www.corshamprimary.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @CorshamPrimary January 2017

Welcome back to school! We all hope you enjoyed a peaceful and refreshing break and are ready to start another busy term! On behalf of all the staff, we would like to say a big “thank you” to

everyone who sent us cards and gifts over the Christmas period; your kind thoughts and gestures were hugely appreciated.

STAFF NEWS

We are welcoming three new members of staff at Pound Pill this month—Miss Amy McLellan and Mrs Sophie Challis will be joining our Teaching Assistant team and Miss Kate Allison will be joining our teaching team and getting to know her new class 3P. We hope they will all be very happy working at

Corsham Primary.

Sadly we will be saying goodbye to Mrs Jackie Stanley our Sports Coach on 13 January. Jackie has decided to take the opportunity to travel for an extended period and visit family in Australia. She has

worked at Corsham Primary for 8 years and will be greatly missed by all the staff and pupils. In her role as Sports Coach, she has done so much to promote PE across the school and within the school cluster. We

would like to say a BIG thank you to Jackie and wish her well on her travels; we know she will have an amazing time. We will also be saying goodbye to Julia Sussex (a member of our Teaching Assistant and Learning Tutor team) who will be leaving us on the same day to move to Germany. We wish her all the

best in her new home.

To help cover Mrs Sussex’s Learning Tutor role, Miss Weatherill and Mrs Johnson will be doing an extra day each working across both sites.

THANK YOU!

A massive thank you to all parents, children, carers, staff, and the PTA who together made our Christmas celebrations wonderful. Every event was enjoyed by the children,

especially the annual arrival of the Pixies who descended on Corsham Primary and

wreaked their own special brand of havoc and fun all over the place!

The whole staff would like to wish everybody a peaceful and enjoyable 2017.

CHRISTMAS CHARITY FUNDRAISING

This year we raised money for Children in Need and Break. A fantastic £1,022.73 is going to be shared equally between these charities.

Thank you to everyone who donated so generously and came along to enjoy our Christmas performances and sing carols

with us in town.

We are currently reviewing the lunch money policy.

Any parents/carers wishing to see the draft policy and make any comments can obtain a

copy from the school office.

REQUEST FROM THE LUNCHTIME TEAM …

If you have any children’s dressing up clothes that are no longer needed, our lunchtime team would be very grateful to receive them for the children to use

on the playground.

Thank you!

Disabled Parking

Please recognise that a blue disability

badge must be displayed in cars who wish

to park in the disabled zones within the

school car parks.

Where this is not the case drivers will be

asked to move their cars.

Thank you for your understanding.

DARK EVENINGS

Please be aware of children walking home

alone at this time of year when it gets dark

very early. Organising groups of

children to walk together would improve

their safety. Bright fluorescent jackets and

arm-bands can help with safely being seen

by others.

UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE

We would like to remind you about the government initiatives to reduce absenteeism and improve punctuality which have brought about changes in penalties imposed on parents. If a child has ten unauthorised absences (this equates to 5 days) in 3 months, parents could be

subject to a fine. If this is unpaid after 4 weeks it will be increased and if this remains unpaid, Court proceedings will ensue..

At Corsham Primary School the register closes at 9.20am. If a child arrives for school after this

time without a valid reason, he/she will be marked in the register as having an unauthorised absence.

For any absence from school, please complete an absence request form (available in the foyer).

Please ensure that all holidays are booked during school closure periods. Thank you.

Vehicles on site—Pound Pill

We continue to be grateful to parents and carers for

understanding that we cannot allow

vehicles on site for you to drop off and collect children. We

have insufficient parking facilities to enable this to be safe and practical.

Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

CHILDREN’S CHOICE HOMEWORK

We would like to remind parents and carers about our “Children’s Choice Home

Learning Scheme”. If your child would like extra home learning, there is a box of

activities in Yr 1 to Yr 6 classrooms which children are invited to take home to do.

Parents and carers are responsible for marking this and then it can be brought back

into school to share.

