We hope...
…you have a happy and healthy summer holiday.
There’s a lot to get up to in and around Leeds. Breeze is a good place to start looking, and also check out What’s On in Leeds and Leeds List.
The summer holiday is a long one, so keep up with reading. Encourage your child to continue to read often – quarter of an hour, most days will be a great way to keep their reading skills strong and their love of reading alight.
It’s not just about books – reading a comic or magazine, a website, a recipe, First News newspaper are all good ways to keep your child reading. Why not take a trip to one of Leeds’ libraries – a local one, or why not try the Central Library in town for an afternoon trip out?
You might also want to keep your child’s number skills fresh, too. For younger ones, knowing their number bonds is a good start. For older children, knowing their times tables and corresponding division facts is so important.
Taking up these top tips for learning will be a great way for your child to return to school in September hitting the ground running as a confident learner.
Don’t forget our summer competition, too. Whether you go away or not, we want to see some maths done in an unusual place or using unusual things, or a pic that shows somewhere/something ordinary but which shows lots of maths.
Take a photo and send it to [email protected] or print it out and bring to school in the first week back in September – entries must be in by 08.09.17. There will be prizes for great examples of the Extreme Maths. We’re looking forward to seeing your entries!
Whatever you get up to, have a great holiday. See you on Tuesday 05 September.
Well done...
…to all these children, and one or two others, who have all got 100% attendance this year – that’s an amazing achievement!
Goodbye...
…to all our wonderful Year 6 friends. We wish you lots of success and happiness and high school.
We also want to say goodbye to the staff who are leaving us today: Mr Cope and Miss Plienar; Mrs Ramsden (good, again!); and goodbye to these two characters…
Ask your child why Miss Walker is dressed so bizaarely, and why Mr Mills is feeling somewhat boxed in!
Some holiday reading...
Teach Primary is a great quarterly magazine for teachers. Recently, it included an article all about some great books for children, with lessons and ideas for classroom learning.
We thought we’d show you this article now, as we approach the summer. You might want to browse through this with your child to choose some summer reading – there are some good ideas for some holiday projects, too.
Amongst the books featured are some of our favourites of ours: we love The Tear Thief (Carol Duffy) and Cloud Busting (Malorie Blackman), for example.
(By the way, don’t be put off by the idea of your older child reading a picture book like Weslandia – there’s a growing number of thought-provoking, mature picture books for older children.)
Parent governor elections
Following the resignation of a parent governor, we have had a vacancy for a new parent governor. We recently wrote to all parents and carers seeking nominations. There were seven nominations – it’s great we have parents/carers with strong skills and interests in the school community.
Since the number of nominations received exceeded the number of vacancies, it was necessary to hold a ballot. This ballot was open from 11 to 18 July.
We had a high number of people who voted, reflecting how engaged and committed our parents / carers are in the schools and their effectiveness.
The successful candidate is Jude Rawlings. Her election statement reads (extracts only):
I am standing for election because I want to represent… the parents of the three Sphere schools, as we aim to give our children the best start in life.
I know that the governors have an important role to play in scrutinising strategic direction and educational and financial performance… I work as a commercial litigation solicitor for one of the world’s largest law firms, so am used to reading lengthy reports, interpreting data and asking challenging questions. I believe that experience will be of assistance to the governing body.
My husband and close friends are primary school teachers, so I understand the challenges schools face with budgetary constraints, the curriculum and pressure to meet targets. I believe there is a balance between meeting those targets and ensuring that our children are happy and develop their own talents.
If elected as governor I am keen to work for greater integration between the three Sphere schools whilst allowing each school to maintain its own individuality.
Governors and school leaders thank all seven candidates for putting themselves forward. Our Governing Body is increasingly strong and effective, and will benefit from people who can provide the appropriate level of challenge, support and expertise.
Newsletter feedback
We recently sent you you a newsletter with your child’s class next year, plus various summaries of the changes to uniform, homework etc, plus lots of key dates for the year ahead.
We’ve had a number of people comment favourably on this end-of-year newsletter. Here’s one comment:
I’ve just read the newsletter ‘Next Year’s Class’. Just thought I’d say thank you as it’s a really well thought out, informative document. It’s so useful to have the information on homework and also those dates for the diary early on.
‘Talk Time’ discussions sound great.
[We] appreciate all the hard work that is happening in school. Hope you all have a great summer.
Leeds Birthday Weekend
From the Leeds Children and Families team:
To celebrate five years since HRH The Queen visited Leeds and helped launch Leeds City Council’s bold ambition to be a truly child friendly city – Child Friendly Leeds – the council and partner organisations are hosting a ‘Big Birthday Bonanza’ and the whole city is invited.
Child Friendly Leeds is hosting two days of free events for families in the city centre on 22 and 23 July 2017 from 12 – 4pm. Please note, an early opening on Millennium Square (11am – 12 noon) on 23 July is for children with additional and complex needs.
There will be many free activities on Millennium Square, Briggate, Cookridge Street, Albion Street and in the shopping centres. Families are invited to bring a picnic and enjoy free screenings on the Big Screen in Millennium Square. CBBC is also joining in the celebration as are Breeze, Active Sports and city centre ambassadors, who will be putting on lots of different activities to encourage families to explore the city centre. These will include a climbing wall, go-karts, sports activities, a flash mob dance and arts and crafts. Find out more.
All event visitors will be given a map of activities and encouraged to take up the free offers.
There may be nominal charges for some events and for refreshments, but the majority of activities are free.
We want as many children and parents to come along to the event as possible, so that we can help to create special childhood memories for families in Leeds. This birthday celebration is a fantastic opportunity to say thank you to all of the businesses, organisations and individuals who have supported Child Friendly Leeds over the past five years.
Fab feedback
A little while ago, we posted some comments, the views of ‘outsiders’ – educational advisors, consultants and other Leeds headteachers. Here’s an update… Someone has recently visited our school to conduct some pupil interviews, much like what an inspector would do. Here are just a few of extracts from the feedback:
- ‘Without exception, the children proved to be extremely open and articulate.’
- ‘…it was clear that children at Scholes do indeed feel safe within the school environment. The children are trusting of adults in school and know they can approach them with any worries regarding bullying, they are confident such issues, which are infrequent, will be dealt with appropriately.’
- ‘Without exception all the children interviewed enjoyed school.’
Super swimming
We’re looking forward to awarding some superstar swimmers their first swimming certificates next week!
Election of a parent governor - voting now open
We recently wrote to all parents and carers regarding the Parent Governor vacancy, and to seek nominations. As the number of nominations received exceeds the number of Parent Governor vacancies, it is now necessary to hold a ballot.
There are seven candidates and you may vote for one candidate only. The ballot can be accessed via https://goo.gl/LUCBGF
The ballot closes at 12 noon on Tuesday 18 July 2017.
The attached letter provides full details of the voting process and the candidates’ statements.
David Roundtree, Head of Federation