Download pdf - Newsletter · Engaging minds. Nurturing success. Inspiring futures. 3. Newsletter . December 2016. Dear parents and carers, The end of a calendar year is often a time for reflection

Newsletter

December 2016

BEDFORD SPORTING SCHOOL OF THE YEAR 2016!

REMINDER If you have a child in Year 4 the closing date for applications to transfer school is

Sunday 15 January 2017

Goldington Academy has won the Sporting School of the Year 2016 award at the 21st annual Bedford Sports Awards. Our success is down to many factors: over the last year, Goldington Academy was District and/or County winner and/or runner-up in a wide range of sports, including: football, dodgeball, netball, sports hall athletics, athletics, rounders, rugby, tennis and cricket. 50% of our students took part in our wide ranging extra-curricular sports programme. We take part in the Sky Sports Living for Sport programme, and many Year 8 pupils train as sports leaders, with several leaders from Years 7 & 8 helping to run a range of sports clubs for younger pupils.

We would like to thank the team of staff who help run all our sports programmes, as well as our parents and carers for the support they give us. Mrs Chapman and Mr Lodder

Engaging minds. Nurturing success. Inspiring futures.

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PRINCIPAL’S INTRODUCTION

Hold the front page!

Goldington Academy has just been announced as Bedford Sports School of the Year 2016 at the Bedford Sports Awards! I am delighted and very proud of all our staff and, of course, all our students to win this prestigious award! In the words of one of our parents: “Well deserved. They encourage kids of all talents to get involved, be competitive and be proud.”

So much has happened in 2016: a successful Ofsted; excellent SATs results; additional funding secured for our school and an impressive array of extra-curricular opportunities for our children. This term alone, I have enjoyed drama performances at Bedford Modern School, numerous sporting victories, an informal music concert in our splendid new drama studio, and Year 8 pupils delivering the Anne Frank Exhibition – to name but a few!

Picking highlights from 2016 is very difficult, but I am always pleased to see new initiatives. Performing ‘Annie’ at The Place Theatre on Bradgate Road was fabulous, as was rewarding more than 300 students at our four awards evenings in July. A favourite of mine is taking almost every Year 5 student to The Chellington Centre (for only £25), where they have the opportunity to enjoy an overnight residential with their new class-mates. Looking ahead, I am excited about our upcoming trips to Holland (hockey) and Andorra (skiing) in 2017 and 2018.

In the past term we have held no fewer than five separate information or open evenings; key to ensure that yourselves as parents/carers are kept informed about our transition to being an 11-16 secondary school by September 2019. I currently estimate that 140 of the 162 students in Year 8 will stay with us to complete their GCSEs and, with our last 13 teaching appointments all being secondary trained, we are in the perfect position to become an outstanding secondary school.

If you aware of a family who would like their child to join Goldington Academy at any point, then please be in contact with my PA, Ms Tanya Fearon on the following address: [email protected]. I would also like to remind you that the deadline for applications into Year 5 next year is Sunday 15 January 2017.

I would like to finish by wishing you all a very peaceful and restful Christmas period from all the staff at Goldington Academy. We look forward to seeing your child return to us on Wednesday 4 January 2017.

Goldington

Academy


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Newsletter

December 2016

Dear parents and carers, The end of a calendar year is often a time for reflection and, as I look back at the achievements of the school over 2016, I am humbled by all the dedication shown by our senior leaders, staff and governors. So much work has gone on behind the scenes to ensure that our school is ready to take on the challenges of 2017. At our summer strategy morning, senior leaders and governors were considering who we are, who we wanted to be in the future, what our vision was, and how we could express this in our communications. After much deliberation and brain-storming we decided on the following:


These words encapsulate us as a school and are lived out in practice on a daily basis. I would like to thank our school community for making us the success we are and I am confident that this energy, commitment and skill will take us successfully into our new phase as a secondary provider, a school that does all of the above, which will continue to evolve and develop, and be one in which all our students will thrive. If you would like to be part of this journey in a more active way, we are currently holding a parent-governor election: please do respond to the recent letter you will have received. If you would like more information, don't hesitate to contact me via the school office, leaving your contact details.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and peaceful new year. Warmest regards,

