Category Archives: Headteacher’s Weekly Blog

Welcome to another exciting week at Copthorne.

Last week was a wonderful week during which we saw the launch of our work for the Stephen Lawrence Education Standard.  Children took part in drumming workshops, african dancing, aboriginal art as well as learning about how to “show racism the red card” and there’s more to come this week.

This week at Copthorne

Phonics Workshop 

There will be a Phonics Workshop for parents of children in Reception classes. The workshop will take place today, Monday 16th September, at both 9am and again at 2.15pm.  These workshops will explain to parents how our children are taught the first steps in reading.  You will be given ideas to help you support your child at home.  Everyone attending will be given a “goody bag” to take away which contains materials to help your child with phonics at home.  We look foward to seeing you at what is always an enjoyable and informative event.

Bag to School

On Tuesday 17th September at 9am we will be holding another bag to school collection to help raise funds for the Firefighters Charity as well as school funds.  Please support this event by filling as many bags, (black bin bags can be used as well as the one provided), with unwanted clothing, shoes, bags, belts and soft toys.  It is always overwhelming to see the wonderful support for such events by our community and of course it helps us to be able to offer even more exciting activities to support our children’s learning.

Visitors from Swaine House Primary School

On Thursday 19th September, we will be delighted to welcome a group of teachers from Swaine House Primary School who will be having a look around our Early Years Foundation Stage.  In particular they will be looking at the outside areas to help get ideas to develop Foundation Stage provision at their school.  As you know,  at Copthorne we are always thrilled to share our  practice with other schools and, equally, to learn from others. We hope our visitors have a great visit and that they will take back lots of ideas to share.

Building Learning Power (BLP) Day

Friday 20th September is Building Learning Power Superhero Day.  All children will be coming to school dressed as someone – real or fictional – whom they see as a good example of the qualities, or BLP Muscles, that make effective learners. For example, children might dress up as someone they see as being resiliant,who perseveres or is a good collaborator. Our children are always excited to talk about BLP and this day helps them to focus on the characteristics that we need to develop to be lifelong, independent learners.

Steel Drums

On Friday 20th September, 6 Sycamore will be working with our visiting steel drumming group as part of our Stephen Lawrence event.  There will be a performance by the children at 2.30pm in the hall and parents and family members would be most welcome to attend.

Copthorne Primary School Autumn Fayre

We will be holding a Community Autumn Fayre on Saturday 28th September between 1pm and 4pm in the school grounds.  The children from each class have been developing stalls which they will run on the afternoon.  The afternoon will also include some sporting activities along with stalls from members of the community such as mendhi, nail art and clothing and scarves.  The event will also help us to share with our community some of the work we have been doing around celebrating diversity. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible as we know that these events really help to bring our community together.

Have another wonderful week.

Mrs Shepherd

I would like to wish you all a warm welcome back to Copthorne and hope that you had a lovely summer and a wonderful Eid.  It was lovely to see our whole community smiling and happy to be back last Thursday. A big thank you to all our parents, carers and families for making sure that the children arrived on time and looked so smart in their uniforms and were ready to begin learning straight away.

 Important News

 New Staff

 We have several new members of staff joining Copthorne team: this year and we would like to wish them a very warm welcome. I know that they will all help us to continue to move Copthorne forward and I am sure zthat they will enjoy working at Copthorne as much as I do:

 Mr C Lloyd : Assistant Head Teacher

Miss L Azzopardi: Reception Class Teacher

Miss S Horton: Year 3 Class Teacher

Miss H Nelson: Year 6 Class Teacher

Mr R Rizvi: Year 5 Class Teacher

Mr A Sandhu : Year 5 Class Teacher

Miss G Townend: Year 1 Class Teacher

Mr J Redding: Schools Direct Participant

Mrs A Zafar: Temporary School Business Manager

Mrs E Legzdina : Cleaner

 The Linear Park/Back Gate

In order to ensure that our children are safeguarded, from today, Monday 9^th September, the back gate will no longer be open at lunchtime.  Parents collecting or dropping children off for nursery will need to use the main gate at the front of school.  The front nursery gate will be manned to ensure that the site and therefore our children are kept safe.  Whilst we understand that this will mean a small number of parents having to walk around the building to drop their child off at nursery, or collect them for lunch, we feel that this inconvenience is a small price to pay for the safety of all of our children and I know you will support us in this matter.  Thank you.

