Week Ending 10th May 2019
This week, the following children have received a Head Teacher’s Award:
Red 1 - Harri - For amazing independent work when drawing and labelling a bean plant. Her confidence is growing all the time and a love of writing is developing.
Green 1 - George P and Ethan P - For producing great pieces of writing, which reflect improved presentation, maturity and adventurous vocabulary choices.
Green 2 - Dagmara - For such progress in sentence formation, handwriting and vocabulary due to her fantastic attitude to learning.
Green 2 - Abigail, Ava, Freddie, William, Ted, Theo and Emily - For their superb focus and effort when retelling the 'Great Kapok tree' story. They all used ambitious vocabulary, paraghraphs, careful checking and even inverted commas...WOW!
Blue 1 – Jack – for the exceptional level of passion, drive and commitment he is showing towards his work every day. A HUGE improvement to attitude towards school life. Well done, Jack!
Indigo 1 – Jasmine – For her focus when producing such precise and detailed levels of research when finding out about key facts and figures regarding World War 2.
Indigo 1 – Kieran – For the incredible effort he has taken to produce a stunning custom-designed newspaper report on the evacuees.
Current attendance results are as follows:
Red 2, Green 1 and Indigo 2 all gained 100% attendance
Weekly update…
A very productive week in school and everyone really thriving in their new topics.
This week, we had the Nottinghamshire Sports Hall Athletics Finals to compete in, and it really was a huge step up in quality. We were against the best Nottinghamshire had to offer - the seven other district champions from the local events held last month.
Our school were an absolute credit in terms of the effort and drive shown in every event, plus how well they supported each other along the way. We managed to get a few 2nd and 3rd place finishes in some big races and we finished in a very respectable 6th place (out of all schools in Nottinghamshire)!
Year 2 have started their assessments for their end of year 2 teacher assessments and they are doing a smashing job. They do their tests over a three week period and at this age, we make the children feel as comfortable as possible and we try not to use the ‘SATs’ word. They do the very best that they can and we are proud of their efforts and work so far.
As for the year 6’s, it’s a little different and much more formal. Their SATs start next week and we wish them the very best of luck as they have worked so hard. I wrote to them today and I really hope that they ‘take note’ of my key messages:
10th May 2019
Re: SATs good luck!
Dear Year 6 Pupils,
As you are all aware, next week is going to be a busy week due to your SAT tests in spelling, grammar, punctuation, reading and maths. I know how hard you have all worked, and I know that results mean a lot to you all. However, I just want you all to do your best and achieve what you can next week.
The SAT tests do not assess everything that you can do. They also do not look at what makes each of you special and unique. The people who design these tests, and then mark them to give you a judgement grade, do not know you personally as we do (including your family). Therefore, I feel there is something I should share with you.
The tests do not take into consideration if you can play a musical instrument or sing a solo in front of a crowd. They do not allow your natural talents to shine. They do not celebrate the fact that you may be able to speak in two languages, compete in competitions and win medals, sign for professional football clubs or have the potential to be an Olympic athlete. They do not give you extra marks for your kindness and manners and the ability to have empathy for others. They don’t acknowledge how thoughtful you are and the fact that you always work hard and try your very best. They do not take into account that some people take a little longer to process information and the fact that you may have some battles currently in your life.
What the tests do is measure the success of the school based on how you are able to perform in a test on a set day in a set subject. They do tell us something and it’s important that you do the very best you can, but they just don’t tell us everything about you. They show us how much progress you have made since your time in year 2 and how well you can tackle tests at pace. They do not tell me how ‘smart’ you all are as you are all smart in different ways. Over the weekend, think about all the ‘smart’ things you can do and remind yourself that they are important too, and that those things make you, you! SATS do not celebrate the amazing, unique, and awesome things that you can do.
All being said, do your best and go and shine next week to the best of your abilities. I am so proud of you ALL already for your commitment, drive, perseverance, determination and battling through the hard work, challenges and pitfalls.
Now is the time to rest, sleep, believe and … ‘Paint your OWN rainbow!’
Good luck, guys!
Mrs Bates
To end the week with good news, I would also like to congratulate Miss Atamaniuk as she enters her journey into motherhood. She is expecting her first child in October, and we wish her all the love and luck throughout her pregnancy. Staffing news regarding her maternity cover will be shared during the next half term.
Have a great weekend everyone…and let’s wish all of our year 2 and year 6 children lots of luck for the assessments due next week.
Warm regards,
Michelle Bates
Head Teacher