Kenya Visit

07/02/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Next weekend Mrs Helps and I will be jetting off,  with eight other teachers in Salford,  to spend our half term holiday visiting schools in a remote part of Kenya.  The visit is being organised and paid for by the government as part of the Teachers’ International Professional Development programme.  The aim of the visit is to develop links with schools in Kenya so we can give our children a better international perspective.  During the week I hope to post a few messages on this blog to let you know how we are getting on!

Mr Harris

Musical Toyshop Workshop

03/02/2010 by thedeansmrharris

This morning the children in the Early Years and KS1 joined with the staff from MAPAS for a Musical Toybox workshop.  The children listened to and performed to songs from the Nutcracker,  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Pinochio.  The children really enjoyed singing the songs, playing the instruments as well as dressing up!

Internet and Mobile Phone Safety

27/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Just a reminder that there will be a meeting in school on Thursday 28th January between 9am and 10 am about Internet and Mobile Phone Safety.

Everyone welcome

UPDATE

If you were unable to attend the meeting but would like some information about Internet and mobile phone safety, then have a look at

www.thinkuknow.co.uk  There is information on this website for all ages!

Emergency Newsletter 15th January 2010

15/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

 Dear Parents,

The extremely cold temperatures that we experienced over Christmas have not continued since our return to school. Therefore on Monday 18th January:

 Children will go back to wearing school uniform. Children can continue to come in wellingtons or boots and change into pumps / school shoes once inside the building

 School will also return to the normal starting time of 8.55 a.m. As the playground is still out of use children should come straight into the hall (Nursery children will continue to use the Y2 infant entrance and then straight into Nursery) Children arriving from 8.40 a.m. will be allowed into the hall. Please do not arrive before this time

 Until we are able to access the playground we will have to continue with the staggered end to the school day. This will help ease the congestion to the main entrance of the school

N – 3.15

YR/ Y1/ Y2 – 3.20

Juniors – 3.30

 Most after school clubs will resume e.g. Satellite choir Tuesday 3.45 p.m. – 4.45 p.m. (new choir members from Y3 -Y6 welcome) and band on Thursday. KENEX after school club will also resume on Monday. No SAM club on Monday and no football club until further notice

 To summarise:

 From Monday school uniform only to be worn in school

 8.55 a.m. usual start

 Most after school clubs will resume as normal

We have certainly had enough of the snow and look forward to returning to normal playtimes and lunchtimes so the children can get outside. Once we have access to the playground we will return to the usual 3.30 p.m. end of the school day for YR – Y6 and 3.25 p.m. for the Nursery. We will keep you informed of any changes.

Thank you for your continued support

 P. Frayne

Headteacher

Snow Photos

14/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Thankyou to everyone who took the time to send some photos of what they got up to in the snow.  As the snow continues to slowly disappear day by day, it will be good to look  back at them later in the year during another BBQ summer!!

School OPEN on Monday 11th January 2010

09/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Dear Parents, 

Thank you for your patience during such extraordinary circumstances. 

We are endeavouring to open school on Monday 11th January, unless the weather worsens significantly before then. 

Staff  have been into school to check that it can be opened safely on Monday, but keeping in mind that this is an emergency situation temporary arrangements will affect arrivals and departures. 

The local authority has also said it cannot provide support to grit the access roads to school so please if possible don’t drive down Vicarage Road, it’s already extremely hazardous to drive on. 

I feel that having parents from both St Peters and The Deans all trying to drop children off at the same time could present a real hazard for car drivers and pedestrians alike. As a result we are slightly altering the opening and closing times of our school so it doesn’t coincide with St Peters. The school gates will open at 8.50 for a 9.15 start time. The end of the day will be at 3.15 for the Nursery and 3.20 for the Reception and Infant classes including all the Junior children with brothers or sisters in the Infants and Early Years. The rest of the Junior children who do not have brothers or sisters in the Infants will finish at the usual time of 3.30. By staggering the end of the day hopefully this will alleviate congestion as St Peters are allowing their children to be collected from 2.45pm.

If these slightly altered times to the school day present a problem please discuss this with your child’s teacher. 
 

Arrivals  – Paths have been cleared to the main entrance on Vicarage Road. This will be the only access to school. Children should then come straight into school through the Junior entrance and into the hall (following the usual arrangements for a rainy morning) except doors will be open from 8.50 a.m. The Nursery children will enter school through the Year 2 Infant entrance (to the left of the main entrance) and then straight to the Nursery.  

Departures – All Nursery children at 3.15, Reception and Infants (Years 1 and 2) including their Junior brothers and sisters at 3.20 will leave school by the Year 2 Infant entrance or the main entrance. All Junior children at 3.30 will come out of the usual Junior exit. 

Under the powdery snow, the playground is very icy and presents a real concern. We will not be taking standard playtimes or lunchtimes outside together, but may take the children out in small safe numbers. 

