Author Archives: Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone. I hope you have all had a restful weekend and are ready for another busy week.

This week is SATs week for our Year 6 children. They have worked really hard every day so far this year. Now it is their chance to show everyone what they can do as regards English and Maths. Our message to our children is that we believe that there are no limits to what you can achieve. We know that you can do it. Our thoughts are with you so keep calm, believe in what you can do and go for it!

This week at Copthorne

The timetable for the Year 6 SATs this week is as follows:

Monday 13th May AM: Reading

Tuesday 14th May AM: Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

Wednesday 15th May AM: Mental Maths, Maths Paper A

Thursday 16th May AM: Maths Paper B

Thursday 16th May PM: Level 6 Maths

Breakfast Club will be free for all our Year 6 children from Monday to Thursday this week. We are asking all our Year 6 children to try to arrive at school at 8.15am in order to have time for a good breakfast and to chat with their teachers so that they go into their tests calm and happy. It is especially important this week for each child to go to bed in plenty of time for a good night’s sleep.

Year 2 SATs

These take place throughout the next several weeks beginning this Friday 17th May, with the Long Writing task.

We send all our Year 6 and Year 2 children our best wishes and lots of love. We believe in you!

Exceed Alliance Cricket Competition

On Tuesday 14th May a team of Year 4 and 5 pupils will be taking part in the Exceed Cricket competition. We wish them all the best and know that as usual, they will be great team players.

Copthorne’s Got Talent

This week it is the turn of our Year 4 children to take part in the first round of auditions for Copthorne’s Got Talent. These will take place on Thursday 16th May between 12 and 1 pm in the Year 4 classrooms. I am sure that the acts will be of a very high standard and that, as usual, our judges will be very impressed. Good luck everyone.

Mrs Bentley to visit

On Friday 17th May  a special visitor is coming to speak to the children in Reception: Mrs Bentley (the mother of Miss Bentley in Foundation Stage) is bringing in a very precious china doll to show to the children. This will help them to find out about what toys were like in the past compared to the present day. We look forward to meeting Mrs Bentley and are very grateful that she has taken the time to come and visit Copthorne.

Thought for the week

Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.
– David Bly

Have a great week, everyone.

Mrs Shepherd

Happy May Day everyone and welcome to another week at Copthorne.

We finally seem to be having some warm weather which is lovely for the children at playtime and generally seems to make everyone feel happy.

Last week was another busy one at Copthorne full of exciting and interesting learning activities, celebrations and sporting events.

6 Sycamore to Buddha Land

As part of their National Curriculum RE   work, Year 6 have been finding out about Buddhism. As you know, at Copthorne, we believe that it is very important for our pupils to learn about other religions and cultures so that they can develop mutual respect, tolerance and understanding. This helps each child to become a great citizen.

The pupils from 6 Sycamore visited a Buddhist temple called Buddha Land. Everyone enjoyed the visit and learnt a great deal. You will soon be able to read all about the visit in the pupils’ own blog on the subject.

Pod casting training

Last Monday evening all the teachers and our Digital Leaders (pupils trained to lead and develop the use of ICT throughout the school) were trained in the production of Pod casts. These are, basically, radio broadcasts designed and produced by pupils which are then transmitted via the Internet. The staff and children learnt how to create an audio advert, add music and layer sounds. Pod casting will be introduced to all classes and will be a great tool for developing our pupils’ speaking and writing skills as it gives them a real purpose for their work. We are hoping that we will be able to produce half termly pod cast news reports which we will post on our website – this will allow us to keep even more people up to date with what is happening in school.

Everyone enjoyed the training and the opportunity to learn alongside each other – we believe that it is vital for pupils to see their teachers as learners too. James Langley who delivered the training contacted us after the event to comment upon the positive attitude of our pupils and to say what a credit they are to Copthorne. Well done everyone – I am so looking forward to our first radio show.

Exceed Football Tournament

On Wednesday, a team of pupils from Years 5 and 6 took part in a football tournament against the other 6 schools in the Exceed Alliance. I am thrilled to report that Team Copthorne was victorious. The children played brilliantly and, even more importantly, were great team players and supported other teams well. Congratulations!

Copthorne’ Got Talent

Last week saw the first of the year group auditions for Copthorne’s got talent. At this stage the children perform in their classrooms in front of our select judging panel. The top 3 acts from these auditions will be put through to their Key Stage final later this term.  The first year group to audition was Year 1. The judges have told me that the acts were very impressive and lots of fun. Good luck everyone.

Music Concert

Last Friday we were fortunate to have a visit from Bradford Councils’ Music Service. A number of very skilled musicians put on a special concert for Key Stage 2 during which they demonstrated a number of instruments.

The concert was inspiring and enjoyed by all the children and staff. Thank you to the Music Service for taking the time to share their talents and love of music with us.

Off to the farm

On Friday our Nursery Children visited St Leonard’s Farm. I am looking forward to hearing all about it when we return to school on Tuesday as I know that the children were extremely excited before they left for the trip.

Assistant Head Teachers

On Friday, Mr Jacques, Mrs Hussain (our Chair of Governors), Mrs Whalley and I interviewed a very strong field of candidates for the 2 Assistant Head positions that were available. The candidates were put though a very rigorous selection process during which  their teaching was observed, they each had to give a 10 minute presentation and complete some data analysis and an in-tray task and then be formally interviewed by the panel. A particularly positive aspect of the process was that it included the candidates being interviewed by members of our School Council. This is the first time that our School Councillors have been involved in the recruitment process and it was a great success. The children wrote their own questions and then interviewed each candidate in the presence of an adult observer. This really helped us to make the right decisions for our school.

