Aspiring and achieving together Newsletter 8 17 April 2015 Dear all Four days in and I already feel at home! Everyone has been so welcoming – parents, children, staff. Thank you. Following on from the parent meeting last term, we set up an email account for parents who might like to work with the school as a Parent Group, helping us improve our communication with you (whilst at the same time not bombarding you with meetings and letters home!). To that end we have had 5 parents come forward and I will be contacting them next week to set our first meeting before the end of April. James Bird (the Eynsham Partnership Academy School Improvement Officer) and I have started work on the Raising Achievement Plan (RAP), which we will be sending out for parents in draft form in the next two weeks. The RAP will clearly identify which areas of the school need to be improved, what the rationale is behind that area being given priority and what we are planning to do to improve and by when. I would welcome any feedback from parents on what you think, which you can do via email ([email protected]) or I’m on the playground most mornings or after school (I apologise for the rather ‘old’ photo of me – I got fed up with the long hair!). In Tuesday’s assembly I talked to the children about my favourite subject (me!) and told them about my love of sport, my two cats, my collection of shoe lasts and love of cycling. I also made it clear that in order for everyone to be safe under no circumstances must they ride their scooters/bikes on the school grounds. I am really pleased that they have taken this on board. Children are also aware of areas where they must not run; these are the quiet area outside Mars Class and the footpath along the playground. I hope that you will see some positive changes and I look forward to working with you all in the coming months. AWARDS WELL DONE TO THE YELLOWS who were awarded the most house points last term. The children have earned them for kindness, good work, effort, team work etc. As a reward the Yellows are allowed to come to school on Friday (17 April) in non-school uniform. Also ‘congratulations’ to Lola Creed (Y6) on achieving her pre-black belt just before Easter. She is now officially invited to take her black belt later in the summer. Lola has demonstrated great skill and determination and has worked extremely hard to get so far – well done Lola. SCHOOL DAY I would just like to clarify that school starts at 8:50am. This is when the register is taken. The children can enter the school grounds at 8:45 but must be ready for registration at 8:50 - children are late to school if they arrive after the register has been sent to the office. It’s never a good idea to be late: it is unsettling for them and everyone else (we all know how it feels to be rushing around and be late). If on the rare occasion you are late to school, please remember to advise your child to apologise to their class teacher and report to the school office where they can be marked in the register. Many thanks for your support. FIRE DRILL We had our practice fire drill today and I must say that the children’s response was impeccable. All the children and staff were out of the building within 2 ½ minutes and they all did so quietly and without fuss. SICKNESS The attendance at Freeland School is above the national average (97%) so we clearly have some fit and healthy children! We always appreciate it when parents phone us to clarify how long their child needs to be away from school if they have been sick etc. This prevents the spread of infection, helping us to maintain good attendance for all. However, so that parents can check this information themselves, we have put the Health Protection Agency/OCC guidance about communicable diseases and the period that children should be off school, on the school website under the ‘Documents and Links’ section. Please feel free to contact the school office if you have any questions though. Sarah Kerswell Dates for the Diary 2015 May th 4 Bank Holiday Monday th 8 Venus Class EPA sports festival at Bartholomew School 9-11am 11-15 SATs week nd 22 Jupiter Class EPA sports festival at Bartholomew School 9-11am nd 22 End of Term 5 June st 1 Term 6 th 11 Class photos th 16 Festival of Voices th 17 Sports day 1.30pm th 19 Mars Class EPA sports festival at Bartholomew School 9-11am nd 22 Yr6 IMPs visit June th 24 th 25 th 29 July st 1 rd 3 th 4 th 7 th 8 th 16 th 17 20th Sports day (reserve date) Y6 Transition visit to Bartholomew & rest of school transition morning Arts Week EPA Concert Y5 Neptune Class EPA sports festival at Bartholomew School 9-11am School Fair – time TBC Saturn & Neptune Concert 2.15pm & 6.30pm Saturn & Neptune Concert 6.30pm Service at St Mary’s Church 10.00am. End of Term 6. School closes 1.30pm INSET School closed for training MESSAGE FROM YEAR 6: The Year 6 children are now responsible for two new initiatives: 1. Putting out a green/red flag depending on whether the field can be used or not (Mrs Gorman will make the decision) 2. Taking outside a playtime book so that it can be recorded if children have to be sent in for poor behaviour. Miss Kerswell will then talk to the parents if a child has been sent in 3 times. REPORT FROM ROSIE AND BALAZS I am looking forward to going to Bartholomew because I will meet lots of new friends and see some friends from my old school. I am excited about having different teachers for every lesson. Rosie I can’t wait to go to Bartholomew because there is a massive field, therefore I will be able to play games like: capture the flag and football. I am looking forward to learning Spanish because over 16 countries worldwide speak it. Balazs
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