Untitled Document

B ILLINGHAY CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL
SCHOOL TERMS AND HOLIDAYS 2010/2011

Twilight training sessions – 22nd September 2010
29th September 2010
6th October 2010

Monday 1st November 2010
To
Friday 17th December 2010

Inset training day – Monday 20th December 2010

Bank holidays
Monday 27th December & Tuesday 28th December 2010
Monday 3rd January 2011

Tuesday 26th April 2011
To
Friday 27th May 2011

Bank Holidays
Monday 2nd May & Monday 30th May 2011

Monday 6th June 2011
To
Friday 22nd July 2011

Twilight training sessions – 15th June
22nd June
29th June

EVERYDAY: ‘PLAYTIME AFTER SCHOOL CLUB’ two sessions available 3.20 – 4.15 £2.50 and 3.20 – 5.15 £4.50 per day. Bookings taken at school.
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EVERYDAY: ‘BREAKFAST CLUB’ all welcome – contact school or Mrs Simpson for current prices and events.

SWIMMING: ALL Children have now had an enjoyable swimming lesson – many thanks to everyone that has paid or made an effort to make a payment BUT if you haven’t made any contributions yet please do so by MONDAY at the latest as we have to pay the swimming pool for the hire of the pool – thank you.

PARENTMAIL: Parent mail is now up and running – if you would like to join and receive letters and information by e mail instead of a paper copy then please let the school office have your e mail address and a mobile telephone number for emergencies.

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
September 2009
‘Every Person Matters’

Welcome back to a new academic year at Billinghay Church of England Primary School! On behalf of the governors, staff and myself, I would like to take this opportunity to extend a special welcome to all our new pupils and parents who have joined the school this year. You can be assured that the school team are dedicated to providing the highest standard of education possible for each child in our care.

Attention All Parents of Pre-School Children – Reminder of the Primary School Admissions for September 2010
If your child was born between 01/09/2005 and 31/08/2006 then he/she is eligible to start school in September 2010. There have been several changes to the admissions procedures in recent years and it is important that parents and carers bear these in mind when applying for a school place in September 2010.
Changes include:
• The admissions scheme is now co-ordinated by the LA Schools Admission Team and not the school.
• Parents only require one application pack which will contain a Common Application Form on which parents can name    up to three preferences of school.
• The Common Application Form is returned to the LA Schools Admission Team and not directly to the school.
• The Common Application Form must be returned to the LA Schools Admission Team by 18th December 2009 or you   may lose out at a place at your preferred school.
• The Schools Admission Team will write to parents with the offer of a school place on 15th March 2010. If you applied   online you can view your offer from this date at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schoolsadmissions

Primary school application packs are available at the school office from Monday 28th September 2009. You can also apply online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schoolsadmissions from 29th September. If you apply online you should not complete the paper Common Application Form. We also have copies of ‘Going to School in Lincolnshire’ which are available on request.
If you require further information regarding the application process then please contact the school. Alternatively telephone the Schools Admission Team on 01522 782030.
REMEMBER! The Schools Admission Team must receive your Common Application Form by …12 noon on 18th December 2009.

Parents of Pupils in Year 6 – Transfer to Secondary School in September 2010
By now parents and carers of Y6 pupils will have received the application pack for a place at secondary school. If you require help with your Common Application Form then please remember that we are here to help and will be glad to assist you. You can also telephone the Schools Admissions Team on 01522 553227/01522 553229.

The Common Application Form for Secondary Admissions must be returned directly to County Offices in the stamped addressed envelope provided by October 23rd 2009.

You can also apply on line at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions from 8th September 2009 until the closing date of 23rd October 2009.

Absence from School due to Holidays
I would like to remind all parents and carers on the school policy and procedures for granting leave of absence for holidays during term time.
Each request for authorised absence for a holiday will be considered on its individual merits by the Headteacher. The Headteacher has the discretion to grant up to 10 days authorised absence in one academic year to enable a young person to accompany their parents on holiday. However, whatever the circumstance, it is unlikely that permission for absence will be granted for holidays that fall during the national tests each May.
We would like to emphasise that although 10 days absence may be granted we would encourage parents to avoid taking any holiday during term time. All absence due to holidays will be monitored closely and any issues regarding your child’s absence will be discussed with you directly.
Holiday request forms are available from the school office and must be returned to school for consideration by the Headteacher before permission is granted. We hope you will be able to support us in ensuring maximum attendance at school.

School Performance Information 2008
I am pleased to announce the results of the national tests (SATs) for 7 and 11 year olds in the academic year 2008/09.

Key Stage One results 2009 – 7 year olds (Year 2)
Reading % Writing % Mathematics %

Key Stage Two results 2009 – 11 year olds (Year 6)
English %
Mathematics % Science %
Level 4 and above 92% 73% 96%
Level 5 19% 12% 35%

The Curriculum
Magical Maths Week will take place in school on the week beginning 28th September. The normal curriculum will be suspended for this week with whole week set aside to maths activities and problem solving. Children in Mrs Chapman’s class and Mrs Brooke/Mrs Atkinson’s class will present a maths assembly to parents/carers of children in their classes. Parents with children in these classes are invited to attend and spend some time with their children working alongside them in the classroom. There will be opportunities to discuss mathematical strategies and ways to help your child in maths.

Class Assemblies
Each class will, during the yea,r present a 15 / 20 minute assembly to the parents / carers of the children in that class. The dates of class assemblies are below:

Year 4/5 Term 1 2.45pm on 20/10/09
Year 5/6 Term 2 2.45pm on 24/11/09
Year 2/3 Term 3 2.45pm on 9/2/09

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at your child’s class assembly.

Parent Consultations
Autumn term consultations take place on Tuesday 20th October from 5.30 – 7.30 and Thursday 22nd October from 3.30 – 5.30. The purpose of this consultation is to discuss your child’s current level of attainment and to suggest ways of supporting your child at home. The consultation will also give you the opportunity to discuss your child’s targets with their class teacher. Each child from Year 1 to Year 6 will have target cards for maths, reading and writing. These will be discussed at the consultation. For parents of pupils in Year 3 to Year 6 information will be provided regarding the expected progress through each year in KS2 (juniors) based on the levels achieved at the end of KS1 (Y2). An appointment letter will be sent to you in due course.

We will be holding a crèche on the Thursday only. If you need a crèche to look after a child/children when you are attending a consultation then could you please book a time to see your child’s class teacher on the Thursday. We will not be offering a crèche on the Tuesday.

Our new Parental Support Adviser, Sue Green, will be present on both evenings in the school hall to talk to parents/carers and answer any questions.

School Council 2009/10
The following pupils have been elected as class representatives on the School Council 2009/10:
Mrs Atkinson/Mrs Brooke’s class – Harvey Morgan and Anna Atkinson
Mrs Hall’s Class - Ian Johnson and Ella Flett
Mrs Smithson’s Class - Abi Gilbert (secretary) and Harrison Wild (chair)

The Friends
A big thank you to all members of the Friends of the School for all their hard work last school year and for all the money that they raised. Events planned for this term include:

Games Night Sat 3rd October 2009.
Disco Fri 16th October 2009.
Christmas Fair Fri 4th December 2009 3.30pm start.

School Building
The extension to school is now complete. I would like to thank all parents for their patience in not having a front entrance to school for a while. Thankfully most of the major building work was completed during the holidays.

Linked to Healthy Schools and the Travel Plan we would like to encourage as many children as possible to bike or walk to school.

Harvest Festival
This years Harvest Festival Service at St. Michael’s Church will be held on 15th October at 10am. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the service.

Parents Forum
In June’s newsletter I set out our intention to establish a Parents Forum. Unfortunately only one parent expressed an interest to be involved.

I propose to set up a termly Parents Forum which will be a chance for a small group of parents to meet with me to discuss any issues that they may have. Once appointed, the members will be made known to all parents. Parents can then contact a member of the forum to bring ideas or suggestions to their attention to discuss at the next meeting. Alternatively parents could write to the members and leave this communication in school at the front reception desk ready to be picked up by the appropriate member. The group could then set up a monthly newsletter. If anyone is interested in being a part of the Parents Forum then please see me at school. The meetings would be during the school day and I propose for the first meeting to be in Term 2 sometime November/December 2009.

Christmas Activities
Christmas Fair 4.12.09 at 3.30pm
FS, Y1/2, Y2/3 Christmas Production 9/12/09 and 10/12/09 Times to be agreed
Y4/5 and Y5/6 Christmas Production at St Michael’s Church 16/12/09

Reminders
Please can I remind you that children are not permitted to bike to school on their own until they have passed Bikewise which they can take in Year 5. There should be no biking down the path leading into school. Children should dismount their bikes as soon as they get to the school gates and walk their bikes to the cycle shelter. This rule also applies to scooters and skateboards, none of which should be ridden on school property for safety reasons.

