Welcome to another busy week at Copthorne. I hope you have all managed to stay safe and warm over the past few days of heavy snow. Making the decision not to open school on Friday morning was difficult, but one which was made to keep our children and staff safe. I hope you were able to make the best of the day at home and I am looking forward to seeing some of your snowmen in our streets today. It's hard to imagine that it is nearly the end of March and the start of British Summertime! Let's hope that we have some sunshine soon.
Easter holidays
We break up at the end of school on Thursday 28th March and return on Monday 15th April. As usual, Exceed will be running a full programme of holiday activities for children of all ages. You can find information about these in the Exceed Holiday Booklet avaialble from the school's main office.I wish everyone a peaceful and enjoyable break and look forward to seeing you all again ready for an exciting term ahead.
Mrs Shepherd's Holiday Challenge
This holiday we will be starting our first Holiday Challenge. Each holiday I will be asking our children to work at home on a particular theme. The children will be given a title, for example, Weather, and asked to go away and do some work on that subject. Children can work alone or with family members to create anything at all to do with that theme. It can be a story, a picture, a poem, a model, a photo story, a piece of film - it is absolutely up to each child to choose what he/she wants to do. The important thing is that our children will be involved in further learning at home in a way that allows them to follow their own interests and show their particular skills. Work should be returned to each class teacher on the first day back after the holiday - in this case April 15th. I will then visit each class to see what the children have done and we will be celebrating the work in our monthly celebration assemblies. I am so looking forward to seeing what the children produce when given this opportunity and hope to be able to display some of the work done in our school entrance.The challenge is voluntary and not a competition but I am hoping that as many of our children as possible will choose to take part.
The title of the Challenge for the Easter holidays is: Spring
Children's Blog
Our children now have their own biog where they can respond to news items and post their comments and ideas about school. It was lovely to read the 'SATs Chat' section of the blog and see how brilliantly our children support one another, both emotionally and with great practical tips and ideas.
During the Easter holidays I will be transferring my blog to the Head Teacher Blog section of the new bogging site. In the meantime please feel free to visit the site and enjoy our children's comments: www.copthorne.j2webby.com
SATs
Once again, the SATs for our Year 2 and Year 6 children are almost upon us.SATs for Year 2 start at the beginning of May and last several weeks. For Key Stage 2, SATs week begins on May 13th.
It is very important that all of our pupils, but particularly those in Year2 and 6, attend school every day so as not to miss important learning. As far as homework is concerned, each class teacher will be making sure that the children are given homework which supports them in preparing for SATs. However, parents and carers can also help by making sure that all homework is completed, Mathletics is used as soften as possible and spellings, times tables and reading are practised regularly. Above all, it is very important that every child has enough rest and a good breakfast at the start of each day. As in the past, we will be providing a free breakfast, at Breakfast Club, for all Year 2 and 6 children during SATs week. I know that everyone will do their best and be a credit to themselves, their parents, their community and Copthorne. Just remember to share any worries that you may have - we are all here to support you
Copthorne's Chicks
Last week we had 6 chicks hatch at Copthorne. Each year we have a set of fertilised eggs delivered by a company called Hatch-It. The eggs are placed in a special incubator to hatch and, once the baby chicks have dried out, they are transferred into a larger incubator to be kept warm. Our children have, once again, enjoyed watching the chicks hatch and naming the new arrivals. Many classes are studying the chicks and keeping a diary of their daily progress whilst they are with us in school. In another week's time the chicks will move to a new home from which we will receive news as they grow and the first eggs they lay.
This week at Copthorne
Reception visits to Peel Park
As part of the work that our Reception classes are doing about growing things each class will be visiting Peel Park this week.
1R's visit takes place today - Monday 25th March and 2R's on Tuesday 26th March. Each child will need a packed lunch and a warm coat, hat and gloves. Hopefully most of the snow will have melted by the time the children arrive. I am sure that our children will have a wonderful time and will tell us about all the things that grow in Peel Park.
Easter Assembly
Year 3 have been working hard to prepare their Easter Assembly and I'm sure that they will have done a great job. The assemblies will take place on Wednesday 27th March at 9.30 am and 2.30pm. We would love parents, carers and family members to join us for the assemblies and look forward to seeing you at one - or both - of those times.
Star of the Month
Each month we hold a special assembly to celebrate the hard work, great attitudes and achievements of our children. This month's assembly will take place on Thursday 28th March at 2.30pm. During the assembly we will be presenting prizes to our Stars of the Month. These are the children who have been nominated by their class teacher for showing really positive learning behaviours. Will it be you this time?
Year 3 Residential Meetings
A group of our Year 3 children will soon be taking part in the residential at Kingswood Outdoor Adventure Centre in the Peak District, organised through Exceed. The visit takes place from the 22nd to 24th April during which our children, along with others from the Exceed schools, will be taking part in a range of very exciting activities and staying away from home for 2 nights. A residential like this one is a great opportunity for our children as it helps them to prepare for the Year 6 residential, develops their independence and self awareness and helps to strengthen teamwork between children.
