April Update - Friezland Primary School

Learning with and from each other.
Update
April 2015
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
Henry Ford
Dear Families
Spring has sprung! Clocks have gone forward so we should soon experience warmer weather and look
forward to lighter evenings. We have sporting news to celebrate and lots of social events to look forward to
over the coming months. We have farewells and welcome backs to make. We look forward to our new
sports facility, a freshly decorated hall…and an expensive roof repair. There is a holiday just around the
corner!
School is an exciting place to be right now; buzzing with learning conversations, preparation for end of year
assessments and a real sense of team spirit. This cannot happen solely within the walls of school and we
thank our families for the part you play and for your continued support.
Many thanks.
T L Meadham
Mrs. T. L. Meadham (Head teacher)
Twentieth Kid Tasks I am really looking forward to seeing this half term’s completed Twentieth Kid task
sheets. I hope families have made the most of the opportunity at home!
Attendance For the last 6 weeks our attendance has been consistently above our 97% target which is
tremendous considering the bugs and ailments which still seem to be attacking. This puts us in the top 20%
of schools for attendance. Well done and thank you!
Sports News What a fantastic season for our swimming teams! Congratulations to our boys’ team who
came second and our girls’ team who came fourth out of the Saddleworth Schools. I am informed there are
some very strong primary school swimmers across Saddleworth so our team should be very proud of
themselves, especially as we have a lot less children to choose from than the other local schools. Well
done!
We continue to do well in the Cross Country events, well done and thank you to all those families who
spend their Saturday mornings in local parks. Very well done to Elliott in Class 4 who has represented
Oldham in the Greater Manchester Cross Country Championship.
Plant Sale Do you like pottering in the garden during the early summer months? Do you love hanging
baskets, but aren’t green fingered? There is something for everyone in the BIRD plant sale – see
attachment for more information.
Dinner Money and Munch If you would like to pay dinner money for the whole of next half term the cost
will be £48 and Munch will be £6 for infants.
Duty Governors for next half term are Lucy Shaw and Hazel Davies. Our Duty Governor Box is just inside
the main entrance.
World Book Day Thank you to all of our children who dressed up for World Book Day – you all looked
spectacular. Many thanks to parents who helped to make costumes. We made £40.16 for Book Aid
International from your donations.
Fair Trade Afternoon Thank you for another tremendous turn out for our Fair Trade Afternoon. It was
lovely to see so many of our local community coming together. We made just over £300 from the sale of
cakes and our Fair Trade stall and made £122 on the raffle, the proceeds of which have been donated to
The Love of Learning in the Gambia Charity.
Mothers’ Day Raffle Congratulations to our lucky mums who won prizes. I hope you felt suitably
pampered. We raised £121…I hope you didn’t have to buy your own tickets!
Friends of Friezland Our sold-out Chocolate Bingo event was a roaring success. I wonder how much of
the chocolate won will see Easter Sunday! Thank you to everyone who supported and to Friends of
Friezland for their hard work. The evening raised £624.77. Our next PTA meeting is on Wednesday 29th
April at the Farrars, 7:30pm.
Pancake Toss We raised more this year than ever before with a grand total of £1103…we even made the
front page of the Oldham Chronicle for Morgan’s efforts!
Centenary News Decorating in the hall starts on Tuesday 7th April so we should see quite a difference on
our return to school. Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday 1st April. On Monday June 1st we will be
holding an open afternoon which will begin with assembly at 2pm followed by a chance to look at our
gallery of old photos and the work classes will have undertaken on their projects. Tea and cakes will be on
sale. Children and staff are asked to dress in the style of 1915 for the day. Every child will receive a special
pin badge to commemorate our 100 year anniversary, designed by Faith in Year 6.
All-weather pitch Work begins on Tuesday 7th April. Please be advised that for safety reasons, only
the Church Road entrance will be in use until further notice. If you see the car park gates open, this is
likely to be for plant machinery etc. so please do NOT use it. A full risk assessment has been undertaken
which has included EPL holiday club staff so all children on site during the holiday will be safe.
Staff News It is with sadness that we say farewell to Miss Nellis as we have thoroughly enjoyed her being
part of our team. We welcome back Mrs. Hallam and hope the return to work won’t be too much of a shock
for her!
SSGG Litterpick I can confirm that any pupil with a Children’s University passport will have it stamped for
attending the litter pick on April 11th if they bring their certificates to school. A wonderful way to show that
Friezland children are Twentieth Kids. Please meet at Boarshurst Band Club at 10am. Refreshments
provided at noon.
School Break-ins I am sure many of you read about the recent burglary at Woodhouses School. There
have been several attempted break-ins at other local schools recently. Alarms are being disarmed and a lot
of damage being done. If you see anything suspicious, please report it immediately to the local police on
0161 856 8990.
End of Year Reports Thanks to those who completed our slips regarding suggestions for end of year
reports. There are statutory requirements such as attendance figures, but we would like to know what you
find useful in our current end of year reports and what you would like to know that we don’t already tell you.
Slips are available outside the school office or jot your thoughts on a piece of paper and send into school.
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Polling Day Once again the lodge will be used as a polling station for local residents. We have an effective
risk assessment in place which keeps the public separated from the rest of school.
Comic Relief With your fabulous support our children made £152.85 through donations and selling cakes.
What a charitable bunch!
World Wildlife Fundraising Well done to Phoebe and Faith in Class 4 who raised £70 through selling
cakes. For more information on the charity, visit: https://www.worldwildlife.org/
Bookmark Festival For literacy based events in Oldham during the month of April, please follow the link:
http://www.oldham.gov.uk/bookmark
Frosties Our team at Frosties have several activities and events planned over the coming months. See the
attached newsletter if you haven’t already received your copy. Frosties is great value child care, but also a
great way for children to spend some down time together.
Easter Holidays We break up on Thursday 2nd April and return to school on Monday 20th April. Have a
wonderful Easter break.
Sponsor Many thanks to this month’s sponsor
If you would like your company or event to be seen by 77 school families, be on our school website and be
distributed through the local church, get in touch. Great value for £15.
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