Children need to walk safely down the path into and out of school. It has been brought to my attention that some children when out of the school gates have run across the road or crossed it in an unsafe manner. This can be a busy road at many times in the day but especially at the start and end of the school day when we have busses delivering or picking up children from school.

Can I also remind parents that some children are coming too early to school. Our playground opens at 8.50am and we should not have any children on site before this time unless they are doing a job for a class teacher in which case they sign in at the register. If the weather is inclement, then children will be allowed in school from 8.50am at the discretion of the Headteacher or a senior member of staff. Children will need to come to the playground as normal and the bell will be rung if the weather is considered to be too bad. Children will be supervised in their classes by their class teacher.

Dates of activities this term
28th September – Magical Maths Week
3rd October – Games Night organised by the Friends of the School
15th October – Harvest Festival in Church
16th October – School Disco
20th October – Parent Consultations – 5.30 – 7.30
22nd October – Parent Consultations – 3.30 – 5.30
23rd October – break up for half term
2nd November – Staff Inset training
3rd November – Children return to school
16th November – school nurse visit
19th November – Operation Christmas Child – Shoe box collection
4th December – Christmas Fayre organised by the Friends of the school
9th December – FS/Yr 1/2, Yr 2/3 production
10th December – Fs/Yr1/2, Yr2/3 production
16th December – Christmas Production in Church

INSET DAY IN NOV & JAN – Monday 2nd November – children return Tuesday 3rd November.
Can I please remind parents that the last day at school before Christmas is 18th December. We have an Inset Day on Monday 4th January 2010 so the children’s first day back in January will be Tuesday 5th January 2010.

Parentmail
Please can I remind all parents registered with parentmail that from next week all correspondence will be available via this system – if you would like to register and receive letters electronically then please contact the school office, thank you.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
November 2009
‘Every Person Matters’

Dear Parents and Carers
With only five full weeks left until the end of term the focus has definitely turned to Christmas. This has been another busy yet enjoyable term and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support since September. On behalf of the pupils, staff and Governors I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
On with the news…

Harvest
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Harvest Festival at St Michael’s Church.

Shoe Box Appeal – Operation Christmas Child
Just a reminder to everyone that the shoe boxes will be collected from school on 20th November – please could you make sure that they are in school before that date. Many thanks to the children that have brought them in already, we will have them on display soon

Class Assemblies
After the Year 4/5 successful class assembly on 20th October it is the turn of Year 5/6 this term. The Year 5/6 class assembly will be on 24th November at 2.45pm. I look forward to meeting parents of the Year 5/6 children at the assembly.

Parent’s Forum
I am pleased to announce that Mrs Tulley and Mrs Cozens will be the members of the Parents Forum.
Mrs Tulley currently has Luke at school who is in Year 1. Her daughter Sammy left school as a Year 6 in July 09 and her son David left in July 08. She is a Parent Governor and has been a member of the Governing Body for 4 years.
Mrs Cozens has Travis at school who is a Robin in the Treehouse.

The Parents Forum will be a chance for Mrs Tulley and Mrs Cozens to meet with me to discuss any issues that parents may have. If you have any ideas, issues or suggestions that you would like to bring to their attention then you can approach them on the playground at the beginning or end of the school day or write a letter to their attention, leaving it in the school office. Alternatively you can e-mail to an account set up for them at school staff.visitor1@billinghay.lincs.sch.uk.
Our first meeting is set for Thursday 3rd December.

Scholastic Book Fair
We will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair from Tuesday 8th December to Tuesday 15th December in the school library. The book fair will be open from 8.45 – 9.15 am and 3.15 – 4.00 pm. Please use the fire escape door to the library for ease of access. This year not only books can be purchased. Stationary and book bags will be on sale. This is also an opportunity for school to benefit from some free books as for every £1 that you spend school will receive up to 60p in free books. Catalogues will be sent out in the week before the book fair so people who are unable to come to school can order books through the catalogue.

Talent Show
After the huge success of the talent show last year, The School Council are organising another one for all pupils at school to take place on Friday 20th December at 7pm in the school hall. I look forward to meeting many of you at the performance for what promises to be a great night. CHARGE FOR ENTRY £2.50 per adult and 50p per child. This will include a cup of tea or coffee and a mince pie/biscuit.

Children In Need
Children in Need day is Friday 20th November. The theme of the day is ’do something different’. Please can the children come in clothes that are a bit different to the norm! Clothes could be worn inside out or your child could wear clothes that were completely stripy. They could come dressed as adults for example wearing a shirt and tie – a contribution of 50p per child will go to Children in Need. Children may also come with ‘wacky hair’ however it must not be coloured.
A group of Year 6 girls are organising a competition. Children can enter by drawing a Pudsey with a twist. The drawing must look like a bear but must be ‘something different’ to Pudsey. All entries must be submitted by the morning of the 20th November and must have the child’s name and class on the back. Entrance to the competition is 50p and there will be prizes for the best drawings based on the class your child is in. The best entry from Robins and Wagtails will win a prize, as will the best one from Chaffinches and Barn Owls and then Hawks and Swans. All drawings can be handed to your child’s class teacher.

We will also be selling numbered squares for a £1.00 with a chance to win a Christmas hamper to the value of £60.00!

Christmas Fair
The Christmas Fair will take place on Friday 4th December at 3.30 pm. Santa will be present, there will be stalls, secret Santa, chocolate tombola and much much more. Each class will make Christmas Hampers which will be raffled off at the Fair. Please could you donate some Christmas type produce for your child’s class hamper and bring it into school between now and the 1st December. There will be a prize to the class who have the best hamper, donated by the Friends of the School.

Each class will also be entering into a mini enterprise project. They will be given an amount of money and will have to create Christmas style products to sell at the Fair. The class who make the most profit at the Fair will win a prize.

Christmas Performances
We are pleased to invite you to our Christmas Plays which will be taking place in December.
F2 and Year 1,2 and 3 Performance for Robins, Wagtails, Chaffinches and Barn Owls will be on 9th December pm and 10th December am. Times to follow.
The Friends of the School will be offering tea and coffee at the performances.
Church Service for Mrs Hall’s Hawks and Mrs Smithson’s Swans will be on Wednesday 16th December at 10am.

Children’s Christmas Party
Christmas party lunch is on the 17th December. Children can come to school in their party clothes.

Billinghay Christmas Lights
The Christmas lights in the village will be switched on at 7pm on the 7th December in the Market Place. I look forward to seeing you all there.

Reminder – All Parents of Pre-School Children
Remember, if your child was born between 01/09/2005 and 31/08/2006 then he/she is eligible to start school in September 2010. There were several changes made to the admissions procedures for September 2006 and it is important that parents and carers bear these in mind when applying for a school place in September 2010.
• Primary school application packs are available at the school office or online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schoolsadmissions. The Common Application Form must be returned to the LA Schools Admission Team by 12th December 2009 or you may lose out at a place at your preferred school.

Dates of activities this term
20th November - Billinghay’s Got Talent 7pm at school. Talent Show for pupils in school.
Children in Need Day
4th December – Christmas Fair.
9th and 10th December - Christmas Plays for Robins, Wagtails, Chaffinches and Barn Owls
16th December - Christmas Church Service for Mrs Hall’s Hawks and Mrs Smithson’s Swans 10am.
17th December – Christmas Party Lunch. Christmas Party pm. Children can come to school in their party clothes.

Can I please remind parents that the last day at school before Christmas is Friday 18th December. We have an Inset Day on Monday 4th January so the children’s first day back in January will be Tuesday 5th January 2010

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.

Tuesday 1st Dec: Music Assembly (Parents of the children in Mrs Brown’s music Group are welcome to attend).

Friday 4th Dec: Christmas Fayre from 3.30 pm onwards – Everyone welcome!
Chocolate items are still required for the Chocolate Tombola please, thank you.

Tuesday 8th Dec: Book Fair - this will be held in the library with entrance via the side door – from 8.45 – 9.15 am and then again from 3.00 – 4.00 pm each day until Monday 14th Dec.
Leaflets will be sent home on Wednesday for you to browse through at your leisure!!

Wednesday 9th December: Christmas Productions from FS (Wrens, Robins and Wagtails), Yr 1/2 (Chaffinches) and Yr 2/3 (Barn Owls) at 2 pm in the school hall.
The Christmas tree lights will be switched in the market place in Billinghay at 7 pm– everyone welcome

Thursday 10th December: Christmas productions as above at 9.30 in the school hall.

Wednesday 16th December: Christmas production in Church from Hawks and Swans in Church – please note the time is 2 pm – not 10 am as originally stated, thank you. Please could ALL costumes be in school by Monday 14th December, thank you.

