Dear Parents,

Welcome back to Piasau School! I hope you have all had a super holiday and that your children are “ready to go” for a very exciting term ahead. A warm welcome to all our new families and children in Nursery and throughout the school. I look forward to meeting you over this term but in the meantime do not hesitate to come in and see us if you have any queries.
We also welcome to our school our new teacher, Jara Van Engelen. Jara will be teaching French in school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Over the next few weeks the schedule is pretty hectic, so please take a few moments to transfer dates onto your calendar so that you don’t miss out on any of the activities.

Culture

Our Culture sessions start next Wednesday and the country we shall be looking at is our host country of Malaysia. If you are Malaysian and would like to help, please let Miss Linda, our school secretary, know in the school office. She will then be able to put you in touch with Miss Julie (EAL teacher) or Miss Catherine (Nursery teacher) who over see the culture sessions. You will have noticed that our Practical Assistants and Zainab, our auxiliary police lady, have been busy putting together the display board on Malaysia. Please have a look. They have done a great job!

Swimming

Swimming starts next week at KRP pool. This will be on Wednesday or Thursday depending on the classes your children are in, so check your class newsletter. We are absolutely desperate for help with these sessions. It does not matter if you do not have experience of helping with swimming. We can show you what to do! However if you do have experience or qualifications in swimming, please let us know. We would love to involve you in the learning of this important life skill. If you can spare the time to support your child’s class or another class or indeed come for the morning, Miss Kath (SEN teacher) or Miss Claire (P6 teacher) would love to know. If you are not sure who they are then just pop into the office where Miss Linda or I can show you. Do not forget that if your child’s class has an early start time you need to arrive punctually at school as classes cannot wait for late comers!

Tuesday 15th September – Parent Information Evening
This is a really important meeting not to be missed. At this meeting you will receive information about the new class your child has joined and about the exciting learning opportunities they will experience over the year. You will also have opportunity to ask general questions. Please note this is a presentation to all the parents of the class, so is not the time to ask individual questions about your child. There will be opportunity to discuss your child’s learning at the Parent Evening on Tuesday 13th October. 

Saturday 26th September – PTA Fox Hunt
The long awaited event arrives early this year to avoid the disappointment of cancellation due to the rain, although if the first two days of school are anything to go by there may be doubt again! Let’s hope not. This event is a really fun event and is where the teachers disguise themselves around camp and children have to find them. Some teachers are easy to find but some require a good bit of detective work! It is a family event and the PTA will give further information closer to the time.

Clubs

Thank you for your feedback at the end of last term! Mr Nic has collated the findings and has shared this with staff for them to consider when deciding their clubs. You will receive a separate letter from Mr Nic with the choice of after school activities available this term for the children from P2-P8. Remember to get the replies back early as clubs are on a first come first served basis. Clubs will start on 29th September and will run for 6 weeks.

Contact details

Now is the time to double check that Miss Linda has the correct contact details for you. Have you moved recently and still need to let us know? Have you changed your mobile phone and forgotten to update us? It is really important that we can get hold of you quickly in an emergency.
Hand foot and mouth (HFM) and H1N1
The procedures we put in place in response to the “crisis year” HFM are still in place. If you could reinforce with your child the need to wash hands well and regularly using soap, and to bring a water bottle to school to fill up from our water fountains that would be appreciated. These procedures are remaining in place for the time being to reduce the risk of HFM and H1N1. The latter has now reached Miri, so can I ask you to be vigilant with your child and do not send them to school if they are unwell. Also remind them about covering their mouth when they cough or sneeze, washing their hands afterwards and putting used tissues in the bin. Seek medical advice if your child shows any symptoms of H1N1:

• Fever, usually 38 degrees centigrade and usually two of the following

• Headache

• Respiratory symptoms such as a cough or runny nose

• Muscle aches and pains

• Vomiting/diarrhea

Shell’s life saving rules 

All Shell employees will have received training on the life saving rules, as indeed we have at school. Whilst some of the rules are relevant to situations not linked with school there are some really important ones that should be part of healthy living:

• Wear your seat belt

• While driving, do not use your phone and do not exceed speed limits

• No alcohol or drugs working or driving

• Do not smoke outside designated smoking areas

When bringing your child to school please think of these rules to keep everyone safe and well.
As always we operate an open door policy to parents. Teachers are available for a few minutes at the start of the day or at the end of the day but should you need to speak for a little longer then they will be happy to make an appointment for you. I am usually around the office at the start of the day or on the gate, so please do not hesitate to come and see me or any of the staff should you need.
Looking forward to an exciting term ahead.
Yvette