Dear
Parents/Carers,
Sports week
in school has brought us much physical activity across the course of the week –
the children’s of course.. not mine! Football day, Dodgeball day, Skipping day,
Rounders/Silly Olympics day AND a makeshift sports day have made for an
exciting week which has been enjoyed by all. Mr Gamble has been the brains behind
our BIG Olympics Sports Week and he deserves recognition for the time that he
has invested behind the scenes to ensure that the week has proceeded smoothly –
despite the rain! We were very disappointed to have to cancel Sports Day as a
result of the poor conditions on the school field, and I am sorry that parents
were unable, therefore, to enjoy the annual opportunity to cheer on your little
sports stars. Nonetheless, I am certain that all children have had a great
week... Thanks Mr Gamble: you’re most definitely the Cookridge Sports King!
Let’s Celebrate!
Next week is our final week in school and our final opportunity before the summer to celebrate the wonderful children we are lucky to work with at Cookridge. Our final nominations for this half term’s Learnatics are in, and on Tuesday we will enjoy a pizza lunch together. Learnatics are nominated by the children in each class, and their reasons always vary but always celebrate the children for their hard work, dedication, beautiful nature and qualities as a good friend... It is a wonderful accolade and those children selected by their peers across the course of this year should be very proud of themselves indeed. Congratulations to the 11 pupils nominated this time: see you Tuesday!
Next week,
we will also discover which team have won the half term’s points challenge and
which team will celebrate their achievements in a special event hosted later in
the week. Our Team Points system has been very well received by the children
this year, and it has been wonderful to have the opportunity to recognise the
achievements of each team so often throughout the year. Each team has earned
over 400 team points each week.. Since its launch in October, that’s over
52,000 team points awarded in total – each one awarded for great achievements
spotted by adults in school. I have had the pleasure of shaking the hands of
around 30 pupils per day who have earned 5 team points in any one day and
therefore earn themselves a Head teacher’s award... Bronze, Silver and Gold
awards have been presented, and many children have enjoyed the thrill of
receiving their post card home which recognises the accomplishment of securing
250 team points (their Gold award). Only two children this year have secured
their PLATINUM badge... Congratulations to them for being Cookridge’s first
ever Platinum winners!
Funtime Before and After School Club - NEW FOR SEPTEMBER
Having listened to what you want,from September we have changed some of our session times as follows :
Before School Club 7:45am - 8:45am (include breakfast) £4
Early pick up SESSION 3.05pm - 4.30pm (includes light tea) £6 NEW
After Sport session 4.15pm – 5.45pm £6 NEW *
After School Club Full session 3.05pm – 5.45pm (includes light tea) Full Session £10
Our two new short sessions mean you get the childcare that suits
you and cost only £6 each instead of £10. The early pick up session is useful
if you can't finish work for 3.05 or if you need to get your weekly shop done
in peace! The after sport session can be booked if your chil(ren) are doing one
of Mr Gambles after school sports clubs that finish at 4.15pm. They can come
straight to Funtime club and you can pick them up by 5.45pm allowing you to
have cheaper childcare that fits in with your busy lives! If interested, please
get in touch for a booking form as follows: Ann Sadler - Funtime community room
(before and after school) Julie Hyde - School office or email info@funtimeclub.co.uk.
Staffing News
Sadly, this
week has brought us further news of staffing changes in school. Mr El Sayed has
accepted a teaching post in Saudi Arabia, teaching university students English.
Mr El Sayed has done a remarkable job for us during the past four years, and we
have been very lucky to have him. Our second language learners have made
fantastic progress this year as a result of the hard work and dedication he has
shown, and I am very sorry to lose him as part of the Cookridge team.
