Friday 20th July 2012

Dear Parents/Carers,

My final newsletter of the year is actually upon us – a clear indication that this academic year has drawn to a close and my first year of Headship at Cookridge is complete. It seems like two minutes since I wrote my very first newsletter, and the events of the past twelve months can be re-capped via this weekly monologue – all still available to view via the school blog should you choose to! It’s been an incredible year and I am already excited about the next one... But I will be having a lie down in between then and now! We have, today, bid our farewells to our beloved Year 6 – as well as a number of staff. Let’s begin our newsletter this week by wishing all our leavers our very best wishes for the next phase in their lives – I am certain that each and every one of them will seize the opportunities that new starts inevitably bring. Good luck!

Thank you!

School has been brimming with cards, gifts, flowers and good wishes this week. Staff really do appreciate your messages of appreciation and I have been blown away by your generosity. It is incredible to see such generosity in these trying financial times and please be aware that you really shouldn’t... But THANK YOU anyway!
 
Exciting Events across the week
We began our week with two willing visitors to our Monday morning assembly. Olympic Torch bearer Phil Marshall brought his torch into school and explained to the children some of the facts behind the torch bearing ceremony ahead of the Olympics, as well as the particular reasons he was chosen to be a torch bearer. We were also joined by Glyn Williams, the pastor at Tinshill Free Church who welcomed our Key Stage 2 pupils recently for a bible exhibition. Mr Williams presented prizes to a number of Cookridge pupils who had scored highly on the quiz – a very exciting part of the week for those lucky people! Monday (and Tuesday!) evening brought us the KS2 production Robin Hood starring our Y6 leavers – and what a phenomenal performance they gave! Our Tuesday ‘Learnatics’ lunch was another big success and it was a pleasure to dine with the 11 pupils chosen by their peers to celebrate their success over a slice of pizza or two... On Wednesday, 31 of our children went to see Ice Age 4 to celebrate their high levels of attendance across the year – 21 pupils having met the challenge of being in school every single day. Ali was so excited and so afraid to miss out he got to school before me on Wednesday (!), and I’m delighted that he, the 30 other children and Mrs Barnes and Mrs Horsley (in particular) loved the film... and the popcorn! Wednesday also brought us an Olympic Torch relay event between ourselves, Ireland Wood and Iveson Primary and Ralph Thoresby. Mr Gamble, Phyllis Hoyle and Jack Hoyle had to receive the torch from runners from Ireland Wood before running on to Ralph Thoresby, and were welcomed in the auditorium by the whole of Year 7! On Thursday, Miss Hobson (our very own Diamond Jubilee Queen) and four children were able to pop into Leeds to meet some very important people... The Queen and Prince Phillip. Max Stevenson, Rainboe Charlesworth, Bradley Simpson and Willow Driscoll-Duke were literally a metre from Her Majesty, and I am certain this was an incredible experience for all of them...  Friday has brought us two leaver’s assemblies and a disco. Phew... An incredible week by anyone’s standards!
 

Governors News

As the year draws to a close, I wanted to draw your attention to a seldom celebrated group of people who support, champion and challenge the school in equal measure to get the very best outcomes for your child. Your Governing Body is composed of 18 Governors, a collection of staff, parents, community and Local Authority representatives. Since September, this voluntary group have met on 26 separate evenings, investing approximately 50 hours in discussing, questioning and shaping provision for your child. These are professionals from all walks of life who value education and are freely giving of their time towards improving the quality of your child’s school experience. As many of you are aware, Pete Gathercole has retired from the Governing Body this year after dedicating 20 years of service to your school – that’s over 1000 hours in meetings, as well as frequent visits into school, days spent interviewing staff and annual support of the Y6 residential. He is not alone in offering this level of dedication over numerous years and I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the Governing Body who have provided wise counsel to me personally this year. 

Last week, we were joined on the GB by Glyn Williams as a Community Governor and Deborah Hill as an LA Governor. In the new school year, there are two parent vacancies arising as Matthew Cherrington and Sarah Scowcroft’s terms of office come to a natural end. I will be providing more information in September, but would encourage anyone who cares deeply about our school to consider putting themselves in the ring for this role.

