Updated 04/03/2009
Copyright © 2003-2008
Barnsole Junior School
All rights reserved
Term 6 - Summer 2006
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Year
6 and the Charity Fayre We would like to thank you all, especially the Year 6 children, for all your generosity, support and hard work in making the Charity Fayre such a success. During the afternoon of Friday 21st July a staggering £950 was raised for charity. Year 6 will finalise where the money will be donated to, but unfortunately it cannot be presented to their chosen charities until the beginning of next term. We would like to say how much we have enjoyed the final week, and to congratulate the children on the successes of the year and for their hard work throughout it. Finally, a very happy holiday to everyone, and our best wished to the children for the forthcoming challenges in the next stage of their education. 25/07/06
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Thank
You Thank you to everyone who has supported the school over the past year and we wish you all a happy Summer Break. To al those moving on we wish them, especially, every success for the future. 13/07/06
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Goodbye
and Welcome! This term we say goodbye to Mrs Wilson who has worked with us for the past two years. We also say goodbye to Mrs Seager who has worked as a teaching assistant supporting individual children. We wish them both good luck for the future and thank them for all their hard work and support. In September we welcome Miss Hunter who will be starting her teaching career with us in Year 4. 13/07/06
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School
Meals for Next Year and a Healthy School Next term the cost of a school meal will go up to £1.60 per meal. Scolarest, the catering company, are also planning to use local fresh fruit and vegetables in their menus. During the past fortnight Mrs Hollman has organised a Fruit Bar at
break times. This has proved very popular and we need to know whether
this should continue. If you have any views please let us know.
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Final
Assembly On Tuesday 25/7/06 we are holding our Final Assembly at St Barnabas in order to mark the end of the school year. Parents, especially of Year 6 children, are very welcome to join us. The event includes a Graduation ceremony at which Year 6 pupils will receive their portfolios and a number of special prizes will be awarded. The service starts at 9.30 and will last about an hour. Please note that all children must be in uniform as it is a special event. 13/07/06
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Off to
Secondary School Congratulations go to those children who were awarded a Grammar School place for September, including: Sai Anandharajah, Gemma Barrington, Sharna Bennett, Liam Bushell, Katrina Cotta, Billie Crockford, Matthew Davies, Evie Foskett, Holly Gruber, Aaron Marston, Joe Miles, Gemma Morgan, Susanna Morton, Esther Murphy, Aaron Oliver, Ella Oliver and Lucinda Taylor. 13/07/06
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Best
Results Ever in Year 6 SATS We have just received the results of this year's SATS tests. The number of children receiving a Level 4 or 5 is the highest ever in English, Maths and Science. Click here for a breakdown of results. We congratulate all Year 6 for their tremendous effort and can confidently expect them to do well at their new Secondary Schools. All the hard work from the pupils and their teachers over the years has really paid off. Well done! Coming after our highly successful OFSTED Inspection this makes 2005/6 one of our best years ever. We have also been re-awarded with a Basic Skills Quality Mark for our work in encouraging achievement. 13/07/06
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Uniform New parents have asked us to clarify school uniform. We ask everyone to wear the following: GIRLS: bottle green jumpers, white blouses, grey skirts/trousers BOYS: bottle green jumpers, white shirts, grey trousers Click here for more details If you are letting your son/daughter have their ears pierced, Summer
is a good time as they will be able to remove their studs by the time
school starts again and therefore not miss PE and games.
