IMPORTANT INFORMATION

We no longer use this page.

What you will find below is historic news of events and activities here at Sawley.

From June 2019, most of our celebration news has been posted on ClassDojo or Twitter.

• January Staffing News

  Mon 15 Dec 2014

  I am writing to inform you of some staffing changes that will take effect in the new term in January.

   

  We have two members of staff who will be leaving Sawley Junior School this Friday: they will both be beginning new posts and furthering their careers at new schools in January.

   

  After 4 years of dedicated work here at Sawley, Mrs Tinto will be leaving us.  Mrs Tinto’s class will be taught by Mrs Dhanoa.  Mrs Dhanoa will be joining us this week to get know the children and to ensure minimum disruption to the children’s learning.

   

  Again, following 4 ½ years commitment to Sawley Junior School, Mrs O’Connor will also be leaving us to pursue her career in a new school. Teachers in Year 6 have the added responsibility of a demanding Year 6 curriculum which prepares the children for their SATs in May. It was imperative to ensure a replacement teacher knew the school well and had the appropriate experience. Mrs Beresford, who currently teaches Year 5, will be moving into Year 6 from January.

   

  From January, 5B will be taught by Miss Fulford. In order to aid a smooth transition and a seamless change, Miss Fulford has been coming into school over the past few weeks, getting to know the children and planning for the new term with staff.

   

  Both of these teachers have worked tirelessly whilst at Sawley Junior School: they have had a huge impact in terms of their contribution to our school as a whole and to those individual children they have taught. We are sad to see them leave however, we wish them all the very best in their new posts and future teaching careers.

   

  Huge thanks also go to Mrs Whittington who has been teaching in Year 4WH during Mrs Wood’s absence. From January, Mr Walker will be teaching in 4WH on Thursdays and Fridays. Mrs Whittington will be continuing her role in teaching 5TW Mondays and Tuesdays.

  We would like to take this opportunity to assure parents/carers that Governors and senior leaders will continue to work hard to ensure that the education your child receives at Sawley Junior School remains of the highest quality.

   

  We would like to thank you in anticipation for your continued support.

• Christmas Cafe

  Fri 12 Dec 2014

  Friday 12th June

  On Friday 12th December, we will be holding a Christmas activity event. From 1.30pm, come and join your child in their classroom and take part in a Christmas craft activity.

   

  In the hall, there will be Christmas Café serving hot drinks and cake, carol singing and a raffle - 1st prize is a £50 Marks and Spencer voucher!

   

  We would ask all parents to leave the classrooms by 2.45pm to allow the children to tidy away and be ready for going home. The café will close at 3pm to allow the children to be collected from the playground as normal.

   

• Xmas Jumper Day

  Fri 12 Dec 2014

  Wear a Xmas Jumper (or anything else 'Christmassy') and help Save the Children.

   

  Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day is now in its third year and, thanks to fantastic supporters popping on their pullovers up and down the nation, Save the Children have raised more than £1.6 million to date.

  Will you join the woolly revolution this year?

  This year the government will double your money – matching every pound you give. 

   

• Academy Conversion

  Tue 11 Nov 2014 A Burton

  On1^st November 2014 Sawley Junior School officially converted to an academy and is now part of Willows Academy Trust in partnership with Sawley Infant & Nursery School, Dovedale Primary and Shardlow Primary. 

  The Board of Trustees have worked hard to coordinate the transfer from Derbyshire County Council to Willows Academy Trust and we are pleased to announce this official conversion date.  We are no longer a Derbyshire County Council School and as such we will receive our funding direct from the Education Funding Agency. The day to day running of the school will continue to remain the same for our pupils and as a Multi Academy Trust we are developing our strategic vision under the motto ‘Aspire Achieve Thrive’. The Board of Directors will be writing to all stakeholders in the near future to set out their ethos and vision for the trust.

• Dinner Money Changes

  Tue 11 Nov 2014

  Paying for school dinners is changing…..

   

  Information about dinner money

  (Please keep in case your child may have dinners in the future)

   

  Please note that from 3^rd November dinner money cheques should be made payable to Sawley Junior School NOT Derbyshire County Council.

   

  Children should give dinner money for the week to their class teacher on a Monday. All classes have a ‘dinner money bag’ which is then brought to the office.  Please avoid handing dinner money in at the office. The school office will provide you with dinner money bags if you need them – just let us know or pop in. Please send the correct money if possible – it is sometimes difficult to find change for everyone who does not send the correct money.

   

  Dinners should be taken on the same day(s) each week and, if your child does not have dinners every day, we ask that you pay for several days at a time.

   

  You are welcome to pay for more than one week at a time; in fact, it makes accounting much easier, especially if you pay for the whole half-term.

   

  If you would like to pay for the whole of the next half-term (Nov – Dec) it will be:

   

  Years 3-5 and year 6 non-residential children (7 weeks) - £68.25

   

  Year 6 residential children (6 weeks) - £58.50*

   

  *If you would like your child to have a dinner on Monday 3^rd November (departure day), please send £1.95 this week.

  Thank you.

   

• Parents'Evening

  Mon 29 Sep 2014

  Dear Parents/Carers,

   

  We will soon be holding our October Open Evenings. The purpose of these evenings is to meet your child’s class teacher and share your child’s targets for the coming year. 

   

  Open Evenings will be held on Monday 20th between 3.45pm and 6pm and Tuesday 21^st October between 3.45pm and 5pm.

   

  Your child’s work will available for you to see in one of the year group classrooms and year group teachers will be available in the other. Children’s trays, with their work, will be out on the desks and clearly labelled. You may wish to arrive before your appointment time to allow for browsing your child’s work. The teachers will call parents/carers into the classroom for their appointment.

