March - Newsletter 16 (21st March 2016)
Dear Parents/Carers,
Clubs – due to Parents Evening this week there will be no football club with Mr Toyne or girls football club with Miss Rainey. Country Dancing Club has finished for this year after the finale at the Town Hall (see below).There is also no Mad Science club this week (as the classrooms are needed for Parents Evening)or next week (because of the bank holiday). The last Mad Science Club will therefore be on the Monday 25th April (as 18th April is an INSET day after the holidays). All other clubs are on as normal.
Woodwind Lessons - Mr Gosling will not be in next Thursday (31st March) but will instead do the lessons on the Friday (1st April).
Netball - well done to our netball team who came third at the recent tournament. Everyone played very well and the team are getting better and better – thank you to Mrs Peacock who gives up her time to coach them. Well done to Phoebe in Year 6 who was awarded the Fair Play Award.
Country Dance – Our country dancers danced beautifully at the Town Hall last Monday and represented the school very well – well done all. Thank you to Mrs Chamberlain who has been working with the children each week at Country Dancing Club. The club is finished now until next year although we look forward to seeing the children dance at our PTA Summer Fair on Saturday 21st May and during our Best of British Week.
Our whole school “themed week” this year is going to be based on ‘Best of British.’ We will celebrate the work of British artists, scientists, mathematicians, musicians, writers, explorers, inventors, sports people etc. and look at British history, geography, democracy, diversity, values, food, traditions and life in Britain. There will be special assemblies and competitions for the children and our teachers will be planning lessons related to their subject specialisms for children across the school. The PTA Summer Fair on the Saturday at the end of the week will also have a village fete theme.
Halle Youth Ensemble: There are many talented and enthusiastic singers and instrumentalists here at Lane End. The Halle Youth Ensemble is now recruiting young singers and instrumentalists for audition. If your child is interested, please search: www.halle.co.uk/youth-ensembles-recruitment.aspx. The deadline is Friday 6th May. Please let me know if your child is auditioning for this amazing opportunity.
Cross country – Well done to Jacob Towns in Year 6 who was chosen to represent Stockport in the Greater Manchester Cross-Country Championships which was held at Heaton Park on Saturday. Jacob came 43 out of 130 boys running and said it was a hard run but he enjoyed it. Overall Stockport boys came second in the championship and Stockport girls came first – an excellent result.
Social Media – there is a letter from all local primary Headteachers in the Cheadle Hulme cluster of schools about social media attached – please do have a read, thank you.
Helping at Home with Maths – there is also a letter from Mrs Love about how you can help at home with times tables practise. The new national curriculum places an even greater emphasis on the learning of times tables and we know that ‘practise makes perfect’ (or better and better at any rate) so please do practise at home with your child and use Mrs Love’s useful tips to help.
Rocket Science: We are preparing to become space biologists and embark on a voyage of discovery by growing seeds that have been into space! In September, 2kg of rocket seeds were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz 44S where they spent several months in microgravity before returning to Earth on 2nd March 2016. The seeds have been sent as part of Rocket Science, an educational project launched by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and the UK Space Agency. We will be one of approximately 8,000 schools to receive a packet of 100 seeds from space, which we will grow alongside seeds that haven’t been to space and measure the differences over seven weeks. We won’t know which seed packet contains which seeds until all results have been collected by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and analysed by professional biostatisticians. The out-of-this-world, nationwide science experiment will enable us to think more about how we could preserve human life on another planet in the future, what astronauts need to survive long-term missions in space and the difficulties surrounding growing fresh food in challenging climates. Our Year 5 children are tasked with the job of looking after the seeds (assisted by our Year 4s when the Year 5s are in Scarborough!). We are really excited to be taking part in this study and will be receiving the seeds in April and need to sow them on 19th or 20th April.
Find out more here:
https://space.blog.gov.uk/2015/06/26/rocket-seeds-ready-for-launch/
https://principia.org.uk/news/return-of-the-seeds/
Holidays – there is a bank holiday on Friday (25th March) and Monday (28th March) for Good Friday and Easter Monday. We break up after school on Friday 1st April and the children are back in on Tuesday 19th April (as the Monday is an INSET day).
We aim to be approachable and work in partnership with parents, so if there is anything you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to come and talk to us.
Yours sincerely,
James Twigg
SOCIAL NETWORKING: a message from all local Headteachers
“Getting rid of something on the internet is often as impossible as rubbing a star out of the sky.”
Headteachers at all primary schools in the local area wish to issue some reminders regarding the safe use of the internet and mobile devices. Whilst the internet and mobile devices bring many benefits, they also can bring potential problems. Many of the children have developed skills to use mobile devices effectively, but if these devices aren’t used appropriately then they do not necessarily have the emotional maturity to understand the consequences of their actions.
Schools across the country have seen a growing number of problems with children and young people posting items online using Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Oovoo and other similar sites on computers, mobile phones, tablets etc.
Children can make themselves vulnerable on these sites as they do not always know who can access their postings or how their postings can be used. Sometimes the things posted are ill-advised, inappropriate and, in a small number of cases, critical of other pupils. All too often the reaction is far from positive. The items are seen and discussed by other pupils, who may become upset and then retaliate. This then inevitably comes into school and becomes a distraction from learning. An upset pupil is not a pupil who can concentrate properly at school. Parents may also be drawn in and upset between families can occur.
In school we work hard to teach the children about the safe use of the internet. The recommended age range for many of the above accounts is 13+ and we urge all parents to carefully consider whether they allow their child to set up or hold such accounts. If your child does have any of these accounts please monitor their use carefully and help ensure that they are being responsible.
As we are sure you are aware, no pupil should ever post details of themselves on the internet (full name, address, email address, telephone number) and parents should monitor their child’s use of the internet.
Please note: Schools have been advised to take the firmest action, including involvement with the police, against any posting where the defamation of character of any member of staff occurs.
Thank you for your continued support.
Signed by the Headteachers of the Cheadle Hulme Cluster Group:
Mrs C Slater Oaktree Primary School
Mrs C Wilde Oaktree Primary School
Mr J Twigg Lane End Primary School
Mr C Bagnall Bradshaw Hall Primary School
Mrs S Denford Thorngrove Primary School
Mrs J Driscoll Hursthead Infants School
Mrs E Losse Hursthead Junior School
Mrs K Lofthouse Cheadle Catholic Infants School
Mr K Platt Cheadle Catholic Junior School
Ramillies Avenue, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, SK8 7AL
0161 485 8071
admin@laneend.stockport.sch.uk