Monthly Archives: June 2015

Welcome to all our visitors and thank you for looking at our blog.  As usual we have a very busy week in school with lots of exciting events taking place.

School Council Meeting

Last week, two of our School Councillors, along with Mrs Rice, went to Princeville Primary School to meet with other School Council children from schools in the Exceed Alliance.  The children had lunch and were given a tour of the school.  After lunch they shared ideas and discussed ideas for events they could hold together across the Alliance.  Mrs Rice informed me that the children were fantastic ambassadors for our school. 

This week at Copthorne

Linking Schools

As part of our linking schools project, our linking partners from All Saints Primary School will be visiting us on Monday 22nd June to spend the day with 4 Poplar.  The children have already met, as we joined them for two exciting days, one at Cartwright Hall and the other at their school.  During their visit the children will work with their linking schools partners and carry out a range of team building activities.  I am sure the visit will be a great success and I know that the children are very excited about meeting their friends at All Saints Primary once again.

Exceed in sports event

On Monday 22nd June, several of our children will be attending the Exceed in Sports event which will be held at Horsfall Stadium.  The competition will include a number of different sporting activities and children will compete against children from other schools based in our area.  We hope the children will be able to demonstrate the sporting skills and disciplines they have learnt during P.E. lessons.

Bag to School Collection

On Tuesday 23rd June we will be carrying out a collection of unwanted or used clothes, shoes, belts and handbags in order to raise money for the school fund. You should have already received a letter and collection bag from school but please feel free to fill as many additional bags as you can (bin bags can be used).  We would be grateful if you could also ask other members of your family and our community to fill bags for us. Please ensure that only items listed below are included:

Unwanted clothing, soft toys, belts, handbags and shoes.

The bags should be brought into school before 9am on Tuesday 23 June 2015. We value your help in raising funds which will allow us to provide even more stimulating experiences for Copthorne’s children.  Thank you for your continued support.

Copthorne’s Got Talent – The Final!!

On Tuesday 23rd June, we will be holding our annual Copthorne’s Got Talent Final.  The talent this year, as always, has been spectacular and I am extremely proud of all our children who have taken part this year.  If any parents/family members would like to come to watch the event we would be delighted to welcome you into school. If you are attending, please ensure that you arrive in school by 1.50pm.

The winners of the competition will then go on to take part in a grand final against our other LAP schools on Thursday 25th June. I would like to wish all our finalists the very best of luck. Go Copthorne!

Pirate Day – Year 1

On Friday 26^th June, Year 1 are very lucky to be having a visit from a Pirate. We will be carrying out a range of pirate themed activities which will support their learning in class. To celebrate our pirate day children are welcome to come to school dressed as a pirate for the day. This is always a fantastic day for the children and I am looking forward to hearing all about what they have learnt from the Pirate.

I hope you and your families have a blessed Ramadan.  Thank you for all your continued support.

Mrs Shepherd

Welcome to our blog and I hope you have had a lovely weekend.  The weather has finally changed for the better and I hope that you have managed to spend some time in the beautiful sunshine.

 Internet Safety

We take the security of our children on the internet extremely seriously. Therefore it is very important that we work together to ensure your children’s safety. Whilst use of the internet and different forms of technology are second nature to many children, they can often lose sight of the dangers they are facing.  There have recently been allegations circulating that a particular app called ooVoo is being used as a vehicle to groom young people. To sign up for this app there is a minimum age of 13. If you are aware that your children use this app then we recommend that you delete it, as it is not appropriate for children of primary age.  It is important that parents and guardians understand the potential dangers and what can be done to avoid these dangers. We do, of course, talk to the children about internet safety, but it is important that this message is reinforced at home and that you regularly talk to your children about their use of the internet.  Some sites, which you can access at home to find out about the dangers of the internet, are listed below. Some of them have materials on which are suitable to access with your children to help reinforce the messages we deliver at school.

www.thinkuknow.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/13908828

www.kidsmart.org.uk

www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety

If you have any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us here at school.

Year 6 Writing Assessments

As their parents and carers will already be aware of, our Year 6 children are working exceptionally hard in preparation for their final writing assessments which will take place on Thursday this week (18th June). Each and every one of our children have remained so focused on producing their best writing ever and it has been inspiring to see some of the fabulous work they have already produced, demonstrating just how much progress they have made in this area of their work. Keep going! We are immensely proud of you.