 Dinner Money

Thank you to everyone for sending in dinner money so promptly for the start of the year. Please note that, from today – Monday 9^th September – dinner money can only be sent in to school on a Monday. All money sent in to school must be in a sealed envelope labelled with the child’s name and class and clearly showing what the money is for. Thank you for your support in this matter.

 Investors in Pupils Award   

This year we will be working towards achieving the Investors in Pupils Award. Investors in Pupils builds on the principles of Investors in People: at its heart is pupil voice and pupil participation. We want Copthorne’s pupils to be confident, independent learners who have a clear voice and active part to play in leading the school forward. Investors in Pupils helps pupils find out about their school, the jobs that are carried out by everyone in it and the school budget – how this works and their part in making sure that public money is spent wisely.  It supports them in setting targets for the class and for themselves whilst recognizing the importance of the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in their education, and how they as pupils can make a difference.

All children will have their own behaviour target which they will identify themselves.  All classes will be writing their own ethos statements along with class attendance and a class behaviour target.

As part of this initiative we will be further developing our School Council, encouraging members to manage their own budget to support school improvement.

 Website

I hope you are enjoying our new website. We are continuing to develop this and would welcome any ideas and comments that you may have.  The address of our website is: Copthorne.ngfl.ac.uk.

Please ensure that, if you do not want your child to be photographed for use on our website or as part of any promotional materials for school, then please complete the form attached to the letter sent home on Friday and return this to school by Friday, 13^th September.  Please note only complete the form if you do not want your child’s photograph to be used. At no point will any child’s name be shown or made public without prior permission from parents.

 Life Channel

We are all very excited about our new Life Channel screens which you may have noticed are situated in the front and back playgrounds.  These will be used to show news about school, up and coming events, general public information and most importantly photographs of our children and their work alongside any films that they produce.

 This week at School

 Stephen Lawrence Education Standard 

 The Stephen Lawrence Education Standard was developed in response to the tragic murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 and the publication of the Macpherson Inquiry Report into Stephen’s death in 1999.

Developed in 2003, the Standard is awarded to schools, early year’s centres and colleges which demonstrate knowledge, understanding and evidence of promoting inclusion and race equality to help transform education. The programme provides a powerful framework and programme for schools to work in partnership to enrich and improve the learning experience of children, young people and adults.

This year at Copthorne we will  be working together to achieve the Stephen Lawrence Education Standard, using this as a vehicle to further develop our pupils’ understanding and celebration of diversity and to deepen our entire community’s understanding of racial equality, harmony and tolerance. This week sees the launch of this initiative.

Throughout the week, children will be taking part in various activities such as Art workshops, Drum/Dance workshops and steel pan drumming. Each activity aims to show how different cultures are expressed through art.

Also, throughout the first half term, each year group’s Creative Curriculum will be based around a particular country. This will give our children the opportunity to learn about one country in detail and to come to a deeper understanding of the rich cultures which make up our diverse world.

To coincide with Stephen Lawrence Week, some of the lunch menu this week will be themed:

Tuesday’s menu will have an African theme and will include: Chicken Tagine (braised chicken with fruit), Vegetable Goulash and cous cous with vegetables.

Wednesday will have an Australian theme which will consist of Beefburger or veggie burger.

Friday will be Caribbean day and children will be served Jerk chicken (spicy chicken), Spicy veggie pasty and rice and peas.

 Enjoy your week, everyone!

 Important Future Dates

 Week Commencing 19/09/13: Parents’ meetings for KS1, LKS2 &UKS2, during which parents will be informed of expectations and ways to support their children.  Dates for these meetings will be confirmed and issued next week.

Saturday, 28^th September 2013:  Copthorne Primary School Autumn Fayre

22nd October 2013 – 3.15pm-6pm: Parents evening

Wednesday 23^rd to Friday 25^th October 2013: Year 6 residential to Hawkshead

 As you can see it is going to be a very exciting year ahead for our pupils and staff.

 Have a lovely week, everyone.

 Mrs Shepherd

What a wonderful week we had at Copthorne last week and now we have another one to look forward to.

Ramadan

As part of the holy month of Ramadan the majority of our local community and a large number of both staff and pupils are, at present, fasting. Our thoughts are with you at this time.