Staff Team Details

We thought it might be useful to remind you of staff members who hold management responsibilities across both sites. They are as follows:

Mrs Fiona Allen—CEO of Pickwick Learning Teaching & Alliance Mrs Gina Cooke—Senior Headteacher Mrs Lindsay Fry—Head of School, Pound Pill Mrs Kerry Parker—Head of School, Broadwood Mr James Essam—Deputy Headteacher Mrs Sophie Ridout—Deputy Headteacher Mr James Passmore—Deputy Head of PLTSA Miss Helen White—Assistant Deputy Headteacher Miss Rebecca Palmer—Assistant Deputy Headteacher Mrs Jo Smalley—Assistant Deputy Headteacher Mrs Jenny Metcalfe—Assistant Deputy Headteacher Miss Sam Thomas—Curriculum Development Leader Mrs Ellie Mason—Curriculum Development Leader Mrs Lisa Kendall—Foundation Stage Leader Mrs Amy Tapscott—NQT Schools Direct Leader

Should you have any worries or concerns, all the staff listed above are always available to provide help and support. Our Leadership Team meets every fortnight and Mrs Cooke, Mrs Fry, Mrs Parker, Mrs Ridout, and Mr Essam meet every week to ensure that all lines of communication are functioning properly.

Outdoor P.E. In view of the colder weather, please provide your child with a track suit or other

appropriate warm clothing including trainers for outdoor P.E. this term.

Sports News ...

Football teams from the Mid Wilts football festival at Stanley Park in Chippenham

A huge well done to our two football teams for finishing 2nd and 3rd in the Corsham Schools’ Cluster Football Competition.

Facebook

We have become very aware of the number of children who are accessing the Facebook Social Networking website. In some cases, children have been using Facebook to post inappropriate comments about

fellow pupils which has understandably caused upset and distress to all concerned.

As many children may have received a new computer for Christmas, we thought it would be useful to draw your attention to the following information taken directly from the Facebook Privacy Policy:

“Facebook does not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to register. If you are under 13, please do not attempt to register on Facebook or send any

information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number or email address. No-one under the age of 13 may provide any personal information to or on Facebook. In the event that we collect personal

information from a child under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible.”

Currently the Facebook age limit of 13 is set by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act which was made Federal Law in America in 1998. In Britain, recent research has proved that more than half of under-13s have a Facebook

account after their parents helped them to sign up.

Our position on this subject is clear; no child should be accessing Facebook under the age of thirteen. We also feel that we cannot be held responsible to manage disputes that arise from cyber-bullying between children who have been using Facebook outside of school. Facebook is completely filtered at school so no pupils are able to access

the site at all.

For more information about using the internet safely with your children, have a look at these links:

http:/www.swgfl.org.uk/Staying-Safe

http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk

Playground Craze of the Month January’s crazes are,

comics/magazines, puppets, skipping, Lego and dominoes. Please ensure that toys are clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Punctuality

It is so important that children arrive at school in the mornings on time. Please remember that classroom doors open at 8.40am and close at 8.50am to enable children to prepare for learning. If you

arrive after this time, please report to the school office and sign in.

At the end of the day, school finishes

promptly at 3.10pm. If parents and carers are unable to collect on time, please make alternative arrangements and let the school

office know.

Thank you

Miss Palmer’s Recommended Reads

Please look out for these books in our class libraries, Corsham Library,

The Corsham Book Shop or online.

KS2

Welcome to the Midnight Gang! Midnight is the time when

all children are fast asleep, except of course for… the

Midnight Gang. That is when their adventures are just

beginning. When Tom gets hit on the head by a cricket

ball, he finds himself at Lord Funt Hospital, and is

greeted by a terrifying-looking porter. Things go from

bad to worse when he meets the wicked matron in charge

of the children’s ward… But Tom is about to embark on

the most thrilling journey of a lifetime! The Midnight

Gang tells an extraordinarily heart-warming and, of

course, funny story of five children on a hospital ward –

and on a quest for adventure! It is a story of friendship

and magic – and of making dreams come true.

KS1

A fantastic new picture book all about a football-playing

spider, written by Julia Donaldson. Spinderella the

spider has a passion for football. She tries to play a

match with her brothers and sisters but she doesn’t

know how many spiders should be on each team.

Even worse, she can’t count the goals! Luckily for

Spinderella, her Hairy Godmother has a plan . . .

Julia Donaldson does it again in this hugely engaging and

funny story all about football, spiders and counting -

what's not to love? The perfect picture book for

children of all ages - boys and girls alike.

Poetry

A Poem For Every Night of the Year is a

magnificent collection of 366 poems compiled by

Allie Esiri, one to share for every night of the year.

The poems - together with Introductory

paragraphs - have a link to the date on which they

appear. Shakespeare celebrates midsummer night,

Maya Angelou International Women's Day and

Lewis Carroll April Fool's day.

