NEW HALF TERM

1. NOVEMBER WEEK 1/7 NEWSLETTER: : FRIDAY NOVEMBER 7TH 2008 : Volume 6 Issue 8 Academic YEAR 2008-9 … NEW HALF TERM This is an exciting half term for the pupils in the school with lots to look forward to, culminating in the celebrations for the Christmas Season. The children in Foundation Stage have commenced their rehearsals for their play which is entitled, ‘Mary’s Knitting’. Moreover, the pupils in KS1 are working on their show which is called, ‘ A baby is born’. Both shows are performed in the penultimate week of the Michaelmas Term on week beginning December 8th 2008. The children in KS2 are rehearsing for the Young Voices Concert which is held in the same week at the Sheffield Arena. The Get Sorted Music Academy came to school today for the first of their visits. The first session was enjoyed by all the children. Children in Need Day is next Friday. We are going to cover Pudsey in pennies, so if you have any spare copper coins, you can start to bring them in next week. The Science people called Mad Science have forwarded an apology as they were unable to commence their after school clubs this week as scheduled. This will commence next week on Thursdays. ROTHER VALLEY COUNTRY PARK The year 4 children visited Rother Valley Country Park this week as part of their learning about habitats and the environment. As well as making bird boxes for school, the children enjoyed a habitat walk around the lakes looking at marshland and lakeland plants and animals. Although the weather wasn’t the best, it did not dampen the children’s enjoyment of the day. ATTENDANCE Year 3 were the winners of the week prior to half term attendance award. They had an attendance of 100%. FS2 had 98.9%, Y1, 95.7%, Y2, 92.8%, Y4,97.1%, Y5, 95%and Y6, 95.8%. . … SCHOOL NEWS CRAFT FAIR The pupils in KS1 are leading a Craft fair in School in the first week in December , on Thursday December 4th 2008. We would like parents of KS1 children to join us in a Christmas Craft Workshop to help prepare for the event. If you are available on Tuesday 25th November in the morning, you would be very welcome to come along and join in the fun. We will forward further details shortly. If anyone has any spare wool or ribbons etc, please see Mrs Ward, as she is co-ordinating the event. SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS These were taken on Tuesday November 4th 2008 in the ain school hall. Individual and sibling photographs were taken by our usual photographers, St. Ann’s Studios. We arrange this at this time of year so that the photos can be returned fro the Christmas holidays. CHRISTMAS CARDS The PTA have organised the annual Christmas Card Event. These have been sent out this week and the orders need to be returned with monies by Wednesday 12th November 2008.Thanks go to the PTA for organising this bespoke event for our school. PTA DISCO Thanks go to all the people involved in supporting and organising the school disco which took place on Friday 17th October 2008. The PTA AGM is scheduled for Thursday November 27th 2008 at 7.00 p.m.Details will be forwarded shortly. PARENTAL GOVERNORSHIP 2008 The new parent governors for the next term are Mrs. Julie Buckingham, who returns for a second term in office and Dr. Scobbie, who we welcome onto the Governing Body for the first time. ROAD SAFETY WEEK Next week is road safety week and we will be looking at keeping safe on and near roads. This will be done through assemblies and class discussions. .

2. Focus this week: ECM (Every Child Matters):ECONOMIC WELL BEING . . Every setting for children and young people has a statutory duty to ensure that they address the Every Child Matters Agenda, which has been set by the government. ‘Every Child Matters: Change for Children’ is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19. The Government's aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to: Be healthy Stay safe Enjoy and achieve Make a positive contribution Achieve economic well-being This means that the organisations involved with providing services to children - from hospitals and schools, to police and voluntary groups - will be teaming up in new ways, sharing information and working together, to protect children and young people from harm and help them achieve what they want in life. For the next 5 weeks on the newsletter, we shall share with you the type of things which we do to ensure that these outcomes are met. This week we are looking at the third of the 5: ‘Economic Well Being’. This is all about, developing key skills for the world of work as well as developing , financial and enterprise capability, economic and business understanding, and understanding of sustainable development. Moreover, it is about learners' developing understanding of different types of work as well as earners' acquisition of the social skills and other workplace skills, essential to their future economic well-being. One of the aims of the school is ‘ To develop pupils skills and knowledge, enabling them to face the challenges of life, making confident and appropriate health, moral and citizenship choices in an ever changing and demanding world’. Thus, children are encouraged to have high aspirations which equate to the high expectations which the staff set for them The school is very successful in preparing learners for their future economic well being. This is achieved through: *The delivery of a planned curriculum which allows pupils to acquire relevant knowledge and skills as identified in the National Curriculum. This allows the pupils to develop their skills in a wide range of subjects, notably in literacy, numeracy and ICT, which for most pupils are the essential skills which are required for their future economic well being. Our standards at the end of Key Stage 1 and 2 over time are very good and are well above national averages. *Presentation of cross –curricular opportunities allow for the development of personal qualities, such as perseverance, endeavour and ability to work as part of a team. This is achieved through the design of longer term projects. *The delivery of an Enterprise Education programme from Foundation Stage to Year 6. This allows pupils to acquire, develop and relevant knowledge and skills against the 13 enterprising entitlements, which have been identified by Rotherham Ready, which is an organisation which promotes enterprise learning in schools. We also organise for different workers to visit the school to talk about their role in society, such as the recent visit by the Revd Caunt, the fire Service and School Nurse. In addition, in Foundation Stage and KS1 there are numerous role play areas linked to the world of work, which are put in place over the year. An emphasis is placed upon teaching the pupils how to learn as well as what to learn. For examples, we teach study skills, such as mind mapping and skim reading and noting as a way of supporting the children to become independent learners This is central to the school ethos that life is learning journey. The pupils develop a good work ethic, concentration, and independence, which are part of lifelong learning skills. We take great care in supporting children’s transition between classes, key stages and schools, including transfer to secondary education. The pupils are well prepared for their secondary education due to the close partnership with the Cluster High School. These key transferable skills are evident in our pupils by the time they leave for secondary education. . The OFSTED inspection of December 2007 reported ,’ A significant feature within pupils' learning is the focus on education about business and enterprise. The impact of the initial short-term projects that the school set up has been extended and this work is now incorporated into the main curriculum. An identified range of key business and enterprise skills is now addressed through many aspects of pupils' work in different subjects. Teachers and pupils make effective use of these skills when assessing the success of their work. The attendant emphasis on group work, discussion and joint decision making is making an outstanding contribution to pupils' social development and their preparedness for later education and the world of work Next week ‘In Focus’: ‘Making a Positive Contribution’.