February 2012 School Newsletter

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

Friday 3rd February 2012 DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES Tue 7th Feb Wed 8th Feb Thur 9th Feb Fri 10th Feb

Parent Council Meeting - 2.00 pm Gymnastics Festival for Four Oaks Cluster - 2.30 pm ―Valentines‖ Lunch BREAK UP FOR HALF TERM

Mon 20th Feb Thur 23rd Feb Sat 25th Feb Tue 28th Feb Fri 2nd Mar Mon 5th Mar

Back to School PTFA Meeting – 7.30 pm Community Aspirations Day 10.00 am - 2.00 pm Year 4 Boys and Girls Four Oaks Football Tournament at Four Oaks School Whole School Takeover Day Book Fair Week Parent Council Meeting - 2.00 pm Reception at Birmingham Nature Centre Four Oaks Cluster Cross Country at Hill West - 4.00 pm Parent Consultations KS1 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm KS2 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm Parent Consultations KS2 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm KS1 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm Rabbits‘ Class Assembly – 2.30 pm KS1 hall Rabbits‘ Class Assembly – 2.30 pm KS1 hall Four Oaks Cluster Cross Country at Hill West - 4.00 pm Spring Musical Evening – 7.00 pm KS1 hall Year One out at Conkers PTFA Meeting – 7.30 pm Year 2 visiting the Botanical Gardens Easter Lunch for Parents Barnardo and Gandhi - KS1 hall Easter - Yr 4 Assembly - 2.30 pm Easter Lunch for Parents Mandela and Pankhurst – KS1 hall Easter - Yr 4 Assembly - 2.30 pm Year 4 Football Tournament at Four Oaks Primary School Reception Easter Bonnet Parade—2.30 pm followed by 100% Attendance Assembly Easter Egg Rolling am Easter Egg Hunt pm BREAK UP FOR EASTER HOLIDAY

Tue 6th Mar

Wed 7th Mar Thur 8th Mar Fri 9th Mar Tue 13th Mar Thur 15th Mar Tue 20th Mar Wed 21st Mar Thur 22nd Mar Tue 27th Mar

Wed 28th Mar

Thur 29th Mar Fri 30th Mar

PARKING Parking Enforcement Officers will be patrolling Clarence Road and neighbouring streets in an attempt to improve parking by parents at the start and end of the day.

Some parents are still stopping on School Clearway (zig zags) which is extremely hazardous when children are trying to cross the road.

We have also received a number of complaints regarding parents parking their cars across driveways, preventing residents from being able to leave the house.

Please respect our neighbours and park responsibly.

ATTENDANCE The local authority is taking a very tough line on holidays in term time because of the significant impact such absence has on pupil attainment. They have asked us to promote a strong and consistent message to parents which is:

“Parents who take their children out of school during

term time without the authorisation of the Head Teacher not only damage their children’s educational opportunities but also risk being issued with a penalty notice, being prosecuted in court and losing the children’s place at the school of their preference”

Therefore I urge you to make your requests for leave of absence at least 6 weeks in advance and substantiate your request with valid reasons. I know many of you do this already and would like to thank you for this.

FORTHCOMING PTFA MEETINGS

Thursday 23rd February 7.30 pm Wednesday 21st March 7.30 pm Wednesday 18th April 7.30 pm Monday 14th May 7.30 pm Tuesday 19th June 7.30 pm Tuesday 10h July 7.30 pm Please feel free to come along and join us

PARENT CONSULTATION MEETINGS We are holding parent consultation meetings during the week beginning Monday 5th March.

We look forward to seeing you.

LATE ARRIVALS IN THE MORNINGS Children who arrive too late to line up in the playground with their class MUST report to the school office so that we can put their name on our late list. This enables us to update the class registers so that should there be a fire drill all the children are accounted for.

We would therefore request that parents of KS2 children do no take them to the front entrance of KS2 but bring them to the school office for registration. Similarly, parents of KS1 parents must not go through to the classrooms with their children but must stop and report to the school office.

MILK AND DINNER MONEY FOR NEXT HALF TERM Dinner Money for next half term will be £57.00 up to and including Friday 30th March or £9.50 per week. You will receive a note of any credits owed to you or amounts owed for school meals before we break up. A letter has gone out to all children for you to order milk for next half term. Orders MUST be received by 9th February as we are not able to order extra milk after that date. Please collect a letter from the school office if you have not received one.

NEW INTAKE SEPTEMBER 2012 If you have a child who is due to start school in September 2012 you should by now have returned your preference form to the Admissions and Appeals Office at Birmingham City Council.

WELLY BOOT APPEAL Please can you bring in any unwanted wellington boots for use by our KS1 children when working outside.

If you have not done this please contact the Admissions and Appeals Office on 675 0555 as a matter of urgency

LOST PROPERTY We have an increasing amount of lost property in school, including uniform, water bottles, PE kit and shoes.

With over 400 pupils it is impossible to return items that are not named.

Please ensure that all uniform, shoes, bags, water bottles and lunch boxes have your child’s name clearly written on them if you would like them returned.

This applies to second hand uniform as well, we have a some items labelled with ex-pupils names

All donations gratefully received.

MEDICINES IN SCHOOL Can I take this opportunity to remind parents that all medicines coming into school need to be accompanied by a “Request for School to Administer Medicines” form.

We are only permitted to administer PRESCRIBED medicines that have to be taken FOUR OR MORE times a day.

HELP STILL NEEDED We are still desperately seeking someone to lay the paving slabs which were donated to school.

Your time and skills would be greatly appreciated.

