Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
You will have noticed the new markings on the car park that have been done this week. Thank you to everyone for your cooperation in making our school safer for everyone. We have talked to the children today about the difference it has made already. We have remarked the disabled bays, please only use these if you have a blue badge. The drop off zone is being used effectively at the moment, please remember that the younger children do still need an adult to accompany them into school and cannot be dropped off to come in on their own.
Mrs Butele was invited to The Netherlands this week to speak at a teacher training event to share the benefits of planning a curriculum that includes learning opportunities beyond the classroom, for example forest school and outdoor maths. She also visited a number of schools in and around Rotterdam to explore and compare our school system and the Dutch system. We have various links with schools across Europe and enjoy the opportunities to explore different educational systems and compare them with our own approach.
Our Key Stage One pupils have had exciting trips to RAF Cosford this week. The children have been really excited about the opportunity to explore the aircraft on display and take part in various workshops to support their Up Up and Away topic.
Year 5 pupils have been code breaking today outdoors, using their book 'Letters from the Lighthouse' they have been developing their understanding of the World War 2 topic. The children have loved the experience of working in this way. Year 6 pupils are returning to school this evening for a film night, the children are really looking forward to this event.
As a school we are receiving regular updates regarding the evolving situation with the Coronavirus. We are talking to the children about the importance of good personal hygiene - the following link has some useful guidance. https://twitter.com/NHSuk/status/1235112744917049346
We will of course keep you fully informed of any further developments we are made aware.
Congratulations to our Golden Leaf winners this week. We have been talking to the children about kindness this week and many of the golden leaves highlighted this quality.
Have a great weekend.
Welcome back to school for the second half of the Spring term. We are delighted to say Mrs Harris is back with us following her knee surgery. She is thrilled to be back in school, everyone has welcomed her back into school life.
Following a great deal of work with the school catering team our school council have been proud to introduce a sandwich bar into the dinner hall. Many children have chosen the school sandwich option this week and the feedback has been really positive. The children are able to choose from a range of fillings, add salad and then choose a cake or biscuit, fruit and yoghurt or soft cheese square. We have been really impressed by how quickly the children have picked up the new routine. Our next challenge is to reduce the amount of waste, we are encouraging children to eat their crusts and to only choose the amount of food they feel they can eat. We are keen to respond to the feedback we have received from the children, the first thing we have acted upon is their request for some bread to be unbuttered!
Before the holidays we wrote about the new road markings that were expected outside of school over half term. We are disappointed that these have not been done. Our understanding is that the local authority have decided that the road needs to be resurfaced and they will not do the markings until this has been done. We will keep you informed.
Today the Year 6 children have experienced a day as an 'Ancient Greek'. It was a delight to see the children and staff really getting into the spirit of the day by dressing up. At lunchtime the children talked enthusiastically about their experience.
Year 5 have been outdoors all day today, Mrs Bridger and Mr Saunders have supported the team in immersing the children in their war time topic.
We are delighted to share our golden leaf winners this week, they are real superstars. They have enjoyed the top table today and have been celebrated in our Golden Leaf assembly.
Today was a day with a difference, across school children celebrated all things Maths. We had some amazing costumes - from calculators to Maths wizards, Rockstars to crocodiles......It was great fun to see everyone's smiles and we have raised some money for the NSPCC along the way, thank you to everyone who made a donation to such a worthwhile cause.
During half term we are expecting some changes to the road markings outside of school. This is in response to safety concerns raised by many members of our school community. There will be additional yellow lines preventing parking on Limekiln Lane, we are expecting these to extend out around the corner onto Holyhead Road. We are also creating a drop off only zone outside Nursery so cars will no long be able to park along the edge of the carpark. This should enable the use of the actual designated parking spaces which are often blocked and reduce the emissions from car engines which we are finding are seeping into school. We will be writing to everyone soon, these issues will only be addressed by everyone working together, being patient and considerate. The safety of everyone on site is the priority and we are grateful to everyone for working with us to resolve issues.
