The newsletter of Goosewell Primary School Goosewell Road Plymouth PL9 9HD Issue #7 24th October 2014 www.goosewell.plymouth.sch.uk [email protected] T: 01752 482960 Headteacher : Mr J M Stephens Governors’ News from Alex Miranda Chair of Governors We welcome two new co-opted Governors to join our Governing Body, Mark Bradley, a banker and Rowland Russell, a retail store manager. We are sure both will contribute to the Governing Body and join us in making this great school even better. The Governors are currently reconstituting the Governing Body and will seek new additions in due course, including a new Parent Governor. Each Goosewell School Governor has been allocated a Year Group to follow as the children progress through the school. We have decided to do this to give us a clear picture of the needs of each year group, and to understand what they and their teachers and other staff face as they encounter new challenges and manage transitions. Year link Governors will focus on their particular year when they come in for class visits, events and Family Assemblies. They will also have meetings with teachers and Year Group Leaders to discuss year group progress. As the Year 4 link Governor, I had the chance to see a fantastic Family Assembly presented by 4Y a couple of weeks ago. Although very early in the year, the children had clearly had a great start to their learning and are eagerly getting to grips with new topics. It was fabulous to see how confidently they all spoke about pieces of their work that they were proud of, and how their teacher had prepared them with such enthusiasm for the year ahead. Thank you 4Y and Mrs Yates! Last Friday, we had a Governors’ Day In where we had the chance to spend time with our Year Groups and meet their teaching staff. Governors have to make decisions about many things, including resources for enhancing the children’s learning, so it was really interesting to see how the issues we discuss in meetings are put into place in the classroom. If you wish to communicate with your child’s Year Group Governor, you can leave a message at the school office or via the school’s email address: [email protected] Diary dates! November 2014 Monday 3rdFriday 7th Year 5 swimming at Plympton Pool 9.0011.00 a.m. Class FEH parent consultations all day. Tuesday 4th Class FJM parent consultations all day. Wednesday 5th Year 4 Family lunch at 12.45 p.m Thursday 6th Family Assembly 2H 2.30-3.00 p.m. Friday 7th Class FAH parent consultations all day. Y2 Wheel Inspiration Day. Girls’ Football Festival at Plymstock. Your child’s class link Governor is listed on Page 2. USING EVERYONE’S TALENTS Year Group Link Governors Foundation Stage: Angela Faithfull Year 1: Ali Brown and Mark Bradley Year 2: Zoe May and Susan Hargrove Year 3: Susan Ballantyne Year 4: Alex Miranda Year 5: Mike Brown and Lizaine Arnold Year 6: Nigel Jackson and Rowland Bassett The Hub: Kirsty King Dangerous Parking A neighbour has reported a dark blue Mazda car, registration WL60 BKY, which has been parked badly on several occasions. Can we please remind you to park sensibly and be nsiderate to our neighbours. Thank you. Support Your Grow Wild City Be a voter and help Plymouth create City to Sea: an inspiring wild flower haven full of colour and wildlife for everyone to enjoy. Go online before 4 November 2014 to find out more about all of Grow Wild’s England flagship finalists. Diary Dates November continued Monday 10th Friday 14th Year 5 swimming at Plympton Pool 9.00-11.00 a.m. Tuesday 11th Remembrance Day 2 mins silence. Choir and school reps presenting at the Burrow Hill war memorial remembrance service. Thursday 13th Family Assembly 1MB 2.30-3.00 p.m. Friday 14th Children in Need day. FS and KS1 Disco 4.30-5.30 p.m. KS2 Disco 5.45-7.00 p.m. One of the finalists will be awarded £120,000 to help create a beautiful, inspiring and colourful wild flower haven. help Plymouth win! Vote.growwilduk.com Facebook.com.growwilduk or call 0808 228 7701 Spooky Goings on at the Gosling Trust Holiday Club The Gosling Trust will be open every day during the term break. There is a Halloween fancy dress theme every day with a party on Friday. Full day: 7.45a.m.-6.00p.m. £19.00 for first child and £18.00 for any siblings. Half day: 7.45a.m.-1.00p.m. or 1.00p.m.