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House
Competitions
13/07/06
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End
of a Year As we move toward the end of this school year, there are lots of arrangements to be made. We have recently appointed a new teacher for Year 4 and will have 3 classes in each year group from September. The lists of new classes will be published in the final newsletter of the term on Thursday 13th July. On the last day of term there will be a Leavers' Service at St Barnabas Church which will include a Graduation Ceremony for Year 6 when they will receive their portfolios. Parents are very welcome to attend. 29/06/06
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Sports
Days and Competition The last few weeks of term are always full of competitions to find the champion House of the Year. Points are added together from all the different tournaments so that we can award the School Shield at the end of the school year. For the last two years Invicta House have won the shield, but after the first two tournaments, Medway lead with 8 points from Adams with 6. Gordon and Invicta have 3 points each. 29/06/06
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Barnsole's
First Chess Tournament On Saturday 17th June Mr Hamill arranged the first Barnsole Chess Tournament for many years. Napier, Woodlands and Barnsole took part in a whole morning's chess. Click here for more details... 29/06/06
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Good
Health Day is Coming On Tuesday 11th July the school will be organising a Good Health Day. You are all welcome to pop in and see what's going on. We have also arranged for a representative from the Family Learning Forum to run a session for adults on preparing healthy packed lunches. We are looking for about 7 volunteers to take part (free of charge). If you are interested please let us know straight away and we can make the arrangements. We are also taking the opportunity on Good Health Day to collect money for Sport Relief and if children want to run their mile we are setting up a special route around the school to help them do this. Click here for details... 29/06/06
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Sports
Days On Thursday 22/6/06 (Upper School in the morning; Lower School in the afternoon) everyone will be taking part in the Team Sports. This is a chance for each team member to gain points for their house. On Wednesday 28/6/06 (afternoon) the Sports Finals for those who have qualified from the heats will take place. Both events will be held at Brasenose Field. Parents are welcome to attend either. Most people prefer to see the finals which are easier for spectators to follow! Please phone for exact timings nearer the day.
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Ofsted
Report and School Profile Available Everyone should have received a copy of our latest Ofsted report including all the children who should have received a personal letter. You can also find the report both on our website and on the OFSTED website. www.ofsted.gov.uk This year there is no requirement for Governors to send out an Annual
Report. Instead there has to be a school profile made available on line.
To access this you will need: If you would like a paper copy please call in at the office. There
will be copies available at the Parents' Evenings in July.
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School
Travel Plan We are working with the Infant School to devise a School Travel Plan aimed at reducing traffic in the area around the school. If you would be interested in being a parent representative on the working party please let the office know. 15/06/06
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Fruit
Bar Leading up to Good Health Day we are experimenting with selling fruit at cost price. This will take place from Monday 3rd July when the cabin in the playground will become The Fruit Bar for the fortnight. If there is sufficient interest we may be able to make this a regular feature. 15/06/06
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Barnsole
in the Mini World Cup Last Wednesday a team representing Barnsole took part in the Medway Mini-World Cup. We were allocated Spain as our country and the tournament was organized to be as close as possible to the real thing. Our team comfortably qualified from their group defeating Switzerland 2-0, but finally going out to the Czech Republic. Congratulations on a good performance go to: Savannah Maloney (captain); Ellie Suckling; Emma Frost; Callum Wardle; Joe Miles; Ellis Drew; Jonathan Powell; Jacob Dansie; Bradley Prenderville; Mark Ellis Adams; Ben Slocombe and Nathan Ascheri; Thanks to Mr Buswell, Mrs Walker and Mrs Rowe for organizing the team 15/06/06
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Term 5 - Summer 2006
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End
of the Year Arrangements Over the past few weeks, everyone at school has been busy working towards their annual tests. These can be difficult times, but we are pleased that everyone tried their best. The results will be out by the time of the annual reports in July. After that there is the chance to speak to the class teacher for the final time this year. The new classes will be announced before the end of term and as always will be the best mix that we can arrange so that everyone has the best possible chance to succeed next year. We are pleased that numbers have risen slightly this year and as a result we have employed a new teacher to work in Class 6. This will therefore mean that there will be 3 classes in each year group in 2006/7. 25/05/06
