Havannah First School Newsletter 28.03.24

PTFA Update

We had the AGM for the PTFA recently in school. The committee have all stood down, with the exception of the treasurer who we hope will be able to stay in her role for longer. The committee have offered to stay in post until the end of the academic year and after the summer fair, which is a huge relief to school! They have worked so hard to keep the PTFA going through the challenges of COVID and the school relocation, as well as all the times since and between, and we are extremely grateful.

However, after the summer fair, we have no PTFA for the new school year and so all events will cease. There simply isn't the capacity for our school staff to continue the good work and the PTFA is not only a great financial support to school, but creates school community events throughout the year which are special to everyone and an important part of school life.

In 2022-23 the PTFA raised almost £12,000 and this year has raised over £3,00 so far. You can click on the link below for more information:

We are currently in the process of purchasing new laptops, outdoor storage and musical instruments with some of the income. These are items that otherwise would not be purchased, especially given the current financial constraints on schools.

Please contact me if you are willing to take on a role or share a role. The current Committee are more than happy to talk to any new volunteers and school is very open to new ideas and any kind of support on offer!

Thank you!

Next term, we are taking part in a whole school project called Eat Smart. East Smart is a fully funded scheme which is designed to involve everyone in reducing food waste in school. It takes place over several weeks and can typically reduce food waste by 30%. There are several stages to the programme:

1. Pupils conduct a food waste audit with the help of the Eat Smart Team and staff.

2. A ‘food awareness’ week explores where food comes from and how to avoid it becoming waste. During this week, every class has a workshop with the Eat Smart team.

3. A food waste prevention plan is created and actioned by the pupils, staff and chef.

4. A second audit highlights the plan’s successes and future opportunities

Our Eco Warriors will be helping us to run the project and we will keep you all up to date with our results and actions.

Pick-up and Drop-off Supervision

When you are with your children at pick-up and drop-off times, please supervise them closely on site. We do not have the staffing capacity to supervise children when they are in your care and we rely on your supervision to keep them safe and protect our site.

• Please don't let children climb the trim trail equipment at these times. We know that most of them can do this safely but some of our children might need some help that we would give them if they were using the equipment during the day. It's also important to note that we risk assess the equipment every day and on some wet days, we don't allow access because it could be slippery.
• Please keep children off the field during the works - we are expecting it to be resurfaced (top soil and turf) over the Easter Holiday, so the work is continuing, unfortunately.
• Please keep your children off the planted areas, especially in the courtyard. We are hoping that our plants will be emerging for the spring and summer and we need to protect them from little feet.
• Please con't let your children climb the stage area, this is not designed for climbing and so children are not safe when climbing over the back. The coloured panes could also get damaged.

The timber fence to replace the temporary fencing at the front of the building is being installed during the holidays. We are hoping this will look much neater and will contribute to keeping everyone safe on site. We continue to press for the completion of the school safety zone (mostly barriers between the road and pavement at key places on Primrose Lane) and the completion of the pavement to the Park and Ride/Stride.

Thank you for you support and cooperation.