Headteacher Newsletter: Issue 18
Headteacher Newsletter: Issue 18 30.6.17
Staff Changes
I am sad to inform you that Mrs Sam Langan will be leaving Clavering Primary School at the end of this term.
I am sure you will agree she will be greatly missed by us all. She has been working at the school for 12 years. Mrs Langan has worked particularly hard developing sport at Clavering Primary School over the years, resulting in us being awarded the Gold Sainsburys Sports Mark.
We wish her well in her next adventure and look forward to hearing all her news.
I also want to welcome Miss Emily Hagger who will be joining us from September, whom I am sure will become an asset to the team.
Year 6 Residential to Kingswood
At Kingswood we all had a great time. The girls were in room 5 and had bunkbeds for twelve. I shared with Saffron who is the deepest sleeper ever! The food was served in a cafeteria and we were given loads of options! To get to the next activity we would be told a time to meet at our certain lines and wait for an instructor. Before each one we would do a shout-out, eg ‘Let’s go caving, caving, caving ‘til we see the sun!’.
My favourite activity was the leap of faith because I beat my target and I did it twice. Normally I would be terrified, but I did it! I also really enjoyed the zip-wire because it was really exciting and I didn’t think I could do it.
I learnt that I find it easier to overcome fears than I thought. Also, I can be quite tidy when I want to be!
I learnt that Izzy is very brave because she climbed the leap of faith, despite being really scared of heights. I also found Ella was very supportive towards people that were scared.
By Molly
Years 3 and 4 to St Marks
On Tuesday 20th June Classes 3 and 4 went to St Mark’s for an activity day. During the day all the children had a go at archery, target tug of war- on a huge inflatable, team building games and the assault course. It was a very hot day so Sam, the team leader, kindly organised a ‘sponge dodge ball’ game with lots of sponges soaked in cold water – which helped cool everyone down! All the children worked well together as a team and everyone really enjoyed the day.
Crucial Crew
Year 6 spent a very informative afternoon at the Crucial Crew event held at St Marks last week. Along with Year 6 children from other local primary schools, they attended several workshops delivered by a range of professional organisations learning about first aid, fire safety, drugs and alcohol, shop-lifting and vandalism, coping with peer pressure and money matters. It was a context for learning that was very much enjoyed by the children and valuable support to the PSHE taught in school.
Class Walk
Year 6 enjoyed a morning out walking approximately 5 miles across fields following local footpaths on Thursday morning this week. As well as practising their map reading skills they took along cameras to photograph landmarks and nature along the way. They will be using these photographs back in class in Computing to create a tourist information guide presenting a circular walk for Clavering residents and visitors. This project also links closely with their locality studies in Geography.
Sports Day – advanced warning
Sports Day is taking place on Wednesday 12th July, 10 – 12. All parents are welcome.
Clavering Horticultural Society – Rose Show – 11th June 2017
Children from Clavering Primary School took part in the Rose Show colouring and photographic competition. The judges informed us of the results below. Well done to all the children that took part.
Colouring competition:
1st Lola
2nd Olivia
3rd Thomas (1)
Photograph competition:
1st Elizabeth
2nd India
3rd Lily
Highly Commended Imogen
Online Protection for Children
There have been updates to our online safety page on the school website under ‘Policies’ – ‘Online Protection for Children’.
There is now a link for parents to help them keep up to date with the latest APPs that the children are using and the safety implications:
“It can seem difficult to keep up-to-date with the technology that children use. You can find out much more information and support about digital technologies here:
http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Support-tools/How-to-guides/?mc_cid=d4de9fe0d3&mc_eid=3db85693f2
Safeguarding Alert – SnapMaps:
Last week SnapChat, used regularly by many children and young people, launched a new feature – Snap Maps. SnapMaps allows users to see the location of their contacts. This feature allows others to accurately pinpoint where you are. There are three possible privacy settings:
- Ghost mode, where only you can see your position;
- My Friends mode, where any contact can see your location; and
- Select Friends mode, just those who you choose can see you ChildNet have posted a thorough explanation of SnapMaps and how to ensure users stay safe. Well worth a read to share with anyone you know who uses the app. Although some children may not have access to apps, if we are to protect children, we need to have an awareness of knowledge of the risks and uses of them.