Diane Field, Chair of Governors

NOTE FROM THE GOVERNORS

ENGINEERING

Throughout the past couple of weeks, a number of Year 8s have been involved in our own engineering club. A company called AECOM, which has been helping us with this competition, has come in every week to talk to us about engineering and the competition itself. The competition is very creative. We have to make a ‘marble challenge’. The marble challenge is where we have to make our own model which can carry 100 marbles in the quickest time possible. There are set rules such as how many bridges we can have and which exits the marbles take. There are a couple of obstacles we have to take on, like how will we get our marbles across the river? This engineering opportunity is a great way to get involved and be creative with science. Lamees

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As a STEM ambassador, I have participated in a lot of clubs to do with science, e.g. the robotics and science club. Being a STEM ambassador means enjoying the riches of science and teaching it to others. A key STEM ambassador role is to get others included in science activities like the extreme Year 6 science club. This science club, which I run along with Alisha and Taylor-Jane, is a thriving opportunity for Year 6 students to get involved and have fun. Recently, the Year 6 science club has had a smashing time learning about thrust with balloons and straw, and how the air of the balloon is pushed out. We hope to carry on these types of experiments and practicals throughout many weeks.

Also, as a STEM ambassador, I give one-to-one tutoring to a younger pupil. Whilst doing this, my student and I did a lot of fun science experiments. Another advantage of being a STEM ambassador is helping out in the Year 4 day: this is where a lower school visits and tours the school, taking part in many subject areas. In the science department, we did a very exciting practical where we discovered which type of crisp had the most carbohydrates and nutrients, by setting the crisps alight. This was a fun day for the Year 4s, and even the STEM ambassadors. Being a STEM ambassador is not just about the opportunities you can take, but also the fun and the experience of helping others. Overall, being a STEM ambassador is a great thing to do, and an engaging activity for others and yourself!

STEM AMBASSADOR (science, technology, engineering, mathematics)

ROBOTICS — GIRLBOTS

Since last year, Goldington has been running our all-girls robotics team, Girlbots. This year has been the second year of taking part and the club has been a tremendous success. Our team is trying to show how engineering isn’t just for boys: we can do just as well! An example of this was last year’s competition against other schools with our robot, in which we did extremely well and were even invited to California to compete against other schools. Unfortunately, we only had 3 weeks’ notice, so we were not able to go; however it was an honour even to be asked. For our next competition, we are going to Essex on the 18 January, where we hope to amaze ourselves again and do as well as we did last time. Each year there is a different task for the robots to do in the competition. Last year, we had to program ours to shoot balls in a net over a bar; this year, it is a little more complicated. Our task is to start on one half of the bar separating the court into two, from where we will have to grab star-shaped objects and throw them over to our opponent’s side of the bar. There will be a near zone and a far zone to throw it to (the near zone earning fewer points and the far zone earning you more). However, that is not all of it: there will also be quite a large and heavy beanbag that we have to throw over the bar, which produces more points for us. Lockheed Martin, an engineering company, has been a huge help by giving us a large donation so we could buy more parts to add to the robot. Right now, our robot is fully built and we are just waiting for it to be programmed. Like anyone would, I feel extremely lucky to be a part of this and can’t wait until our upcoming competition. Wish us luck! Tilly


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Newsletter

December 2016

ACT!16 FAIRY TALES

Year 8 pupils performed an interpretation of ‘The Little Match Girl’on Monday 14 November at Bedford Modern School. The focus of the evening was celebrating students’ work from various schools within the borough.

Some of our singers and musicians had a fabulously festive time on Monday of this week. As part of a fun, fundraising day, Tesco invited senior choir and handbells to entertain their shoppers with some Christmas musical items. It was wonderful to get involved in a local community event at such a special time of the year and our pupils were fantastic ambassadors for the school. We received many highly complimentary comments about our beautiful singing and playing from both staff at Tesco as well as members of the public. Donations to the selected charities (The British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK) were generous and we hope to have helped Tesco to raise a significant amount of money for these very good causes.