Celebrations

I think it’s fair to say that the whole Copthorne family was bursting with pride on Thursday and Friday last week as we celebrated the many achievements if our children including attendance, attitude and attainment. Our children are amazing and show, every day, that there really are no limits to their learning. I know that they will continue to go from strength to strength, persevering and relishing the challenges that new learning brings. Well done, everyone!

Environment Week

This was a great success and thanks to the whole of the Copthorne community for being so actively involved. The children worked so hard learning about many different ways to care for and protect the environment. It was a joy to see them all so inspired to help develop a sustainable future. Thanks to Miss Kneeshaw for organising all the activities and to all the staff for helping things run so smoothly.

Strategic Director of Children’s Services

As I explained in last week’s blog, we had a visit this week from Kath Tunstall – Strategic Director of Children’s Services. Miss Tunstall toured the school and then we had the chance to talk about our plans for Copthorne. I have received a letter from Miss Tunstall, thanking us for the visit, in which she writes:  ‘The children were lovely – happy and confident in their school environment; it’s such a joy to see children enjoying their education.’

Once again, it is wonderful to see visitors to our school appreciating what a positive attitude our children have to learning as well as how well behaved and happy they are.

The week ahead

Transition Morning

This will take place today, Monday 15th July. After registration, all of the children will go to assembly where they will be told which class and teacher they will be moving to next year. The children will then spend all morning with their new teachers finding out about the exciting learning they have to look forward to next year and getting used to class routines and expectations. This is always a wonderful experience for the children and helps to reassure those who are feeling nervous about changing year groups. I know that you will all enjoy your morning and that it will leave you looking forward to the year ahead.

Pupils’ Reports

The annual report for each child will be sent home tonight. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each one and think that parents and carers will be delighted by the fabulous attitude and hard work of our pupils that they clearly reflect.

Exceed 100% Attendance Celebration

Congratulations once again to the 79 children who achieved 100% attendance this year. These children will be joining those from the other Exceed schools at St George’s Hall on Tuesday 16th July at 12.45pm for a huge celebration event. Each child will be presented with a certificate and the entertainment will be provided by the Exceed’s Got Talent winners. It’s going to be a wonderful afternoon.

Open Evening

We will be holding our first Open Evening this Tuesday, 16th July between 3.30 and 6pm. The event provides an opportunity for parents, carers and family members to come into school to have a look at all the wonderful work our pupils do and to visit children’s new classrooms and teachers. You will also be able to have a quick discussion with your child’s current class teacher about any issues or queries arising from your child’s report. Mr Jacques, Mrs Whalley and I will also be available throughout the evening. I look forward to seeing you all.

This week is PSHCE Week

The daily curriculum at Copthorne is designed to help develop our pupils personally and  socially, giving them the skills, knowledge and awareness to become healthy individuals and good citizens. This week is about focusing on certain elements of the PSHCE curriculum and providing learning activities that we believe will support and challenge our children even more in those areas.

The children have a very exciting week ahead during which each year group will be involved in a different selection of learning activities. These include: Year 5 sessions at the Positive Lifestyle Centre to develop their understanding and awareness of drug related issues, and a day at Doe Park Water Activity Centre to develop team building and water safety skills;  Year 6 sessions, delivered in school by the School Nurse, about relationships; and a bouncy castle and slide for Foundation Stage and Year 1 to further develop turn taking and sharing. All children will be involved in making a healthy breakfast and will experience lessons focusing on manners and managing money. Everyone will be involved in a Skipping Challenge to increase awareness of exercise and fitness as well as to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

Thanks to Miss Rosindale for organising all the activities.

It’s going to be a great week!

Mrs Shepherd

Welcome to another busy and exciting week here at Copthorne.

I hope you all had a wonderful time in the sunshine this weekend. I spent a very busy weekend as, amongst other things, we held a party to celebrate the 18th birthday of one of my daughters.  It was wonderful to see all of her friends – most of whom I have known since they were just 11 years old  – having grown into such lovely, well mannered, self assured and happy young adults ready to take every opportunity that the world has to offer them – exactly the things we want for the children at Copthorne.

Exceed’s Got Talent

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending, along with other Heads from our Alliance, the Exceed’s Got Talent final at the Willowfield Centre.  The judges were members of the dance group Son Aash.  All the competitors made us very proud and it is clear that, between the 7 schools, there are many stars in the making. Congratulations go to all of the competitors but particularly to the winners of each section:

Key Stage 1: St Oswald’s

Lower Key Stage 2: USA representing Copthorne

Upper Key Stage 2: Crossley Hall.

