Dear Parents/Carers,
Another fabulous, if busy, week in school has whizzed by - it’s always Friday morning at Cookridge! I am in the process of meeting groups of parents who are visiting school whilst making their preferences for Reception, beginning next year. This is a fantastic opportunity to visit all areas of the school and recount the many fabulous features of Cookridge Primary, and outline future developments. I have to say I am proud of the children and how motivated they are by the team points and awards being given across school, with visiting parents commenting upon how focused children across school are on their learning. The positive behaviour policy is having a huge impact upon the way in which pupils conduct themselves through all parts of the school day, and I am delighted to see the positive effects of a school wide approach to recognising pupils who are demonstrating the right attitude to play and learning. I am today sending home a revised behaviour policy document in order to ensure that all parents and pupils are clear on the rewards – and sanctions – which are used in school to ensure that we continue to improve behaviour in school towards the outstanding learning environment that we have in mind.
Pupil Information and Parental Consents
Also being distributed today is a pack of information, including a Home-School agreement. The information provided is for you to keep as a reference point at home. There is a document included which requires completion as soon as possible. This includes an accurate update of all pupil contact information AND a series of permissions that we require for all pupils (unfortunately not one per family!) Please note – these permissions will last the lifetime of your child’s time with us and we will not re-request this information on an annual basis!
Nick Tocezk causes a buzz around school!
On Wednesday, author, poet, performer and magician Nick Tocezk set the school alight with his fantastic performances and writing workshops. The whole school was treated to a forty minute assembly and the hall was filled with laughter and excitement as Nick performed a range of his poems and some of his favourite magic tricks. The children (and staff!) participated with a level of enthusiasm that was just fantastic to see. Nick then spent the rest of the day working with 42 year 5 and 6 pupils selected from schools across the cluster - including 6 from Cookridge - to create a range of poetry inspired by some of his work. Our year 5 and 6 children were excellent ambassadors for the school, making our visitors very welcome and participating fully in all the writing activities. The children were buzzing at the end of the day and so proud of the poetry they had produced. And rightly so! We will now work on editing and publishing some of their work and we look forward to sharing it with you via the website. Thanks to all those parents who patiently queued up to buy a book. I am sure the children were delighted to have the opportunity to meet Nick personally and get their book signed. It was fantastic to see so many children leaving school keen to get home and start reading!
Strike
A letter was distributed – and is available to view on the blog – with regards to our position on Wednesday 30th November. As I am sure you will know, a day of mass strike action has been voted for by many unions, and staff have been asked to take strike action. At this time, Classes 5 and 9 only are adversely affected by strike action and those pupils are unable to attend school next Wednesday. I will advise of any change to this situation should there be a need to do so.
Year 5 climb reach dizzy heights at The Grand.
This week saw Class 8 go on their fifth workshop to The Grand theatre as part of a long term research project into the running of the theatre and Victorian Leeds. The children have so far delved deep into the history of the opening night of The Grand in 1878 and have spent time at the theatre learning about the building itself; people who were involved in the opening performance and about the social history of the period. Last week, the children explored the stage area of the theatre for the first time which was a real highlight. As Safia looked out to the auditorium she said "this is what we've been waiting for!" This week's trip, however, took them literally to a whole new level as they walked up to the 'fly floor' where all the scenery is controlled. The children spent time with the stage manager, questioning him about his role and about how props and scenery are organised backstage. They asked a range of questions and deepened their knowledge about how performances are put together. Class 8 will be applying all this learning to a production of their own they will be developing and performing in the Spring term. Next week will be their final visit and they will be meeting marketing experts to get some top tips on how to advertise their production.
This fantastic project is an embodiment of our approach to the curriculum at Cookridge. Real life, memorable learning experiences where children are gathering new information through conversation with real people in real jobs in the real world. These are memorable and inspiring experiences which we are proud to offer our pupils.
Attendance
In order to assure a ‘satisfactory’ outcome in line with the 2009 Ofsted Framework for Inspections, an overall attendance figure of 94% is satisfactory. Our attendance figures continue to be a concern to us, with illness absence this week taking us down to a disappointing borderline satisfactory figure. When telephoning to advise of an illness absence, please ensure that you inform us of the specific illness your child is suffering from. This allows us to look for patterns across school and ensure that we are doing what we need to do to minimise the spread of infectious illnesses. Recently, we met with the local Attendance Strategy team and will be working in partnership to develop an Attendance policy which we will share with you shortly. Please note that requests for absence in term time for holiday purposes will not be approved, in line with all schools in the area and our drive for improvement in our current position.
Whole school attendance Thursday 17th November - Wednesday 23rd November: 94.1%
Have a great weekend.
Mrs Bailey