SENIOR CHOIR

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PARALYMPIAN VISITS THE SCHOOL

We were extremely fortunate to receive a visit from Paralympian Fran Williamson through the Sky Sports Living For Sport project. Fran visited the school for the day and began by telling her incre- dible story to the attentive pupils. They heard that she only began swimming at 12, when a friend with a similar disability encouraged her; within 3 years, Fran was winning bronze medals at the European Championships! As well as speaking to all the pupils in an assembly, Fran met a number of our sports leaders and took them through a series of challenges that got them thinking about ‘the six keys to success’. From ‘cone reaction time’ to the ‘crazy circle challenge’, the group worked hard to solve the problems set for them. The KS3 group will now face the challenge of planning and running a lunchtime ‘multi-sports’ club for our younger pupils. Fran will be visiting the school again in the new year to check that the project is running well and to see if, with her help, the KS3 group has successfully begun their ‘multi-sports club for KS2. Mr Millie

It was a really good opportunity and it was inspiring to meet a Paralympian: even if you face massive challenges, you can still be a success.’ DJ

GOOGLE VR SESSION

On Wednesday 7 December the Google Expeditions team came in to give us a virtual reality (VR) experience around our current topic, the ear. It was an amazing experience because they could guide us to specific places and give us quizzes to test our knowledge from class using the visible guidance to help us. Overall it was a very enjoyable session. Daniel


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Newsletter

December 2016

ANNE FRANK EXHIBITION

Students at Goldington Academy had the unique opportunity of being able to take part in the Anne Frank Trust Exhibition this half term. Twenty of our Year 8 pupils were trained as guides to take both students and staff through the exhibition which tells the tragic story of Anne Frank's life. Every pupil in the school went on a guided tour of the exhibition. The exhibition empowers young people to challenge prejudice and discrimination, and to be tolerant and accepting of all people, regardless of race, religion or background. Goldington Academy was one of only two schools in Bedford Borough to have been given this fantastic opportunity and we were particularly proud of the way in which our pupils engaged with the exhib-ition. Thank you and well done to our fantastic Year 8 guides! Mr Atkinson

Dear parents and carers,

Your continued support in ensuring that your child is properly equipped for school and wearing the correct uniform is much appreciated.

Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather, with hats, scarves, coats and gloves as necessary. Reducing illness helps to improve your child’s attendance.

Our attendance targets for 2016/17 are: KS3 – 96%, KS2 – 97%, and whole school – 96.5%

Our whole school attendance percentage is currently 96.3%; we need a whole school effort to drive this up to reach our target. Please refer to page 2 of your child’s pupil diary to see our uniform list, or see the uniform and equipment policy which can be found on our website. If for any reason your child is unable to come into school wearing the correct uniform, please put a note in

their diary for the attention of his or her form tutor. Mr Atkinson

REMINDERS

BAE SYSTEMS ASSEMBLY

On Tuesday 6 December BAE Systems performed an assembly to the pupils of Year 8, supported by the RAF and the Royal Navy. Using both real-life experiments and videos of wacky experiments, the three engineers taught the Year 8 pupils all about waves. This funny yet factual assembly explained the wonders of light and sound waves, and how we use them today. It was an amazing hour of science that everyone enjoyed, even teaching the teachers something new! William

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YOUNG CARERS

We are fortunate at Goldington Academy to have a number of caring pupils, some of whom are young carers at home, looking after family members who may be ill or suffering in other ways. In order to support these children, we have regular monthly visits from a member of the Carers in Bedfordshire staff who offer a drop in facility to young carer pupils at lunchtime.

Also, we have a trained pupil mentor who supports young carers in school.

Recently we have developed a young carers club in school which meets regularly at lunchtimes.

If your child is a young carer and you would like to seek further support for him or her, you can contact Carers in Beds on www.carersinbeds.org.uk; telephone number: 0300 1111919. In addition, if you would like your child to receive pastoral support in school as a young carer, please contact me in confidence on the school telephone number or by emailing me at [email protected]

Mr Robinson Pupil Mentor

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

At different times through their education, lots of children can experience challenges and difficulties with their learning. The reasons children experience these difficulties are wide and complex, and each pupil is an individual.