Thursday 17th December: Lunchtime parties for all children: please could we ask for donations of sweet items of food from Treehouse, Chaffinches and Barn Owls and Savoury items of food from Hawks and Swans, thank you.
The Friends of the School will make and provide sandwiches for all the children. (There will be no hot lunch at the Lafford on our party day) Please bring all items into school from Tuesday 15th December.
There will be no hot lunch at the Lafford on Tuesday 15th December as it is their Christmas Party day – Sandwiches will be provided for children receiving a Free School Meal.

Friday 18th December: Last day of term – Children return on Tuesday 5th January 2010. Inset training day for staff on Monday 4th January.

PARKING: Please DO NOT PARK in the school car park OR the Children’s Centre Car Park when “Dropping Off” or “Collecting” Children. If you think that you have a valid reason to park in the school car park please contact the school office, thank you. We will be closing the school gates at the beginning and at the end of the school day.

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
January 2010
‘Every Person Matters’

I would like to extend a belated Happy New Year to all of you and hope 2010 brings continued success to the school.

Attention Parents of Pupils in Year 2 - KS1 SATs 2009
As some of you may already know, in 2005 changes took place to the way that children’s progress is assessed at the end of Year 2. The emphasis is now based on the teacher’s judgement of how your child has performed in reading, writing, mathematics and science throughout Year 2. The national curriculum tests (SATs) will be used to verify the teacher’s judgements however they will be administered on a more informal basis. Information will be sent to you as part of your child’s annual report in the summer term to help you see how your child is progressing in reading, writing, mathematics and science. You will be provided with the national curriculum levels your child has achieved and what this means when compared to all other Year 2 pupils nationally. More information on the importance of SATs and a timetable for administering the tests/tasks will be available from school shortly. The Year 2 children will be sitting their SATs on the week beginning 10th May. Please can I remind you of the importance of children being in school for these dates.

KS2 SATs for Year 6 children will take place on the week beginning Monday 10th May 2010. It is very important for all Year 6 children to be in school during this week.

Emergency School Closure due to Severe Weather
Although we have had some severe weather recently and I hope it is behind us for another year, I wish to remind parents that in the event of the school closing on any one day due to severe weather it would be helpful if parents and carers listen to either BBC Radio Lincolnshire or LincsFM 102.2 who will, as part of their severe weather service, broadcast up-to-date information on the schools within the county that are forced to close. BBC Radio Lincolnshire will also post the information on their website at www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire and LincsFM on www.lincsfm.co.uk. If parents could please use this service it will hopefully eliminate the high volume of calls the school has to deal with when severe weather occurs.

Class Assemblies
After the Year 4/5 (Hawks) and Year 5/6 (Swans) successful class assemblies in terms 1 and 2 it is the turn of Year 2/3 (Barn Owls) this term and Year 1/2 (Chaffinches) in term 4. The Year 2/3 class assembly will be on 9th February at 2.45pm. The Year 1/2 class assembly will be on 18th March at 2.45 pm. I look forward to meeting parents of the Year 2/3 and Year 1/2 children at these assemblies.

Hot School Dinners
The Lafford High School will continue to provide our hot school dinners until the end of the summer term. We will have to find a new provider for our hot diners from September 2010. We are looking at two providers who are on the Lincolnshire County Council Food in Schools Suppliers approved list. One is The Kitchen at Nocton Heath and the other is The Farm Kitchen at Ewerby. Both are locally based and supply many local schools.

The Kitchen will be holding a taster session for parents/carers and children after school at 3.20pm on the 3rd February.

The Farm Kitchen will be holding a taster session for parents/carers and children from 3.20pm on 9th February.

This will be an opportunity for parents/carers and children to taste some of the food on the menus of the providers, ask questions and give their comments.

We intend to make a decision on our new provider by Easter after listening to your comments.

Parents’ and Carers’ Views of the School
I would like to draw your attention to the recent questionnaire that was sent out entitled ‘Parents’ and Carers’ Views of the School’. I would like to find out your opinions on the quality of education you, as parents and carers, feel we provide at Billinghay. It is important that we find out what we do well, but also where we need to improve, so that our school can continue to grow and flourish. Your responses are important and will be used to help us identify the priorities for our School Improvement and Development Plan. It is also a way of letting me know what you think about the school, what you feel we do well and what you feel we could improve on.

Relief Midday Supervisory Assistant
We have a vacancy for a relief Midday Supervisory Assistant. If any of our Midday Supervisory Assistants (MSAs) were unwell or we needed an additional MSA then we need to be able to contact someone to stand in. Sometimes this can be at short notice. If anyone is interested in this post then please see Mrs Rowitt in the school office.

Admissions
Lincolnshire County Council is consulting on the local authority admission policy for community and controlled schools for entry in September 2011 from 1st January 2010 to 28 February 2010. There is a requirement to consult parents, that is a parent living in the local area with a child aged between 2 and 16 and who have been, is, or will be eligible to apply to our school. The address where LCC place all proposed admissions policies is www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/admissionsconsultation. Details of how to make a comment are on the website.

Parents Forum
Members for the Parents Forum are needed! This is a chance for you to meet with me to discuss issues directly. Meetings are during the school day but can be flexible on days and times depending on commitments. Please see me or Mrs Rowitt if you are interested. We will have meetings every half term so 6 in total during an academic year.

ICT
We will be having our hall projector and screen fitted on the 28th January. We are planning to hold cinema nights in the hall for children, parents/carers and other members of the local community. More information will follow soon.

Fundraising and Charity Support
I would like to thank all parents and pupils for your continued support over the terms 1 and 2.
INFO ON AMOUNTS
The Friends – Approximately £356.00 was raised by Christmas activities.

Parent Consultations
Parent consultations will be on Tuesday 9th March 5.30 – 7.30 and Thursday 11th March 3.30 – 5.30. More details will follow nearer the time.

Extended Provision
Following a drama week in the summer holidays last year, where the Extended Provision Villages Cluster organised a drama week run by LADA of Lincoln, another holiday activity week has been arranged for the forthcoming Easter Break. The theme this time will be 'Wind in the Willows', w/c 12.4.10, hosted by Washingborough Primary School, 9.30am - 5pm at a cost of £60 for the week. Children must be 5yrs+ by the start of this week. Bookings cannot be taken just yet, but we will let you know more in due course.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.
I look forward to seeing you at all the events this term.
Best wishes

Diary Dates
27th January Playtime Club open afternoon
28th January Road Safety talk – F2 and KS1
11th February Cross Country Event at RAF Cranwell
22nd February Yr5/Yr6 residential visit
4th March Friends of the School Meeting
9th March Parent Consultations
11th March Parent Consultations
22nd March School Nurse drop in
Holiday Dates
12th February Break up for half term
22nd February start of Term 4
1st April Break up for Easter
19th April Inset training day for staff
20th April Children return to school

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
School Field
The school have contacted the Education Planning Office at Lincolnshire County Council with regard to the school boundaries in the light of the Lafford closure. An Education Planning Officer visited the school site and we discussed the area of field that the school would be entitled to. We also informed the Planning Office how the site will be very open once the Lafford closes and the need for the new boundary to be fenced off. The school is waiting on an agreement to be made at LCC level although plans have been put forward for discussion which include the new area of field for the school being fenced off. The school has asked for this work to be completed by the summer holidays. We will keep you informed on developments. The school has also put in a request for much of the playground area at the front of the school, which currently has tennis courts marked on it, to be incorporated in our new boundary thus giving us another playground area. This is being discussed.

School Bus Drop Off / Pick Up
The school has also been in contact with relevant departments at Lincolnshire County Council regarding the situation of what would happen to the buses when the Lafford closes with regard to dropping off and picking up our bus pupils. It is being discussed and the school has stressed the health and safety implications involved. It would appear that as a short term measure the school will be allowed to use the Lafford site as we currently do with regard to buses but this has not been confirmed. Longer term solutions are being discussed but depend on what the County Council decide they are wishing to do with the site and buildings. I can assure parents that at no time will buses be using the access road to school and the Children’s Centre and in time a turn round for buses will be factored in to the use of the site if necessary.

20th Anniversary of School Building
The school has been on its present site for 20 years. The Year 6 children will celebrate this in the summer term. We are also taking part in a radio show on Siren FM (University radio station) in June whereby Year 6 children will present 2 hours of live radio. The show will be linked to the 20 years the school has been on its present site and how Billinghay has changed in the last 20 years. If anyone has any information and would like to be interviewed by our radio reporters then please contact school.

If anyone has any old photos of the school being built or of the school site and how it has changed over the last 20 years and would lend them to us we would very much appreciate it. What we plan is to use the Radiowaves website to upload information on the school to a secure site on the Internet whereby parents can view it. This will be done by our new Radiowaves club that meets on a Monday and Tuesday lunch time. They will become ‘roving reporters’ and will upload radio, podcasts, blogs and video to the secure site.

