Our first whole school week has been nothing short
of magnificent... We’ve had our first M.A.D.
week, with children right across school thinking about the things that we do in
school to ‘Make A Difference’ to our own
and each other’s lives. Our first of many M.A.D. weeks has, this time, focused
the children on the ‘Secrets of Success’, trying new things, working hard,
pushing yourself, imagining what IS possible and never giving up are just some of the themes we have explored during
the last 5 days – fantastic attitudes to take forward for life-long
learning. We have also seen the
beginnings of our new provision for PPA cover, with whole class music, whole
class iPads, Spanish, RE and PE now on offer, our curriculum is more rich and
varied than ever.. Lots of opportunities to try new things and push
ourselves!
Many of the class blogs are now up and running.. Keep abreast of what’s happening in your child’s class via the website
http://www.cookridgeprimaryschool.org.uk/children/blogs.php
At the start of the new school year, we are currently looking at all aspects of school life as we plan our next steps. I look forward to sharing this with you in due course. I am particularly interested in gathering parents’ views about our school. Next week, I will be circulating a Parent Survey and would be very grateful for your comments and feedback. I have also invited Mary Strode, a Leeds consultant, into school to evaluate behaviour in school. If there are any parents who are able to take part in a short chat next Friday afternoon about this aspect of school life then please email me or let the school office know.
Garden News
Last Saturday, Mrs Hawkins attended the
Cookridge Horticultural show and proudly presented art work, written work, a
vegetable and herb basket prepared by our green fingered children. She was
thrilled when we won first prize for our veg box, first prize for our herb basket, first prize for painting and first and second prizes for handwriting... An incredible achievement during
what has to be one of the wettest summer’s ever! If we can achieve all of that
WITHOUT the sunshine, imagine what
might happen this year.... Mrs Hawkins keeps us posted via her super blog http://cookridgeschoolgarden.blogspot.co.uk/
so keep an eye on tales from the garden there. If any parents or grandparents
are able to spare an hour of their time to help us in our garden we would love
to hear from you, either working with the children or during the tranquillity
of the morning, once a week or once a month... Please get in touch.
We are currently collecting Morrison’s
Vouchers for the "Lets Grow" scheme to boost our growing empire. If
you or your wider family shop there – get collecting and pass them our way!
Friday Toddler group at Cookridge Village Hall, Moseley Wood Lane, LS16
7ER.
I am pleased to share news of a local toddler group
on behalf of Mrs Warrior...
Friday Toddler Group for children 0-5 years, accompanied by parents /
carers. We meet in the main hall every Friday during term time from 1.15pm -
3.15pm. Admission is £1.50 for the first child and 50p for subsequent children.
This includes refreshments for adults and children. We offer a variety of
inside toys, plus drawing / crafts, singing and - weather permitting – outside play
too. No need to book, just pop in.
Parent Meetings
An enormous ‘thank you’ to our Reception parents
who have attended our first parent meetings of the year this week. The
Reception Team were very grateful for your positive feedback about both the
meeting and the way in which your children have settled into school...
Incredibly well, by the way!
A reminder that further ‘Welcome Parent Meetings’
are scheduled as below. Housekeeping
news, information about the new curriculum and the work we are doing to
strengthen phonics and spelling across school are just some of the items on the
agenda. Please come along and learn how you can support your child during the
coming year.
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KS1 (Classes 1, 2 & 3)
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LKS2 (Classes 4, 5 & 6)
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UKS2 (Classes 7, 8 & 9)
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Tuesday
25th Sept, 2-3pm
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Thursday
27th Sept, 9am.
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Tuesday
25th Sept, 9-10am
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School Dinners
Pupil numbers taking up school dinners is higher
than ever, and I am hearing positive feedback from our young diners every day!
The updated menu is on the school website http://www.cookridgeprimaryschool.org.uk/parents/school-menu.php.
Parents wishing to swap to school meals or vice versa can do so with 2 weeks’
notice. Please remember that children enjoying packed lunches are asked to take
the remains of their packed lunch home with them. This decision was taken due
to the high volume of waste being thrown away every single day - entire
sandwiches and unopened (and expensive!) cheeses, biscuits and fruit. More worrying
than the wasted expense is the fact that such a lot of children must have been going
hungry in their rush to get outside to play. It is hoped that you are able to
monitor the foods your child is eating during the school day and, where
necessary, either encourage them to eat more! Thank you for your support. Sports
The Sports Clubs have got off to a flying start this week with a rich range of different sport happening every night at Cookridge, thanks to Mr Gamble’s vision and Mrs Hyde’s organisation! The range of sports clubs on offer varies each half term and allocations for paid sports clubs were made in the summer for places at clubs right through until July 2013. Each half term, we will send you out a reminder that your child is due to start a club after the holidays... More information on the website soon.
The Year 5/6 Footballers start their new season with a friendly match at Horsforth Newlaithes on Friday 21st September.
All families new to school must complete and return their pupil information sheet by next Friday at the latest. It is vital that we can contact you in an emergency and I urge all parents to inform us of updates to mobile numbers as a matter of urgency. It is also crucial that we have accurate medical and dietary information for your child. Thank you.
Parent Governor Vacancies
As promised, we are this evening sending home information
about Parent Governor Vacancies which have arisen. Please consider your
capacity to support the school in its improvement. Across the GB, we have
expertise drawn from a wide range of industries and act as a diverse group of
people pooling our skills, knowledge and experience. We are especially keen to
add expertise in buildings, health & safety and liaising with our PFI
provider into our group BUT are keen to hear from any parent who believes, as
we do, that we can achieve incredible things with our school.
Attendance
We are back on the attendance bandwagon and this
year our target is 96% Our
attendance was UP last year on our previous 4, with 95.2% our figure to beat this year. Last year, the volume of
holiday absence cost us a drop on our anticipated 95.4% in the last two weeks, sadly. We today send home the academic
calendar for 2012-13 and would ask you to book holidays in the designated
weeks. It is especially important that Y6 pupils are in school for national
testing during May. I know we can work together to match the attendance in the
best schools in the country in the shared understanding that pupil attendance really does have a direct correlation
with your child’s achievement and future success. Please see the policies area
of the website for a full outline of our updated procedures for 2012-13 http://www.cookridgeprimaryschool.org.uk/parents/policies.php
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National Minimum ‘Good’ Expectation
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95%
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Target
2012-13
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96%
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Attendance this week
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95.9%
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Year to date
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95.9%
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Class attendance figures for this week are:-
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Rec
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Class 1
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Class 2
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Class 3
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Class 4
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Class 5
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Class 6
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Class 7
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Class 8
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Class 9
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96.9%
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97.9%
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97.3%
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91.4%
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97.0%
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95.4%
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93.6%
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92.3%
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99.7%
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98.9%
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Don’t forget, the first coffee morning of the year is scheduled for next Wednesday 19th September 2012 at 9am. This is a chance for a coffee, a few biscuits and a catch up. Please come along...
Have a great weekend,
Mrs Bailey
