Dear
Parents/Carers,
Unbelievable
to think that it is June next week - we really are hurtling towards the Summer
break and are knee deep in our preparations for the next school year...
Already?! This week, Lee Threadgold was back and working in Class 4 & 5 on
our Olympics themed art projects. There is a GREAT range of photos on Class 4’s
blog – have a look! By the 12th July, Lee will have worked in every
class in school across the course of the year and the arts projects will be
celebrated in a grand opening ceremony to our Sports Day on the 12th.
Summer Sun!
The
sun has finally shone this week and we have managed to get up to the school
field to enjoy our lunchtime amongst the greenery. The field is a great place
for the children to play and explore and there was much delight in our decision
to get onto the field from Wednesday. The field is, however, hot and offers
little shade, so please help us get this right for your child in the summer
weeks ahead (fingers crossed!). Parents are encouraged to supply a named sunhat
and sun cream which your child will be asked to apply before lunch. I would
also encourage you to send your child to school with a named water bottle.
Whilst all the classrooms in school have a water fountain and your child has
access to drinking water throughout the school day, water bottles are more
immediately accessible and children tend to sip from them more frequently than
they may visit the fountain – which brings obvious benefits. These can also be
readily transported at lunchtimes and for PE sessions, which may also take
place on the field. One final appeal – to help us return all the cardigans and
jumpers which are inevitably stripped at this time of year – please, please, please put a name in them!
Whitby
It’s difficult to believe
that a week ago we were all wrapped up in waterproofs, gloves, hats and scarves
walking the cliff tops near Whitby, but that’s exactly what we were doing and
what a wonderful time we had! I joined the trip on Friday and have to say the
Year 5 were an absolute credit to the school. A huge thank you to all the staff
who made the trip such a huge success – without a team willing to volunteer
their time we couldn’t offer residentials, and we all know these are where
school memories are really made!
Miss Cowles
Not
so long ago, Miss Cowles left us to begin her maternity leave. On Sunday, 1 day
ahead of schedule, Miss Cowles gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and is now a
glamorous ‘yummy mummy’ in her own right. Congratulations to Miss Cowles –baby
Seth is absolutely scrumptious with of mop of jet black hair and I very much
look forward to having that first hold when he visits school.. soon I hope!
Friends – Summer Fayre
Plans
are well underway for our annual Summer Fayre – we’re just waiting for a
willing teacher to sign up for the ‘Splat the Teacher’ stall! All your
favourite stalls will be there - bouncy castles, burgers and bun stalls - plus
this year we’re looking to include an ice cream van, a commando assault course
and a karaoke. Let’s hope the sun shines on Saturday 30th June and
the day is as fabulous as it sounds. All monies raised at this year’s Summer
Fayre will be kindly donated to school for our playground project.. I’m very
excited about this and very grateful to the PTA group for all of their hard
work at this busy time. Any parents not yet involved who want to be – it’s not
too late. Let us know and we’ll keep you busy in the coming weeks!
Jubilee News
Our Jubilee Committee
have met this week and finalised arrangements for the day of celebration next
Friday 1st June. Children should wear red, white and blue for the
day and parents, carers and grandparents are invited to join us at midday for
our ‘street party’ in the playground. Any visitors should come to the
playground from 11.30am and are welcome to bring a packed lunch of their own to
join the children in our picnic lunch – cross everything for sunshine, please! The
afternoon will include a Jubilee singalong and the BIG Jubilee dance –
available to view on the school blog or via Youtube – and parents are welcome
to stay and join in. A huge thank you to the committee behind the operation – a
lovely blend of staff and parents. Mr and Mrs Land, Mrs Applegate and Miss
Hobson in particular have been the driving force behind a super range of
activities planned alongside the midday highlights, and Mr Land has painted 300
pots white in preparation and even managed to persuade the Lord Lieutenant to
open the event and crown our own Queen and Prince Phillip for the day.. We hope
you can join us!
Sporting News
Some
GREAT news just in.... The Year 5/6 footballers have finished second in the group phase of the Leeds
North West League meaning we qualify for the quarter-finals.. This is the first
time we have qualified and are awaiting news of our quarter-final fixture. The
Year 5/6 football team compete for two trophies next week. On Monday they
travel to Priesthorpe High School to play for The Armitage Cup and on Thursday
they will contest The Ubunye Cup. Let’s hope their winning form is maintained
and we bring home the trophies Mr Gamble so desperately needs to fill his
(white?) cabinet! Mr Gamble also launches a brand new sports blog this week http://www.cookridgeschoolsport.blogspot.com
This is the place to keep up to date with all the sports news for school including club details, news on trips and details about competitions.
Our after school sport provision is going to have a major overhaul for the next academic year and Mr Gamble has been very busy sourcing a wide range of exciting new sporting clubs which will be on offer next year. To ensure you don't miss out on a place, keep checking the blog for the latest information. We are hoping to offer a sport club every night of the week (2 clubs some nights) for the entire school year. The sports will range from football to dance and there will be at least one club for all year groups in school, including Reception. Some clubs will be provided by school staff and these clubs will be free of charge. Other clubs will be run by a sports company and these clubs will cost £1.50 per club per week. This move will add 5 additional clubs per week to our repertoire and engage more of our pupils in as wide a range of sports as possible.
The clubs will be organised into half-termly blocks and children will be able to state their top 3 choices of club for the year – all of which will be organised before the summer holidays so that clubs can start promptly in September. A huge thank you to Mr Gamble who has been making plans for the development of sport at Cookridge with real passion since January. Your completed surveys have given him the inspiration he needed to do something really exciting with this important aspect of school. More details will follow next month.
Trust Status
The
Trust consultation draws to a close next
Wednesday so if you haven’t already please return your questionnaire. The views
expressed in the returned questionnaires will form the basis of the Governing
Body’s next decision. Please have your say and raise any questions you may have
so that these form part of the decision making process.
Attendance
Our attendance this week was 96.5% and is again above our Local Authority attendance
target of 95% this year. Overall this year – September to May – we have managed
to maintain a position of 95.5% and are
almost 1% up on our position at the last Ofsted – 94.7%. Let’s ensure that we
finish the year in a strong position and are able to exemplify good progress in
this area – an easy one for us all to get right! Thanks to all parents – and
children – who have clearly understood and supported us in our improvement
journey this year. Next half term will bring information about the end of year
100% attendance trip, and this year – for the first time – all those children
who have maintained attendance above the school target of 95% will be entered
into a ‘chancer’ draw, and 10 additional pupils will be able to join the fun.
Keep up the great work – I am still optimistic that, with 7 weeks still to go, we
can end the year even nearer to 96%... 7 weeks at 100% would be magnificent!
Have
a wonderful weekend,
Mrs
Bailey
