6 Oct 2008 - Parental Involvement Week

Dear Parents & Carers

Following our hugely successful Parental Involvement Week last year, I have started researching Parental Involvement Week 2008, and would really appreciate your input on the ideas we have as a school so far, as well as any other ideas you would like to contribute.

The working title at the moment is “The Cultural Marketplace – Be Proud of Who You Are” and this year’s date is:

Monday 6^th October – Friday 10^th October 2008 

We are thinking about activities and workshops that we could include in the week and while we are still planning it, I would really like to hear from you. Did you like the format of the week last year? This year, the week could again involve a variety of workshops for you and your children as well an evening event, for parents and members of staff to socialise, with the Staff Parent Association (SPA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and a workshop. I am also really keen on their being a celebration at the end of the week, and parents to come in on Friday afternoon to share in the work we have done all week. What are your thoughts on this idea?

Ideas so far:

Hopefully the week could include:

Cooking activities based around a nationality, religion or culture, parents working with their child’s class on “Being Proud of Who they Are”, through their heritage and/or achievements, parents coming to workshops which include their children, such as story telling, dance, cooking, sewing, etc, and parents attending workshops that specifically interest them, some of which I have listed below.

Possible workshops for evening or day are:

Treasure Baskets (helping babies to discover and explore)

Healthy Eating

Learning Through Play

The impact of stress and coping strategies

Helping to support children’s learning at home: Understanding The National Curriculum.

Where to get advice on benefits

Internet Safety with Children (covering a range of topics from cyber bullying, accessing material and contact with others through websites/e-mail).

One of the workshops listed above could be linked in with the SPA AGM and be a part of a social evening, which will be on Thursday 5^th October. If there is more than one popular choice, the second or third choice could be run during the school day. If this were the case, you would be given lots of notice!

If there are any areas that you are particularly interested in that have not been listed above, and you feel would be a good workshop to run, please indicate it on the form. It would be great if we could have food and drink at this evening with an international flavour.

Please indicate if you would also like a crèche or translation at these, as these were offered last year, but were not necessarily used to their full advantage.

Last year over 80 parents attended the evening social. I have looked at the feedback you gave and would like to ask which format you would prefer for this year’s evening session:

Presentation based: Speaker talks to an audience – more information covered, but less interactive for parents. This is better for large numbers of people.

Workshop based: Very interactive for parents, but less topics covered. This is better for smaller groups of people.

Presentation, then a workshop approach: A combination of both.

Please indicate your preferred style on the feedback sheet attached.

It would also be fantastic for parents to come in and talk to their child’s class. This was a very successful activity last year. If you would be happy to volunteer, please could you fill in the slip below:

We would be interested in presentations/activities/talks on:

Other countries/nationalities/cultures in the world, especially these countries: Ghana, India, Turkey, France, UK & Ireland, Caribbean and Somalia.

Religious Festivals – These are the religious festivals near, in or soon after Parental Involvement Week:

Any parent/older sibling (over 18)/relative who would like to talk about their achievements, e.g. in the media, the community, for the environment, or any parent/older sibling (over 18)/relative who would like to talk about their heritage and why it makes them proud, or how it impacts their everyday life.

All forms need to be returned to me by Friday 23rd May 2008, so I can start to book workshops and create a timetable for the week. Please label the envelope with my name and class on it, or post it in the box outside the office.

Dates for your diary so far:

Parental Involvement week: 2 – 6^th October 2008 

SPA Annual Meeting: Thursday 5^th October 2008 

Computer Workshops:

Some of you will remember we offered computer workshops in the Autumn Term. Unfortunately there was not enough interest shown to run a workshop. If you were interested originally, or would now like a workshop that is related to computers and the curriculum, please indicate it on the form.

Thank you for your continued support,

Jeannette Morgan: Parent Liaison (Year 4 teacher: Blue Class)

Your Name:                                                                   Child’s Name & Class:

Tick the ideas/workshops/activities you would like to be included in Parental Involvement Week 2008: