Contact Us

Southwater Junior Academy

Worthing Road

Southwater

Horsham

West Sussex

RH13 9JH

Headteacher : Mrs Rebecca Toogood

Telephone : 01403 730475

Contact us via email at office@southwaterjunioracademy.co.uk

Newsletter Autumn I 2018

Year 4 at Hampton Court

Headteacher Headlines It was lovely to welcome so many parents to the recent curriculum meetings where year teams

introduced themselves to parents/carers and explained what the academic year of 2018-19 has in

store for their children. If you were able to attend, I

hope you found the meeting to be friendly, informa-

tive and helpful. If you weren’t able to attend, you

can find the Power Point for your child’s year group

meeting (including information on this years “3 things

to remember…”) on the school website under ‘News

and Events’. Each Power Point contains important in-

formation on the year’s curriculum and outlines how

you can effectively support your child’s learning at

home.

Starting from Friday 5th October, this half term we have been welcoming parents into the acade-

my for our ever-popular class visits. These events happen regularly throughout the year and are

an opportunity for you to work with your child in class to see what they are learning. If you were

able to join us for one of these visits, I hope you enjoyed

learning alongside your child and managed to get a real

flavour of what it’s like to be a pupil at SJA. I know you

saw some fabulous lessons. The feedback we’ve re-

ceived has been excellent, so thank you for taking the

time to let us know what you thought.

I also wanted to thank those parents who have signed

up to help us on a regular basis, either by joining us on

schools trips, at special events or as parent readers.

Your support is invaluable to us and I know the children

love to see you involved, as and when you can.

I hope you enjoy reading the ‘new look’ SJA Newsletter. Some highlights inside include the Year 3

trip to Southwater Country Park, plus some exciting news about this year’s ‘Walk to School’ initia-

tive.

Have a wonderful half term and we’ll see the children back in school on Tuesday 30th October.

Mrs. R Toogood, Headteacher

Keeping you up to date Newsletters are an important form of communication and give you information about cur-

rent and forthcoming events, curriculum activities within each year group, diary dates and

anything else you need to know as parents/carers. Within each newsletter there will be a

list of dates for that term.

The SJA newsletter is posted on the academy website and sits alongside our acad-

emy twitter feeds as another way we regularly keep in touch with you. There is

also a calendar on the school’s website which is kept updated with all the events

that are happening within the school

We send out a newsletter in the last week of each half term. These will be sent

electronically for those parents for whom we have an email address. Please en-

sure that we have any new addresses so that we can update our system and

then let us know if you do not receive the communication.

There are always some spare newsletters in the office should you be unable to ac-

cess a copy at anytime. If you would prefer to receive the newsletter by pupil post

we can arrange that, if you let the office know.

Dates for your diary… the term ahead Mon 22nd Oct to Fri 26th Oct—Half Term

Mon 29th Oct—INSET

Tues 30th Oct—First day back

Thurs 1st Nov—Individual pupil photos

Mon 5th Nov—Y4 Tudor morning

Tues 6th Nov—Sibling pupil photos (attending SJA

only)

Sun 11th Nov—Remembrance Sunday, Lintot Square

(Y6 pupil representatives to attend)

Tues 13th Nov (TBC) - Open Morning (Y2)

Thurs 15th Nov—Y6 Weights and Measures

Wed 21st Nov—Open Morning (Y2)

Thurs 22nd Nov - Dress-Down Day (PTFA Tombola)

Fri 23rd Nov—Spotty Dress-Down Day (Children in

Need)

Wed 5th and Thurs 6th Dec—Y6 trip to Imperial War

Museum

Fri 7th Dec—Sparkle Disco (sessions TBC for different

year groups)

Mon 10th Dec—Flu vaccinations for Y3, Y4, Y5 ONLY

Thurs 13th Dec—Y5 Concert (1.30pm & 6.30pm)

Mon 17th & Tues 18th Dec—Y3 & Y4 Christmas per-

formances (1.30pm & 6.30pm)

