Headteacher Newsletter Issue 16
FORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER ISSUE 16: 25.5.18
We would like to welcome a new family to the school. Toby started in Year One this week.
Congratulations to Alice Sabin and Simon Camp on your engagement last week! We are all delighted with your news.
SATs week
Well done to Year 6 who have been working very hard on their SATs throughout the week. Thank you to all the kind parents that made cakes/cookies for the children during the week.
SATs
On Monday 13th May Year 6 began their SATs. They started off by doing a few practise tests (and several years of learning), then on Monday they were fully prepared for the tests ahead of them. The first test was a GPS test (grammar, punctuation and spelling). This went well and wasn’t too tricky. “The best part of SATs was the cakes we received at the end!” (Daisy C). Trust me, all the cakes went to good use! The second test on Monday was a 15-minute spelling test. “They were easier than I thought” (Sam P). On Tuesday, we had a reading test that was an hour long! Most people finished it but a lot of checking was essential. On Wednesday we had two tests. It was the beginning of the maths tests! “They weren’t too bad, in fact they were pretty good” (Maddie). We celebrated the end of our SATs with a picnic, rounders, cake and more cake! We had a trip to the Jubilee Field with our buddies. “SATs weren’t too bad actually” (Uma).
By Petra and Megan.
Year 6 and Reception visit Jubilee Fields
On Thursday 17th June, Year 6 took their Reception buddies to Clavering Park. We walked there and back in the lovely spring sunshine. All the children enjoyed playing together in the playground. They enjoyed ice lollies too! Thank you Nienke for helping us.
Fun at the Park
On Thursday 17th May Year 6 went to the Jubilee Field with their Reception buddies. This was a fantastic end of SATs treat. Many of the buddies loved playing on the zipline and roundabout. The others liked playing on the slides and see-saw. We were also very lucky because the sun was shining and it was very hot. Here are some of the Year 6 and Reception buddies quotes:
Ellie: “I liked playing on the slide and playing with Megan”
Ernie: “I loved going on the slide 10 times”
Teddy: I loved the roundabout and the slide”
Rosie: I loved playing on the zipwire and see-saw”
William F: I liked playing on the roundabout”
Petra: I loved playing football”
and we all loved playing with our buddies.
By Annie & Daisy.
Year 6 Kwik Cricket
Boys Cricket
On Wednesday 23rd May the boys took part in a cricket tournament which was held at Saffron Walden Cricket Club, with 7 different schools involved. In our first match we played Newport and lost 282 – 255 and in this match a superb catch was taken by Edward Sowter, In our second match against Debden we won 285 – 282. Will and Sam scored numerous sixes between them. We enjoyed the morning thoroughly but enjoyed the afternoon more because the sun was out, unlike the morning, and we watched the girls play. We would all like to thank Mr. Snelling for helping umpire and Mr. Dyce for coaching us.
By Will C & Gianluca
Girls Cricket
After a chilly morning the sun came out for the girls at Saffron Walden Cricket Field. After countless weeks of training (five weeks) they were ready. They won their first game 281 – 221 against Debden. Unfortunately they lost their second game by just 5 runs. There was some excellent batting, bowling and fielding by all on the team, but Georgie and Grace stood out for the many sixes they scored. The girls did very well and did their best. Both the boys and girls had fun at the cricket club.
By Will F and Millie.
Emergency Procedures
We are updating our emergency procedures in line with recent guidance. In addition to our usual ‘Fire drill’, we will also be practising evacuating the site to the Christian Centre and Lockdown procedures.
The children will be told there are emergencies when we have to go outside, leave the school and go to the Christian Centre or go inside the school.
The lockdown will be activated by a different alarm to our fire bell and the children will go back to their classroom. They will be registered and the outer doors will be locked and the blinds lowered.
Our first practice will be after half term.
HOLIDAYS
The number of unauthorised absences is increasing. This is a concern and needs to be reduced. The DFE have proven that each day a child misses school it has a negative effect on their academic performance
Guidance from the Local Authority:
Leave of absence may only be granted by a person authorised in that behalf by the proprietor of the school. As from 1st September 2013, the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 amended Regulation 7 to prohibit the proprietor of a maintained school from granting leave of absence to a pupil, except where an advance application has been made by the parent with whom the pupil normally resides, and the proprietor considers that there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application.
Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to your child’s educational progress. A pupil who takes 10 days absence will only attain 94.7% attendance in the year. 10 days absence also means the pupil will miss 50 hours of education.
There is no entitlement to parents to take their child out of school during term time, however, you may apply to the school for leave of absence if you believe there are exceptional circumstances.
If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken, the case will be referred to the Education Welfare Service who may issue a Penalty Notice for £120 (or £60 if paid within 21 days) to each parent for each child taken out of school.
