1. If you say you can or you can’t you are right either way! Henry Ford Competition Winners A big well done to Reception Class who managed to find time to enter a Hobbycraft competition in the final week of last term! The children had the challenge of creating a decorative Santa hat and our school won the grand prize. Miss Best and the children will be thinking about how to use their £100 prize to create more wonderful pieces of art. In the meantime, Years 1-6 are entering a poetry competition to write a narrative monster poem. We feel these events help the children connect with the outside world and help put the school on the map! Winning Christmas Hat Design| Reception Class Value of the month Our value of the month is Positivity. We have taught the children that people often view a new year as a positive or negative event and that being positive is a mindset. We have used some of Dr Richard Wiseman’s Quirkology videos to illustrate that if you are not looking for the positives in life then you won’t see them. The children discussed the differences between being honest and being positive and how this helps when approaching work, sport, etc. Martin Smith, Headteacher Upcoming events Tues 4th Feb Pupil Progress Meetings Wed 5th Feb 3.45pm Girls Football Match vs Hobletts Manor Tues 11th Feb PM Y5s to Cavendish Dance Festival Tues 11th Feb Safer Internet Day Mon 17th - Fri 21st Half Term Mon 17th - Wed 19th Soccer School at Pixies Mon 25th Feb Y1 and Y2 out at circus Mon 25th - Fri 28 th Stu McLellan (artist) working with children on outdoor project Wed 26th Feb | 3.30pm Staff Meeting at Westfield Base - staff to leave early. ISSUE 16 | January 2014 We are not expecting any snow in the foreseeable future but should we have a change in weather and snow falls overnight, please check the iModus website ( www.imodus.com ). Alternatively, you can check the school website and we should in most eventualities be able to send out a parent mail. We will do our very best to keep the school open! Preparing for snow PE Quality Mark You may have noticed our new Values Mark award on our letters and in the entrance hall. We are keen to go for more quality mark awards as the criteria set helps us on the road to achieving an outstanding status in various areas of school – think of them being like a star rating for a hotel! We have decided to go for the PE mark next. We don’t know how long this will take us or what is involved but work starts in March…watch this space! Members of Year 4 with DJ Daniel Fox

2. Week of 10/01/14 Reception: Ollie Jackson Year 1: Louie Rayment Year 2: Mia Crouch Year 3: Toby Evans Year 4: Ella Broadbent Year 5: Georgie Pearce Year 6: Chloe Pickett Week of 17/01/14 Reception: Ava Lee Sarosh White Year 1: Emma Lewis Year 2: Jackson Priest Year 3: Archie Wood Year 4: Evie Pare Year 5: Nicholas Martinez-Wise Year 6: Lois Axten Week of 24/01/14 Reception: Finley Corcoran Year 1: Alex Driver Year 2: Safiya Usman Year 3: Harry Hyder Year 4: Alfie Harvey Year 5: Pippa Marchant Year 6: Charlotte Culverhouse Week of 31/01/14 Reception: Lola Whiston Year 1: Emily Simpson Year 2: Xewis Welfare Year 3: Elliott Clarkson Year 4: Eleanor Cox Year 5: Ayden Davidson Year 6: Gabriel Bidwell-Smith Stars of the week Playground News I have sent a separate letter detailing out our plans for the playground. We have been drip feeding some of the new equipment available at lunch times and the children have had the chance to play giant pick up sticks and skittles. I am also pleased to announce that the FOPHS have agreed the green light on ‘The Brig’ (see picture below). After looking at several other pieces of equipment and pricing from other companies, we hope to start work on building this during the summer holidays. The equipment will come with wet pour rubber concrete which will make jumping and landing a safer experience. We are also continuing to pursue quotes on synthetic grass though this will most definitely be a longer term project considering the costs. to everyone! Well done Technical Problems We are very proud of our new school website. Over recent weeks, we have been unable to update parts of the website. This is not a serious issue and is easily resolved though we require further staff training. We hope to be adding photos, pages and updates to the website in the near future. The Brig Early Morning Routines We are very grateful to have warm, cordial relationships with parents. We have regular open classrooms, workshops, FOPHS events, etc which we enjoy. Sometimes, a parent may need to see a class teacher about a piece of information or an urgent issue. However, recently teachers are reporting an influx of parents wanting to see teachers early in the morning. Please could you pass by the office and make an appointment in such circumstances. 8.30-8.55 is a critical time for teachers as they prepare for lessons, talk to teaching assistants about the work they would like them to do and organise the classroom. I have also noticed some classes are not collected at 8.55 as the teacher is occupied with a parent – this disrupts morning routines. On a similar theme, parents should not leave their children unattended in the playground until 8.55am – See our Attendance policy for more details. New Arrivals Mr Gower, Mrs Haswell, Mr Billy and Mrs McLellan are all settling well into school life. After a long search, I’m also pleased to tell you about our newest member of staff, Mrs Scales, recruited at the end of January on a permanent contract. Mrs Scales will be joining the Y5 team for 3 days a week and will also be supporting groups for 2 days a week. She brings a wealth of experience from other schools she has worked in and we are looking forward in the long term to utilising her amazing art skills to revitalise areas of the school. Mrs Scales officially starts work after half term but is working the days available before half term. Polite Reminder Please park and drive around the school area considerately. I have received a number of complaints from local residents and have contacted the community police officers as a result. We have heard about several accidents waiting to happen and incidents of residents not being able to leave their home. One resident has become so frustrated with the situation, that on February 7th, County Council contractors are widening his curb space. The County Council advise that vehicles should not be parked on the angled part of the kerb stone. Please be considerate, look after our neighbours and help keep children safe.