We started this week with a wonderful assembly on Monday morning led by Josie Cichockyj the Para Olympian champion athlete and basketball player. Josie held the school enraptured as she re-told her story of how she overcame severe disability and reluctance to do sport as a teenager to achieve at the very top of her field in long distance racing and then later in basketball. Following her very entertaining assembly during which she taught one of our pupils how to race in a wheel chair and play basketball, Josie then visited all the classes to show her medals and answer the many questions the children wanted to ask her. She ended her visit with lunch in the dining room and autograph signing. A truly inspirational person. Thank you Josie, we all hope you will visit us again.
Our school played a brilliant football match on Tuesday 1st October in the first match of the season.
Our coach and manager have a great array of players to choose from, as talent is ripe in the squad this season. This match was a six a-side game because one of Linacre’s players could not make it, so the poor goalkeepers only had 2 defenders. For all but three of St Philips’ players, this was their debut. Matthew and Charlie (Y5) both scored one goal each and were captains for the game. Nathan (y5) was the only player to score more than one goal – he scored two, one just at the start of his second spell in the game. Lewis (yr6) also got a fabulous goal. Linacre put up a good fight in the second half, but their display was not good enough to beat the defence of St Philips.
At the end of the match Linacre gave the winning team a huge cheer and St Philips roared back at them! The team already hopes that they will win the league. They left school with their heads held high!
Player of the week goes to Matthew in Y5 – Well Done!
Our next match is scheduled to be on Tuesday 8th October.
By Joel Thornton
I am writing to invite any parent who would like to join us for the E Safety talks being given to Years 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 next Thursday, September 19th from 1.30-2.15pm and then repeated from 2.15-3.00pm.
The Internet is a way of life for us all these days Internet safety and cyber bullying can be a worry for many families. So if you want to find out how to keep you and your children safe on line and some do’s and don’ts around the Internet, please join us in the school hall for one of the two sessions next week.
Radio City’s Cash for Kids have teamed up with the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral to offer school uniforms for people who need then.
The Liverpool Anglican Cathedral highlighted the problem to us after people using their food bank expressed their difficulty in purchasing school uniform for their children.
Please use the forms below to request the uniform that you need and we will do our very best to fulfil that for you. We cannot guarantee that you will receive everything you have asked for.
If you would like to benefit from this year’s appeal please read the attached criteria, complete the application form and return to;
Cash for Kids, St. John’s Beacon, 1 Houghton St, Liverpool L1 1RL
If you would like further help with your application or you have any queries please contact;
The Cash for Kids Fundraising Team
0151 472 6965 / 07588 461351
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to school. I hope you all had a lovely summer. We cannot complain about the weather this year. It must be the best summer we have had for a number of years.
Welcome Back Children
The children returned sparkling today and it is to your credit that they looked so smart and well prepared. Thank you for the time and effort you have put in over the holiday to sort their uniforms and school shoes and to make sure they have PE Kit. If you haven't done so already could I remind you of the importance of having everything labelled with your child's name. It is so distressing to see pupils and parents searching for "lost" clothing. Coats are often forgotten when labelling and usually these are the first items to go missing along with jumpers.
Book bags, ties, and badges are all available from the office if you need to purchase them.
I am quite happy to accept any all black, logo free shoes including trainers as long as they confirm to the all black, logo free rule. This does include laces. The girls may wear white shoes or sandals with their summer dresses.
New Staff
I am delighted to welcome Miss Deborah Rainford as Year 1 Teacher. Miss Rainford is covering Mrs Hartley's maternity leave. Mrs Michelle Christiansen and Mrs Vanessa Foote join us as lunchtime supervisors and Mr Sean McCowan has been appointed to the post of Vulnerable Pupil Support Assistant. We hope you will all be very happy at St. Philip's.
School Building
The school has been cleaned and refurbished over the summer holidays. It is a pleasure to welcome the children back to a school that is freshly painted in many areas, scrubbed and cleaned and in pristine condition throughout.
We now have a designated Nurture Base which has been furnished and equipped to a high standard and along Nurture Group lines. Mrs Swift and Mrs Mather who have undertaken extensive training and preparation will work with small groups of children in this base for part of each week.
Curriculum
We have a range of topics to be studied this year by all classes so watch out for the Curriculum Topics Map which I will send out shortly. As always we ask for your support at home with projects and topics. Talking to your children about what they are learning at school helps them to appreciate the importance of their work.
Reading at home is vital but it is important to make this a pleasurable activity, not a chore, so a short burst of reading before bed is fine. Older children, of course, may choose to read for lengthy periods and this is to be encouraged. They may also opt to use the Internet to support their learning which is great. However, please be always mindful of Internet Safety and aware what sites they are visiting. I have arranged for an E-Safety talk for all parents and pupils in Key Stage 2 during the afternoon of Thursday September 19th. Full details to follow.
A Curriculum Information Meeting is planned for 12th September from 6.00pm when the class teachers will be talking about classroom practice and procedures and the topics your children will be covering. I do hope you make every effort to attend this very important meeting.
The school website is in the process of being extensively updated and I want this to be as informative for parents as possible. The Diary of Events in School 2013-2014 is already on the site together with the term dates and downloadable forms for the administration of Medicine and Parent Permission Slips for educational visits. Curriculum topics, homework details and Extra Curricular Clubs will all be published on the website shortly.
Attendance and Punctuality
Could all parents please note that school starts at 8.45am. It is important that your child lines up with their peers at the start of the day to give them the best possible start for learning and friendships.
As you are all aware, I can no longer authorise holidays in term time so I do ask that you give full consideration to the consequences of taking your child out of school for a family holiday during school time. I have written a separate letter explaining my interpretation of "exceptional circumstances" and how the general rule will be for me refuse requests for holidays unless there will be a detrimental effect on the child's emotional well-being.
Finally, the happiness and security of the children is paramount to their well-being and learning and we will endeavour to do everything possible to ensure that every child feels safe, secure, and cared for throughout the day. Should you have any concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact me at school.
Yours sincerely
M Hodgson
Headteacher