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
Saturday 23 February 2013
Sunday 3 February 2013
Monday 4th February 2013
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:
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
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
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.
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 ParkThis 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
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