Yesterday our school was closed for Janmashtami celebrations. I want to thank ISKCON Leicester for hosting a wonderful and lively event at our school yesterday afternoon and evening.

Sri Krishna Janmashtami is the appearance day of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The birth of Lord Krishna is one of the biggest celebrations of the year, celebrated all over the world.

Krishna means “the all-attractive one”. He is the cause of all causes, the Supreme personality of the entire creation, both material and spiritual, He is the God of all gods, and the Lord within everything and separate from everything at the same time. This is the day devotees celebrate His beautiful pastimes, His presence in their lives, taking time to remember their eternal loving relationship with Him and His presence within all of our hearts.

Since returning after the holidays, next week will be our first ‘full’ week of learning. Students across all phases have begun well and I hope that their dedication and enthusiasm lasts long into the term. We have already hosted two parent information evenings for Year 7 and 8, and have upcoming parent workshops and meetings planned for all other year groups.

Last week I raised the concerns we have had with parking. I want to this week take the time to thank the vast majority of our school community for heeding the school’s recommendations on parking, drop offs and collections. This week there has already been an improvement around the entry to the school and surrounding streets. We are putting a final measure in place for Year 1 parents to use a ‘soft’ start to the day, which will allow a quicker drop and go approach for some of our primary pupils, which should hopefully alleviate the final bit of morning traffic congestion.

SSC Member Vacancy

Our SSC (School Stakeholder Committee) currently has a vacancy for for two elected parent members.

The SSC works together with the Principal and senior leadership team to achieve the best for our pupils. Each member brings with them a depth of knowledge from their own professional and personal lives which contributes to the growth of our school.

If you are interested in finding out more about becoming an SSC member, please email the SSC Chair, Dipak Patel; [email protected]

To complete an expression of interest for the position of a Parent SSC Member, please read SSC Eligibility Criteria, SSC Vacancy – Invitation of Applications – Sept 2023 and complete the expression of interest form SSC Expression of Interest.

Volunteers

This year, we are seeking to expand our provision within the library and careers education. We are seeking volunteers who are able to support between 1 to 3 days per week, with flexible hours to suit your circumstances. We have an exceptional careers provision, however, we want to continue to grow this offer, with an aim of recruiting a part-time careers administrator for the 2024-25 academic year. If you are interested in this opportunity, please register via our recruitment pool: https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/afs-recruitment-pool/

We have had a number of expressions of interest come through last week and will begin contacting volunteers today and early next week to discuss next steps.

School photograph orders

On Monday this week we had the photographer in to take individual and sibling photographs for our school. Your child should have gone home with a proof card on the day, which links to their online photos for you to order direct from the website. If your child has lost their proof card, please contact our school office.

You can view your child’s photo at: http://www.myschoolpics.co.uk.

Suicide Prevention Day

This Sunday is world suicide prevention day. As a school, we are proud to employ qualified and registered Mental Health first aiders to support our young people with their mental health. There are startling statistics around the increase of young people attempting to and taking their lives, with a rise of 18% in the last 2 years. Should you be worried about someone, please reach out the the providers listed below and inform our safeguarding lead on [email protected]

Adult Literacy Programme

We are working in partnership to host a community adult literacy programme. The programme begins next week from 11th September. Please register at http://inclusivity.education/aspire

Secondary Calendar

• Tuesday 12th September: House of Parliament Visit
• Tuesday 12th September: Y9 Parents Information Evening (5:00pm – 6:00pm) – onsite
• Tuesday 12th September: Y10 Parents Information Evening (6:30pm – 7:30pm) – onsite
• Tuesday 19th September:  Y6 Open Evening (4:00pm – 8:00pm)
  Click here for more information and to book your place.
• Wednesday 20th September: Y11 GCSE Drama Trip: Curve theatre
• Thursday 21st September: Behaviour Zoom online meeting for Parents (5:30pm – 7:00pm)

Primary Calendar

• Thursday 21st September: Parents Evening registration deadline
• Tuesday 26th September: Y1 Parents Phonics Workshop (3:00pm – 3:30pm)

Welcome to the first newsletter of the term! We have had a positive start to the Autumn term with lots of opportunities for pupils to build their confidence, make friends and learn new things with their new teachers.

To hear more about your child’s learning do not forget to follow us on Twitter: @AFSPrimary

Reception reading workshop

At Avanti Fields school we strive for all pupils to be fluent readers, mastering early reading skills in Reception are essential. We would therefore like to invite all Reception parents to our reading workshop on the 8th September 2.50pm- 3.20pm to learn more about how we can work together to support your child’s reading journey. If you would like to attend, please go to the school office at 2.50pm on the day of the workshop.

Year 1 Parent Phonic workshop

All Year 1 pupils will take a Government Phonics Check in the summer term. To support and learn more about the phonic screening check, all parents are invited to attend an afterschool workshop on the 26th September 3.00pm-3.30pm. If you would like to attend, please go to the school office at 3.00pm on the day of the workshop.

Parents evening

We like to hold our first Parents Evenings quite early in the year to support communication between home and school. Parents evenings will take place on the 3rd and 5th of October.

We have decided to have our parents’ evenings face to face so that you can see your child’s learning environment and some of their pieces of work.

Each parents meeting will last no longer than 10 minutes to ensure everyone gets the same amount of time. The parents evening meeting will cover the following-
How has your child has progressed since the last meeting?
What have we noticed they are excelling in?
What are your child’s next steps and how you can support this at home?

Please click on the following relevant link below to book in a slot by 21st September.

