April 2012 School Newsletter

Clarence Road, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B74 4LD Telephone: 0121 308 5392 Fax: 0121 308 5061

Tuesday 17th April 2012 DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES Tue 17th Apr Wed 18th Apr Thur 19th Apr Mon 23rd Apr Tue 1st May Wed 2nd May Thur 3rd May Mon 7th May Tue 8th May Wed 9th May Fri 11th May Mon 14th May Tue 15th May Thur 17th May Fri 18th May Sun 20th may Thur 24th May Wed 30th May Thur 31st May Fri 1st June

Mon 11th June

Four Oaks Youth Meeting 4pm at Cluster Hub PTFA Meeting – 7.30 pm Dental checks for 5 year olds Year 5 and 6 Girls Football after school Year 5 at Bockleton all week Cross Country at Bishop Vesey - 4.00 pm Parent Council Meeting - 2.00 pm SCHOOL CLOSED FOR LOCAL ELECTIONS BANK HOLIDAY SCHOOL CLOSED Class and Team Photographs Squirrels Class Assembly - 2.30pm Squirrels Class Assembly - 2.30 pm KS2 SATs WEEK PTFA Meeting – 7.30 pm “Italian” Lunch Moles Class Assembly – 2.30 pm Moles Class Assembly - 2.30 pm PTFA Fun Run Year 6 Parents meeting - Sex, Relationship Education WHOLE SCHOOL JUBILEE CELEBRATION DAY Hares Class Assembly – 2.30 pm Cluster Rounders’ Tournament for Year 3 at Hill West - 4.00 pm Hares Class Assembly – 2.30 pm BREAK UP FOR HALF TERM Children Back to School

ARTHUR TERRY YEAR 6 TRANSFER Over the last couple of years we have had a small number of parents and children who have been very disappointed that they have not been allocated places at The Arthur Terry Secondary School.

Fortunately this has not happened this year. When it has however, it has often come as quite a shock and so we thought that we should bring this to your attention. The catchment area distance changes each year and is due to changes in birth rates and the number of children eligible for transfer to Arthur Terry living in close proximity.

Birmingham City Council is responsible for calculating these distances.

The distance for children starting in September 2012 was 1930 metres The distance for children starting in September 2011 was 1633 metres We hope you find this information useful and will be able to use it as a guide when thinking about secondary transfer.

Behaviour Focus - Personal Presentation At present, in school we are encouraging the children to take pride in their appearance, believing that this will also impact on the children’s pride in their work. An ancient eastern proverb says: "The clothing of a man is his smile. The steps of a man reveals who he is. " Although the image or personal appearance of our children have little or nothing to do with their abilities or intentions, it is essential that they learn to begin paying attention to the way they present themselves. This will be a vital skill later in life.

We know that you send your child to school dressed smartly and we are endeavouring to ensure that they return home to you in the same fashion. All children are asked to make sure that their shirts are tucked into their trousers or skirts at the start of the day and remain like this until home-time. We would be grateful if you would support us in this.

Our aim is to be an outstanding school and outstanding schools need to address all aspects of their work including how they present themselves to the community at large.

If you have any questions about this policy then please do not hesitate to talk to your child’s class teacher.

School Meals

NATIONAL DAY OF SPORT

Please note that the amount due for next half term will be £64.00.

This is calculated at the new rate of £2.00 per day as advised in last month’s newsletter.

If you would like to pay weekly then the rate is £10.00 per week.

We are holding Sports Day on Monday 25th June this year to conincide with London 2012 World Sports Day. Children from all over the country will take part in sporting events to celebrate the Olympic Games.

KS2 - 9.30am KS1 - 1.15pm Advance warning - your child will need to wear a house coloured t-shirt once again.

School Uniform Grants Sun Cream And Sun Hats

Due to the warmer weather, we would like to ask parents to apply ’once only’ sunscreen to children before school. Children should bring a hat when necessary and should make sure that they have their water bottle too.

Application forms for school uniform grants are available this week. Sutton Coldfield Municipal Charities who administer the grants will, however, need all forms back in by 23rd April at the latest.

Please collect your copy from the display stand in reception or contact the school office for further details.

SCHOOL CLOSED Thursday 3rd May for Local Elections and Monday 7th May for Bank Holiday

Spare Clothing for KS1

If you have any unwanted school uniform, especially trousers, skirts or pants, please could you donate them to school.

If your child has borrowed any spare clothing could you please return it to school for others to use.

NEWSLETTER

In a bid to reduce costs and become more environmentally friendly we will no longer be providing paper copies of the newsletter as a matter of routine.

The newsletter will continue to be emailed to you and is available to view on our website (www.hillwest.bham.sch.uk).

Anyone who does not have access to view the newsletter on line is welcome to collect a copy from the display stand in the school office reception area.

If you would like to receive the newsletter, and other correspondence electronically then please contact the school office or collect a Parentmail form to enable us to enter your email details and include you with the majority of families who now receive information this way.

Congratulations!

BOCKLETON

On Saturday 17th March one of our parents, Mr Andrew Lawrie, arranged a collection in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.The collection took place at The Mall in Sutton Coldfield and several of our pupils volunteered to play their instruments, which they did, magnificently. The amount raised came to a stunning ÂŁ875.00.

Congratulations to all those involved, including: Ariane Moore, Rachel Moore, Remi Preece, Grace Burns, Sophie Tandy-Gordon, Emily Hyde and Imogen Lawrie.

The departure date is fast approaching and April 23rd can’t come fast enough for the pupils and staff attending the study centre this year.

