Phonics Builders Medway - New Parent and Child Classes

Phonics Builders offers high quality, fun, play-based classes to introduce your child to letters and sounds. Each session is structured around the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, with the emphasis on communication and language, physical development, social and emotional development and literacy.

Each class will include songs, games and activities to help build the foundations for reading and writing, as well as activities to develop gross and fine motor skills required to support your child’s handwriting. When children play, they learn!

Book your free taster session today. Spaces are limited, so get in touch.

Phone: 07817 868857

Email: phonicsbuilders@yahoo.com

Message via our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pg/phonicsbuilders

Lisa Masters

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The English Festival at Riverside Country Park

Celebrate with a trip to the beach at one of Medway’s award winning parks next month.

The English Festival returns to Riverside Country Park, Lower Rainham Road ME7 2XH on Saturday 20th April, between 11:00am and 5:00pm. The fun packed FREE festival marks St George’s Day with activities celebrating iconic English traditions.

The beach is back

This year the beach will be back so bring your bucket and spade and get ready for a range of traditional English seaside activities.

There’s plenty of cultural, historical and beach themed activities including: pirate workshops, building sandcastles, a helter skelter, shire horse displays, donkey rides, a bandstand, steam engines and tractors. George and the Dragon will also walk around the festival meeting visitors, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

The festival falls on Easter weekend so get ready for Easter egg hunts and much more!

Getting there

Park & Ride

£1 per Person (return). Children under 16 go FREE. From Greenwich University - look out for the yellow Park & Ride signs - running from 10:00am to 6:00pm.

Park & Walk

£3 per vehicle at Bloors Wharf (bottom of Bloors Lane, off Lower Rainham Road) and enjoy a pleasant 15 minute walk to the event along the river path.

Parking On-site

£5 (limited spaces available). Parking will be primarily for blue badge holders.

Look out for local roadsigns or check online for details of this year's parking arrangements. Riverside Country Park is covered under the Medway bus routes, however, the Saturday bus service does not enter the country park site.

For more information, visit >> www.medway.gov.uk/englishfestival

Upchurch Matters

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Surgery Patient Participation Group - Upchurch & Rainham - Rescheduled Upchurch Afternoon Surgeries

To accommodate GP meetings, the following regular afternoon Surgery dates at Upchurch will be replaced with morning sessions, between 10:00am and 1:00pm on:

Thursday 21st March
Wednesday 17th April
Thursday 23rd May
Wednesday 19th June
Thursday 18th July
Thursday 22nd August
Wednesday 18th September
Thursday 24th October
Wednesday 27th November

Please collect your prescriptions during the morning Surgery times above.

The Patient Participation Group meet on Thursday 18th April and Thursday 25th July.
The October meeting has still to be scheduled.

If you have any questions or suggestions on the local practice, please Email:

Jan Bunting - Secretary: janannbunting@outlook.com or 

Ray Kemsley - Chair: raykemsley@btinternet.com

Ray Kemsley

Chair - Surgery Patient Participation Group - Upchurch & Rainham

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Beach Clean at Riverside Country Park

Join the Medway Swale Estuary Partnership for our monthly Beach Clean in the park on Thursday 25th April, 9:30am - 11:30am.

Meet at Sharps Green car park, a short walk from the Visitor Centre.

All equipment provided, but please wear suitable clothing.

The Beach Cleans at Riverside are a monthly event and are open to all age groups. Everybody welcome.

Further information, Email: msep@medway.gov.uk Tel: 07803 625496

Belinda Lamb

Guardians of the Deep Project Officer

Medway Swale Estuary Partnership
Riverside Country Park, Lower Rainham Road, Gillingham, Kent ME7 2XH

Guardians of The Deep: www.guardiansofthedeep.org

Medway Swale Estuary Partnership: www.msep.org.uk

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Temporary Road Closure - Susans Lane, Upchurch

Kent County Council gives notice that Susans Lane, Upchurch will be closed to traffic, on or after Monday 18th March 2019 for up to 1 day.

The road will be closed at the junction of Twinney Lane.

There is no alternative route. Every effort will be made to maintain access for residents whenever it is safe to do so, a gate marshall will be present to allow access to residents.

It is planned that the road will be closed between 7:30am and 5:00pm

The closure is necessary to enable KCC Highways to carry out carriageway repairs.

This notice applies when the relevant signs and barriers are on site and is valid for a period of no more than 21 days.

The Kent County Council Highways Helpline is: 03000 418181

For details of roadworks, please see: www.roadworks.org

Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste

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Changes to Chalkwell 326/327 and 328 Bus Services - Beginning 8th April 2019

A new 326/327 and 328 timetable for buses running through Upchurch, Lower Halstow and Newington will come into operation on Monday the 8th of April 2019.

The 326/327 bus route provides a very important link between Sittingbourne and Chatham. Chalkwell say the new timetable changes are nothing that should cause alarm, with no loss of service between Sittingbourne, the villages and Medway, and that overall they think this is a much better offering.

From Monday the 8th of April 2019 there will be a number of service improvements that should benefit current and potential users, of particular benefit will be parents whose children go to school in Medway because the changes take into account the revised school finishing times for Rainham Mark Grammar School and Chatham Grammar School for Girls.

Chalkwell has highlighted what they believe to be the main benefits of their new timetable as:

• Improved connections with the Arriva services from Sheppey and Iwade, meaning that customers have a greater choice of journeys from the Island to the Medway Towns.

• The 326 journey that starts in Sheerness will commence from Sittingbourne, although will connect with the Arriva 334 service.

• Improved 327 and 328 journeys for pupils attending Sittingbourne schools.

• Improved journey times for pupils attending school in Medway, such as Rainham Mark Grammar School, The Howard School and Chatham Grammar School for Girls.

• More consistent and memorable departure times from Sittingbourne and Chatham.

Managing Director Roland Eglinton commented:

“We have taken a long time to plan these changes, and we think they will benefit a lot of people. We also plan to make some vehicle investment in the coming months, updating what is currently used on these services”.

The new timetable can be viewed and downloaded from the Chalkwell website at the link here >> http://bit.ly/2Fdfe0l

Upchurch Matters
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