Haiti Earthquake
The Swans and Hawks have got together and discussed ways that the children could arise money for the Haiti Earthquake victims. They drew up a list of fundraising ideas and voted on their 3 favourite. We will be holding a bring and buy cake stall on Thursday 4th February. Cakes will be 15p each and will be on sale at playtime, lunchtime and after school (if any are left!). Please could all donations of cakes be brought to school by the 4th February, thank you.

We will also be holding a non uniform day on Friday 5th February and ask that children donate 50p to wear non uniform on this day.

The Year 6 children are also preparing a quiz for the children to enter. They are working on the questions and quiz sheets will be on sale for 50p each. Quiz winners will be announced on the 5th February.

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
November 2010
‘Every Person Matters’

Dear Parents and Carers
With only 5 full weeks left until the end of term the focus has definitely turned to Christmas. This has been another busy yet enjoyable term and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support since September. On behalf of the pupils, staff and Governors I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
On with the news…

Staffing
Mrs Bland will be teaching in Mrs Smithson’s Swans class from 1st November until 10th December. She is currently a student at Bishop Grosseteste College and this is her final teacher placement.

Harvest
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Harvest Festival at St Michael’s Church.

Shoe Box Appeal
Please help us to collect as many shoe boxes as possible for Operation Christmas Child. They need to be in school by Monday 22nd November when they will be collected.

Class Assemblies
Y4/5 Swans 18th November 2.45pm.
Y 5/6 Hawks 9th December 2.45pm.

Proposed Building Work
We are proposing to improve the children’s toilet facilities in school. An architect from LCC has visited school to discuss possibilities. The plan is to firstly improve the toilets/cloak area by the rear entrance. We are looking into improving the other toilet areas in school but these will probably have to be longer term projects. We will keep you informed of progress as things are very much in the planning stage at the moment.

Young Enterprise
Mrs Hall’s Hawks class will be taking part in a Young Enterprise initiative this term. The session are for 1 hour each and begin on 10th November and finish on 7th December. There will be 5 sessions in total. The module the children will be doing is called Our World. It introduces children to important aspects of world trade and helps them to understand that nations of the world rely on one another. The activities are interactive and group based and include a Dragon’s Den type marketing challenge. Young Enterprise rely on volunteers to lead the activities (along with the class teacher) and these come from a range of local businesses. We are fortunate to have Flt Lt Claire Felipes who is in the RAF and Sgt Lisa Gibbons who is in the Army. Both ladies are based locally at RAF Waddington.

Later in the year the Barn Owls will take part in a similar Young Enterprise initiative linked to the local community.

School Uniform
I would like to clarify the rule made with regard to tucking in clothing. All shirts/polo tops are to be tucked in when the children are in the school building. When outside this rule will not apply.

Billinghay’s Got Talent
After the huge success of the talent show last year, we are organising another one for all pupils at school to take place on Friday 19th November at 7pm in the school hall. Admission is £2.50 for adults and 50p for children. This includes refreshments. I look forward to meeting many of you at the performance for what promises to be a great night.

Children In Need
Children in Need day is Friday 19th November. The theme of the day is ’Show your Spots’. Please can the children come in spotty clothing and make a donation of 50p to Children in Need.

Christian Partners in Africa – sponsoring a child
Working with Christian Partners in Africa, we are sponsoring a girl who lives in Uganda so that she can attend school and get an education.

The girl we are sponsoring is called Atuhaire Praise. She was born in 2001 (we do not know her exact date of birth) and she lives in a village called Rukungiri with her mother, brother and sister. The money that we give means that Atuhaire can attend the local primary school, St Paul’s Community Primary School.

We look forward to receiving correspondence from Atuhaire and our children will be writing to her, telling her what life is like at our school.

Christmas Fair
The Christmas Fair will take place on Friday 3rd December at 3.30pm. Santa will be present. Stalls planned include a chocolate tombola, calendars, plants, guess the weight of the cake, home made cakes, lucky dip, treasure hunt game, face painting, toys, pandora type beads, jewellery, Virgin Vie, Mellow Moments (soap, candles etc) , Christmas cards, Jamie Oliver cooking utensils, Kiddicool clothes, toys and more.

Each class will make Christmas Hampers which will be raffled off at the Fair. Please could you donate some Christmas type produce for your child’s class hamper and bring it into school between now and the 1st December. There will be a prize to the class who have the best hamper, donated by the Friends of the School.

Christmas Performances
We are pleased to invite you to our Christmas Plays which will be taking place in December.
This year we will have separate productions for Treehouse and Barn Owls/Chaffinches.
Treehouse Christmas Productions will be on 7/12/10 and 8/12/10 both at 9.30am.
Barn Owl and Chaffinch Christmas Productions will be on 9/12/10 and 10/12/10 both at 10am.

The Friends of the School will be offering tea and coffee at the performances and a raffle.

Church Service for Swans and Hawks on 16/12/10 at St Michael’s Church at 11am.

Children’s Christmas Party
The Christmas party lunch is on the 15th December. Children can come to school in their party clothes.

Billinghay Christmas Lights
The Christmas lights in the village will be switched on at 7pm on the 8th December in the Market Place. I look forward to seeing you all there. Children in our Choir will be performing on the night.

If you require further information regarding the application process then please contact the school. Alternatively telephone the Schools Admission Team on 01522 782030.

Friends of the School
I would like to thank the Friends of the School for all their continued hard work and support this term.

A big thank you for all of the clothes etc that were brought to school for Rag Recycling. It raised £108 for the Friends of the School.

The disco on 22nd October was a great success. £87 was raised for the Friends of the School.

The Bingo evening raised over £200 and again proved to be a popular and I hope entertaining evening (as I was the caller!!).

The money is going towards updating the library in terms of books and equipment. We will soon be is a position for a grand opening.

Dates of activities this term
19th November - Billinghay’s Got Talent 7pm at school. Talent Show for pupils in school. Children in Need Day
3rd December – Christmas Fair.
7th and 8th December - Christmas Plays for Wrens, Robins and Wagtails.
9th and 10th December - Christmas Plays for Chaffinches and Barn Owls.
15th December – Christmas Party Lunch. Christmas Party pm. Children can come to school in their party clothes.
16th December - Christmas Church Service for Mrs Hall’s Hawks and Mrs Smithson’s Swans 11am.

Can I please remind parents that the last day at school before Christmas is Friday 17th December. We have Inset Days on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th January 2011 so the children’s first day back in January will be Thursday 6th January 2011.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
‘Every Person Matters’
March 2011

As usual it has been yet another busy term at school and time seems to have flown by. With spring upon us it is time to update you with everything that has been happening in school.

KS1 SATs, KS2 SATs and Optional SATs for Y3, Y4 and Y5 Pupils
The statutory national curriculum tests and tasks for pupils in Year 6 begin in the w/b 9th May. In addition to this the school will also be undertaking optional assessment tests and tasks with pupils in Y3, Y4 and Y5. These assessments are known as optional SATs as it is the decision of individual schools to use them as part of their annual assessment cycle.
We kindly request that parents and carers make every effort to ensure that the pupils in Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 attend school during the SATs period as this will help to make the administration of the assessments run as smoothly as possible.
It is imperative that the pupils in Y6 attend school throughout SATs week as the tests for pupils in Y6 are administered in accordance with a strict national timetable. This means that they can only be taken on specified days and at specified times. If a test is missed then it cannot be taken at a different time.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

KS2 SATs timetable (Y6 pupils only)
Date (morning sessions only)                    KS2 test or task
Monday May 9th                                     Reading Test
Tuesday May 10th                                   Writing Test (shorter task), Spelling Test & Writing Test (longer task)
Wednesday May 11th                              Mental Maths Test & Maths Test A
Thursday May 12th                                  Maths Test B

The Year 2 children will be sitting their SATs over two weeks starting on the week beginning 16th May. Please can I remind you of the importance of children being in school for these dates.

Easter Service
Our Easter service takes place at St Michael’s Church on Friday 8th April at 10am. All parents/carers are very welcome to attend.

The Library
I would like to again thank all the Friends of the School for their hard work in getting the library ready for the grand opening on the 16th March which was a huge success. This includes a thank you for all the fantastic cakes on offer over the 2 days. Thank you to those parents who attended the opening on the 17th March. We now need to train Year 4 and 5 pupils to be able to use the computerised system so books can be leant out.

Healthy Schools
I am delighted to be able to confirm that the school has received notification of our achievement of the National Healthy Schools Standard. I would like to thank Mrs Clarke for all her hard work that went into achieving the standard.

International Schools Intermediate Award
Again, I am delighted to announce that the school has been awarded the International Schools Intermediate Award. I would like to thank Mrs Hall for her hard work in achieving this award.

Sing Up Awards
It has been a good month with school receiving recognition of awards achieved. We have also achieved the Silver Sing Up Award. I would like to thank Mrs Brooke for collating our evidence for this award.