Perfect for reading aloud and sharing with all the

family, it contains a full spectrum of poetry from

familiar favourites to exciting contemporary voices.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, A. A. Milne and Christina

Rossetti sit alongside Roger McGough, Carol Ann

Duffy and Benjamin Zephaniah.

BAD WEATHER

May we remind you of the procedures

the school will use should snow prevent

staff from getting to work.

Unexpected Heavy Snowfall—Heating

and Toilets OK

Mr Hayden and Miss Johnstone live away from

the school premises. Mrs Cooke, Mrs Fry and

Mrs Parker all live outside Corsham so it is

possible that not all of us will be able to reach the

school. If this happens, messages may be taken at

the school by those teachers who can reach the

site.

The school will remain open if sufficient teachers

arrive to look after each class. If it is impossible

to supervise a class due to no teacher being

present, the children in that class will be sent

home.

If that happens:

A) A notice will be placed on the school gate

and noticeboard.

B) A message of closure will be given to the

local Wiltshire radio stations.

C) The telephone will be manned to answer

queries.

D) A text will be sent to your mobile.

E) A message will be posted on the school

website www.corshamprimary.co.uk

No child should be sent to or left at school until it

is certain that the class will open.

Unexpected Heavy Snow—Heating

and Toilets NOT working

School will be closed and the procedures above

repeated. The local radio stations will be

informed when the school is able to re-open.

Structural Damage to Buildings

The school buildings are built to the latest

specifications so closure is only likely if

structural damage occurs. The same procedures

for partial or school closure will be operated if

necessary.

DON’T FORGET that we have our text

messaging service which we use in case of

emergencies so please let us know if you have

changed your number and keep an eye on the

school website. (A text message will be sent to

each child’s first contact only.)

Unicef Donation—update

We are so proud of our amazing Year 6 pupils! Do you remember our wonderful

children raising money for Dame Allen Sugar with a start up £1 back in November?

We have received a lovely letter of congratulations from Michelle Donelan MP,

praising the children for rising to the challenge of raising money for those less fortunate than

themselves and showing shrewd business acumen too. This letter has been shared with

the children in assembly.

We wrote to Lord Alan Sugar to tell him what had been going on at Corsham Primary. His

office have written also to express how impressed he is with the children’s

entrepreneurial skills. He has sent a signed poster to the children which has also been

shared with everybody in assembly.

- Poppy Appeal -

We collected £215.97 at Pound Pill and £122.32

at Broadwood for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal this year. Thank you and well done to

everyone who contributed.

BIKEABILITY

Well done EVERYONE who took part in

Bikeability sessions at the end of last term. We

had great feedback from the instructors who

say that we are the best school they visit and all

the pupils behaved in an exemplary manner.

Hopefully children who participated will now

feel confident when riding on the roads and

cycle paths around Corsham.

Pickwick Learning Teaching School Alliance

The WHY, HOW and WHAT of Pickwick Learning

Why did we set up Pickwick Learning Teaching School Alliance?

We know we’re stronger together. We believe partnership and collaboration is the best way to continually develop and improve teaching and learning for children,

teachers and the communities in which we live and work. Our aim is simple: to improve standards and life experiences for all pupils and adults

within our alliance by working together and learning from each other.

How will we improve standards and life experiences for people in Pickwick? We believe we can achieve this by:

Sharing a set of values and beliefs that shape what we do and how we work. Our like-minded contributors work together and reap the rewards.

Encouraging all practitioners to strive to improve outcomes for all children across our alliance and beyond.

Ensuring that all individuals in our organisation are continually learning and improving. Our members are a part of something bigger - we’re all important, we all contribute, we all achieve. We join a growing pool of expertise and sharing, being supported and

then supporting in turn. Investing in our organisation: surplus from our work goes back into supporting our

member schools. Encouraging our members to contribute to our culture of learning where we collaborate

to share expertise, tackle challenges and reach our goals.

Building inclusive and productive relationships between members, inspiring each other in a safe, trusting environment.

Recognising that young people are a product of their home, their family and their communities, and that our alliance can help provide the tools they need to succeed.

What is Pickwick Learning Teaching School Alliance? We’re a unique inclusive partnership, encompassing nurseries, schools, charities and

businesses. We’ve adopted this inclusive approach, because a child’s life experience is about more than just schooling: we recognise the importance of the whole community

in having an impact on our children’s education. We’re a professional learning community. We want to identify and share best practice

and offer mutual support and expertise. We are ambitious - we want to raise standards

and we’re committed to the success of everyone involved. We run high quality school-based initial teacher training, training our own teachers ‘on

the job’ through our School Direct Programme to ensure the best new teachers are working in our schools, and in turn helping to safeguard the future of our profession.