Thurs 20th Dec to Weds 2nd Jan—Christmas Holiday

First Day Back - Thursday 3rd Jan

Tues 8th Jan (TBC) - Open Morning

Thurs 10th Jan—Open Morning

Wed 30th Jan—Y6 Young Voices at the O2

Fri 15th Feb—INSET

Mon 18th Feb to Fri 22nd Feb—Half Term

Mon 25th Feb—First Day Back

Changes to end of the day collection

We understand that sometimes arrangements for the end of the day collection may

need to change due to unforeseen circumstances. If you need to make a last minute

change to your child’s collection arrangements and a call is made after lunchtime, please

ensure you speak to a member of the office team and do not just leave a voicemail. N.B

if changes are required due to ‘play dates’, we would greatly appreciate it if these could

be organised before the start of the school day.

Messages from

the office

Medications

Thank you to everyone who has already returned their child’s medication to the academy

office. Please remember to inform the office staff if there are any changes to the admin-

istration of your child’s medication or sign the existing forms to confirm no changes are

required.

Earlier in 2018 most parents completed and returned the general consent forms for the

academy to administer ad-hoc antihistamine and/or paracetamol – please do inform the

office staff, in writing, if there are any changes to these consents. Instances when acade-

my staff are able to administer ad-hoc medications are very restricted but guidelines can

be found on our website https://www.southwaterjunioracademy.co.uk/

uploads/4/1/3/4/41349885/mm_website_information.pdf.

Forgotten PE kits

We do not normally call home if PE kits have been forgotten. If kits or other items are

dropped off late at the office, staff will make every effort to ensure the items are sent to

class or that the child is called to come and collect the items. However, please be aware,

this sometimes may not be possible if the office is extremely busy.

Year 3 Visit to Southwater Country Park

The Year 3 children, staff and parent helpers recently took part in a trip around the vil-

lage and Southwater Country Park. We were very lucky with the weather, which stayed

dry and sunny all day! The trip enabled the children to see for themselves the develop-

ment which has taken place in the village over recent years. We took time to view the

different types of housing and the shopping area. The visit allowed the children to expe-

rience the locality in which they live, to consider why the village is laid out as it is and

why there is further development now.

We paused on our way to Southwater Country Park to view the WWI commemorative

silhouettes and poppies at the war memorial. The children were able to link some of

their own family history to the events from a hundred years ago, and gained a deeper

understanding of why the items had been placed in the centre of their village.

Once we reached the country park, there was an opportunity for us all to take a rest in

the sunshine and enjoy lunch. It was great to welcome Mrs Toogood, who joined us for

lunch.

Following lunch, a walk around the park allowed the children to collect sights and

sounds which they then used in the poetry they wrote when parents visited our classes.

The trip was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

Miss Cooper

Year 4 visit to Hampton Court Palace

At the beginning of October, Year 4 went to Hampton Court Palace to see first-hand one

of Henry VIII’s and William III’s residences. They were guided round by one of William’s

‘spies’ on a mission to find an appropri-

ate place to hold a secret meeting to

make battle plans to fight the Spanish

who threatened his reign. Throughout

their mission, they were able to com-

pare and contrast the different parts of

the palace and use their problem solv-

ing skills to successfully determine the

most appropriate place for the meeting.

Alongside the tour, the children visited Henry’s kitchens and wine cellar. They learnt

how spelling has changed through the ages and were amazed to see how different

letters have been replaced or dropped from spellings nowadays. A quick visit to the

chapel revealed that Henry VIII had Jane Seymour’s heart cut out and hidden in the al-

ter before her burial

at St. George’s Chapel

in Windsor - a truly

gruesome fact that

the children were all

quick to cite on their

return to school.

There was just

enough time to see a replica of Henry’s crown as the original had been broken up after

the abolition of the monarchy under Charles I. The trip was rounded off for some by a

visit to see the Court Tennis in action, where the children were fascinated by how differ-

ent it was to modern day lawn tennis.

The trips were a huge success and the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We

hope that you, as parents/carers, enjoyed listening to how much they had learnt during

our class visits last week.

Miss Lush

Pupil Council and Charity News

Following the election of pupil council representatives, we will start looking to appoint class

charity reps. More details will follow after half term, so watch this space... This year, we’re

looking to run charity events at the academy slightly differently; each year group will be

able to nominate a charity of their choice to support, which could include local, national or

international charity organisations.