Trust News

On Wednesday, the Governing Body met at the end of the statutory consultation period regarding the formation of a Cooperative Trust. I am delighted to inform you that the Governing Body agreed to proceed with the acquisition of Trust Status and that the Leeds North West Education Partnership [Cookridge, Ireland Wood, Iveson and Ralph Thoresby] is now in the implementation phase, with a view to being formed by 31^st August 2012. This offers us exciting opportunities for collaborative work and I look forward to sharing news of our starting points in September.

Headline Data

Last Friday, you received your child’s report which provided information about their personal achievements across the year – and what a lot there was to celebrate! It has been lovely to receive such positive feedback from the reports this year and I am very glad that you enjoyed hearing of – and celebrating – your child’s progress this year. Over the summer, I will prepare some key data for presentation on the website in the new school year so that you can see the progress we are making as a school towards our goal of raising pupil attainment in line with National benchmarks in reading, writing and maths, but I was keen to share some ‘headline’ data with you as we break for the summer...

·         70% of our Reception pupils have secured National expectations this year – an increase of 20% from previous years.

·         Pupils securing age related expectations at the end of Year 1 this year has, in some strands, doubled. In maths, 70% of pupils secured 1a or better – with a significant 40% this year securing expectations in line with Year 2 expectations.

·         Our Year 1 phonics screening test saw 70% of pupils secure age related expectations. We are yet to see how this compares with national outcomes, but are delighted with pupil progress in this strand this year.

·         Our Year 2 results were in line with or slightly higher than previous years, with pupils in Year 2 making good or outstanding progress towards this goal in-year.

·         Our Year 6 results brought us a 15% increase in the number of pupils securing L4 or above in maths, a 10% increase in writing and outcomes in reading which saw almost 90% of pupils secure L4 or above. 

·         Our reading statistics evidence significant improvement in this strand across school. Reading achievement is now almost in line with National expectations in every year group in school – and next year we anticipate being above that benchmark.

·         Our attendance this year is up by almost 1% to 95.2% and sees us into a ‘good’ category for the first time in 5 years.

This is a fabulous profile to begin with next year and we anticipate even greater impact in 2012-13. Next year’s priorities will be shared with you in September and are certain to include school wide improvement in writing outcomes and progress in maths throughout KS2 in particular. I am sure you will join me in recognising the hard work and dedication of your children and your teaching team who have undoubtedly worked their socks off to ensure that our headlines are very pleasing indeed!

Staffing News
Last week, I shared with you Mr El Sayed’s offer of a teaching post in Saudi Arabia to commence in September. I am delighted to be informing you this week that he has now decided not to accept this post and will be staying with us at Cookridge for the foreseeable future. This is good news indeed, for he is a valued member of the team and a real asset to the school. His decision to turn down such a great role is testament to Mr El Sayed’s dedication to the children and families at Cookridge – he really does make a difference to children’s lives with the work that he does and it is good news indeed that he has elected to stay with us. Welcome back, Mr El Sayed!
 
And so it remains for me to wish you all a happy and healthy Summer. I can’t promise you sunshine, but I am confident that we will all have a wonderful time, wherever we each end up over the next six weeks. Have a good one and I will see you all in September!
 

Mrs Bailey

Friday 13th July 2012

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

Friday 6th July 2012

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week, author and comedian Ian Billings visited school to lead a writing workshop for a group of year 5 and 6 children. He filled the school hall with laughter during a fantastic assembly where he shared some of his poetry, story writing and brilliant comic routine. All staff and children left the hall with huge smiles on their faces ready for the day ahead! He then worked with six children from Cookridge (Bradley, Lewis and Megan from Class 9 and Maryam, Christian and Taylor from Class 8) and another twenty children from nearby schools on developing their creative writing skills using a range of techniques including some super drama work. The children ended the day enthused and inspired to write, which is just what we want at Cookridge! Watch this space for some samples of their fantastic writing.

