POOL PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER May 2016 - Amazon Web ...
POOL PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER May 2016 Key Diary Dates Friday 6 May Monday 9 May Saturday 14 May Monday 16 May Friday 20 May Monday 23 May Thursday 26 May Friday 27 May Friday 10 June Sunday 12 June Monday 13 June Thursday 16 June Monday 20 June Wednesday 22 June Thursday 23 June Saturday 25 June Monday 27 June Wednesday 6 July Thursday 7 July
Friday 8 July Monday 11 July Tuesday 12 July Wednesday 13 July Thursday 14 July
Friday 15 July Wednesday 20 July Friday 22 July 25, 26 and 27 July Monday 5 September
Tel No: Website:
Reception Class visit Cannon Hall Farm Y3 & Y4 visit Saltaire KS2 SATs Test Week Y4 Residential Visit to East Barnby, 9-11 May PTA Sponsored Walk at Otley Chevin Forest KS2 Inter-schools 5-a-side Football Tournament all week YR Bun sale at The Friday Café, Pool Village Hall, 2.45pm Leeds Book Awards Final Ceremony at Pudsey Civic Hall School nurse in to do Y6 height & weight check Training Day – school closed. Open again Monday 6 June Street parties to celebrate the Queen’s Official Birthday – more info to follow Pool Feast Phonics Screening Check for Y1 pupils this week Woodwind assembly, 9am Refugee Week – 20-26 June ‘Meet the Team’ for new Reception parents, 4pm Y6 Mini-Olympics at PHGS Y5 ‘Taster Day’ at PHGS until 2.30pm (lunch provided) PTA Summer Fair, 11am – 2pm New Reception children story time, 3-3.25pm Y6 Leavers’ Service at Leeds Minster, 1.30 – 2.30pm (10 ch) Be Active, Be Healthy fair at PHGS ‘Moving Up’ transition morning in school New Reception children visiting Y6 Transition Day 1 to PHGS Y6 Transition Day 2 to PHGS Start of Health & Well-being week in school New Reception children story time, 3-3.25pm Y6 Transition Day 1 to Harrogate Grammar Y6 Transition Day 2 to Harrogate Grammar Annual Pupil reports to Parents PTA Discos – KS1, 6-7pm; KS2 7.15-8.15pm Sports Day – Rec & KS1 am; KS2 pm Y6 Leavers’ BBQ, 6.30-8pm Y6 Leavers’ Assembly, 2.45pm School closes for the summer, 3.30pm. Training Days – school closed Start of the new academic year - school open for pupils
0113 2843151 www.pool-in-wharfedale-leeds.co.uk
Au revoir… At the end of the summer term, we will sadly say goodbye to our fantastic Y6 teacher and leader of Modern Foreign Languages, Miss Hind, who starts a new job in September at Oatlands Junior School, Harrogate. We wish her lots of happiness in her new school and urge her to visit us when North Yorkshire’s school holidays fall differently to Leeds! Here comes a Young’un… Huge congratulations to Mrs Young who is expecting her first baby in October! If all is well with Mrs Young and baby, she intends to work until Friday 7th October. A temporary teacher (yet to be appointed) will commence the Maternity Cover on Monday 3rd October, allowing for a smooth handover that week. They will teach the class full-time until Mrs Young returns. ‘Strong’er together! Whilst we are sad to see Miss Hind depart, we are delighted that Miss Strong will be able stay at Pool from September as a full-time, permanent member of staff. Class Teachers – September 2016 onwards From September, there will be a number of changes across school, due in part to the reasons already mentioned above. However, as well as supporting our pupils, we are keen to strengthen Teachers’ professional development and arrangements for class teachers in the autumn are therefore as follows: Reception – Mrs Worsnop (Mon-Weds) & Mrs Lowe (Thurs-Fri), with Mrs Morris & Mrs Stoves Y1 – Miss Ball Y2 – Mrs Furnival Y3 – Miss Strong Y4 – Mrs Young / teacher covering Maternity Leave (yet to be appointed) Y5 – Mrs Kingsnorth & new job-share teacher (yet to be appointed) Y6 – Mrs Di Palma-Heath We have yet to allocate where our Teaching Assistants will work from Y1-Y6, but this will be based on the specific needs of individuals or cohorts. Learning Enquiry On Wednesday 4 May, we hosted a ‘Learning Enquiry’ as part of our Family of Schools’ collaboration looking into how our schools build pupils’ resilience. The intention of this work is to identify strong potential case study material as well as common features of effective practice. Our School Improvement Advisor, Trish Lowson, interviewed parents and visited classes to experience the wide variety of activities and enthusiastic learning taking place. Headteacher of Bramhope Primary, Pauline Lawson, interviewed pupils from Y1-6 and also popped in and out of classes. The initial feedback is overwhelmingly positive; reflecting the ethos of our school and dedicated staff: a learning environment which is purposeful, supportive, calm and where it is safe to ‘fail’ strengths around collaborative learning; mutual respect between staff and children; excellent behaviour The Otley, Pool and Bramhope Headteachers and Trish Lowson will share findings from each of the Learning Enquiries held so far, at our next Family of Schools meeting in a few weeks’ time. We’ll discuss what we can do as individual schools and as a Cluster to build on the results. All VERY exciting!
