Category Archives: Headteacher’s Weekly Blog

Welcome back to school today. I hope that all our children have had an enjoyable week’s holiday. It hasn’t rained too much this week so hopefully that will have been some help to the families and communities down south affected by the flooding since Christmas.

This half term promises to be action packed with lots of great learning experiences for our children and, as the days become longer there will be more opportunities for learning outside of the classroom.

Football Tournament Success

I am delighted to report that our Year 5/6 football team were victorious in the latest stage of the Exceed Tournament, beating Lidget Green 6-1. Well done to the team for playing superbly and demonstrating excellent sportsmanship. We look forward to the next round.

The week ahead

Year 6 Meeting

A meeting will take place at 9 am today, 3rd March, for the parents/carers of all pupils in Year 6. All Year 6 children will also be present. The purpose of the meeting is to clarify our expectations of pupils’ work and behaviour as they near the time of the Key Stage 2 SATs. We will be highlighting the ways in which families can support their children’s learning at home and giving clear details about the type and quantity of homework to expect. A letter has already been sent home to each family about this and we look forward to seeing as many of you at the meeting as possible.

School Council

Today, at 12pm our School Council will welcome a special visitor to their meeting: Mr John Myles, a member of our Governing Body.  Mr Myles will join the meeting to find out about the work of our school councillors and hear about their current priorities in helping to make Copthorne even better.

A group of our children from Year 4 will be visiting the Anne Frank Exhibition at Grange Technology College on Tuesday 4th March. The visit forms part of their learning about World War 2 and will give them a deeper  insight into the life and experiences of a very courageous young woman. I look forward to hearing about their visit.

Book Month

March is Book Month, during which we will be encouraging children and families to read even more. The month will include, amongst other activities, staff delivering story telling sessions. We will also be holding a Readathon – details of which will be sent home this week.    

Thursday, 6th March is World Book Day. At Copthorne we will be dressing up as our favourite book characters and doing lots of exciting work about different books and authors. I’m sure it will be a great day which will encourage all of us to read more often.

Have a wonderful week, everyone. Remember to have a good look at the other sections of our school blog to see and comment on the great work our children are doing. Thank you.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello and welcome to our school blog.  As we near the end of this half term I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our children, families, staff and Governors for their hard work and continued support. I am sure that everyone deserves a well earned holiday next week!

I am delighted to confirm that the total amount of money raised last week for our Red Day  was £545.45.  This money will be split between the British Heart Foundation and the Children’s Heart Foundation.  Once again, thank you so much for your amazing generosity.

Our clothing bag collection last week raised £144.00 for school funds.  Again many thanks for bringing in your unwanted clothing and helping to raise money for our children.

This week at Copthorne

Worth Valley Railway

On the afternoon of Tuesday 18th February, 2 Elm will be visiting the Worth Valley Railway.  The trip has been arranged as part of their Creative Curriculum work centred around the theme: Transport. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is a 5-mile-long branch line that served mills and villages in the Worth Valley and is now a heritage railway line in West Yorkshire. The line runs from Keighley to Oxenhope and I know the children will have an amazing time on the steam train, learning about how people travelled and how trains were powered in the past.  2 Holly will be visiting the railway on Wednesday 19th February and I look foward to hearing all about their adventure on their return.

Exceed  Year 5/6 Football Tournament

Our year 5 & 6 football team will be taking part in an Exceed football tournament at Grange Technology College on Wednesday 19th February. They will be competing against other teams in our Local Area Partnership.  We wish the children the very best of luck and I know that they will be a credit to themselves and Copthorne.

Parents’ Evening

Thursday 20th February from 3.15pm is the date and time of parents’ evening for the whole school.  Parents will already have received a letter about this explaining that completed slips should be returned to your child’s class teacher who will then be able to issue appointment times.  This year, Years 5 and 6 will be holding their meetings in the hall.  The rest of the school will hold their meetings in the childrens’ own classrooms.  It is very important that parents/carers meet with teachers to discuss their child’s progress, celebrate their acheievemnts and find out about the best way to support children with their learning at home. The evening is also a great opportunity to have a look at the wonderful work our children have produced. I look foward to seeing as many of you as possible on Thursday evening.