Building Update
The tenders were received back for the toilet refurbishments in school but unfortunately the lowest was above the estimate that the school had received. We have been working with the Design Team at Mouchel Business Services to investigate our options. They have liaised with the contractor who had the lowest quote and we have agreed a revised contract amount. Both the toilets by the rear entrance and the ones used by the Hawk and Swan classes will be refurbished as planned. I will let parents / carers know of start dates and the possible disruption to the school in due course.

Big Bike Race
The weather is beginning to get warmer so it is a good time to dust down your bikes and for the children to bike to school. As a result of this we will be taking part in the ‘Big Bike Race’ from Monday 14th March which is a competition where Primary Schools in Lincolnshire will be competing against each other in a virtual race. All pupils have to do is bike to school. The school who has the biggest percentage of pupils biking to school each day will win the race!
Each bike in the bike shed will earn virtual miles on the race from Land’s End to John O`Groats. The competition will last approximately 4 weeks or when the first school has earned enough virtual miles and reached Land’s End.

Education Business Partnership
As part of our membership of the Education Business Partnership (EBP) the children from Years 1 to 6 will work in house teams on the 5th April taking part in an activity called Go Global lead by the EBP. The children will take on the role of a company looking to design and build a product such as vans and whether they should locate in the UK or overseas. Environmental, social and financial issues will need to be considered.

Homework Questionnaire
Can I please remind parents / carers that Friday 25th March is the last date to return the Homework questionnaires to school.

Friends of the School
I would like to thank all parents and carers for their continued support. The Friends have had an extremely busy term and all their hard work and effort is greatly appreciated.

£162.48 was the profit from the school disco and the Fashion Show raised £322.97 as profit.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.

Diary Dates:
Friday 8th April                     Easter Church service -10 am
Tuesday 26th April                Friends of School AGM – 6.30 pm
Thursday 28th April               School photographs – class groups
                                             NSPCC Assembly
                                             Royal Wedding activities
Week Beginning 9th May - SAT’s week
Tuesday 10th May                Treehouse parent consultations from 3.45 pm
Thursday 12th May               Treehouse parent consultations from 6.30 pm
Tuesday 24th May                Church School Festival – Year 6
Friday 27th May                   School Disco
Tuesday 7th June                  Treehouse F1 parents intake evening
Wednesday 8th June             Treehouse F2 parents intake evening
Thursday 7th July                  Treehouse Graduation
Thursday 21st July                Leavers service – 10 am

Holiday Dates
Friday 8th March                  End of term 4 (Easter holiday)
Tuesday 26th April                Term 5
Friday 29th April                   Royal Wedding – no school
Friday 27th May                    End of term 5
Monday 6th June                   Term 6
Friday 22nd July                    End of Term 6 (break up for the summer holidays)

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
May 2011
‘Every Person Matters’

Summer is just around the corner and this term as usual is a busy one. I look forward to welcoming you all to school and meeting parents at the many activities in place before we break up for the Summer holiday.

KS1 SATs, KS2 SATs and Optional SATs for Y3, Y4 and Y5 Pupils
The statutory national curriculum tests and tasks for pupils in Year 6 begin in the w/b 9th May. In addition to this the school will also be undertaking optional assessment tests and tasks with pupils in Y3, Y4 and Y5 in the weeks beginning 9th and 16th May. These assessments are known as optional SATs as it is the decision of individual schools to use them as part of their annual assessment cycle.
We kindly request that parents and carers make every effort to ensure that the pupils in Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 attend school during the SATs period as this will help to make the administration of the assessments run as smoothly as possible.
It is imperative that the pupils in Y6 attend school throughout SATs week as the tests for pupils in Y6 are administered in accordance with a strict national timetable. This means that they can only be taken on specified days and at specified times. If a test is missed then it cannot be taken at a different time.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

KS2 SATs timetable (Y6 pupils only)
Date (morning sessions only) KS2 test or task
Monday May 9th Reading Test
Tuesday May 10th Writing Test (shorter task), Spelling Test & Writing Test (longer task)
Wednesday May 11th Mental Maths Test & Maths Test A
Thursday May 12th Maths Test B

The Year 2 children will be sitting their SATs over two weeks starting on the week beginning 16th May. Please can I remind you of the importance of children being in school for these dates.

The results of all the tests will be communicated to parents in the annual reports that will go out to parents/carers on 4th July.

Staffing
On behalf of all the staff and Governors at school I would like to congratulate Mr and Mrs Clarke on the birth of their baby girl – Jessica Georgia Clarke.

Class Organisation and Staffing Structure Sept 2011 – July 2011
A working party of Governors will again be involved with staff at school in discussing class organisation from Sept 11. It will be communicated to parents/carers early term 6.

Sun Hats
As the weather is getting warmer and the sun is coming out it is time to think about sun safety. We now have a set of sun hats in school that are in the children’s house colours.

If your child is in Celts then their hat colour is yellow, if they are in Tudors then it is blue, Victorians are green and Romans are red.

We would request that if you need to buy a new school sun hat that you purchase one in your child’s house colours.

Cycle Shelter
Over the Easter holidays a new concrete base was laid and the existing cycle shelter has been moved from the car park with the Lafford cycle shelter being placed adjacent to it. This creates a much larger area to store the cycles that is away from the path. Children getting bikes into and out of the shelter will no longer have to do this backing on to the path where people are walking. I would like to extend a huge thank you to Simon Maplethorpe from North Kyme who carried out the work assisted by a group of volunteers without whom the project could not have been achieved. Therefore I would like to thank Andrew Farrow for organising the project, volunteering hours of time and the use of his machinery, Pete Marshall for the hours he put in voluntarily and the use of his tractor and trailer and Brian Haines for the hours he put into the project.

I would also like to thank Mr Clegg for the work he has done over the holidays in school.
Anybody wishing to offer time and support with projects or if you have suggestions of ways the school can be improved then please see myself.

Building Work Update
Work will begin at school on Tuesday 31st May (in half term week) on refurbishing the toilet blocks by the rear entrance and the ones used by children in the Hawk and Swan classes. I will let parents / carers know of any disruption caused by the building work after the meeting with the contractor and LCC which will be held mid May.

Library
A group of Year 4 and 5 children are to be trained on using the computer system called Micro Librarian so that the library books can be lent out to children.

Swimming
All our children are due to start swimming lessons at Billinghay open air pool on Thursday 9th June; this year swimming lessons will be 40 minutes each on Thursday’s only for years 1-6.
We have qualified instructors taking the lessons: Mr R Clegg/Mrs J Clegg will be instructing the children; Mrs J Beck will be life guarding the sessions.
The Wagtails and Robins will be swimming on Wednesday Mornings with Mr Clegg/Mrs Clegg and Mrs Beck life guarding. Wrens have a separate letter.
The cost of all swimming lessons is £12.50 per child – a payment card has been sent home with your child, thank you.

Please could you make sure that your child has their swimming costume in school on swimming day’s as this is a compulsory PE Lesson? If a child arrives without swimming kit we have spare costumes that will be provided!

NSPCC Sponsored Workout
Children from Robins and Wagtails in the Treehouse to Hawks took part in the sponsored workout on Thursday 5th May to raise funds for the NSPCC. Please can all sponsor money be returned to school for collection on Thursday 12th May.

The Friends
I would like to thank all the members of the Friends of the School who helped with the Royal Wedding celebrations on Thursday 28th April.

The Friends of the school have asked me to remind parents about the Gala event taking place after school on Friday 17th June. There are many activities planned including a bouncy castle, a huge slide, an auction, a raffle, stalls, tombola, BBQ. The event will begin at 3.30pm. The FOS would greatly appreciate any tombola and cake donations please. I really look forward to meeting many parents/carers at the event and hope that it is as successful as the event was last year. The day will be a non uniform day in school.

Dates of activities this term
Thursday 5th May NSPCC workout
W/B 9th May Sat’s KS2
Tuesday 10th May Treehouse parent consultations
Thursday 12th May Treehouse consultations
Thursday 12th May NSPCC collection
Thursday 19th May NSPCC thank you assembly
Tuesday 24th May Church School’s Festival – Yr 6
Friday 27th May School Disco – End of term
Tuesday 31st May Building work to start on the Toilet refurbishment
Monday 6th June Term 6
Tuesday 7th June F1 Treehouse parents intake evening
Wednesday 8th June F2 Treehouse parents intake evening
Wednesday 8th June Swimming lessons begin for Treehouse children
Thursday 9th June Swimming lessons begin for Chaffinches to Hawks
Friday 17th June School Summer Gala
Wednesday 4th July Reports home to Parents
Thursday 5th July Sports day; Wagtails, Robins, Chaffinches and yr 2 Barn owls - am
Yr 3 Barn Owls, Swans and Hawks - pm
Thursday 7th July Treehouse Graduation day
Monday 11th July District swimming gala
Thursday 21st July Leavers Service – 10 am in Church
School swimming gala – 1 pm
Friday 22nd July End of term

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
June 2011
‘Every Person Matters’

I can hardly believe that this is the final newsletter for this academic year. Yet again, it has been an extremely eventful time with many positive changes taking place at school. With only term 6 to go before the end of the school year and the summer holidays upon us, it is time to update you with everything that has been happening in school. I look forward to welcoming you all to school and meeting parents at the many activities in place this term.

