March 2015 www.westpark.hartlepool.sch.uk - our school website DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 13th March - Red Nose Day 27th March to 13th April - Easter Holidays 13th April - Y2 Teacher Assessment Half Term (the Y2 children will be assessed by their class teacher throughout this half term). 4th May - Bank Holiday 11th May- Y6 SATs week 18th May - Assessment Week (Y1, Y3, Y4, Y5) 25th May to 1st June - Half Term 15th to 19th June - Y1 / 2 Phonics Screening 6th July to 10th July - Olympic Legacy Activity Week 8th July (pm) - Key Stage 1 Sports Day 9th July (pm) - Key Stage 2 Sports Day 17th July - School closes for the Summer Holidays. Thursday 5th September - School re-opens for 2015 / 2016 school year.
Academy Status - 1st March It might seem that nothing much has changed as far as the children and parents are concerned, but we are now an Academy School. We are still “West Park Primary School” but we are now part of the AdAstra Academy Trust. The biggest change which we will see in the months ahead is the access to support and enhanced services for staff and pupils. Note the AdAstra, logo which was designed with the support of Michael Armstrong, Zac Shears, Amelia Bradley, Heidi Sinclair and Kate Davison. Well done to the team :) RED NOSE DAY
West Park School will be supporting Comic Relief next Friday with a variety of fun activities planned. The children will be asked to bring in a coin as a donation, it will be a non-uniform day and the children can “make their face funny for money!” More details will follow in a Red Nose Day Information letter to parents out next week.
World Book Day
World Book Day was recognised in school with activities which were thoroughly enjoyed across the school. It was great to see so many of the children’s favourite books with them in school. This successful day also allowed staff to emphasise the importance of reading in school and what an enjoyable pastime reading can be.
Water Bottles Could I remind parents that we encourage children to bring water bottles into school. As the weather improves, the children benefit from access to a drink at their desk.
Y6 Transition If your child has accepted a place at High Tunstall, Dyke House or St Hilds the transition this year will be for the final two weeks of term, with children attending their chosen secondary school full time from 6th July. We are expecting more information to follow shortly but I would like to reassure parents that all end of term events involving our leavers will go ahead as normal.
Parent Gardening Team We are looking for volunteers to work with our parent gardening team. The team come in for one afternoon per week, to work with the children in the school gardens and small allotments planting flowers and vegetables. It would be wonderful if we could increase the numbers allowing more children to take part in the activities. If you are interested in joining this group please contact Mrs Watt through our school office.
Book Amnesty and Donations At times during the school year it seems clear that children have left reading books at home; shelves at school have become a little bare! If you have any school reading books at home, could you return them as soon as possible with your child or to the school office. If you have any unwanted reading books at home, would you consider donating these to our libraries if they are in good condition? It would be very much appreciated.
Friends of West Park School The Friends of West Park School provide an invaluable service to the children at our school. The group is mostly current parents, but we have also seen grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends providing wonderful support. The funds raised by this small group make a huge difference to the children at West Park. I have tried to highlight below, some of the schemes they have supported and resources they have purchased for us, but there are literally too many to mention:
Would you be interested in joining the FWPS? It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment. I meet with the group around once per term for an informal meeting which is a pleasant get together (I usually ask them to spend some of their money on our requests!!) Events are planned and actions are shared, in line with the time available to the members of the group. I am sure that it is most rewarding when these dedicated parents see our children benefit from their fund-raising efforts. If you are interested in joining please contact the school and we will forward your details to the FWPS. Our new admin email is: school.admin@westparkschool.org.uk