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