Dear Parents and Carers,

We have made it to half-term after what has been a jam-packed, busy 7 weeks!

Firstly, I would like to thank those of you who were able to attend our Harvest service in the church and to those families who have kindly donated items to the foodbank.  Also, a thank you to our parents who have helped out on the various curriculum enrichment trips that have taken place this term.

This term Mrs Langford and Mrs Toms have been working hard with their group of  roving reporters to re-launch our Linden newspaper.  This week sees the publication of our first edition of ‘The Linden Bear News’.  This will be shared with children in class and future editions will be available to be purchased.  Please keep your eyes peeled and well done to all involved.

 Reading continues to be a high priority for us and all classes have been using the school library to choose extra books to read in addition to their normal reading book. We all know that “children who read, succeed” and so I’m very excited about the Gloucester Schools’ Partnership Really Wild Reading Festival after half-term which we will be taking part in. All of the children will get the chance to hear an author speak about writing stories and then hear them read extracts of their books either live or through virtual events. We’re hoping that it will prove to inspire every child to pick up a book, whether fiction or non-fiction, and experience the joy of reading for pleasure as well as for learning.

And finally, I would like to remind you that Monday 31^st October is an INSET day and we will welcome the children back on Tuesday, 1^st November.  I hope that you all have fantastic week.

Lucy Collins

Linden Primary School has high expectations for attendance. Our Policy states every child should attend every day that they are required to attend.

Holidays should not be taken in term time. Absence for leave in term time may only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. The application for leave must be made in advance and in line with our attendance policy. The Head teacher must be satisfied that there are truly exceptional circumstances based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case.

If you have previously been issued with a Penalty Notice from Gloucestershire Council, please note, you may not be issued with another - Gloucestershire Council may take alternative legal proceedings.

The pupil leadership team met this week to discuss Children in Need which will take place on Friday 18th November! For a silver coin donation, children to wear spots or something yellow to raise money for the charity! We also decided to organise a colouring competition! 10p an entry with prizes to be won!

More details to follow after half term! 

The Stars of the Week for week ending 7th October:

The Stars of the Week for week ending 14th October:

The Stars of the Week for week ending 21st October:

At school, we love to take photographs or video clips of your children having learning experiences at school.  We love to share these with you even more!

We use these photos and clips only with your permission on school approved platforms such as our newsletter, prospectus, internal displays in the school, Teams, Twitter and our own closed Facebook group (users can't view the group's content until they become a member which school have to authorise).  We really need your consent to take and share photos and video clips of your child to use in these school approved platforms.  If you’re not happy for us to do this, that’s no problem – we will accommodate your preferences.

FORM: Photograph Permissions

Link to join the school's Facebook page (users can't view the group's content until they become a member which school have to authorise):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lindenprimaryhub/?ref=share_group_link

(Please ensure you answer ALL the questions) 

Newspaper club are excited to present to you a free taster copy of our first ever issue of ‘Linden Bear News’. Each term will bring a new issue full of hot news, seasonal puzzles and fun activities for the whole family to do. We will be selling these for 20p a copy and will give more details nearer the time. Happy reading! Mrs Langford, Mrs Toms and Newspaper club.

Click on the front page to read more!

School Photographer

As you are aware, Horizon photography came to the school today (Friday 21st October) to take individual and sibling photographs.  They are busy producing the paper proofs which will be sent home after half term week.  You will have 10 days to order online for free delivery back to school, however you will still be able to order after this date but postage will need to be paid to your home address.  

Free School Meals

Thank you to the Reception parents that have applied for Free School Meals. Registering for Free School Meals can benefit your child and our school.  Please take the time to register to see if your child is eligible - even if your child is currently entitled to Universal Free School Meals (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) as the school only receives funding from the government for each child registered. The link is here if you haven't applied already: www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals and is also on the Szapp.

Wrap Around Care

Breakfast, Wrap Around Care and School dinners need to be paid for in advance. 

SZapp

You are probably already aware that, like many other schools, we use an app called SZapp. To ensure that your device is tied to your child's details, we ask that you register with SZapp using the same email address that you have listed on our database. Please ensure you keep us updated with any changes to your personal contact information. Finally, please ensure that the SchoolZine email address:   [email protected] is added to your safe senders and contacts list to avoid messages going into your junk or clutter folder.