Governors’ Vist to Foundation Stage and Key Stage One

On Thursday morning, we welcome two of our school Governors: Mrs Hussain and Mr Myles, to school.  They will be spending  the morning with Foundation Stage and Key Stage One.  They will be talking to the children and looking at the fantastic work they have been doing. After visiting the children they will be meeting the Maths Coordinator (our Assistant Head: Mr Lloyd) to hear about all the work we are doing to further develop Maths in our school.

Year 3 Assembly – Celts v Romans

On Friday 21st February, Year 3 will be presenting their assembly on Celts v Romans.  The children have been learning all about the Romans as part of their Creative Curriculum topic.   You will have the chance to watch the childrens’ work by attending the assembly on Friday afternoon at 2.30pm.  If you would like to attend, I would ask that you arrive at school at 2.20pm in order that the assembly can start promptly. We would like to welcome as many parents and carers as possible as it is always a pleasure to see how much our children are learning.

Half Term Holiday

School closes for half term on Friday 21st February 2014 at 3pm and re-opens at the usual time on Monday 3rd March 2014.  I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and I look foward to seeing you all back to school and ready to begin a new half term.

Mrs Shepherd

Welcome to this week’s blog. I would like to say a big thank you to all parents, carers, children and staff for taking part in the Children’s Heart Foundation ‘Red Day’.  Everybody looked amazing in their red clothes and the children thoroughly enjoyed their juice and biscuits.  I will let you know at a later date how much we raised for this wonderful charity.  Once again thank you for your generosity and support.

This week at Copthorne

Hockey Competition

On Monday 10th February several members of our Hockey Club from years 3 and 4 will be taking part in a mini-hockey competition.  Mr Khan and Mr Afzal will be taking the children to Grange Technology College.  They will competing against other schools in our Local Area Partnership: Exceed.  We wish them lots of luck and I am sure they will do our school and themselves proud.

Leeds City Museum

Lucky 3 Larch will be visiting Leeds City Museum on Tuesday 11th February.  This is in connection with their Creative Curriculum theme: the Rotten Romans. The children will be finding out what it was like to be a Roman soldier. I am sure this will be a very interesting and informative day for our children and I look forward to hearing all about it.

Internet Safety Day

Tuesday 11th February is Internet Safety Day.  Safer Internet Day in the UK is run by the UK Safer Internet Centre.   The theme for this year is ‘Let’s Create a Better Internet Together’. This theme was identified by the INSAFE network as highly relevant in today’s every changing technologically-capable society.  This year, children are being encouraged to think about how their behaviour and actions can contribute to making the internet a better place. The children are encouraged to celebrate the positive aspects of the internet and think about what more can be done by themselves, adults and the internet industry to continue to make things better.  Our children will be talking about how to stay safe on the internet and how to be good digital citizens. During this week there will be a chance to enter a competition which involves designing a poster or leaflet and the children will be completing questionnaires to help us gather their views on cyber safety. If you would like further information please look on our blog under the heading e Safety.

Money for My School Bag Collection

On Wednesday 12th February we have organised a clothing collection to raise money for school projects.  Families should have already received an envelope containing a letter about this which included a plastic bag for them to fill.  Items that are acceptable are resuable clothes, linen, handbags, hats, belts and paired shoes. Black refuse sacks are also acceptable if you need more bags. Please can you let other family and community members know and return your bags to school by 9:00am on Wednesday. This is a great opportunity to start early ‘spring cleaning’ whilst raising funds for our school.

School Council Meeting

Our School Council members will be visiting Crossley Hall Primary School on Thursday 13th February with Miss Kneeshaw.  They will be meeting other School Council members from Exceed to exchange ideas and to talk about what projects they have been working on in their own schools.  The children will have a tour around Crossley Hall and also have their lunch there. I am sure that they will return with lots of new ideas that we will be able to read about through our blog.

