Bolton School Junior Boys' Weekly Newsletter - 21 Sept 2022

Bolton School Primary Division Junior Boys’ School

Last week, we were lucky enough to have two special assemblies with exciting demonstrations. On Tuesday, we were treated to a judo demonstration, then to a fencing one on Friday from Mr Parkinson. In both demonstrations, elements of speed, core strength and agility were highlighted as key skills required to succeed in these sports. However, both of our speakers stressed the important characteristics of discipline and respect within these endeavours.

In our assemblies this week, we started to look into the importance of respect and discipline. We considered and discussed collectively having high expectations of ourselves and what this would look like as the boys and staff move aroundschool.

Mr Hough also spoke in our assemblythis week about the School Council. This is an important opportunity for our boys to have a voice and represent their peers in discussing important school matters. It gives all of our children an early experience of democracyandgettinginvolvedinmatterswhichaffectthem.

Last week, we asked for your support with our Parents’ Association as well as your feedback.PleasefindthelinkheretoourGoogleForm:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSceLRBYvOsDIo39agEmTX2uX1st0NN-oOsjAnz_tZCuzar4g/viewform

WewillclosethisformforentriesonFridaymorningthisweek, 23rd September

Lastly, I would like to pay my respects to Queen Elizabeth II. Monday was a moving day and provided an opportunity for quiet reflection and to say goodbye to a much loved monarch. I am aware that some of our boys had special opportunities to pay their respects in London last week and say a final farewell.

MrKing

Contacting the School Office

Park Road, BOLTON, BL1 4RD. t: (01204) 434735

e: parkroad@boltonschool.org.uk www.boltonschool.org

The School Office is open from 8.15 am 4.15 pm during term time. Please note that any texts sent by the Office cannot be replied to.

Please direct all enquiries to parkroad@boltonschool.org and always include your son’s first name and surname, as well as his form. Please note that ParkRoadOffice email is no longer monitored.

If your son is going to be absent from School, whether he be off sick or attending dental, medical or any other appointment, please email parkroad@boltonschool.org so that the registers may be marked accordingly. Please use this email address for all day-to-day enquiries relating to school matters to ensure that your enquiry may be dealt with in a timely manner.

For all coach / transport enquiries: Logistics Co-ordinator: Mr B. Gould, t: (01204) 434711, e: bdmgould@boltonschool.org.uk

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th September

Cub Camp

Monday

Tuesday 27th September

Whole School Photograph

Just a reminder that the Primary Division school photo will be taken in School on Tuesday 27th September.

Please do make sure that your son's blazer and tie make it into the wash over the weekend and that his hair is clean and smart for the occasion !

Representing School

For those of you who are new to Park Road, we have many teams, such as football, cricket, hockey, cross country, athletics, water polo, swimming and chess, amongst others, for which your son may be selected.

If selected to represent the School in a sporting event or chess competition, we will endeavour to give your son and you as much notice as possible about the fixture.

To enhance the possibility of selection, boys are encouraged to attend clubs held during lunch hours and after school on a regular basis.

If your son misses lessons due to a school fixture, it is his responsibility to find out what work has been missed and to catch up accordingly.

Please do check Parent Portal, as well as the Calendar section of our weekly newsletter for the most upto-date list of events, trips, fixtures and activities taking place in school.

Artist of the Week

We had some excellent responses to our first “Artist of the Week”, Wassily Kandinsky. My head was spinning from all the bright and bold designs which made their way into the Showbie folder.

Here is a selection of the entries. Well done to Diyan in Year 6, the first “Artist of the Week”- he can come and collect his prize from the Art Room on Friday.

This week, the boys are asked to respond to the work of Yinka Shonibare CBE. JM

Thursday 29thSeptember

Author

Lost Property

We are already beginning to accumulate a large amount of UNNAMED lost property in school a lot of which appears to have been newly bought for the start of the school year.

Please check that every item that your son brings into School is named. This applies to mobile phones in particular. It is so much easier to reunite things with boys if their name is clearly marked on all their property.

Please also check regularly to see if your son has mistakenly brought another boy’s property home and return it to the School Office if so.

Catch of the Day !

Angling Club enjoyed a second week of glorious autumnal sunshine yesterday and the fish responded by biting with surprising regularity. The boys experimented with different types of bait this week, including worms and bread as well as maggots.

All boys had their own rods and landing nets but Joseph and Yusuf both required a bit of assistance to land a couple of carp, one weighing in at about 5lbs!

Definitely some PBs caught by several boys and Rayan managed double figures of perch! There was also a tench on the catch list for the knowledgeable anglers amongst you. KEW /NJG

Not only have we got a smart new clock in the playground but we also now have our Eco Schools’ Green Flag flying proudly from the flag pole to remind us all of the hard work we have been doing at Park Road and in our local communities in the area of sustainability and all things eco.

This work will be continuing apace this year with a new Eco Committee about to be announced following an opportunity for all boys to apply to Mrs Lowe for membership. We shall hope to have a photo of the Committee in our next newsletter.

Mrs Lowe is also continuing to run Gardening Club in an extended slot throughout all of Tuesday lunchtime. This will give boys a chance to get stuck into some more meaningful projects. KEW

Friends of Bolton School

Many thanks for your continued interest in the Friends of Bolton School Choir. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we are now unable to secure a choirmaster from school for the next academic year, and are therefore unable to launch the choir as we had hoped.

