Friday 14th October 2011

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week I have watched our children rise to the challenge of managing their lunchtime with more independence. No longer will our Y6 pupils be asked to give up 30 minutes of their lunchtime to hand out knives and forks, serve salad and – most unpopular of all – scrape the trays of our younger pupils! All pupils are now asked to do these tasks independently... and they are doing so brilliantly. The salad bar has never been so popular, the clearing area is less congested and tidier than ever and our Y6 pupils are very relieved to have their lunchtimes back!

The website

The wait is finally over.... I am today able to open our virtual doors and urge you to have a look at our brand new website on www.cookridgeprimaryschool.org.uk The website includes lots of useful information about our school and is also a brilliant learning portal for our children, so do encourage your child to have a look at the children’s section, leave some messages and play some of the 350 games that are already available in the Learning Zone Maths area. This is obviously a developing space and we are keen to hear your views as to what else we could be sharing. Please use the contact page if you have any ideas, advice or feedback... that’s what it’s for!

New roles in school

As we have launched our new behaviour policy in school we have also established new positions of responsibility for our older pupils. Our first School Captains and Vice Captains were elected by their peers last week and, as our official school representatives, will take an active role in meeting and greeting visitors, hosting parts of assembly and supporting the school council in making some key school decisions. Our School Captains –Jordan Perrett and Phyllis Hoyle– welcomed our Swedish visitors on Thursday and proved themselves fantastic ambassadors for our school. This is a prestigious role and we look forward to working with our very first Cookridge Captains this year.

In addition, Team Captains were elected to lead our four new ‘houses’ in school and will take the lead in assembly when presenting their team mates with awards, as well as deciding how the winning team will be rewarded each half term. There is a genuine excitement in school about belonging to a team and I have already seen my first visitors who have earned a Head teacher’s sticker for earning 5 team points in one day! Our school council met for the first time on Monday and had the prestigious task of naming our new school teams, choosing authors as their theme.

We have also seen our Playground Friends take to the playground this week wearing their new yellow hats with pride. This is a key role in school which will see them manage a budget for playground equipment, lead games in the playground and ensure all our pupils have a happy lunchtime.

Well done to all our fantastic new post holders whom I am certain will do a fabulous job.

   

Friends of Cookridge

Last year, the Friends group raised £4,900 through their efforts, and these funds were used to subsidise many school trips across the year and to buy gymnastics equipment and waterproof clothing for our Reception pupils. In 2011/12, the committee agreed to raise funds to support playground developments and we would welcome your support in helping us to do so. If you are unable to attend evening meetings but are able to meet during the school day, please let us know so that we are able to accommodate as many volunteers as possible. May I offer my personal thanks to the dedicated team that continue to work very hard to raise funds for our school.

The ‘Friends’ school disco will take place on Thursday 20^th October. Years 1, 2 and 3 are invited to attend the earlier disco (3pm – 4pm), they should bring their disco clothes to change into and should be collected from their classroom doors at 4pm. Years 4, 5 & 6 should return to school from 4pm-5pm, suitably dressed for the occasion. For the cost of £1.00, drinks and a snack will be provided. There will be NO orchestra on Thursday as a result of the disco.

Photographs

Please send orders for photographs into school by Wednesday 19^th October at the latest.

 

 

Sports News

The next sporting event will be Athletics. Our team will be representing the school in a Key Stage 2 Athletics Competition at Horsforth High School on Thursday 20^th October.

 

 

An invitation to Slovakia!

Mrs Speak, Mr Llewellyn and Mr Gamble returned from Slovakia on Tuesday and will be sharing news of their visit with the children during a special assembly next Thursday morning (20^th October) at 9am. You are welcome to join us for the assembly and find out more about this exciting project.

 

 

Parent Consults

Next Tuesday and Wednesday evening, parent consultations are taking place. If you have not already got an appointment, please contact the school office on Monday. It is vitally important that you attend this important meeting and, if you are struggling to do so, let us know so that we can offer an alternative date/time. During these evenings next week, we will also be showing a video in the school hall of the July Learning Festival. This is a fabulous compilation of everything that is brilliant about our school. If you are ‘between appointments’ or have a few moments to spare, do pop in and watch a little. Lost property will also be on display in the hall for you to locate your missing items. Any lost property remaining after Wednesday evening will be disposed of.

 

 

Parents Survey

This week I am sending home a survey which I am asking you to complete and return to school by Friday 4^th November. This is all part of the information gathering as I embark upon a long and successful Headship and I would be very grateful for your completed and honest responses. The survey is also available on the website if you would prefer to complete and submit electronically.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Bailey