Forest Schools

This week marks the turn of 4 Poplar to take part in Forest Schools at St Ives Woods with Mrs Robinson. Like 4 Beech, I am sure that 4 Poplar’s children will have a wonderful time in the fresh air, developing their investigative and team work skills whilst caring for the environment.

Resident Inspector Training

On Monday and Tuesday this week I will be attending training delivered by a lead OFSTED inspector. The aim of the training is to give school leaders an insight into the school inspection process from the point of view of an inspector. During the two days, we will be developing a deeper understanding of the processes involved in arriving at secure judgements about a school. I am sure that the course will be extremely useful in helping us to evaluate Copthorne even more effectively and accurately.

I hope that, like me, you are looking forward to the week ahead.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone and I hope that you all had a lovely weekend.  I can’t believe that we are now in the month of February, how time flies when you are having fun! last week was another action packed one at Copthorne and this one will be just as exciting and interesting.

Dr Who Workshop

Last Friday several of our children visited the National Media musuem to attend a Dr Who workshop.  Each of the children were accompanied by a parent/carer and Mr A Khan led the visit.  The children had an amazing morning learning about circuits and got involved in lots of fantastic workshops including making their own daleks! When they arrived back to school they were full of enthusiasm and all came away with a small gift.  Many thanks to Mr A Khan and all the parents and carers that attended with their children.

Born in Bradford Study

Last week we hosted representatives from the Born in Bradford study.  The researchers worked with our Reception children to assess their continuing development.  Born in Bradford is one of the biggest and most important medical research studies undertaken in the UK.  The project started in 2007 and aims to answer questions about our health by tracking the lives of 13,500 babies and their families.  This will provide information for studies across the UK and around the world.  By studying children from all cultures and backgrounds as their lives unfold, the Born in Bradford team hopes to find out more about the causes of childhood illness  in order to be able to prevent these in the future

This week at Copthorne

Welcome back Mrs Shah!

Today, we welcome back Mrs Shah who is returning from maternity leave.  It is lovely to have Mrs Shah back at school almost a year after she gave birth to her beautiful son. I am sure everyone will give her a a very big welcome.

6 Chestnut – “Chocolate and Chips”

On Monday 3rd February it is the turn of 6 Chestnut to visit Shibden Hall.  This is part of their creative curriculum theme “Chocolate and Chips”.  During the trip the children will be carrying out a range of workshops all related to life in the Tudor era.  I am sure the children will have a great day and learn lots of interesting facts. I hope that they will tell us a great deal about this on the Year 6 blog.

Well done to 6 Sycamore for their positive attitude and behaviour during their trip to Shibden Hall last week.

IMPS Visit for 6 Sycamore

This Tuesday 4th February, 6 Sycamore will visit Bradford Royal Infirmary as part of the Injury Minimization Programme for Schools.  This is a very popular trip which we arrange for year 6 pupils and it is designed in order to give the children some basic First Aid Training and awareness of how to respond in emergency situations.  6 Chestnut will have their turn on Wednesday 5th February. Once again. I look forward to hearing all about the experience when the children return to school.

Travelling Tuba Workshops

We look forward to welcoming the Travelling Tuba workshop to our school on Wednesday 5th February and Thursday 6th February.  The musicians will be bringing a tuba and other brass instruments into school and showing the children how to make music with these and other instruments.  You will be able to see the children’s’ work by attending a musical performance on Thursday at 2pm in the hall.  It would be wonderful to see as many of you as possible to enjoy the amazing sounds that these instruments make and to see how much our children have learnt over the two days.

Red Day

On Friday 7th February we will holding a “Red Day”. This event is to support the work of the Children’s Heart Foundation which supports the families of children who are receiving intensive care.  This is charity is very close to Copthorne as the daughter of one of our members of staff, Mrs Ljimani, had open heart surgery when she was 6 months old.  Thankfully she made a full recovery but it is thanks to the Children’s Heart Foundation that that the family received the support that was needed at the time.  On Red Day the children and staff can come to school wearing red clothes for a £1 donation.  We will also be selling red juice and biscuits at morning playtime for 50p.  We know that you will support us in ensuring our Red Day is as successful as we hope it will be.