Nonetheless, this position offers Mr El Sayed the career progression and status
more fitting of a man of his talents, and I personally wish him the very best
for his future career. I am certain that he will be asset in Saudi, just as he
has been here in Cookridge. Mrs Hemsworth has also secured a post this week as a Teaching Assistant at the newly established Gateway – a specialist setting developed for KS1 pupils across the city. I am sure that Mrs Hemsworth’s skills will be used to good effect and that she will have the opportunity to impact positively upon the lives of many pupils in this new role – our congratulations to her.
We also bid a fond farewell to Mrs Adams who is doing what all of us should: having a ‘gap’ year to go travelling with her newly retired husband! To say that we’re envious wouldn’t be right (!) but I am confident that she is set to have the year of her life and wish her all the best. Mrs Adams has been a fantastic asset to Cookridge – a consummate professional, talented and versatile teaching assistant and a smiler, too! Perhaps a well travelled Mrs Adams will return to us at some point in the future!
Mrs Thorpe
leaves us next week to take up her new position at Oulton Primary. Again, it is
with enormous thanks that we recognise the role that Mrs Thorpe has played
during her five years at Cookridge. Having driven music provision in school, I
think that she can walk away with great pride in the quality of the provision
she has created at Cookridge: the children’s considerable musical talents and
love of music are testament to that. We wish her the very best in her new
position and one thing I know for certain: Oulton Primary are about to get
singing!
Mrs Willets
retires next week, after a long career dedicated to the nurture of our young
people. She has – without doubt – given it everything she’s got for many years,
has been a talented teacher who has been loved by staff and pupils alike and
her contribution to Cookridge has spanned many years. She has been a valued
friend and colleague for all of that time, and I am confident that the strength
of the relationships she has formed will live on far beyond next week:
congratulations Mrs Willets – you’ve done a cracking job and we know that the
best years of your life are yet to come... Enjoy every minute!
In recent
weeks, Mrs Whitley has also secured a paid role in the care sector, a role
which will make fantastic use of her obvious talents. Mrs Whitley has been a
valued lunchtime supervisor and a parent volunteer who deserves recognition for
her outstanding contribution to the allotment - she has given hours of her own
time to get the allotment up and running and has worked closely with Mrs
Hawkins to create a thriving garden that our children will benefit from for
many years. Mrs Whitley and her gardening expertise is something which will be
greatly missed – my heartfelt thanks and very best wishes for the future.
Finally, we
also bid farewell to Mrs Caldecott and Mrs Smith, whose temporary contracts
come to an end next week. We said goodbye to Mrs Smith in December, only to ask
her back again in January! Mrs Smith will, this time, move on to a permanent role
at Raynville Primary School. It has been my pleasure to get to know Mrs Smith
in the past year and her very calm, very dedicated nature will be a welcome
asset to her new school. Mrs Caldecott joined us in January and has played a
big part of our developments in recent months. She has a very sunny disposition
and her wit and humour will be missed by the staff team come September. For one
who’s been here for so short a time, Mrs Caldecott has formed great friendships
in school and we will – no doubt – see her again at some point in the future.
Attendance
This week’s attendance is 95.2% and our year to date remains 95.4% By exceeding our Local Authority agreed target of 95% this year, we will secure a ‘good’ judgement for attendance for the first time in many years. As a very special thank you to them for their efforts in improving our attendance this year, 31 children will next week enjoy a trip to the cinema in Leeds to see Ice Age 4. 21 children earned this reward by maintaining 100% attendance throughout the year – an extra special thank you to them for this fantastic achievement. Next year, I hope to secure even higher levels of attendance and take even more than 31 pupils out at the end of 2013...Training day and school calendar information for next year is available on the school website now, so please respect this when booking holidays in the coming months, as school holidays/occasional days in term time still account for a significant percentage of our absences overall. Your child’s attendance information is included with the reports this week and I should like to end the year by formally thanking all parents who have supported us in our efforts this year.
Next week is our final week in school before the Summer! It’s fair to say that the year has been event filled and fun – and next week will be no exception. Have a great weekend...
Mrs Bailey
