Monday 5th September 2011

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope that you and your family have enjoyed your summer holiday and are now looking forward to the year ahead. It is with great pleasure that I introduce myself as the new Head teacher of Cookridge Primary School.  I am delighted to have been appointed to lead such a fantastic school and am already impressed by the dedication of the staff team in their preparation for the new school year. I will work tirelessly to meet the needs of your children so that they continue to enjoy a quality education in a brilliant school in the months and years ahead. My first priority is getting to know you and your children and I plan to spend much of my time doing just that in the coming weeks..

Prior to this position, I have been a teacher for fifteen years and a school leader across two Leeds schools. I have always felt that I have the best job in the world – that of seeing children develop into wonderful young people who can make their way confidently in the world.  As a mother of three young children myself, I fully appreciate the value of a good school which puts the happiness, wellbeing and achievement of children at the heart of every decision it takes. I am passionate about helping every child to aim high and achieve their goal. I am fortunate to be joining an excellent staff team who are clearly fully committed to creating a magical and memorable primary school experience. I look forward to becoming a valued member of your community and believe that, together, we can only make a good school even better in the coming years.

Although I plan to meet as many of you as I can on the playground before and after school in the coming weeks, I appreciate it may take some time to meet you all! If you see me around,  do come and say 'hello'. In addition, next Wednesday 14th September, Mrs Laycock and I will be holding the first of our ‘coffee mornings’ in the ‘Funtime’ room.  We will be able to answer any questions you may have and listen to your ideas for our school community. It is my hope that these become a regular date where we can meet, get to know one another and make plans for Cookridge Primary together. If you are able to pop in and share a biscuit after settling your child into school next Wednesday between 9.00 and 10.0, please do so... Younger siblings are, of course, welcome to join us.

It remains for me to say welcome back to a new school year – it has been great this week to finally have you back and see the school building bustling with excitement and enthusiasm for the year ahead.