TEACHER DAYS/SCHOOL CLOSURES REMAINING TEACHER TRAINING/ BANK HOLIDAY/ELECTION DATES THIS YEAR Monday 16th April (Training Day) Thursday 3rd May (Local Elections) Monday 7th May (Bank Holiday)

NEXT YEAR’S TEACHER TRAINING DATES

YEAR THREE SWIMMING This year we have six weeks swimming at Wyndley.

We will shortly be sending out further information about which class will be swimming on which days.

Monday 29th October 2012 Monday 7th January 2013 Thursday 28th March 2013 Monday 22nd July 2013 Tuesday 23rd July 2013

Community Aspirations Day Saturday 25th February CALLING ALL EX PUPILS OF HILL WEST PRIMARY SCHOOL Were you a pupil at Hill West or do you know anyone who attended the school? We would like to know what you decided to do after you left school.

Whether you left 10 years or 40 years ago please come and share your experiences with us on Saturday 25th February 2012.

We will be serving coffee, tea and cake and it will give you the opportunity to meet up with old friends. Drop in anytime between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm. We will have a professional photographer on site to make a permanent record of the day.

PERSISTENT LATECOMERS

THANK YOU Thank you to everyone who has been sending their slips and envelopes into school via their children rather than coming straight to the school office. The queues have decreased which means we are able to deal with parents queries quicker.

We have noticed that there are an increasing number of children who are not on the playground before the start of the school day.

We will be writing regularly to the parents of those children in an effort to improve timekeeping

INCLUSION FOCUS The role of the Educational Psychologist in School Educational Psychology is the discipline of observing and helping pupils with difficulties. A school psychologist usually supports those children who have either special educational needs (SEN) or who have behavioural difficulties which do not allow them to interact with their fellow pupils in a manner befitting of their surroundings.

The problem may of course stem from an emotional problem which could be triggered by a traumatic event within the family, such as the death of a loved one or the break up of the family unit. These events are unfortunately very common and therefore are two of the most commonly diagnosed reasons for behavioural and emotional problems within the school environment.

A school psychologist will spend time with a pupil - or group of pupils - and try to establish reasons for their behaviour or their inability to learn. Then once they have established reasons for these problems they will then present their findings to teachers and parents. If you think your child may benefit from such assistance please speak to your child’s class teacher, Mrs Tombs or myself, Miss Clarke

Behaviour Focus: Challenging inappropriate language Sometimes in school children call each other inappropriate names. This is hurtful and can be quite upsetting for the child it is said to. Sometimes these names stem from certain prejudices and refer to children‘s height, weight, hair colour, hygiene or colour of their skin.

Racist language can sometimes be used in Primary School naively e.g. ‗you are black‘ however at other times it can be used in a derogatory manor to offend. This language is challenged immediately and the children are told that what they are saying is ‗racist‘. Homophobic language in Primary Schools is often used to refer to something or someone as inferior. Phrases such as ‗those trainers are gay‘ for example, may be used to insult someone or something, but without referring to actual or perceived sexual orientation. Intervening when young children use homophobic language, including the use of the word gay to mean inferior, creates a school culture where homophobia and homophobic bullying are not tolerated. At Hill West the staff recognise that they have a duty to safeguard the wellbeing of all young people in their care.

Failure to respond to inappropriate name calling can have an impact on pupils‘ confidence and self-esteem, as well as their attainment in school. In the same way that staff at Hill West ALWAYS challenge racist language, staff also feel confident to respond to a range of other inappropriate phrases whenever necessary.

By working together we can reduce the incidents of name calling. Has your child been called inappropriate names or has your child used inappropriate language to others?

EASTER BONNET PARADES RECEPTION CHILDREN ONLY The Reception children will take part in an Easter Bonnet Parade on Thursday 29th March at 2.30pm in the KS1 Hall.

We will be sending out further details nearer the time.

100% ATTENDANCE ASSEMBLIES

Our 100% attendance assemblies will be held at the end of this term on Thursday 29th March.

If your child maintains 100% attendance we will write to you so that you can share in the celebration.

SCHOOL GATES Congratulations to Mrs Willmore who is expecting her first baby. I am sure you will want to share in sending her your best wishes.

Please note that the school gates will be closed each morning from 8.30am to 9.30am and 3.00p m to 4.00pm (as usual) to ensure the safety of pupils arriving to school.

If you require access to the site for a specific reason then please contact the school.

BE ON TIME - TEN TO NINE

NEW: Four Oaks Cluster Training Choir This is a brand new choir which started in January and is open to Years 2, 3 and 4 across the Cluster. It is an exciting opportunity to train up younger children in the Cluster for the main choir, which is open to people in Year 5 upwards. We have had quite a bit of interest so far, but still need more people. If you haven't had a chance to read the letter sent home yet, and would like to enrol your child, please contact Richard Jeffries. I know there are lots of keen and talented singers in many schools - don't miss out!

Email: richmjeffries@googlemail.com or visit the main choir's website for more details: www.fouroaksclusterchoir.weebly.com. The new choir will meet on Fridays from 5.156.15pm at The Arthur Terry School.

Four Oaks Cluster Orchestra This re-launched in January on Fridays at The Arthur terry School from 4pm-5.15pm.

This is a great opportunity for anyone learning an instrument to get to grips with ensemble playing. You will find that their skills will massively improve over the weeks and months! Please contact me if your child used to be in the orchestra, or would like to start for the first time. Pupils must have been playing for at least one year. Contact Richard Jeffries for details. - Email richmjeffries@googlemail.com to register your interest.

Children’s reading group at Mere Green Library

Interested in books?

Aged between 9 and 12?

Would you like to join the library’s children’s reading group which meets on every 3rd Saturday between 2-3pm?

Ask a member of staff for more details or sign-up at the library counter.