Mrs Doult and Mrs Weston from our Early Years team have been adventuring this week to Italy.  Over the past few years we have participated in a number of projects funded through Erasmus, which have enabled us to support staff's professional development.  As a result we have developed the curriculum and learning experiences here at Short Wood. Due to the success of these visits we are now leading a project of our own, we are planning to collaborate with colleagues in Sweden and Italy.

Jack Pierce from The Schools Arts Trust has been in school this week delivering music workshops with children across Key Stage 1 and 2. This was then followed by training for all teaching staff to support our delivery of the music curriculum.  We are working closely with 'The Schools Arts Trust' to continue to develop our creative curriculum, one of their creative practitioners is also working in school with us every Tuesday to enhance that creative offer, supporting staff and working with children. 

We want to congratulate our partners over at Arthog Outreach on them achieving the 'Gold Standard national safety and quality recognition'. The Gold Standard is nationally recognised as a key indicator of not just safety but also high quality outdoor learning.  We are really lucky to have this expertise on our site, the experiences we are able to work together to provide our Short Woodies are amazing.

Staying with the theme of outdoor learning as the weather gets chillier we will still be going outdoors so please ensure your child has a warm coat and suitable footwear.  Forest school sessions will continue and children are likely to get a muddy as they explore and follow their own interests outdoors.  Please send clothes that you do not mind getting dirty.  Seeing our pupils joy at jumping in puddles, creating muddy puddles, building dens and exploring how structures can be made is an absolute delight.  The team work and communication skills that are developed as a result of this type of learning are crucial life skills, as well as it being a great way to support a sense of positive health and well being. Next Thursday we are welcoming a group of student teachers from Rotterdam to observe our outdoor learning in action!  More about that next week.

With it being World Mental Health Day this week we have taken the opportunity to talk to children about positive talk and how this impacts on ourselves and each other.  We have also been discussing the importance of respect - for ourselves and each other. Please take some time to chat to your children about what has been great in their day so they can practice being positive about their actions and achievements.  These few moments can really boost us all in a world on and off line that can be all consuming if we let it.

In consultation with the police and local authority traffic officers there are going to be some new traffic calming measures outside school which we hope will ensure the safety of all the Short Woodies as they come and go from school, as well as other users of the site.  There will be two phases, everyone will need to be alert to the changes and follow the rules.  There will be new signage, additional double yellow lines and a designated drop off only zone amongst other measures.  We are grateful to the local authority for securing funding to enable us to put these measures in place.  We ask that everyone be respectful when parking outside school and be considerate of our neighbours. 

ParentPay has been really well received across school.  If you haven't signed up yet please ask the office staff for the details you need.  We are going to be using ParentPay to gain consent for trips and clubs as well as a method of payment for activities so please ensure you have an active account.

Well done to our girls football teams who have been out and about playing this week.  Our Netball team was also in action yesterday.   We want to make special mention of one Short Woodie, Alex, who demonstrated true Short Woodiness following the team's victory in their last match, as the opposing team captain led 3 cheers they appeared upset, Alex stood up, gave them a hug and a pat on the back before quietly returning to his our team.  Well done Alex for a genuine, caring response.  Mrs Lucas and Coach B were really proud of you, as we all are, thank you.

Hard work and positive approaches to learning have been celebrated in our Golden Leaf assembly this week - we are really proud of all of our winners as always.