At Goldington Academy we support children with their learning and their social and emotional development in a number of ways.

Some of these include:

Additional adult support in lessons Differentiated teaching resources in class to match ability SoundsWrite phonic support One to one reading daily Handwriting intervention Additional spelling groups Lexia reading (an ICT reading program which can also be accessed by children at

home) Powerof2 maths coaching Specific dyslexia support

Each pupil identified as having additional needs has a profile, of which all staff have copies. The profile contains strategies to help the child make progress at school.

If you have any concerns or questions about your child’s learning, please contact me at school by email or phone. Alternatively, there is a drop in session on Thursdays after school until 5 pm, when parents can come and see me without an appointment. I encourage parents to act quickly if there is a concern, as we can plan steps that help your child achieve his or her potential and be happy in school. Miss Thompson, SENCo


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Newsletter

December 2016

HUMANITIES MATTER

To mark Remembrance Day, our humanities ambassadors were given the task of producing a display with a focus on World War One. They were asked to research and find information about several soldiers associated with the town of Bedford, along with a brief explanation of why we have poppies. Thanks to Oliver, Ajmer, Ahnaf, Loretta, Maisie and Isabella, who, with Miss Andrews’, produced a lovely display for her history room.

Well done to those students who submitted entries to the humanities house competition, in which they were asked to draw a holiday postcard of their favourite holiday destination along with a message of why they love it there so much. Next term we hope to report on the treasure maps presently being worked on by Year 7 as they complete their topic of map skills.

Happy Christmas holidays. Mr Fehrenbach

FRIENDS OF GOLDINGTON ACADEMY

What a great start to the year for the Friends of Goldington’s fund raising.

September saw the annual fun run, with just under £3,000.00 pounds collected so far. 17

November was the children’s quiz, with lots of fun and pizza had by all. 1 December was the first disco of the school year; an amazing 240 tickets were sold for this event and a staggering £915 was added to the pot. Thank you to everyone who attended and all the helpers on the night for making this happen.

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. Maddy Anderson

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PE DEPARTMENT

NETBALL

SPORTS HALL ATHLETICS

DANCE

Year 8 Bedford District Schools Leagues The A team’s play developed over the season and they had close results in all their games. The B team produced some great netball which saw them qualify for the C League final against Bedford Academy. A convincing performance resulted in a 6 – 1 winning scoreline, which meant they finished the term as C League champions.

Year 7 Bedford District Schools Leagues The Year 7 A team had some amazing results before losing to Lincroft in the League final, meaning they finished as runners up. The B team put in a consistent set of results and came 3

rd in the C League.

Bedford District Schools Netball Tournament The B team had tough draws which unfortunately meant they did not progress out of their group. The A team produced a great display of netball; they narrowly lost their semi-final but beat Bedford Girls’ School in the playoffs to finish 3

rd overall.

Year 5 & 6 Year 5 & 6 netball clubs have been well attended. Netball club for Years 5 & 6 will be after school finishing at 4.45. (Year 5 on a Wednesday and Year 6 on a Thursday). League matches (Wednesday nights) and district tournaments will be held for both year groups in the second half of the spring term.

This term dance clubs have been led by Mrs Mahoney and Mrs Trewby. The Year 6 dance club has performed its work in assembly. Mrs Mahoney has also been leading Goldington Academy’s Dance Company which aims to provide opportunities for our gifted and talented dancers. They are currently working to produce some very technical and beautiful lyrical dance pieces for next term’s gym and dance show.

Sportshall athletics club has been very well attended this term and competition was strong to even make the teams. All our teams competed in the Bedford district competition this term.

Year 5 & 6 The Year 5 & 6 team were first or second in every track event and the majority of field events and were very convincing winners to make them district champions for the second year in a row.

Year 7 & 8 The Year 7 boys and girls and the Year 8 girls team continued our success by convincingly winning their district competitions. They will also represent Bedford at the County Championships in January. Well done to all the squads.


