Tetherdown School Parent Portal - Issue No 02

Issue No 02 - 20.10.2023

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Headteacher News

Dear Parents and Carer

The overarching theme for this month revolves around our thriving community, and I'm thrilled to spotlight some notable moments within our school lately.

A heartfelt appreciation to our community members for the empathetic response to the pressing issues in the Middle East. Let's remain hopeful for peaceful resolutions to ongoing conflicts.

I recently attended The Friends of Tetherdown AGM and felt deeply inspired by the commitment of a handful of exceptional parents. I want to express my gratitude to the entire committee and those involved for their relentless effort and commitment. Their hard work has contributed to a phenomenal £70,000 raised, which will significantly benefit our school in myriad ways. Do mark your calendars for the upcoming Quiz Night on 11th November; I'm eager to meet many of you there.

Kicking off our sustainability initiative, the school council members, under Mrs Ghenti Etan's guidance, held an assembly after a comprehensive sustainability audit. They urge children to be vigilant about water usage, reduce food wastage, and promote energy efficiency. I'm particularly proud of their initiative encouraging children to craft posters (as part of half-term home learning ) to champion these goals. They're doing a great job taking action, and now they want to talk to the local officials about how well the school’s 13-year-old solar panels work.

A special mention to Ms Sonia Da Silva, who has been a driving force in elevating Tetherdown's presence at various Haringey Sporting Tournaments. It's genuinely heartening to witness our children’s enthusiasm and the unwavering support from our school community.

Wishing everyone a rejuvenating half-term break.

Annie Ashraf

Headteacher

LATEST NEWS

19 Oct 2023

Debutots Deliver!

Debutots win TWO awards in Bristol last weekend

18 Oct 2023

Year 1 Cherry Tree Woods Trip

We really enjoyed using spoons to dig for worms! We were really hoping to find Superworm!

18 Oct 2023

Year 5&6 Mixed Indoor Cricket Tournament

Year 5&6 boys and girls played their first cricket match!

18 Oct 2023

Year 5&6 Football Tournament

Our girls displayed great attacking play when on the ball and took on various playing positions to help each other.

18 Oct 2023

Year 5&6 Football Tournament

The team demonstrated great team work, resilience and determination in all areas on the field!

18 Oct 2023

Year 5 African Day

The children participated in different workshops consisting of drumming, adinkra t-shirt printing, singing and dancing to African music

18 Oct 2023

LGFL Coronation Competition Update

A whopping 5 of those 12 winners were children from Tetherdown!

18 Oct 2023

Year 4 Jaguars Welsh Harp Trip

They loved exploring micro-habitats such as a pond, under a log or in a tree to find minibeasts

18 Oct 2023

Year 3 Local Mapping Trip Muswell Hill

We really enjoyed our sunny local walk around Muswell Hill where we marked places onto our map

16 Oct 2023

Year 3 Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Trip in Neasden

We loved looking at the intricate marble and wooden carvings!

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AGM News

Thanks to everyone who attended our AGM where we were able to vote in our new committee including our new Co-chair, Year 1 & 3 mum, Barbara Keith. Barbara joins Jenny Roberts, who’ll be returning as our other Co-chair again this year. As ever, our ambition will be to provide much-needed resources for our poorly-funded school.

Dates for your diary for the rest of the term are:

Sat 11th Nov, 7:30pm to 11:00pm - Quiz Night!!
Always a brilliant evening. Tickets for a table of 10 for £200 / £20 per person and includes a tasty falafel wrap. There are 15 tables available - 14 bookable as whole tables and one sold as individual tickets.

So get your team together, get that babysitter booked and click here to get your tickets before we sell out! Log into Class Lists here to buy your ticket.

Friday 8th Dec - Winter Fair
This will be straight after school, slightly scaled down from last year but with all the festive cheer! Look out for more info and how to get involved soon.

FoT Lite
As these events are a huge amount of work, and we only have a committee of 9 people, we are on the lookout for new members! Whether you want to join the committee or have an idea to share, you’d like to sign up to be a regular volunteer for individual events (FoT Lite), please contact: TetherdownPSAchair@gmail.com.

Here’s to another couple of fun community events that really make a difference.