Essential paths have been cleared as much as is reasonably possible but please take extra care to keep to the cleared pathways. 

Our concern at the moment is that children should be appropriately dressed for the snowy weather conditions e.g. layered clothing, boots or Wellingtons, hats and gloves etc. During this prolonged cold spell we will be focusing on a ‘Keep Warm Keep Well’ message, so children will not be expected to come to school in school uniform but appropriately dressed for the weather conditions (the school building might not be as warm as it usually is!). They will change into pumps once in school. Please ensure your child has pumps as part of their PE kit in school. 

We have enough food to supply the usual school lunches for Monday and Tuesday. If deliveries cannot be made after that, we will be unable to supply meals. I will inform parents if deliveries cannot be made and in these circumstances your child will have to be provided with a packed lunch from home. 

There will be no clubs after school for the time being. 

The KENEX Before School club will be run as usual but there will be no After School club operating until further notice. 

If the weather deteriorates before Monday morning and we are unable to open the school a message will be posted on the website before 8a.m on Monday. 

If you know of any parents who do not have internet access please pass on the details in this letter to them. 

Thank you for your support during these challenging times and please take extra care on your journey to and from school. 

Mrs Frayne

Snow Clearing

08/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Some of the staff were busy clearing snow this morning so that the school could be in a position to reopen as soon as we were given the go-ahead from the Local Authority.  Further details about when we will reopen will appear here soon.

Snowmen

07/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Thanks for the pictures of you playing in the snow.  To see the pictures we have received so far, have a look at our ‘Page’ called ‘What we got up to in the snow’  (see the list of pages in the column on the right)  If you have any more photos please email them to:

aharris@thedeansprimary.co.uk

Thankyou!

School Closed on Friday

07/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

All Salford schools will remain closed on Friday 8th January following guidance issued to headteachers by the city council. An assessment will be made Friday regarding schools opening on Monday.

http://www.salford.gov.uk/schoolclosures.htm

Have you got any good photos of you playing in the snow?

06/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Have you got any good photos of you playing in the snow, or perhaps a snowman you have made? If you have and you would like to see your picture on the school website, then send it to:

 aharris@thedeansprimary.co.uk

Make sure you tell us something about the photo. I look forward to seeing what you have been doing

Have a look at our ‘Page’ called ‘What we got up to in the snow’  (see the list of pages in the column on the right)

What do you think of the Snow?

06/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

For a bit of fun I thought we could find out what you thought about the snow.

School closed on Thursday

06/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

All Salford schools will remain closed on Thursday 7 January following guidance issued to headteachers by the city council.

An assessment will be made tomorrow regarding schools opening on Friday.

Please keep checking this website for further information.

Snow Jokes

05/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Do you know any snow jokes?

What’s an ig?
An eskimo’s home without a loo!

How do snowmen travel around ?
By iceicle !

Knock! Knock!
Who’s there?
Icy!
Icy who?
Icy a big polar bear up ahead!

If you know any better ones than mine, then put then in a comment below!

The Deans are on Twitter

05/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Over the course of the next few months we will be experimenting in using Twitter to communicate with parents and friends of The Deans. If you already use twitter then you can ‘follow’ The Deans by searching for thedeansprimary. If you want to find out how to use twitter then see our Twitter Instructions page on the right

School Closed Wednesday 6th January (not the 5th as previously stated)

05/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

The school will remain closed on Wednesday 6th January along with all other Salford schools. As soon as we have details about when the school will reopen, we will post them here.

What are you doing today in the snow?

05/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

Let us know what you are doing (or have done) in the snow today.  Click on  ‘comment’  below.  Just use you first name (and class if you want to) You don’t need to type in an email address or a website.

School Closed

05/01/2010 by thedeansmrharris

 

Due to the heavy snowfall overnight and staff being unable to get into school,  unfortunately the school will be closed today. Hopefully we will be open again tomorrow. I will update this website before 8am tomorrow morning to let you know whether the school will be open on Wednesday.

Frances Hartley CBE

31/12/2009 by thedeansmrharris

Today it was announced that Frances Hartley is to be awarded the CBE.  The CBE stands for Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

The CBE award typically goes to those who have a high profile role in regional affairs and have made a distinguished contribution in their area of activity. 

This is how it has been reported in the newspapers this morning

“There is a CBE for Frances Hartley, until recently headteacher of Deans primary school in Salford. She transformed the school from one of the borough’s worst-performing primaries into one rated “outstanding” by Ofsted and named as the country’s best in 2007.”

Congratulations Mrs. Hartley from everyone at The Deans!

Air Raid Shelters

16/12/2009 by thedeansmrharris

Singing for the Troops

01/12/2009 by thedeansmrharris

This morning the children in the Swinton junior Choir sang for the Mayor and all the soldiers of the The 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.  The soldiers have strong links to Lancashire and Salford and this was an opportunity for people in Salford to welcome local soldiers who have been stationed in Helmand.