ParentMail    

Forest School Summer Scheme - Reminder

Dear Parent/Carer,

We are delighted to tell you the Forest School Summer Scheme will be running again this year with its focus on creating positive, playful experiences in nature. The cost is £12 for the week per pupil.

The scheme will operate from 9.30 to 12.30, Monday to Thursday as follows:

• Monday 22^nd July to Thursday 25^th July – current Primary 4 to current Primary 6

• Monday 29^th July to Thursday 1^st August – current Primary 1 to current Primary 3

This is a first come first serve basis, please let me know if you would like to reserve a place on the Forest School Summer Scheme as soon as you can by calling the office on 028 90 770421. If you have already called you do not need to again.

Many thanks

      Cultural Event at Hazelwood I.P.S

Cultural Event - Tuesday 25th June

Dear parent,

Once again we would like to invite you to our cultural food event in the hall on Tuesday 25th June.  

You will be able to sample food made by the pupils and inspired by recipes and cuisines from around the world.  

Each class has adopted a country and will be displaying samples of this region’s food for you to try.  

You will also be able to see some of the work the pupils completed during integrated month.  

So please join us in the school hall.  

See flyer for more details.

Kind Regards 

Hazelwood Integrated Primary School

Diabetes Week

Dear Parent/Carer,

This week is Diabetes Week.  See below for the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes.  Included is a QR code that will provide further support and information from Diabetes UK.

Many thanks,

Miss Agnew

Summer Fair

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope everyone had a terrific night at the summer fair. We were totally blown away not just by the numbers that attended but also by the extraordinary level of support.

I thank every one of you who donated items, worked at a stall or supported the school by coming along. We are delighted to tell you that we raised an extraordinary £4714.88.

This amount far exceeds what we have raised at previous fairs.

I want to thank the fantastic members of the Hazelwood PTC for all their commitment and hard work to ensure that the fair was as good as it was.

Every penny is reinstated into supporting the learning experience of all our pupils.

Once again thank you all for your incredible support.

Mr McDaid

Principal

Women's TEC Summer Scheme

Please find the attached information on the WOMEN'STEC #NotJustForBoys Build a Boat Summer Scheme

They are working in partnership with Belfast City Council WaterWorks to build and design a prototype boat from scratch! The purpose is to get girls thinking about careers in the sea and the environment on the whole. This scheme is for 10- 13 year olds only.

The boat scheme will start on 22^nd July- 26^th July at WOMEN’STEC: 29 Chichester Ave, Belfast BT15 5EH. 

Times: 9:30am- 1:30pm.

They can sigh-up on the homepage of our website: WOMEN'STEC | BELFAST | DIY (womenstec.org)

Kind Regards 

Hazelwood Integrated Primary School 

Play Areas

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Last week I was delighted to meet with Ronnie McKee the CEO of EA Adventure Escapes.

We have finally agreed the plans for the incredible new play areas for the school. This includes an extension to the nursery play area. A new pirate ship themed area for the nursery area.

An exciting 12-piece adventure trail for P4-7 classes and a natural wood play area at the rear of the school.

These will all be installed during the summer break and ready to use by September 2024.

Until then we are continuing to fund raise as much as possible so we can buy the very best in play scapes for the school.

Please support us by sending in your 20p’s for the smartie tube fundraising challenge. Every penny raised will be invested into enriching and improving the play experiences of our pupils.

Mr J McDaid (Principal)

Literacy Results

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I am writing to share some great news with you. Our pupils have recently completed standardised reading tests which allow us to track their progress. The tests also help us to understand how well our children are doing compared to the rest of the country. I am pleased to say that our Hazelwood pupils have made fantastic progress in the first term and, as a group, are performing at a level higher than the national average. This is great news indeed. This wouldn’t have happened without you supporting your young readers at home, so I would like to take this opportunity to offer congratulations and to thank you.

Mrs Szlachta

Literacy Co-ordinator

Parentline NI

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Please find attached flyer for our new parent workshop. 

Limited places available so early booking recommended. 

If you have any queries don't hesitate to get in touch. 

thank you 

Parentline NI

0808 8020 400

FREE ONLINE COURSES

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The Solihull Approach are offering free online courses for parents.  There is normally a charge for the these, but the access code below should give you free access.  Courses include:

• Understanding your child's feelings
• Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby
• Understanding your baby
• Understanding your child: from toddler to teenager
• Understanding your child with additional needs
• Understanding your child's mental health and wellbeing
• Understanding your brain (for teenagers only)

Your can access these courses by visiting:  https://inourplace.co.uk/

The access code for these free courses is: NIFAMILIES

Many thanks,

Miss Agnew

SAFER SCHOOLS APP

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Today is Safer Internet Day.

Following on from our parentmail a few days ago regarding the Safer Schools App, please see the attached information on how to download it and the access code you will need to activate it.

If you have any problems, please contact the school office.

Many thanks

THANK YOU

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I would like to thank all those parents and carers who completed the audit.  There as a fantastic response with approximately 70% of our families completing it.  The responses are really positive, and it is so encouraging knowing that you are happy with so many areas of school life and your child's learning experience at Hazelwood.

