Simon Balle All-through School Larch Newsletter SPRING TERM
27.2.19
Message from the Headteacher I do hope that everyone has managed to get a break over the past week and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. With just six weeks now until we break up for Easter (Friday 5th April) the seasons are rushing by. The main purpose of this newsletter is one of reminders to parents. Uniform Can I please remind parents of the uniform rules as we are starting to see some variations. We are also slightly adding to some of the previous rules to be inline with our secondary students. Girls should be wearing white socks or bottle green tights with black leather or patent shoes. Boys should be wearing black trousers and black leather shoes. No child should have transfers/ tattoos on them. Nail varnish is not allowed and no jewellery other than a pair of small studded earrings and a watch. Girls should wear only green coloured accessories.
Inside this issue:
Dates for the Diary
2
From the Library
3
PSA News
3&4
Other Information 5 & 6
Coats should not have large logos on them and should not be leather or denim. Hoodies are not allowed. We need to explain again the haircut policy. Boys must not have shaved hairstyles, nor lines or patterns cut into their hair. Hair should be one natural colour and the minimum length acceptable is a 'number 3'. Long hair should be tied back. ALL CLOTHES SHOULD BE CLEARLY NAMED. We have a significant amount of school uniform, hats and gloves that we cannot return to children as the items are not named. Please go to reception and ask Mrs Harding if you have lost anything. All named clothing is automatically returned to children once it is found. Homework
Starting this Friday, we are now setting homework for most children in Years 1-3 on Go4Schools. When a child requires a personalised task which better meets their learning needs, this will be stuck in to the homework book as normal. Teachers will upload the homework task(s) by Friday of each week for every class and the date it is due to be handed in will also be indicated on Go4Schools. Parents will be able to log in and access the homework. All work should still be completed in the homework book unless indicated.
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Continued. Reception homework will continue to be stuck in to the book at the moment but the homework will also be posted on Go4Schools in colour, plus any additional supporting documents when appropriate. Please contact the class teacher in the first instance if you have difficulties accessing the homework, but for parents who have forgotten their log in, please use the forgotten your password feature on the website as teachers will not be able to help. Absence Procedure If a child is absent parents/carers must: Telephone the school as soon as possible, preferably before 09.00am, on each day of the absence leaving your name, your child’s name and form and reason for absence. The main school number is 01992 410400 Save evidence in the form of appointment cards, prescriptions or referral letters should they be required at a later date. From time to time, parents may need to ask for special leave of absence, which is known in advance (not funerals). Please do not email teachers, or phone in to request this. Could all parents, including those in the Larch Centre, please complete the on line request form. Holidays are usually not agreed to, in accordance to the UK educational law.
Dates for your diary Wednesday 27 February Primary Dance festival Monday 4 March Manic Ceramics please see PSA news for details Thursday 7 March World Book Day Saturday 9 March Big Band evening Monday 11 March Reception parents meeting 3:30-6:60pm Wednesday 13 March Reception parents meeting 3:30-6:30pm Friday 15 March Red Nose Day Tuesday 19 March Y2 SATS presentation 3:30pm - details to follow Saturday 23 March Strings and sing evening Friday 29 March Reception & KS1 Disco Saturday 30 March Green Fingers tidy up of the Larch Garden 9-11am Quiz Night 7pm Thursday 4 April Y2 Windsor Castle Trip Thursday 4 April Y1 parents assembly, parents welcome 2:30pm Friday 5 April End of term (early finish) Tuesday 23 April Term starts
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From the Library... To mark World Book Day on Thursday 7th March students in Reception to Year 9 are being sent home with a £1 book token. If any older student would like a token please call into the main Library. The tokens are valid from 28thFebruary – 31st March (inclusive). There are some specially produced books priced £1, available at participating bookshops, and we will have some copies of these available for loan in our two libraries shortly. The tokens can also be used against other books or audio books worth £2.99 or more. Further details are available at www.worldbookday.com Please note that this year students will not be dressing up on World Book Day. Many thanks for all the amazing entries that are coming into Primary Reception (Mrs Harding) for their WBD Photographic Competition - please remember the closing date is this Friday 1st March at 9am. Winners will be announced on World Book Day. Thank you for your support.