We have selected the 2 candidates we feel will be best for Copthorne and, as soon as references have been collected and all background check s completed to our satisfaction we will let you know who the successful candidates are.

This week at Copthorne

May Day

School is closed today, 6th May, for the May Day Bank Holiday. I hope everyone has a restful day and that the sun shines for us all.

The children have produced a beautiful display  in the hall about the customs associated with May Day. Pleae feel free to have a look at it when you are next in school.

Next Week

It’s SATs week Good luck to all of our pupils in Year 2 and Year6 – we know that you will work really hard and show just how wonderful you are. You can do it!

Tips for the week before SATs:

Get a good night’s sleep every night

Keep practising your Mathletics and Times Tables each day

Read as much as you can and, as you do that, think about the language the writer has used, how it makes you feel and why it has been written in a particular way.

Go over the features of different types of writing and see if you can recognise these in anything you read

Keep calm

Thought for the week

Be thankful for all the struggles you go through in life. They make you stronger, wiser and humble. Don’t let them break you, let them make you.

Have another wonderful week everyone.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone. Welcome to another exciting week at Copthorne.

It was great to welcome you all back to school last Monday. It means so much to all the staff in school to see the children arrive with such happy, smiling faces. Many people believe that a smile is contagious and I agree.

One of the many special things about Copthorne is the way that children, staff and parents greet each other every day with a cheerful ‘Good Morning’ and a quick chat about the weekend or the day ahead – it makes each day start really  well.

Attendance

Once again I feel it is important to talk about pupil attendance. It is vital that our children attend school regularly. As I have explained on previous occasions, for every week of school that a child misses he/she can fall behind their classmates by up to a month. In addition, absence can affect a child’s friendship groups as he/she many find it very difficult to slot back into school after a period of absence. Although we are sympathetic to the fact that many members of our community have family living abroad I must remind you that – unless there are extenuating circumstances such as medical reasons –  no absence for a holiday or a visit here or abroad will be authorised. Anyone who does take their child out of school will, potentially, be liable for a Local Authority fine. I am sure that you understand that this policy has the very best interests of our children at its heart and I look forward to your support in this matter.

What’s happening this week?

Year 3 Residential

A group of children from 3 Larch and 3 Alder will be setting off after lunch today for a 2 night residential at the Kingswood Centre in the Peak District. The children will be accompanied by Miss Bradley and Mrs Robinson and are part of a larger group of Year 3 children and staff from our Exceed Alliance schools: Horton Grange, Princeville, Farnham, Lidget Green, Crossley Hall and St Oswald’s. The group will be taking part in a range of activities  including: quad biking, raft building, archery, circus skills, the giant swing and aeroball. It all sounds very exciting and I am sure that all the children will have a wonderful time and, as usual, be great ambassadors for Copthorne.

This residential is a great opportunity for our children to have their first experience of staying away from home in a safe and stimulating environment. It also gives them the chance to develop friendships with other children from their local community. There will be lots of opportunities for team and confidence building during their stay and I am looking forward to our children returning and telling us all about what they have done and  learnt.

We will send regular text messages to parents to let them know that the children have arrived safely and about how they are getting on. This information will also be shown on the notice board outside the Year 3 cloakroom.

I look forward to hearing all about this adventure when the children return to school on Wednesday afternoon.

Film Studio Training

We recently purchased a portable film studio for our pupils. This includes a full size, professional movie camera, lights, microphones and a green screen. This will allow our pupils to produce professional-style films such as  weekly news reports, reports of special events, and dramatic productions to support their work in all subjects but – particularly – in English. It is a great opportunity for pupils to develop their skills in speaking, listening and creativity.

During our staff meeting tonight we will be joined by a number of our pupils who are Digital Leaders. Together we will be trained on how to set up and use the equipment. The Digital Leaders will then support the teachers in teaching all pupils and support staff in the use of the equipment. Look out for our finished films – these will be shown on the TV in our main entrance and, where possible, on the Website.

School Council

On Tuesday 23rd April at 1pm, Copthorne will be hosting another meeting of the School Councillors from the Exceed Alliance Schools. During these meetings all the children from the School Councils are able to discuss and share ideas for their schools. The children also learn about the correct way to run official meetings. So far, these events have proved to be a really positive way for children to develop and take interesting and innovative ideas back to their schools.. We look forward to finding out about the ideas they bring from the meeting.

Egyptian Day

Year 4 have a very special day to look forward to on Wednesday 24th April. It is Egyptian Day. There will be a visitor in school and the children will be taking part in a wide range of workshops and activities. I am sure that there will be lots of blogging about this and I look forward to reading all about the new learning that will have taken place.

Jess the dog comes to visit. 

On Wednesday, 24th April Reception classes will have a very special visitor spending the day with them: Jess, Mrs Bentley’s dog, will be visiting our school. This is part of the children’s work on pets and how to care for them. I know that everyone will make Jess very welcome – we’ll just have to make sure we don’t spoil her too much!

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Remember, you can reply to and post your comments in the ‘Post a Reply’ section at the bottom of this post.

Mrs Shepherd

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