Wednesday and Thursday also saw Mrs Thorpe and her army of peripatetic teachers join forces to draw together our phenomenal orchestra, who performed for parents at the end of Thursday. The music provision is a unique feature of our school and it is rare indeed to find such extraordinary talent in this field within the four walls of an ‘average’ primary school. My personal congratulations to every child who has invested the time to learn to play an instrument during 2011-12 – it really is testament to their hard work and dedication that the performance was breathtakingly brilliant... Next year’s music tuition will continue to offer pupils the opportunity to learn an instrument and play their part in the orchestra. Year 5/6 will also have the opportunity to enjoy whole class steel pan and samba band tuition with musician Mr Al Roberto as part of their PPA provision. I very much look forward to continuing to develop this very special part of our school. 

Class Organisation 2012-13
Children spent Monday morning with their new classmates and teaching teams, and it was good to see the parent meetings were so well attended, too.

I have had the opportunity across the course of the week to chat to 5 parents who have raised important questions about the new class structure next year. This is perfectly understandable, and I have been pleased to have the opportunity to discuss any individual concerns with individual parents. I also accept that, for some parents, the decision appears to have come ‘out of the blue’. This is not the case. The revised class organisation has been long under discussion with school based staff, many hours have been invested in the development of a long term curriculum model which will ensure the success of this model and in the organisation of teaching and support staff to best meet the needs of every one of the individual personalities that make up our school. I am happy to apologise if parents feel there has been a lack of communication. My commitment to communicating with parents has, I hope, been apparent from day one – it is something I am very keen to get right. On this occasion, I felt that the best means of discussing the changes with parents was through face-to-face meetings, the first of which was held on Monday and the next ‘welcome’ meeting will be held in September in order to share with you more information about the curriculum and organisation underpinning the successful operation of the teams next year. The class allocations policy is available at the school office or can be downloaded via the school website http://www.cookridgeprimaryschool.org.uk/parents/policies.php .

In the mean time, please let me clarify the following:

·        Class allocations have been made using date of birth information. It is not desirable to make class allocations on the basis of ability, as this inevitably limits the opportunities for some. I can assure you that NO allocations have been made using current attainment as a determining factor – nor will they be in future -  and that there is absolute equality in terms of the opportunities for learning that await your child year on year.

·        A seven year curriculum model ensures that all children have new opportunities and experiences for each of the years that they are with us. There is no repetition of learning and progression and challenge are a key feature of the new curriculum model which is in place for September.

·        The decision to alter the class organisation has been driven by our school improvement agenda. It is not a cost saving exercise and it is a model of class allocation adopted by many schools that face – as we do – the inevitable mixed class organisation when we take in 45 pupils per school year. This model gives us the stability that we need in order to ‘pin down’ a curriculum model which ensures we can effectively plan for our children – whilst ever the class structure remains flexible each year (as it has been in recent years) it is impossible to ensure that all pupils have equal access to the statutory (legal) curriculum requirements that a school must meet, and to ensure that pupils do not repeat aspects of literacy, numeracy or indeed topics they have learned in previous years.

·        All classes – whether single form or mixed classes – cater to meet the needs of pupils who have a range of attainment on entry. Although the classes next year will be mixed age, that range of attainment does not vary. It is absolutely critical that all pupils make good progress, no matter what their starting points, and we expect pupil progress in line with Ofsted requirements of 4 points progress in year.

It is very difficult to offer a written explanation of the way in which this will work next year, and I appreciate that assurances are only surface deep until you see for yourself how successful a model this can be. I am happy to hold a ‘Head teachers forum’ on Tuesday 10^th July at 3.30 to present the revised curriculum model and answer any questions you may have, and will post further information on the website as we finalise it  over the next few weeks.


Training Days 2012-13
A reminder that training days were shared with you in last week’s newsletter and are available to view via the blog or on the website. Children return to school on Wednesday 5th September 2012.