I would like to thank parents and carers for all your support throughout the year. I would also like to take this opportunity to say farewell to the parents of the Year 6 pupils who will be leaving us at the end of this term. I wish you all well for the future.

KS1 SATs, KS2 SATs and Optional SATs for Y3, Y4 and Y5 Pupils
The statutory National Curriculum tests and tasks for pupils in Year 6 took place week beginning 9th May. Year 2 children completed their SAT tests in the 2 weeks beginning 16th May. In addition to this the pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 took part in optional assessment tests and tasks.

The results of these tests will be communicated to parents in the annual reports that will go out to parents/carers on Wednesday 6th July 2011.

Staffing
Mrs Clarke has requested that she return to work from September teaching 3 days a week. She will therefore teach in the Treehouse from September on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday each week.
We are currently advertising for a teacher to work 2 days a week from September although this will not be in the Treehouse.

Class Organisation and Staffing Structure Sept 2011 – July 2012
A working party of Governors have been involved with staff at school in discussing class organisation from September 2011.

After considering the options, the following staffing structure will apply from September 2011. The actual class your child will be in will be made available when you receive your reports.

The Treehouse
Mrs Wright will work with the F1 children and will be supported by Mrs Dring for 3 mornings a week and Mrs Stevenson for 2 mornings a week.
Mrs Clarke will work on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Mrs Brooke will work on a Thursday and a Friday with F2 and Year 1 children with Mrs Blades.

Year 1/Year 2 Mrs Chapman
Year 2/Year 3 Mrs Smithson
Year 4/Year 5 Mrs Atkinson 3 days and a newly appointed teacher for 2 days.
Year 5/Year 6 Mrs Hall

Reports
Due to the fact that Year 6 SATs data will not be available to schools until Tuesday 5th July, we have decided that all reports will be distributed to parents on Wednesday 6th July.

Building Work in School
Work on improving the toilet areas in school is continuing and is due to be completed on 1st July. Phase 1 was completed on the 20th June with work on Phase 2 (toilets currently used by children in the Hawk and Swan classes) to be completed by 1st July.

Children’s Safety when walking and cycling to school
A local resident has stated that there was a near miss involving a pupil and a car at one of the roads off Fen Road. Please could you ensure that your children are safe when walking / cycling along Fen Road, especially when crossing other roads.

The Friends
I would like to thank everyone for their support in making the gala a very successful event. Thank you to the Friends of the School for all their time and hard work in organising and co-ordinating the event and to all the people who attended in helping the Friends raise £850.

Cluster Choir – A Great Performance from our Choir at the Lawns, Lincoln
Our choir took part in the Villages Cluster Choir event at the Lawns, Lincoln on the 20th June. Each school choir sang one song and there were a number of songs performed by all the members from the local schools taking part. Thank you to all the parents of the members of the choir for helping transport the children to the event, to Mrs Brooke for all her hard work and also to the choir themselves who were fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and was immensely proud of all the children.

Teaching Unions
As many of you may be aware 2 teaching unions, NUT and ATL, have called for a national strike by their members in schools on Thursday 30th June. At this moment in time I can confirm that we will be open as usual on the 30th June. I will of course inform you if this situation changes.

Swimming
We have not had an update from the Swimming Pool Committee regarding when the pool will be ready to be opened due to the problems they are having with the boiler. Swimming was due to start week beginning 6th June, with six sessions ending week beginning 11th July. Dependent upon the outcome, refunds will be given in due course.

Dates of activities this term
Tuesday 28th June Sports day for Hawks, Swans and Yr3 Barn Owls – 1.30 pm
Tuesday 5th July Sports day for Robins, Wagtails, Chaffinches and Yr2
Barn Owls – 1.30 pm
Wednesday 6th July Reports due home to parents
Thursday 7th July Treehouse Graduation – 2 pm
Tuesday 12th July Chaffinches and Barn Owls visit to Skegness
Friday 15th July Year 6 leaving Party after school
Monday 18th July Yr 6 Production – 2 pm
Wednesday 20th July Yr 6 Production – 6 pm
Thursday 21st July Leavers Service – 10 am
(School Swimming Gala – 1 pm)

Can I please remind parents that term ends on 22nd July.
School will start after the summer holidays on Monday 5th September 2011.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
September 2011
‘Every Person Matters’

Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome back to a new academic year at Billinghay Church of England Primary School! On behalf of the governors, staff and myself, I would like to take this opportunity to extend a special welcome to all our new pupils and parents who have joined the school this year. You can be assured that the school team are dedicated to providing the highest standard of education possible for each child in our care.

Attention All Parents of Pre-School Children – Reminder of the Primary School Admissions for September 2012
If your child was born between 01/09/2007 and 31/08/2008 then he/she is eligible to start school in September 2012. There have been several changes to the admissions procedures in recent years and it is important that parents and carers bear these in mind when applying for a school place in September 2012.
Changes include:
• The admissions scheme is co-ordinated by the Local Authority (LA) Schools Admission Team and not the school.
• There is a change to the application process. Paper applications will no longer be available. Applications must   now either be completed online or by phone.
• Applications online can be made at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions.
• Applications over the phone can be made by telephoning the Schools Admission Team on 01522 782030.
• Applications cannot be made until the 14th November 2011.
• Applications must be received by the School Admissions Team by 20th January 2012 or you may lose out at a place at your   preferred school.
• The Schools Admission Team will communicate to parents with the offer of a school place on 23rd April 2012. If you applied   online you can view your offer from this date at
   www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions.

You can no longer complete applications using the paper application form.
You cannot apply for a place until the applications window opens on 14th November 2011.

Starting school guides will be available to collect from all primary schools or through the customer service centre on 01522 782030 from the 14th November 2011. Once you have read this guide you will be able to apply online for a place.

If you require assistance or further information regarding the application process then please contact school. You can apply online or over the phone at school if you wish. Alternatively telephone the Schools Admission Team on 01522 782030.

REMEMBER! Once the applications process opens on 14th November the Schools Admission Team must receive your Application be it online or over the phone by 20th January 2012.

Parents of Pupils in Year 6 – Transfer to Secondary School in September 2012
By now parents and carers of Y6 pupils will have received the application pack for a place at secondary school. Applications can be made from 9th September 2011 with the closing date being 31st October 2011. If you require assistance with the Application Process then please remember that we are here to help and will be glad to assist you. You can also telephone the Schools Admissions Team on 01522 782030.

Paper applications are no longer supplied to parents. Applications can be made online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions or by phone on 01522 782030.
If you would like to receive a paper application then please phone School Admissions on 01522 787030 to request this. If you do not have a computer or require assistance
then please come into school and we will be happy to help with the application process. A copy of the guide ‘Going to Secondary School in Lincolnshire’ is available online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions. Applications must be made by the closing date 12 noon on 31st October 2011.

You will be able to view your offered school online or a letter will be posted on 1st March 2012.

Absence from School due to Holidays
I would like to remind all parents and carers on the school policy and procedures for granting leave of absence for holidays during term time.
Each request for authorised absence for a holiday will be considered on its individual merits by the Headteacher.The Headteacher has the discretion to grant up to 10 days authorised absence in one academic year to enable a young person to accompany their parents on holiday. However, whatever the circumstance, it is unlikely that permission for absence will be granted for holidays that fall during the national tests each May.
We would like to emphasise that although 10 days absence may be granted we would encourage parents to avoid taking any holiday during term time. All absence due to holidays will be monitored closely and any issues regarding your child’s absence will be discussed with you directly.
Holiday request forms are available from the school office and must be returned to school for consideration by the Headteacher before permission is granted. We hope you will be able to support us in ensuring maximum attendance at school.

2010-11 was another highly successful year at school in terms of the progress our children have made and I am delighted to report a summary of this to you.

The Foundation Stage
The children in Wagtails and Robins (Foundation Stage 2) made very good progress. Results at the end of the school year 2010-11 illustrate a good level of overall achievement
when compared to 2011 local and national data. Our results clearly demonstrate the children are achieving above Lincolnshire and national data in all of the key assessment areas.

Key Stage One results 2011 – 7 year olds (Year 2)
Reading % Writing % Mathematics %

Level 2 and above                                         83          78         78
Level 2B and above                                       70          52         52
Level 3                                                        13            5         13

The data for our Year 2 children represents good progress in Key Stage 1, from the beginning of Year 1 to the end of Year 2, in maths, reading and writing.

