Limpsfield Junior School Newsletter
Autumn 2 2017
Once again it is time for our Christmas newsletter. The half term has flown by and once again we all have a lot to be proud of. On behalf of all the staff, I would like to thank you for the cards and gifts that the children bring and hope that you all have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Christmas Concert
We hope that you enjoyed our Christmas Concert. As always, it was a fun mix of dancing, singing and overacting. The children love performing for parents, carers and relatives and for us it really does mean that Christmas is here.
The Lantern Parade
Another favourite at Christmas is the Lantern Parade. We had a great turn out of parents to help us make the lanterns although people were a lot more restrained than in previous years. The lanterns, although of a high quality, were not generally as large as we have seen before! I am pleased to say that the singing around the Christmas tree was as traditional as usual with Mr Kerry being in fine form. Thank you for all those who attended and made this a great event for the children.
School Choir
We are extremely proud of our school choir. This Limpsfield tradition has been around for a number of years and I know that the children involved love performing for different audiences. Not only did they perform during the Christmas concert but they have also performed at the new Ikea, Firth Park Library and Willowbeck Care Home. All of their performances were gratefully received however Willowbeck in particular sent us a very kind letter that has made us all particularly proud. Below is a paragraph from that letter that I would like to share with you.
“Sometimes, because of mental illness, physical disability or degenerative neurological conditions, the people who live at Willowbeck can be treated quite negatively by sectors of the community. When a group of children comes to see them, sings to them, dances with them and welcomes them with warmth and smiles, it means more than can ever be put in words.”
These are children from your school who live in your area and I know that you will be as proud as we are of them.
I would also like to thank the staff at Ikea who, following our performance at their Santa Lucia celebration, donated a large bag of soft toys for the children.
Christmas Cosy Read
We are constantly telling you how important reading is. To help children develop a love of reading we recently had a ‘Christmas Cosy Read’. This involved the children being split into small groups and sharing a Christmas story with a member of staff. I myself was lucky enough to read The Night Before Christmas with a group of children and what struck me the most was it didn’t matter how old they were, all the children enjoyed having a story a read to them. Just because your child may be in Y6 reading Harry Potter, it doesn’t mean that you can’t sit them down and read them a story. Of course, the hot chocolate, sweets and cake may also have made the Cosy Read even more exciting.
Keeping Children Safe
You will have recently received an information leaflet from the school’s online safety group. These children work closely with school staff to help children stay safe outside of school. All the children in school were asked questions about their use of the internet, the films and games that they played and their use of mobile phones. We asked them to be honest. This survey was never intended to be used to tell the children off but was instead done to show us and yourselves what your children are really doing when they are not at school. We work hard to safeguard your children however the survey has raised safety concerns when they are not in our care. Following the outcomes of this survey, after Christmas we have planned some online safety lessons for all the children. We are also looking at how we can support you in developing your understanding of keeping children safe. However, there are some things that you can do right now to protect your children. A good place to start may be the games that your child plays or the films that they watch. Many of our children have said that they regularly play Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. No child in our school should be playing these games as they are rated 18, because of the levels of realistic violence and explicit content that they contain. Your child may want to play them but please remember that you are the adult and can explain to them why it is not appropriate. I would also urge you to ensure that if your child receives a phone for Christmas it has the appropriate safety settings for accessing the internet. A lot of advice is available on the internet through websites such as;
If you are confused by all of the technical jargon then the alternative is to take your phone to the store where you bought it, or your network provider, and they can give you advice.
The digital world moves fast. The best way to support your child is to encourage them to be open and honest with you and for you to work together to ensure that they are kept safe. We will be sending you more information after the Christmas holiday.
From the City
As planned, our art exhibition went ahead and was a great showcase for the brilliant art work that the children regularly produce. We even got a mention in The Star.
Crucial Crew
During the half term, Y6 children visited Crucial Crew. This is a series of scenarios organised by the South Yorkshire Police to teach the children life skills including internet safety, first aid, fire safety and general life skills. This event has been running for a number of years and supports school in helping the children to develop their awareness of how to be safe in the world around them.
Egyptian day
As part of the Y3/4 curriculum, the children had a fantastic Egyptian day. The children learnt lots of interesting facts about the ancient Egyptians and also got to try some Egyptian style food. Lots of children and staff got dressed up and I know that it helped to make the Egyptians real.
Athletics
During this half term, many of our children have been involved in various athletics competitions with the Y4 children competing at Hinde House Secondary and the Y5/6 at Concorde. I am pleased to say that our Y5/6 children made it to the Arches final and came 5th out of 26 teams that were originally involved in the competition. Well done!
Attendance
We know that our children love coming to school. We see lots of hard working, happy children every day and they keep coming back! If we ever needed any proof of how much our children enjoy school then we only have to look at our attendance figure for the first term of this year. Currently, our whole school attendance is
97.1%
This is an absolutely amazing figure and means that we are currently above the national average figure of 96%. We are still focussing on children achieving 100% attendance and these children will have a chance of winning new bike or a scooter at the end of the year. If your child isn’t going to get 100% then don’t worry as children still receive weekly and termly prizes for good attendance.
Poetry Recital
Poetry is a fantastic art form. Good poetry can paint a picture in the mind, make you feel sad or happy or can make you feel empathy for another person. Children don’t often come across poetry in real life so during this half term we had a whole school focus on poetry that included children performing a poetry recital in the hall. The children really enjoyed exploring this art form and it has helped them to be more creative in their writing. Below is a poem about a Hurricane written by one of our children
High flying waves intimidating the paralysed city.
Unruly waters hurled wildly over and through the city.
Ranting waves ripping things to shreds.
Ravishing wild waters destroying everything in its path.
Intense winds blowing debris everywhere.
Catastrophic winds powerfully charging.
Anger pulsing in the air.
Neverending nightmare.
Everyone waiting for the worst to come.
Amelia
Thank you for all your support and help this year. Have a great break and we will see you on Monday 8th January.
Martin Moss