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Newsletter

December 2016

PE DEPARTMENT

SPORTS LEADERS

GYMNASTICS

Gymnastics clubs have been running for all years – 150 children, both boys and girls, have been attending. We have also run two clubs for different year groups, for all the gifted and talented gymnasts at Goldington Academy. It has been amazing to see the enthusiasm and dedication Goldington’s gymnasts have. After Christmas we will all be working hard to produce some exciting numbers for our annual gym and dance show, which will be held just before next half term. More details will be sent home at the start of next term. Congratulations to a number of our pupils for some impressive results at national level gymnastics championships this term.

This term has seen sports leaders from 8B leading a hockey festival for Year 4 pupils from Brickhill Lower School. Pupils designed and led activities to develop passing, dribbling and tackling. Both sets of pupils enjoyed their morning, with the Year 8s enjoying the experience of being in charge! The sports leaders have also been supporting clubs this term and they have all done a great job of assisting the teachers and developing younger pupils’ skills and confidence. Special mentions go to the Year 7 netball leaders, Jenny, Elana, Grace and Isabella, for their commitment, and the year 8 gymnastics leaders for their enthusiasm and patience in leading the Year 5 gym club.

HOCKEY

U13 Hockey Tour: Year 8 pupils have been busy raising additional funds for their forthcoming hockey tour to Holland next year. The players have completed two bag-packing sessions at Tesco, raising in excess of £500 to help purchase some training kit to wear whilst away. They also ran a very successful cake sale in school, raising a further £140. The girls, boys and mixed squads have been training hard this term, attending sessions both before and after school to prepare them for their tough opposition in Holland. U11 Mixed Hockey League: The U11 mixed hockey league was run by Goldington Academy this year, being held over two evenings, at two different venues, with over twenty teams competing across the county. Goldington Academy entered five teams in total, with both the A and B squads qualifying for the finals night on Friday. The A team secured comfortable victories over Castle Newnham, Harrold and BMS B, giving them the top spot in the county finals, along with BMS A. It was pleasing to see so many young people playing the sport at such a high level; Goldington Academy now has nearly100 pupils playing hockey at clubs in school, with many also playing at county or club level.

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PE DEPARTMENT

RUGBY

FOOTBALL

The Year 6 rugby team were the runners up in the Rushmoor Trophy rugby competition, just losing a tight final against BMS. This is the first time we have made the final, in other years losing in the semis. On the way to the final, we beat Lincroft A (twice) and Harrold, as well as drawing against Rushmoor and Bedford School. Both games we were leading and we were exceedingly unlucky to draw them. The Year 5 rugby team are training hard for their fixtures, which they will play soon, showing a great commitment and a lot of promise along the way. The Year 7 rugby team played at the county finals, coming third out of all the schools in Bedfordshire. The Year 8 team are also in their finals. Thanks to all those who have been involved in rugby. It is great to see so many students coming and trying their very best. Mr Llewellyn

The Year 6 A and B teams completed their season with two fantastic results. The A team in their last fixture beat Margaret Beaufort 8-1 and the B team beat Newnham B 5-2. The A team finished top of the league, winning every match and qualifying for the county finals in March. The B team had some great results, beating a number of other schools’ A teams which shows the strength and depth we have in this age group.

The Year 7 and 8 football club has been running this half term. Fixtures will be in February when the light returns in the evenings.

The Year 5 football club had their first fixture of the year, on the MUGA under floodlights. Lincroft were the visitors and both teams had A, B, C and D teams. It was great to see so many boys playing their first games for Goldington Academy and there were some fantastic goals scored by both schools. Further fixtures will be arranged after Christmas as well as entering the district tournament in March. Thank you to Mr Murphy for running the club each week on a Thursday after school.

The year 7/8 girls football team are currently playing in the Beds and District indoor 5-a side competition and have currently played two and won two, scoring 10 goals along the way.

RUNNING CLUB

It has been fantastic to see Year 5 through to Year 8 working together in the running club, which has been held every Monday evening. The cross country weeks start in January and it will be a fantastic opportunity for the club members to test themselves on longer and more challenging runs. The PE department would like to thank Ms Fearon for leading the club and showing real passion for running and helping the group to improve.


