NEWSLETTER TERM 4 2016 W E L C O M E TO TERM 4 Welcome back for Term 4. Term 4 promises to be a very busy one with a lot to fit in to a short space of time (5 weeks) but we are all looking forward to our lovely story-based Learning Journey, Bookworms. Thank you to all parents and carers for your continued support this term, we couldn t reach for the stars without you! Learning News! As may many of you know, a new curriculum was introduced for primary schools last year designed to teach less but to a level of mastery to ensure that what had been learnt lasts more than just for that lesson. The Government withdrew the testing system with Levels at the beginning of this school year. So, schools across the country are teaching without a clear idea of what the expected standards in each year group are. South Malling decided this was not good enough so the School has devised its own system for dividing up the curriculum into manageable and measurable sections. Called Learning Links, this is a more precise tool for delivering the curriculum and then measuring the progress and attainment of children. Mr Beattie has worked with the teachers and with the encouragement of the senior leaders to breakdown the curriculum for English and Maths and has then created a programme to analyse pupil s results. Many parents attended a briefing on the new system earlier in the year, and Learning Links has been the main item on the agenda of Staff Meetings. It is greatly to the credit of the School that they have recruited and encouraged able and motivated teachers to take this initiative. Whilst Mr Beattie has done the lion s share of the development work, the whole staff have been engaged in testing and implementing the scheme. Other schools in East Sussex have expressed an interest in adopting the same scheme It is no surprise that an educational publisher has now expressed an interest in exploiting Learning Links elsewhere. Thanks and congratulations to all concerned for putting South Malling on the map nationally. John Stockdale, Lead Governor for Learning Fund raising news It is Sport Relief Day on Friday 18th March. Look out for more information in class newsletters on the events that we will be holding to raise money for charity on the day. Congratulations to Elizabeth and Megan in Lemon Leopards who raised 166.33 for the RSPB on their fabulous Birdwatch day. Attendance and Punctuality A HUGE well done to Shelley in Gold Giraffes for receiving the most improved attendance award at the end of Term 3. Also, congratulations to the 49 children who have had 100% attendance since September. Hooray! Another HUGE well done must go to Bradley H in Gold Giraffes & Dominic in Lemon Leopards whose punctuality has improved greatly during Term 3. Keep it up for Term 4!
Making Music at South Malling Music Mondays Since the launch of our Music Mondays we have seen some exciting musical performances showcasing the talents of existing musicians and providing opportunities for every child to experience and enjoy music making within the school community. The Key Stage Two, Monday morning assemblies play host to Music Mondays. Each week a child, or group of children, prepares a programme of music to play as the juniors file in to assembly. The musicians have very much enjoyed having the opportunity to perform to a live audience and the children attending assembly have listened attentively and respectfully to their peers. If your child is fairly proficient on their instrument and would like to gain performance experience, then they can perform at the Monday morning Key Stage Two assembly, led by Mrs O Donoghue. Contact Miss O Neill and she can allocate you a Monday morning spot! Spring Performances This term the Blue Birds, will be preparing and rehearsing for their performances on Wednesday 23rd(2.15pm)March. We are planning to bring you a literarybased feast of poetry, music and creativity. Watch this space! We will also be holding our Easter Services at South Malling Church on 24th March. The children will perform Easter songs, readings and reflections on the Easter story. Guitar Group This term we are thrilled to welcome back Miss Matthews who leads Guitar Club. This club will start up again on Wednesday lunchtimes at 12:50. Guitar Club is for Years Four to Six and anyone can come along, but you will need your own guitar. Instrumental lessons Cello and violin lessons are available in school and are provided by specialist instrumental teachers from East Sussex Music Service. Individual and group lessons are available; the cost of group lessons being shared by the participants. Families on a low income are eligible for a reduction in the cost of the lessons and the cost of instrument hire. If you are interested in finding out more or registering your child for instrumental lessons, please follow this link: https:// new.eastsussex.gov.uk/educationandlearning/music/musiclessons-at-school/ Ukulele Club In Term 3, Miss O Neill started a ukulele club for Year Three to Six, ably assisted by Malakai from the Blue Birds. The group meet on Wednesday lunchtimes at 12:50 in the ICT suite and it is free of charge. You don t need your own ukulele as we have some in the school, so come and give it a go if you are interested
LOOKING FORWARDS TO TERM 4 Week beginning 29th February 2016 Each year South Malling School celebrates World Book Day. Reading is important all year round but the children really enjoy having a week with some special events to look forward to. All week Grandparents are invited to come to school daily from 2.50pm to read to children. Friday 4th March 2016 - special events: Children are invited to dress as their favourite book character and to also bring the book that the character comes from. Drop Everything and Read During the day a bell will ring and everyone will stop and read. Also it would be great if you could email pictures to the school office when you have Caught Your Child Reading in unusual places! (office@southmalling.e-sussex.sch.uk for the attention of Nicola Geering). We can share these at a whole school assembly. Parents/Carers invited to come to school from 2.45pm to read with their child or to small groups of children. Perhaps you have a favourite story you would like to share to pass on to the next generation of readers? The children will look forward to sharing their stories with you too! A letter has been sent home separately giving fuller details about these events. Please do look on the school s website to view our entry to the World Book Day Competition. We are so proud of this video please keep your fingers crossed that the judges for this competition think so too! Results announced on the 3rd March. What s on this term? Our school Learning Journey Bookworms is, as the name suggests a literary theme focusing on reading, writing, design, art and most importantly, storytelling. We will be hosting a story reading afternoon with parents, the Year 3 class will perform their version of the Iron Man and there will be a shared reading session where paired classes come and share the books they have made with each other. Red Rabbits: Who has been eating my Porridge? (traditional tales) Gold Giraffes: I m the King of the Castle (traditional tales of princes and princesses) Turquoise Tigers: Eggstravaganza (hatching chicks and the story of the Dinosaur Egg) Blue Birds: The Iron Man Lemon Leopards and Lions: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (making a popup book) Jade Jaguars : Roald Dahl (making books with digital art work) Purple Penguins & Purple Polar Bears: Kensuke's Kingdom (extending narratives) Our star value and assembly theme this term is Compassion We will also be discussing developing a Growth Mindset and how this is important to our learning. AUTISM AWARENESS WEEK: 14th 18th March we be focusing on autism and other potential barriers to learning in our assemblies this week. If you feel able to contribute in any way, please contact Annie Schulte.
