary dates are being added to our website. Here is a list below of useful dates for this term. New dates, such as school trips, will be added to the website as they are organised.

September 2024

• Fri 6^th – DEAR 3pm
• Mon 9^th – Y5&6 Curriculum & Coffee morning 8.45am in classes
• Tue 10th – Y3&4 Curriculum & Coffee morning 8.45am in classes
• Tue 10^th – Cookery club starts
• Wed 11^th – Activsports club starts
• Thur 12^th – Y1&2 Curriculum & Coffee morning 8.45am in classes
• Fri 13^th – Roald Dahl day – not dressing up. Covering in class
• Fri 13^th – YR Curriculum & Coffee morning 8.45am in the hall
• Mon 16^th – Swimming starts Y3&4 for 6 weeks
• Mon 16^th Reception parents phonics workshop 2.25 – 3.15pm in the hall
• Thur 19^th – Voting for class houses, Y6 speeches.
• Tues 24^th – FGB 4-6pm
• Wed 25^th – Quality of Education Quality Assurance visit.
• Fri 27^th – Book Fair opens for 1 week, after school daily in the hall.
• Fri 27^th MacMillan Coffee afternoon from 2pm – wear green, cake donations, £1.
• Mon 30^th – Y5&6 Netball competition after school at MDJS.

October 2024

• Fri 4^th – Y6 to Thomas Adams school for an enterprise event.
• Fri 4^th – DEAR 3pm
• Mon 7^th – Harvest donations
• Wed 9^th – Fri 11^th Y6 Bikeability
• Thur 10^th – Word Mental Health day – wear something yellow
• Tue 15^th – UKS2 invited to Thomas Adams production Guys & Dolls.
• Wed 16^th – New to Reception 25/26 open morning 9.30-11.
• Thur 17^th – Cross country event
• Thur 17^th – PTA AGM 6pm in school
• Mon 21^st – Last swimming session for Y3&4
• Wed 23^rd Break up for half term.

November 2024

• Mon 4^th – PD day. School closed.
• Tue 5^th – school reopens to children
• Fri 8^th – NHS Diabetes screening optional – opt in session.
• Fri 8^th – DEAR 3pm
• Fri 8^th – PTA bonfire night
• Mon 11^th – Swimming starts for Y5&6 for 4 weeks
• Wed 13^th – Parents evening 3.30 – 7.30
• Thurs 14^th – Parents evening 3.30-5
• Fri 15^th – Children in Need day – non uniform £1.
• Wed 20^th – Y5 class assembly 9am parents welcome
• Tue 26^th – FGB 4-6pm
• Wed 27^th – Y2 class assembly 9am parents welcome
• Wed 27^th – Kwick Cricket KS2
• Thur 28^th – Y5 Tag Rugby

December 2024

• Wed 4^th – Y3 class assembly 9am parents welcome
• Wed 4^th – Ian Barlett LA Safer Schools lead – meeting 10am, parents welcome.
• Fri 6^th – DEAR 3pm
• Thur 12^th – Christmas jumper day & Christmas lunch
• Tue 17^th – EY & KS1 Nativity 2pm
• Wed 18^th – EY & KS1 Nativity 2pm
• Thur 19^th – Church Performance 2pm at St Luke’s Church.
• Fri 20^th – Party day – non uniform.
• Fri 20th – Rock Steady concert 9.30am – families of those who participate are welcome to attend.
• Fri 20th – Break up for Christmas holidays. Return Mon 6th January. 

Welcome back to the Autumn term, we look forward to an exciting term with many events planned and exciting curriculum opportunities on offer. Welcome also to our new starters, we look forward to working with you over the coming years as partners in your child’s education and we thank you for choosing Hodnet School.

To find out more about the coming term, please attend the curriculum and coffee mornings next week if you can, this will be an opportunity to meet with your child’s class teacher, ask any questions and find out about the learning and key events for the term. The information will be sent home for those who are unable to attend.

• Monday 9th Sept – classes 5&6, parents please attend in the classrooms, children will be registered in the school hall.
• Tuesday 10th Sept – classes 3&4, parents please attend in the classrooms, children will be registered in the school hall.
• Thursday 12th Sept – classes 1&2, parents please attend in the classrooms, children will be registered in the school hall.
• Friday 13th Sept – class R parents please attend in the school hall, children will remain in the class.

Our school activity clubs will be back up and running next week, with Cookery starting on Tuesday and ActivSports running on Wednesday and Thursday. Our many lunchtime clubs will also start next week. We have a range on offer from homework and quiet club to chess, reading, choir, lego and creative clubs.

Our music enrichment starts next week with Miss Salt teaching Penny Whistle and Dood in classes 1,2,5 & 6, and 1:1 lessons resuming next week. Rock Steady started today and was a pleasure to hear as always. Please see our music curriculum page on our website for more information and informative links.

A reminder that swimming starts for classes 3&4 on Monday 16th September and will run for 6 weeks. Y5&6 will then start their swimming sessions for the remaining 4 weeks of the 10 week block booking. Please see the swimming letter for more details.

Diary dates for the term are on our website, a list is also on this newsletter within a separate post. Dates will be added throughout the term when trip and visits are booked, please keep up to date with events via our website.

Please contact school via admin@hod.318education.co.uk if you have any questions or queries, please also look at our website which has a wealth of up to date information to support families.

Thanks to KSPlantscapes who have renovated the garden area at the front of school. They have removed all the old bushes and replaced the old shrubs with turf and new lavender plants. This has really opened up the front of school and made the rooms feel much brighter and visibility is much better. This will also be safer as the area was quite hazardous especially for younger siblings who enjoyed running on the secret path between Mrs Lyall’s window and the kitchen, sorry to spoil the fun! We ask that families kindly to keep off this newly laid turf and respectfully refrain from picking the new plants. Thank you.

A polite reminder that we have limited space to store large bags due to small cloakrooms, many of which are within classrooms. Some excessive items can be an obstruction both in the classroom and the corridors. We now have 189 pupils on roll so we are finding some areas in school very busy. As stressed before the summer holidays, children do not need a large school bag, the best bags for storage are the rectangular book bag style bags which fit easily in trays and storage boxes. Over the coming years the PTA will continue to purchase these for Reception children when they start school, and the expectation will be that only these bags are used in school as children move through the classes.

Children are expected to bring to school daily:

• Their reading book and reading record/journal.
• Their water bottle.
• Their spelling folder for daily practise.
• Their homework/times table folders as necessary.

Please do not send pencil cases or any other equipment unless necessary such as glasses cases etc. PE bags (KS2) should remain in school for the week. Forest School kit (KS1) is either worn all day or changed into depending upon the class and a separate bag is required on that day. Please see your child’s teacher for more information.

Parents are welcome to attend our PTA AGM on 17th October at 6pm in the school hall. At the AGM the PTA will share updates about last years spending and any priorities for this year. They welcome new members and at the AGM new roles and responsibilities will once again be shared amongst the members. Thank you for your continued support of the PTA, they provide an invaluable support to our school, often enabling events and experiences for our pupils which may ordinarily not be possible. We thank the PTA for their hard work and commitment to school.

Over the coming weeks we will be sending home the Acceptable Use Policies (AUP’s) for children and parents to sign as part of our online safety safeguarding annual procedures. The AUP’s set our a clear set of guidelines for how to safely use school IT equipment and our online network. Due to our academisation, these have slightly changed and therefore will be for all families, not just those new to our school. Please look out for more information about these and ensure they are completed as per the requirements.

Thank you for your continued support with ensuring our pupils are safe online.