The “come and sing” event on Sunday 9th October will now not take place. We are still hopeful that in the future the Music Department will be able to resource this.

We will keep those who have expressed an interest on our mailing list and let you know as soon as there is some news. Friends@boltonschool.org

Apologies for any confusion caused.

September Geography Mission

A Walk in the Park

This month’s exciting Geography Mission is to find a park in your local area and plan a route to walk with your family. If you want to stretch yourself, you could find a route to hike anywhere in the UK with your family on a weekend!

-Create a map to show where you walked either on the computer or you can hand draw this

-Write a description of your walk including what you saw and the route you took -Take pictures along the way which could include geographical features, wildlife or selfies of you and your family!

How to submit your “Walk in the Park” entry:

-Please email Miss Gillibrand in Seniors, at LJG@boltonschool.org.uk with your submission by Friday 30th September by 4pm!

THERE WILL LOTS OF PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS! WHO CAN CREATE THE MOST INTERESTING ROUTE AROUND A LOCAL PARK?

A link to the competition can be found here. Winners of the Summer Geography Mission will be announced very shortly in a special assembly. LG

Harvest Donations

In advance of our Harvest Assembly on Wednesday 12th October, please find linked here a list of suggested donations from Urban Outreach.

Please send any contributions from the list into school via your son. Tinned or packet goods should arrive in school from Monday 26th September, (no fresh produce please). Please ensure that all donations are well within the expiry date as they may not be used immediately. If you would prefer to send a cash donation, we will ensure that it is passed on to Urban Outreach as well.

Achievements

Congratulations to Syed Mehdi in 5A who has been selected to record a podcast of a poem for Kidspoetryclub.com (USA). He was asked to write a poem in a kids’ international poetry competition and he chose Cricket as his genre. This got selected with appreciation. He had to record the poetry in his own voice and has submitted it to be played very soon.

Well done, Syed we look forward to you reading this to us in assembly

Congratulations to Sujay Thiruvallar in 3A who recently completed his London College of Music exam -preparatory piano exam in June 2022 with Distinction. Well done, Sujay !

Good luck to Jasper Daniels in 4A who is competing as a GB athlete in a skiing competition in Holland later this week.

We look forward to hearing all about this when he returns.

Congratulations to Milan Kumar, in 6B, who was invited to Media City and interviewed by Phil McCann of the BBC about his recent trip to London where he paid his respects and laid flowers in tribute to The Queen. Well done, Milan. We are all extremely proud of you !

Foundation Open Morning

Congratulations to Thomas Owen in 3B who completed the North West duathlon last weekend - this involved running and cycling.

Well done, Thomas !

Please do let us know if your son achieves great things outside of school; we would love to share his news and achievements in the newsletter.

We will be opening our doors to the public on Saturday 8th October from 9.30am for our annual Open Morning. As ever, we are always grateful for the support of pupils on this day, who help out in so many different ways.

If you know of any families whom you think might be interested in learning more about us, do please alert them to the event.

We are asking that enquirers pre-register their attendance at boltonschool.org/openday

School Uniform Shop Opening Hours

The Monkhouse Schoolwear on-site shop will be open for normal Term Opening Hours (see above) apart from during the holidays.

OCTOBER HALF TERM:

Closed from Monday 24th October to Saturday 29th October, inclusive.

Open from Monday 31st October with normal term opening hours (see above).

Year 6 Parents —Young Voices Concert—31st January, 2023

Year 6 boys will be performing in the Young Voices Concert, which is to be held at the AO Arena (formerly Manchester Arena) on Tuesday 31st January, 2023 This promises to be a fantastic event involving over 8,000 children from around the region. Please complete the Google Form below, giving your consent for your son to attend the event, the number of tickets required (at a cost of £23 each) and if you wish to purchase a t-shirt for your son (£15): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNiwAWC8uieYOJFbNixZx2tkat98u7JdWa9ECov1ws6jYGnA/viewform?usp=pp_url Please sign up on this link so the boys have access at home to the songs which they will perform at the concert : The link is: https://myclassmate.ai/parentRegisterReferral?code=3xD8pVM3ojWdrQeW

U8 Power Play Football Tournament

Congratulations to the six Year 3 boys who travelled to The Cliff to take part in the Manchester United Power Play tournament on Tuesday. The boys played seven games against schools from the Manchester area, scoring plenty of goals and improving massively throughout the afternoon. TG

Exciting Half Term Opportunities

Calling all budding scientists : the Manchester Science Festival returns to the Museum of Science and Industry from Friday 21st to Sunday 30th October, with an unmissable programme featuring world premieres, inspiring experiences and entertaining events!

Discover what's in store here : https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/manchesterscience-festival/2022-programme

Data Checking Information

As part of our drive to reduce paper-handling, the annual Data Checking operation is now online. This is an important task which ensures that we have the correct contact and medical details to enable us to provide the best care for your son. This means we require you to complete the Electronic Forms on the Parent Portal at https://parents.boltonschool.org.uk, as detailed below.

You can check the history of which Electronic Forms you have previously submitted by looking in the History section within the Electronic Forms tab. Some may have already completed the form for this year.

On the Parent Portal is the two-page Data Checking document, and the functionality to inform us that you have checked it and of any amendments.

• Check the Data Checking Sheet for your son, under the tab School Publications

• Complete the Data Checking Electronic Form to inform us that either it is correct, or of any amendments.

We would be very grateful if you could check the document carefully, and submit a separate response for each of your children in the school.