This week we are holding 2 meetings for parents and carers of the Year 3 pupils taking part in this residential. During the meetings parents will be given an outline of the activities the children will be involved in and details of travel arrangements and the items that each child will need to pack.
The dates and times of the meetings are: :
Wednesday 25th March at 8.45am or
Thursday 28tgh March at 2.30pm
We look forward to seeing you at one of the meetings.
Training Session for Bradford College Students
On Thursday 28th March Mrs Whalley and I will be running a workshop for students from Bradford College training to be teachers. The session will show students how we use a variety of data to identify our priorities for school improvement and plan effective teaching and learning activities for our children. It is very important for Copthorne to be involved in the training of future teachers as we this helps us to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge that we know they will need in the future.
Have a wonderful week everyone and a restful holiday
Welcome to this week's blog which, for the reason outlined below, I have decided to keep quite brief .
All of our pupils, parents, carers and staff already know that last week was a very unhappy one for Copthorne and the local community.
Sadly, one of our precious children, Aamina Irfan - from 2 Holly, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Aamina will always be in our hearts and, here at school, we will remember her as a beautiful, shy, sweet little girl loved by her class mates and all the staff at Copthorne. We will miss her terribly.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Aamina's family and we are here to help in any way we can. Bereavement counselling is available in school for any children or members of staff who need it and, of course we are also here for any members of the community.
It is at times like these that the strength of our community is clear to see: I was incredibly touched by the way everyone both within and outside school supported and strengthened each other on Thursday and Friday after receiving the terrible news - and I know that this will continue in the future.
I will be visiting Aamina's parents early this week and, with their permission, we intend to name our new trim trail, at the front of school, Aamina's Adventure Area, dedicating this to her memory.
This week's events
Monday 18th March: 3 Larch will visit the Gudwara
Tuesday 19th March: A group of children from Year 4 will be taking part in an Exceed Alliance rounders competition
5 Willow will be spending the day at the Industrial Museum
Wednesday 20th March: Lecturers from Bradford University will be visiting school to work with children in Year 6. Our pupils will be using the Robotic Telescope which allows them to take pictures of the moon, planets and objects in our solar system
There will be a full Governing Body Meeting at 4.30pm
Friday 22nd March
Half of 4 Beech will go to St Ives Woods as part of their Forest School work
Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with everyone this week.
Mrs Shepherd
Welcome to another week at Copthorne Primary School where we have, once again, lots of exciting learning planned for the children.
Prospectus
I am delighted to announce that our new prospectus is now ready and has arrived at school. We all know that choosing the right school for our children is vital. The prospectus will give those parents and carers interested in Copthorne as a possible primary school, a real feel for our vision, values and core purpose. It also gives a clear insight into the learning experiences and facilities that we provide. Important information such as staffing, daily routines, school calendar, policies and procedures will be provided in the form of fact sheets inserted into a special section at the back of the prospectus.This will allow us to ensure that all information provided is up to date.
The beautiful photographs in our prospectus were taken during a normal school day and show how engaged and happy our children are in their learning. I am thrilled with the result as I think it is a real celebration of Copthorne. If you would like to have a look at the prospectus there are some available in our school entrance. I am sure you'll agree that the results are wonderful.
Mathlete of the Month
Last week saw the introduction and first presentation of our Mathlete of the Month Award. Each month this award is presented to the pupil from each class in Years 2 to 6 who has achieved the highest number of points in Mathletics over the month. Each time a child answers a question correctly they are warded points: 1 each for the mental maths Live Mathletics and 5 each for the personalised, focused tasks set by their class teachers. Mathletics is proving increasingly popular with all of our children and is helping to raise standards and increase levels of progress in Maths. This months winners included Gurwinder Dhaliwal in 6 Sycamore who scored over 40,000 points!
In addition, at this moment in time, Ibrahim Khan from 6 sycamore is 15th out of the world's top 100 students for Mathletics and 7th in the country for points gained in one week. 6 Sycamore are 17th out of the world's top 50 classes and the 6th highest scoring class in the country.Well done to all of our Mathletes and thanks to our parents and carers for continuing to support the childrens' Mathletics work at home. Go Copthorne!
Super Archers
On Wednesday, 6th March, a group of children from Year 5 and 6 took part in an Exceed archery competition. I am thrilled to announce that Copthorne triumphed with our pupils winning overall and our individual archers achieving 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the competition. Well done to our brilliant archery team for all their practise and dedication and thank you to Mr A Khan for organising the competition. I think we really are ready to enter some national competitions now.
What's happening this week?
Mr Bagherian to visit our school
On Tuesday, 12th March, Mr Bagherian will be visiting Copthorne. He will be bringing some colleagues with him to show them our wonderful Foundation Stage practise. It is always good to be able to share and celebrate our work with other schools.We are all looking forward to seeing Mr Bagherian again.
Star Dome
On Friday, 15th March. the Star Dome will be visiting Copthorne. The Dome is a large inflatable planetarium onto the inside of which the night sky is projected.
On this occasion children from years 1, 2 and 6 will be involved.