We run exceptional professional development led by Specialist Leaders of Education,

national and international trainers and current practitioners. We broker high impact outcomes-driven school to school support using experienced

members of staff to support schools in challenging circumstances. We take part in evidence-based research projects which is used to feed into and

improve classroom practice across the alliance.

We constantly talent spot to ensure that all the schools in our organisation can effectively succession plan, ensuring that leadership, and teaching and learning

remains consistently high quality. We run a free annual Teaching and Learning conference to share best practice across

the alliance.

By James Passmore

Congratulations

William D-M, Rosie H and Caden L

who have received Peacock Awards for completing 6 merit cards.

Congratulations

Jack B, Leo M and Sam B-R,

who will receive their Roll of Honour for completing 15 merit cards.

Congratulations

Nathan O-T, Dylan P, Nathan L and Alex E

who will be entered in the Golden Book for completing 9 merit cards.

Congratulations

Esme F, Elise H, Matthew E and Billy S

who will receive Golden Badges for completing 18 merit cards.

Congratulations

Gracie W

who has received a book token for completing 21 merit cards.

Evie W and Faye G have

achieved medals for being

Corsham Hockey Club Player

of the Week Under 10’s.

Luke M has chieved aquatic

skills program – ducklings 3.

Elsie E has achieved her

Stage 3 Learn to Swim

Award.

Abbie T has received a

“Gymnast of the Day”

trophy.

Aadi B has received a

Fundamental Fencing

Award.

Holly V has achieved

Stage 3 Swimming Award.

Poppy E received her Stage

1 Learn to Swim Award.

Lily R has achieved her

Levels 9 and 10 National

Swim Awards.

Bea Y has run 73 miles with

the One Mile Club.

Poppy M has received her

Level 6 Gymnastics

certificate.

George D has received a

fencing certificate bronze

award.

Nancy S has received her

Badge 4 from the Wiltshire

School of Gymnastics.

Bunny N and Chloe G have

received their Gymnastics

Level 7 Awards.

We had a lovely Christmas card from Anitha at the Goodwill Children’s Home in Tamilnadu. Each year the children raise money to sponsor Anitha by hosting their Indhu Rani afternoon and we were delighted to hear from her last month. She said: Dear Friends, Christmas fills us with peace, pleasure and a lot of cheer. I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year 2017. With love Anitha

Additional Clubs at Corsham Primary

Broadwood

Cookery Club Year 2 Thursday 3.15pm—4.15pm

Knitting Club KS2 Friday lunchtimes

History Sewing Club KS2 Friday 3.10pm—4.15pm

French Club Years 5 and 6 Friday 12.30pm—1.30pm

Pound Pill

Knitting Club KS2 Wednesday lunchtimes

Genealogy Club KS2 Thursday 3.10pm—4.15pm

Oliver R has received his

Stage 2 swimming badge.

Jacob A has been awarded

Tae-kwon-do Student of

the Year.

Mya M has achieved

Swimming Award Level 3.

Joshua M has achieved

Jellyfish Level 1 swimming

award.

Mason B has achieved his

10m Swimming Award.

Theo H has achieved his

10m Swimming Award.

Dates for your Diary 2017

January Tuesday 3 School term starts Friday 13 Cake Sales 6E and Apples at PP Cake Sale 6HV at BW Thursday 19 PTA Winter Disco at BW Wednesday 25 Class Assembly Year 1 at PP—9.15am Thursday 26 PTA Winter Disco at PP Friday 27 Class Assembly 1T at BW—9.15am

February Friday 3 Cake Sales 1A and 5G at PP Cake Sale 4W at BW Tuesday 7 PTA Meeting at BW—7.30pm Wednesday 8 Wonderful Wednesday at 2.30pm Class Assembly Year 2 at PP—9.15am Thursday 9 Children Running the school today Friday 10 Class Assembly 2A at BW—9.15am School ends at 3.10pm for half term Monday 20 School starts Thursday 23 Lovely Learning—Pears—2.30pm Tuesday 28 Lovely Learning—Apples—2.30pm

Gina Cooke Lindsay Fry Kerry Parker

Senior Headteacher Head of School Pound Pill Head of School Broadwood

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know

what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.”

Dr Seuss