Nursery Parents evening:

https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/m1sl4fqd07fd2ty/

Reception Parents evening:

https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/m1sykhf51ssaxj5/

Year 1 Parents evening:

https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/mx78ek30mdgdky/

Recommended reads from English Department

Please see link below for the recommended reads.

Avanti Fields Recommended Reads

Avanti Fields Recommended Reads and encourages students to read more suitable and challenging books for their age.

PTFA

Avanti Fields PTFA (Parent, Teacher, Friends Association) is a registered charity and consist of volunteer parents who work together to arrange these types of events to raise money for the school and provide fun opportunities for the school and wider community to get together. If you would like to join us or find out more about what we do, please email [email protected].

We are also looking for sponsors for events to keep our cost down so if you would like to contribute individually or through a company then please get in touch.

We look forward to seeing you all soon.

BHAJANS WITH BHAVIK – Saturday 23^rd September

He’s back! After a hugely successful musical weekend in March, which featured the renowned singer and musician, Bhavik Haria, performing live at our school auditorium, we’re pleased to announce that Bhavik is coming back for another special concert – this time even more interactive with the audience.  Tickets are on sale now, his shows last year sold out and tickets are selling fast – Click here to book

GARBA CLASSES (Authentic & traditional dance with a Local Tutor) & ACCREDITED CORSE WITH INDIA’S GARBA KING, JIGAR SONI

If you take a keen interest in Garba, Gujarati music and dance, then you will surely have heard of Jigar Soni, the king of Garba, co founder of Soni School of Authentic Garba Dance. The talented dancer and choreographer is coming to us all the way from Mumbai to get us ready and up to date with the latest and best Garba/Dandiya moves to impress the crowds this Navratri.

PTFA will be offering a Weekly Class – with a local tutor, Urvi Modha, who will teach you authentic garba dance moves.  £7.50 per class or all 4 classes for £25 (Friday evenings 8^TH Sep to 29^th Sep, 7.30pm – 9pm

And then on Sunday 1^st October, the PTFA is proud to host:

Grade 1 intensive 4-hour course 12pm – 4pm, (Accredited with a Certificate) with Jigar Soni himself. Book early to secure your place! Over 12s only. The prices are:

£30 for Jigar’s Accredited Course Only

£32 Course + 1 Weekly Class

£38 Course + 2 Weekly Classes

£43 Course + 3 Weekly Classes

£46 Course + 4 Weekly Classes

£50 Course, 4 Classes + Interactive Garba Session

Plus Interactive 1.5 hr Garba Session on 1^st October (4.14pm – 5.45pm) WITH JIGAR SONI £7.50 Adults / £5 Children (under 12)

Limited Availability on the above Garba sessions so book asap to confirm your place! Click Here to Book

Garba Workshop, Course & Interactive Session

NAVRATRI – October 20, 21 & 22 (Oct Half Term)

Watch out for details about our Navratri events, which we’re bringing you bigger and better than ever before!

FOUR events of full-on celebration and dancing, with something for everyone!

Friday 20^th Oct – Daytime 1.30pm – 5pm – Children’s special session with live music by Jungle Band from India

Friday 20^th Oct – Evening Disco Dandiya Nite (7pm – late) with Live DJ – don’t forget your glowsticks!

Saturday 21^st Oct – Daytime Navratri event 1.30pm – 5pm with live music by Jungle Band from India

Sunday 22^nd October – Daytime Navratri event 1.30pm – 5pm with live music by Jungle Band from India

Tickets are £5 each for all Navratri events and a limited number of package deals for Fri Evening, Sat & Sun at £12 for all three. Navratri at the school is extremely popular, and we expect to sell out to capacity very quickly.

Click Here to Book Tickets

Navratri2023_fridaydisco

Diwali Bazzar

For the first time ever, the PTFA is proud to bring you a special Diwali Bazaar at the school. There’ll be a wide variety of stalls selling Diwali-related items such as gifts, sweets, snacks, arts and crafts, rangoli, fashion, etc.  There’ll also be special demos and workshops on the day. Free entry!  If you’d like to have a stall at the Bazaar, please get in touch with the PTFA on [email protected].

We will also be arranging our popular HANUMAN CHALISA after the Diwali Bazaar on the 5^th November, more details will follow soon. As you can see, we have been extremely busy arranging the above events, we strongly urge you to book asap as we expect all of the to sell out.

Communications – Wherever possible please use the contact form on our website to get in touch. This is detailed on the website at https://avanti.org.uk/avantifields/contact-us/. The appropriate member of staff will pick up the message and get back to you as soon as possible.

Absence

To report an absence to the school, parents should contact us by 8:00am (primary) and 8.30am (secondary) 

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0116 326 6813 (Option 1 to leave a voicemail) 

Please remember to state your child’s full name, tutor group and reason for absence. If your child is unwell, please could you give a brief description of the symptoms. 

All education research highlights how crucial it is to a child’s academic progress and wellbeing they attend school , on time, all of the time. Therefore, a reminder that it is important that families organise events or holidays outside of school time to ensure that their child is at school as often as possible.   

The school works closely with the Education Welfare Officer at LCC, and we do seek to ensure that any requests for authorised absence are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, in a sensitive manner. However, the school can never authorise a family holiday or a trip abroad to visit family members during term time.   

This academic year, families will have two weeks at the October half-term, three weeks at Christmas and two weeks at Easter for extended family holidays. Please do ensure that if booking holidays, they fall within the holiday periods.