Latest News

Happy half term

Fri 25 Oct 2019

IT has been a really busy half term, so much has been packed into the last 8 weeks.

Many of our Year 6 pupils have enjoyed a trip to Arthog this week, some of the photos can be seen in the gallery page of the site (under the children's menu). They will return to school this afternoon, tired but full of things to share and wonderful memories to treasure. We will be asking the Year 6s to talk to our current Year 5 pupils to inspire them to go next year. A big thank you to our staff team who have given up their time to accompany the trip, Mrs Saunders, Coach B, Miss Charman and Mr Walker. Without staff being willing to commit their own time we wouldn't be able to provide such exciting opportunities. I was really touched on Monday as the group were about to set off when one child presented the Coach driver with a bag of sweets, unprompted to show his appreciation - a true Short Woody act, the driver was really touched.

We have double Golden leaf pictures this week as we held our golden leaf assembly on Monday due to us putting our leaves on the tree the Friday before. We delight in celebrating with the winners each week, they are rightly very proud of themselves and we are delighted with them too.

I know the children and staff are looking forward to a well earned rest this week. When we return we will have a visit from The Book Bus on the first Monday. There will be an opportunity to buy books after school, if you can't make it then you can send money in an envelope clearly labelled with your child's name as children will be visiting the bus throughout the day.

As the nights get darker please talk to your children about keeping safe and being visible if they are on bikes or walking in the dark. We are also aware of it being Halloween next week and have talked to your children about the importance of only trick or treating at homes they know are welcoming visitors and that they should not be out and about without a responsible adult accompanying them.

Have a great week, we look forward to welcoming you back after half term.

The Power in You

Fri 18 Oct 2019

Today was a really important day in our school, we have been adding the new leaves to our tree in Tim's Garden this week and have celebrated everything that is great about being a Short Woody. Every pupil, member of staff, Governor and regular visitor to the school have added a leaf because each and every member of the Short Wood team is important. If you haven't already completed the home school agreement your children brought home this week please take some time over the weekend to go through it together. The partnership between home and school is crucial to ensure your child is being supported in the best way possible to be the very best they can be. We sang 'The Power in Me' to remind the children of the potential within them, and how important it is to aim high, believe in themselves and dream.

In line with our home school agreement we have been talking to the children across school about respect over the last couple of weeks. Our Year 5/6 assembly was focused on the culture of our school this week and how everyone has a responsibility to contribute to this. We discussed how important the words we use are and how the tone in which we speak to other impacts on how we feel about ourselves and how it makes others feel. We expect to hear 'positive talk' and are relying on our oldest pupils to model this to our younger ones. We also discussed how a simple smile can make someone's day.

Year 5 have been walking around Wellington this week as part of their 'In the shadow of The Wrekin' topic. There is such a wealth of history and culture right on our doorstep - why not ask your child about their walk, they may even be able to take you on a walk of your own.

We were delighted to host a visit from a group of Dutch student teachers this week to share our practice. They are particularly interested in the wide range of opportunities our children have to learn beyond the classroom. They saw a Reception Class at Squirrel School heating soup over the fire they had made, before they shared it with each other. They experienced Year 4 at Forest school making smores (marshmallows roasted on whittled sticks then eaten between biscuits). Class 4 were exploring what it may be like to be an archaeologist at the Egyptian 'dig' near the pool. Year 1 and Year 5 were developing their mathematical thinking outdoors - there was so much to see. Our visitors all wanted to stay longer and were so impressed by the pupils and staff they talked to.

Because of our celebration around the tree today we will be holding our Golden Leaf assembly on Monday to say a big well done to the children who have received them this week. Have a great weekend.

Positive talk

Fri 11 Oct 2019

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.

Autumn has arrived

Fri 04 Oct 2019

With the weather turning chillier this week we are feeling really autumnal. This is a good time to ensure that you are sending a warm coat and sensible outdoor footwear. Can we also ask that you check you child's belongings are labelled clearly, this helps them be independent in taking care of themselves but also helps us to get the right things back to the right children.

Our Early Years team are starting a project this week aiming to really develop resilience in their learning, using cooking apple crumble as a focus. Mrs Harris has been demonstrating how to make the perfect crumble so the children can apply the skills they have observed. Short Wood are leading a project, funded by Erasmus, which will involve visiting Italy and Sweden to work with European colleagues. We have planned a collaborative project that will involve members of our team visiting schools in Sweden and Italy to explore their ways of working and we are looking forward to welcoming staff from abroad to Short Wood too. Mrs Doult and Mrs Weston will be visiting Italy next week as part of this exciting project. We will keep you informed as to how the project develops.

Our Year 2 pupils have been out and about singing at The Morris Care Home, they have been sharing the songs they have learnt as part of their harvest celebrations. They have done so well that their Year 1 friends have been invited back to share their Christmas songs.

If you haven't already signed up to ParentPay, please pop into the office and our team will help you to sort it out. We are also going to be using ParentPay to gain consent for trips so it is more than just a method of payment.

Christ Church in Wellington have asked us to extend an invite to all members of the community join them on a Wednesday morning from 8.30am for tea and toast, this is an opportunity to meet others and have a chat.

Our Golden Leaf winners are all shining stars again this week. It is always a delight to read the leaves, we do hope you enjoy sharing all the lovely things that teachers have written.