NORTHWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL
NEWSLETTER NO 7
8th December 2014
Dear Parents/Guardians
There is a really special buzz in school as the children and staff are busy with Christmas and winter activities. It was lovely walking down the corridor this week being greeted by angels, shepherds, kings and other characters from the Christmas Story. The Early Years children are definitely looking forward to this magical time of year.
Visitors to School
· Year Two to Year Six had two fantastic days deepening their history knowledge. First hand experiences help bring history topics to life and Mrs Coates was particularly impressed with the Year Six children who really learned a lot. Mrs Bentham, the history lady, brought a huge range of artefacts with her and really hooked the children into the subject with her ‘outrageous’ stories from the past.
· In Early Years, James’ Dad from Nursery came in to talk about his job in the Army. The children were really interested in the items that he brought to show. I’m sure there are now lots of children interested in joining when they are older. Thank you for taking the time to come in to school.
Early Years Coffee Morning
On the 25th November Mrs Mason, Mrs Stainthorp and Mr Tremewan held a coffee morning for Early Years parents. This was a really well attended event. Mr Tremewan was available to support parents in completing Ofsted’s Parent View online questionnaire. We now have 25 completed online responses. I am urging all parents to click on the image on our website to register with Ofsted and complete the questionnaire for our school. It really does matter. Jayden’s Mum also wrote a personal email to Ofsted about our school and on Friday she received a personal message back from Nick Gibb the Minister of State for School Reform. Mrs Mason would like to thank all the parents for their support. I’m sure she’s already planning the next one for the Spring Term. On another matter, Mrs Mason would like me to mention that Early Years are urgently in need of spare clothes and underwear for children who have accidents.
Book Fair Winners
Mrs Morton organised a competition for children to use their ‘mastiff’ behaviours to design a new front cover for a book. She was thrilled by all the children’s entries and found it really hard to choose the winners. A huge congratulations goes to Joe Thubron, Abigail Conniff, Olivia Mai Price and Steven Weir who all won a £5 book token to spend at the Book Fair.
Parent Questionnaire Outcomes
Please see the table below for the outcomes of the questionnaires that were completed during Parent Consultations.
Statement / Strongly agree / AgreeMy child is happy at school / 74% / 26%
My child feels safe at school / 80% / 20%
My child makes good progress at the school / 78% / 22%
My child is well looked after at this school / 84% / 16%
My child is well taught at this school / 82% / 17%
My child receives appropriate homework for their age / 75% / 23%
The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved / 73% / 24%
The school deals effectively with bullying / 61% / 26%
The school is well led and managed / 79% / 20%
The school responds well to any concerns I raise / 78% / 21%
I receive valuable information about my child’s progress / 81% / 19%
Would you recommend this school to another parent? / Yes 98% / No 2%
Golden Tickets
Four lucky children won tickets to attend the pantomime on Friday 12th December linked to attendance and uniform. Well done to Arianna Humble, Connor Wall, Rachel Habanova and Aidan Dodsworth. Please don’t forget if your child is going to the panto to collect them from school at 4.45pm.
Charity Events
· We raised £178 for Children in Need the other week. Thank you to all who contributed. Don’t forget it is Christmas Jumper Day on Friday 12th December donations for Save the Children Fund.
· The Student Councillors had a great time packing shopping bags in Morrisons for Text Santa. Mrs Holmshaw and Mr Tremewan said that all the children were a credit to the school and used their ‘sheep dog’ behaviour exceptionally well. I now know who to take to Morrisons if I ever need help packing my shopping bags! Amy (Y4) couldn’t wait to go and was really looking forward to helping people in the local community.
· It was great to see all the parents and carers in school for our NSPCC Number Day and 3Rs Event. 103 parents/carers attended the session. From demonstrations of Maths Makes Sense to Who wants to be a millionaire Maths, I received some really positive feedback about Maths at Northwood. Some parents even told me they wish school and learning had been so much fun when they were younger! Thank you to all who sent in donations for charity, it is very much appreciated.
Sporting Events
· On 27th November two teams participated in the Regional Gymnastics Finals. The Year Two Team came fourth and the Key Stage Two team came seventh. Mrs Coates was very impressed with both teams who did extremely well against some very strong teams from across the Tees Valley. Next time Mrs Coates is determined to ensure both teams do even better and the school is purchasing some more specialist PE equipment to support all children’s developing skills and talents. Please have a look on the website for photos from this event.
· Last week Mr Cooke and Mrs Thompson took a Year Five and Six team to the Dolphin Centre for Sports Hall Athletics. Mr Cooke was very proud of the whole team who came first overall. The children will be competing again on the 9th January. Well done to all who participated.
· Fifteen children from Year Five and Six also went to a Christmas Sports Festival at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form. The Festival was planned and organised by the students from the College and because of our strong partnership, our children were guests of honour. They all thoroughly enjoyed it and it gave all the children an opportunity to develop their sporting skills.
· Mrs Raw would like to remind the parents that Friday’s Cross Country Club will continue over the winter period. She is asking parents to ensure that children bring a tracksuit (or similar), trainers and spare socks. The children absolutely love Cross Country but unfortunately not all are suitably dressed for this time of year.
Attendance and Punctuality
Whole school attendance is currently 93.8%. The three best attending classes last week were 5S (Mr Scaife), 2H (Mrs Hill) and 5H (Mrs Chandler). 55 children were late for school last week. The ‘late desk’ will be used for parents dropping children off late to school to avoid congestion in the front entrance of the school. Please could I ask all parents of Early Years to wait with their children until a member of staff collects them and takes them to their class. May I remind parents that the school gates open at 8.40am so that children have plenty of time to get into school and settle into their learning.
Christmas Parties
Apologies that letters were not sent out regarding children wearing or bringing party clothes in to school. Key Stage 1 and Early Years children are to come to school in their party clothes on the day of their party and Key Stage 2 children are to bring their party clothes in and change after lunch. Year 4 party is Wednesday 10th December, Year 5 party is Thursday 11th December, Year 6 the 18th December, Key Stage 1 party is on Monday 15th December and Early Years is on Wednesday 17th December.
Friendly reminders
· I have received a complaint that a small minority of parents are using inappropriate language whilst waiting for their children in the playground. Please could I ask all parents to be mindful of the language they use and avoid using words which may offend others.
· A small minority of adults are riding their bicycles on the school grounds-please could I ask that you dismount and push your bikes-this is for the safety of the children and adults. Thank you for your support in this matter.
Mrs Zoe Beach
Head Teacher