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Ofsted
Report coming soon.... The OFSTED report from our recent inspection will be available on the Monday after the holiday along with a letter written by the Inspector to each of the children. We are very pleased with what it says and represents our third successful report since OFSTED inspections began. We have received congratulations from Medway Council for Barnsole having been consistently successful over the years and the Governors are particularly grateful for all the hard work put in by every member of staff. The children were singled out for their progress, which is amongst the highest in the country. 25/05/06
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Kidscape After the May Holiday Year 3 parents have the chance to hear about our anti-bullying/self-protection course "Kidscape". This has been running for many years and has proved invaluable in helping children care for themselves. Separate details have been sent out. 25/05/06
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Living
and Growing Over the past week a number of Year 6 parents previewed the Living and Growing Sex Education series that we show annually. This is an essential part of our curriculum for the final year and has always been warmly received. A statement on our policy for this is available from the office. 25/05/06
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Healthy
Days Ahead More and more events are being planned for our Good Health Day on Tuesday 11th July. During this week we will be opening "The Fruit Bar" where children will be able to buy freshly delivered fruit at breaktimes. There will be cookery competitions, fitness events and lots of guests to demonstrate ways of leading a healthy lifestyle. Look out for further details 25/05/06
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Ofsted
News Last week we were lucky to be chosen for a special one-day OFSTED inspection. Not lucky because we were inspected(!), but lucky to be identified as a high achieving school and therefore suitable for this form of OFSTED.The inspector spoke to lots of adults and children, looked at all our results and the children's work, and was very complimentary about lots of things. We are waiting for the report which will be sent out as soon as it is ready. There will also be a letter for each of the children. 11/05/06
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Healthy
Days Ahead We are busy planning a series of fun activities for our planned Good Health Day on Tuesday 11th July. There will be sporting guests, challenges and activities for the children to encourage everyone to make their lifestyle more healthy. One of our aims is to produce a booklet of healthy recipes. If you have any favourite recipes perhaps you would be so kind as to send in one for others to share. Mrs Hollman, our Family Liaison Officer, is organising this part of the day and would be very grateful for any contributions. 11/05/06
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More
Music at Barnsole A few weeks ago the Barnsole Recorder Club attended the Annual Recorder Festival at the Central Theatre, Chatham. "We were all very nervous and excited at the prospect of
performing on the huge stage in front of all the people who had come to
watch. We played a variety of songs along with many other schools,
including 'Yellow Submarine'. Everyone had a brilliant night and said it
was 'cool', 'fun' but 'a bit scary'.
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Results
of the Recent Questionnaire As promised, here are some more of the results from the recent questionnaire. QUESTION SIX: The School takes account of children's views 76% Agree 6% Disagree It is good to see that the answers reflect the hard work by School
Council and all the different volunteers across the school in helping
with the running of the school. QUESTION SEVEN: Another increase since last time.
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Term 4 - Spring 2006
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Girls'
Football Success! This week Barnsole Girls' Football Team took part in the Medway Area Tournament held at the Anchorians on one of the windiest days of the year. The Y5/Y6 girls shone through the conditions to finish 3rd overall! Each of the nine strong team showed a sunny attitude and strong determination playing seven division games and winning 3rd place through a penalty shootout. Congratulations to: Thanks to Mrs Walker, Mrs Rowe and Mr Buswell for organising the
team.
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More
Questionnaire Results As promised here are some more of the results from the recent questionnaire. QUESTION FOUR: Is Behaviour in the school good? 81% agree 2% disagree A pleasing result and one that is regularly checked by outside people. However, we are always working on improving behaviour since we work with a number of challenging children, most of whom become good future citizens of Medway. QUESTION FIVE: A pleasing response for all the Governors and others who organize the
school.
