Weekly Parent Bulletin - Friday 5th December
Dear parents,
With Christmas plans in full swing, I expect Santa has been busy preparing gifts for Avonwood children. Without meaning to sound like the Grinch, please can I make two plea's...
Game Consoles
I often hear of children begging for Playstations and X-Boxes at this time of year. Whilst I can fully understand the draw of these consoles, please take care to make sure you gift them when it is age and stage appropriate. Where these consoles now have online game stores with free trial versions available, you'd be amazed how easy it is to access content beyond their years. You'll also find the push for access to games like Fortnite (PEGI age rated 12) will follow. We see very distinct links between those young children playing games like Fortnite and rough play / aggression / dark thoughts. Also be prepared for the natural child like play (riding bikes, building dens) to be replaced with eyes glued to screens! I'd urge you to only buy your child a console if you genuinely feel its the right time for them - resisting peer pressure where possible and going with parental gut instinct.
As an alternative, I'd always be an advocate for the Nintendo platforms with games like Mario Kart, but you still have to take care around the Nintendo online store as Fortnite is only a few clicks away.
Smart Phones
A reminder that we do not permit smart phones on site at Avonwood, actively discouraging this where possible. The only way this is allowed is by completing our extenuating circumstances form. Since putting this policy in place a few years ago, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of bullying issues we see in school. However, it appears the demand for pupils to have smart phones is back on the rise again. The desire to track locations is often the parental reason behind this, but there is far greater evidence of the negative impact of mobile phones on wellbeing than on the impact of being able to track locations. From our perspective, we would strongly advocate against smart phones and encourage old fashioned Nokia style phones instead. More details around our policy on smart phones can be found
here.
Where childhood is such a precious thing, balancing the need to grow up alongside putting protective parenting barriers in place is a delicate tightrope for us all. Where possible, I'd really encourage a cautious approach. #TeamAvonwood
Next week we have our nativity shows taking place. I'm sure we can expect a full crowd for these. A reminder that parents in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 have three tickets each, hopefully enabling a grandparent or family friend to enjoy the show too. Tickets will be popped in bookbags today. A polite reminder to parents to make the £2.50 contribution on Parent Pay for the professional videos of the shows, without these contributions we will be unable to offer this service n the future. Hopefully these videos provide an excellent opportunity for a special family premier over Christmas for any unable to attend in person.
Lastly, a reminder that we close for the Christmas holidays at 13:30 on the last day of term. No after school clubs run on this day.
Have a great weekend!
Mr Jackson