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Sutton Bonington Primary SchoolTogether were learning for life

Tel: 01509 672661 www.suttonbonington.notts.sch.uk Headteacher: Mr M Brumwell

Fax: 01509 670634 office@suttonbonington.notts.sch.uk head@suttonbonington.notts.sch.uk

Spring term newsletter, Issue 4, 4/4/11

Creative Writing CompetitionThere was a very high standard of entries for this competition, and judging has now taken place across the sixprimary schools in the family. The winners will be announced by Miss Leeson during assembly on Monday 11 th

April. Well done to all of those children who participated.

Mr Ives reflections on his visit to FranceRecently, I was fortunate enough to stay with a French colleague, Helene Lauer, in Talenge, a small town nearMetz in the East of France. Helene spent some time at Sutton Bonington last May exploring the differencesbetween our two educational systems, and my visit had a similar aim.In truth, I have come back with more questions than answers. The French primary educational system is veryrigid, uniform and text book based. It relies a great deal on rote learning, a heavy homework schedule andVictorian style discipline. Work is not differentiated to support the less able or push the more capable. Frankly,

it is boring to our way of thinking!However, the overriding conviction that all children should reach a uniform level means that in most cases theydo. There is of course a cost; a cost to parents (particularly of the less able) who are expected to superviseand help their children nightly with large volumes of homework, a cost to teachers, who feel intense pressure toensure no child in their class is forced to retake the year, and a cost to children who work hard all day andmuch of the evening as well.Would I swap? Well no, but Wednesdays off and two hours for a slap up French lunch every day give mepause for thought!

E-Safety Evening for ParentsIt was good to see quite a few of you at this event a few weeks ago. The feedback was very positive, withmany parents saying it had been really useful in alerting them to the potential dangers of children being online

and how risks could be minimised. If anyone would like a copy of the presentation please ask; I will also try tomake this available electronically on our website.As a result of the staff training session delivered previously, Mr Moseley has devised an E-Safety CurriculumFramework so that all children participate in age-appropriate activities linked to these issues as these movethrough the school.

Chicken rotaThanks to those families who help us at weekends with this the list has been filled in for the whole term up tonow without us having to send any reminders which is great! We have some gaps to fill in during the Easterholiday, so if you can help during this time please pop a note on the list in the hall.

Greening Sutton Bonington CampaignThe school will be hosting an open event for the Greening SB Campaign, on Saturday 21 st May from 12-2pm.

We will provide more details shortly on the role that the school is planning to take in supporting the campaign.

Dyslexia Friendly School StatusWe were delighted to be officially presented with the Dyslexia Friendly School award recently, following a daysvisit from the Local Authoritys assessor to look at the school in action and review our written policies andprocedures. A particular thanks goes to Mrs Gray, who put a considerable amount of work into auditing ourexisting practice and resources, staff training and development, and compiling our portfolio prior to theassessment.We have produced a Parents Guide which is available in hard copy from the foyer or the office, or also via ourwebsite. The information given will be of interest and relevance to all parents/carers. The strategies andresources it identifies for children with any degree of difficulty in literacy skills are recognised as being bestpractice for all children, whatever their level of capability.

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New starters for September 2011The date for notifying parents of the allocation of places for next years Reception children is April 15 th, a littlelater than normal, so dont be concerned that you havent had confirmation yet if you have another child due tobegin then.

Class AssembliesDo try to join us this Friday for Class 3s assembly if you can. The recent assemblies by several classes have

all been a real pleasure to watch, and they provide a great opportunity to share in the topics that have beencovered and to help develop childrens confidence in communicating to a wider audience.

Parents Open Afternoon, Wed 13th April - 1.15-3.30pmWe hope that many of you will be able to drop into school between these times to see what your child/ren getup to during a typical afternoon. If you do join us, please sign in at Reception first before making your way tothe relevant classroom/s, where you can talk to the children about what theyre doing, see some of their workaround the classroom etc. Youll appreciate that this is not intended as a time to have an in-depth conversationwith staff as they will be teaching as normal, but as we always say if you ever have any issues that youwould like to raise please contact us to find a mutually convenient time to meet.

Parents Forum, Tuesday 10th May at 7pm

This informal evening is designed to give you an opportunity to hear a very brief update on recent schoolimprovements and future plans. Following this, its over to you for the main purpose of the evening which is toshare what you regard as the schools strengths and potential areas for development (or just listen to whatothers have to say if you prefer!). We greatly value the strong home-school partnership that exists and listeningto your views is fundamental to this. We hope this annual event, begun last year, is well attended to provide alively forum for discussion.