This supports the work our Year 6 children have been doing about the Earth, Sun and Moon in their Creative Curriculum project: Fly Me to the Moon. Our Year 1 and 2 pupils will be learning more about light and dark.
I am sure that this will be a great experience for our children.
Red Nose Day
It's amazing how quickly a year seems to go by and, once again, it is time for Red Nose Day. From Monday, Red noses will be on sale in school for £1. During the week children and staff will also be able to take part in a competition to guess which hairstyle Jessie J will choose after she has her hair shaved off. Each guess will cost 50p.
This year our School Councillors have decided that the children and staff at Copthorne will also help to raise money for the many charities supported by this wonderful event by wearing red for the day. Friday 12th March will, therefore, be a non uniform day. All children and staff are asked to wear something red - this can be anything from a complete outfit to just one item e.g. a ribbon, a hat, scarf or even a wig! Children are asked to bring £1 each which will be donated to Comic Relief.
During the day there will be a baking competition. Children can bring in items baked at home - these can be anything from buns and cakes to samosas. Entry to the competition is £1. There will be 5 categories for the competition: Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2, Upper Key Stage 2 and Staff. Mr Jacques will be judging the entries to find the winners in each category. So, time to start baking!
At Copthorne we believe that we have a responsibility to provide as many experiences as possible which will support our pupils' social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. Taking part in events like Red Nose Day are very important in providing our pupils with a sense of social and moral responsibility and we are delighted that our children are so passionate about helping others both in the country and in the wider world. Thank you in advance to our pupils, parents, staff and community for supporting this and similar events and thank you to our School Council for organising what I know will be a very special day.
Wishing you all a great week.
Mrs Shepherd
Thank you to all the parents, carers and children who attended our consultation evening last Thursday. It was great to see so many people committed to supporting the work, attainment and progress of our children.
HMC Approved School
As you will be aware, over the past months, Mrs Wahed (our Business Manager) and Mrs Ramsden (our Catering Manager) have been working hard to ensure that our school is able to serve Halal food. Mr Naseem Khan, our Governing Body Vice Chair, has also been assisting in the process with advice and support. I am delighted to announce, therefore, that as of last Monday, 25th February, we are a HMC approved and certificated school the only one, in fact in Bradford. As a result we can now serve meat as part of the school lunch menu. I have seen the menu for this week and I know that our children and staff will be delighted when they taste the dishes on offer. Thanks to Mrs Wahed, Mrs Ramsden and Mr Khan for all their hard work.
Trainers
Thank you once again to so many of you for working hard to make sure that our children are coming to school in black shoes. The majority of our children look extremely smart. However, there are still a small number who are coming to school in trainers. From this week any pupil not wearing black shoes will be given a letter to take home to parents asking them to ensure that the correct uniform is worn. Thank you for your support in this matter.
This week at Copthorne
Book Month
This week is the start of Book Month - a month dedicated to reading, getting to know and celebrating all the fabulous books out there. As Friday's letter explained, our children and staff will be taking part in lots of activities to encourage reading, such as Readathon - a sponsored read, story telling sessions by both staff and pupils and, on Friday 8th, coming to school in pyjamas or dressed as a favourite book character. As usual our own Raving Readers scheme will be continuing so, if you are a parent/carer, please continue to read with your child each day and, children, remind everyone at home that you need to read to them daily.
5 Cedar to the Mandir
On Monday (4th March) 5 Cedar will be visiting a Mandir: Hindu Temple. This visit is part of our RE curriculum and helps to develop our children's cultural understanding and to celebrate diversity within our school and the wider community. Last week 5 Willow visited the same temple. The children learnt a great deal about Hinduism and the visit has helped them to understand and develop respect for Hindu customs and traditions.
The elders at the temple said that 5 Willow were the best, most polite and interested pupils that had ever visited. Well done 5 Willow! You have set the standard for 5 Cedar.
Reception Classes to the Range
Both of our Reception classes will be visiting the Range store today as part of their focus on how things grow. The main aim of the visit is to encourage the children to think about what garden centres sell and gather information about what is needed to help plants grow. I am sure that all our children and staff will learn a lot and come back ready to sow seeds and grow vegetables and plants for our allotment.
Evac Chair Training
As you go up and down the stairs in our new extension you may have seen a bright yellow cover over a large object hanging on the wall. Under this cover is our EVAC Chair. This piece of equipment is a special type of chair which can be used to evacuate anyone, for whom mobility is a concern, from our building in case of fire. This week 4 members of staff: Mrs Rice, Mrs Robinson, Mr H Khan and Mr S Khan will be trained in its use. These members of staff will then train all the other staff in school over the next couple of weeks.
1 Oak to Forest School
On Wednesday, 1 Oak will be visiting St Ives Wood for a special Forest School session. The children have been learning about the environmental sculptor, Andy Goldsworthy, and will be designing and making their own sculptures in the wood. I am really looking forward to seeing the photos of their results.
Archery
A number of our Year5 and Year 6 children will be representing Copthorne in a LAP archery competition on Wednesday, 6th March. We are extremely proud of our archers and their fabulous sportsmanship and know that they will be great ambassadors for Copthorne. Good luck all of you!