We are fortunate to be joined by some students from The Arthur Terry School who will be helping the children over the fun packed week.

We hope everyone has a super time!

INCLUSION FOCUS As you are aware our SENCO is Mrs Tombs. She is also the Assistant Head Teacher with responsibility for Inclusion. Therefore if you would like any support in regard to special educational needs or Inclusion please feel free to contact her directly.

Mrs Tombs as Assistant Head works very closely with myself and Miss Marsh the Deputy Head to ensure the effective day-to-day management of the school. Our other leadership team members consist of ; Mrs Nichola Leeson - Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning Mrs Pardo - Enjoyment and Enrichment Manager Mrs Willmore - Basic Skills Manager Mr George - Strategic Achievement Manager Together we form a cohesive team to ensure that the needs of all the children in our care are met effectively. The aim of inclusion is to embrace all of our families irrespective of race, gender, disability, medical, behavioural or other need. It is about giving equal access and opportunities and getting rid of discrimination and intolerance (removal of barriers). It affects all aspects of school life.

CLIMBING FRAMES We would like to ask that NO children use the climbing frames on the school site before or after school, including siblings.

FOUR OAKS MINI SOCCER The Four Oaks Boys Club are holding weekly training sessions for boys and girls ages 4 to 9 years of age on Saturdays from 12th May. Held at Hill West and running for 6 weeks the sessions will cost £15.00 (the first one is free) and the aim is to create three new footbal teams—U7s, U8’s and U9’s, to start in the 2012/13 season.

To register please see the website: www.fouroaksboys.co.uk or call Steve Pugh 07968 807376 or Paul Maguire 07958 072853

May we please ask that parents do not park or drive their cars on to the school drive at any time.

If you have a disability, please speak to the Head Teacher to request permission to drive on to the site.

SCOOTERS AND BIKES May we please remind you that scooters and bikes should not be ridden either down the school driveway or in the KS1 playground.

Please can you monitor your child and any siblings to prevent accidents from occurring.

Many thanks for your cooperation.

PARENT’S EVENING RESPONSES The parent feedback from our March 2012 parent consultations was extremely positive with everyone commenting favourably on the new format. Thank you if you were one of the parents who expressed a view.

You were particularly pleased that the book fair was organised to coincide with your visits; that you were able to see your child’s books and you felt the teachers had a good understanding of your child’s strengths and weaknesses and shared this with you.

We aim to take on board all aspects of the feedback we received, and look forward to seeing as many parents as possible at future consultations.

DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW HILL WEST PRIMARY SCHOOL ON TWITTER

Welcome Back Mrs Munro Mrs Munro returns from maternity leave this week and we hope you will all join us in welcoming her back.

She will be working Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and will be responsible for the teaching of specialist Art lessons.

PING AND PONG, OUR CHICKENS, NEED SOMEONE TO PUT THEM TO BED ON SUNDAY EVENINGS. THIS IS NOT AN ONEROUS TASK AND ONLY INVOLVES GETTING THEM INTO THEIR SLEEPING COMPARTMENT AT DUSK. IF THERE ARE ANY EGGS YOU WOULD, OF COURSE, BE VERY WELCOME TO HAVE THEM IF YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP PLEASE LET MRS BALLA KNOW

PTFA Fun Run The PTFA Fun Run will be held this month on Sunday 20th May at Sutton Park - Jamboree Stone at 10:30am. On the day entries will be £10.00 for the 10K run and £5.00 for the 4K run and will close at 10:15am. You may also pick up an entry form from the display stand outside the school’s office or from the school website.

As yet the PTFA have not received many entries from school and so we are hoping to promote the event for them in assemblies over the coming weeks. We would love to see as many families there as possible as it is sure to be a very good morning. Please don’t feel you have to run, many of our families decide to walk the 4k course and everyone on completion gets a medal for participation. The children who take part really do feel a sense of achievement afterwards and we will celebrate this in assembly on Monday 21st May. Good luck to all those taking part! I hope to congratulate you all on the finishing line.

BE ON TIME

10 TO 9

TRIPS AND VISITS STILL TO COME

10th May 29th May 21st June 11th July

Year 4 Kingsbury Water Park Year 2 Warwick Castle Year 5 Space Centre Reception Twycross Zoo

Congratulations to Mrs Tombs who was married during the school holiday. We are sure you will join with us in wishing her and her husband a very long and happy life together. She will now be known as Mrs Hull.

YEAR THREE SWIMMING Year Three classes have been swimming each day at Wyndley Leisure Centre since the beginning of March.

Congratulations to all children who have now learnt to swim 25 metres and to those who have improved their skills.

Further swimming lessons are available at the following locations: Wyndley Leisure Centre 0121 464 7743 Sutton Dolphins 07525 205052 S4 Swim School 0121 374 2109

LUNCH BOXES We strongly advise you to include an ice block in your child’s lunchbox, especially during the warm summer months.

AGREED TEACHER TRAINING DAYS for 2012-2013 Monday 29th October 2012 Monday 7th January 2013 Thursday 28th March 2013 Monday 22nd July 2013 Tuesday 23rd July 2013

Jubilee Celebrations Day— Wednesday 30th May On Wednesday 30th May we will be holding a Royal themed afternoon in honour of HRM the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. During the afternoon children will be involved in various activities including: kite flying, a carnival parade, a treasure hunt and making thrones and royal memorabilia.

All children can come to school wearing red white and blue, and a themed lunch will also be available. If you do not wish your child to take part in any of these activities, then please put this in writing to your child’s class teacher.