Bolton School Primary Division Junior Boys’ School Thursday 25th January
Spring Term, 2024 — WEEK A
From Mrs. Faulkner It was fantastic to see so many parents attending this week’s parent workshop, focusing on reading. Reading is such an important aspect of the children’s learning, as it cuts across every subject and a wide diet can make such a difference to the boys’ understanding and vocabulary development.
Thursday 25th January AJIS Indoor Athletics, Robin Park, Wigan — all day Beginner Ski Course, 4pm (ski trip attendees only), (collection from Chill Factore 6.30pm/ PR 7pm) LAMDA, 4-5pm, Jujitsu, 4—5.30pm Cubs, 6.30—7.45pm Friday 26th January U11 Boys In2Hockey season 2023/24 Qualifying Tournament, LP (pm) U11 Football vs MGS (A), 12.45—return 4.15pm Fencing, 4-5pm NO WATER POLO
We are aware, of course, that some parents who would have liked to attend were unable to do so on this occasion, so the materials shared during that session will be forwarded to you all for future reference. Next week, we will be holding our annual Book Fair. What better time to support your son in choosing his next great reading adventure? You may have noticed that we are currently advertising for a teacher to join Park Road from April. This vacancy has arisen following Mrs Winstanley’s decision to move to a more flexible working pattern, which will include working with some universities on their initial teacher training programmes. During her time with us, Mrs Winstanley has been very much involved in the development of new and trainee teachers and so I am sure she will be very well suited to this and I am pleased that she will be able to share her considerable expertise and experience with the next generation of educators. Whilst we still have a great deal to continue to enjoy in this academic year, we also must look ahead to the new school year and I am pleased to confirm that I will be remaining in post as Head of Park Road, alongside my role as Head of Primary Division for a further year. I am very pleased that I will be continuing to work so closely with such a talented group of children and staff and, of course, such a supportive group of parents. We are delighted that so many of our boys are able to access a range of after school clubs, however we have noticed a slight increase in the late pick up from such activities. We understand entirely that last minute difficulties might arise but would request that if you are running late for pick up, either after the end of the normal school day or an after school club, please could you make contact with us via the School Office so that we can make the best plan for the circumstances. This is important because the staff covering these activities may need to make changes to their own plans and it also allows us to better support your son as the boys can become quite anxious at finding themselves waiting.
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 8.15am — 4.15pm 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
Monday 29th January U9 Football vs King’s Macc (away), KO 2.30pm Judo, 4-5pm Tuesday 30thJanuary Book Fair in school Y5 & Y6 Helen RutterAuthor Visit, GD Hall Chess, 4-5pm Pickleball, 4-5pm
News from the Park Road PA Travelling Book Fair: will be in school from Tuesday 30th January, at lunchtime and after school. Every book which the boys buy can help us get lots of FREE BOOKS for the Library. If you are able to volunteer to assist with the Fair, please email parkroadpa@gmail.com. All the details of the Fair can be found linked here. WhatsApp — if you would like to join the PA WhatsApp Group to keep up to date with all things PA, please click on the following link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BRtBl8QwJpS9OxpBm3MHDj PA Mailing List — if you would like to be added to the PA mailing list, please get in touch: parkroadpa@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter/X: @BSPDJnrBoysPA
Extra Curricular Activities—Friday 26th January Please note that due to the Year 6 away football fixtures tomorrow, Friday 26th January, there will
Wednesday 31st January Book Fair in school Y3 &Y4 Maths Masterclass, Alderley Edge School (all day) Visit from Edinburgh Academy & football fixtures Swim Development, 4-5pm Cubs, 6.30—7.45pm Thursday 1st February Book Fair in school Y3 &Y4 Science Masterclass, Withington High School (all day) Beginner Ski Course, 4pm (collection from Chill Factore 6.30pm or Park Road 7pm) LAMDA, 4-5pm, Jujitsu, 4—5.30pm Cubs, 6.30—7.45pm
be no water polo training after school on that day. Any Year 6 boys taking part in the In2Hockey qualifying tournament at the Leverhulme Pavilion on the afternoon of Friday 26th will not be expected to attend training after school on this occasion. Training will go ahead for all Year 5 boys (and girls) who would normally attend these sessions.