Exceed Drama Club – Aladdin

The Exceed Drama club will be holding their performance of Aladdin on Friday 7th February at 6pm at Grange Technology  College.  I am so pleased that two of our students will be performing in this.  The children have been attending the drama club every Thursday after school along with other children from the Exceed schools.  I am sure the children will be fantastic and a credit to our school.  If you would like to go and watch this wonderful pantomime, there are limited places available.  If you would like to purchase tickets then please contact Nadia Hussain on 01274 570237.

Childline Assembly

Also on Friday 7th February, Childline Schools service will be delivering an assembly in
our school to years 5 and 6.  This is a programme delivered by Childline staff and volunteers for every child in the UK in years 5 and 6.  The assembly aims to give children  an understanding of abuse in all its forms including bullying and an ability to recognise the signs of abuse.  It also gives them knowledge of how to protect themselves from all forms of abuse and an awareness of how to get help and sources of help, including Childline.  One or two weeks after the assembly there will be class-based workshops about keeping safe.  I am sure this will be a very informative and enjoyable event.

I hope you all have an enjoyable week.

Mrs Shepherd

I hope you have had a lovely weekend, everyone.  As usual we had an action-packed week in school last week. It is lovely see all our children continuing to work hard  this half-term.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the BETT exhibition down in London. This exhibition gives teachers and school leaders a chance to find out about new ideas for the use of technology in education. There are so many exciting new products and developments out there to help support our children’s learning. I particularly liked the interactive tables for Foundation Stage – children can stand at the table and acess loads of educational activites by just touching the top. Hopefully, we will be able to invest on some of these for our Reception and Nursery classes. The exhibition also included a number of interesting talks about how to use different types of technology to improve pupil progress and attainment so I have come back with lots of ideas.

Saturday too was very exciting for me as my husband surprised me with ticket to Strictly Come Dancing – the Live Show. What a wonderful end to a busy week!

        A Thrilling Match        

Last Wednesday, 30 of our Year 5 and 6 pupils visited Old Trafford in final.  Unfortunately it was not a very good result  for the Manchester United fans as they lost on penalties but all the children and staff who attended enjoyed the game very much and were wonderful ambassadors for our school.  Many thanks to Mr A Khan, Mr Darr, Mr H Khan and Miss Bray for taking and looking after the pupils.

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors

Last Tuesday a group of our children took part in the Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassadors training event at Lidget Green Primary School. The children thoroughly enjoyed the day and made new friends with other children from other primary schools exchanging ideas and sharing good practice.  The children have now become anti-bullying ambassadors for Copthorne and I am sure will pass on their ideas and tips to prevent bullying at our school.

Important Notice regarding Year 5 swimming     

Last week I informed you that it was the Year 5 boys’ turn to go swimming from this week.  unfortunately, due circumstances beyond our control, to the boys will now not have swimming lessons until after the February half term.  The girls will continue to have swimming lessons until Thursday 20th February.   I apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.

This week

School Meals

As from Monday 27th January, our school meals menu will be changing slightly.  After speaking with Mrs Ramsden, our school Catering Manager, it has been decided we would try a different approach to school lunches.  By making the menu more “child friendly” we are hoping more children will enjoy and try school meals.  Each day will have a different  theme. For example, Monday will be pizza day, Tuesday: spicy chicken day, Wednesday : curry day, Thursday: burger day and Friday: fish day. Baked potatoes and a range of fillings will also be available to choose each day as an alternative and, as usual, there will be loads of lovely salad.  I am sure the children will enjoy the new menu and I am looking forward to hearing everyone’s views.  For more information as to what is on the menu each week, please visit the school website at www.copthorne.ngfl.ac.uk

 Tudor Treat

On Monday 27th January 6 Sycamore will be visiting Shibden Hall as part of the Creative Curriculum theme “Chocolate and Chips”.  During the trip the children will be carrying out a range of workshops all related to life in the Tudor era.  I am sure the children will have a great day and learn lots of interesting facts. I hope that they will tell us loads about this on the Year 6 blog.