As always, the academy will continue to support the popular charities that we support eve-

ry year, such as the Poppy Appeal and Children in Need.

Thinking ahead to this year’s Poppy Appeal, we will let you know when

the poppies have arrived in the academy. Look out for the display of pop-

pies, soon to be ‘planted’ in front of the new Broadacres housing develop-

ment, opposite the school. To find out more about the inspiration behind

the poppy as a symbol of Remembrance click here:

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/how-we-remember/the-

story-of-the-poppy/

Children in Need merchandise (badges and various wristbands) will be on

sale with Mrs Kingsbury at lunchtimes, after half term. Items are priced at

£1 each and we request exact money only please. To help us celebrate

Children in Need Day (on Friday 23rd November), there will be a dress-

down day, for a silver coin donation. Children are encouraged to dress in

spotty style—this can be Children in Need merchandise clothing or simply

anything with plenty of spots and dots!

On a final note, during December we will once again be selling the Christmas ‘Flumpet’

merchandise for charity – more details will follow next half term.

Miss Rumble

On Thursday 20th September, four Y5 pupils went along to

Christ's Hospital school to participate in this year's Maths

Challenge. They competed in pairs against schools from far

and wide and enjoyed watching the spectacle of the march-

ing band before going in to start the competition.

During the course of the afternoon, the children tackled six different mathematical tasks,

each with an eight minute time limit. They gained points according to how many of the

challenges they could master - their brains were tested by a variety of mathematical

problems such as Tangrams, Dominoes, Train Timetables and a Broken Calculator. This

was followed by a speedy arithmetic round to finish off the proceedings, before going to

enjoy the customary delicious tea!

Well done to Chloe, Isla, James and Max for approaching each task with skill and a huge

amount of enthusiasm. All were excellent ambassadors for SJA.

Following the Y5 success, it was Y6's turn to

show their mathematical talent at the Maths

Challenge held at Windlesham House

on Tuesday 25th September. Competing again

in pairs, the children worked together to 'Find

the Value' in an algebra round, reach the tar-

get number in a Countdown style round and

finally attempted to crack twenty mathematical challenges. Each answer had to be veri-

fied by the judges and involved much running around the hall by the children, trying to

avoid the other competitors on the way back to their chairs!

It was clear from all the smiling faces how much everyone enjoyed

the afternoon. Well done to Annabelle, Callum, Fergus and Imogen

for collaborating effectively and persevering against strong opposi-

tion.

The theme for the 2018 badges is Walk the Seasons.

Mrs. D Mussellwhite

Pick up your Walk to School badge

There are 11 to collect throughout the year!

We’ve got off to a great start this year as classes are recording how they got to school.

We are encouraging children to walk to school at least three times a week. Taking pub-

lic transport, cycling and scootering count as well. In addition, children can park and

stride to school which means parking at least a ten minute walk away from school .

If your child walks to school at least three times a week, they earn a badge. The theme

this year is the seasons. September’s badge had a tractor on it and October’s will have

pumpkins.

The top classes for walking in September are 3CC and 6RC.

Walking To School with

Living Streets

Wow: another great year for the Walk to School challenge

Celebrating

English as an Additional Language (EAL) We’d love to hear more from our families who are fluent in another language at home.

We’re inviting parents/carers to work with your child

and put together a piece of work about:

the language you speak

who speaks it in your family

whether you have family abroad that you visit

how you celebrate your nationality

which key words and phrases you use

any other information you would like to share.

We would really appreciate any family photos, illustrations of your national flag,

as well as pictures of traditional food, drink and celebrations.

If you have any queries please email the office and I will get back to you.

Many thanks,

Mrs. Waide

(Modern Foreign Languages Teacher)

We have had a very busy start to a very exciting year. As educators, we ful-

ly appreciate the importance of continuous learning and progression.

Teachers were in school for two days before the children came back in Sep-

tember, preparing for the exciting and busy year ahead. Our first INSET

kicked off with our annual safeguarding training where we introduced a

new cloud-based system called CPOMs. This technology helps schools to

store contextual information about children which can then be passed on

to their next school more cohesively than our current paperwork system.