Attendance
This week’s attendance is 95.1% and our year to date remains 95.4% Our Local Authority agreed target this year of 95% is one which would see us into a ‘good’ judgement for the first time in many years. I remain optimistic that we can exceed this target in the three remaining weeks of term and would ask you to please continue to support us in our endeavour. Today, our 100% attendees received their certificate for the year and their letter inviting them to attend the 100% attendance trip in the penultimate week of term. 10 lucky pupils who met the 95% target this year were also drawn out of our ‘chancer’ draw and will also be invited to celebrate this achievement with us.

BIG Olympics Week – including Sports Day 2012
Cross everything for good weather for us next week, for we have planned a week’s worth of sporting mayhem with skipping workshops, football, dodgeball and rounders inter-house tournaments organised... Sports Day is next Thursday 12th July... Weather permitting! Reception and KS1 parents who are able to spectate should make their way to the school field for a 10am start. KS2 parents should arrive from 1.00pm and will be treated to an Olympics style opening ceremony complete with these GINORMOUS puppets!! Please note – the sponsored football event on Monday promises to be a great success but, for their safety, please discourage your child from knocking door to door for sponsorship.

Summer Fayre

Saturday’s Summer Fayre was a great success and I am confident that I am not the only person who had a lot of fun on the day. It was wonderful to see an entire community staff, parents, children and families work side by side to get the fayre set up, manned and cleared down in record time – as well as sharing a few hours of fun avoiding the rain. It is also incredible to be sharing the news that £2,900 pounds was raised through the event, £2,300 of which is profit. The Friends group are meeting this week to finalise the figure that they are able to donate to the school for the playground installation over the summer, which will be great monument to a year’s worth of hard work and generosity on Friends part. Mrs Willets should once again be commended for her dedication to the Friends group over many years. This was to be her final fayre before her retirement this summer, and her ability to command the troops was amazing to see. My heartfelt thanks to Mrs Willets and the entire Friends group for their dedication to our school.

And finally,  we are currently collecting for valued staff members who are leaving us on the 20^th July this year. Any parents who wish to contribute to these collections are welcome to see Mrs Hyde or Mrs Hall between 8.30 and 9.00 each day.

Have a great weekend,

Mrs Bailey

Friday 29th June 2012

Dear Parents/Carers,

This has been far from a regular week in school!! With Mexican visitors Pilar and Tere, an astonishing International Cookridge Week complete with fashion show, Cultural Cabaret and World Cafe AND artist Lee Threadgold in school for three days working with the Year 4, 5 and 6 pupils to  make the MOST ENORMOUS puppets I have ever seen – we certainly have not been bored! My thanks to Mrs Thorpe, Mrs Speak and Mr El Sayed for the preparation and organisation which has gone on behind the scenes to organise these aspects for our children, and to the many parents who have worked hard to make International Cookridge Week so unique. Next week, we have two days orchestra workshop and an author in school working with young writers drawn from our and local schools. Life is not dull at Cookridge!

Class Organisation 2012-13

You should, this week, have received a letter informing you which class your child will be in next year. It is important that the transition work begins now and that you talk to your child about their new classmates and teaching teams – this is an exciting time and one which should be talked about! Remember that your child will be spending the morning in their new class base on Monday morning and I am confident they will have a lot to tell you about at the end of the day. There is also the opportunity for your child to show you to their new classroom at the end of the school day so that you, too, can meet and chat with the class teacher and find out some useful housekeeping information. Please come into school and find out who’s who and what’s what!

Training Days 2012-13

Next year’s training days have been agreed and I would like to give you advance notice of all five dates for the year ahead. School will be closed for staff training on:

Monday 3rd September 2012

Tuesday 4th September 2012

Friday 26th October 2012

Monday 15th April 2013

Friday 5th July 2013

Children should therefore return to school on Wednesday 5th September 2012 and will break up for the Summer next year on Tuesday 23rd July 2013. The full school calendar is available to view via the website or via the Leeds City Council website on http://www.educationleeds.co.uk/DisplayText.aspx?pageNo=104 . Please support our city wide aim to improve attendance by taking note of the holiday dates and additional training days and plan holidays within these dates.