Well done to Sara Salem who came 2nd in the Upper Key Stage 2 competition and Anisah who was commended for her dancing in the Key Stage 1 competition.

It was a wonderful event and I would like to thank Mrs Nadia Hussain for organising it.

Now it’s time to start thinking about and practising for next year’s competition!

Lightwater Valley

Well done to Year 6 for their impeccable behaviour throughout last Monday’s reward trip to Lightwater Valley. We are all very proud of you and pleased that you had such a brilliant time – you really deserved it after all your hard work.

Thanks to all the staff who organised and/or accompanied the trip as it wouldn’t have been possible without you.

What’s happening this week?

Environment Week at Copthorne

This week all the lessons in school will have as their basis the theme: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The children will be exploring many different ways of protecting the environment so as to ensure a sustainable future. There are many exciting and interesting activities planned for the children during this week including: pond dipping, designing and making natural sculptures, making a picnic with as little packaging or waste as possible, woodland treasure hunting, planting,  and forest school trips.

The week will culminate with Green Day on Friday, 12th July. All children can wear a green item of clothing instead of school uniform to increase awareness of environmental issues.

I know that it’s going to be a great week which will enhance our pupils’ understanding of and shared responsibility for our environment.

Thank you to Miss Kneeshaw for organising all the activities.

Year 4 go to Chester Zoo.

As part of their work investigating the habitats of  large animals, Year 4 will be visiting Chester Zoo on Tuesday 9th July.

I know that the children will have a fabulous time and, as usual be wonderful ambassadors for Copthorne. I am sure that they will see a great many of the animals as the weather is so good at the moment. We are all looking forward to reading about your day on the school blog. Enjoy yourselves!

Hook a Book

A number of our Year 5 children have been taking part in the Hook a Book initiative run by Crossley Hall Primary School. The scheme involves children, identified by their teachers, taking part in reading challenges. In this instance the children had to read 8 different books, chosen by school, over a 6 week period. The books include a variety of genres and are aimed at challenging the children whilst stimulating and encouraging them to read more.

12  of our children have taken part and will all be rewarded for meeting the challenge by spending the day fishing this Wednesday, 10th July at Farview Fisheries, Cottingley. Well done to all of you. I can’t wait to hear all about your adventure!

A special visitor

This Wednesday, 10th July, we will be visited by the Strategic Director of Children’s Services in Bradford, Kath Tunstall. Mrs Tunstall is visiting Copthorne to discuss how things have gone in my first year as Head of School. She will also have the opportunity to meet our wonderful children and have a tour around the school. Mrs Tunstall has not yet seen the new extension so I am sure she will be impressed with our beautiful new facilities. We are all very much looking forward to welcoming her to our school.

Bag to School

We are holding another Bag To School collection this Thursday, 11th July. A collection bag has already been sent home with each child. The bag can be filled with any unwanted clothing, shoes, soft toys, belts, handbags and bedding and brought into school at the start or end of the day up to Thursday morning. Please feel free to use black bin bags if you are able to fill more than 1 bag. Thank you to everyone who has already filled bags this year. The funds raised help to provide even more visits and enrichment activities for the children and the recycling will help to protect our environment. Thank you for your support.

Attendance Celebration Assembly

We will be holding our annual celebration of our children’s attendance this week. The assembly will take place at 9.15 am Thursday, 11th July. Letters will be sent home today inviting the parents and carers of those 79 children achieving 100% attendance to the celebration. I look forward to seeing you there. Well done to those of you who have achieved outstanding attendance this year. We are very proud of you all. Thanks to all our families that work so hard to ensure that the children come to school each day.

Achievement Assembly

This Friday, 12th July, at 9am we will be celebrating our children’s achievements. The Star of the Year Award will be presented to 1 child chosen from each class by their teacher. Our Stars of the Year are those pupils who have been inspirational as regards their positive attitudes to school and learning and through the amount of effort they have made. As each award is presented, the class teachers will explain why they have chosen that child.

In addition we will be presenting our 333, 555 and AAA awards to the children in Year 2 and Year 6 who have gained three level 3s or  5s respectively. The AAA (Attendance, Attitude, Achievement) award is presented to children from each of the Year 2 and Year 6 classes who have attended regularly, shown a very positive attitude in all areas of school life and have made outstanding progress.

This is always a very special assembly and we would love as many parents/carers as possible to attend.

