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October 2012 ISSUE 4 Follow @jervoiseschool

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Onkilahden koulu: Our Partner School (Vaasa Finland, September 2012)

“PREPARING OUR CHILDREN TO GO INTO THE WORLD

AND MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE”

Head Teacher’s Column

D ear Parents

The new school year has begun exceptionally well with Nursery and Reception children settling in very well

even after a week they are all happy and content. This is a testament to the work done by parents and

the early year’s provision of their pre-schools particularity Weoley Castle Little Builders staff who continue to do a

great job with the 2-3yr olds. Their ease of settling in is also down to the skills of our own Nursery and Reception

staff. This great start has also been reflected in the rest of the school Yr5/6 have got straight down to work on

proving themselves as the best Yr5/6 the school has had. They have a difficult task to follow the achievements of

last year’s Yr6 with 94% in their English SATs tests. At Jervoise it is not just about the end of year tests it is about

preparing ourselves “to go into the world and make it a better place”. It is about how we interact with our friends,

family and the rest of the world. This month involved a further meeting with our partner schools from Slovakia,

Ireland & Leeds at our partner school in Finland. During this trip we found out a lot about the Finnish School

System and how they do things, I also learned more about Geography in a few days than 7 years at School !!

Read more about this on our website.

Yr4 have started whole class music lessons learning the cornet which is a brass instrument that looks like a trumpet.

The music teachers were very pleased with the attitude and application of the students including Mrs Blick &

Miss Forgham.

Parents will have noticed the block at the back has been mostly painted and new doors will be fitted very soon which

will not only make the place look better but also improve the security particularly for the very small children.

This is part of the on-going improvement programme for the school.

We have received very positive feedback from parents on the consultation meetings held so far this term and as

usual we are very keen to hear your views on how we are doing, as it helps us continue to improve what we do!

We have received 6 nominations for the parent governor vacancies that are arising shortly.

Please remember to vote by Friday.

We will be welcoming back Mrs Potter from her maternity leave at the end of this half term.

We are looking forward to another ‘best every year’ this year and will certainly achieve this with your continued

support.

All the best

Kevin McCabe

Comenius Team (Vaasa Finland, September 2012)

Nursery

The children have settled in very well and are getting used to their new routines.

On Tuesday 18th December we are going to see Santa on the Severn Valley Railway!

Year 1 & 2 Electricity topic Year 1 and 2 have started their topic on Electricity. We had a great trip to The Black Country Museum and we really enjoyed going down the mine! Over the next few weeks we're going to be learning more about electricity and where it comes from. We'll also be making our own lamps so look out for sparks!

Year 2 Beaudesert Trip A Year 2 one night residential to Beaudesert has been planned for Monday 5th November - Tuesday 6 November 2012. It will be a bonfire night theme, with a bonfire, fireworks and making a guy competition. Places are limited. Anymore information needed please speak to Mrs O'Neill

www.beaudesert.org

Reception

Our new Reception children have settled in very well and are quickly getting used to

their new routines. This half term we are learning ‘All about Me.’ During this topic we will be visited by the School Nurse who will talk to the children about keeping healthy. She will also demonstrate the importance of thorough hand washing. The local policeman will also be paying us a visit to talk about his work.

We would like to invite all Reception parents to visit the class room on Tuesday 16th October

so that the children can show you their work and talk about what they have learnt.

Reading books are changed on Tuesdays and Fridays. It is helpful if you can write a

comment in the Reading Journal when you have read with your child.

Black Country Museum

Year 3 & 4

This half term Year 3-4 have been looking at, and learning about different buildings in Birmingham as part of their topic

work. Their aim is to produce an art gallery of Birmingham buildings, to share on our website with our link schools. Here are some of the buildings we saw on our trip into Birmingham on Thursday 13th September;

‘I loved going to the Birmingham art museum, I didn’t even know it was there!’ Luke

‘I liked looking at the different shapes that the buildings were made up of. We learnt about some of them in maths too.’ Madison ‘I liked looking at the bull in the Bullring. I didn’t know that it used to be a market and that they made bulls fight there.’ Nathaniel

Year 4 began their brass lessons on Thursday 20th September and are very excited about the whole new experience;

“I’m excited about learning the cornet because at the

end of October we can take our instruments home to practise on” Kyle B

“I’m looking forward to showing my parents and the

school what I can do on the cornet and I’m looking forward to the school concert.” Keira

“I’ve never played an instrument before and I think it

is great that we can do it in school.” Tyler

Year 3 will begin their swimming lessons on Monday 29th October and they will take place every afternoon until Friday 9th

November. The children are being picked up from the swimming baths at 3.10pm and should be back at school for normal pickup at 3.30pm. Unfortunately we might be slightly held up if the traffic is bad but we will endeavour to get back as soon as possible. Year 3 will need to bring their swimming kit every day, Year 4 children will also need their P.E kit every day during this time.

Skipping challenge On Wednesday 17th October year 3 /4 will take part in a Skipathon event to raise money for The British Heart Foundation and school funds too. They will be using their Numeracy skills to record and present the information. The sponsor forms will be given out on Friday 28th September and all sponsor money is needed by Friday 19th October 2012.