Further reading: Introducing SnapMaps (ChildNet)
Sun Protection
Please can you ensure that on sunny days your child brings a hat to wear at breaktimes and lunchtimes. Wide-brimmed or legionnaires hats, which have a cloth attached on the back to give additional protection to the neck, are perfectly acceptable. Sunglasses are not allowed and sun lotion (long lasting waterproof sunscreen with a high protection factor and high UVA protection) should be applied just before the children come to school. This should last until after school and overcomes the need for pupils to bring in lotion.
Lateness
School starts at 8.50 a.m.
We have noticed several children that are consistently arriving late for school – ‘late’ is defined by not being within the school gates by 8.50 a.m.
Please make every effort to be at school on time and if you know that your journey will be disrupted by road works, do allow time for this. Thank you.
Ooo000ooO
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
28th June Tray Day 3.15 – 4.15pm
30th June Sharing Assembly, an invitation to Year 3 parents 2.45pm
4th July Class Photographs
6th July Sharing Assembly, an invitation to Year 5 parents 2.45pm (Thursday)
7th July School Fete
10th July Induction Day for children transferring to JFAN and SWCHS
11th July Parent Consultations 3.30 – 5.30pm
12th July Parent Consultations 5 – 7pm
12th July Sports Day 10 – 12
13th July Year 5 outdoor pursuits day
17th July Play Leader Celebration Day out
19th July ‘Class Swap’ (11 – 12)
20th July Leavers’ Assembly 1.45pm
20th July Church Service am TBC
21st July Break up for the summer 3.15 pm
ACHIEVEMENTS
STAR OF THE WEEK
Week ending June 16th
Reception Matilda S – producing careful, neat writing
Year One Woody – amazing alliteration and super similes in his descriptive writing
Year Two Amber – super focus on her writing this week
Year Three Jude – good fraction work and counting to 20 in French
Year Four Lily – trying hard to listen and work independently in Maths
Year Five Orla – thoughtful poetry writing
Year Six Emily – engaging well in the English lesson taught by a Secondary School teacher
Week ending June 23rd
Reception Poppy – being a very kind and helpful friend
Year One Pheonix – fabulous writing
Year Two Max – improved handwriting and extra care with punctuation
Year Three Louis – his re-telling of the Viking creation story
Year Four Maya – trying really hard with all her writing
Year Five William C – great understanding of area and volume
Year Six Ellie – asking intelligent questions during Science lesson taught by Year 7 teacher
‘IT DIDN’T GO UNNOTICED’ AWARD
Reception Class especially Sidney, Louisa, Amelie, Kayleigh, Hadley, Joshua, Ethan, Aaron, Anna and Matilde for helping the Midday Assistants and Playleaders
THE TIDIEST CLASSROOM OF THE WEEK!
Our cleaners are judging the tidiest classroom each week. The winners are announced in assembly on a Friday. The class that has won the most times at the end of a term will be awarded an afternoon with an activity of their choice or an extra playtime.
Spring Term Winners: Class Four
Week ending –
28th April – Class 3
5th May – Reception
12th May – Class 6
19th May – Class 4
26th May – Class 3
9th June – Class 5
REMINDERS:
- Please do not park at the school to pick up after school clubs
- Please be mindful of residents’ driveways when parking on Stortford Road
- Healthy and Safety notice regarding the wearing of earrings during PE
We have been informed by Essex that The Primary Code states that all jewellery is to be removed for PE lessons and taping over earrings is not allowed. This means that if pupils cannot take their earrings out they will have to sit out of PE until a time that they can be removed. Schools have to comply with this guidance.
If your child is about to have their ears pierced it is advisable for it to take place over the summer so that the earrings can be removed for PE ready for the start of the Autumn term.
- Please ensure that all children always have their PE kit in school.
- Volunteers – if you are interested in volunteering or helping in the school please liaise with your child’s class teacher
- Footwear
In the interest of safety, as well as appearance, pupils should wear suitable footwear for school. Shoes should fasten securely and be plain black and low heeled with enclosed toes. Boots, sandals, sling backs and trainers are not appropriate for school. Trainers can be worn for PE.
If you have any questions at any time then please feel free to make an appointment.
Have a good weekend.
Rosalind Allsop
Headteacher