Winter Weather Please ensure that your son brings a warm, waterproof coat to school with him every day. It is now extremely cold, and very often wet, and we do expect the boys to go outside at break times, so a warm coat is very helpful indeed. Please ensure that the coat is clearly named, as they do all begin to look very similar to each other when we have over two hundred coats in the building! If your son wishes to wear a vest under his shirt, please also ensure this is also named and white.
Visits to Patterdale Hall—Important Dates Please note the date of your son’s visit to Patterdale Hall this year : Year 3:
Thursday 9th to Friday 10th May
Year 4:
Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th May
Year 5:
Monday 20th to Wednesday 22nd May
Year 6:
Monday 29th April to Friday 3rd May.
All visits are compulsory as they form part of your son’s curriculum. An information evening for Year 3 parents and parents of boys new to school this academic year will take place at 7pm on Thursday 14th March — more details will follow nearer the time, as well as a list of kit your son will need for his trip.
February Half Term Holiday Club Please find linked here details of the February half term holiday club run by Kidzone. Book early to avoid disappointment !
January Geography Mission
Make a geographical acrostic poem or rhyming poem!
Acrostic poem:
Rhyming poem:
The vertical left-hand word must relate to a GEOGRAPHICAL topic in the news at the moment.
Create a 10-line poem with every two lines rhyming as shown below. Choose a GEOGRAPHICAL topic in the news or a topic you are studying in class.
From each letter, write a sentence about what is happening in the news at the moment – this must relate to the lefthand vertical word you have chosen!
Could you make both an acrostic AND rhyming poem?
How to submit your poem: Email lgillibrand@boltonschool.org.uk with your submission by Wednesday 31st January at 4pm! PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS! WHO CAN CREATE THE MOST GEOGRAPHICAL AND CREATIVE POEM?
Earthshot Competition 2024 In this morning’s assembly, we launched the Bolton School Earthshot Competition 2024 to all the boys. Details can be found in the Whole School Showbie folder (as well as linked here) and this is where boys should submit their digital entry. The boys heard from Sir David Attenborough championing the thought that we should all be encouraged to rebuild biodiversity wherever and whenever we can. He told us that we should work with nature to make life healthier and happier, not only for ourselves but also for every living creature and plant on the planet. The challenge set for the boys in Earthshot 2024 is to identify an issue that adversely affects biodiversity (close to home or far afield – it doesn’t matter) and to devise a solution to that problem which will have an impact for good. Entries should be in the form of a one page, digital poster which explains in words and images what the problem is and how it can be improved. The poster can be created using any digital medium or on paper with a photograph then being uploaded. The closing date for the competition is 3rd March, after which judging will take place and winners will be announced from across the Foundation. The competition is not compulsory but we hope that lots of boys will be inspired to enter and we look forward to reading the posters. Good luck ! KEW
Tub2Pub Recycling Scheme Calling all chocoholics! Please don’t throw your plastic chocolate tubs away after your Christmas indulgences! Please send them to school to join the growing pile which will make its way to a local Greene King pub at the end of the month as part of the Tub2Pub recycling scheme, which also raises money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Please collect from friends and family too and, hopefully, we can better the total number of tubs collected last year. More information can be found at http://www.tub2pub.co.uk/tub2pub. Thank you ! KEW
Eco Committee News Our fabulous litter pickers spent time clearing litter from Chorley New Road this week. They found fewer items than our previous litter pick but, unfortunately, we are still finding lots of predominantly plastic waste. Please help our environment around school by placing all waste in the bins. SL
News from the Art Room Year 6 artists have been exploring the land art of Andy Goldsworthy this week by creating small sculptures with natural materials. It was great to see some fantastic collaboration between the boys, as well as some great exploratory talk. Boys were saying "what if we tried this?" or “we could do this ?" whilst experimenting and playing with sticks, stones and leaves as sculptural objects. These kind of open-ended, inquisitive tasks are an important part of embedding critical thinking and developing self-directed learners. Well done, boys ! JPM
Winter Illnesses Polite reminder: If your child has a temperature and requires medication to control it, he should not attend school. Children should stay away from school until their temperature has returned to normal for 24 hours without the need for medication. Please follow the NHS guidance below to help reduce the risk of infection to others.