Dates for your diary

Week Commencing 15th July: PSHCE Week (See next week’s blog for further details)

Monday 15th July: Transition morning for children from Reception to Year 5

Pupils’ reports are sent home

Tuesday 16th July: Exceed Alliance Attendance Celebration at St George’s Hall (Letters have been sent to those involved).

3.30-6pm:  Open Evening (See last week’s blog for details)

23rd July: Leavers’ Assembly at 9am and 2.15pm

As you can see, it’s going to be even more busy than usual for the next few weeks. We look forward to celebrating all the hard work of our pupils with you.

I hope that all of you have a very good week ahead.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello and welcome to another great week at Copthorne. I can’t really believe that it is already July – this year seems to be flying past. Hopefully, the good weather will stay with us and we’ll be able to take the children’s learning outside the classrooms even more.

Exceed Sports Event Congratulations

Last week a group of children from across Key Stage 2 took part in the Exceed Olympics. They came 5th out of the 7 teams and, I am very proud to say, were wonderful team players supporting the other competitors and each other as they took part in a number of sporting events that they had not experienced before. Well done, everyone!

Copthorne’s Got Talent – The Final

Last Friday saw the final of Copthorne’s Got Talent. It was an amazing show demonstrating a range of talent. All the children taking part were a credit to Copthorne as were the members of the audience who showed such great support for all the contestants. The winners will now go through to the Exceed’s Got Talent competition this Friday, 5th July.

Congratulations to Anisah from Year 1, USA from Year 3 and Sara from Year 6. Our best wishes go with you for Friday’s competition which will take place at The Willowfield Centre. Unfortunately, due to the space available we are unable to invite parents/carers to the event although it will be filmed so that you can watch it on the screen in our entrance.

Year 6 and Reception Transition Day

This Wednesday, 3rd July, will be Transition Day for children in Year 6 moving to secondary school in September. These pupils will spend the full day at their new schools. Parents have been informed directly of the arrangements for the day  by the individual schools.

 The children who will be starting Reception classes in September will also be spending the morning in their new classrooms with their new teachers.

We believe that events such as these are very important for our children in helping them to settle into new schools or classes and we wish them all a great day.

Pupils in other year groups will be spending the morning in their new classes later this half term.

Talented Musicians Event

5 of our flautists from Year 5 will be attending an event at Dixon’s Trinity this Thursday, 4th July. Our children will be playing their flutes alongside other talented musicians from other Bradford schools.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our children and will raise their aspirations as regards what is possible in the music world. I am sure they will have a wonderful time and I look forward to hearing all about it when they return to school on Friday.

Year 4 Assembly

Year 4’s assembly will take place at 9.15am  and 2.15pm this Thursday, 4th July. The theme of the assembly will be Ramadan. Along with the story of how Ramadan is kept in different countries around the world, the children will be presenting some of their work about Pakistan from  Creative Curriculum lessons. All parents, carers and family members are welcome to attend one or both of the assemblies. I look forward to seeing you there.

Dates for your diary

Monday 8th July: Environment Week begins.(More details in next week’s blog)

Tuesday 9th July: Year 4 to Chester Zoo

Wednesday 10th July: Year 5 Hook a Book fishing trip (See next week’s blog for more details.)

Thursday 11th July: Bag to School collection. Please bring in any bags you have managed to fill with unwanted clothing, bedding, shoes, belts, soft toys and handbags. Filled bags can be dropped off at school at morning registration before and including 11th July. Thank you.

Thursday 11th July, 9.15am: Attendance Assembly. This is an opportunity to congratulate those children whose attendance has been outstanding this year. It also provides us with the chance to say thank you to the parents and carers who have helped to ensure that the children attend school regularly. If your child has achieved 100% attendance this year you will shortly be receiving a letter informing you of this. If you have not received a letter by 8th July but believe that your child has had 100% attendance, then please contact the school office urgently. The staff there will look into the matter for you. I look forward to seeing you at this event next week.

Friday 12th July: Green Day (See next week’s blog for further details.)

Tuesday 16th July: Open Evening. This will take place from 3.30-6pm and will be an opportunity for all parents/carers  to come into school and visit their child’s new classroom and teachers for next year. No appointments will be needed as this is simply a chance for you to have a look at Copthorne, find out about some of the wonderful learning opportunities that we have planned for your children next year and chat to the teachers and members of the senior leadership team. The event will also allow you to discuss, briefly, any queries related to your child’s report as these will have been sent home the day before. The evening will also include a Health Fair which will be taking place as part of our PSHCE Week – more details to follow next week. I do hope that as many of you as possible will be able to attend and I look forward to seeing you there.