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Criteria
for Granting Holidays in Term Time Both Barnsole Junior and Barnsole Infant Schools have agreed a new policy on holidays taken during term time. This policy meets with current legislation and the expectations of Medway Council. It will take effect from September 2206. The Holidays during term time Policy can be found on the Parents Info page. 28/03/06
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Spring
comes to Barnsole! We don't have rolling green fields around us, but there are signs of Spring in the School. The pond is showing signs of life and the greenery is growing. The regular events for this time of year, are busily being prepared such as the two music festivals and the PTA Easter activities. In addition, in our assemblies we have been finding out about Lent and the story of Easter. You might have seen in the papers about Rebecca Marston winning the World Book Day competition at WH Smith. As a result we have a brand new copy of the latest Jacqueline Wilson novel which I'm sure many children will enjoy reading. Next week a group of Year 6 will be spending the day with children from Ecole Jacques Prevert in St Pol, France, and we are also hoping to welcome two ex-pupils to help Year 4 with their local history topic on the past history of the school. 16/03/06
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Health
and Safety We would like to remind everyone of the danger from strangers approaching children in the Gillingham area. Someone tried to entice an older girl into his car near the Strand recently so everyone needs to be aware. Next term we will be running a series of sessions on keeping yourself safe. These Kidscape sessions are aimed at Year 3 and have been running for many years. More recently some year groups have been learning about fire safety as part of the PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) programme. 16/03/06
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Healthy
Teeth Last week Year 3 and Year 6 had their dental screening and we were pleased to see that 87 out of the 100 or so children had naturally sound teeth, with no evidence of decayed, extracted or filled teeth. The Medway Primary Care Trust recommend that children visit the dentist at least once a year and brush plaque off teeth and gums at least once a day... Among their suggestions for healthy packed lunches are: Fresh fruit and vegetables; high-fibre low fat crisps; low fat yoghurt; low fat cottage cheese. For drinks during the day they suggest milk and water, both of which are available in school. 16/03/06
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Results
of the Recent Questionnaire As promised, here are some more of the results from the recent questionnaire. QUESTION TWO: Is your child making good progress at school because the teaching is good? 87% agreed 7% disagreed QUESTION THREE: Do you feel that your child is safe and well cared for at school? 94% agreed 3% disagreed We are pleased that so many of you are pleased with the education that your children are receiving and that you feel that they are well cared for. Please don't forget that you can borrow the school books at the end of a month. Please drop us a note in good time. 16/03/06
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PTA
Events Our PTA are busy preparing events in order to raise money to help the school. Please take a look and see what they have planned....PTA Diary 14/03/06
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A Visit
to Ucca (Rochester) On Wednesday 22/2/06 Art and Design Club went on a trip to look round the University College of Creative Arts. Click here to find out more.. 02/03/06
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Results
of the Recent Questionnaire As promised, here are some of the results from the recent questionnaire. QUESTION ONE: My Child enjoys School: 87% agreed 12% disagreed We are pleased that so many children enjoy coming to school, but it is a pity that 12% are not able to benefit from the many activities that are on offer. If there are any particular problems that are getting in the way, please make sure that we know. Mrs Hollman, our Family Liaison Officer, is available to help you try and sort things out. Are your children members of any clubs? Do they take advantage of the lunchtime activities? Let us know. 02/03/06
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Interested
in Joining a Choir? Last week we enjoyed a percussion workshop across the school and over the next few weeks recorder groups and choirs will be taking part in local competitions. With all the music that is going on and the high standard of singing, we certainly have a number of children who would benefit by taking their interest further. The choir at St Margaret's, Rainham, is looking for new members and the ideal time to join is between 7 and 11. The Junior Choir practises every Friday from 7.00-8.00 pm in the Parish Church. If you might be interested the school has a number of leaflets to provide further information. Please call in! 02/03/06
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Barnsole