We will now carefully go through the audit and identify any areas that we can improve on.  Next week we will hopefully have a full copy of the audit available for you to read on the school website and a shorter summary available on See Saw as well as hard copies that can be collected from the school office.

Mr J McDaid (Principal)

PARENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Parent/Carer, 

A very important part of our school improvement strategy is to have a good understanding of the views and opinions of our entire school community including our parents/carers. 

I have attached a link to a questionnaire that I am asking you to complete.  The questionnaire is totally confidential and anonymous and will take under 10 minutes to complete.  Previously we have sent a parent questionnaire every 2 years.  Instead of this one lengthy questionnaire on all areas of the school life, I will instead send two shorter questionnaires each year.  The one in which I have sent a link in this Parentmail will focus on your views on Integration, Pastoral Care, Behaviour and Ethos. 

Completing these questions is really important.  Your suggestions and ideas are so important to us.  In previous questionnaires you told us of a number of issues that were important to you.  Some of these I am happy to say we implemented in school including: 

• Improving the traffic management 
• Having increased opportunities to see your child's work 
• Improving the lunchtime dinner experience 
• Having a meet the teacher afternoon 
• Improving afterschool clubs 

Parents play a very special role in the life of Hazelwood.  Hazelwood was opened by parents.  This continues to be your school and completing this question allows you to be part of it. 

Can I ask that you please complete this by Friday 26th January 2024. 

Mr McDaid (Principal) 

https://sdp.wholeschool.ie/hazelwoodps_1066531/questionnaire/b3aae186-9487-4277-a033-475e50380581

PRE SCHOOL AND P1 ENROLMENT FOR SEPTEMBER 2024

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The EA Open Enrolment website opens tomorrow (Tuesday 9th January) for those parents who have younger children and wish to apply for a place for September for Nursery and Primary 1.

Please see the attached leaflet which will give you more information on how to apply, criteria etc.

Please also pass this information on to anyone you know who would be eligible. 

If you have any queries, please contact the school office.

Many thanks

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION WEEK

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION WEEK 

  Next week is Science Investigation Week at school. It is wonderful to see children’s enthusiasm and participation in this every year. 

Science investigation homework will go out this Thursday 11th Jan to kickstart our Science Week in school. You should receive a letter explaining what children are expected to do along with the Science Investigation write up sheet and some suggestions to help you. Children can use this template or they can write it up in their own creative way. 

ALL our pupils are expected to complete a science investigation. To allow time for this, all homework other than reading and spellings has been suspended until Friday 19th January when all investigations will be handed in to teachers.  

Please return Science Investigations and write ups to your child’s teacher.  

We expect science investigations to be child led and completed as independently as possible.  This is an opportunity for you to support your child’s learning and it is an important part of the curriculum. 

We will have a science award assembly on Thursday 8th of February to celebrate all the investigations completed by our pupils. 

Many Thanks,  

Miss Scott  

ONE WAY TRAFFIC SYSTEM

Dear Parent/Guardian,

A quick reminder that the one-way system for entry to the school grounds begins this morning. There will be school staff at the gates to direct you and we would ask for your patience and co-operation.

Please see the map below for more details.

Many thanks

Mr J McDaid (Principal)

BREAKFAST CLUB

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We are delighted that many more pupils are using our free Breakfast Club. This service is available to all our pupils and we would welcome more pupils. This service will be available until the end of January 2024.

Starting next week, we will have a special breakfast on Tuesday and Friday, when we will offer pancakes or waffles as well as cereal and juice.

If you would like your child to attend, please get in touch with Alison in the School Office.

Many thanks

Mr J McDaid (Principal)

REMINDER ABOUT TRAFFIC ARRANGEMENTS FOR MONDAY 13th NOVEMBER

Dear Parent/Guardian,

A quick reminder that the new traffic arrangements start on Monday 13th November 2023.

For those not already done so, you can collect your pass from the school office. These are for Nursery to P2 children. Please have this clearly displayed on your dashboard each morning from Monday 13th November. I hope this will make your entry to school easier.

Only cars with this pass will be allowed access to the school. If you have a blue mobility badge, this really should apply to your child and not the driver and therefore I would ask that your child also walks from the front gate, and you do not drive into the school grounds.

As a result of these changes traffic coming into the school grounds has been greatly reduced. The punctuality of our pupils has greatly improved and the safety of our pupils while walking in the school every morning and afternoon has also been improved.

Thank you once again for your support.

Mr J McDaid (Principal)

CODE OF CONDUCT - PARENTS

Dear Parent/Carer,

Hazelwood Parent/Carer Code of Conduct.

Please take time to read and understand what your responsibility is to ensure that the entire hazelwood Community, its employees. pupils and parents/carers, are treated with respect, so that the ethos and values of Hazelwood are upheld by everybody.

A copy of this is also available on the school website .Hazelwood Parent/Carer Code of Conduct.