Have another great week everyone.
Mrs Shepherd
Welcome back.
I hope you have all had a good break and are ready for a busy month ahead.
At Copthorne we believe that every day counts in providing the best possible learning opportunities and experiences for our children. This half term, however, is a particularly important one for our Year 2 and Year 6 children as they prepare for their SATs which take place at the very start of May. It is vital, therefore, that we work together to make sure that our children arrive at school on time and attend each day. The letter that I sent home just before the half term holiday also included ideas for activities which can be done at home to support the children's learning. If you need any more advice or ideas about this then please feel free to contact the class teacher or myself.
I know that, as always, we will work together to support Copthorne's children in becoming life-long learners.
Bag to School
I am delighted to inform you that, as a result of all the unwanted items brought into school for the Bag to School collection, we have raised £200 for the School Fund. This means that we will be able to continue providing as many exciting learning experiences as possible for our children. Thank you so much for your support. We will be having another collection in June.
Farewell to Mrs Alden
On Friday 15th February Mrs Alden retired from work as a teaching assistant here at Copthorne. Mrs Alden has worked in Key Stage 1 for the past 5 years and was a highly valued member of staff who worked hard to ensure that the children attained high standards in their work and were happy and supported. She will be missed greatly by both her colleagues and the children. We wish her a well-deserved rest and a very enjoyable retirement. I hope she will be able to come back and see us whenever she gets the chance.
This week at Copthorne
Parents' Evening
This will take place between 3.15pm and 6.15pm on Thursday 28th February. This is a great opportunity to discuss and celebrate each child's progress and achievement as well as to ensure that the correct levels of challenge and support are in place both at home and at school.
As usual, teachers from KS2 will be in the hall, and KS1 and Reception will be in their classrooms.
Letters which included the appointment booking form were sent home before we broke up for the half term break. Please ensure that these have been returned to school early this week so that appointments can be booked.
Once again, during the evening, there will be an opportunity for you to tell us what you think is going well at Copthorne and to share your ideas for future changes or improvements.
I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday.
SEAL Theme
This week's ethos statement is: I value my achievements.
Have another great week everyone.
Mrs Shepherd
Welcome to another week at Copthorne. As I write this blog, snow has once again been forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Let's hope the weather men and women have got it wrong this time.
This week at Copthorne looks set to be as busy as ever as we approach the half term holiday next week.
SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning)
As part of our PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship Education) curriculum, each week at Copthorne has a special theme at its centre. This theme forms the basis of each assembly and the PSHCE lesson that all children experience in class. The themes are aimed at developing our children socially and emotionally. This week's theme or 'Ethos Statement' is Revising Goals. The theme aims to encourage us all to think about how, once a goal is achieved or when things become difficult we must not give up but think of a different goal to aim for. It is always very positive when these ideas are also discussed at home so, each week I will publish the description of the planned theme.
The Leadership of Copthorne
I am delighted to inform you that, last week, Copthorne Primary School's Governing Body unanimously ratified the decision of their Recruitment Committee to make the present arrangement for the leadership of the school a permanent one. This means that the present structure: Mr Jacques as Executive Head of both Copthorne and Horton Grange, and myself as Copthorne's Head of School will continue. We are both delighted at the decision and look forward to being able to develop our leadership team and to take the school forward long term. Thank you to all the parents, carers and children who have supported us in our work. We look forward to strengthening the Copthorne Community still further in the future.
The School Prospectus
This Monday, 11th February, I will be meeting with a representative from Words and Pictures - the company producing our new prospectus. During the meeting I will be having a good look at the first proof of the prospectus. This will include the text and a selection from the pictures taken nearly two weeks ago. I will be able to suggest changes, which I will discuss with a number of the staff and children, and then the proofs will be taken away to be made into the final version. This will be delivered to school mid-March at which point a copy will be put on display in the entrance to school. I am sure that we will all be thrilled with the result.
Internet Safety
As you will have been hearing from your children and in the letters that were sent home, last week was Internet Safety Week. All our children took part in special lessons which helped them to understand how to use the Internet safely.
At Copthorne we believe that, used safely, the Internet is a fabulous tool to support teaching and learning.
However we are very concerned about a number of issues raised by parents arising from the use of Internet chat rooms and, in particular, the website Movie Star Planet. This is one of the many web-sites out there that young children have access to. Unfortunately, unlike our school Moodle, conversations and user identities through such websites are difficult to track. This means that anyone can be on line and chatting to your child. We would strongly recommend that primary school children only chat to each other on secure school websites like ours as the passwords for these are issued only to school members and all conversations between users can be followed and policed by a member of staff with administrator rights - such as myself or the ICT coordinator.
As I parent myself I understand the emotional pressure our children can put us under to let them have complete access to the Internet but I cannot stress enough how important it is that we only let the children have access to safe sites and chat rooms. I would ask, therefore, that everyone check the sites being accessed by our children to make sure that, especially those with chat rooms, are safe and secure.
Thank you for your support in this matter.
Bag to School
Our Bag to School collection took place this week. Thank you to everyone who brought in bags. As soon as I find out how much money has been raised for School Fund I'll let you know.