We have celebrated sporting success this week too. Our football team won against Woodlands Primary School. Our TAG rugby team also won at their tournament, progressing to the next round. Well done to all who took part and thank you to the staff team who plan and participate in these events, without them our pupils would not have so many opportunities to show their skills.
We have been reviewing our approaches to developing reading across school and to promote a love of reading for all. Please encourage your child to share their reading wallets with you and share books at home. Reading is such an important skill that opens up a world of opportunities. We will be sharing more of our ideas soon.
Many of our Golden Leaves this week have mentioned Maths, from fractions to recalling number facts. They have also included comments about friendliness, kindness and positive mindsets. Well done to all of our winners.
Our Golden Leaf winners this week were commended for all sorts of Short Woody values but in particular their positive attitudes which not only help their own learning but also the learning of their peers.
Our Basketball team celebrated Coach Butler's birthday with a gold medal winning performance this week. The team worked really well together and showed fantastic skills and as importantly the right attitude. They returned triumphant and we have enjoyed sharing in their success. They will represent Telford and Wrekin in the summer at the School Games in Shrewsbury.
We have had lots of queries about how Mrs Harris is recovering from her planned operation. She is working really hard with her physiotherapy to ensure she can return to school soon. Thank you for all of your kind messages, she is really touched and is looking forward to seeing everyone.
Our full governing body met this week. We are delighted to welcome Helen and Flora to the team of Governors. We are really grateful to the time our Governing body give to support our school. Part of this weeks meeting was spent discussing the traffic issues outside of school. We will be in touch soon to inform you of changes that are happening to the parking outside of school, we have been working with the traffic and road safety team as a result of concerns expressed about the safety of our pupils and their adults at the start and end of the day.
Many of you will have noticed the new clocks we have installed around school. This is an idea developed after one of our educational visits to Sweden. Telling the time is taught across school and is a tricky concept for children to develop. We hope by having the outdoor clocks children will have more opportunities to notice the time at different points of the day. Please chat to your children on the way in and out of school and encourage them to tell you the time that is displayed and possibly, as the seasons change, what they notice about their environment at different times of the day. This was a really simple but successful strategy observed in Sweden, we are hoping it will support our pupils learning too - as well as being a useful tool for you to use to encourage your children to get into school on time.
Maths has been a real theme in our Golden Leaf assembly today. We are working hard to raise the profile of maths across school to inspire children to learn key facts and really challenge themselves with problems. On February 7th we are joining with schools across the country to support the NSPCC Maths day where we will be encouraging children to come to school in a maths themed outfit or as their favourite Times table Rockstar. It may that they have clothing with numbers on, dress as a shape or do their hair in plaits in multiples of 2 or 3, be as creative as you like we do not want families spending money on costumes. We are inviting you to donate to the NSPCC to support this great charity if you would like to.
Congratulations to our Golden Leaf winners this week, we are really proud of you all - we have had a technical problem with the pictures so we will take them again and add them next week.
Last night over 40 pupils attended the regional Young Voices concert in Birmingham to become part of a mass choir which entertained an audience of thousands of family and friends. While we have some tired, weary faces this morning (pupils and staff) everyone agrees it was an amazing night to be part of. Feedback form parents who were able to attend as part of the audience has been lovely to hear too - special memories made. Thank you to the team of staff who have given up their time to support the children in preparing for the event and for going along to ensure we could take such a large number, without our staff being willing to 'go the extra mile' we wouldn't be able to have such great adventures.
We have been holding pupil progress meetings across school this week. These give us an opportunity to come together as a team to discuss the progress of each pupil, and ensure we are doing all we can to meet their needs. Teachers will share this with parent and carers at the parents evenings planned for the week after next - look out for the information being sent soon.