Medication

Please be aware that staff cannot give medication to your child and the child cannot administer medication to themselves. However, you can come into the office and we will bring your child to you to give them any necessary medicine.

Late Arrivals

All late arrivals need to be escorted into the School Office as the pupil needs to be signed in, and lunch choice taken.

Late Collection

If you are running late at the end of the school day, please contact us so that we can reassure your child.

If your child is to be collected by someone other than yourself, please inform the school office. For safeguarding purposes, we will not be able to release your child from the classroom unless we have parent / guardian permission.

Dogs

May we remind all parents and carers that dogs are not permitted in the playground - even if carried.  

By now your Year 6 child should have brought home a letter detailing the online process for transfer to secondary school.  These applications need to be submitted no later than the closing date of 31 October 2022, applications after this date will not be processed until after 1st March 2023

Further information can be found at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/schooladmissions

We are very excited to be running the Christmas Art project again this year.  The children have been working hard on their designs in school and the Artwork Forms have been sent home this week.  Please follow the details on the form and the letter emailed earlier this week to place your order online.  Once the order has been placed, the Artwork Forms need to be brought back into school straight after half term.  The final deadline for all orders and forms to be returned to school is Thursday 3rd October.  

We will be starting on WEEK 2, Tuesday - please remember Monday 31st October is an inset day.

This can also be found on the SZapp and on the website.

and here as a PDF:  Lin-Diner Menu 31/10-16/12

Hello Everyone,

My name is Ms Sidhu (some of you may know me by my previous name, Mrs Atwal).

Having worked at Linden Primary school for over 20 years, I am now the founder of my own business as a private practitioner, in a mindful practice supporting my clients with a non-cognitive therapeutic method, whilst remaining part of the pastoral team at Linden. It is currently being used with some students, with outstanding results.

I would like to offer my services to the children and families of Linden Primary before I branch out to the rest of the community. Below are details for the service I provide, please do not hesitate to contact me if you require more information or would like to make a booking on [email protected]

We would like to make you aware of the Holiday Free School Meal Voucher scheme that Gloucestershire County Council is currently offering to families in Gloucestershire. We hope that you will be able to pass these messages onto the relevant families within your schools to promote them.

This October half term, Gloucestershire County Council are providing vouchers to eligible families who have signed up to our Holiday Free School Meals (FSM) scheme. These vouchers are provided by Gloucestershire County Council as part of its commitment to 'no child goes hungry'. The vouchers are funded through grant funding we have received and is separate to that of the term time free school meals.

The scheme is for children in reception to year 11 who receive benefits-related free school meals and attend a school in Gloucestershire. We are unable to consider college and sixth form students as well as children who receive universal free school meals, as they are not eligible for this scheme.

Families who have signed up to the scheme will receive £15 per child, for the week half term.

To find out more about the scheme and to apply, parents can visit our Holiday free school meal vouchers webpage<https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-transport-and-free-school-meals/meals-during-school-holidays/holiday-free-school-meal-vouchers/holiday-free-school-meal-vouchers/#main>, seen below:

Parents who have signed up previously do not need to re-register, they will already have been included. To ensure we reach all those who are eligible, we are encouraging parents that have not previously signed up, to sign up as soon as they can.

For those parents who have already signed up, if more of their children have become entitled to free school meals since they applied, please ask them to contact us at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>  so we can update their account, as this not an automatic process.

Applications for Holiday Free School Meal Vouchers for the October half term period are now open until the 11 October. Voucher emails will be sent out on 19 October.  Please encourage parents to also check their junk/spam email folders during this period as sometimes the vouchers end up there. If parents have not received their vouchers by the 19 October, please encourage them to get in contact with us by emailing [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>.

Some great online courses for parents this term.

Fay Tucker
ESOL Learning Coordinator
Adult Education in Gloucestershire
Telephone: 07760 171477

The online world can be a bit overwhelming at times but it is important we understand what our children are doing online so we can help make them safer. The Safer Schools App aims to help with this.

We are delighted to invite you to download our new Safer Schools App provided
by our school insurance provider Zurich Municipal.

The App is designed to support and protect children by educating and empowering them both at school and at home. Through their log-in, your children get access to information that is relevant to them and you will receive tips and advice on how to keep them safer online.

To download, go to your app store on your phone or tablet and search 'Safer Schools'. Once downloaded open the app and enter Linden Primary, you can then enter the code 7440.