2025 – St Mark's CofE Primary School

4 weeks ago

10th October 2025 Newsletter – Disco reminder, Book recall, Harvest and more

A note from Mr Applegate

Another busy week as Autumn definitely sets in. Year 2 were incredible on their walk about the local area, and Year 6’s letters to the Prime Minister around climate change are great – and we are sending them off! Year R, 1 and 2 also enjoyed drama workshops by Perform.

We look forward to seeing you over the next 2 weeks for our parents evenings. Please don’t be offended that teachers will have a 10 minute timer out – it makes it fair for everyone!

And a heart-felt thank you for your generosity for the half-marathon – you’ve raised £618 each for FOSM and Cancer Research!

Have a great weekend, Charles.

This week’s homework and learning

Agents of Change Home Challenges

Pastoral Drop In – This Monday!

The next pastoral parent drop in will be held on Monday 13^th October from 8.30am-9.30am in the church. The pastoral team will share how we can support your child’s wellbeing in school, as well as exploring the family support available in the Basingstoke area. Younger children are welcome to attend, and refreshments will be provided. We look forward to seeing you!

Camera Watches

Whilst electronic watches are allowed, watches with a camera are not allowed. Children must not access the internet or network through their watches.

Be mindful of these books

We’ve been alerted that these books may contain highly inapproriate links – we advise you to throw them away. We have cleared them from our school.

Parents Evenings – Last Chance to Book

Please book a 10 minute appointment to meet with your child’s class teacher(s) in person. Appointments will run from 3:40pm to 6:50pm on both evenings. You will receive an email with details about how to book online. Bookings will close on Monday 14th Oct at 12pm.

Weds 15th October (1/2) 3:40pm-6:50pm
Weds 22nd October (2/2) 3:40pm-6:50pm

Click here to book.

Disco – This Friday!

The KS1 disco will be 5-5.45pm and the KS2 disco will be 6-7pm.

🕺🕺🕺🕺Click here to book a ticket 🕺🕺🕺🕺

KS2 violin lessons – one place still available!

Due to a family’s relocation, we have unexpectedly had a violin space become available. If you would like to take this space, please can we ask you to complete this form asap. Details of the cost are included on the form.

School Tours for Year R Sept 2026

If you know someone who has a child starting school in Year R in Sept 2026, please share with them this link: www.stmarksprimary.net/join

School Orchestra

Orchestra will resume on Thursday 23^rd October.

Uniform Plea from the Teachers 🖊🖊🖊

Please can you check your child’s uniform, especially jumpers and cardigans. Teachers have had a lot of complaints this week about lost items of clothing but they are very often unnamed. Please can you help us out by naming them over the weekend? Thank you 😊

FOSM – Can you help?

There’s more than one way to help us at FOSM to raise money for our school. Here’s some ideas…

1. Sweet jar donations – Our sweet tombola will be returning at the Christmas Fayre this year. We are asking for donations of filled jars with wrapped sweets. Any jar of any size accepted as long as they are clear. We will also accept additional empty jars.

2. Raffle prizes – Can you or your business donate a raffle prize for our Christmas Fayre? If you think you can help please get in touch (contact details below).

3. Volunteering – Events cannot run without them. Thank you to those that have already put themselves forward for this school year. If you are interested in volunteering.

4. Come to our events and have fun – This is equally as important as volunteering. Yes, our events are aimed at raising funds for the school, but we also want everyone to have FUN! Bring family, meet friends and enjoy yourselves.
How to get in touch: chair.fosm@stmarksce.org.uk; secretary.fosm@stmarksce.org.uk

Thank you for your support as always!

OPAL – Do you have any….

St Mark’s Photo Reel

Charlie competed in his very first TAE KWON-DO competition on Saturday 4th Oct in Devon and he won a medal. Well done Charlie! 🏅

Well done to Anthony, Ivy, Freddie, Jenson and Joshua for running in the Children’s Race last week!

Thank you for your donations and support!

🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️ On Sunday, our incredible Headteacher Mr. Applegate and his daughter Hannah completed the Basingstoke Half Marathon — a fantastic achievement!

💰 They raised over £1200 which will be split between Cancer Research and FOSM.
🏆 Together, they showed dedication and perseverance and displaying their roles as true Agents of Change in our community.

👏 We’re so proud of their effort and grateful for the support!

A message from Mr Applegate:
The last 3km were tough, but the thought of completing the race and doing what we said in order to show our thanks for the fundraising spurred us on. It was great to see so many familiar faces in the race and also encouraging from the sidelines.
If you’d still like to donate, you can do so here. Thank you!

