Latest News

Inside the Villains.....

Fri 15 Feb 2019

Across school we have been inspired by the book 'Inside the Villains' by Clotilde Perrin this week. This is a wonderful book that looks at different fairy tale villains - The Wolf, The Giant and The Witch.

Early Years explored why The Wolf was being so bad and decided that it was because he felt so sad and must have a broken heart. From this idea they invited parents in to a DT workshop event to create The Wolf and create a circuit to light up his heart again. Thank you to all the parents who were able to attend, take a look at Mrs Doult's blog in the Early Years section of the Class pages for pictures :https://www.shortwoodprimaryschool.com/mrsdoults-blog-1/

Key Stage 1 started their week by following a trail to discover the witches who had come to visit on Monday. They asked questions and created some beautiful art work based on The Witch in the book. Key Stage 2 pupils explored the character of The Giant. They used the giant in our playground as part of their Maths work and found out about the tallest people alive too. Year 6 pupils were able to decide how to express their ideas creatively. Evie in Year 6 wrote an amazing poem which looked at how The Giant was perhaps not so mean after all and that maybe Jack wasn't such a good guy - she is going to illustrate her work then we will publish it on this site.

Key Stage 1 classes also managed to pack in the DT workshops with parents where they got to create their own puppet designs. These were really well attended, thank you for your support.

Year 5 enjoyed a trip up to Ercall Wood on Tuesday to see a preview of their production of 'Little Shop Of Horrors'. The year group were accompanied by Mr Corbett, our Vice Chair of Governors. It is always inspiring for current Short Woodies to see the older generation of Short Woodies in the next phase of their school lives. There was a real buzz from the children about the performance. Following their trip to Ercall Wood Year 5 got to launch their gliders this week that they had created in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workshops previously. They were evaluating the success of their designs - great fun was had by all with some great learning in evidence. Later in the year we are going to be building on the success of the workshops by using one of our PD Days in June to focus on STEM learning across school.

PTA Bingo was well attended last Friday, a fun family night out. Thanks to the PTA members who volunteered their time to organise and run the event which raised over £250. If anyone has ideas for future events please speak to our PTA members who can be found selling cakes on a Friday or contacted through the school office. We have also had a group of Year 5 boys who have worked with Mrs Harris to create a 'Valentine's Day' tombola. Dylan, one of our school council captains, and his team have raised over £130. Well done boys, a great example of Short Woodiness.

Congratulations to our Golden Leaf winners this week, they are great examples of everything Short Woodies are. One of our winners was particularly thrilled to receive her prize from award winning author Berlie Doherty too, for writing the star letter on her webpage this month - well done Alexandra a double celebration today!

Today was the last day of this half term and marks half way in the academic year. We are encouraging all of our pupils to increase the time they spend reading at home, the practice is so important to reinforce the work in school, we would appreciate parents and carers supporting them in this and completing reading diaries so we can acknowledge their efforts in school.

We want you to have a lovely happy half term - please find time to spend some quality time to enjoy together, hopefully the weather will be kind! We will see you all back on Monday 25th February.

In harmony.

Thu 07 Feb 2019

This week we have had the pleasure of singing workshops delivered by Jack from The Schools Arts Trust. Later in the term there is going to be a Big Sing event at Oakengates theatre where local schools within the trust are coming together to sing as a mass choir. Tickets will be available for anyone who would like to attend the event, we will be sending out details later in the term. The staff also had an additional training session to develop their confidence and skills in teaching singing as part of our ongoing commitment to using 'The Arts' across school as a positive learning tool. There was a real feel good factor about the workshops from pupils and teachers a like. Take a look at our Brightening Minds page to hear the teachers singing in beautiful harmony: https://www.shortwoodprimaryschool.com/brighter-minds/

One of our Year 5 girls is excitedly awaiting the delivery of her signed copy of 'Treason' - Berlie Doherty's new book. Alexandra was so inspired by the work they have done in school about 'Street Child', she wrote to Berlie Doherty. The author then took the time to contact us at school to check Alexandra was one of our pupils and has now published the letter on her website : http://www.berliedoherty.com/

Carrying on the reading theme, Harry Potter day was celebrated after school in the library this week. Junaid (Y6) and Martha (Y5) read brilliantly to a captivated audience, thank you to them both and to Mrs Link who works hard plan a great range of events in the library.