As you can see, it’s going to be especially busy over the next couple of weeks as we celebrate with you the hard work and achievements of our wonderful pupils this year.

Have a great week, everyone.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello to the whole of the Copthorne community and visitors. Welcome to another week at our busy school.

School Council

Last week Mr Jacques and I had the pleasure of meeting with Unais and Sobia – the Chair and Vice Chair of our school council. We enjoyed listening to all the ideas and issues you have passed on to them. We were thrilled to hear how positively you all feel about Copthorne, howproud you are of the school and about the interesting ideas you have for the future. As you will know we have given the school council a budget to spend on school improvement and it was clear from our meeting that you will make great use of this money. Keep the ideas coming.

Football Stars

Last week our Year 5 and 6 footballers took part in the final of the Exceed football tournament. Our team played exceptionally well, demonstrating real sportsmanship and teamwork whilst praising, encouraging their rivals. I am delighted to tell you that our team came second. Well done everyone and congratulations to the winning team from Farnham.

Copthorne’s Got Talent

Last week saw the finals for the individual Key Stages. There was a great range of talent from a mix of solo and group acts which included; singing, dancing, comedy and even hula hooping. The level of talent was very impressive as was the way the audience supported each of the competitors. It takes a great deal of courage to stand at the front of a hall packed with several hundred children and staff and give a good performance. We are very proud of everyone who took part. The acts through to the whole school final are:

USA: Song and dance group

Anisah: dancing

Desi Dolls: dance group

Sara Salem: dancing

Fast 5: rap group

Sara Sami: dancing

Congratulations and good luck to all of you. We are looking forward to the finals at 2pm this Friday (28th June). I hope that as many parents, family members and friends as possible will be able to come along and see the show.

Year 1 Phonics Screening Test

Last week our Year 1 children took part in the phonics screening test. During the test the children are shown a number of words – both real and nonsense ones. The words test pupils’ ability to blend letters and strings of letters together correctly which is one of the most important skills needed in learning to read. All of the children worked very hard and we are very proud of how well they have done. Thank you to Mrs Scott and Miss Richards for ensuring that the tests ran so smoothly.

This week at Copthorne

Feversham work experience

This week we are joined by a group of young ladies from Feversham College. The girls are completing Year 11 and will be carrying out their work experience with us as extra classroom and office support staff. Several of the girls are ex pupils of ours so it’s great to see them back into our school. Welcome to all of you and we hope you have an enjoyable and useful time with us. 

Reception classes to Lister Park

Both or Reception classes will be visiting Lister Park this week as part of their Creative Curriculum work on planting and growing. I hope that they have an enjoyable and informative visit as they continue to learn about how to protect our environment for the future.

Linking Schools Visit

This Wednesday, 26th June, 4 Poplar will be spending the day with their Link School – All Saints, Ilkley. The children will be meeting up with their link partners from All Saints and carrying out a range of activities to strengthen the bond between the two schools. I wish them an enjoyable visit and know that they will be great ambassadors for Copthorne.

Year 5 Transition

There is an important meeting for parents/carers of all pupils in Year 5 at 9am on Thursday 27th June, in the school hall. The meeting will be run by Mr Nick Smith from Barnardos to provide parents with vital information about transition of pupils from primary to secondary school and will include useful advice on form filling and the choices available to the children and parents. I do hope that as many of our parents as possible will be able to attend and I look forward to seeing you then.

Copthorne’s Got Talent – The Final

As outlined above, this will take place on Friday 28th June at 2pm. Please come along and help to support the great acts.

Dates for your diary

Year 6 Lightwater Valley Trip.

This will take place on Monday July 1st. A letter will be sent home from Miss Bray about this today.

Transition Day

On Wednesday 3rd July all of our Year 6 pupils will spend the day at the secondary schools they will be attending from September. I know that they will have a great time and that the day will help them to meet lots of new friends and to overcome any nervousness they feel.

On the same day we will be holding our own transition event whereby the children at Copthorne will move up to their new classes with their new teachers for the morning. This helps the children to get to know the staff that they will be working with next year, find out about classroom routines and, most importantly, hear about all the wonderful learning experiences that they have to look forward to next year.

