Our end of year show is taking place in school on Thursday 1st July (rehearsal day is 30th June). All children will be involved in preparing for this, even if permission is not granted for the video (they will just not feature on the day). Usually at this point in the year we have calls from families asking what they need to wear on the day. To make this easier for all please see below:

Year 3 (Class 1 Mrs McMahon) – all children are wear ‘normal clothes’ as if they are going shopping.

Year 3 (Class 2 Miss White) – all children are to wear casual clothes that they can dance in, this must include flat shoes and a hat/cap.

Year 4 – Some children will be scientists and they will need to wear a plain white top, black trousers and we will provide them with a wig. If your child is NOT a scientist (they will have been told) then they need to wear ‘normal’ style clothes i.e. just non-uniform.

Year 5 (Class 5 Miss Breheny) – All children to wear black ‘from top to toe’.

Year 5 (Class 6 Mr Moore) – All children to wear black bottoms and either ‘red, white or blue’ top.

Year 6 – Please can you ensure your child knows what they are wearing, the teachers have already told them. Most children have different parts and many costumes are being provided by school.

CJS Team

To all our families…

As you may remember, our outdoor library was burnt down last year. Thanks to all the amazing fundraising, lead by one of our parents (Kyla).

With the money raised and a substantial amount added from our budget we have gone bigger and better. At the moment we have a company furnishing the in side of it and this will be completed in a few weeks. As this touched the hearts of so many in our community, we thought it only fair to allow our children to name it…

We recently ran this competition to name our outdoor space, please can you take the time to choose a name from the list below before Friday 2nd July.

They will be given a small reward and will also feature in a photograph which will be published in our local paper. We hope this will all be done by the end of term.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Uv_fRWSDc02_Oo-YvfENhzGYEp0zDERAnxWCoX5eIjVUMlg3V09DNEVCMEhLWjE5Q0kzUUVXTUpQRy4u

Good Luck to all the children who entered!

CJS Team

We have had to reschedule our American Themed Day which was due to be held on Monday 5th July. Our cook is isolating and as this was her idea we need to move it back a week.

Please make a note of this change of date.

All children now to come to school in their usual uniform on Monday 5th July
Text to those who have opted a school meal will receive a text on Monday 12th July
The new American Themed Day will be Wednesday 14th July and all children can come to school wearing red, white and blue.
There are no changes to any school start/finish times on this day.

CJS Team

Previous info sent below:

https://www.consett-jun.durham.sch.uk/american-themed-day-dinner-menu/

Dear families

Over the last year and a half our school has operated on a staggered start/finish system, whereby, lower school start and finish slightly sooner than upper school, and to support you we allow siblings to come in early or stay behind to await collection. At this moment in time, we are not able to tell you the plan for September, other than we have a Plan A – stay as things are now but slowly introduce extra-curricular after school clubs. Or Plan B we return to 8.40 a.m. gates open for an 8.55 a.m. start (this is for children not attending breakfast club), and all school finishes at 3.30 p.m. and clubs will resume as normal. We would like to be confident enough to say that the normal hours of the school day will return, however, this is highly unlikely.

Therefore, please plan for our school to remain on the same operational system that it is now; staggered start and finish times; year group bubbles; staggered breaks and lunchtimes; lower school collection from the yard; assigned year group entrance and exits; 7.45 a.m. bubble group breakfast club and coming to school wearing PE kits on their assigned days (timetables will be uploaded to the website class pages over the summer holidays).

If, during the school holidays we are informed that we can return to ‘normal’ we will keep you informed using our usual communication systems. Therefore, please ensure you check the school app and our website regularly over the holidays and we will text the primary contacts if there have been any updates. Unfortunately, it can often be very late in holidays when DfE guidance is released, and this is very much dependent on the Governments roadmap, so we can only apologise if this is short notice to you, but it will also be short notice for us.

Below is a link shared to parents regarding last year’s safe reopening. The times and staggers of the day remain the same, and the FAQ’s are also the same (however clubs are likely to start after the first half term). Please note that the dates to return to school in the link below are last years (2020). For this September children in year 3 in September return on Wednesday 1st September 10.00 – 2.00 p.m.. The rest of the school will return together on Thursday 2nd September, at the times stated in the links below. 

https://www.consett-jun.durham.sch.uk/changes-to-the-times-of-the-day-september-2020/

There is also a link to a YouTube https://youtu.be/6VnBhUJXJEs

CJS Team

Transition to CJS is different again this year, these welcome messages are a lovely way to let your children know who’s class they are in and also which friends will be with them.  It is really disappointing that the children cannot visit us next week, and we were hoping to arrange a Teams meeting, however, today we have just discovered that the teachers can actually come and see their new class of children in the CIS yard before the end of term.

To confirm;

If your child is in Class 1, their teacher is Mrs McMahon. However, Miss Hughes will teach them every Monday and also do small interventions groups with some children. Class 1 will be supported by Miss Lynch.

If your child is in Class 2, their teacher is Miss White. Miss Hughes will also do small intervention groups with some children. Class 2 will be supported by Miss Atkinson.

Listen carefully…

Dear Year 2 Families,

I’m sure you are aware of the significant increase in the Delta Covid variant in and around the Consett area in the last week. This is causing an increase in families isolating and schools closing bubbles across the area, indeed within our cluster of schools.

Therefore, having sought advice, I have reluctantly decided to cancel the transition day for the Year 2 children planned for Friday 2nd July. Although I am sure you and your child will be disappointed, I must be mindful about the advice from Public Health England and continue safeguard the children and staff in both schools.

We were already inviting the new children into school a day earlier than planned in September, where they will have the chance to explore the school grounds and environment without any other children on site. They will spend their day with their new teachers and support assistants.

In addition to this we will arrange for our Year 3 teachers to meet their new Year 2 class over TEAMs.

I really do understand the concerns parents have, with children transferring to a new school, but I can reassure you that last year’s children were in a similar situation, and they coped superbly. The first three days they are with us in September is to focus on transition and getting to know the school, the staff and adjusting to their new class groups.

Best wishes,

Mr Dixon

Head Teacher

In light of the current situation regarding a recent rise in covid cases in our local area please do not allow children to bring fidget toys into school as these are being swapped and touched by lots of different children. If your child requires these toys as part of their SEN plan, we will provide them.

Could we also remind you that children should only be bringing packed lunches and water bottles in from home. No pencil cases or large bags with nothing in. Therefore, children on school meals should only have their water bottle, children with ‘carry handle’ packed lunches should not have large bags.

Apart from the fact we are trying to keep our school as clean as possible, these items are not necessary and are creating issues with regards to safety as well as space in classrooms.

CJS Team

Dear families

Over the weekend we have heard of several cases of covid in our local area, which has resulted in school bubble closures and several people isolating. With only four weeks left of this term and the hope that the government moves us into step 4 of the roadmap in July, we are urging you to remain vigilant and not send your child to school if you suspect they may have Covid.

If you have been in contact with a positive case you must self isolate immediately.

If a member of your bubble has Covid you must all self isolate.

If you are waiting for PCR results the whole bubble must self isolate.

Please do not put others at further risk. For details about what you can and cannot do in step 3 of the road map please visit https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

CJS team