Admin information and reminders: Holidays As I am aware that many people like to book their holidays in advance please find the term dates for next school year attached. A reminder that, following a change in the law, I no longer have the ability to authorise holidays at any point in the school year. As a result of this, all requests for holiday absence during term time will be recorded as unauthorised absence, and may result in the Local Authority issuing a fine. Please keep this in mind when booking holidays for next year, and let me know if you have any questions. Parent child-teacher consultations The children, parents and teachers continue to give positive feedback on the parent child teacher consultations which involve the children from Years 3-6 in the consultations. We will be repeating the process this term (week 2) so you can get an update on your child s progress. Please sign up for an appointment with your child s teacher and your child to discuss their progress and the next steps in their learning. It was wonderful that we had 99% attendance at the last meetings and we hope to make E-Safety Children can interact with each other in more and more ways through the Internet. Unfortunately, this also leaves them at risk from inappropriate content and contact from others. It is a good idea to set up clear rules about internet use and how to stay safe when interacting with others. There are some excellent websites offering advice and support for families, and we recommend that you visit them regularly to keep up to date with the latest dangers. www.kidsmart.org.uk www.thinkuknow.co.uk www.childnet.com www.nspcc.org.uk Muddy play! We would like the children to use the field as much as possible at lunchtimes as they can have a more fulfilling playtime. However it is often muddy at this time of year so please could you send in an extra pair of shoes (e.g. trainers/ wellies) in a plastic or other bag with your child so they can change when they go on the field. Thank you. Come and find out about assessment without levels After each of our Friday Star assemblies we will be talking to parents about the new system of assessing children without using levels. As our Governor has explained in his article, South Malling has developed a bespoke approach that is very precise and gives us a lot of information about how well your child is doing. Please stay after your class Friday assembly to find out more. Clubs update All clubs start back the week beginning 29th February. Please see the website or ask at the office if you would like any information on the clubs available. Have you checked your eligibility for Free School Meals recently? You may be missing out on this important benefit if not. Even if your child doesn t want to eat a school lunch or is on the Infants so doesn t pay for their lunch, the school receives additional funding for any child registered on Free School Meals. This money can be used to support your child with after school clubs, trips out, additional learning support amongst other things. Pop into the office if you think your child might be entitled to this important additional support. This year we will also be receiving additional funding for children who are, or have been, adopted. If this could apply to your child please let Mrs O Donoghue know.
DATES February 22nd - children return to school after half term Week beginning 29th Parent Consultations 29th - Friends committee meeting 29th Book Week starts March 3rd - evening parent consultations 4th- World Book Day (dress up) 4th- Open afternoon: 2.45 pm in classrooms to share books 11th - coins along the corridor 17th Parent s Forum @ 9.00 am. 18th - Sports Relief Day 18th SEND parent s forum 2:45 23rd @2.15 pm. Year 3 Performance 24th - Easter Service in Church 24th- Easter cake competition 24th last day before Easter holidays April 11th - return to school after Easter holiday 18th Friends committee meeting 21st Year 4 and Year 5 performances at 2.15 and 6.00 pm. 23rd Friends Jumble Sale 29th- Grandparents tea party (am. KS1 and pm. KS2) 29th E-Safety working group 2:45 all invited Contact Details: South Malling CE Primary School Church Lane, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2HS 01273 473016 office@southmalling.e-sussex.sch.uk www.southmalling.com May 2nd - Bank Holiday 5th - Phil the Bag 5th Year 5 to Southease Week beginning 9th Year 6 SATs 13th SEND Parent s forum 17th Parent s Forum @ 9.00 am. 20th Open afternoon @2.45 pm. 26th Fun Run 26th - Last day before half term holiday 27th - INSET day, no children in school June 6th- INSET day, no children in school 7th-return to school for children 8th Class Photos 13th Friends committee meeting 15th, 16th and 17th-Bowles residential trip -Year 6 24th-non uniform day; children to bring in fete items 24th SEND parents Forum 28th - Sports Day 29th - Reserve Sports Day 28th - New Parents evening Year 1 Phonics test July 2nd - Summer fete 4th - Reports out 19th- Year 6 Performances @ 2.15 and 6.30 pm. 21st-Celebration event 22nd - Year 6 Leavers Assembly+ Tea 2.15 pm. 22nd - Last day for children before summer holiday September 6th Return to school The SEND Parent s Forum is for parents / carers of those children who have a special educational need or disability (SEND). It is a time to share what s working well, what could be better and a time to meet and talk to other parents. The E-Safety working group is a chance for parents to discuss any safeguarding concerns or issues regarding computers and the Internet.