There was a good turnout for the Key Stage 1 parents workshop this week. As part of the Rags and Riches topic the workshop run by Miss Coleman was aimed at allowing parents to explore how to create hand puppets, before they come in next week to support their children in bringing their own designs to life. All parents and carers in years 1 and 2 are invited to join their children as part of the workshop next week - we do provide child care for younger children if required during the workshops, to ensure you have a quality session with your child in class. If you need this please speak to you child's class teacher.

The school council have met this week to discuss the ideas for playground games. They have also reviewed their role this year in reinstating the play leaders and providing positive prompts for pupils around school. The council have also been asked to talk to their classes about what they would like to focus on next.

Our dodgeball team played really well on Monday afternoon, having finished in the last six they will now go on to play in the finals later in the year.

On a safety note if you are using the car parks to collect children from after school clubs or drop off for breakfast club please take extra care to look out for children and parents walking through the car park. There was a near miss this week as someone reversed out of a space at an inappropriate speed. It is everyone's responsibility to ensure the safety of everyone on our site.

PTA bingo is happening tonight - thank you to the team who have organised this event. Everyone is looking forward to a fun family evening.

Well done to our Golden Leaf children this week - you are great ambassadors for our school and we are very proud of you. Have a great weekend, remember next week is the last one of this half term.

Engineering success

Fri 01 Feb 2019

This week Year 5 took part in another exciting STEM workshop. Their challenge was to work as a team of engineers in the 1940’s to design an aircraft (glider) to get rationed supplies to people who are stranded in war-torn areas. The children had limited resources – just corrugated card, foam or polystyrene and no sticking materials.

The children first designed their glider and then decided on the material they would use. It was important that their measurements were accurate. At the end of the day, children got to fly their glider and were judged on

Distance flown
Creativity - Design of aircraft - fitting with the theme
Landing at drop off points
Engineering skills.

The engagement and excitement the children (and staff) showed was a delight, such a rich learning experience.

Year 3 and 4 have been visiting the Art Gallery in Wolverhampton this week. They have experienced a range of different art forms, explored their ideas and had a go at art work themselves. Their 'Every picture tells a story' topic will build on this visit in the coming weeks.

Key Stage 1 pupils turned detectives around school this week to try and find the princess to fit the magic slipper which was found after Prince Charming paid them a visit.

Early years are being engineers at the moment, their imaginations have been sparked by having chance to take apart old cassette players and radios amongst other things. The pupils are particularly interested in how things move and 'flow' - the flow of water, electricity and wind power. Take a look at Mrs Doult's blog in the children's menu for images for the work happening in Early Years.

Our new Play leader team met this week for the first time. We are reintroducing this scheme following discussions with our school council. This team is being led by one of our Year 6 pupils Ethan Davies, he will be co-ordinating the timetable and supporting the team as he has been doing the role brilliantly for some time. Following letters of application pupils have been selected to provide the Key Stage 1 pupils with positive role models and new friends to play with.

A concern that has arisen this week is the level of engagement our pupils are having with online gaming. The game called Fortnite is a particular concern. We have had a number of discussions with concerned parents over the manner in which pupils are talking to each other as part of the 'game'. Players are able to create 'parties' and other players can join in. We have discovered that many pupils are playing in 'open parties' which means anyone can join them, clearly leaving them vulnerable online. The violent nature of the games some pupils are playing is also impacting on the behaviour parents are seeing at home and we are seeing at school. The age rating for the game is 12 years but we are aware that many of our pupils play. We would urge you to ensure that if you allow your child to play online that you fully understand who they are playing with, the content of the games and that you can hear what is being said by your child. Many of the conversations we hear about are inappropriate and are not the kinds of things the children would say in a face to face environment. As a consequence of conversations that are being had at home during their online gaming, we are seeing incidents in school. We want to work in partnership with parents to ensure pupils are fully equipped for the online world to reap the benefits but also mange the risks. We are discussing ways to do this and any thoughts or suggestions around how we as a school can support or provide information would be gratefully received. Please contact us via the school office. Advice can be found on the following website:

.https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

Thank you to everyone who attended Parents Evening this week, we had a high turnout and plenty of positive and constructive feedback. If you haven't managed to get to see your child's teacher you can still make an appointment by catching the teacher after school or contacting the school office. Teachers will be happy to book a mutually convenient time to discuss your child's progress.

Congratulations to out Golden leaf winners this week, they are great examples of everything that is great about being a Short Woody. We are also really proud of the children who took part in a recent orienteering challenge and our Year 5/6 football team who have progressed to a semi final match with John Fletcher Primary later this term.

Have a great weekend -stay warm.