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 10th 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 20th
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