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Newsletter

December 2016

THE HIGGINS ART GALLERY

The Higgins art gallery is a magnificent place where artists showcase their

work. The best thing about it is that these famous works of art are right on our

doorstep. On 25 November the arts college group visited the Picasso and the

Masters of Print exhibition; looking at works from Picasso, Warhol, Mark Hearld

and many more. We saw prints that link to the styles in which we have been

working. The Higgins has helped me to realise the direction in which I want to

take my work. It has also inspired me to be as original as I want with my work,

and make the simple, beautiful. Miss Morgan

During this half-term Year 8 students have continued with their personalised learning programme. For this programme each Year 8 pupil has chosen to participate in 3 subjects over the year in areas that develop their interests and aspirations for the future. This half term has seen guest speakers for advanced science, a ‘Dragon’s Den’ presentation in computer science; and iPad present- ations in Spanish. Art, sports science and dance have had off-site visits to supplement their learning. All the students will begin their next rotation after Christmas, and we hope their experiences will assist them when they make their GCSE option choices for Year 9. Sports Science This half-term the sports science students went on three visits to the University of Bedfordshire, to use their state of the art facilities. The students investigated their VO2 maxes, recovery rates and forces of movement. They also had a tour of the university, which inspired many of them to consider their future, post 18. Dance Year 8 enjoyed an afternoon at the University of Bedfordshire, performing the dance piece they created this term. We also had the opportunity to watch dance students performing their own work. It was an inspiring afternoon of dance. The students have worked really hard this term, and it was a fitting end to an excellent term of dance. Well done Year 8.

PERSONALISED LEARNING PROGRAMME

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UNIFORM REMINDER

We are very excited about our conversion to a secondary school and, in

particular, the introduction of our new school uniform, starting in September

2017. No doubt you have seen the new uniform, which has been on display

in the small hall over the last few months, but, if not, you are very welcome to

come and take a look at the mannequins sporting the new garments. A full

list of the new uniform is available on the school website.

We appreciate and value parents’ support during this time of change and set

out below some initial information relating to the introduction of the new

uniform:

All pupils will be required to comply with the school’s new uniform

dress code from September 2017.

In September 2017 the new blazer will be required to be worn by Year

9 pupils only and the school will fund the purchase of the blazer, for

existing Year 8 pupils, in June 2017.

Wearing of the blazer will be required by all students in Year 7 and

above from September 2018 and this purchase will be funded by the

school, for existing pupils, in June 2018.

To enable parents to spread some of the cost of this initiative, it will be

possible for pupils to continue to wear the old PE kit until September

2018 unless they represent the school in a team. These students will

be expected to wear the new strip, and kit may be borrowed from the

school for this purpose, should it not be possible for parents to buy the

new PE kit.

The girls may choose to wear either plain, tailored dark grey trousers

or the grey tartan skirt, which is only available from the school

shop. Should you wish to do so, the skirt is available to buy now via

the online school shop and it may be worn with immediate effect.

The new uniform code requires boys (and girls if they choose to wear

trousers rather than the approved school skirt) to wear plain, tailored

dark grey trousers. These comply with the current dress code and

may therefore be worn with immediate effect.

We are currently working on a scheme that will offer support for low

income families to purchase school uniform. More details will be

available from the school office in the new year.

The new uniform will be available to acquire via the online school shop

after Easter 2017, and there will also be an opportunity for parents to

purchase the uniform at a ‘pop-up’ shop evening in June

2017. Further details of this event will be communicated to parents in

the new year.

Should you have any queries about the new uniform, please contact

Mrs Henderson


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Newsletter

December 2016

FRENCH PLAY AT BEDFORD MODERN SCHOOL

On 22 November Year 8 students were invited to watch a French play, "Le café," at Bedford Modern School.