Have a great week everybody.

Mrs Shepherd

Welcome to another week at Copthorne. It was lovely to see everyone coming back to school last Tuesday after a well-earned rest. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday and are looking forward to another busy and exciting half term. Hopefully the weather will stay fine for us all.

As some of you will already have seen, we unveiled our beautiful wall art last week. We have worked with a company specialising in designs for schools, QBED, to create two beautiful intallations which we believe truly represent our school and which will inspire and motivate all our pupils, staff and stakeholders. Please feel free to have a look when you are next in school and let me know what you think.

In my job as Head of School I am lucky to be able to see our children both at work and at play very day. Each time I go into a classroom I am proud to see the way the children behave and are so keen to learn and take part in all aspects of the lesson. During playtime and lunchtime last week I saw that same wonderful behaviour and, especially pleasing, children helping each other and encouraging each other in their play. I know our Befrienders do a great job but it was also wonderful to see everyone playing so nicely and being great friends to one another. This is one of the many things that make our school so very special. Keep it up Copthorne!

This week’s events

Special surprise    

Something very special will be happening in our school today which will help our Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 to become even better writers but… IT’S A SURPRISE! I look forward to telling you all about it in next week’s blog, although I  think you’ll be hearing about it from the children when they get home after school today!

Transition Week

This week all of our Year 6 children, along with their peers from the Exceed schools, will be taking part in a range of transition activities. Children will be working alongside their new classmates on a range of team-building, challenge and sporting activities. Mr A Khan is leading the events and will be transporting our children to and from Grange Interlink Centre each day where they will also meet and spend time with members of staff from the secondary schools they will be attending. We wish you all an enjoyable week and hope that you will make lots of new friends and feel confident about moving from Copthorne.

Fire Fighter’s Charity Clothing Collection 

Just a final reminder to bring any unwanted clothes, shoes, belts, handbags and soft toys into school today as we are having a collection on behalf of the Firefighter’s Charity which helps to support serving and retired firefighters and their families when this is needed. I know that this charity was touched by the generosity of your support in the past and hope that you will be able to donate as many bags as possible so that we can help the men and women who protect us and our homes. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Visit from Staincliffe CE Junior School    

At Copthorne we believe that we must always be willing to share our practice with and learn from other schools. This is one of the ways in which we ensure that the school is constantly improving and moving forward.

This afternoon we will be welcoming visitors from a Dewsbury School. I was contacted recently by a member of the senior leadership team from Staincliffe Junior School in Dewsbury. Staff had been looking at our previous OFSTED report and our most recent Key Stage 1 and 2 results and were interested in finding out how we secure such high levels of pupil progress and attainment. Our visitors are particularly interested in the way we teach reading throughout the school. I am looking forward to welcoming Ms Dobson and Mr Thornton to Copthorne and I hope that they have an informative and useful afternoon.

Miss Fuller returns 

Today Miss Fuller -one of our teaching assistants from Foundation Stage  -is returning to work after a year of Maternity Leave. Miss Fuller gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last June. We are so pleased to welcome her back to Copthorne.

We do like to be beside the seaside   

On Tuesday, 11th June, Year 2 are off to the seaside. The children and staff will be travelling to St Anne’s where they will be spending the whole day by the sea. Children will be playing in the sand,  paddling in the sea (under very close supervision and if the weather allows!) and having an ice cream after their packed lunch. This visit supports the Creative Curriculum theme that the children are studying at the moment and I know that it will help to make the sights, sounds, smells and experiences of the seaside to life.

Remember to be outstanding ambassadors for Copthorne and have a great day . I am looking forward to hearing and reading all about it when you get back.

School councillors interview Head of School   

This Tuesday afternoon, 11th June, the Chair and Vice Chair of our School Council will be interviewing me about my vision for Copthorne. We will also be discussing the School Council’s ideas for making Copthorne even better. This is the first time we have arranged a meeting of this sort but I hope that it will become a regular occurrence from now on. Bring on the questions and the ideas!

Horton Park

Our Reception classes will be visiting Horton Park on Wednesday, 12th June, as part of their unit of work: Where We Live. I know that they’ll have a great time exploring the park and learning about all the things there are to do there. The children will also be able to demonstrate all the things they have learnt about Road Safety whilst walking there.