Keep filling those bags though as we will be having another collection later this year!
Half term holiday
We break up for the half term holiday at the end of school this Friday, 15th February. School will re-open on Monday25th February. I wish everyone a restful break and look forward to seeing you all when we return to school.
Holiday Activities
Exceed are running a number of activities for children during the half term holiday. There are exciting activities suitable for a wide range of age groups and these will take place at Copthorne. Information leaflets about the activities are available in the entrance outside the school office.
Have another lovely week everyone.
Mrs Shepherd
Welcome to another busy week at Copthorne. I hope everyone has had a restful weekend and has enjoyed being able to get about without the snow getting in the way.
Visit to London
During Thrsday and Friday last week, along with Mr Jacques and Mrs Stephenson (Head of School at Horton Grange), I was fortunate in being able to visit 3 primary schools in London. The schools operate on a system of leadership very similar to our present one. There is an Executive Head with the overview for all 3 schools and then each school has its own Head of School. Being able to visit other schools in this way was a fabulous opportunity. It gave me loads of ideas to bring back to Copthorne which will help us to improve our wonderful school still further. Pupils and staff at each school made us all feel very welcome and I am hoping that we will now be able to develop some links between our pupils as a resut.
During our time in London we were also able to visit the BETT exhibition where hundreds of ideas to develop the use of ICT and new technologies in the classroom were being demonstrated. This too was a great opportunity and, as a rsult, we will be further developing the use of I Pads and introducing a lot of new software into school.
New prospectus and web site under development
As I reported in last week's blog, we are in the process of developing both a new web site and prospectus for Copthorne. The photographer, Mark, spent most of last Tuesday with us taking the photos which will be used. Mark said that he thought our children were wonderful: polite, happy and fully engaged in their learning and he said that there was a very positive atmosphere at Copthorne which he could feel as soon as he arrived. It is always good to get an visitor's view of our pupils and our school especially when it confims our belief that Copthorne is a very special place.
Well done to everyone for making Mark so welcome and especially the children who had their photographs taken - I have seen some of the pictures and you have all helped to show what makes Copthorne so special.
This week at Copthorne
Parents' Forum
We will be holding two meetings this week where parents can come along and meet the School Leadership Team: Mr Jacques, Mrs Whalley and myself. The meetings will be an opportunity for parents/carers to find out about our ideas and plans for Copthorne and to share their ideas and concerns about any aspect of the school. We look forward to seeing as many parents/carers as possible at the meetings.The times for the meetings are as follows:
Monday 4th February at 9am
Tuesday 5th February at 2.30pm
Year 6 to the BRI
This week both our Year 6 classes will be visiting the Bradford Royal Infirmary for their IMPS training (Injury Minimisation Programme for Schools).
6 Sycamore's visit takes place on Tuesday 4th February and 6 Chestnut's on Wednesday 6th February.
Each class of children will visit the local accident and emergency unit accompanied by their teacher and other adult helpers from school. The visit includes:
- A guided tour of the emergency department, which allows children to experience many of the concepts learnt in the classroom when applied to the real world.
- A session using an interactive DVD where children are taught the principles of first aid and injury minimisation.
- A session in which children are taught the principles of emergency life support using individual manikins.
The main aim of the visit is to help prevent accidents and give children the skills they need to be able to minimise injury when accidents have already taken place.
On their return to school the children will be doing some follow-up work related to the visit. I look forward to hearing all about it.
Maths Master Class at Bradford Grammar School
4 lucky year 6 children will be travelling to Bradford Grammar School on Wednesday 6th February to take part in what we hope will be the start of a course of Maths Master Classes. The pupils will form part of a group of 28 Year 6 children (4 from each LAP school) who will be spending 2 hours at the school working with Bradford Grammar staff and Year 13 students to develop their level 6 maths skills. This Master Class forms part of our work with the pupils we feel are capable of achieving a Level 6 in Maths in this summer's SATs. Nationally, the average level a child in Year 6 achieves is Level 4. Attaining a Level 6 is a challenge as this is the expected level for a Year 8 child, but one which, we believe, a number of our children can achieve. I am sure that all the children will have a great afternoon and I would like to thank, once again, Mr Riley - the Head Teacher at Bradford Grammar, hIs staff and pupils for providing such a great opportunity for the children from our community. I hope that this is the start of our schools working more closely together.
School Council meet the Friends of Horton Park
This Tuesday, 4th February at 11am, our school council will meet with representatives from The Friends of Horton Park. The purpose of the meeting is for the Friends to work with our pupils to develop plans for a new play area in Horton Park.This is a great opportunity for our pupils to influence their own community and to make sure that their ideas are listened to. This should also help to increase the number of children from our community who use the park in the future.
Bag to School
The collection of unwanted clothing, shoes, bags, belts, bedding and soft toys will take place on Wednesday 6th February. All bags that have been filled can be brought into school at the start and end of each school day up to 9am on Wednesday 6th February. Please try your best to fill as many bags as possible as all funds raised will help us to deliver even more exciting experiences for Copthorne' children.