Key Stage Two results 2010 – 11 year olds (Year 6)
                                                          English %Mathematics %
Level 4 and above                                       70             74
Level 5                                                        9             35

As with our KS1 results, the results for KS2 continue to improve in terms of the value that is added to the children’s education between the end of KS1 and the end of KS2 which is the main indicator in which Ofsted judge standards in a school. The Year 6 children met or exceeded the most challenging targets that can be set at Local Authority level for English and maths.

All of these results are fabulous achievements and the staff, Governors and myself are extremely proud of our children. We pride ourselves in the learning and nurturing environment that we have at school and would like to thank all parents and carers for their continued commitment and support to the development of the school. We look forward to continued success in 2011-12.

These improvements have been achieved through the dedication and hard work of our children, staff, governors and you as parents. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all and build upon this success in 2010-2011.

The Curriculum
11+ Examinations will take place on 16th and 23rd September for pupils in Y6.

Class Assemblies
Each class will, during the year, present a 15 / 20 minute assembly to the parents / carers of the children in that class. The dates of class assemblies are below:

Year 5/6 Hawks Term 1 Wednesday 19th October 2.45pm.
Year 4/5 Mallards Term 2 Tuesday 15th November 2.45pm.

Dates for Chaffinch, Swans and Wagtails/Robins assemblies to follow.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at your child’s class assembly.

Parent Consultations
Autumn term consultations take place on Wednesday 12th October from 3.30 – 7.00 for children in Chaffinches, Swans, Mallards and Hawks. Parent Consultations for children in Robins, Wagtails and Wrens will take place in Term 2. More details to follow. The purpose of this consultation is to discuss your child’s current level of attainment and to suggest ways of supporting your child at home. The consultation will also give you the opportunity to discuss your child’s targets with their class teacher and how they have settled into their new classes. An appointment letter will be sent to you in due course.

School Council 2010/11
The following pupils have been elected as class representatives on the School Council 2011/12:
2 Year 6 representatives are: Callum Andrews and Roxanne Coupland
2 Year 5 representatives are: Matthew Allen and Kayleigh Duncan
2 Year 4 representatives are: Lauren Enderby and Sinead Swinscoe
2 Year 3 representatives are: Emily Farrow and Shane Duncan
2 Year 2 representatives are:

The Friends
A big thank you to all members of the Friends of the School for all their hard work last school year and for all the money that they raised.

Events planned for this term include:
Rag recycling                    Collection on 13th October
Disco                                Thursday 20th October.
Christmas Fair                   Friday 25th November 3.30pm start.

Share Time
We will be starting a new initiative this term entitled ‘Share Time’. Share Time is an opportunity for parents/carers to spend some time working with their child in the classroom during a normal school morning. Each class teacher will organise how Share Time is to work in their classes and will invite parents/carers into school for a 2 hour session an a set morning from 9.00-11.00am. Each session will have between 2-4 parents/carers in the room at any one time. It is an opportunity for you to work with your child in the classroom whilst your child carries out their normal morning activities. More information will follow soon.

Uniform
I would like to remind parents of the school uniform requirements. A copy of which is included as an Appendix to this letter. Please could you ensure that your children attend school in the correct uniform.

Harvest Festival
This years Harvest Festival Service at St. Michael’s Church will be held on Friday 14th October at 10am. Parents are invited and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the service.

Hot School Lunches
For those parents/carers whose children have hot school lunches we would like to find out what you think of the lunches that are provided. We will also soon be sending out a questionnaire asking all parents abou
t their thoughts on hot school lunches.

The School Council will be finding out the views of the children in school as to hot school lunches.

Food for Life
After successfully achieving the Healthy Schools Award we are embarking on the bronze Food for Life Award. The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. We as a school are committed to bringing healthy eating to the centre of school life.

I would also like to re launch our Green Fingers Gardening Club. If there is a volunteer out there who is keen on gardening, who can help us with their knowledge and can spare a bit of time to work with our club then please let me know.

Christmas Productions
This year we will again have separate productions for Treehouse and Swans/Chaffinches.
Treehouse Christmas Productions will be on 6/12/11 in the afternoon and 7/12/11 in the morning.
Swan and Chaffinch Christmas Productions will be on 8/12/11 in the morning and 9/12/11 in the afternoon.

Church Service for Mallards and Hawks will be on 12/12/11 at St Michael’s Church.

Please can I remind you that children are not permitted to bike to school on their own until they have passed Bikewise which they can take in Year 5. There should be no biking down the path leading into school. Children should dismount their bikes as soon as they get to the corner of Fen Road and the road leading past the Children’s Centre and walk their bikes to the cycle shelter. This rule also applies to scooters and skateboards, none of which should be ridden on school property for safety reasons.

I am aware that there are still a few parents/carers parking their cars in the school car park. For safety reasons the car park is not to be used by parents/carers unless a parking permit is obtained from the school office.

Please can I remind parents that the Children’s Centre car park is only to be used by people visiting the Children’s Centre or the Swimming Pool.

Dates of activities this term
Friday 30th September – Hawks and Mallards to visit Tattershall Castle.
Tuesday 4th October – Cook NK’s Cooking Cart
Thursday 6th October – Recycling bags to go home
Saturday 8th October - FOS family Quiz
Thursday 13th October - Recycling bags collected
Friday 14th October - Harvest Festival in Church 10 am
Thursday 20th October – End of term School disco
Friday 21st October - Staff inset training day
Monday 31st Oct - Term 2 -

INSET DAY
Can I please remind parents that the last day at school before the half term holiday is on Thursday 20th October. There is an Inset day on Friday 21st October. Term ends for the Christmas holidays on Friday 16th December. There is an Inset Day on Tuesday 3rd January with pupils returning to school after the Christmas break on Wednesday 4th January.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
November 2011
‘Every Person Matters’

Staffing
Mr Law will be teaching in Mrs Smithson’s Swans class from 31st October until 9th December. He is currently a student at Bishop Grosseteste College and this is his final teacher placement.

Harvest
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Harvest Festival at St Michael’s Church.

Shoe Box Appeal
Please help us to collect as many shoe boxes as possible for Operation Christmas Child. They need to be in school by Wednesday 9th November. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the Shoe Box service at the Methodist Chapel on Thursday 10th November at 10am.

Class Assemblies
Y4/5 Mallards 22nd November 2.45pm. Please note re arranged date

Billinghay’s Got Talent
After the huge success of the talent show last year, we are organising another one for all pupils at school to take place on Friday 18th November at 7pm in the school hall. Admission is £2.50 for adults and 50p for children. This includes refreshments. I look forward to meeting many of you at the performance for what promises to be another great night.

Children In Need
Children in Need day is Friday 18th November. The theme of the day is ’Show your Spots’. Please can the children come in spotty clothing and make a donation of £1 to Children in Need.

Christmas Fair
The Christmas Fair will take place on Friday 25th November at 3.30pm. Santa will be present. Stalls planned include a chocolate tombola, calendars, jewellery, scarves and handbags, Pandora type beads, pocket money gifts, toys, knitted gifts and decorations, party lite candles, secret kitchen and cards. There will also be a lucky dip and face painting etc.

Donations for the chocolate tombola stall and any home made cakes to either sell on a stall or have as refreshments would be greatly appreciated please. A box will be placed at the main entrance of school for any chocolate donations next week. Cakes can be left in school on the day of the fair.

Each class will make Christmas Hampers which will be raffled off at the Fair. Please could you donate some Christmas type produce for your child’s class hamper and bring it into school between now and the 23rd November. There will be a prize to the class who have the best hamper.

Christmas Performances
We are pleased to invite you to our Christmas Plays which will be taking place in December.
This year we will again have separate productions for Treehouse and Chaffinches/Swans.
Treehouse Christmas Productions will be on the 6th December at 2 pm and the 7th December at 10 am.
The Chaffinch and Swan Christmas Productions will be on the 8th December at 9.30 am and the 9th December at 2.15 pm.

The Friends of the School will be offering tea and coffee at the performances and a raffle.

The church service for Mallards and Hawks is at St Michael’s Church on the 12th December at 10 am.

Children’s Christmas Party
The Christmas party lunch is on the 16th December. Children can come to school in their party clothes. The Friends of the School will provide sandwiches and jelly and ice cream. Please can children in Hawks and Mallards bring savoury food and children in the Treehouse, Chaffinch and Swan classes bring sweet items for the party.

Santa will again be making an appearance with a small gift for each child in school from FOS.

Caring Christmas
Following the success of Caring Christmas last year we plan to offer a similar event this year which will take place on 14th December at 1.45pm. This is an afternoon of entertainment by our pupils, followed by Christmas refreshments to which the senior citizens of the village are invited. Our pupils will perform some of the songs from their Christmas productions, the school choir will sing some festive songs and refreshments will be served by members of the Friends of the School and some of our older pupils. We invite you to submit nominations for our guest list, so if you know a nearby friend, neighbour or relative who would like to be part of our celebration then please let us know at the school office.