 Reception Workshop

Reception staff have arranged for the parents of children in Reception to attend a learning workshop which will be held on Monday 27th January.  The aim of the workshop is to model how our children learn through the variety of areas of provision. Parents , carers and family members will be able to watch adult led sessions which will help to give ideas about ways to support children’s learning at home.  After the workshop Miss Azzopardi and Miss Kneeshaw will lead a short meeting in the hall to discuss how you can support your child’s reading during which, refreshments will be provided.  The workshop will begin at 8.40am until 10.00am. I do hope that as many of you as possible will be able to attend this event ad I look forward to seeing you there.

Dr Who Workshop

On Friday 31st January, half of 4 Beech will be visiting the National Media Museum to take part in a Dr Who workshop, an activity which has been organised by the Family Learning Service.  The workshop will take place between 10:00am to 12:00pm.  The workshops will be based around Doctor Who and Me: Fifty years of Doctor Who.  Parents and children will be able to learn about circuits, electricity and motors in fun, ‘hands-on’ workshops, which will include making a Time Lord torch, a motorised Dalek and the opportunity to take a tour of the exhibition.  These workshops will complement the work our pupils are doing in their science lesson.  As the workshops are run by the Family Learning Service, each child will be accompanied by an adult family member.  Mr A Khan will accompany parents and pupils to the Media Musuem.  This promises to be a very exciting activity and I am sure everyone involved,will have a fantastic time. I will be joining the group for some of the morning and am very excited about it!

Forest Schools

      On Friday 31st January, Year 4 will continue with their Forest School activities as the other half the children from 4 Beech visit St Ives Woods with Mrs Robinson and Mrs Shah.  I know that the children are having a great time learning about the outdoor environment and how we should care for it.  Have a wonderful time everyone!

I hope you have a lovely week. Keep warm!

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everybody and welcome to this week’s blog.  I have just returned from a very exciting week in Portugal along with Mr Lloyd, Miss Frazer and Miss Bray .  This was part of our involvement with the Comenius project.  During the visit we met the staff representing the 9 other countries in the project, visited our link Portuguese school -Colegio Atlantica  – and shared ideas and planned the visits to the remaining 7 countries (Romania, Lithuania, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and the Netherlands) some of which will involve Copthorne pupils! There will be more about this exciting news once all the plans have been finalised. We missed you all during our trip but have learnt a lot about education in Portugal, Lisbon (the capital city) and the Portuguese culture as well as getting some great ideas to further develop the work we do at Copthorne.

This week at Copthorne

Multisports Activity

On Monday 20th January Mr H Khan, one of our learning mentors will be taking 8 children from years 1 and 2 to take part in a multisports afternoon at Grange Technology College.   They will work alongside children from other local primary schools.  The activities will involve pupils using skills such as running, catching, jumping, throwing and balancing.  We hope all the pupils enjoy the activities and have fun time whilst getting lots of exercise.

Meeting for Upper KS2 (Years 5 & 6) Parents & Carers

There will be a short meeting on Monday 20th January for Upper KS2 parents and carers.  The meeting will be to discuss areas such as expectations of pupils as regards work and behaviour, homework, end of year tests/SATs (for year 6) as well as supporting your child’s learning at home and encouraging positive behaviour.  Miss Rosindale, our literacy co-ordinator, will also attend the meetings to talk to you about our Raving Readers scheme. The meetings will be held in the school hall at 8.50am and 2.30pm and I look forward to seeing you at one of the meetings.

Diana Award

On Tuesday 21st January a group of our children will be taking part in the Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassadors training event at Lidget Green Primary School. The children involved are already part of the Helping Hands Befrienders team at Copthorne.  The children will creatively explore and understand the issues of bullying through interactive sessions.  They will work with other children, exchanging ideas and sharing good practice.  They will gain practical ideas and receive tips on how to stop bullying which will enable them to prevent bullying and ensure everyone feels safe and happy in our school.

