Monday 11th March 2013

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