As the weather is so unpredictable at the moment please do not forget to ensure your children come to school in appropriate clothing, in particular coats. They will also need their outdoor kits for Forest School. We do get the children out in almost all weather conditions, they are really enjoying muddy play at the moment so old clothes for forest school are a good idea. Indoor shoes/ slippers are really important too.
The Archery team came 7th out of 21 schools this week in their competition, they were really resilient in their approach to the competition and were great ambassadors for the school.
Well done to the children who are building up their dojos as a result of their reading efforts at home. Every time children read and get an adult to sign their diary to confirm they have read dojos are awarded.
Our Golden Leaf winners this week have been working really hard across the curriculum, it has been lovely to see the work they are so proud of. Kindness was another theme this week, with many of our winners showing really positive traits to their friends. Well done.
Welcome back to the new term and Happy New Year to everyone. It has been a delight to see everyone again this week.
Teaching staff began the new term with some inspiring training focused on teaching and learning in maths. This gave a great opportunity to reflect on what we already do well and think about how we can develop it further.
On Tuesday we were pleased to see all of our Short Woodies return and hear of their holiday adventures. Then it was time to work! New topics have been introduced, Early Years are being explorers, Key Stage 1's topic of Up Up and Away will see them exploring flying machines and imagining where they could travel to. Years 3 and 4 are studying rainforests, a visit to Chester Zoo is planned, Year 5 are developing an understanding of life during the second world war while Year 6 are studying Myths, Monsters and The Ancient Greeks.
Mrs Harris was hoping to be back at the start of this term, however her knee is not quite healed yet so she will need a little more time off. She is keeping in touch on a regular basis and is looking forward to being back later in the term. In the meantime Mrs Butele will remain as Acting Head, supported by the great team at Short Wood. If you have any questions, queries or concerns please do no hesitate to contact us in school. You can call in, ring the office for an appointment or speak to staff at the start or end of the days.
We look forward to a busy term ahead. Please support your child at home by reading with them as often as possible, they will bring home a reading book daily. We also need you to be practising key number facts such as multiplication tables and spelling patterns. Looking at these for short periods of time on a regular basis really does make such a difference to your child's progress in school. Thank you in advance for your ongoing support.
Congratulations to our first Golden Leaf winners of 2020 - they are all great examples of all of our Short Wood values and continue to be super role models throughout school.
We started this week being welcomed into Christ Church where the children were able to see the wonderful array of Christmas trees on display as part of their Tree festival, including the trees made by pupils form our school. The children were brilliant ambassadors for our school as we walked to the church, it was a lovely opportunity for our younger and older Short Woodies to chat and spend time together.
Christmas lunch was served to over 450 pupils and guests on Wednesday, our lunchtime team do an amazing job to ensure this is a celebration for everyone to enjoy. Mrs Harris made a guest appearance at lunchtime, she wants everyone to know she is working hard on her recovery and hopes to be back with us early in the New Year.
The school sparkled and shone with all the party gear on Thursday, lots of fun and games were had and a visit from Santa was a highlight.
As always our Golden Leaf winners have been celebrated today - we are really proud of them. We were sad to say goodbye to Mrs Lucas who is leaving us today, she is going back to New Zealand this weekend to take up a new post next year. We wish her well and thank her for her hard work at Short Wood.
As we have reached the end of term we are reflecting on a busy time. Getting to know our new Short Woodies that have joined us this year has been delightful. So much has been achieved this term through hard work, perseverance and the resilient attitudes of our pupils and staff. We are grateful to the commitment our staff show to ensuring the creative curriculum provides a broad context for learning, as well as a range of opportunities for the whole community.
Kindness has been a theme of many of our assemblies this term, today was no exception as our Golden leaf winners were commended for being kind and considerate. At this busy time of year we hope you can all find time to be kind to yourselves too. We wish you a Happy Christmas if you are celebrating next week, a happy holiday and peaceful New Year. School will reopen for pupils on Tuesday January 7th 2020.