   

  Whilst we strive to stick to appointment times, parents/carers often wish to discuss issues that require more time. If you have something you wish to discuss with your child’s teacher at length, please – don’t wait until Open Evening, contact us to arrange a convenient time.

   

  In the past we have had problems with staff vulnerability and theft so we are therefore kindly requesting in order for the evening to run as smoothly and safely as possible, that you:-

  Enter/exit via the main reception entrance – we wish to keep all other doors closed at all times for safety reasons and so that we can monitor who is in the building;

  Sign in /sign out – registers will be available in the main reception area;

  After viewing your child’s work, please leave the trays tidy.

  Although we request that you try and arrange alternative arrangements for your child’s care, we understand that some parents need their children to accompany them. If you have no alternative but to bring your child to Open Evening, please ensure that they are supervised. There will be no staff available to supervise your children during your appointment.

   

  Finally, please do come along as your interest and support is vital for us to work together. We look forward to meeting with you.

   

  Yours sincerely,

   

   

  Mrs A Burton

  Headteacher

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

   

  Please tick preferred times	3.45-4.30pm	4.30pm-5pm	5pm-6pm
  Monday 20th October
  Tuesday 21st October			N/A

   

  Child’s Name ______________________________ Class _________________

   

  I/We also have a child in other classes­_________________________________

   

  …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  School Use:

   

  Your appointment will be at

   

• Academy Conversion Update

  Tue 23 Sep 2014 Mrs A Burton

  You may recall that back in May, we consulted parents and the wider community on our conversion to academy status. The proposal was to become a primary, multi-academy trust (MAT) with Sawley Infant & Nursery School, Dovedale Primary School and Shardlow Primary school.       

  We are excited to announce that following a positive consultation, the conversion is planned to go ahead on Monday 3^rd November, 2014. We will retain our name as Sawley Junior School but will part of Willows Academy Trust. We just await some final bits of paperwork to complete.

  Why Willows? The ground in Sawley was originally covered with sallow willows, ‘salh’ in Anglo-Saxon, they called it 'Salloe' or 'Sallé', meaning the hill with willows, and this eventually became 'Sawley'. There is also a strong connection between the Willow Tree and Shardlow – hence the name – Willows Academy Trust to join the four schools together.

  To remind you, academy conversion:-

  • will give us freedom to agree and establish our own curriculum and share staff expertise across the four schools;
  • will closer develop and embed the current collaboration between the four schools and provide opportunities to develop initiatives which might be too costly or time consuming for an individual school;
  • will give the school access to additional funding which is currently retained by the local authority;
  • Will allow the purchase of services and resources across a group of schools reducing cost and enabling services to be more tailored to our needs.

  The day to day running of the school will continue to remain the same for our pupils. Each school will maintain its unique characteristics and ethos.  There are no plans to:-

  •  make alterations to the school uniform;
  •  change the school name;
  •  alter the employment rights of the staff;
  •  make alterations to the school year or the school day.

  All documentation shared including the full consultation report is available here.

• Jeans for Genes Day

  Thu 18 Sep 2014

  Sawley Junior School will be taking part in this year’s Jeans for Genes Day on Friday 19^th September.

   

  All children and staff are invited to wear their jeans on Friday 19^th September to help Jeans for Genes Day reach its target of £2million.  We’d like everyone to take part so please send your child into school on the Day wearing their jeans on the bottom half and normal school uniform on the top and with a £1 donation.

   

  1 in 25 children has a genetic disorder that makes their life very difficult. That’s one in every class. By wearing our jeans and donating, we will change these children’s lives. If you’d like to find out more about how our support will help, please visit their website at jeansforgenes.org

   

  Thank you,

   

  Organised by the School Council

• Swimming details

  Tue 09 Sep 2014

  Autumn term 2014 lessons

   

  We plan to start swimming lessons on Monday 15^th September until 23^rd October. All children will be expected to take part.

   

  Please note: Not every child in each class will be able to swim every week due to limited space in the pool, however, please send them with one in case a space becomes available.

   

  All children will need a one piece costume, towel and swim hat every week and all earrings must be removed. Any children with long hair must make sure they have it tied back for their lesson. Swim hats are available to purchase from the office at £1 each.

   

  Day	Class 12.45-1.35pm	Class  1.30pm-2.25pm	Class 2.20pm- 3.15pm
  Monday	3R	3B	6S
  Tuesday	5/6S	6OC	4WH
  Wednesday	4H	Booster Group	Booster Group
  Thursday	5TW	5B	3/4T

   

  If your child is in a booster group they will be individually informed.

   

  If you have any concerns or questions please do not hesitate to see your child’s teacher.

   

• Photograph details

  Thu 24 Jul 2014

  The School Photographer will be in school to take individual and family group photographs on Thursday 18^th September, commencing at 8.30am.

   

  Should you wish your child to be photographed with their brother/sister who attend the Juniors please complete the reply slip at the bottom of this newsletter, telling us which class your children are in, and return to the school office by Friday 12^th September. These family group photographs will then be taken during the morning.

   

  If we have no reply slip your child will be photographed individually – only one reply slip is necessary per family. 

   

  If you wish your child to be photographed with younger children including those at the Infants/Nursery you must bring all your children to the hall at 8.30am for their photograph. All younger children should be accompanied by an adult at all times. Please note we will not be fetching any children from the Infants for family photos during school hours this year as they will all be taken between 8.30am and 9am.

   

  If you have any questions please contact the office.

   

   

   

  Please return to the school office by Friday 12th September 2014.

   

  Child’s name _______________________              Class ____________

   

  School Photograph to be taken with:  

   

  Name _____________________________               Class _____________

   

  Name _____________________________               Class _____________