Y3 – ‘Leading the Way Our fantastic Y3 children continue to demonstrate exemplary leadership skills as part of their Young Leaders Award, raising £65 from their bun sale for the RSPCA and Yorkshire Air Ambulance charities. Well done to all the children and thank you to parents for supporting this!
Dinosaur Invasion! The dinosaurs are well and truly alive in Pool this term! Y1 and Y2 have been thoroughly engaged in their new topic and even excavated some monsters from ice last week! Argh!
Supporting our Profession Once again, we are proud to support the teachers of the future and currently have 4 trainee teachers from Leeds Beckett University on block placements in our Y2 and Y3 classes. We have already been impressed by their enthusiasm and professional attitudes! Kingfisher Club Holiday Club is opening Tuesday 31 May to Thursday 2 June May holidays. If you need places or have any questions please contact Natalie on 07984 033859 ASAP or call into The Kingfisher Club. Academies - An Update Many of you will have heard about or read the ‘White Paper’, released by the Department for Education (DfE) which details that by the end of 2020, all state-funded schools will be academies or be in the process of becoming academies. As of the end of 2022, local authorities (LAs) will no longer maintain schools. However, since its release, the Paper has been widely criticised and there are indications of the Government already ‘diluting their demands’. The advice from Leeds Children’s Services and the National Association for Head Teachers (NAHT) is: 'Do not jump before a push that may never happen’ – but to continue to strengthen relationships and collaborations with other schools; something we have welcomed for some years and continue to do. The Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales are holding ‘Academy Roadshows’ over the next few weeks, where we hope they will offer clarity about how they see foundation schools moving forward. As you can see, it’s an evolving story and we are currently in the early stages of ‘fact-finding’; I’ll keep you informed!
KS1 SPaG Test A few weeks ago, the (DfE) released this statement in an email to schools: ‘Late last year, the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) published modified versions of sample test materials online. Regrettably, one of the guidance documents included in that release, for use with the modified large print version of the Key Stage 1 (KS1) spelling test, contained the live test words rather than sample words…This is clearly unacceptable and we apologise. A full investigation into the cause of the error is underway…To clarify the situation for schools about the administration of the KS1 tests in May, the Minister of State for Schools, Nick Gibb, has announced that schools will not be required to administer the KS1 English grammar, punctuation and spelling tests for this year only. All other KS1 and KS2 tests will continue as planned.’ We are told that the KS1 SPaG test will be reintroduced next year. School Hours Many thanks to those of you who have responded so far; a polite reminder that the consultation period ends on Monday 23rd May.
Friday 8 July Monday 11 July Tuesday 12 July Wednesday 13 July Thursday 14 July
Friday 15 July Wednesday 20 July Friday 22 July 25, 26 and 27 July Monday 5 September
Tel No: Website:
Reception Class visit Cannon Hall Farm Y3 & Y4 visit Saltaire KS2 SATs Test Week Y4 Residential Visit to East Barnby, 9-11 May PTA Sponsored Walk at Otley Chevin Forest KS2 Inter-schools 5-a-side Football Tournament all week YR Bun sale at The Friday Café, Pool Village Hall, 2.45pm Leeds Book Awards Final Ceremony at Pudsey Civic Hall School nurse in to do Y6 height & weight check Training Day – school closed. Open again Monday 6 June Street parties to celebrate the Queen’s Official Birthday – more info to follow Pool Feast Phonics Screening Check for Y1 pupils this week Woodwind assembly, 9am Refugee Week – 20-26 June ‘Meet the Team’ for new Reception parents, 4pm Y6 Mini-Olympics at PHGS Y5 ‘Taster Day’ at PHGS until 2.30pm (lunch provided) PTA Summer Fair, 11am – 2pm New Reception children story time, 3-3.25pm Y6 Leavers’ Service at Leeds Minster, 1.30 – 2.30pm (10 ch) Be Active, Be Healthy fair at PHGS ‘Moving Up’ transition morning in school New Reception children visiting Y6 Transition Day 1 to PHGS Y6 Transition Day 2 to PHGS Start of Health & Well-being week in school New Reception children story time, 3-3.25pm Y6 Transition Day 1 to Harrogate Grammar Y6 Transition Day 2 to Harrogate Grammar Annual Pupil reports to Parents PTA Discos – KS1, 6-7pm; KS2 7.15-8.15pm Sports Day – Rec & KS1 am; KS2 pm Y6 Leavers’ BBQ, 6.30-8pm Y6 Leavers’ Assembly, 2.45pm School closes for the summer, 3.30pm. Training Days – school closed Start of the new academic year - school open for pupils
0113 2843151 www.pool-in-wharfedale-leeds.co.uk
