Keep up to date with news from across both sites and upcoming events with our monthly newsletter.
Welcome
A very warm welcome to all those who are joining us this term. We are delighted to open our doors to many new pupils, especially in the early years. Both Nurseries have places for more pupils, either part-time or full-time. Enquire at the office.
Celebrating diversity
October is Black History Month across the UK, and, in continuation of previous years, we will recognise this by holding special assemblies and taking opportunities within the curriculum to celebrate the culture, history and achievements that Black African and Caribbean people have brought to the United Kingdom.
The local authority actively promotes this month too:
Black History Month | London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (link opens in new window)
Here are some links to other resources suitable for pupils:
Black History Month 2024 resources (link opens in new window)
Celebrating Black History Month with your children (link opens in new window)
Celebrating effort, good behaviour and hard work
At Valence, we place a high value on developing children’s sense of worth and self-esteem. We love to celebrate both effort and achievement in academic and social settings. We have an approach where we support pupils to Go for Gold based on the following school rules:
- Listen to and co-operate with each other.
- Follow adults’ instructions.
- Treat everyone with politeness, kindness, courtesy and respect.
- Work to the best of our ability.
- Move safely and calmly around school.
- Respect our school environment.
Home – school communication
We are using Class Dojo for communicating with parents & carers. Your child’s class teacher will invite you to join the class forum. If you have trouble connecting, please talk to the school office.
Keep safe
Please ensure that the class teacher is fully aware of the adults whom you have designated to collect your child. If there is a change, please call the office asap. Also, the playground is a busy space, so please keep a close eye on the whereabouts of your child at all times. In the mornings, please escort the younger children to the doors where staff are present.
School reminders
No dogs in the playgrounds, even if they are being carried.
We have a car-free zone at St. George’s every morning and afternoon, so please walk to school wherever possible.
Sports news
On Wednesday 2nd October, children from years 3 to 6 attended the Borough’s Cross Country Event at Eastbrook Secondary school. Children in year 3 ran a distance of 1km, whilst those in years 4 & 5 ran 1.5km, and year 6 ran 2km. 19 schools entered the competition, with each school bringing up to 80 runners each.
Our children did exceedingly well. We had a couple of runners finish in the top 10, and more in the top 20. We even had a gold medal in the year 6 Girls event. Maria Gurska has been a part of the team since year 3, winning Gold, Gold, Bronze, and then back to Gold this year. What an amazing runner she is!
We also gained silver medals in the team events. Well done year 5 Girls and year 6 Boys. All photos and runners’ names coming to the school website.
A group of name labels
Description automatically generatedLabels
It will help greatly if everyone labels key items, especially water bottles, fleeces, jumpers and coats. A lot of time is spent hunting down mislaid items - many of which are identical!
Parent - Teacher meetings
These meetings will take place in the week beginning Monday 21 October. We will be opening up the booking of appointment system soon. This will be an opportunity to meet the class teacher in person and discuss how your child has settled down in the first term.
Welcome & reading meetings
It was great to see so many parents at the meetings in September. If you missed them, the information is available on the website.
Valence Primary School - Welcome Meetings 2024
The Roost
Have you been to The Roost? At Bonham Road, the school house has been refurbished as a fabulous facility that will help families engage more with their children, whilst at St. George's we have a new room specifically set aside as The Roost (in the Y6/ARP building).
The Roost supports pupils with additional needs who need to access a wide range of services. Local organisations partner with the school to use the house for the benefit of the school community, ensuring that the pupils of Valence continue to have the best provision possible. Please talk to Vicky Goode, our Parent Support Advisor, for more details.
Mr November
Headteacher
Download
You can download our newsletter as a PDF below.