As always, the committee door is always open, and we’re looking for new members to join us, so get in touch and get involved!

Many thanks!

Want to get in touch?

For this and any other matter, please contact TetherdownPSAchair@gmail.com

One click in support of children's learning experience

A quick message to remind any of you who can afford anything between £5-50 per month to consider supporting the school in the most amazing way by setting up a direct debit.

It’s the easiest and most effective way to ensure the school has the resources it needs, as government funding hardly covers more than the cost of the teachers themselves.

It’s a really quick thing to set up and the impact on our kids is invaluable. We know times are tough but without the volume of events we had previously, every contribution really makes a difference. Click here to set up a direct debit.

Thanks in advance for your support.

SEND NEWS

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Tetherdown families can now subscribe to receive Haringey's SEND newsletter by using this link.

For further information about SENDIASS and what is on offer please go to our SEND pages.

Markfield Autism Support Services

If your child has recently be diagnosed or on the wait list to be diagnosed for Autism please read on.

Markfield is providing a range of services for Haringey parents/carers of children on the waiting list for autism assessments or recently diagnosed.

Markfield offers a range of support services for parents and carers of children with autism:

1:1 advice appointments
Help with Disability Living Allowance (DLA) applications
Online and in-person group meetings
In-person parent meetings: the last Friday of every month, 10am to 12pm, Markfield community centre, N15 4RB. Just drop in – no need to book
Monthly club for autistic young people aged 12 to 17: for more information, visit our website

You can contact Markfield by email at familyadmin@markfield.org.uk or via telephone: 020 3667 5233 or 07762106044

COMMUNITY NEWS

Tetherdown families can now subscribe to the Haringey School News by using this link.

LOOKING AHEAD

Upcoming Sports Tournaments

Details will be provided nearer the time.

Friday 3rd November - Y5/6 Hi5 Mixed Netball Tournament
Thursday 9th November - Y5/6 Mixed TAG Rugby Tournament
Friday 10th November -Y5/6 Mixed TAG Rugby Festival
Friday 17th November - Y3/4 Football Tournament

Clubs & Activity Camps

The lunchtime and extracurricular club information is available on our Clubs & Activity Camps website pages, which includes registration and timetabling information. In addition to emailing club promotional material to parents directly, we also publish any advertising provided by the clubs at our school on our website.

Wraparound Care: Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club offers an exciting variety of healthy breakfast choices for the children these include: croissants, brioche buns, fruit yogurt, juice and cereal.

Ad hoc Bookings

Breakfast Club is currently able to take a limited number of ad hoc bookings. If you would like to use the Club’s ad hoc services please contact our Senior Play Leader Ms Geen-Moore on the email provided below no later than 9:00am a day prior to your booking. Ad hoc spaces are charged at a slightly higher rate of £8 per session per child (via ParentPay).

Please note that due to limited availability, to attend you must receive a confirmation email from Ms Geen-Moore.

E: breakfastclub@tetherdownschool.org

OFFICE REMINDERS

PLEASE REMEMBER WE ARE A NO NUTS SCHOOL

Products containing nuts (including for staff as some may also have allergies) must not be brought into school under any circumstances.

Considerate Driving and Parking Please!

If you must drive to school to drop off your child(ren) please consider our neighbours when parking near the school. We have received complaints that some parents are parking across driveways and blocking house owners in. It would be far healthier for children if parents could park a little way from the school and walk or scooter to school. Scooters may be stored at school. We do not have bicycle storage

Tetherdown School Communications to Parents

We have a brand-new website please ensure your explore our website regularly so not to miss any important communications. This should be your 'FIRST PORT OF CALL' for information.

The Parents page is dedicated to you! - here you will be able to find answers and links to everyday questions and queries you may have as well as further useful information and support - to name a few...

Calendar - check this regularly
Term dates
Key Letters
School Day & Wraparound Care
Health & Welfare

Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have explored the website, and you cannot find what you are looking for.

Parent Communication to Tetherdown

Please remember when emailing the admin mailbox to ensure you put your child's full name and class. There are over 400 pupils on roll and as you can imagine finding any child with only their first name can be tricky!

ParentPay - Communication from Tetherdown

ParentPay is the schools Communications and Payment System All communications sent directly from the school are sent using ParentPay only.