Wow! That has been the response to many of our performances this week. We have been treated to such a variety of Christmas inspired performances and the children have truly shone. The week began with Reception, two out of the three classes beat the weather and had their Christmas around the campfire, and when the weather was really too wet and windy the other class showed great resilience in adapting their performance for the hall. Whatever the weather the opportunity to share hot chocolate and biscuits with family and friends afterwards was enjoyed and the smiles were heart warming, thank you for the positive messages we have received about how precious these performances were. Impressive plays from Year 1 and 2 pupils came next, they were brilliant at remembering their lines and their cues to come on and off stage for their moment in the limelight, and sang many songs to make us smile. Again performing for their family and friends was a highlight. Thursday began with a visit from The Farm on Wheels - a donkey, sheep, turkey and rat formed the backdrop for the Nursery children to retell the nativity story in their own words and fir them to share what Christmas means to them. The children's singing was a particular hit with the turkey who got louder as the performance went on. Our finale came on Thursday night when our Year 5 pupils presented a Victorian Christmas - an evening of traditional Christmas songs were performed to a packed audience, who were treated to handmade gifts too. The pupils have really been the stars of our shows this week but none of these events would be possible without the creativity and enthusiasm of our staff. We have also been supported by Jack and Mari from The Schools Arts Trust, we are grateful for their ongoing support. They have all worked so hard to enable and empower the children to be the best they can be and we thank them for that. We also want to thank everyone who have come to watch and support the children, family and friends are the most important of audiences, having the Short Wood community together at these events is such a positive experience.
Secret Santas have been reading in the library this week, sharing some of their favourite Christmas stories. Thank you to Sky's family who have donated a box of books to school this week we are really grateful. Next week Mrs Link will be collecting books in and doing her end of term sort out of the library so if you have any books at home please return them.
We have also welcomed some new Short Woodies this week as part of their transition into Nursery. They will be joining us in January but have come in to experience time in school. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to talk to their parents and carers and welcome them to our community.
Next week is a busy one - we have visits to Christ Church on Monday and Tuesday morning, followed by Christmas lunch on Wednesday and parties on Thursday.
Golden Leaf winners are below, they have displayed such an array of talent and Short Woody characteristics and we are very proud of them.
Have a great weekend.
This week we have had some wonderful comments from community members who have seen our children out and about spreading Christmas cheer. Key Stage One have visited different care homes to sing their Christmas songs and the Year choir visited Sunnycroft earlier in the week to sing some of the songs they have been learning for their Victorian Christmas celebrations next Thursday. Thank you to anyone who went along to support them - we know from Sky's Grandma how much everyone enjoyed their performance.
Next week we have a range of Christmas performances planned - dates and times have been sent out by email and on Dojo, if you have any queries please contact the school office.
The library will be the place to be next week after school - we have been informed that Santa is sending some secret readers in. Visit the library next week to hear Christmas themed stories form our 'Secret Santas'.
All of our staff have been working with Karen Wilding this week on developing the teaching and learning of maths across school. Karen will be returning for our PD day in January to follow up this training. Staff came away inspired and ready to use some new ideas.
The Year 5 trip to Blists Hill was a success, they were learning all about Victorian life in this area. They undertook various Christmas related activities such as making a Christmas pudding and rag decorations. They watched the 'dipping donkey' (ask a Year 5 to explain!) and made their own candles. Everyone really got into the spirit of the day by dressing up and taking on the role of a Victorian person.
The full governing body met on Thursday evening. This was the second meeting of the term to review their involvement in school development and maintain their strategic overview of the school. There was particular focus on meetings they have held with middle leaders in school and how they are leading initiatives in reading, writing and maths.
Our Golden leaf winners this week have shown all the qualities of brilliant Short Woodies. We have been talking a lot about kindness over the past couple of weeks, thinking about how simple small things really so mean a lot. Our Golden Leaf children are great examples of kindess in action!
Overall School: 94.2%