Billinghay Christmas Lights
The Christmas lights in the village will be switched on at 7pm on the 7th December in the Market Place. I look forward to seeing you all there. Children in our Choir will be performing on the night.

Reminder – All Parents of Pre-School Children
Primary School Admissions for September 2012
If your child was born between 01/09/2007 and 31/08/2008 then he/she is eligible to start school in September 2012. There have been several changes to the admissions procedures in recent years and it is important that parents and carers bear these in mind when applying for a school place in September 2012.
Changes include:
• The admissions scheme is co-ordinated by the Local Authority (LA) Schools Admission Team and not the school.
• There is a change to the application process. Paper applications will no longer be available. Applications must now either be completed online or by phone.
• Applications online can be made at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions.
• Applications over the phone can be made by telephoning the Schools Admission Team on 01522 782030.
• Applications cannot be made until the 14th November 2011.
• Applications must be received by the School Admissions Team by 20th January 2012 or you may lose out at a place at your preferred school.
• The Schools Admission Team will communicate to parents with the offer of a school place on 23rd April 2012. If you applied online you can view your offer from this date at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions.

You can no longer complete applications using the paper application form.
You cannot apply for a place until the applications window opens on 14th November 2011.

Friends of the School
I would like to thank the Friends of the School for all their continued hard work and support this term.

A big thank you for all of the clothes etc that were brought to school for Rag Recycling.

The disco on 20th October was a great success. Over £100 was raised for the Friends of the School.

Dates of activities this term
Friday 18th November Children in Need
Friday 18th November Billinghay’s Got Talent
Tuesday 22nd November Mallards’ class assembly
Friday 25th November Christmas Fair
Tuesday 6th December Treehouse Production – 2 pm
Wednesday 7th December Treehouse Production – 10 am
Thursday 8th December Swan and Chaffinch Production – 9.30 am
Friday 9th December Swan and Chaffinch Production – 2.15 pm
Monday 12th December Hawk and Mallard Christmas service at St Michael’s Church – 10 am
Friday 16th December Christmas parties
Friday 16th December Break up for Christmas holidays

Can I please remind parents that the last day at school before Christmas is Friday 16th December. We have an Inset Day on Tuesday 3rd January so the children’s first day back will be Wednesday 4th January 2012.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.

Billinghay Church of England Primary School
Headteacher’s Newsletter for Parents and Carers
January 2012
‘Every Person Matters’

I would like to extend a belated Happy New Year to all of you and hope 2012 brings continued success to the school.

Parents’ and Carers’ Views of the School
I would like to draw your attention to the recent questionnaire that was sent out entitled ‘Parents’ and Carers’ Views of the School’. We would like to find out your opinions on the quality of education you, as parents and carers, feel we provide at Billinghay. It is important that we find out what we do well, but also where we need to improve, so that our school can continue to grow and flourish. Your responses are important and will be used to help us identify the priorities for our School Improvement and Development Plan. It is also a way of letting us know what you think about the school, what you feel we do well and what you feel we could improve on. The deadline for return of the questionnaires is Friday 20th January.

IT Resources
I am delighted to announce that our new IT equipment is fully installed at school. We now have a bank of 9 laptops which can be used in classrooms with access to the Internet via wireless technology and 15 new workstations to be used in the computer suite.

We are also investigating the potential of using tablet PCs such as the Apple iPad2 in classrooms.

If anyone would like to make a donation over £5 for a flat screen colour monitor then we still have a few available to be purchased. Please see myself or a member of the admin staff.

Hot Meals
Following the 2 taster sessions held at school we are now in a position to choose our new hot meals provider. We sent out a letter on Friday 13th January asking for your preference of supplier. Our current supplier has received notice to terminate the contract that we have and we will be in a position to begin with our new supplier after the Easter holidays. Your views are extremely important in helping us to choose our new provider and we would be grateful for your preference alongside any comments you may have. Please can these be returned to school as soon as possible.

Attention Parents of Pupils in Year 2 - KS1 SATs 2012
As some of you may already know, in 2005 changes took place to the way that children’s progress is assessed at the end of Year 2. The emphasis is now based on the teacher’s judgement of how your child has performed in reading, writing, mathematics and science throughout Year 2. The national curriculum tests (SATs) will be used to verify the teacher’s judgements however they will be administered on a more informal basis. Information will be sent to you as part of your child’s annual report in the summer term to help you see how your child is progressing in reading, writing, mathematics and science. You will be provided with the national curriculum levels your child has achieved and what this means when compared to all other Year 2 pupils nationally. More information on the importance of SATs and a timetable for administering the tests/tasks will be available from school shortly. The Year 2 children will be sitting their SATs over two weeks starting on the week beginning 21st May. Please can I remind you of the importance of children being in school for these dates.

Attention Parents of Pupils in Year 6 – KS2 SATs 2012
KS2 SATs for Year 6 children will take place on the week beginning Monday 14h May 2012. It is imperative for all Year 6 children to be in school during this week.

Writing Test for Pupils in Year 6 – KS2 SATs
Following Lord Bew’s independent review of KS2 testing, assessment and accountability there will be changes to the way that English writing is to be assessed in May 2012 in Year 6. This includes the introduction of a new writing skills test from 2013. Interim arrangements are in place for 2012 ahead of fully implementing the recommendations for writing in 2013. These interim arrangements are that for pupils in Year 6 2011-12 a child’s English writing result will be a teacher assessment judgement of their work across year 6 – similar in approach to KS1. The children will still sit an externally set test as in previous years but it will be marked internally in school rather than being sent off for external marking as has been the case in the past. Teacher’s judgements will be informed by and take account of (but not limited to) the child’s result from the standard test.

Class Assemblies
After the successful class assemblies in terms 1 and 2 from Hawks and Mallards it is the turn of the Swan and Chaffinch classes next. Both of the class assemblies will be in Term 4. Details of dates and times will follow.

E Safety Talk
We have arranged for the e Safety Officer from the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children’s Board to come into school on 19th January to hold a presentation and discussion with parents/carers (from 2pm – 3pm) on all aspects of e safety to ensure the safety of children using the Internet at home. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at this event.

Emergency School Closure due to Severe Weather
I would like to remind parents that in the event of the school closing on any one day due to severe weather it would be helpful if parents and carers listen to either BBC Radio Lincolnshire or LincsFM 102.2 who will, as part of their severe weather service, broadcast up-to-date information on the schools within the county that are forced to close. BBC Radio Lincolnshire will also post the information on their website at www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire and LincsFM on www.lincsfm.co.uk. If parents could please use this service it will hopefully eliminate the high volume of calls the school has to deal with when severe weather occurs. We will also use Parent Mail to e-mail a message of a closure and if you requested, we will send a text.

Friends of the School
I would like to thank all parents and pupils for your continued support over the terms 1 and 2.

This term the FOS are organising a Film Night for children on Friday 27th January and a Disco on Friday 10th February.

There will also be Easter bingo on Saturday 17th March and Rag recycling on 21st March.

It is planned for money raised from FOS to be donated towards purchasing some tablet PCs such as the iPad2 for use by children in school.

The FOS are in urgent need of new members and all are welcome at their next meeting on 23rd January in school at 7.30pm.

Parent Consultations
Parent consultations will be held week beginning 5th March. More details will follow nearer the time.

Punctuality
Please can all parents / carers ensure that all children are at school by 9.00am. Please also note that the rear door will be locked from 9.05am for health and safety reasons.

Uniform
I would like to remind you of our school uniform as there are a few children who are not wearing the correct school uniform in the correct colours.

GIRLS
• Navy skirt or pinafore dress OR navy or grey tailored trousers.
• White short or long-sleeved shirt.
• Navy sweatshirt or cardigan.
• White socks or navy or grey tights.
• Black sensible shoes – no heels, slingbacks or open toes.
• Hair ties should be of a soft material in school colours – navy, blue, black or white.
• Summer dress – navy or mid-blue, check or stripe.

Girls are to wear a NAVY skirt or pinafore dress.
Girls may wear grey trousers or tights.

BOYS
• Navy or grey tailored trousers.
• White short or long-sleeved shirt.
• Navy sweatshirt or cardigan.
• Navy or grey socks.
• Black sensible shoes, not trainers.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of this newsletter.

23rd Jan Friends of school meeting 7.30 pm
27th Jan Film night 3.30 – 5.30 pm
10th Feb School Disco
17th Mar Family Easter Bingo
22nd Mar Rand Farm residential visit Y3 and Y4

10th Feb Break up for half term
20th Feb Children return -Term 4
30th Mar End of term 4
16TH April Staff training day
17th April Children return to school – term 5
1st June Break up for half term
11th June Children return- term 6
19th July End of term 6