Sports News

Thank you for the fantastic response to the after school sports clubs for the next school year. Many clubs are full or nearly full and some have a waiting list! However, there are still spaces available for some clubs and an extra club has been added to cater for demand. The children who this affects have taken home a further letter today which provides details of these clubs and the spaces available. It is not too late to sign up - see Mrs Hyde or Mr Gamble for details.

On Tuesday, 9 enthusiastic rounders players from Year 6 travelled to Ireland Wood for the AWSSA Rounders Competition. Despite some good batting from Georgia Thompson and some great catches from Parsa Sahree, we lost in the semi-final to Ireland Wood.

July
Monday 2nd July - Year 3/4 Football Competition, Leo Jones Trophy @ Queensway Primary, Yeadon.

Saturday 7th July - Year 5/6 Athletics Competition @ Leeds Met.

Tuesday 10th July- Year 5/6 Football Quarter-Final vs Yeadon Westfield @ Cookridge Primary.

Donkey Sanctuary Summer Fair Swan Lane, Off Blackhill Lane, Eccup, Leeds LS16 8AZ

Several of our children are lucky enough to visit the Donkey Sanctuary in Eccup each month, and – as you can imagine - it is a very popular part of their curriculum. The sanctuary do not charge for donkey riding therapy and rely entirely on charitable donations to allow them to run the centre. They are holding their biggest fundraising event of the year - the Summer Fair  - on Sunday 8th July from 11am to 4pm. The event is a great day out for the whole family with arena displays, children’s entertainment, craft stands, delicious food and drinks and of course 18 gorgeous donkeys to meet. This year, Peppa Pig and Ronnie the Rhino are making guest appearances on the day. If you are able to go along and support this excellent facility which serves children right across Leeds, bob along and have some fun!

Attendance

This week’s attendance is thankfully an improvement on last week’s at 93.5% and our year to date %age remains 95.4% The benchmark for a ‘satisfactory’ (or ‘requires improvement’) Ofsted judgement is 94% and so our figure this week is once again disappointing. Our Local Authority agreed target this year of 95% is one which would see us into a ‘good’ judgement for the first time in many years. I remain optimistic that we can exceed this target in the three remaining weeks of term and would ask you to please continue to support us in our endeavour. Next week, our 100% attendees will receive their certificate for the year and their letter inviting them to attend the 100% attendance trip in the penultimate week of term. 10 lucky pupils who have achieved the 95% benchmark will also be entered into a ‘chancer’ draw and will also be invited to celebrate this achievement with us.

Governors News

After 20 years of service and many years as Chair of Governors, Mr Gathercole has taken the decision to retire from the Governing Body. This does not mean that he is retiring from his other, paid roles – indeed additional work commitments have actually led to his decision. On behalf of the school community, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Gathercole for his many years of dedicated service. Pete has been a champion of the school through the years and has voluntarily attended the Y6 Buckden Residential, forming strong relationships with countless pupils as they embarked upon – for many - their biggest adventure. Mr Vijay Sharma has been elected Chair of Governors during the Summer term, a position which will be formalised in September when the new Governing Body are convened. There is likely to be an opportunity for new Parent Governors to join the Governing Body in the new school year and I would strongly recommend anyone who might be interested and able to support the school through this vital role to get in touch - I would be happy to provide additional information.

Sports Day 2012

Sports Day will take place on Thursday 12th July 2012. Reception and KS1 parents who are able to spectate should make their way to the school field for a 10am start. KS2 parents should arrive from 1.00pm and will be treated to an Olympics style opening ceremony complete with these GINORMOUS puppets!!

Summer Fayre

Don’t forget – tomorrow is the Summer Fayre and we are really hoping that the weather stays fair and that we see you there. We are collecting money for the playground installation this year – selected by the children. This ‘pick up sticks’ climbing apparatus costs £6, 500 to install, so we really need to make it a great Summer Fayre if we are able to meet the children’s demands! Please come along and have some fun with your family whilst supporting your child’s school. Parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles – everyone is welcome and no contribution is too small! See you there....

Mrs Bailey