DfE “The link between absence and attainment at KS2 – 2013/14 academic year”
The analysis of the link between overall absence and attainment when taking prior attainment and pupil characteristics into account showed that, for each KS2 and KS4 measure, overall absence had a statistically significant negative link to attainment – i.e. every extra day missed was associated with a lower attainment outcome.
Sun Protection
At last the sunny weather has arrived! Please can you ensure that on sunny days your child brings a hat to wear at break times and lunch times. 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
25th May Sharing Assembly, an invitation to Year 5 parents 2.45pm
25th May Break up for half term
4th June Return to school after half term
7th June Induction morning for new Reception Parents
11th June Phonics Assessment Week
13th June Reception visit to Shepreth
13th June Archaeology years 5 and 6 with Cambridge University Students
15th June Sharing Assembly, an invitation to Reception parents 2.45pm
17th – 20th June Year 6 residential to Kingswood
22nd June Sharing Assembly, an invitation to Year 4 parents 2.45pm
27th June Years 3 and 4 Egyptian Day
28th June Crucial Crew for Year 6
29th June Sharing Assembly, an invitation to Year 1 parents 2.45pm
5th July Year 5 outdoor pursuits day –by coach am
6th July Friends of Clavering School Fete
9th July Induction Day at JFAN and SWCHS for year 6 pupils
10th July Tray Day 3.15 – 4.15pm
11th July Parent Consultations 3.30 – 6pm
12th July Parent Consultations 5 – 7.30pm
12th July Sports Day
17th July ‘Class Swap’ (11 – 12)
19th July Leavers’ Assembly 1.45pm
20th July Break up for the summer 3.15 pm
ACHIEVEMENTS
STAR OF THE WEEK
Week ending May 11th
Reception Rose – for making ten in lots of ways using balance scales.
Year One Isaac – for working hard to join his handwriting.
Year Two Lincoln – for good independent work.
Year Three India – for her good understanding of fractions.
Year Four Olivia – for consistently concentrating and working hard.
Year Five Felix – for accurately drawing and measuring angles using a protractor.
Year Six Patrick – for excellent progress and achievements in Maths.
Week ending May 18th
Reception Harry P – for his fabulous story plan for Jack and the Beanstalk
Year One Robin – for trying to write a lovely fairy tale
Year Two Olivia – for super listening and for always doing the right thing
Year Three Abigail – for her thoughtful responses in guided reading
Year Four Kitty – for working hard all week
Year Five Albany – for good understanding of model verbs
Year Six All of year 6 – for being stars and working so hard being fabulous in SATs
HEADTEACHER’S AWARD
For children who have achieved their personal best:
Reception:
Tommy – for outstanding progress in writing.
Rio – for always using phonics to help her spell.
Year One:
Wilf – putting in lots of effort to improve his Maths work
Louisa – for great improvement in her creative writing
Year Two:
Daisy – for improved focus and a positive attitude to learning
Will C – for increased confidence to participate in lessons and for excellent listening
Year Three:
Alice – for her improved more detailed writing style
Harrison – for trying to be more descriptive in his writing
Year Four:
Hermione – excellent English work
Tilly W – excellent art work
Year Five:
Jake – for good progress in writing and handwriting
Phoebe – for beautiful detailed art work and always putting in a lot of effort
Year Six:
Will C – for demonstrating a conscientious and a mature approach to his learning resulting in excellent progress and achievement.
Mazie – for excellent progress and achievement in all areas of her learning.
Annie – for excellent progress and achievement in all areas of her learning.
Cartoon Attitude Learning Awards
We have now introduced our super hero learning behaviours, which the children created in their house groups during friendship week. Last half term the children worked hard on resilient learning, championed by “Resileroo”. Two children from each class were nominated for a special award and enjoyed a hot chocolate treat with Miss Allsop. This half term we have been working on curiosity through the hero “Curipaws!” –
Reception: Toby and Ellie
Class 1: Katie and Poppy
Class 2: Olivia M and Chloe S
Class 3: Elizabeth and Darragh
Class 4: Rebecca and Freddie
Class 5: Grace and Felix
Class 6: Isabella and Orla
IT DIDN’T GO UNNOTICED’ AWARD
‘Thursday’ Playleaders for being very organized in their duties
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.
Winners: Spring Term 2018: Class 2
Week beginning:
16.4.18 Year One
23.4.18 Year Three
30.4.18 Year Five
14.5.18 Year Six
REMINDERS:
Dinner money for this half term is £59.40 or £123.20 for the whole of the spring term (to Easter). The cost of a meal is £2.20 a day, £11.00 for a week. Dinner money should be sent in to school on a Monday in your child’s Friday Folder and should be in a sealed envelope with your child’s name and amount enclosed written on the front. Cheques should be made payable to Clavering Primary School.
If you have any questions at any time then please feel free to make an appointment.
Have a good weekend
Rosalind Allsop
Headteacher