Year 2 visit to the National Railway Museum

Year 2 will be visiting the National Railway Museum in York on Wednesday 22nd January.  This visit has been arranged in order to support the work being carried out as part of their creative curriculum theme: Transport.  This is always a very enjoyable and interesting trip and I am sure the children will have lots to tell you when they return.

Exceed Football Tournament

Also on Wednesday 22nd January, Mr A Khan will be taking our year 5 & 6 footballers to Grange Technology College to take part in an Exceed Football tournament.  I am sure as usual they will do our school proud by showing great sportsmanship.We wish them well.

Year 5 Swimming

Just a little reminder that Thursday 23rd January is the last day for year 5 girls to take part in swimming lessons.  From the 30th January it will be the turn of the Year 5 boys. Our girls have thoroughly enjoyed their lessons and have made great progress.

Forest Schools

On Friday 24th January, Year 4 will continue with their Forest School activities as half the children from 4 Beech visit St Ives Woods with Mrs Robinson and Mrs Shah.  I know that the children are having a great time learning about the outdoor environment and how we should care for it.  Have a lovely time everyone!

Dates for your Diary

On Wednesday 12th February we will be holding a bag collection to raise funds for school.  This is an ideal opportunity to clear out your wardrobes and help to raise money for the school at the same time.  Further details will be given nearer the time.

Thank you for reading our blog and I hope you all have a great week.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everybody and I hope you all had an enjoyable first week back to school.  It was lovely to see everybody looking so happy and rested.  Thank you to all our families for sending your children back to school ready to learn.

Last week got off to a great start with RE Week which was launched with a special assembly about making the new year a MAD and MIB one! We were all encouraged to Make a Difference and Make It Better! During the week, lessons were geared around deepening our pupils’  knowledge and understanding of and respect for world religions. A number of competitions were held and awards presented in the Celebration Assembly on Friday. From speaking to the children it is clear that they have gained a great deal from this special week and that the work done will support our regular, on-going RE curriculum.

This week at Copthorne

Portugal Visit

As mentioned in last week’s blog, on Monday 13th January members of staff from Copthorne will be visiting Portugal as part of our Comenius Project. During the visit they will meet the staff representing the 9 other countries in the project, visit some Portuguese primary schools to share ideas and plan the visits to the remaining 6 countries (Romania, Lithuania, Spain, Greece, Turkey and the Netherlands) some of which will involve Copthorne pupils! There will be more about this exciting news once all the plans have been finalised. Until then we wish our staff a safe and enjoyable journey and look forward to their return.

Junior First Aiders     

Here at Copthorne we aim to provide as many opportunities as possible for our children to lead and, as part of this  – alongside supporting our pupils’ social and moral development – we decided to give our KS2 pupils the chance to become Junior First Aiders. Each of the 60 or so pupils who  expressed an interest were interviewed and this Tuesday, 14th February,  the successful candidates will be undergoing training delivered by a company called ‘Impact First Aid”.  Once trained, the children will be qualified to administer basic first aid during play and lunchtimes. I am sure that our Junior First Aiders will be a great addition to our First Aid Team.

Forest Schools

On Friday 17th January , Year 4 will continue with their Forest School activities as half the children from 4 Beech visit St Ives Woods with Mrs Robinson and Mrs Shah.  I know that the children are having a great time learning about the outdoor environment and how we should care for it. Keep up the good work everyone!

Dates for your Diary

On Wednesday 12th February we will be holding a bag collection to raise funds for school.  This is an ideal opportunity to clear out your wardrobes and help to raise money for the school at the same time.  Further details will be given nearer the time.

I hope you all have a lovely week

Mrs Shepherd

Welcome back and Happy New Year! I am sure that 2014 will see Copthorne continue to go from strength to strength and I am looking forward to welcoming everyone back for the new term ahead.