-6.00p.m. £10.00 for first child and £9.00 for any siblings. Gosling Trust phone number: 484360. Reminders The School Office is manned from 8.30 .m. Please do not ring in to report sickness or with any queries before this time. Thank you. Trepass coat lost, colour light blue belongs to Sean. Please check you childs coat. USING EVERYONE’S TALENTS Cross Country Congratulations Our four teams of runners took part in the Plymouth Primary Schools Championship at Staddiscombe fields yesterday afternoon and all featured in the top three teams for each event. Races were divided between two groups - smaller and larger schools - so we were competing with the city’s twenty largest schools made up of over 100 children in each race. The Year 3 and 4 Boys’ team came a fantastic first with Archi winning a bronze medal for coming 3rd – and he is only in Year 3! The Years 3 and 4 Girls’ team came a great third whilst the Years 5 and 6 Girls’ team came a super 2nd. The Years 5 and 6 Boys’ team came a fabulous first with all 6 children finishing in the top 17 out of 120 children. The full results for Goosewell are: Year 3 and 4 Girls: 7th Natasha , 12th Fern, 19th Chloe, 25th Kyra, 28th Lucy and 31st Amber. Team position: 3rd Year 3 and 4 Boys: 3rd Archi, 5th Jay, 14th Jake, 15th Scott, 20th Herbie and 28th Euan. Team position: 1st Year 5 and 6 Girls: 5th Emma, 11th Olivia, 13th Elissa, 16th Megan, 18th Charleigh and 58th Elisha. Team position: 2nd Year 5 and 6 Boys: 10th Max, 11th Ben, 12th Ben, 14th Barney, 16th Alexand 17th Daniel. Team position:1st All the staff who coach and support our runners are extremely pleased with the children’s efforts, achievements, team spirit and love of running – in all weathers and on all surfaces! Well done children and thank you for terrific parent support. The next races will be in Terms 3 and 4 against Plymstock schools, keep training! USING EVERYONE’S TALENTS Parent and Children Surveys The responses to last July’s surveys are posted on the website. The Governors and staff consider our children’s, parents’ and carers’ views seriously and welcome the positive and appreciative comments and the suggestions for how we can improve further too. Both sets of surveys showed that children and parents are very happy with the teaching, care, support, encouragement, inclusive and welcoming environment and the curriculum and learning opportunities offered at Goosewell. We have been mindful of making the most of opportunities to enable parents to help with their children’s learning at home whilst balancing the opportunities for relaxation time, out of school activities and busy family life too. Angela Jenkins updates you on the Parent Council discussions with staff about homework in the newsletter. In Term 2, the Maths and Literacy Curriculum leaders will provide ideas for parents to help your child learn and practise at home by giving you web links, ideas for games and activities. We will also post up expectations for different Year groups on the website for Reading, Writing and Maths. Watch this space as the website is refreshed. Cathy Jackson, in her role of Reading Champion, is promoting reading at home to encourage families to read together. You should have received information about the Take Ten Reading activity for you to carry out over the term break. USING EVERYONE’S TALENTS From the children’s survey, we will work with the children and lunchtime staff to ensure playtimes are good times for all. We will also present our annual anti-bullying week in November; Mrs King will ask you to do a little bit of homework for this too! It is clear the swimming pool is a missed provision; we are still to finalise a decision on its future. Funding the improvement is the biggest issue as the school or PTA cannot fund this. We have been made aware of possible grants to explore but are yet to find a kind benefactor! As a school, we will all continue our endeavours to make our school the best it could be; little nudges forward in several areas can make a world of difference. Children’s Successes Joshua in FJM has achieved his 7th Kyu (red belt) in karate with Doryoku Ryu Karate Jutsu. Jessica in 3H has gained her 5th Kup blue stripe in Taekwondo. Ava and Lauren both in 4BW did a sponsored walk for Cancer Research UK and raised £180. Zack in 3H passed his Stage 3 swimming. Jack and Thomas both in 2K swam 25 metres and obtained Stage 1 and Stage 2 Awards. Matty 2NT has received the Kwik Cricket Gold Skill Award. Matthew came 5th in the finals of the White Rose Diving Competition in Leeds. This was his personal best! Eddie 3GT performed Saifa Kata and won a gold medal at this event. Chloe 6R achieved her Level 6 in British Gymnastics Trampoline. USING EVERYONE’S TALENTS Parent Council Meeting Update The Parent Council met last Tuesday (14.10.2014) to continue the discussion around the topic of ‘Homework’ and to listen to the responses from the parent questionnaire which was distributed in July. A BIG thank you to the parents who attended and to those who sent their comments into school. Since our last meeting in July, I have been able to meet with members of staff to discuss some of the points raised by parents. As you have probably noticed already, homework for children in Key Stage 2 is accompanied by a detailed task sheet on which parents are able to give feedback and comment on how much support their child has received. It was also suggested that an idea about how much time should be spent on the homework could be included on the homework sheet. In order to include all children in home learning, Key Stage 2 homework consists of either open ended, longer tasks or tasks which