Appleshaw News Issue 7

Dear Pupils, Parents, Staff & Governors,

Welcome back to the second half of the summer term; we have some very busy weeks ahead of us!

 Sports Day

Sports Day will be held on Friday June 26th. We look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to school to support and encourage the children on that afternoon. We will begin proceedings at 1.30pm and will aim to finish at around 3pm. We have set a reserve date for the following Friday which hopefully we won’t need!

 

Summer Showcase

We would like to invite all parents, friends and family to school for an evening of entertainment on Friday 10th July. It will serve as an opportunity for all classes to present some of the music they have been learning this term and will culminate with Jupiter Class performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It will be an outdoor performance so please bring blankets and cushions to sit on. We will aim to start at 5pm and will hopefully be finished at around 7pm. We will run a barbeque and there will be other light refreshments available.

 

Yurt

Following the installation and official opening of our new yurt it is now being used on a daily basis for many different purposes. Classes have been using it for reading time, as a base for science learning and for class worship time. We have also used it for small group intervention work. It’s great to have such a brilliant additional space for learning.

 

Tests, Reports and Assessments

This term several year groups have to undertake statutory assessments; for Year R this is their end of Foundation Stage assessments, pupils in Year 1 will be taking the phonics screening check, pupils in Year 2 are in the process of completing tests in reading, writing and maths and pupils in Year 6 have already completed their end of Key Stage 2 tests.  Pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 are also taking part in end of year assessments. The purpose of all of these tests and assessments are to help teachers judge to what extent pupils are ‘meeting expectations’ i.e. have the knowledge and skills that are expected for that year and to then enable effective communication of this to parents. Later on in the term you will receive your child’s annual report which details their successes in learning for this academic year and sets out targets in key areas of learning for next year. I have revamped the report following feedback from last year’s report; I hope it will be informative and will enable productive discussions at Parents’ Evenings which will follow the report.

2015 is the last year in which statutory assessments for Years 2 and 6 will be reported to parents using the system of ‘levels’. Many of you will be used to levels by now and will understand that ‘Level 2’ is broadly what is expected at Year 2 and that ‘Level 4’ is broadly what is expected at Year 6. As I currently understand, from 2016 the results of tests taken in May will be in the form of a ‘scaled’ score. Since September 2014 we have gradually phased out the use of levels in school and from September 2016 will be using a system that is geared towards clearer end of year expectations and progress towards them. During next academic year as information becomes available for schools, but especially for parents of pupils who will be in Year 2 or Year 6 next year I will be arranging meetings for parents whereby this new system of reporting will be explained more clearly.

 

Parent Questionnaire

Each year we seek the views of all parents to help us get a picture of how well we are doing, which in turn helps us identify further areas for improvement. I would be grateful if you could complete the online questionnaire via our website by the 19th June so that we can analyse the results use them to help inform our improvement planning for 2015/16.

The questionnaire can be found on the parents section of the website under ‘Parent Questionnaire 2015’.

Waterloo Theme Week

To help commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo we will be having a theme week during the last full week of term along similar lines to the 1st World War week we had last year. If this is something that you or somebody you know has some expertise in and would like to volunteer in school that week then please let me or your child’s class teacher know.

 

DinoFest

Andover Museum is very excited to announce that on Wednesday 29th July, we will be running a series of workshops with children’s author Paul Stickland! For fans of his work, such as Dinosaur Roar, Ten Terrible Dinosaurs and Swamp Stomp, this is an opportunity not to be missed!

Paul will be running two dynamic, fun and inspiring storytelling events, designed to empower and engage children using some of their favourite subjects, Roaring Dinosaurs and Monster Pop Up Books! 10.30am-11.15am, 11.45am-12.30pm. Only £5.00 per child, and adults get to enjoy the event for free! This event is also suitable for under 5’s. For children who want to have a go at making their own pop-up books, Paul will also be running a Family Pop-Up Book Workshop, from 1.30pm – 3.30pm. £10.00 per child.

To book your place at these events please call Andover Museum on 01264 366283. It is anticipated that these workshops will fill up fast, so please book early to avoid disappointment!

 

School Values

This half term we will be exploring the idea of FELLOWSHIP following our exploration of LOVE over last half term.

 

Entrance Area

Please encourage children to respect the new planters and planting, especially at the end of the school day. We have had to replant some plants this week after they have been pulled out and I ask also that the planters are used for seating and not for climbing on.

 

Warmer Weather

Could you please consider sending your child(ren) into school with a hat and to ensure that they have a water bottle that can be refilled during the school day. You may also want to apply sun cream later on in the term when the weather really warms up.

 

Diary Dates

I have updated the website with the dates as they exist for the coming weeks but please find below a hard copy of the dates for your reference. Please remember that a good way to keep in touch with what is going on in class and at school is via the blogs (it’s free to sign up – please see me or Mrs Granger in the school office if you need help with this http://www.appleshawschool.com/page/?title=Social+Media&pid=9) and by downloading the ‘News and Events App’ (http://www.appleshawschool.com/page/?title=News+%26+Events+App&pid=64).

 

10/06/2015 Saturn Class visit to the Roman Baths
08/06/2015 Bags2School Collection
15/06/2015 Phonics Screening Week for Year 1 pupils
15/06/2015 PTA Wrap-up on Mon/Tues/Weds at lunchtime for Father’s Day
16/06/2015 Wellington Academy Taster Day for Year 5 pupils
20/06/2015 Joint Pippins and Appleshaw PTA Race Night
21/06/2015 PTA event: Thruxton Sponsored Lap
22/06/2015 Mars and Venus Class visit to Marwell Zoo
26/06/2015 Sports Day 1.30pm – 3.00pm (reserve day 3rd July)
30/06/2015 Transition Afternoon for new Year R pupils and Years 1-6
01/07/2015 Jupiter Class visit to Salisbury Museum
02/07/2015 Year 6 visit to Winchester Cathedral
03/07/2015 Annual Reports home to parents
06 & 07/07/2015 Parents Evenings
07/07/2015 Transition Afternoon
10/07/2015 Summer Showcase & A Midsummer Night’s Dream
13/07/2015 ‘Waterloo’ Theme Week
14/07/2015 Transition Afternoon
16/07/2015 PTA Disco 6.00pm – 7.30pm
17/07/2015 Day Closure for staff training
22/07/2015 Last day of term

One thought on “Appleshaw News Issue 7

  1. Year 5 taster day at Test Valley School is on 22nd June. Places are limited and they have to be booked online via Test Valley website.

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