Across the World! Many children have recently had the opportunity to write to schools abroad. Our link with St Pol, France, continues with 25 children visiting for the day soon. They will have the chance to see a French school and work together in a mixture of French and English. Two groups have put together a collection of letters and information for our link with Ooike School in Ito, Japan. We also exchange e-mails and will hopefully compile a video to send. This week we also welcome a teacher from The King's School, Madrid and are setting up pen pals between the two schools. Why not look up where these places are on a map? 02/03/06
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Netball
Tournament - Staff versus Parents It has been suggested that we hold a fun netball tournament with teams of parents competing against members of staff from the school. The fun day will be held in June so there is plenty of time to get teams together. Click here for more details... 20/02/06
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Numeracy
Workshop Following requests by parents, we are running a workshop for parents and guardians on mathematics methods and strategies used in primary school. We will be running this for all parents on Wednesday 1st March 2006 from 3.30 to 4.30pm approximately. If you would like to attend to see how we teach certain key elements of mathematics, please fill in the slip found at the bottom of the letter. 20/02/06
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Term 3 - Spring 2006
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Families
and School Working Together Thank you to everyone who has been able to attend the Parents' Evenings this week. This is a particularly important time because it is a halfway check on how well you son/daughter is doing this year. We are hoping to contact those of you who were unable to come to the evenings so as to make sure that we reach everyone. Mrs Curtis (our Learning Mentor) and Mrs Hollman (our Family Liaison Officer) have also been in contact with many of you so that we can help the children get the best out of their time at Barnsole. 09/02/06
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Join
in with the PTA Our PTA has been very busy recently raising funds and providing social events. The recent Film Club made a profit of £112.33 and was enjoyed by the usual large audience. (PS the next one is coming up soon!) For the first time for a long while we held a Family Disco which was also well attended. This event raised £344.87 and all the money goes to buying extras for the children. So well done and thank you to all the members of the PTA and all those who took part. Look out for future events and why not become an active member of the PTA? There is always another PTA newsletter just around the corner. 09/02/06
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Celebration
Mozart with our Young Composers On the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth we were treated to a selection of original compositions from some of our students. Since Mozart started to write music at a very young age we thought that it would be a good idea to start an annual competition for our own composers which would be held in his honour! This year our composers were: Chloe Crocker; Esther Murphy; Gemma Barrington; Timothy Babalola; Bethany Godmon and the eventual winners - Montgomery Murphy and Cameron Houghton. 09/02/06
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Rocking
with Mr Arnold Two weeks ago the school hall became the venue for a special rock concert given by Mr Arnold. A large audience attended the event and were treated to a feast of technology and music. As well as cheering along, the spectators (and Mr Arnold!) helped to raise £30 for music in the school. Well done everyone! 09/02/06
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Working
Together - Families and Schools Membership of the Medway Excellence Cluster has enabled us to appoint a Family Liaison Officer to work alongside Mrs. Curtis, our Learning Mentor. The Family Liaison Officer, Mrs. Angela Hollman is hoping to provide support to parents and carers who may be experiencing difficulties associated with their children. These concerns could be social, emotional, behavioural or practical problems like transport or simply remembering homework or lunch money. Raising children can have its fair share of ups and downs and it can be reassuring to have someone to discuss issues with. Mrs. Hollman will do her very best to help you and offer support. Please feel free to contact her at the school. 26/01/06
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Writing
To Other Schools Although lots of us use e-mail these days, writing letters is still important and that is why children still learn this art. In addition it can give you a chance to find out about places overseas. All of Year 6 have had the chance to write (in French) to our linked school in Northern France, Ecole Jacques Prevert, St Pol sur Jernoise. For the first time, the members of the Spanish Club are writing to
the King's International School in Madrid (in Spanish) and finally a
group of volunteers are writing to a new linked school in Ito in Japan.
