Good afternoon everyone!

We have had a very busy few weeks with lots going on in and out of school. It was great to see so many of you at our parent consultation meetings this week. We hope that you found them informative and a good opportunity to chat to the teachers about your child/ren’s progress so far and next steps for their learning.

Also, this week, we had some children go to Ribston Hall School to partake in a day of STEM and Miss Siney reported that they represented the school really well. Today, we remembered those who have served and sacrificed as we, as a whole-school, observed a two-minute silence.  I would like to say a ‘thank you’ to our Pupil Leadership Team who have done an amazing job selling our Poppy Appeal merchandise.

I’d like to take this opportunity to formally welcome Mrs Gassmann who has joined our team this term and will be teaching in Class 9, covering Miss White’s maternity cover – there is still no news of the arrival of Baby White, I will keep you all posted.  There must be something in the water because our Linden family is further extending… I would like to congratulate both Mrs Gelsthorpe (Class 8) and Miss Parker (Class 1) on their pregnancies!  Mrs Gelsthorpe will be going off on maternity leave after Christmas and Miss Parker towards the end of February. In the next few weeks, we will welcome Miss Borg who will be joining Mrs Lee and Mrs Gelsthorpe in Class 8 and who will continue to work alongside Mrs Lee when Mrs Gelsthorpe goes on maternity leave.  Recruitment for Miss Parker's cover will take place before the Christmas break.

I wish you all a safe and restful weekend,

Lucy Collins

The Stars of the Week for week ending 4th November:

The Stars of the Week for week ending 11th November:

The aim of this newsletter is to promote good attendance for all pupils in our school and to raise awareness of the importance of this to support their development and academic achievement. As parents, we need your help and support to ensure your child reaches their full potential.  

Who to contact to report absence or discuss any barriers that may impact on your child's attendance. 

We expect parents to notify the school every morning of absence by 9.30am, unless the length of absence is known in advance. We will contact you if your child has not arrived in school by 9.30am and no message has been left.  If we do not receive an explanation, or if the explanation is unsatisfactory, we will not authorise the absence. You may leave a telephone message 01452 527020) or e-mail to [email protected].

We take school absence very seriously. We identify pupils whose attendance drops below 95% and provide support and intervention to help improve this if required. It is Important for parents or carers to work together with the school when a pupil’s attendance is a concern.

If a pupil does not attend school or is not taking part in an approved educational activity, they are classed as ABSENT from school. This means that if your child is off school for any reason, even if they are ill or have medical permission to be off school, they will be marked as ABSENT.  

Providing Reasons for Absence 

May we remind you that you are required to contact school every morning of absence. When contacting for a pupil who is off school, we require an actual reason for the absence. The more information you provide will enable us to consider if the absence is authorised or unauthorised.

Medical Appointments – We ask that you make every effort to ensure that any medical or dental appointments are not made during school time. Where this is unavoidable, we request that parents and carers send pupils to school prior to appointments and return to school after. Please put this in writing to the school prior to the appointment and include the date and time. Please request when attending appointments an appointment card from the receptionist at the surgery as school will require this as proof of appointment upon your child’s return to school. Failing to provide this information may result in the absence being unauthorised. If arriving late for school following an appointment, please ensure that your child is accompanied and signed in by an adult at the school office for safeguarding reasons. School may request that medical evidence is provided to support absences.

Activity Clubs

Due to timetabling issues, the last week of activity clubs will be week commencing 21st November.

Data Collection Sheets

Please check, sign and return your data collection sheet back to school as soon as possible to ensure we have up to date contact information for you. 

School Photographer

As you are aware, Horizon photography came to the school.   The deadline to order online for free delivery back to school is Saturday 12th November, however you will still be able to order after this date but postage will need to be paid to your home address.  

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.

Thank you to everyone that placed orders with our Christmas Art Project. The Artwork forms have been sent to Cauliflower and we are advised that production takes approximately four weeks.

We will be holding a Non-Uniform Day on Friday 2nd December. More details to follow.

If you are interested in finding out more about what we do and maybe getting involved, we would love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected] to get in touch.

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) 

Steps Ahead provide play time in Gloucester and the Forest of Dean for babies and toddlers born between March 2020 and March 2022

Please click below for the session timetables October to December 2022

Steps Ahead Sessions Time Table

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]