Thanks to FOSM and your generosity – our guinea pigs have a new, warm, clean home. Previous one was rotting and rusting!

Bring in a food item for our Harvest Worship – Monday 20th October

⭐ Weekly Achievements ⭐

⭐ Attendance Updates ⭐

Our target over the year is 97%. Last year’s attendance was 95.8% – above national levels, but we’d like it to be much higher.

Our current attendance percentage is 98% 🤩

Weekly Attendance by Class

What's the impact on missing school?

Categories	Learning days lost
Acceptable sickness & unforeseen absences.	98% = 4 days
	97% = 6 days
	96% = 8 days
Attendance below 95% is of concern to the school & you will be contacted automatically.10 days unauthorised absences for holidays over the year mean you will only achieve 95% attendance. Sickness & medical appointments, although usually unavoidable & authorised, will add further to your child’s absence record.	95% = 10 days
	94% = 12 days
	93% = 14 days
	92% = 16 days
Poor attendance Attendance below 90% is a serious concern. Your child has now missed nearly 4 weeks’ education. You may be referred to the Early Help team at the local authority.	91% = 18 days
	90% = 20 days
	89% = 21 days
	88% = 23 days
	87% = 25 days
	86% = 27 days
Very poor attendance	85% = 29 days
	84% = 31 days
	82% = 35 days
	80% = 39 days

Reminder of the new rules

School Dates, Lunches, and Clubs

View the full calendar here. Subscribe on either Chrome/ Android or Apple

Helpful Information

Year Group Information Videos
After School Clubs - from 15th September
Meals
Autumn 1 PE Days
PE Uniform details can be found here. Remember, football shirts, hoodies, or general day-to-day clothing are not acceptable as PE kit.

Year R

Monday – Indoor PE

Thursday – Indoor PE

Year 1

Monday – Indoor PE

Thursday – Outdoor PE

Year 2

2CL and 2P Monday – Outdoor until Forest School from 22nd Sept

Wednesday – Indoor

2M Friday – Outdoor until Forest School from 22nd Sept

Year 3

Tuesday– Outdoor PE

Friday – Indoor PE

Year 4

Wednesday – Indoor PE

Friday – Outdoor PE

Year 5

Monday – Outdoor PE

Wednesday – Outdoor PE

Year 6

Monday – Outdoor PE

Tuesday – Outdoor PE
Autumn 1 Forest School Days - from 22nd September
Year 2

2CL and 2P Monday

2M Friday

Year 6

6C Tuesday

6P Wednesday

6DS Thursday
FOSM
Full School Calendar
Music Tuition Info
Children in (or due to be in) KS2 are invited to apply to learn to play an instrument.

Applications open each April.

This year’s applications for instrumental tuition have now closed.
Information - breakfast and afterschool clubs, uniform etc
Breakfast Club – just show up – details here.

SCL after-school club – click here for full details.

Uniform – click here for details, including Skoolkit ordering

School bags – can be ordered here

Absence – Please report absences via phone or email here by 9am. If you need to request a future absence, please use this form.

Are you eligible for Free School Meals and further funding for the school? Check online here.
Foodbank Support

In worship this week…

Music of the Week

Foodbank Friday

Many local supermarkets host a permanent donation point where people can leave the donations they purchase during their visit but we would also like to set up a station in school where children can feel that they are making a difference to help others.

We are encouraging children to occasionally bring in an item of food, which they can put in a box in our School Office.

We will update the list each week or you may prefer to download the Bank the Food App. This will update it weekly on the items we’re running low on. It’s a great app and you only need to download it and select Basingstoke Foodbank as preferred. You can also activate notifications which means you’ll get a reminder when you visit the supermarket, so you never forget to donate. It lets you know the items they most need.
Illness - should I keep my child off school?
Have your contact details changed?
Child Care Vouchers

For those of you who have access to childcare vouchers/tax free accounts, please note that these funds can only be used for childcare before or after normal school hours, e.g breakfast club and after school clubs, but not for day trips/residential trips. This is the government directive. Both SCL and HWASC accept the vouchers.
September price increases

Breakfast Club:

Early session (7.30am): £5.50
Middle session (8.00am) : £3.00
Late Session (8.20am) £1.50

St Mark’s After School Clubs: Prices of clubs can vary due to the number of resources used. Most are £2.50pw but please check individual clubs when applying.

School Dinners: £3.20

Circle of Security

Community News

Regular Notices

Going to be absent?

We’ve moved our absence request form online. This is for absence requests such as holidays, weddings, funeral, special events, and more. You don’t need to use this form for sickness or self-isolation (but please email/phone the office if they are unwell).

Year 1 – Art and Science