Monthly Archives: November 2015

Hello and a very warm welcome to you all. Please see below for events that are happening in school this week.

Two year old nursery building

Thank you to all the parents and carers for your co-operation last week whilst the steel girders for our new nursery building were being delivered.  Unfortunately, due to bad weather conditions the girders could not be delivered on Monday so we had no choice but to close the back playground last Wednesday. Once again thank you for your understanding and continuing support.

Children in Need

I would like to say a big thank you to all the children and parents for making a really big effort last Friday for Children in Need.   This is a wonderful charity which helps lots of unfortunate children in our Country.  Once we know the total amount raised I will let you know.  

This week at Copthorne

Year 3 Residential:  Bewerley Park

Today, 15 of our Year 3 pupils will be taking part in a residential trip along with other children from the Exceed group.  The children will be staying at Bewerley Park in North Yorkshire until Wednesday and will be accompanied by Mrs Robinson and Miss Austin. The other schools involved in this trip will be Horton Grange, Farnham and Princeville Primary School.  This residential is a wonderful opportunity for our children to stay away from home for a short time with their classmates and to experience a fantastic range of activities. From past visits, we have found that the children have an amazing time and develop so much confidence and independence by taking part.  I hope they have a fantastic learning experience and have lots of fun!

Exceed Football League Game

Our Football team along with Mr A Khan will travel to Grange Technology on Thursday to play against Farnham Primary School in an Exceed Football league game.  Good luck Copthorne, the whole school wishes you well.

Anti-Bullying Week

This week is Anti-Bullying week and we have loads of activities planned for the children which will promote the anti-bullying message. These include:

. a ‘Make a Noise about Bullying’ graffiti wall in the hall, where children will be able to write their anti-bullying messages and show their commitment to stamping out all forms of bullying

. a special assembly, exploring what bullying is and how to tackle it effectively

. an anti-bullying film-making competition for each class 

.  ‘Bullying Concerns’ clinics held at lunchtimes by Befrienders from Years 5 and 6

. A ‘You are Wonderful…’ wall where children can post generic, positive messages to all children in out school

I this will be a wonderful week and we look forward to working together to stamp out bullying.

Thank you for visiting our blog, please come back next week!

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone and I hope you have had a lovely weekend with your families.

This week at Copthorne

Closure of back playground: Monday 9th November

As you will see, the building work for our two year old provision is well under way.  I am writing to inform you that on Monday 9^th November, the builders will be taking delivery of steel girders all day.  This involves the use of a crane/heavy lifting equipment.  In order to ensure our children’s safety, the back playground and back entrance into school on Alexandra St will be out of use for the entire day.

The only access into school on Monday will be through the entrances on All Saints Road.  Families living at the back of school will therefore need to walk all the way round and use the front entrance.  We therefore recommend that these families leave home slightly earlier to allow extra time for the journey.  I would ask that you do not use the car park as an entrance and, instead,  walk down the pathways that lead into the front playground.

We apologise, wholeheartedly, for any inconvenience that this may cause but I’m sure that you understand that these arrangements are necessary in order to keep our children safe.

Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation.

Hawkshead Residential

Last week was an extremely exciting one for our Year 6 pupils as they spent 3 days at Hawkshead in the Lake District.  On their arrival at Windermere, staff and pupils  took a ferry cruise to the Lakes Aquarium on the opposite shore and then drove to Grizedale Forest where they went to the Go Ape Adventure Centre. The children all experienced the zip wire, the Tarzan swing, the high ropes and then had a lovely walk in the forest. 

The second day of the residential was spent taking part in horse riding and archery sessions as well as team-building activities.  The children were an absolute credit to their families and to Copthorne as their manners and conduct were so good. We were all very proud of them. 

The whole group returned to school safe and sound, late on Friday afternoon, keen to tell their families about their experiences and, staff included, ready for a big sleep after their adventures. Thank you to all the staff who organised and took part in the residential: Mr Darr, Miss Wood, Miss Nelson, Mrs Akhtar, Mrs Robinson, Mr H Khan, Mr A Khan and Miss Parveen. We also want to thank Mrs Nisar for driving to Hawkshead to drop off/collect our children. We really apreciate the time you all gave to make sure that our children had such a wonderful experience. You deserve a well earned rest!

I hope you have a lovely week ahead.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everybody and I hope you have all had a wonderful break and enjoyed spending this time with your families.  We have a very busy few weeks coming up so keep on reading our blog to keep informed of some exciting events.

