The school is truly in full swing now. Reception and Nursery are in, children are settled and we went to the church this morning for the first time this academic year. Dominic told a bible story about Jesus and his disciples and how he first befriended them. This linked nicely to our theme of 'friendship'. I know I always say it but we do have a very friendly school; we always have a few new children in September and the way that our current children have welcomed them is remarkable - making sure that they are well looked after and included in games etc.

This afternoon we are off to PGL with Year 6; they are all really buzzing and excited to go. The weather seems to have picked up so that's good news. I'm going too - I think I may be a little bit excited as well!

Attendance for 11/09/2017- 15/09/2017

Please remember that if you take a leave of absence which is not authorised by school you may be issued with a fixed penalty fine via the Education Investigation Service. School cannot authorise any leave in term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. If you do intend to take your child out of school for any period of time, a leave of absence form must be completed and handed in at least 10 days prior to the absence.

If your child is ill, please leave a voice mail message or speak to a member of staff before 9.30 am on each day of their absence unless otherwise arranged with Mrs. O'Donohue. If a message is not received, the day will be recorded as unauthorised. Messages from siblings regarding illness are not acceptable.

A school dinner is £2.30 per day per child, please remember to include your child/children's name and class on the dinner money envelope. Thank you

Please complete and return the pupil forms to the school office by TUESDAY at the latest so that our records are up-to-date. Thank you

We wanted to remind you that you need to be careful when parking around the school site. Safety for children is the most important thing for all of us. Parking at the bottom of the High Street drive blocks access and is very dangerous. Please find a safe place to park to drop off children. Parking in Halesowen on public car parks is now free for the first 2 hours and there are a few of these car parks within a 5 minute walk from school. Please try to use these options. See the press release below

Mobile CCTV is to be deployed to try and keep children safe outside schools in Dudley, it has been revealed.

Dudley Council is sending out a car equipped with CCTV to deter people from parking on yellow 'keep clear' zig zag lines outside school gates in the borough.

It is an offence to stop anywhere on such lines, punishable by a £70 fine.

Government legislation states CCTV can only be used to enforce certain traffic offences, such as illegal parking on the yellow zig-zags, on red routes or travelling in bus lanes.

It cannot be used to punish illegal parking on double yellow lines, or on white zig zags next to zebra or pelican crossings.

The car, which was already one of the council's fleet of vehicles, has been kitted out with smart technology. Using Google Maps and GPS, it will sense when the car has been driven into an area with yellow zig zag lines and start recording. It will stop when the car leaves the area, capturing the number plates of all those parked illegally while it is there. If, after monitoring the footage, an offence has been committed, penalty charge notices will be issued by post.

The car has already been deployed outside a few schools in June and July, but it will be rolled out across the whole borough when children return next week after the summer holidays.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for environmental services, said:

"Illegal parking outside schools puts the lives of children at risk.

"The yellow zig-zag lines are there for a reason - to ensure visibility so children can see and be seen clearly when they cross the road on their way to and from school.

"We take this extremely seriously. People who flout the law and ignore the zig zags will be fined, and the new CCTV equipped car should help us catch those who are endangering children.

"The vehicle will be patrolling school sites on most days and I am sure it will be welcomed by the majority of law-abiding residents, who will be as frustrated as we are at illegal parking."