Latest News
Regular updates, messages and news are posted here.
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Welcome Back September 2023
Tue 05 Sep 2023Welcome Back: September 2023
Hello Everyone,
I hope you have all enjoyed a restful, happy and (in the past few days at least) sunny summer holiday.
A particularly warm welcome goes out to those of you whose children are new to our school, including those about to start in Early Years.
First things first – I can confirm that we have no aerated concrete in the school buildings.
A few reminders:
Our school gates open at 8.45am and all children go straight to class. If you need to speak to your child’s teacher, please understand that this may not be the best time and they may ask you to come back at a later time. Children must be in class by 9am or they are marked as late.
School ends at 3.10pm for all infant classes and 3.15pm for all junior classes. In some cases, children who have had their 10th birthday are allowed to walk home on their own but only if we have a completed form signed by a parent – speak to Mrs Oyak or Mrs Bain at the school gate and they will be able to help with this.
Please read the information on school uniform on the Parents’ section of the school website – it includes the reminder that uniform includes plain black shoes. Jewellery is not safe – it can cause horrible injuries to children who wear it if there is an accident. For this reason, jewellery should not be worn.
If your child rides their bike or scooter to school then please remind them that they are not allowed to ride on the playground – they need to dismount before they get to the school gate. We currently have more bikes and scooters than we have space for in our shelters. More shelters have been ordered but we are still waiting. In the meantime, storing them all safely, particularly scooters, is a problem. Last year we lost a bike and a scooter – taken from the school playground. It would be helpful if you could take your child’s scooter home with you and store it there during the school day rather than leave it in school. If you do leave your child’s scooter in school then please make it uniquely identifiable. I wish I could guarantee to you that all items brought into school could be left safe at all times – but I can’t make you this promise. In assemblies I remind children that any item that is special or precious (that would cause upset if lost) should be left at home and not brought into school.
I send you all my best wishes for a positive and successful first term back at school.
Kind regards,
M Hanks
Headteacher
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Teachers' Strike Action Thursday 2nd March
Tue 28 Feb 202328th February 2023
NEU Teachers’ Strike Action: Thursday 2nd March
Dear Parents,
The planned teachers’ strike for Thursday 2nd March is going ahead. The following classes will be closed on Thursday: Class 5B, Class 4B and Class 4A.
All other classes will be open as normal.
If your child is in one of the closed classes and entitled to free school meals, they are welcome to join us for lunch. If you would like your child to have lunch at school, please arrange for them to be brought to the school office by an adult at 12.15pm. We cannot keep them in school outside of the lunch hour and they will need to be collected by an adult at 1.15pm. Your child will need to be in their school uniform.
Yours sincerely,
M Hanks
Headteacher
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Happy Christmas December 2022
Fri 16 Dec 2022Happy Christmas Everyone!
Thank you to everyone who attended the carol concert in the snow and ice on Tuesday – it was brilliant, truly memorable and truly freezing!
My thanks go to all staff and members of our reformed PTA who helped organise and make it happen – and mostly to Mr Desoer and Mr Smith (our new caretaker) who both worked tirelessly for 2 days to get the ground cleared of snow and ice and safe for the children to perform and for you to be able to join us. It was an absolute joy.
Weeks like this can bring out the best in us. On Monday the whole of the juniors were able to play in the snow together – they had a great time without anyone getting over excited or silly. All week the children have enjoyed the festivities in school – the concert, the decorations, the parties and Christmas lunch and they have done so mostly without being able to play outside. The ice and grit on the ground have made this impossible since Monday. We have had no fuss, no bother, no extra ‘work clubs’ (in fact, no ‘work clubs at all!). We should all be very proud of how our children have adapted to the unusual week they’ve had.
You can now keep up to date with everything happening in school via the new class websites. Follow the link in the Children section of the school website to your child’s year group. Here you will find information on dates, timings, homework and topic work as well as letters and some examples of what pupils are up to at school.
In the meantime, I wish you again a very happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the new year when we return to school on Wednesday 4th January.
My very best wishes to you all,
M Hanks
Headteacher
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End of Year July 2022
Mon 18 Jul 2022Dear Parents,
I write to send you all my very best wishes for a safe and happy summer holiday.
To our Year Sixes (WITH THEIR RECORD, BEST EVER SATs RESULTS!!) who are moving on to secondary school, we say goodbye and wish you all every success and happiness in your new schools. We look forward to your visits and hearing all about your new adventures.
We also bid farewell to our Site Service Officer Mr Fraser, who has worked in Waltham Forest for 20 years – most of it with us I’m glad to say– and is retiring at the end of the summer. We thank him for working so hard over the years and helping us all; we wish him a well-deserved, long and happy retirement.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to and helped organise our carnival/picnic. The family picnic is one of my personal highlights of the year; as always, the event was lively and brilliantly supported. You all helped create the friendly inclusive, relaxed atmosphere and the weather was perfect – with the heat thankfully holding off until later that afternoon.
The new school year starts on Monday 5th September. Please make sure that all children return in full school uniform including plain black school shoes.
In the mornings, the gates open at 8.45am and close at 9am. All children must arrive during this time and be in class by 9am when the gates will be locked.
School ends at 3.10pm for the infants and at 3.15pm for the juniors.