I do hope that you all had a wonderful holiday. I had a lovely Christmas relaxing with my family and catching up with friends which was great. Thank you so much for all the cards and presents that were given to the staff from the children. We were all very touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

Thanks also to everyone who came to see our gorgeous Year 1 children perform their nativity: Whoops a Daisy Angel. Thanks especially to all the staff and children who worked so hard to make the production outstanding. I was so proud of all the children for learning their lines, dances and songs so perfectly and giving such a wonderful performance. It really was a joy to watch.

Fond Farewell

At the end of last term, after working at Copthorne for 9 years, our caretaker – Mr Stan Seaman – made the decision to retire. We wish him a happy and healthy retirement and thank him for the work he has done for our school.

RE Week      

Our first week back is RE Week which will be launched with special assemblies on Monday. During the week we will be exploring a number of world religions, special books, places of worship and festivals to learn about what makes each religion special to its followers. We will discover the beliefs we share and will once again be finding out about the richness and value of religious diversity.

                 Portugal Visit

Next week several members of staff from Copthorne will be visiting Portugal as part of our Comenius Project. During the visit they will meet the staff representing the 9 other countries in the project, visit some Portuguese primary schools to share ideas and plan the visits to the remaining 6 countries (Romania, Lithuania, Spain, Greece, Turkey and the Netherlands) some of which will involve Copthorne pupils! There will be more about this exciting news once all the plans have been finalised. Until then we wish our staff a safe and enjoyable journey and look forward to their return.

Wishing you all a great start to the new year.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everybody and welcome to our final blog for 2013! This week promises to be a very exciting and fun filled week with lots of Christmas activities for staff and children.

 Last week at Copthorne was another great one. Our year 4 pupils welcomed a very exciting visitor to their classrooms.  Matthew –  the Didgeridoo Man – delivered a day long ‘Australia’ workshop to both Year 4 classes.

The children made boomerangs and painted them in the style of traditional aboriginal art. All the children played the didgeridoo, learnt a lot about Austaralia and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  I enjoyed listening to the range of interesting sounds that were coming out of their classrooms!

On Friday, 5 Willow enjoyed their visit to the Colour Museum where they discovered some very interesting facts about light and colour. On the same day, 4 Poplar went to Nell Bank to take part in a School’s Linking Project with All Saints Primary school in Ilkey.  The children met their link partners for the first time and took part in a range of outdoor team building activities with each other. A great experience for everyone involved.

Also last week, we presented our Star of the Month Awards.  During our Celebration Assembly one pupil from each class was rewarded for exceptional learning behaviours and work. Staff working in each class nominated the children they feel have displayed a no excuses, positive attitude. Well done to this month’s award winners.

This week at Copthorne

Attendance Reviews

As you know at Copthorne we are continually working to ensure that every child has the best learning opportunities.  In order to make the most of these opportunities, it is vital that children attend school regularly.  The national average for primary school attendance is 96% and where a child’s attendance falls below this figure it is likely to adversely affect their education and we would consider this a cause for concern. Consequently, throughout this week, I will be meeting the parents of the children whose attendance is below 90%. Then, immediately after the Christmas holidays, I will be meeting the parents of those children whose attendance is below 95%. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss reasons for absence and to find ways in which we can work together to improve indivudual pupil’s attendance.   Thanks to all of you who ensure that our children attend school regularly.

Magical Monday

Monday 16th December is Magical Monday: staff and children can wear a crown or tiara like one of the 3 kings. 

Year 5 at the Colour Museum

Also on Monday, 16th December it is 5 Cedar’s turn to visit the Colour Museum.  The visit has been arranged in order to support the current Year 5 Creative Curriculum theme. The museum covers the science of light and colour and I am sure that our children will find the day very interesting and informative.

Thackray Medical Museum

The children in Year 2 will be visiting the Thackray Museum on Monday 16th December.  This visit has been arranged in order to support the work the children are doing about Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. The Thackray Medical Museum is a wonderful place to visit and I know that our children will learn a great deal from this experience.

Tinsel Tuesday

On Tuesday 17th December pupils can wear something sparkly e.g. a piece of tinsel. I am sure that the whole school will be full of sparkle.