Governing Body Meeting
There will be a meeting of Copthorne's Governing Body at 4.30pm on Wednesday 6th February in the group/community room. We look forward to seeing as many of our Governors there as possible.
Travelling by Tuba
This Thursday, 7th February, we will be holding a very special event for our pupils. The classical music duo: 'Travelling by Tuba' will be providing a Show and Workshop Day at Copthorne. The day will begin with a performance for the whole school and then individual workshops for a number of classes will take place throughout the day. I know that this will be a great experience for our children. For more information you can visit the Travelling by Tuba website by clicking on the link below:
http://travellingbytuba.com/
Head of School's Drop -In session
This week's sessions will take place between 2pm and 3pm on Thursday 7th February. If you would like to drop in to chat or have ideas/concerns you wish to share then feel free to contact the school office who will make you an appointment during these times. It is always a pleasure to chat to our parents/carers and family members and I look forward to seeing you then.
Future Events
February Half Term Holidays
School finishes at 3pm on Friday 15th February and reopens on Monday 25th February at the usual time.
Parents' Consultation Evening
Parent's Evening will take pace on Thursday 28th February from 3.15-6.15pm. Letters will be sent home at the end of this week.
I wish you all another great week.
Mrs Shepherd
Welcome to another week at Copthorne.
I would like to begin this week by saying a big thank you to those of you who have posted comments and suggestions on the blog. It is great to know that you find the blog useful and informative and that you think it is a good way of keeping up to date with everything that is happening in our wonderful school.
Last Monday's snow
As I am sure you understand, the decision to close school last Monday was a difficult one but it was taken in order to ensure the safety and well being of our children and staff. Thank you for your care and support in making sure that our children arrived at school safely and on time for the rest of the week in spite of the awful weather. The worst seems to be over now and it is good to see some green grass again as the snow melts.
This week at Copthorne
Teachers of the Future
On Monday and Tuesday (28th and 29th January) we are hosting the interviews for the new Schools Direct programme. Head teachers from the 7 schools in our LAP (Lidget Green, Farnham, Horton Grange, St Oswald's, Princeville, Crossley Hall and, of course, Copthorne) will be interviewing a large number of post-graduate applicants who wish to take up a career in teaching. The successful candidates will each be matched with and given a placement in one of the LAP schools for a year, during which time each school - in partnership with Bradford College - will deliver a teacher training programme. The advantages of the programme for the students is that they will develop the skills, knowledge and attributes required to be an outstanding teacher in a real school setting. The advantage for each school is that we will be fully involved in shaping the teachers of the future. This will allow us to identify potential future members of staff who are familiar with our schools and our community and who will bring new educational ideas and methods to our school.We wish all the candidates every success as they embark on the first steps towards becoming the teachers of the future.
A new prospectus for Copthorne
On Tuesday, 29th January, we will be visited by a photographer from Words and Pictures - the company charged with the production of our exciting new prospectus. Over the past months Words and Pictures have worked with groups of pupils and staff and have reviewed what parents and the community say about Copthorne in order to build up a really clear picture of our school. A large number of our children will be involved in the photo shoot this week: parents have already been informed and their permission given for the photos to be taken. The photographer will be taking pictures of a wide range of activities throughout school. I am sure the children will have a great time and that the finished results will be a true refection of our great school. Some of the photos will also be used to produce canvases for our corridors and a number will appear on our new website which is also in the process of being created. We look forward to seeing the finished results!
Horton Park Lantern Parade
On Thursday 31st January 2013, there will be a very special parade organised by the Friends of Horton Park. The event will include music and a parade of lanterns made by children from some of the local schools. Our own pupils from 5 Willow worked very hard as part of a special day-long Art workshop here at Copthorne to make beautiful willow lanterns which will be lit for and carried in the parade. The children also learnt all about the qualities of willow and why it is such a useful natural material.
The parade marks an important stage in reclaiming the park for the local community. We hope that as many pupils, families and staff will join the parade as possible but particularly those children from 5 Willow who will be carrying their lanterns through the park.
All those families who wish to take part should meet at Ashkam Bryan College at the top of Horton Park at 5pm. The event will finish at 6.30pm. Any children taking part must be accompanied by a parent/carer. I know that Miss Akhtar has already written to the parents of pupils in 5 Willow about this and is looking forward to seeing you all there.
Next Week
Year 6 to the Bradford Royal Infirmary
Don't worry! No one has been hurt! These visits which will take place on Tuesday 5th February and Thursday 7th February. Year 6 will be learning about basic first aid, the work of paramedics and how to avoid accidents and injury.I am sure they will have a very interesting time.Both visits take place during the morning and the children will return to school for lunch.
Maths master class at Bradford Grammar School
4 children from Year 6 will form part of a group of 28 pupils visiting Bradford Grammar School on Tuesday 5th February from 1 to 3pm for what we hope will be the first of a course of Maths master classes. The class will provide further challenge and guidance for those children who are expected to achieve a Level 6 in the SATs in May. I am sure it will be great afternoon for all the children involved and I am sure that, once again, they will be wonderful ambassadors for their schools. I look forward to hearing all about it when they return to school and am getting ready to have my maths skills tested. Thank you to Mr Riley, the Head at Bradford Grammar, for providing our pupils with such a great opportunity.