Children who have had their 10th birthday will be able to come to school and walk home on their own but only if we have written permission from the child’s parent. Please find Mrs Oyak or Mrs Bain at the school gate and ask for the form to complete if you would like this to happen. These children’s younger brothers and sisters still need to be brought to school and collected by an adult.
Have a very happy summer holiday – see you all on September 5th!
M Hanks
Headteacher
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Classes and Teachers 2022/23
Mon 18 Jul 2022Staffing 2022 /23
Year group Teachers
Nursery Mrs Desoer
RA Miss El Tahlawi
RB Mrs Pridmore
1A Mrs Sackey
1B Mrs Khan
Ms Ghavami
2A Miss Pallett
2B Ms Alexander
Mr Harris
3A Miss Young
3B Mr James
4A Mr Whyte
4B Mrs Kelly
5A Mr Chelaru
5B Mr Lago
6A Ms Marmora
6B Mr Sadiq
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Same Difference Picnic Brunch
Wed 13 Jul 2022Hello Everyone,
Due to the warnings of extreme heat forecast for Monday afternoon, we have changed the time of our picnic to the morning. Please come and join us from 10am on Monday morning, 18th July.
I look forward to seeing you there.
M Hanks
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Same Difference Project and Celebration
Fri 24 Jun 202227th June 2022
Same Difference
Dear Parents,
Over the next few weeks we will ask all pupils to work on a project about themselves. The purpose of the project is to recognise and celebrate our children’s individuality and diversity. The work will be known as the Same Difference project.
We want to encourage all children to consider and share with others those things that make them who they are – their talents, interests, family, languages, home country and cultural heritage.
All children will be able to contribute. – whether their family comes from across the globe or has stayed in Walthamstow for generations. We will be asking everyone to work on a family tree and we will need your help to complete this. Your children may also ask you to borrow family photos or help with their projects. Please give your support where you can.
At the end of the project, we will invite you all to attend a carnival afternoon and family picnic in the school grounds that celebrates everyone’s contribution to the diversity of our school’s culture. Our Same Difference celebration and picnic will be in three weeks’ time during the afternoon of Monday 18th July. We will send you the times and an invitation closer to the date.
I look forward to seeing you there.
Yours sincerely,
M Hanks
Headteacher
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March 2022
Mon 21 Mar 2022UNICEF Ukraine Appeal
This week we are collecting for UNICEF's Ukraine Appeal. All money raised goes to help provide children and their families in Ukraine with food and clean water, life saving supplies, child protection services and safe spaces in neighbouring countries. Please be generous. Give what you can. We are collecting at the school gates in the mornings and at home time.
Toy Library and Reading Mornings
We hope the school can continue to gradually unwind from Covid restrictions. After Easter we plan to reopen Toy Library (our pre-school drop-in provision) and welcome parents back to Reading Mornings. Both of these plans are subject to local advice from Waltham Forest Public Health and will be affected if Covid infections rise again.
School Nurse
Our school nurse is holding drop-in sessions for any parent with any concerns or questions relating to the physical or emotional health of their child. Drop-in sessions run between 9am and 10am on the following Wednesdays:
27th April
25th May
8th June
20th July
School Dates
Term finishes for the Easter holiday on Friday 1st April. We do not finish early on this day.
We come back to school after the Easter holiday on Tuesday 19th April.
Extra Day's holiday in May.
Everyone has been given an extra day's holiday this year in celebration of Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee. School will be closed on Friday 27th May.
Our full school calendar for this year and next year is on the website.
Enjoy the sunshine
M Hanks
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December 2021
Thu 09 Dec 2021Carol Concert Tuesday 14th December
We look forward to seeing many of you at this whole school event. Entry is by timed ticket only.
If we get rained off on Tuesday, then we'll try again on Wednesday.
Please bring a face covering with you. Please make sure that all singers come to school with extra warm clothes to wear - hat, gloves and a winter jumper.
Last day of term
We close for the Christmas holiday on Friday 17th December at 2pm. There will be no After School Club on that day. We return on Tuesday 4th January.
Happy Christmas to you all.
Admissions Policy
A copy of our draft policy for 2022 is on this website: KEY INFORMATION > POLICIES. This is currently for your consultation. If you have any comments (there are no major changes from our current policy) please contact the school by emailing office@rapsch.co.uk before Wednesday 20th January.
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September: Back to School
Fri 03 Sep 2021Hello Everyone,
We look forward to welcoming you all back to school on Monday 6th September .
Please take note of the following reminders from the newsletter posted in July:
All children will be back with us on Monday 6th September. Please make sure that all children are in full school uniform including PLAIN BLACK SCHOOL SHOES – with no visible colour or brand logo.
In the mornings, the gates will open at 8.45am and close at 9am. Children can arrive at any time during this window. All children must be in class by 9am when the gates will be locked.
In school, children will be allowed once more to mix across year groups and play together.
School will end at 3.10pm for all classes in the infants and at 3.15pm for all classes in the juniors.
Children IN YEAR 6 ONLY will be able to come to school and walk home alone but only if we have written permission from the child’s parent. You will need to complete a form with Mrs Oyak or Mrs Bain at the school gate if you would like this to happen.
Swimming lessons will start again for all children in Years 3 and 4. We will let you know in September when each class is going swimming.
The school office will be open but visitors will be asked to wait outside rather than queueing inside and to wear a mask.
Parents and visitors must wear a mask inside all school buildings.
Kind regards
M Hanks
Headteacher