We then focused in on being ready to learn. Learning readiness is about children displaying and

securing behaviours for learning such as being organised, adopting a positive ‘growth’ mind set,

being punctual and being actively involved in the learning process. We talked in detail about

how important it is that we all model our three school values of working hard, resilience and

kindness, and how part of achieving these values is about being

ready to learn and enabling others to learn too. Teaching strat-

egies such as consistent systems and routines for lining up,

getting out resources, travelling around the classroom and col-

lecting books and resources back in have been discussed and

put in place. Parents that attended the class visits at the begin-

ning of October may have seen some of these routines in ac-

tion. I am always impressed by how quickly thirty children can pass their books to their table

captain in silence and have them piled up neatly for the class teacher to mark later that day.

During the INSET days, we also discussed our methods for ongoing

teacher assessment. The last 2 years have seen us introduce and

refine a system called Distance Marking which places the emphasis

of assessment on giving verbal feedback to children as near to the

point of teaching as possible and planning in short interventions

where they are needed. This was recognised in our most recent

Ofsted inspection in November 2017 ‘Teachers make good use of comprehensive assessment in-

formation to plan learning’. This means that there may be less teacher marking in the children’s

books but more verbal discussions with the children are taking place as a result. This year, we

tweaked the distant marking sheet which records the teachers planning as a result of their ongo-

ing assessments. Early indicators suggest that these tweaks are working well.

As well as INSET days, we have weekly staff meetings which are

designed to develop teachers’ skills and knowledge, and enhance

professional practice. We see ourselves as a learning community

and are always keen to use action research as a way to provide

our children with the best learning opportunities possible.

Mrs. Brown

Ready to Learn?

We are sorry to be waving goodbye to Mrs. Wright this half term, who will be leaving SJA

after 13 years of working at the academy. As parents/carers, you will know Mrs. Wright (or

Nicky as many of you have come to know her) as our School Secretary, a friendly face who

greets you in the office, for whom nothing is ever too much trouble. She is a font of all

knowledge and, throughout her time here, she has worked incredibly hard to support SJA

pupils and staff on a daily basis. We will all miss her unshakeable positivity, her calm words

of wisdom and her unswerving ability to always put the children first.

Thank you, Mrs. Wright—we wish you well for the future.

We are incredibly pleased to be welcoming Mrs. Tydd to SJA, who will be replacing Mrs.

Wright as our new School Secretary. Some of you may have already seen her in the office

this week.

Welcome to SJA, Mrs. Tydd!

Pupil Achievements

Congratulations to…

...Rachel Ball (6CJ) who has had a fantastic year taking part in around 10 Triathlons throughout the season. Triathlons have contributed to Rachel becoming more confident and resilient. During 2018 she did a variety of events to include open water Triathlons at Hever Castle and in Chantilly, France where she came 25 out of over 500 competitors. Rachel has steadily improved in these events achieving 3rd and 2nd podium positions in her last couple of events. Rachel has come 5th in the South East Region 2018. Rachel will move to the next age group category next year and is already signed up to compete in Ireland and France. Rachel is trying to improve her swimming and now swims for At-lantis Swim Club. She is very determined and does gymnastics for overall fitness and runs and cycles as much as she can.

If you have any pupil achievements that you would like mentioned in the

newsletter, please email the office: office@southwaterjunioracademy.co.uk

Text only, no photographs, please.

Safeguarding Update

How safe are the sites, apps and games your child uses?

If you want to stay up to date and keep your child safe in today's digital world, click here to access a guide to the social networks used by young people: https://www.net-aware.org.uk/

Here you’ll find a link to an informative article on Fortnite. See excerpt below:

The multiplayer action survival game, Fortnite: Battle Royale, has received a lot of media coverage recently due to growing popularity amongst children – and also emerging safety concerns. We’ve pulled together some information about the game and how to keep your children safe while playing it.

Do you have any comments about any information in the newsletter?

Do you have any suggestions or concerns? Do you like the new format?

Please let us know what you think below:

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