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Welcome
to our new staff! With a new term we are happy to welcome several new members of staff. Miss Harris joins us as our new Deputy Headteacher and Class 11 Teacher; Mrs Rayner and Mrs Bessim have joined our team of Teaching Assistants; and Mrs Wickett and Ms Wake will be teaching Class 8 during Miss Sanderson's absence. In addition. at the end of January Mrs Hollman will be starting with us as our first ever family Liaison Officer. Her job will be working alongside Mrs Curtis, our Learning Mentor, in specifically supporting families and their children. We wish them all a happy time with us at Barnsole Junior. 12/01/06
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Assemblies
For The Term For the next few months our Assembly themes will be as follows: January: Same but Different February: Thoughfulness March: Spring-Life and Death You might like to talk with your children about some of the issues that we will be considering such as: People with disabilities - are they different? People from other countries who speak different languages? What are our earliest memories? What are Shrove Tuesday and Lent? Why is Spring important? Why is Easter important to Christians? 12/01/06
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Happy
New Year but... In the event of bad weather! We recommend that you listen to local radio as information about any school closure will be sent by this means. Invicta FM is on 103.1 in Medway BBC Radio Kent is on 96.7FM, 1035kHz or 1602kHz. School will remain open except in the most severe conditions and there will be staff on hand to help with any difficulties on the day of closure. Please ensure that you have the information from either the radio or the school itself. Do not rely on gossip! 12/01/06
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Term 2 - Autumn 2005
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Well
Done Every One For A Good 2005! On your behalf I would like to thank everyone for all their hard work throughout the school. You may have seen in the newspapers how well the school did in raising everyone's standards during their time in the Juniors. The progress made by the children was amongst the highest in Medway and we are very proud of what has been achieved. WELL DONE EVERY ONE! 15/12/05
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Barnsole
Choir On December 6th the school choir went on a trip to Rochester Cathedral and sang with eight different school choirs. Click here to read more about it. 15/12/05
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Season's
Greetings All the staff would like to wish all our families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2006. Thank you to all those who have shared our events this year and who have enabled a whole range of activities to happen. Working together has helped to make us one of the most successful schools in Medway. 15/12/05
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Goodbye
and Hello... This week we say goodbye to Mr Bell who is moving on to be Headteacher at Balfour Junior School from January. On behalf of all the children and parents with whom he has worked I would like to thank Mr Bell for all that he has contributed to the school over the past four years. We wish him every success in his new post. Miss Harris, our new Deputy Headteacher, has already visited us and will be starting after Christmas. We also say goodbye and thank you to Mrs Bonner who is leaving our team of Midday Mealtime Supervisors. 15/12/05
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New
Addition We would like to congratulate Miss Sanderson on the birth of a baby boy, Lucius. During her maternity leave Class 8 will be taught by two very experienced teachers - Mrs Type and Mrs Wickett. 15/12/05
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The
Party Season On Tuesday 13th December there will be a party for Years 5 and 6 and on Thursday 15th it will be the turn of Years 3 and 4. 01/12/05
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Carol
Concert Our Carol Concert to which many children have signed up will take place for the rest of the school on Wednesday morning (14/12/05) and for parents in the evening at 6.30 in Gillingham Methodist Church. Everyone is welcome to attend. 01/12/05
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Blue
Peter Blue Peter are raising funds for extra calls to Childline. We would like to help them. To do this we need you to bring in any coins (foreign or English) and mobile phones (old ones without a Sim card). Please help the children who need Childline. Bethany Godmon (Year 5) 01/12/05
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Winter
Weather In the event of severe weather conditions we recommend that you listen to Local Radio as information about any school closure will be sent by this means. Invicta FM is on 103.1 in Medway, BBC Radio Kent is on 96.7 FM, 1035 kHz or 1602 kHz. School will remain open except in the most severe conditions and there will always be staff on hand to help with any difficulties on the day of closure. Please remind your children that they should always report to school and not turn back because they have been told by someone that school is closed. Hopefully none of this will be necessary! 01/12/05