Football Crazy!

Our school football teams were very busy last half term, they competed in various competitions and I am delighted to report on their performance.  On 22nd October the Year 5 & 6 school football team played against Crossley Hall Primary at Grange Technology College in the Exceed football league and took first place.  On the 12th October our Year 3 football team attended a football competition arranged by Grange and we won all our games, taking 1st place in the competition.  On the 5th October our Year 4 pupils attended a football competition and came third.  Well done to all our pupils, who are wonderful ambassadors for our school. I would also like to thank Mr A Khan for taking our pupils to these events which our children love.

Befrienders

We have recently set up a befrienders scheme in school.  The befrienders are there if any of our children are feeling upset or need a helping hand.  They are easily recognisable as they will be wearing blue caps. Our befrienders are having weekly meetings with Mr A Khan to ensure all our pupils feel happy and safe in school. They have also buddied up with lunchtime monitors and have a presence in Reception to help keep the Hazel and Nutmeg children smiling.

This week at Copthorne

Year 6 Residential

From Wednesday 4th November to Friday 6th November, 52  of our Year 6 pupils (the largest number of pupils ever to take part) will be taking part in the residential visit to Hawkshead in the Lake District.  The children will be accompanied by staff from our school.

This trip is very important in helping our children work together as a team and in giving them the opportunity to stay away from home for the first time in a safe but new environment. During their stay the children will be carrying out work to extend their learning in a number of curriculum areas including Geography, History and Art.  They will be taking part in activities such as horse riding, archery and will be going on a ferry cruise to visit an aquarium. We wish all the pupils and staff an enjoyable trip and I look forward to hearing all about their adventures on their return.

4 Poplar’s visit to Eureka!

The children in 4 Poplar will be visiting Eureka Children’s Museum in Halifax on Thursday 5th November.  The visit has been arranged as part of the science topic for next half term. Eureka is a fun, interactive children’s museum and educational charity based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, where children play to learn. I am sure our children will learn lots of interesting information to help them with their learning.

Dates for your diary

Year 3 Diwali Assembly: 6th November, 2015 – 9.15am and 2.15pm

Year 3 Residential trip to Bewerley Park: 7th November, 2015.

I hope you all have a super week.

 Mrs Shepherd

Hello and thank you for looking at our blog.  I hope you have had a lovely weekend and are looking forward to enjoying some time with your families during half term.  School will close this Friday 23rd October at 3pm and re-open on Monday 2nd November at the normal time.

McMillan Cancer Support

I would like to thank everybody who kindly donated or supported our McMillan Coffee morning last week.  The total amount raised was £185.69.  These funds are needed to make sure families are supported through treatment and beyond at one of the most distressing times of their lives.  Once again, on behalf of the charity, thank you so much for your generous donations.

Two year old provision building work

Building work on our extension for two year olds is due to commence today and we are very excited about this development.  As with previous building projects, we will do our utmost to ensure that no disruption is caused to our childrens’ learning.  I will keep you informed of progress on an on-going basis.

Firefighters’ Charity Collection

Thank you to everybody who brought in unwanted bags of clothing for the Firefighters’ charity collection.  The response, as always, was fantastic.  The total amount raised was £66.50, with £16 going towards the firefighters charity and the rest towards school funds.  We value your help in raising funds which will allow us to provide even more stimulating experiences for Copthorne’s children whilst supporting the fire fighters who provide such a valuable service to us all.

This week at Copthorne

Parents’ Evening

Our annual reporting to parents will take place on Thursday 22nd October from 3.15pm – 6pm.  You should have already received a letter last week asking you to make an appointment to come and speak to the class teacher.  We are looking forward to seeing as many parents as possible at the first parents’ evening of this academic year.  During the evening you will have the opportunity to talk to your child’s class teacher about how your child has settled into his/her new class, hear about his/her targets for this term and look at the wonderful work the children have been producing.  I will also be collecting your views and ideas for Copthorne during the evening. I look forward to seeing you there.

Exceed Football League Game

On Thursday 22nd October, our football team will play against Crossley Hall Primary School in the Exceed football league.  They will play the match at Grange Technology and will be accompanied by Mr A Khan.  We wish the team the very best of luck and I am sure, as usual, they will be fantastic ambassadors for our school.  Go Copthorne!!

I hope you all have a lovely week ahead and a happy half term.  As I mentioned above, school will re-open again on Monday 2nd November at the usual time.

Mrs Shepherd