ParentMail    

Christmas - 12pm Finish today

Dear Parent/Carers,

I wish all our wonderful pupils and their families a very Merry Christmas and Peaceful New Year.

School reopens for all pupils on Monday 6th January 2025.

I have attached the new lunch menu that will start Monday 6th on Week 1.

School closes today for all pupils at 12pm.

Thank you

Mr McDaid

New Dinner Menu

Dear Parent/Carer,

After a few initial teething issues we are now finally ready to launch our new Lunch Time Menu.

"Lunch Time Delivered" have been given the school contract to cook all our lunches.

Each lunch will be cooked from scratch using only fresh ingredients and served in our kitchen.

I hope you agree that the new menu offers a wide selection of nutritious freshly cooked meals that your child will enjoy.

Please see the menu below.

Week 1 will start Monday 6th January 2025

Thank you

Mr McDaid 

Christmas Walk in the Woods

Dear Parent/Carer,

There has been an amazing interest in our Christmas Walk in the Woods. Click here for more details.

Tickets are being purchased very quickly.

To avoid disappointment I would encourage you to buy one as soon as possible as numbers will be limited to 200.

Thank you

Mr McDaid

Important events and dates

Some important events and dates

• This Monday (2^nd Dec) we are serving our first lunches prepared by Lunchtime Delivered. Lunches on Thursday 5^th will also be provided by Lunchtime Delivered. The lunches for Tues/Wed and Friday will be prepared as usual by our kitchen staff. If you wish to order a lunch next week you can order this via the Parentmail app as usual.

Other Key dates for your diary

• Open evening for Nursery & P1 Admissions Tuesday 10^th December 7pm
• Open Days for Nursery – Wednesday 11^th and Thursday 12^th December 1pm
• Nursery – P3 Nativity – Tuesday 17^th and Wednesday 18^th December at 10am
• Christmas in the Throne Woods – Tuesday 17^th December – 5-7pm
• Open Days for P1 – Wednesday 8^th and Thursday 9^th January 2025

More details on these events will follow in separate Parentmails

Thank you 

Mr McDaid

Photographs

Dear Parent/Carers,

Have you ordered your Individual school photos yet? A polite reminder that the closing date for free delivery back to school is Sunday 1st December. Order through the Tempest website using your unique link or visit www.tempest-orders.co.uk 

If you need any assistance in ordering your photos, feel free to contact Tempest on 01736 751555 (option 3).

Many thanks.

Tempest

School Meals New Model

Dear Parent/Carer,

We are excited to share with you Hazelwood’s exciting plan for delivering a new model for school meals for our pupils. Working with the Education Authority we have partnered with  Lunchtime Delivered, a company with over 12 years of serving nutritious, balanced and delicious meals to children across Ireland.

Lunchtime Delivered have consulted closely with Isobel and our catering team at Hazelwood  to design an exciting menu that we are confident our pupils will love. Indeed, the chefs from Lunchtime Delivered brought sample meals last week for our staff and pupils to taste and we were delighted by the positive feedback.

We are confident that your child will continue to receive the same high-quality, nutritious meals each day that you would expect.

Lunchtime Delivered Plan for Hazelwood:

The Nutrition Experts from Lunchtime Delivered will create home-cooked meals that are both delicious and nutritionally balanced, offering flexible options to keep children fuelled and focused throughout the school day. Using only the freshest ingredients, these meals contain reduced levels of salt and sugar, in line with nutritional guidelines for children, and are free from artificial preservatives.

We’re incredibly proud to partner with Hazelwood Integrated Primary School to deliver nutritious and delicious meals for your children. Our commitment to quality and nutrition is at the heart of our business, and we work tirelessly to ensure that each meal is not only nourishing but also something children enjoy and look forward to.  Ryan McGivern – Head Chef & Managing Director

Our new school meals will continue to cater to a variety of dietary and allergen requirements, ensuring every child can enjoy a wholesome meal tailored to their needs.

There will be no change to the cost of a school meal the price will remain unchanged at £2.60.

Our new lunch service will be phased in – same menu will continue for December, prepared by Lunchtime delivered on the days noted below -

We look forward to this new partnership and hope your child enjoys our new school meal provision. If you have any questions or queries about the new lunch arrangements please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

Our student Council were amongst the first to sample our new school dinner menu.  

They gave a huge thumbs up to all the delicious meals on offer and are very excited for their classes to also get to enjoy our healthy and very tasty new menu! 

Thank you

Mr McDaid

Donations

Dear Parent/Carer,

This may be the time of year that you will be doing a bit of a clear out.

We would like to ask for donations of old or unwanted dressing up costumes for our After Schools Club and Early Years. These can be handed in at the school office.

Thank you

Mr McDaid

Children in Need

Dear Parent/Carers,

Our Nursery children and staff will be having a Pudsey Pyjama Day on Friday 15th November (tomorrow) to raise money for Children In Need.

Children in Need is such a great cause helping so many children. If you would like to donate to this very worthy cause, please bring your donation in and the children in Nursery will be going around the classes with their bucket in school tomorrow.

Any donation will be appreciated.

Thank you!

Photographer

The School Photographer will be in school this Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th November 2024

Family/Group photographs which involve siblings who do not currently attend Hazelwood will be taken first from 8.45am both mornings – Please go straight to the hall with all children to be in the photo.

Every child will have an individual photograph taken and a print sent to you and the choice to purchase is yours.

It is important that your child is in full school uniform

Kind Regards

Hazelwood Integrated Primary 

Bingo

Dear Parent/Carers,

Huge thank you to all our parent/carers and their families who turned out last night for the Bingo night.

It certainly was a Full House, which was brilliant.

We were able to raise £512 which will ensure we are able to buy a selection box for every pupil at our Christmas trail.

As ever thank you to all the members of the PTC who work so tirelessly for all the pupils in our school.

Thank you

Mr McDaid

Parentline Workshops

Please see attached flyer for Parentline’s new Parent Well series of workshops.  Supporting Emotions and Learning to Thrive – a two-part workshop by zoom aimed at parents of primary school aged children will take place on, 13^th, and 20^th November from 10am to 11.30am.

School Parking

Dear Parent/Carers,

Reminder to all that the parking spaces at the front of the school are for blue badge holders only.

Staff are there to help and manage traffic for the safety of all. Please respect school staff and their sometimes difficult job, at all times. Aggressiveness towards them is not acceptable.

Tomorrow, as all pupils will be finishing at 1pm, only blue badge holders will be allowed to access the school grounds. The school bus will be available at 2pm for those who need it.

Thank you

Mr McDaid

Parent Interviews

Dear Parent/Carers,

The school will close early on - 

Friday 18^th October all pupils will finish at 1pm, after they have had lunch. Any pupils that require the school bus will be supervised in the hall until the bus at 2pm. There will not be a 3pm bus.

Monday 21^st October all pupils will finish at 2pm. The school bus will leave at 2pm for all pupils, there will not be a 3pm bus.

Thank you 

Mr McDaid

Bat Night

Dear Parent/Carers,

We had a totally terrific “Bat Night” last night in the Throne Wood.

Over 60 of us headed into the pitch black woods armed only with torches and bat detectors.

We were not disappointed. We had several very close encounters with Soprano Bats, who put on a show for us. (Check out the videos on the school website)

Everyone had a terrific time and we are grateful for BAT NI for organising a brilliant night.

Thank you

Mr McDaid

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

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.