Jorvik    

As part of their Creative Curriculum theme: Vicious Vikings, Year 3 will visit the Jorvik Museum this Thursday, 13th June. The Jorvik is an amazing place and it will definitely help to bring all the learning to life. There will be lots of photos taken and we will ensure that these are posted on our website as soon as possible after the trip. Have a great day everyone and remember: Look after each other.

Thought of the week

‘The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.’ BB King

 Have another wonderful week.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello Everyone. I hope that, like me, you are all looking forward to another great week at Copthorne.

Well done to all our Year 6 pupils for working so very hard in their SATs last week. All the staff and I were so impressed with how seriously you approached the tests and how determined you all were to show what you could do. We are all very proud of you. Thank you too to all the parents, carers and family members for supporting the children so positively. We now look forward to the results which should be with us by the end of June.

It is now the turn of our Year 2 pupils to do their SATs which began last Friday with the writing test. I visited each class before the test began and it was wonderful hear the children telling me about how hard they were going to work. I am sure that they will be a credit to themselves and the school. In order to support the children throughout the tests it is really important that they get a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast. Breakfast Club will be available to our Year 2 children free of charge throughout this week  – I look forward to seeing them there. We know you can do it Year 2!

Ancient Greek Day          

 Last week our Year 5 children had another interesting experience – a visit from an ‘Ancient Greek Man’.The visitor dressed in clothing that would have been worn in the time of the Ancient Greeks and taught our children all about what life was like during that period of history. Part of the day involved the children acting out a traditional Greek play using authentic masks and costumes. The children had a wonderful time as the day helped to bring the learning to life for them. Thank you to our visitor.

This week at Copthorne

Canon Hall Farm                                                                                                            

Our Reception classes will be visiting Canon Hall Farm today as part of their work about animals and life on the farm. The children are all very excited and I know that they will have a wonderful day. I hope they manage to see the Little Red Hen and, if they do, I’m sure they will help her make her bread. I will be visiting Reception on Tuesday morning so look forward to hearing all about the trip then.

Cricket Competition  

Members of Years 5 and 6 will be taking part in a Drax cricket competition on Tuesday 21st May. We wish them well and know that they will continue to be great ambassadors for Copthorne.

Last week our team of Year 4 pupils came 2nd in the same competition. Congratulations to the team from Farnham Primary who came first. Well done to our team for playing brilliantly and being so supportive of each other and opposing teams.

Literacy Group Trip                                                                                                                     

Since September a group of parents from our community have been attending an adult Literacy class in school. The class has been a great success and all the parents attending feel much more confident as regards both written and spoken English. In order to celebrate their achievements the class have organised a trip to the new Trinity Centre in Leeds on Wednesday 22nd May. We are proud to be able to support our parents in their learning as we believe that Copthorne is a place where everyone can become a lifelong learner. I wish all members of the group a great day out.

Year 1 Assembly     

At Copthorne everyone looks forward to the year group assemblies. These are a time for our children to show us some of the wonderful things they have been learning about and to let us see the many skills they have such as speaking in front of an audience, acting, singing and dancing. This Wednesday, 22nd May, it is the turn of Year 1. They will be presenting their assembly on Toy Story which has been their Creative Curriculum theme this term. The children have worked very hard on their assembly and would be delighted if you could come and see it. The assembly will take pace at both 9.15am and 2.15pm. We are all looking forward to seeing you there.

Places of worship      

Our Reception pupils have another trip to look forward to as, on Wednesday 22nd May, they will be visiting both a local mosque and a church. The children are learning about places of worship and will be thinking about the similarities and differences between the two buildings.

Copthorne’s Got Talent           

This week it is the turn of our Year 5 and 6 class finalists to audition for a place in the Key Stage semi-finals. The auditions will be held on Thursday 23rd (Year 6) and Friday 24th (Year 5). Good luck to all the competitors and well done for getting this far in the competition.

Key Stage 2 Music Assembly          

This Friday, 24th May at 2.10pm, there will be a special assembly where Key Stage 2 pupils will be presenting several pieces of music that they have learnt in their instrumental lessons this year. This will include recorders and flutes. Parents and families are very welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing you there.

Spring Bank Holiday      

Copthorne closes for the Spring Bank holiday at the end of school on Friday 24th May. We reopen at the usual time (8am for Breakfast Club) on Tuesday 4th June. Have a lovely holiday everyone – I hope the sun shines for us all.

Thought for the week

“I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

Wishing you all an enjoyable week.

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