NEWSLETTER 17 – 21ST APRIL 2016

WELCOME BACK - SUMMER TERM

Welcome back to the final term of this academic year.  There’s plenty of time for lots of fun activities during this term.  You can keep up to date by looking on the school website and checking on the diary dates.

THE DAILY MILE

I hope your child has told you about our involvement in The Daily Mile.  The Daily Mile is a health and wellbeing initiative that gets children to run, jog or walk outdoors for about 15 minutes every day. It was introduced four years ago by Elaine Wyllie, head teacher of St. Ninians Primary in Stirling, Scotland. In 2015, Elaine was given a Pride of Britain award for creating the idea. 

At Round Hill we are already beginning to see the benefits – the staff report that the daily exercise is improving fitness levels and is contributing to good behaviour and increased concentration levels back in the classroom. 

If you would like to find out more about why we decided to get involved then please click here.  As always we will evaluate how we are getting on and make improvements as we go along.  We have encouraged feedback from children and the staff and I have been out doing the mile ourselves.   We would welcome your feedback too, so please do get in touch. 

BICYCLES AND SCOOTERS

Children are encouraged to come to school on a bicycle or a scooter. A reminder that items are left at your own risk, but there are several Cycle Pods located around so please remember to secure with a sturdy lock if they are left on site.

We frequently remind the children about riding safely, but it would help if parents would stress the importance of not riding on scooters in the twitchel or the school playgrounds.

DANCE CLUB AND A KS1 CHEERLEADING TEAM

Thursday 24th March found the KS2 dance club and a KS1 cheerleading team participating in the Federation of Schools Dance Festival.  The event was held at the Bramcote school and this year it was Rio themed to link with the Olympics.  A number of local schools took part and the children were very excited. It was a great evening enjoyed by all and the children performed brilliantly.

YEAR 2 CAMP – CHANGE OF DATE

After listening to parental feedback about the date for Year 2 Camp we have decided to move it from Thursday 14th July back to the original date of Thursday 23rd June. This is due to the RHA End of Year Celebration following the camp on Friday 15th July and concerns that the children may be too tired to enjoy or even take part in the RHA Event experience. This will mean that the Year 2 Camp Graduation/Celebration assembly will also be moving to Wednesday 29th June at the usual time of 10.15 a.m.

The Year 2 Camp Meeting will remain today - Thursday 5.00 p.m. 21st April. However, do not worry if you cannot attend. We will ensure information is disseminated to you via the school website and information packs closer to the camp date.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

Following the government announcement that all schools will eventually have to become academies, the school governors and I thought it would be prudent to write to communicate our current position. 

As Staff and Governors at Round Hill we view working with other schools very positively.  We already work with a number of other local schools and this will be developed whether we move towards more formal structural collaborations or not.  Currently there is much uncertainty around different models of Academies / Trusts / Collaboration arrangements.  We are talking with the Family of Schools locally and will continue to review the national and local situation as it develops. We will keep you updated via the school Newsletter and the Governors’ Blog, but if you have any questions, concerns or comments please do get in touch via the school office.

APPLICATIONS FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE

You may be aware that the Government made amendments to the Education Regulations 2006 in September 2013, promoting good attendance and reducing absences, including persistent absences.  It states that head teachers are not allowed to grant any leave of absence for holidays during term time unless there are “exceptional circumstances”.

Please read the following information on the school website before considering taking your child out of school. Click here.

If you have any questions about the above information then please call into school, we will be happy to speak to parents to discuss individual circumstances.

END OF KEY STAGE ASSESSMENTS

Year 2 will be completing their SATs assessments during the month of May.  It is important that all the children take part in these assessments and they will be taking place right up to the end of this half term. 

In addition, Year 6 will be taking part in their SATs assessments during the week beginning 9th May.  Please do not take children out of school during this time or in the time leading up to it, as children will be involved in revision lessons over the next few weeks.

REMINDER - UP AND COMING COMMUNICATION EVENTS

(Details can be found in Newsletter 15)

1a) 10th May 2.00 p.m. – Parents’ Forum

1b) 10th May 6.00 p.m. – Parents’ Forum

2) 24th May – Parents Meeting Year 5/6 Class Organisation 9 - 9.30 a.m. & 5.30 - 6.00 p.m.

3) 20th June - Mini Class Swap

4a) 28th June 4-4.30 p.m. – Parents Meeting Transition to New classes

4b) 28th June 5–5.30 p.m. – Parents Meeting Transition to New Classes

5) 7th July – Class Swap Day

6) 8th July – Annual Reports Given Out

7) 11th July – Parents Open Afternoon 3.30-5.00 p.m.

REMINDER - LIDL GATE

Our sincere apologies but we have only just found out that there is some work taking place at Lidl. Unfortunately they have had to close the access gate to school for a short time.

The manager at Lidl says hopefully the gate will be reopened in approximately 2 weeks, but the work will take another 2 months to complete.

We will keep you informed as soon as we have any further news.

POLITE REMINDER -  PEARSON CENTRE CAR PARK

Please do not park in the Pearson Centre Car Park or on Nuart Road to drop off or pick up children.  The car park is for the sole use of the users of the Centre.

ADULTS NEEDED - CHOIR

The Round Hill Mixed Choir is looking for some enthusiastic volunteers to join us for one piece at the summer concert 6th July.  Any parents or staff who keen to sing are welcome to join us for a rehearsal on Monday 16th May 12pm in the Music Room where we'll hand out music and run through the piece. Later on in the term we'll arrange two further rehearsals on Monday lunchtimes with the children as well.  No extensive experience required just a willingness to get stuck in! Please turn up on the 16th May if you're interested and we'll explain all!

STAFFING UPDATE

Further to the staffing update in the previous newsletter, Miss Allard will be leaving us at the end of July after being successful in seeking promotion at another school in Nottingham City.  We are very pleased for her and the promotion is thoroughly deserved. We have already advertised for a new teacher and will interview later in the term.  

MATHLETICS

Every child is able to use Mathletics.  Your child has access to Mathletics through a unique username and password. This means that pupils can work at their own pace; anywhere anytime.

 

PURPLE MASH

Purple Mash is an award-winning website for nursery and primary school children. It enables children to explore and enhance their knowledge in a fun and creative way.

Log in details are in your child's planner.

IN-SERVICE TRAINING DAYS

A reminder that the school will be closed to children on the following dates: 

13th June 2016 – Mathematics training and Planning for 2016-17.

25th July 2016 – This day has been disaggregated as staff have attended twilight training events spread throughout the year.

Yours sincerely,

Adrian Nash

Headteacher