Welcome to this week's newsletter! The week was slightly shorter than originally planned and we are delighted that children in Willow and Cherry classes are now with us full time. It's lovely to see the older children caring for their new younger friends at break and lunch times.

STAR positions

This week, in our whole school assembly, we introduced the children to a new acronym. "STAR" is designed to help children with their active and positive listening skills. Children have a new poster in their classrooms to reinforce the four elements of STAR positions, which can be applied when children are sitting on the carpet, or at a table. We also talked about how the speaker could be an adult or a friend.

Come and work with us!

We have a new opportunity for a dynamic and caring person to come and work here at Victoria Park Primary School over lunchtimes. The school is looking to recruit a SEND lunchtime support assistant who will work closely with the SENDCo to support a small number of children with specific SEND needs and associated disabilities, including those with challenging behaviour. The successful applicant will need to be flexible about which children they are allocated to support at lunchtimes depending on the needs of the children.  This role will involve a mixture of supporting specific children in the dining hall, out on the playground and arranging structured activities. 5 hours per week (12 - 1pm).

Click here for the job advert and online application form.

PTFA Bristol 10K

We hope you are enjoying the new PTFA newsletter which is being emailed out every Sunday. This weekend, 11 wonderful fundraising volunteers are taking on the challenge of the iconic Bristol Great Run 10K, to raise money for our school. Please show your support by sponsoring them if you can! Click here to go to their GoFundMe page.

Healthy Lunchboxes

At Victoria Park Primary School we are committed to teaching the children about eating a nutritionally well-balanced diet and the positive effects this has on both physical and mental health. Our food policy and healthy lunchbox policy are available on the school website for your information, and we are pleased to share the following resources to help with lunchbox ideas.

We would like to encourage and remind parents and carers to avoid sending children into school with high sugar or high fat foods in their lunchboxes, although our policies recognise the importance of balance. Here are some photographs of some great-looking healthy lunchboxes to whet your appetites!

Free Football Tickets

Earlier this week, we emailed all parents and carers with a code that will allow children from our school the opportunity to watch Bristol City Women vs. Southampton Women at Ashton Gate Stadium this Sunday. The code: SAINTSRF will entitle each user to 2 free tickets each when booking tickets on the Bristol City website. We hope that lots of you will be interested and able to attend.

Other information

This week we have been asked to let you know about a local business you can support. "Enjoy" coffee & panini truck is situated outside school on the corner of St. John's Lane and Wedmore Vale, serving hot and cold drinks and food, including freshly ground coffee, organic tea, paninis and salad. Why not pay a visit after dropping the children at school, or for your lunch?

As we enter into the final week of September, this is a timely reminder to send children into school wearing appropriate clothing for the weather. This should include a school jumper or cardigan, and a coat to wear outside. We aim to keep the classrooms comfortable but well ventilated, so lots of children wear their jumper throughout the day. (Fresh air also helps to control the spread of coughs and colds.) Please remember to label school jumpers with your child's name by writing on the tag inside! You can remind yourself of our school uniform policy and expectations by clicking here. Have a lovely weekend!