Fundraising newsAs a result of your great generosity, we are pleased to let you know that we raised:

685 for the British Heart Foundation through the sponsored skipping event 310 for Comic Relief on Red Nose Day.

Thanks to everyone children, parents/grandparents/friends of the school, and staff for their combined

efforts.

PTA meeting, Wed 6th April 7.30pmIf you havent had a chance to attend PTA meetings up until now, the next is taking place this Wednesday inthe back room at the Nags Head in East Leake. The meeting is to discuss suggestions for future events andideas for projects to fund. New members are always most welcome.

Football updatesOur boys team continues to thrive and has had two recent victories. They are now in the semi final of theRushcliffe Small Schools Cup and the 3rd round of the Majestic County Cup.Both the boys and girls teams will be taking part in the annual Rushcliffe Spring tournaments at Ruddington StPeters School next month the boys on Saturday 7th May and the girls on the 14th (both from 8.45am).

Take One Picture WeekLast weeks enrichment week was a real success, with a huge range of creative work taking place across theschool. I was particularly impressed by the way staff had planned such original activities linked to the Veronesepainting, and the manner in which children all of ages engaged with the tasks. Id also like to say a big thankyou to those parents/grandparents who gave up their time to come in and help, as it really helped to addanother dimension to the week. As I mentioned before, we will be staging an exhibition of a selection of thework in the near future.

Class 6 PGL weekThe children in Class 6 headed off at lunchtime today for Court Farm (near Ross-on-Wye) for the annual PGLresidential. Im sure they will have a fantastic experience and we look forward to seeing them return a littlewearier and muddier on Friday afternoon!

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Dinner money paymentsWe would like to remind parents/carers that dinners must be paid for in advance, and preferably on a Mondaymorning for the week ahead. The Local Authority discourages the accumulation of any arrears, so your supportin helping us adhere to this policy would be much appreciated.

Changes to milk paymentsYou will shortly receive information about a change to the system for how school milk is ordered. This is not adecision we have taken as a school, but is a Local Authority directive.

DIARY DATES

Mon 4th-Fri 8th April Class 6 residential to Court Farm PGLFri 8th April Class 3 assembly, 2.45pmWed 13th April Open Afternoon for parents, 1.15-3.30pmWed 13th April Presentation from Harry Carlton School to Y6 parents, 6pm (here)Mon 18th April-Tues 3rd May SCHOOL CLOSED EASTER /BANK HOLIDAYSWed 4th May First day of Summer Term (closed 3rd May in lieu of Royal Wedding)Wed 4th May Class photosSat 7th May Boys 6-a-side football tournament, Ruddington 9amSat 7th May Pre-school playgroup May Day Fair at school

Mon 9th

May Class 6 KS2 SATs weekSat 14th May Girls 7-a-side football tournament, Ruddington 9amMon 16th/Tues 17th May Football coaching for all West Bromwich Albion community programmeSat 21st May Greening Sutton Bonington event at school, 12-2pmTues 24th May Class 6 team-building transition day at Manor Farm (with other primaries)Mon 30th May-Fri 3rd June SCHOOL CLOSED HALF TERMWed 8th June Class 6 cycling course (+ following three Wednesdays)Sat 18th/Sun 19th June School grounds open for gardens walkabout weekendMon 20th June SCHOOL CLOSED INSET (staff training day)Fri 24th June Nottm Forest football coaching, Classes 3, 4 and 5Tues 5th July Class 6 transition day at Harry CarltonWed 6th July Class 6 parents meeting at Harry Carlton (evening)

Thurs 7th

July Class 6 visit to London (including National Gallery tour)Thurs 7th-Fri 8th July Class 3/4 residential to YHA ConkersFri 22nd July Last day of school yearMon 5th Sept School re-opens for staffTues 6th Sept First day of Autumn Term for childrenFri 9th Sept Individual photosFri 23rd Sept SCHOOL CLOSED INSET (staff training day)Tues 27th-Fri 30th Sept Class 5 Boggle Hole ResidentialMon 24th-Fri 28th Oct SCHOOL CLOSED HALF TERMTues 20th Dec Last day of Autumn TermWed 4th Jan 2012 First day of Spring Term 2012