Au revoir… At the end of the summer term, we will sadly say goodbye to our fantastic Y6 teacher and leader of Modern Foreign Languages, Miss Hind, who starts a new job in September at Oatlands Junior School, Harrogate. We wish her lots of happiness in her new school and urge her to visit us when North Yorkshire’s school holidays fall differently to Leeds! Here comes a Young’un… Huge congratulations to Mrs Young who is expecting her first baby in October! If all is well with Mrs Young and baby, she intends to work until Friday 7th October. A temporary teacher (yet to be appointed) will commence the Maternity Cover on Monday 3rd October, allowing for a smooth handover that week. They will teach the class full-time until Mrs Young returns. ‘Strong’er together! Whilst we are sad to see Miss Hind depart, we are delighted that Miss Strong will be able stay at Pool from September as a full-time, permanent member of staff. Class Teachers – September 2016 onwards From September, there will be a number of changes across school, due in part to the reasons already mentioned above. However, as well as supporting our pupils, we are keen to strengthen Teachers’ professional development and arrangements for class teachers in the autumn are therefore as follows: Reception – Mrs Worsnop (Mon-Weds) & Mrs Lowe (Thurs-Fri), with Mrs Morris & Mrs Stoves Y1 – Miss Ball Y2 – Mrs Furnival Y3 – Miss Strong Y4 – Mrs Young / teacher covering Maternity Leave (yet to be appointed) Y5 – Mrs Kingsnorth & new job-share teacher (yet to be appointed) Y6 – Mrs Di Palma-Heath We have yet to allocate where our Teaching Assistants will work from Y1-Y6, but this will be based on the specific needs of individuals or cohorts. Learning Enquiry On Wednesday 4 May, we hosted a ‘Learning Enquiry’ as part of our Family of Schools’ collaboration looking into how our schools build pupils’ resilience. The intention of this work is to identify strong potential case study material as well as common features of effective practice. Our School Improvement Advisor, Trish Lowson, interviewed parents and visited classes to experience the wide variety of activities and enthusiastic learning taking place. Headteacher of Bramhope Primary, Pauline Lawson, interviewed pupils from Y1-6 and also popped in and out of classes. The initial feedback is overwhelmingly positive; reflecting the ethos of our school and dedicated staff: a learning environment which is purposeful, supportive, calm and where it is safe to ‘fail’ strengths around collaborative learning; mutual respect between staff and children; excellent behaviour The Otley, Pool and Bramhope Headteachers and Trish Lowson will share findings from each of the Learning Enquiries held so far, at our next Family of Schools meeting in a few weeks’ time. We’ll discuss what we can do as individual schools and as a Cluster to build on the results. All VERY exciting!
Y3 – ‘Leading the Way Our fantastic Y3 children continue to demonstrate exemplary leadership skills as part of their Young Leaders Award, raising £65 from their bun sale for the RSPCA and Yorkshire Air Ambulance charities. Well done to all the children and thank you to parents for supporting this!
Dinosaur Invasion! The dinosaurs are well and truly alive in Pool this term! Y1 and Y2 have been thoroughly engaged in their new topic and even excavated some monsters from ice last week! Argh!
Supporting our Profession Once again, we are proud to support the teachers of the future and currently have 4 trainee teachers from Leeds Beckett University on block placements in our Y2 and Y3 classes. We have already been impressed by their enthusiasm and professional attitudes! Kingfisher Club Holiday Club is opening Tuesday 31 May to Thursday 2 June May holidays. If you need places or have any questions please contact Natalie on 07984 033859 ASAP or call into The Kingfisher Club. Academies - An Update Many of you will have heard about or read the ‘White Paper’, released by the Department for Education (DfE) which details that by the end of 2020, all state-funded schools will be academies or be in the process of becoming academies. As of the end of 2022, local authorities (LAs) will no longer maintain schools. However, since its release, the Paper has been widely criticised and there are indications of the Government already ‘diluting their demands’. The advice from Leeds Children’s Services and the National Association for Head Teachers (NAHT) is: 'Do not jump before a push that may never happen’ – but to continue to strengthen relationships and collaborations with other schools; something we have welcomed for some years and continue to do. The Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales are holding ‘Academy Roadshows’ over the next few weeks, where we hope they will offer clarity about how they see foundation schools moving forward. As you can see, it’s an evolving story and we are currently in the early stages of ‘fact-finding’; I’ll keep you informed!
KS1 SPaG Test A few weeks ago, the (DfE) released this statement in an email to schools: ‘Late last year, the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) published modified versions of sample test materials online. Regrettably, one of the guidance documents included in that release, for use with the modified large print version of the Key Stage 1 (KS1) spelling test, contained the live test words rather than sample words…This is clearly unacceptable and we apologise. A full investigation into the cause of the error is underway…To clarify the situation for schools about the administration of the KS1 tests in May, the Minister of State for Schools, Nick Gibb, has announced that schools will not be required to administer the KS1 English grammar, punctuation and spelling tests for this year only. All other KS1 and KS2 tests will continue as planned.’ We are told that the KS1 SPaG test will be reintroduced next year. School Hours Many thanks to those of you who have responded so far; a polite reminder that the consultation period ends on Monday 23rd May.
