Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter break with their families. I was very lucky to have a new grandchild born just before the holidays so I had lots of lovely ‘granny time’ with both my grandchildren 👶🏼

Time to get cracking on the summer term! It’s a short half term and, as always, we have a lot to pack in. Here are a few important dates for your diaries:

• 29 April, 30 April, 1 May – Parents Evenings
• 29 April – Parent Forum
• 30 April – Year 5  Chesil Poetry Festival at Weymouth Pavilion
• 5 May – Bank Holiday
• 6 May – Maths Day
• 9 May – VE Day 80th Anniversary Commemoration Day*
• 12-15 May – Year 6 SATs
• 12-16 May – Mental Health Awareness Week*
• 19-23 May – Walk to School Week*

*More information to follow next week

Over the Easter break, Sheena has been working really hard on our new sensory garden. It looks absolutely amazing. We can’t wait to be able to open it up to the children when it is ready.

The government has released new guidance on school uniforms and I have written a new policy to ensure that we are aligned with the guidance. I haven’t made any changes to our existing uniform guidance except for a couple of tweaks to make it more inclusive. You can read more about it here. I would really value your thoughts on the policy and on school uniforms in general. I have a new email address – headteacher@southill.dorset.sch.uk so please do get in touch.

We will be discussing the new uniform guidance as well as wraparound care in our first Parent Forum on Tuesday 29th April at 5.30pm. There will also be time for discussion and to answer any questions you may have. If you would like to come along, please send an email to parent.forum@southill.dorset.sch.uk to request a place. Please note that if you wish to raise a question you should let us know in advance. If you’re not able to come along but have a view on our uniform or the new policy, or if there are any other questions you would like to raise, please do get in touch.

We’re excited to offer a fun opportunity for you to make a difference at Southill Primary! We’re looking for a volunteer to help with a simple and enjoyable maths intervention for our pupils. You’ll have the chance to work with individual children or in pairs, making maths magical and engaging for our young learners. If you love numbers and want to inspire, we’d love to hear from you. Full training will be provided.

I hope you all enjoy the weekend.

Caroline

headteacher@southill.dorset.sch.uk