PSHE Week

Last week at Copthorne we held our Personal, Social and Health Education Week.  The week proved to be a fantastic experience for both children and staff.  It was lovely to see all the children smiling and enjoying themselves as they came in and out of school from their various activities.  We were also blessed with beautiful weather all week.  All the children took part in a cooking competition, where the children in every class produced a healthy meal and a smoothie.   Mrs Whalley and myself have thoroughly enjoyed the food that was presented to us last week and I think it is going to be very difficult to choose a winner!  I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed to the week in any way and especially Mrs Shah and Mr Darr for making this week such a well organised and thoroughly engaging one.  The children have learnt a lot about how to cooperate with and care for one another as well as how to keep healthy.  We will be holding an assembly today in school to present children with certificates and awards for the poems, posters and meals they produced.

This week at Copthorne

Cricket Education Day

We are pleased to be taking a group of 30 Year 5 and 6 children to a cricket education day at Headingley Cricket Ground.  The trip will take place on Friday 26th June.  The day will involve an assembly hosted by some special guests, a range of cricket-based educational workshops, a tour of the stadium as well as an opportunity to play Kwik Cricket on the Headingley outfield.  As only 20 schools from around the whole of Yorkshire have been invited to this event we feel very fortunate to be taking part in this educational and truly memorable day.  I am sure the children will have a fantastic time and, as usual, be great ambassadors for Copthorne.

Copthorne’s Got Talent: Semi Final

On Friday 19th July, we will hold Copthorne’s Got Talent semi-final.  Everyone in school is very excited and looking forward to seeing who will go through to the finals which will be held on Tuesday 23rd June.  The judges have reported that they have seen some amazing acts this year and we wish all our children taking part in the competition, the very best of luck!

Dates for your diary

Bag to school Collection (Collection of unwanted or used clothes, shoes, belts and handbags ): Tuesday 23rd June 2015

Wishing you a lovely week

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone and thank you for your interest in our school  This week is a very exciting and busy week in school as we hold our PHSE week.  We have lots of exciting activities taking place for children and staff.

Last week a small group of us had the pleasure of travelling to Cyprus for our final Comenius project meeting. We had an absolutely fabulous week during which we met all 40 children in the Cypriot school, spent time with them learning about the school system and actually delivered a lesson. The children were lovely, welcoming and keen to learn about school in the UK. They seemed to enjoy our lesson about Goldilocks and the 3 Bears which involved drama and teaching the children a song. We were very sad to leave but look forward to further strengthening our links with the school as our children will become pen-pals with the children there.

PSHE Week

This week at Copthorne we will be holding our Personal, Social and Health Education Week.  This special week aims to further improve our children’s personal and social skills and their understanding of the many different aspects of health through  a wide range of new learning experiences. There will be lots of new, fun and exciting activities for children to take part in such as horse riding, ice-skating, bowling, water-based activities and trips to the park.  There will also be a climbing wall for the children to enjoy and Key Stage 1 will have the opportunity to take part in Go Karting. Our children’s understanding of healthy eating will be furthered through a cooking competition, where the children in every class will have to produce a healthy meal and a smoothie. Year 5 will also be visiting the Positive Life Centre to investigate the health risks associated with drugs. We will also be holding a staff well-being evening. This week promises to be another wonderful experience for both children and staff.

Nursery Open Evening

On Tuesday 9th June we are holding a very important meeting for parents and carers of children who will be joining our nursery in September.  At the meeting parents and carers will have the opportunity to meet the members of the senior leadership team and our Nursery staff and to find out about routines and expectations for their child’s time at Nursery.  It will also be an ideal chance to meet and get to know the parents of the other children who will be attending and to celebrate securing a place in our wonderful Nursery.  The meeting will start at 6pm prompt and light refreshments will be served.  I would like to congratulate all the parents and carers whose child has secured a place at our Nursery.  I look foward to welcoming you all!

Year 2 visit to the National Railway Museum

On Thursday 11th June Year 2 will visiting the National Railway Museum in York.  This visit has been arranged in order to support the work being carried out during their Creative Curriculum lessons centred around travel and transport.  I hope the weather holds for them and I am sure they will have a fantastic time. I look forward to hearing all about their new learning on their return.