are suited to children’s ability. Also in response to our previous meeting, children in Year 2 took home high frequency word spellings last week and this homework will also be introduced for Year One children in the New Year. At the meeting, Mr Stephens presented the results of the Parent Questionnaire. We agreed that there were no main areas of concern and overall the surveys are very complimentary of the work of the school but the school recognises that there is always something to improve. One of the main queries from parents was that they did not always know who the school governors are and how they can contact them. There is an update from Alex Miranda, Chair of Governors, in this newsletter explaining how this is being promoted. Our next Parent’s Council meeting will be held in the Spring Term; date to be confirmed. We would love to see some new faces!! Angela Jenkins Parent Council Co-ordinator USING EVERYONE’S TALENTS PSA News from Jo Penk Mount Edgcombe The big draw and family arts event is on Friday 31st October at the marquee in Earl’s Garden. This is an all-day event and there will the opportunity to participate in lots of free drawing experiences, it is suitable for the whole family. So why not pop along and discover your hidden artistic talents and explore your creativity. Sports day at Brickfields Plymouth City Council’s sports development unit is running a sports camp for 8-12 year olds on Friday 31st October 10am-3pm. Sessions cost £3.00 for a half day (10am-12pm or 1pm-3pm) or a full day session costs £5.00. There will be a range of sporting activities taking place but places are limited so booking is essential, to book call 01752 307008 or [email protected] Half term activities at City Museum On 29th October there is a ‘let’s go walk’ session between 10.30am-1pm (last entry at 12.30), where children can make a folded book with pictures and drawings. On 25th October, there will be 60 minute spooky Halloween make and take sessions at 11am-12pm, 1.30pm-2.30pm and 3pm-4pm (admission is free but places must be pre-booked). There is also a bookable workshop to make clay bead creations inspired by the Bronze Age; the cost for these sessions is £2.00 per child. For more information or to book any of the half term session please call 01752 304774. The Beckly Centre is holding an open day on 30th October to share how this resource is available to as many children, young people and families. Also to groups who work with children, young people and older people, who may benefit from the sensory input. For more information, please contact on 01752 484433 or [email protected] . Special needs conference on Tuesday 4th November 9.30am-2pm and 6pm-9.30pm at The Guildhall. It is an opportunity for parents and family members to talk to service representative about care and support on offer during the day. For further information or questions please call 01752 258933 and ask for Sarah Flay. Make a difference is a group for parents of children with additional needs (with or awaiting diagnosis). They meet each Friday during term time 10am-1pm at Tamar View Community Centre in Barne Barton. It is an informal way to meet other parents to discuss strategies, experiences and to support on another. Completely Special supports families of children with disabilities and holds regular meetings and events. For support or information contact Tessa on 07727674730 or Denise on 07850426729. Useful information for siblings of a child with autism—online clips on www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAwh4Jvoor4 (teenagers talking about their siblings and explaining some aspects of autism). DVD called autism and me by Rory Hoy, this is a film about his own autism which could be helpful to siblings to understand. Books for older and younger siblings are available on the National Autism Society (NAS) website at www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/parents-relatives-and-carers/siblings/usefulreading.aspx and www.youngsibs.org.uk . USING EVERYONE’S TALENTS Well done to our Y4 team who took part in the Plymstock Multi Skills festival at Coombe Dean. All there had a great time. Vinney Josephine Toby Amber Scott Jake Charlotte Ashton Eliot Amber Voilet Lauren Thank you for all the great attendance at the Book Fair this week and for the super turn out at the PTA family bingo evening. Recent special moments at Goosewell: Foundation Stage children getting to the end of Term 1 all happy and settled. Year 1 shifting piles of earth (ask them!), Year 2 burning their model houses to re-enact the Great Fire of London. Year 3’s Mexico Day. Year 4’s Victorian Day, Classes 4Y, 5M and 6M’s Family Assemblies. Year 6 House Captains being fantastic hosts for new families. Year 6 learning to and developing their cycling skills. The most recent special moment: breaking up for term break! Have a good break and we look forward to seeing you all in November! Mr J M Stephens, Headteacher USING EVERYONE’S TALENTS