Tetherdown School Parent Portal - Issue No 04

Issue No 04 - 21.12.2023

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Headteacher News

Dear Parents and Carer,

As we close this first term, I'm filled with immense gratitude for all your kind wishes and support. It's been a remarkable journey so far, and I'm excited to share some highlights with you.

One of the standout moments was our Bridge making day with Network Rail, brilliantly organized by our governor Juliet Natali and our Science Lead – Ms Etan. Witnessing the children's creativity and collaborative spirit was truly a joy. Their enthusiasm and innovation shone brightly, making it a memorable day for everyone involved. Please read our Latest News below, which includes great pictures of the day.

Another extraordinary experience in my first 100 days as Head Teacher was the private presentation, afternoon tea and tour of Buckingham Palace. This was organized for the winners of the sustainability transport competition for King Charles, managed by Ms Binger, our Computing Lead. Laying on the Throne Room floor, gazing up at the magnificent ceiling while listening to the tour guide, was an unforgettable, goosebump-inducing moment.

However, it's with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to Gary Robson, our Chair of Governors, who has dedicated seven years to our school. His tireless efforts, especially during the challenging times of Covid, have been invaluable. Gary, we can't thank you enough for your commitment and guidance. Please see his message below. The Chair role is now being taken over by Denzil Jenkins, who will send a message out to you in the new year.

In the background, I've been busy refining our school's systems and conducting various audits – admittedly, the less glamorous part of my role. Soon, I'll be reaching out for parental assistance in areas like home learning and communication.

Our finances are currently precarious due to declining birthrates, fewer enrolments, and limited government funding, compounded by the cost of living crisis. We're asking for your help through direct debits, whatever you can afford, to ensure we continue providing incredible opportunities for our children. Please find the donation link attached.

As we head into the holidays, I wish you all a restful and peaceful break. Thank you once again for your continuous support and engagement. Together, we're making Tetherdown an even more wonderful place for our children to learn and grow.

Warm regards

Annie Ashraf

Headteacher

Chair's Goodbye Message

I first became a School Governor at Tetherdown in 2016, taking on the role as Chair of Governors two years later.

It's been an eventful period with notable challenges for the Governing Body such as running the school during the pandemic, undergoing an Ofsted inspection and selecting a new Head Teacher. It's been very demanding at times, but throughout this period I have been ably supported by numerous Governors past and present and the amazing team at Tetherdown.

I made my decision to step down in the Summer, but I wanted to ensure a smooth transition for our new Chair and Head Teacher, so have remained as Co-Chair for the past four months to support the new team. I firmly believe that I am leaving the school in very safe hands with Denzil Jenkins as our new Chair. He will move the school onwards and upwards in the coming years. I also have great faith in Ms Ashraf who is already pushing the school forward with her boundless energy and enthusiasm.

I want to wish all parents, carers, colleagues and children a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. It's been an absolute privilege to be associated with Tetherdown school and all of its community.

Best wishes

Gary Robson

LATEST NEWS

21 Dec 2023

Fundraising - Poppy Appeal and Save the Children

Thank you everyone for your generosity!

20 Dec 2023

Santa Claus Visits Tetherdown!

Santa Claus has come to Tetherdown!!!

20 Dec 2023

Year 1 Highgate Woods Trip

We loved going on a scavenger hunt to look for clues that it was Autumn.

20 Dec 2023

Reception & Y1 St James' Christmas Experience

Bringing the Nativity story to life.

20 Dec 2023

Year 4 & 6 Tennis Tournament

Well done Y4 & Y6 - what a tremendous start - GO TEAM TETHERDOWN!

20 Dec 2023

Year 6 Table Tennis Tournament

The children showed great resilience and determination!

20 Dec 2023

Key Stage 1 Gymnastics Assembly

They showed the pupils what fun gymnastics can be and wowed us with some amazing skills.

20 Dec 2023

Year 4 Michael Holland Author Visit

The children were enthralled by Mr Holland's engaging presentation.

20 Dec 2023

Year 4 Computing Visit from Akis Vasiliou

Akis planned a wonderful presentation which he delivered on coding, servers and websites.

20 Dec 2023

Year 5 Crumble Kit Training – Physical Programming

They thoroughly enjoyed constructing a circuit using a Sparkle to create a flashing light.

15 Dec 2023

Online Safety Workshops

We now feel more confident navigating the online world while being mindful of our digital footprint

15 Dec 2023

Year 5 Apollo Music Workshop

Year 5 classes were engrossed by their captivating session with the Apollo Music Workshop

15 Dec 2023

Year 5 Muswell Hill Methodist Church Visit

It was an enlightening experience that deepened Year 5’s understanding of Christian traditions

15 Dec 2023

Year 5 WW2 Day

The children loved stepping back in time to experience the sights and sounds of that historical era!

15 Dec 2023

Year 3 Maya Performance Workshop

Year 3 loved learning more about the Maya civilisation through a performance workshop at school

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Friends of Tetherdown Update

Firstly, a huge thank you for all your support for the winter fair.

We raised a whopping £7.5k thanks to all the support from the reps, stall volunteers, Tatlers Board volunteers and everyone spending their hard-earned cash on the day. With this and the quiz night we’ve already raised £13.5k towards our indoor and outdoor tech equipment for the school.

Magic Show

We’re excited to announce our first event of next term will be our family Magic show, which will be on Friday 26th January with new Magician Magic Mikey who comes very highly recommended: http://magicmikey.co.uk

They’ll be two shows, at 4pm (Reception - Y3) and 5.30pm (Y4-6). Full details and tickets are already available on Classlist: https://app.classlist.com/parent/#/events/view/1095690669?s=832640692&utm_source=SCHOOL&utm_medium=SHARED_LINK

FoT Members

We are always on the look out for new members! Whether you want to join the committee, 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.

Have a wonderful break, and we look forward to seeing you all for more fun and fundraising in 2024!

Many thanks!

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

Clubs & Activity Camps

The lunchtime and extracurricular club information is available on our Clubs & Activity Camps website pages, which includes registration and timetabling information for SPRING TERM. 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.

Please note that no extra-curricular clubs run during the

first and last full week of term unless published otherwise.

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 9:30am a day prior to your request or by Friday if your request is for a Monday morning.

Ad hoc spaces are charged at a slightly higher rate of £10 per session per child (via ParentPay) and are only available on Monday and Friday only due to no capacity on other days.

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

Contact - Ms Geen-Moore

E: breakfastclub@tetherdownschool.org

Days, Times and Cost click here.

Wraparound Care: After School Club

Tetherdown School offer a Tetherdown After School Club which is run in collaboration with The Elms Group, delivering high quality extra curricula activities with an outdoor and creative play focus. There are different sessions available to register which you can find below under Days, Times and Cost. Children who attend After School Club after 4:30pm are offered a healthy light savoury snack together with fruit. Our Tetherdown After School Club menu can be downloaded below.

Contact - Ms Woodward

For information about vacancies/waiting lists and payment queries for after school club please email the named contact above in the first instance.

E: afterschoolclub@tetherdownschool.org

Days, Times, Cost and Timetable of Activities click here.

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

Christmas HAF Camp for Benefit Related Free School Meals

Enfield Council are funding an amazing initiative called the "HAF program" where children in receipt of "Benefit related free school meals" are invited to come along to our super fun sports camps completely free of charge, and where we also provide a free hot meal every day for the children.

Booking link for eligible parents: - HAF Programme Holiday Activity