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Questionnaire Results... Thank you to all those who responded to the Governors' Questionnaire which was handed out on the recent Parents' Consultation Evenings. The results were discussed this week and there will be news of a forthcoming Information Evening on Maths after Christmas. Many people said how much they liked the range of different clubs on offer. You can find all these by clicking here and we are hoping to put up a list in Reception soon. This week it is the turn of the children to provide their opinions as they have all been given a questionnaire to complete. 17/11/05
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What's Happening At
Assemblies These Days? This last week we marked Remembrance with special assemblies and laid 46 poppies around our wreath for the past pupils who gave their lives in the Great War. If there are any families whose relative is mentioned on our memorial we would be interested in hearing from you. All this month we are hearing stories about Courage and how this is an important moral value. Being able to stand up for what is right is particularly difficult in these times and in the face of so many influences to do what is wrong. Next month we are looking at the value of caring and linking this with Christmas. At a time of presents and parties in lots of faiths, it is always important to consider the real meaning of Christmas and how we can take the opportunity to look after others. Some of the Year 5 children are organizing a contribution to the Blue Peter Appeal and this fits in nicely with this theme. 17/11/05
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From Harvest to
Carols Thank you to all those who participated in the Harvest Celebrations which this year we held in the school. Our theme was traditional and in the bicentenary year of Trafalgar we raised money for the British Legion. We will know the exact amount when we add it to the Poppy Appeal in November. Our next major celebration will of course be Christmas and our choir has been busy practising for their appearance at Rochester Cathedral. In addition the school will be working towards a Carol Concert which will be held at Gillingham Methodist Church on Wednesday 14/12/05 3/11/05
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PTA Meeting After School - Events to Come... You should all have received a PTA Newsletter with all the latest news. If not take a look at our PTA Page for their latest news including dates for the next meeting and other events 3/11/05
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A Good Turn Out at
Parents' Evenings Thank you to all those who came to the series of Parents' Consultations which were held at the end of October. Well over three-quarters of you came to talk about how your son or daughter is getting on in their new class. The Governors also took the opportunity to meet many of you and were very grateful for all the returned questionnaires. We will let you know the results of these in the next few weeks. 3/11/05
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Term 1 - Autumn 2005
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You might have
seen us in the Medway Messenger Everyone enjoyed the last day before the holidays when we remembered Trafalgar and celebrated our school's links with Chatham Dockyard. A big thank you goes out to all the guests who demonstrated a wide range of skills to the children and a special thank you goes to Mrs Smith (Our Chair of Governors) who arranged the event. 3/11/05
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Training to be Safe on the Road A few weeks ago, several of our Year 6 children underwent special training as part of the Medway Cycling Proficiency Scheme. After five days out on Sturdee Avenue, we are pleased to say that everyone gained from the experience and we can congratulate the following on their successfully passing the course: Gemma Morgan; Jack Gustavina; Charlie Balderston; Stephen Winchester; Toni Osborne; Aimee McIntyre; Billie Crockford; Aaron Marston and Emily Horsley. 6/10/05
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Navy Day On Thursday 20th October we are celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar with a special Navy Day. (You will be sent a pamphlet giving you lots of details). If you would like to attend please let us know. You will be able to drop in and out during the day. 6/10/05
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Harvest Festival On Wednesday 19th October we are holding our Annual Harvest Festival in our School Hall. We are asking children to bring in silver to fill our ship and the money will go to The Royal British Legion which is our designated charity for the year. 6/10/05
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Parents' Evenings Week Commencing Monday 17th October 2005 We shall be holding Parents' Evenings during the week commencing Monday 17th October 2005. These will mainly be arranged as follows:-
If you would like an opportunity to discuss your child's progress,
please telephone the school for an appointment.