PSA News We are delighted to announce that we have booked a Mothers Day visit from Manic Ceramics on Monday 4th of March at 3.15pm. This pottery painting session will provide children from all year groups with the opportunity to create a lovely bespoke jug or bowl with a design pre planned by Manic Ceramics. The session will be run by staff from Manic Ceramics with additional support from school. (We really do need parents to volunteer so please if you can help out get in touch via “volunteer" on the website or email penny@simonballepsa.org.uk) The cost of the session is £13.00 per item with a significant percentage of this going into the school funds. Bookings for this event can be made via the PSA website and will promptly close on 28th February. This is to allow Manic Ceramics to prepare the correct number of items. Please note, orders can not be processed after 28th and spaces are limited. We hope that this is something your child will enjoy. The more children that have a go – the more funds can be raised for the Simon Balle. If your child would like to participate, please purchase your ticket online by 28th Feb 2019 via: www.simonballepsa.org.uk If your child would normally attend Play Aloud, please let them know if you book the ceramics session. Any children who would usually be collected from Play Aloud after 4/4.15pm will be returned to Play Aloud when the ceramics session has ended for pick up as normal. We expect the session to end around 4pm if one item is painted or 4.15pm if two items are painted - you can indicate choice on the order form. Choir will run as usual on Monday 4th, children can choose to attend either as normal or can be booked on to the ceramics session.
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PSA News
SIMON BALLE ALL-THROUGH SCHOOL
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Mangrove Drive We have received complaints from residents in Mangrove Drive. This is a private road (the sign is due to be replaces shortly) and parents should not park there. Please be considerate to our neighbours and use the park and stride. Thanks you for your co-operation. Design Museum announces Simon Balle school as 2018-19 Design Ventura Winners Six students from Simon Balle All-through School are the overall winners of this year’s Design Ventura, the annual national design and enterprise challenge, run by the Design Museum in partnership with Deutsche Bank’s youth engagement programme, Born to Be. The winning product concept Hit Snap is a game which aims to encourage everyone to do more exercise. The Simon Balle team will work with the Design Museum and creative professionals to develop their product and launch it for sale in the Design Museum shop in June with profits going to the school’s chosen charity. Since 2010 Design Ventura has helped over 75,000 students to develop design, enterprise and employability skills, as well as raising over £10,000 for charities chosen by Design Ventura winning teams. The winning team from Simon Balle All-Through School, Billy, Loui, Ross, Bailey, Fynn, and Dan, with their teacher Jack Andrews, joined the judging panel, led by Sebastian Conran, at the Design Museum in Kensington on 13 February for an exhibition and VIP reception to celebrate the achievements of all ten shortlisted teams. Design Ventura’s real-life design brief calls for teams to research and consider the needs of one of three target audiences; adult design enthusiasts, young people and students, or families. Students must consider how their product will complement others on sale in the Museum shop, sustainability, the ease of the manufacturing process and budget. Addressing the brief, the Simon Balle team considered rising obesity rates among young people and the need for everyone to take more exercise. This led to their concept for a game that can be played by a range of ages and would complement other products in the Museum shop. Jack Andrews, Lead Teacher of Design & Technology, at Simon Balle All-Through School, recognises the skills that students have gained through Design Ventura. ‘Being able to design is an excellent skill but being able to see value in ideas and create viable business models and account for stakeholder needs will allow young people to have an impact in the economy and potentially start their own companies and businesses.’ He added, ‘Design Ventura gives me the means to enthuse them [students] at the beginning of their GCSE and an amazing sense of pride when they succeed. But teaching isn’t just about GCSE results, it’s providing the most meaningful learning experiences possible and Design Ventura helps to facilitate this.’
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Design Museum announces Simon Balle school as 2018-19 Design Ventura Winners Nicole Lovett, Deutsche Bank’s UK Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, commented, ‘The creative industries are likely to be creating 1,000 jobs a week in the UK that are highly skilled and resilient to automation*. Design Ventura offers students the opportunity to engage with the industry and an early insight into business. The skills they gain open career pathways and contribute to longer-term community sustainability as well as economic growth.’ 2018-19 winning teams are:
Simon Balle All-Through School, Hertfordshire, overall winner, for Hit Snap, a version of the game Snap in which the opponent must perform the exercise on the card when there is a matched card
East Barnet, London - second place
Horsforth School, West Yorkshire - third place
Weydon School, Surrey - commended
Gilliots School, Oxfordshire - commended