Parents will receive an email from platform@parentpay.com - when you receive messages from this email you can be assured this is an official direct school communication.

Any undelivered emails to parents the school are notified - we have not been notified of any undelivered messages to date.

Text and Email Alerts

Parents are advised to set up text and email alerts to ensure that you do not miss any important information from Tetherdown. Details of how to do this can be found on our Payment & Bookings System pages. If you have missed an email please search your mailbox for platform@parentpay.com messages and check junk mail.

If you are having any problems receiving official school communications please contact the school office after you have checked your mailbox and junk mail and not ParentPay.

Thank you for your continuing support.

Extracurricular Club Cancellation

This week one of our extracurricular club providers cancelled their club. Please can families note the process below for any future cancellations. Thank you in advance.

If your child's extracurricular club at the end of the school day is cancelled by the provider, parents are advised to make alternative pick-up arrangements for their child and to notify the school office via email of the new arrangement no later than 2:45pm. Parents should not assume that the Tetherdown after-school club can take their child following a club cancellation if they cannot make alternative pick-up arrangements.
Children who normally attend the Tetherdown after-school club directly after the cancelled extracurricular club (e.g. tennis) can go straight to after-school club at the end of the school day, however you will be charged accordingly for this session via ParentPay.

Gentle Reminders

Reporting Absences and Pick-up

Reporting Absence

We always require absence information, including unplanned absence, to be reported daily before 9am.

If your child is absent please call the school office before 9am.
Leave a clear message with your child’s full name and class and a brief reason for the absence (e.g. religious holiday).
Unwell pupils: If your child is unwell, we ask that you report your child as off ‘sick’ and briefly describe their sickness (e.g. temperature, headache or has vomited etc). By describing your child’s sickness this will enable the school to track and manage a sudden increase in occurrences of the illness and identify whether we have a localised outbreak of the illness (e.g. virus).

Reporting Pick-Up

If your child is going home with someone different to their regular person collecting them, please remember to communicate arrangements via the admin email before 2:45pm stating your child’s full name and class and who is collecting them.

Please do not email teachers as they are unable to check emails during the teaching day.

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For absences and pick-up arrangements report to:

020 8883 3412

admin@tetherdownschool.org

Official Appointments

If your child is going to be absent for an appointment such as:

medical (e.g. dentist, hospital appointment) or an
an official appointment (e.g. visa application, passport office)

Families must provide proof of the appointment to the school office via email. Please remember to include your child's full name and class in all correspondence.

You do not need to fill in the absence request form for medical appointments, or official appointments.

All other Leave Requests

Please complete an exceptional leave of absence form for all other leave requests. You can find this form on our website under the Parents tab. Click here to go to access online absence request form.

Children Leaving Tetherdown

If you are planning on leaving Tetherdown it is important that you inform the school as soon as possible. Please fill in the destination form which can found on our School Forms & Links page.

Medicines in School

As a reminder that medicine cannot be given to your child to bring into school. The school can administer prescribed medicine only (the parents form on our website must be filled in). Any over the counter medicine must be administered by a parent / nominated carer. Please refer to our Health & Welfare pages for further details.

Forgotten Items

The school does not accept forgotten items. We aim to promote independence and responsibility in our children. This includes snacks and packed lunches, water bottles, PE kits, instruments etc. We can accept medical and reading glasses. If a child has forgotten their lunch one will be provided and will be charged via your ParentPay account.

Unhealthy Treats

We are a healthy school and as such we kindly ask that children do not bring in sweets or cakes/biscuits to hand out to their friends on their birthday. A class book donation is always much appreciated. We will share your book-gift with the class and insert a special book plate to mark the occasion of your child's birthday.

PROMOTIONS

Half-Term Holiday Fun!

To find out about activities for children and young people taking place in Haringey during the half-term holidays, including sports, arts and crafts, and drama workshops, select the link below.

October Half-Term Fun 2023 activity booklet

DIARY DATES TO THE 24th NOVEMBER 2023

HALF-TERM

All Day

From 23 Oct until 30 Oct

October

INSET Day - No pupils

All Day

October

Reception Parent Consultation (Teams)

4:00pm – 6:20pm

November