SCHOOL CLOSURE PROCEDURE

I went to Bedford Modern School on 22 November to watch an interesting French play called Le café by Onatti Productions Ltd. The reason for this trip was to expand our vocabulary in French and educate ourselves. I understood most of the play and I recognised certain words; however, I also interpreted certain phrases from the actions because it was very visual and clear. Alex

I watched a French play called Le Café, written and performed by Onatti Prod- uctions. It was all said in French but it wasn’t very hard to understand because we know most of the words and we could see what they were doing; it was quite funny and very interactive. It was about a girl who was at work at a café and was having a really bad day. Dan

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GOLDINGTON IN ACTION


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Newsletter

December 2016

FOR YEAR 5 OPEN EVENING

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YEAR 6 CHESSINGTON VISIT

What I enjoyed about the Chessington trip was all of the fun rides that we went on like Dragon’s Fury and the water ride. Also, I liked the part where we went to a workshop and built our own rides and tested them. Tom

SICKNESS ABSENCE — Guidance from Public Health England

Dear parents and carers, Please see below the guidance from Public Health England regarding some of the more common illnesses children face. For many of these illnesses it is recommended that children do not have time off school. Instead it is recommended that children come into school; if the illness begins to get worse a member of the first aid team will make contact with a parent or carer to discuss whether or not the child should remain in school.

Where children are having time off school for such illnesses, we may request medical evidence before authorising the absence. In order to avoid unnecessary absence please ensure that your child:

● is dressed appropriately for the weather ● has a healthy breakfast every morning ● has hand sanitiser to use at lunch and break time ● attends all GP and dental appointments ● is not absent from school for minor illness/injuries

If your child is ill and you are unsure as to whether or not to send him or her to school please contact the office for further advice.

We need support from pupils and parents to help us reach our attendance target; we managed it last year! Thanks. Mr Atkinson

Rashes and skin infections Recommended period to be kept away from school, nursery or childminders Comments

Chickenpox Five days from the onset of rash

Measles Four days from onset of rash Preventable by vaccination (MMR x 2).

Shingles Exclude only if rash is weeping and cannot be covered

Can cause chickenpox in those who are not immune i.e. have not had chickenpox. It is spread by very close contact and touch.

Diarrhoea and/or vomiting 48 hours from last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting

Headaches, sore throat, Common coughs/colds, raised temperature, tonsillitis, Threadworms, head lice, conjunctivitis, glandular fever, cold sores

0 days

Head lice None Treatment is recommended only in cases where live lice have been seen

Tonsillitis None There are many causes, but most cases are due to viruses and do not need an antibiotic


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Newsletter

December 2016

THIS TERM THROUGH THE CAMERA

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SPRING TERM DATES 2017

Monday 2 January Bank Holiday

Tuesday 3 January Training Day

Wednesday 4 January Spring Term Starts

Monday 12 January 9.20 am Principal Tour

Monday 12 January 1.40 pm Principal Tour

Monday 12 January G & T challenge evening

Monday 16 January Future chef competition finals — Bedford College

Tuesday 17 January 6.00 pm — 8.00 pm Year 6 Subject Teachers' Parents' Evening

Wednesday 18 January 7.00 pm — 8.00 pm Parents' Forum

Wednesday 18 January 4.00 pm Year 6 Subject Teachers' Parents' Evening

Wednesday 18 January Girlbots Regional Robotics Finals

Monday 23 January Maths and English tests

Monday 23 January Year 6 SATs Information Evening

Wednesday 25 January Year 7 CSI Activity Day

Tuesday 31 January 6.00 pm — 8.00 pm Year 7 Subject Teachers' Parents' Evening

Wednesday 1 February 4.00 pm — 6.00 pm Year 7 Subject Teachers' Parents' Evening

Thursday 2 February Battle of the Bands

Thursday 2 February Cooking club group 3

Wednesday 8 February 7.00 pm — 9.00 pm Gym and Dance Show

Thursday 9 February 7.00 pm — 9.00 pm Gym and Dance Show

Monday 13 February—Friday 17 February February Half Term

Tuesday 21 February 6.00 pm — 8.00 pm Year 5 Subject Teachers' Parents' Evening

Wednesday 22 February 4.00 pm — 6.00 pm Year 5 Subject Teachers' Parents' Evening


School Meal Reminder

Please remember to keep your child’s school meal account topped up to

ensure they have a school lunch. Take advantage of the information on

ParentPay to see what they are buying.