Mr McDaid (Principal)

ADMINISTERING MEDICATIONS IN SCHOOL

Dear Parent/Guardian,

After reviewing the Department of Education's Guidance on the administration of medicine, there are a few things we wanted to highlight.

• -If children need to take prescribed medications in school (including inhalers), parents must fill in a form called Administration of Medicine and return it to their child's class teacher.
• -If children are prescribed a short-term antibiotic, we would ask parents to try and administer these at times when the children are at home.
• -All prescribed medication must be sent into school in its original box, so staff can see names, instructions and date of expiration.
• -School is not permitted to administer non-prescription medication, such as Calpol.
• -If your child needs an inhaler for asthma, we would ask (where possible), that you provide 2 of these in case of an emergency where one inhaler runs out.

Lastly, can I remind parents that we are a nut free school.  We have a number of children with serious nut allergies.  Please ensure that you do not send in nuts or foods containing nuts, eg Nutella, Snickers, Peanut butter.

Many thanks for your support.

Mr J McDaid (Principal)

27th October 2023

22.10.2021

Can I thank all our parents and carers for their incredible food donations for our Harvest Table.  All donations were picked up by "The People's Kitchen" an organisation which helps the homeless and those families less fortunate than ourselves. They were overwhelmed by the generosity of our families.  Every item will be distributed to families in Belfast who are in great need.  As you can see from the attached photo all our donations were able to fill a whole van!

Please check inside your child's Homework Diary for their attendance percentage for September.  We ask that you please sign to show you have seen the entry.  During these still difficult times we understand that taking time off due to illness is understandable but we all are aware of the importance of being in school everyday on time.

Each half term, children with an attendance percentate of 97% and above are entered into a draw to win a £20 movie voucher!  This is to promote how important excellent attendance is to the education and well being of all pupils.  Thank you for your continuing support.

Can I take this opportunity to thank you all for your support this term.  I wish all our families a safe half term.  See you all on 1st November!

Mr J McDaid (Principal) 

20.9.2021

This letter is to inform you that some of our students in school have severe food allergies to peanuts/nut products. It is important that there is strict avoidance to this food in order to prevent a life-threatening allergic reaction. We are asking your help to provide the student with a safe school environment.

Any exposure to peanuts/nuts may cause a life-threatening allergic reaction that requires emergency medical treatment. To reduce the chance of this occurring, we are asking that you do not send any Hazelnut or products that contain nuts such as Nutella, Ferrero Rocher etc to school with your child that will be eaten in the classroom, and please read the ingredients on any food your child is binging in to ensure no nuts or nut traces come in to school. Hazelwood is a nut free school and we rely on parents to help us maintain this.

If your child has eaten peanuts/nuts before coming to school, please be sure your child’s hands and face have been thoroughly washed before entering the school.

We appreciate your support of these procedures. Please contact me if you have any questions.

28.3.2021

No one thought that when we closed the school on December 18th 2020 we would not fully open again for 14 weeks. Last week we finally welcomed back all 451 of our wonderful pupils from each of our 16 classes.  

Despite our teacher’s careful planning and preparation for this reopening, nothing prepared us for the overwhelming positive response from our pupils. Despite the unprecedented disruption and challenges in their young lives they returned to their classes with enthusiasm and joy. Friendships were reunited. Sand trays became messy again. Marshmallows were toasted. Goals were scored. Songs were sung and classrooms were once again full of curious and happy learners.    

The strength of their spirit and the resilience they showed last week was commendable. I thank all our parents and guardians who worked so closely with your child’s teacher to help minimise the disruption in your child’s learning during the school closure.  

While we know that the resumption and re-engagement with learning has just begun, I want to assure you all that Hazelwood’s dedicated, committed and hardworking teachers and classroom assistants will be there for your children at every turn as they resume their learning.

I want to also take this opportunity to wish all our families a safe and happy Easter break.  See you all on Monday 12th April.

Mr J McDaid (Principal)

26.5.2020

Just a quick reminder that Hazelwood IPS is a NO SMOKING ZONE and therefore smoking is NOT permitted on school grounds or at the school gates.  Recently there has been an increasing amount of cigarette butts appearing in the school grounds and at the school gates and we would ask you to please be considerate to other parents and children and make sure you are well away from the school and school grounds before lighting up.

NUT ALLERGY

This letter is to inform you that some of our students in school have severe food allergies to peanuts/nut products. It is important that there is strict avoidance to this food in order to prevent a life-threatening allergic reaction. We are asking your help to provide the student with a safe school environment.

Any exposure to peanuts/nuts may cause a life-threatening allergic reaction that requires emergency medical treatment. To reduce the chance of this occurring, we are asking that you do not send any Hazelnut or products that contain nuts such as Nutella, Ferrero Rocher etc to school with your child that will be eaten in the classroom.

If your child has eaten peanuts/nuts before coming to school, please be sure your child’s hands and face have been thoroughly washed before entering the school.

We appreciate your support of these procedures. Please contact me if you have any questions.