Year 5 & 6 Both Mr Whittaker and Mrs Evan’s classes are settling down very well and building up momentum for this year’s SATs, where

the children are becoming excited at showing what they can do.

We are enjoying this half term’s topic of ‘climate control’ - where we are learning about global warming, its devastating ef-

fects and how it can be controlled.

The rest of our topics this year are also looking very exciting. The provisional titles include: ‘champions for change‘ (learning

about local government and how we can make a difference); ‘space explorers’; ‘they see the world like this’ (looking at art and artists before creating our own artwork); ‘building a village’ (how villages, towns etc. are created, built and managed); and ‘fairground’ (very science based with a trip to a theme park in the pipeline!).

Finally, we will be sending out homework books very shortly. The children have been told very clearly the expectations for

neatness and presentation in these books, so hopefully you will be able to support them in this.

Also, as per usual, if you would like a chat with either Mrs Evans or Mr Whittaker, feel free to contact us at anytime.

Clubs

Our after school Dance club last year was a huge success. This year it is back due to popular demand to give even more pupils the opportunity to take part.

Look out for the short tennis that Mrs Rogers has recently started too. Breakfast Club

Our Magic Breakfast Club runs from 8.30am until 8.55am each morning and is still FREE.

If you are interested in your child joining our breakfast club, please see Mrs. Hogan for availability.

Attendance

Thank you to all our Parents/Carers for their continued support last academic year.

Together with the Spotlight on Attendance Campaign our attendance reached over 94%. This year we are hoping to achieve even more! Punctuality is as important as attendance so please be reminded that our school day starts at 8.55am.

Rag Bin In our attempt to reduce our carbon footprint, we have a rag bin in the playground where you can place un-

wanted clothing so it can be recycled or re-used. Please support us by putting your unwanted items in there.

J.E.Ts Our J.E.Ts have decided and agreed upon these events for the forthcoming academic year:

Switch off fortnight 19th Nov-2nd Dec Children in need 16th Nov 2012 World book day 7th March 2013 Red Nose Day 15th March 2013

We are hoping to have theme days for Halloween, Diwali, Christmas and Chinese New Year again this academic

year. Posters will be published and texts sent out nearer to the time

Attendance during one school year

Equals this number of days absent

Which is approximately this many weeks absent

100% No days absent None Good – best chance of success

95% 10 days 2 weeks

90% 19 days 4 weeks Worrying – less chance of success. Makes it harder to make progress. 85% 29 days 6 weeks – half a term

80% 38 days 8 weeks Serious concern – Not fair on your child. Court Action. 75% 47 days 10 weeks

Dates for your diary.. Things happening in and around school this term

Did You Know?

Jervoise School Jervoise Road

Weoley Castle

Birmingham

B29 5QU

School Year 2012 - 2013

Autumn Term 2012 Monday 3 September to Friday 19 October Half Term Holiday: Monday 22 Oct to Friday 26 Oct (1 week) Monday 29 October to Friday 21 December Christmas Holiday 2012: Monday 24 Dec to Friday 4 Jan (2 weeks)

Spring Term 2013 Monday 7 January to Friday 15 February Half Term Holiday: Monday 18 Feb to Friday 22 Feb (1 week) Monday 25 February to Thursday 28 March Easter Holiday 2013: Friday 29 March to Friday 12 April (2 weeks + 1 day)

Summer Term 2013 Monday 15 April to Friday 24 May Half Term Holiday: Monday 27 May to Friday 31 May (1 week) Monday 3 June to Tuesday 23 July Summer Holiday 2013: Wednesday 24 July to Friday 30th Aug (5 weeks + 3 days)

Teacher Training Days Monday 12/11/2012 Whole School Nursery Only: Tuesday 13th November * rest of school are required to attend Nursery Only: Tuesday 20th November * rest of school are required to attend *Further dates to be confirmed

CARS

Please respect our neighbours and park your vehicles responsibly. Recently we have had incidents of parents/carers driving over the footpaths to manoeuvre around parked cars!

THE SAFETY OF ALL OUR PUPILS IS ALL OUR RESPONSIBILITY.

Are Your Contact Details Up To Date?

Have you changed your Phone No?

Please inform the office so we can update our records.

School Bank Dates

Tuesdays

2nd October

13th November

27h November

11th December

18th December

Have you got an email address? Let the school office know your email address so we can add it to our records.

You will then receive updates & news including Jervoise Focus via email.

School Meals – Dinner Money

Dinner money to be handed into the office every Monday morning.

Nursery £1.60

Junior/Infant £1.90

.When changing dinner arrangements you must inform the office.

P.E Kits

P.E Kits are now available to purchase

see the school office for further details and pricing.

Have you got any unwanted clothes?

We have a rag bag recycling bin in

school.

It is located by the school hall.

It helps raise money for school.

The more we fill the more money

we raise !

Reminder: NO dogs are allowed on school premises at any time

Got a smart phone? Scan me & School contact details

will appear on your phone