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Adding Value in Barnsole
Junior School Each year the results of our children are compared with those across England to work out how much progress they have made. The school is therefore rated on how much value it adds to every child during their time in the Junior School. We were delighted to find out that the results for this Summer's SATs tests put us in the top 20% of schools in the country for the improvements made between Years 3 and 6. This is a testimony to all the hard work put in by children and staff. 29/09/05
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Remembering Nelson We will be holding a Navy Day with lots of activities to remember Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar on Thursday 20th October. If you would like to join us please let us know so that we can make arrangements. More details will be sent out nearer the time. 29/09/05
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Harvest Festival This year we will be holding our Harvest Festival in the School Hall on Wednesday 19th October. Details will be sent out about our theme for the service. Reverend Best will be joining us and we will be making a presentation to the British Legion. 29/09/05
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School Nurse Drop In Our school nurse will be available during the morning of Monday 26th September 2005. If you wish to make an appointment to see her, please contact the school office. 22/09/05
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The Excellence Cluster
is Up and Running Since January of this year Barnsole has been part of the Medway Excellence Cluster Partnership which is a group of 21 schools in the local area and which follows up the Education Action Zone. Most of the planned activities start to take effect from this month and we are involved in setting up a range of new clubs, working with learning mentors, tackling basic skills and looking at ways to improve behaviour. There are copies of the Excellence News Newsletter in Reception if you would like to pick up a copy and find out more. 16/09/05
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Congratulations We have a long running reputation for our teachers gaining recognition and moving on to new posts. The latest person to be congratulated is Mr Bell who has been appointed as Headteacher of Balfour Junior School from January 2006. We will obviously wish him well at the end of the term, but take great pleasure in another ex-Barnsole teacher gaining recognition in Medway. Advertisements for a new Deputy Headteacher have been placed from this week and you will be informed of the outcome as soon as the appointment is made. 16/09/05
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Problems Collecting
Children If there are any problems with collecting someone after school, the children wait in Reception where they are supervised until 4.30. By the way, our reception is open throughout the day from 8.00 in the morning. 16/09/05
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A Safe Start and End to
the Day Thank you to everyone for supporting the move towards greater security in the school. We now have three gates and these have each been given a specific purpose. The Sturdee Avenue gate is opened at the start and end of the day for children only. The School Avenue big gates will only be opened for vehicles when necessary. The new gate in School Avenue is for all adults and access is using the buzzer system. Our receptionists will be able to see all visitors on the camera and let people in accordingly. As a result only those people who should be on premises are in school and the children and adults are therefore much safer. 16/09/05
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Another Year of Language Success Now that we are into a new school year everyone is busy learning new things that are challenging and rewarding. Throughout the years pupils are making progress with their French and we have new members of the Spanish Club. Hopefully we can build on last year's success when over 30 of Year 6 gained the first ever national certificates in a foreign language. 16/09/05
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Welcome Back to a New School Year! Welcome to a new School Year. This term will see lots of changes and improvements to the school. Firstly we welcome Mrs Curtis as our new Learning Mentor. She has in fact been with us over the Summer and has already helped organize summer clubs for some of the children. We would also take this opportunity to welcome Year 3 and any other children who join us for the first time. Mrs Wilson has taken up a new role with us and will be covering for teachers on three days of the week. Mrs Haynes and Mrs Croft have been promoted to new posts elsewhere and we wish them lots of success. 06/09/05
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Uniform Several parents have asked us to clarify school uniform. We ask everyone to wear the following: GIRLS: bottle green jumpers, white blouses, grey skirts/trousers (black is acceptable if grey cannot be found). BOYS: bottle green jumpers, white shirts, grey trousers (black is acceptable if grey cannot be found). * If you are letting your son/daughter have their ears pierce, Summer
is a good time as they will be able to remove their studs by the time
school starts again and therefore not miss PE and Games
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Website Update We have added a couple of new pages for you. Our letters page has now been developed and hopefully all letters that are sent home to parents will appear here. Also we have added a FAQ page, maybe you can find the answer to your query here, if not then you can email us and we will do our best to answer your questions. 06/09/05
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School Meals Please note that the price of school meals has increased to £1.55 per day in order to reflect the rising standards of school meals. 06/09/05
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New Entrance Please note that as from Wednesday 7th September, adults will no longer have access to the playground from the Sturdee Avenue entrance. Instead they must use the new entrance in School Avenue. 06/09/05
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School Letters If your child has forgotten or lost a letter that was given to them at school, then please check here to see if it appears on our letters page. This may save you a trip into the office. 06/09/05
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