Wroot Travis Visit

Forty of our children will be visiting one of our linking schools in North Lincolnshire, Wroot Travis, on Thursday 11th June.  The children have already met the Wroot Travis children when they visited us in February and have been exchanging letters.  I know our friends at Wroot Travis are looking forward to seeing their pen pals again, as are the children at Copthorne and it should be a very enjoyable trip. This linking project is a great opportunity for our children to learn more about life in a rural setting and to compare their experiences with those of the children in a small school.

Maths workshop for parents

The nursery staff will be holding a Maths workshop for parents on Friday 12th June.  The timing for the day is as follows: Morning parents: 8.45am – 10.00am. Afternoon parents: 12 noon – 1.15pm As part of the session, staff will be showing how parents can help children develop their understanding of maths through rhymes and games.  They will also be looking at how to use Maths bags to enhance learning.  We hope as many of you as possible can come and join in the fun.

Wishing you all an enjoyable week.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone and welcome to our blog.  I hope you have all had a fantastic break and are ready to begin the last half term of this school year. The next few weeks are going to be really busy with lots of exciting activities happening.

Cricket Competition

During the last week of term, our Under 9 and Under 11 Cricketers played in a final against other local primary schools.  I am pleased to inform you that the team came second in the competition and were presented with certificates.  Mr Khan said that the team played really well and were a real credit to the school.  Well done everyone!

This week at Copthorne

Comenius Trip to Cyprus       

Today myself, Mr Jacques, Miss Nelson and Miss Bentley will be travelling to Cyprus to meet with our Comenuis friends for the final meeting.  Over the last 18 months staff and children have visited all 9 Countries involved in the project and have learnt an enormous amount about primary education in each country. Most importantly though is the work our children have done around the theme of the project: ‘Once Upon A Time’. Our children have been involved in writing about and sharing a local fary tale about Rombold the Giant, have contributed to a joint fairytale between the 10 countries and have learnt and then retold traditional tales from the other countries in writing, through drama and through song.

This week we will be spending time in the Cypriot school, teaching a class about Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. We are really looking forward to it. We will also be taking part in the school’s end of year/leavers ceremony which we are so honoured to be a part of.

It will be sad to see this project coming to an end as we have all learnt  so much from it and have made such great friends in each country. We hope to become involved in another project very soon.

Year 6 Transition Meetings

This week in school we will have some representatives from local upper schools visiting a number of our Year 6 pupils.  This is an ideal opportunity for the children to ask any questions they may have regarding their transition to upper school and also the staff visiting will be able to reassure children and will explain what to expect in their few days when they arrive at their new school.  These meetings always proved popular and informative and allay any fears our pupils may have.

Year 3 Pedestrian Training

On Tuesday 2nd June, Year 3 will be having a pedestrian training classroom session with members of the Road Safety Team.  The children will be learning about how to cross the road safely and about the dangers of crossing the road between parked cars and busy junctions.  The following week during PHSE week, the road safety team will return and take the children out to the road in front of school where they will be given practical training.  This always proves to be an excellent training session for our children so that they can be safe when crossing the road.

Off to the Wind Farm

Year 3 will be visiting Ovenden Moor Wind Farm on Wednesday 3rd June as part of their science topic ‘forces’.  They are learning about how things can be propelled by air.This will be a fantastic learning experience for the children to see how turbine technology has developed.  Ovenden Moor Wind Farm has been generating electricity since June 1993 and is built on Yorkshire Water land at Hollins Hill near Warley Moor reservoir.  The current turbines at Ovenden have been supplying renewable power for over 18 years and can produce twice as much power with half as many turbines as the original ones.

 Copthorne’s Got Talent – Quarter Finals

The quarter finals of  Copthorne’s Got Talent auditions take place on Thursday 4th June.  All the children have been fantastic and the talent shown has been inspiring.  I am extremely proud of all the children who entered and did not make it through to the next round.  You have all shown great perseverence and have supported others well.  Good luck to the remainder of the finalists and I am looking forward to the semi-finals which will be held later this month.

I hope you have a lovely week and thank you for continued support.

Mrs Shepherd