Wrapping Paper Wednesday

Wednesday 18th December is Wrapping Paper Wednesday and children can wear a paper hat made from wrapping paper.  Today we will also be enjoying our Christmas meal and are all throughly looking forward to it.  

Football Tournament

A number of our  Year 5 and 6 pupils will be taking part in an Exceed Football competion at Grange Technology College this Wednesday, 18th December. We wish them well and I am sure they will be a credit to themselves and to Copthorne. Go team!

Trimmings Thursday

Thursday 19th December is Trimmings Thursday and we will be decorating ourselves with a Christmas bauble or a tree decoration, please avoid those baubles which may shatter!

Whoops a Daisy Angel

Year 1 will be presenting our Nativity Assembly on Thursday 19th December at 9.15 am and 2.15pm.  This year’s production is Whoops a Daisy Angel and the children have been working hard to make their performance magical. It would be lovely if as many people as possible could attend either or both of these assemblies to support our children and celebrate their hard work. 

Please arrive promptly so that the children are not distracted by too many interruptions.

 Year 5 Swimming

There will be no swimming this week for Year 5 pupils as the pool has closed for the Christmas holidays.

Festive Friday

Friday 20th December will be Festive Friday.  Children can wear party clothes for our Christmas celebrations.  We will also be holding a whole school assembly where staff and children will have our annual Christmas sing-a-long.

 A special visitor

Father Christmas will visit Nursery and Reception children during Thursday and Friday this week so get ready to tell him your Christamas wishes.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all an enjoyable and relaxing holiday and thank you for your continued support in making Copthorne the wonderful place it is. Thank you also for your many Christmas wishes, cards and gifts – once again, we are all overwhelmed by your generosity. 

School will open again at the usual time on Monday 6th January 2014. I look forward to seeing you all then and hearing about what our children did during the holidays.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone and welcome to our blog.  I hope you are all keeping warm now that the weather is getting rather chilly. As usual we have another very busy week at Copthorne.

I can now confirm that the total amount raised for Children in Need was £534.19.  This is absolutely tremendous and on behalf of the charity I would like to thank you all for your generosity.

Thank you to everyone who brought bags to school for the firefighters’ collection.  I will let you know in due course the amount we raised for school funds.

This week at Copthorne

On Monday 9th December our netball team will take part in a netball competition at Grange Technology College.  I am sure they will be great ambassadors for our school and we wish them well.

On Tuesday 10th December, Year 3 will be visiting All Saints Church in Little Horton as part of their current topic ‘light and dark’.  They will be looking at the beautiful stained glass windows in the church and we are very grateful to the Church for welcoming our children.

A special visitor will be working with Year 4 this week.  The visitor will be delivering a day- long workshop to support Year 4’s creative curriculum topic:Australia.  The children will experience a variety of different activities exploring Australia’s indigenous culture.  4 Poplar will have their workshop on 12th December and 4 Beech will have theirs on 13th December.  It should be a very interesting and fun day and I am looking forward to hearing all about it.

On Thursday 12th December our School Council pupils will be going to Princeville Primary to meet with other School Councillors from the other chools from our Exceed Alliance.  They will talk about what they have done in school, share their ideas and have a tour around Princeville. We look forward to hearing all about our pupils’ ideas for the future at Copthorne.

On Friday 13th December Year 5 will be visiting The Colour Museum.  The visit has been arranged in order to support the theme of work carried out in Year 5 Creative Curriculum lessons. The museum covers the science of light and colour and I am sure they will find the day very interesting and informative.

Also on Friday, 4 Poplar will be taking part in a School’s Linking Project.  This involves the children working with another school on joint projects.  The school we are linking with is All Saints Primary in Ilkley.  The children have already exchanged information about each other and now they are going to meet each other for the first time at Nell Bank, where they will undertake a range of outdoor team building activities with their link partners.  I am sure the children will have a wonderful time and make lots of new friends.

Have another great week, everyone.

Mrs Shepherd