Have a lovely week everyone.
Mrs Shepherd
Hello everyone. I hope you have all managed to keep warm over the weekend.
Although it's cold it is lovely to see our children enjoying playing in the snow, making snowmen and generally having loads of fun.
The snow is also a great opportunity for our children to learn about freezing, melting, insulation and even capacity: I am hoping that a group of children will be going outside today to calculate the amount of snow in our MUGA!
Bad weather closure
At Copthorne it is very unlikely that we will close our school due to bad weather. However, if conditions are such that we do need to take the difficult decision to close the school and/or send children home early then please be assured that you will be informed of this by text message, through both our own website (www.copthorne.ngfl.ac.uk) and Bradford Schools On line (https://bso.bradford.gov.uk) and through local radio stations. For more details about these arrangements please see the Severe Weather Procedures explained in the blog on 3rd December. Please do not telephone the school office to ask if we are closed. Thank you.
This week at Copthorne
Road Safety Week
As explained in last week's blog and in the letter sent home, this week is Road Safety Week. There are lots of interesting and exciting events taking place to help everyone understand the ways in which we can keep our children and community safe when using the roads.The events include 'Teddy Takes a Tumble' - a show for Reception and Nursery Children, and Charlie's Accident - a show for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.
The week will begin with 20 children, chosen from amongst Year 5 and 6, working with the Council Wardens and police to ticket cars which are illegally stopping or parking outside the school.
The Road Safety Team and police will be holding a Road Safety talk for parents on Tuesday 22nd January at 2.15-3pm in the school hall. I hope as many of our parents and carers as possible will attend so that the children will receive the same messages about Road Safety both at home and at school. I look forward to seeing you there.
Thank you all for your support for what should be an informative week for us all at Copthorne.
Bradford College Student Teachers
Today Mrs Whalley and myself will have the pleasure of providing training for a group of 30 students from Bradford College. The students are all training to be teachers and we will be showing them how we assess our pupils and how this information feeds back into lesson planning.
The training is part of our 'partnership working' with Bradford College which includes the college providing experiences for Copthorne pupils. At some point our Year 6 pupils, for example, will be visiting the College for a very special Science lesson.
Head Teacher Drop-in session
I will be holding another drop-in session for parents/carers between 10 and 11 am on Tuesday 22nd January. If you have ideas about school or concerns you wish to share then please feel free to contact the school office staff who will book an appointment for you during those times. I look forward to seeing you.
4 Poplar to the Industrial Museum
This week it is the turn of 4 Poplar to visit the Industrial Museum to learn more about life as a child during World War 2. I look forward to hearing all about what our children have learnt when they return to school.
Copthorne Stars
Last Thursday, 4 Beech spent the day at the Industrial Museum as part of their Creative Curriculum work on World War 2. Our very excited children set off with their 'gas masks' and spent the day learning about what life was like for children during the war.
Our children were an absolute credit to Copthorne and the staff at the Industrial Museum commented on how wonderfully behaved our pupils were, remarking particularly on their politeness and listening skills. Well done everyone! Thanks to Mrs Van Tol and Miss Shah for organising the trip. I am sure that 4 Poplar will have an equally good time and we equally great ambassadors for our school.
Training for Newly Qualified Teachers
On Wednesday 23rd January from 9-11.45am some of Copthorne's staff will host and deliver a training session for the newly qualified teachers from the 7 schools in our LAP. This session will give these new teachers strategies to use to challenge our more able and talented learners. The training is part of the staff support and development offerered through our LAP.
Next Week at Copthorne
A new prospectus
We are in the process of developing an exciting new school prospectus which will truly reflect what Copthorne is all about and help give prospective parents a clear view of our mission and ethos whilst demonstrating what we can offer for their children. As part of this exciting venture there will be a photographer in school for the official photo shoot for the prospectus on Tuesday 29th January. Children whose photos we plan to take will be sent home with a letter during this week asking for parental permission.We would ask any parent/carer receiving a letter to please complete the reply slip and return it to school by Friday of this week (25th January 2013). Thank you. We will of course be putting our new prospectus in our entrance for everyone to see once it has been completed.
Wishing you all a warm week.
Mrs Shepherd
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas holiday.Welcome back to another exciting term at Copthorne. It was lovely to see the children again last Tuesday They have all returned to school refreshed and ready to work really hard.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the wonderful Christmas cards and thoughtful gifts I received - thank you!
School Dinners
From last Tuesday - 8th January - 3 weeks earlier than originally planned, we started producing and serving our own school lunches. We have started quite simply with baked potatoes and toppings, pasta bakes and - the children's definite favourite - baguette pizzas and, once we have our Assistant Cook in place, we will increase the range of dishes available. Well done and thank you to our catering staff for making the first week such a success.
This week at Copthorne
Year 4 visit the Industrial Museum
Both Year 4 classes will be visiting the Industrial Museum this week (4 Poplar on Tuesday15th and 4 Beech on Thursday 17th). They will be experiencing what life was like for children during World War 2. I am sure that they will have a wonderful time and, as usual, be great ambassadors for Copthorne.
Inter-generational project
This Tuesday,15th February,sees the start of the Inter-generational project at Grange Interlink Centre. For the next 10 weeks 8 of our Year 5 children will be taking part in this project which will involve them spending 2 hours each week working with elderly people from our community. The project aims to encourage generations to share ideas and values so as to strengthen our community and develop mutual respect and tolerance.
Forest School
This Friday, 18th February, sees half of the children in 4 Poplar off to St Ive's Woods for their second day of Forest School. The children will continue to learn woodcraft skills, explore the environment, solve problems and develop teamwork outside. The children will need their packed lunches, warm clothing, a waterproof/winter coat and sensible footwear/wellington boots. It was great to see how excited our children were after last week's visit and I am sure that this Friday's experiences will be just as enjoyable.
Saturday Study Support
This began on Saturday 12th January and will run each Saturday until the Easter holidays. The sessions last from 10am to 12pm each week and are held at Horton Grange Primary School. The aim of the project is to help Year 6 pupils from each of the 7 schools in our LAP (Exceed Alliance) to secure their target levels in the SATs in May. Each Saturday the children are taught by experienced teachers for an hour each of Maths and English.The children are provided with refreshments and the teachers aim to make the learning great fun too. These sessions have been run with great success for the past 2 years and I know that the pupils from Copthorne will enjoy themselves and work their hardest to achieve their targets.
The sessions are also a great opportunity for the children to get to know others from the LAP schools.
School Shoes
In October, I wrote to you all - both in the blog and in a letter sent home with all pupils, explaining the Governing Body's decision that, in line with the school's uniform policy, all children must wear plain black, flat-heeled shoes and that trainers are not permitted -although these will still be required for outdoor PE. Parents/carers were informed that black shoes would have to be worn by all pupils from the start of January 2013.It is now essential, therefore that this rule be followed.Thank you to all parents/carers who have already ensured that the children are wearing black shoes and to all the children who have been reminding parents about this. I would ask that anyone still wearing trainers now change to black shoes immediately. If you feel that weather conditions are such that the children need to wear boots to school then I would be grateful if you could make sure that they have their black shoes or black pumps with them to change into once they arrive at school. Thank you so much for your support in this matter.
Snow days
According to the weather forecast there is a good chance that we will be experiencing snow over the next couple of days and/or weeks. Please ensue that you have read the letter which was sent home before the Christmas holidays or the blog: Monday 3rd December 2012 which gave details of the procedures we will follow when the weather is particularly severe. Thank you.
Dates for your diary
Road Safety Week: 21st to 25th January 2013
During that week we will be carrying out a range of activities aimed at increasing road safety awareness and skills. The planned experiences will involve our children, their families and the community as a whole. Activites include: shows for children and a talk for parents. In addition,a number of pupils will be working with the community police and council wardens to 'ticket' road users breaking the law and putting pupils in danger. A letter will be sent home with pupils during this week giving details of times and dates of activities.
Bag to School: Wednesday 6th February 2013
We are holding a collection of unwanted, clean old clothing, bedding, hand bags, shoes, belts and soft toys. We will receive 50p per kilo we collect. The funds we raise will help us to continue providing the range of wonderful, extra activities for our children. Bag to school will be providing us with bags for you to fill which we will be sending home with the children nearer the time but they also accept black bin liners so, if any of you are having new year clear outs, feel free to start filling bags now. Bags you have filled can be brought into school from Tuesday 29th January until 9am on February 6th. I know that you will support us in this collection and thank you in advance.
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club runs from each day from 8-8.30am. At 8.30am the children are sent outside to line up with their classes in the playground where a learning mentor (Mrs Robinson in the front playground and Mr A Khan in the black playground) is on duty. Children in Reception and Nursery are escorted to their classrooms by a member of staff from Breakfast Club.
Have a great week. Here's hoping the snow stays away!
Mrs Shepherd
Easter holidays
Once again, the SATs for our Year 2 and Year 6 children are almost upon us.SATs for Year 2 start at the beginning of May and last several weeks. For Key Stage 2, SATs week begins on May 13th. 
Last week we had 6 chicks hatch at Copthorne. Each year we have a set of fertilised eggs delivered by a company called Hatch-It. The eggs are placed in a special incubator to hatch and, once the baby chicks have dried out, they are transferred into a larger incubator to be kept warm. Our children have, once again, enjoyed watching the chicks hatch and naming the new arrivals. Many classes are studying the chicks and keeping a diary of their daily progress whilst they are with us in school. In another week's time the chicks will move to a new home from which we will receive news as they grow and the first eggs they lay. 
Easter Assembly
Each month we hold a special assembly to celebrate the hard work, great attitudes and achievements of our children. This month's assembly will take place on Thursday 28th March at 2.30pm. During the assembly we will be presenting prizes to our Stars of the Month. These are the children who have been nominated by their class teacher for showing really positive learning behaviours. Will it be you this time?
