Thursday 19th January 2017—Issue 41

Dear RFA families ,

Head teacher’s hello

ask@robertfitzroyacademy.com Robert_fitzroy_academy @RFitzroyAcademy www.facebook.com/robertfitzroyacademy.com

It was a pleasure to share in the Year 4 homework celebration held last week. Thank you to parents who attended and of course to the children who worked hard and took a great deal of pride in their homework activities last half- term.

We are continuing to work on improvements suggested by parents in surveys and parent forums regarding Homework.

This week has been another enjoyable week of learning which for Year 3 children included learning some circus skills from a visiting expert.

Next week, all children will be thinking about healthy eating for the most important meal of the day – Breakfast.

To keep up to date with what’s happening during our learning day follow us on Twitter or alternative-ly go to the Latest News section on our website where all our social media feeds are embedded. There have been several updates to the staffing structure recently so please do also visit the up-dated Who’s Who section.

Letter Log

Coming up at RFA 23rd January Breakfast Week

30th January Story Maths Week

6th February Year 4 Homework Deadline

7th February Safer Internet Day

8th February Year 1 trip—V & A Museum

(Ashanti & Maasai class)

10th February Year 1 trip—V & A Museum

(Yoruba & Zulu class)

All Years School road markings

Procedures for adverse weather

A marvellous mathematician A huge well done to Jaanshere in Zulu class, who achieved the most points in the UK for his age range on Mathletics one day last week.

He achieved 10790 points, which put him 6th in the World rankings!

Just a reminder that all children have a Mathletics login to use at home. It is a great way to practise fluency in Maths. If for some reason you do not have access to Mathletics, please speak to your child’s class teacher.

The children had a blast playing in the snow last Friday and thankfully the journey into school and home again wasn’t a problem for most of us. Over the next few months, the weather is likely to be unpredictable and if we have heavy snow this may mean a forced school closure at short notice.

If this is the case, we will use all available communication channels to let parents know. You will receive a text, we will put a notice on the homepage of our website, tweet and update our Facebook page.

You can also check by going through the Croydon Council OpenCheck website, www.opencheck.atomwide.com and searching for Robert Fitzroy Academy.

Of course, a closure would be avoided at all costs. Snow shouldn’t stop us from learning!

Please make sure the school office has up to date contact details for you and as mentioned there are plenty of online channels we use to let parents know what’s happening at RFA.

#Attendancematters

Our school attendance target is 95.5%.

Congratulations to Lorikeet class who last week achieved 98.15%

As part of the school’s commitment to promoting a growth mindset approach to the way our children learn, each week we feature a well known person who has demonstrated a growth mindset in their lives.

Growth Mindset Hero

Tweet of the Week

Admissions 2018/2019 As you may know the Robert Fitzroy Academy is part of the REAch2 Academy Trust. The trust is responsible for 54 academies in 18 local authority areas and is approved to open 22 brand new schools over the next few years.

The trust is looking to develop a Trust-wide admissions policy from September 2018 to provide a core of consistency across all REAch2 academies on aspects that will reflect the trust’s vision and values; while aligning with local arrangements so that parents/carers of potential pupils can more easily navigate their options.

We would like your views!

Please go to http://bit.ly/2huLIZu to see read the consultation document.

Then go to http://bit.ly/2hkRrhb respond to the consultation.

Lorikeet 98.15%

Emperor 97.92%

Carib 95.69%

Koala 96.63%

Maasai 96.15%

We want your old clothes! Reception would love some of your old clothes which the children can wear during role play scenarios. Hats, jackets, blazers, glasses and shirts would be particularly useful. Please give to your class teacher, or drop off at the school office.

Wrap up

Special Mentions Many congratulations to the following children who received a ‘Special Mention’ last week.

We are very proud of you.

RECEPTION

ADELIE- Alex (Resilience)

EMPEROR- Tamia(Resilience)

ROCKHOPPER- Lucy (Enquiry)

YEAR 1

ZULU- Mateo(Resilience)

Jaanshere (Resilience)

YORUBA- Finlay (Resilience)

ASHANTI- Lissa (Resilience)

MAASAI- Toby G (Communication)

YEAR 2

EVEREST- Elisa (Thoughtfulness)

SAFFRON - Rita (Resilience)

CASPIAN - Absent

YEAR 3

KOOKABURRA- Thomas (Thoughtfulness)

LORIKEET- Chelsa (Enquiry)

WALLABY- Absent

KOALA- Antonella (Communication)

YEAR 4

MAYAN- Faizaan(Resilience)

AZTEC- Absent

INCA- Marita (Morality)

CARIB- Absent

Getting to know . . . Emma Donaghue

My role at RFA is….

Lorikeet class teacher

I grew up in….

Canberra (Capital of Australia)

If I was an animated character I would be….

Sandy from SpongeBob SquarePants. She is loving living out of her element and so am I - here in England.

If I had a time machine I would travel to ….

I would travel back to the Ancient Inca civilizations and visit Machu Picchu. I Trekked the Inca Trail 3 years ago and have been very interested in the Inca’s ever since.

If I had a superpower….

I would want to shoot webs like Spiderman.

I believe it would be a very versatile power to have!

When I was 10 years old I wanted to be....

a gardener or a painter. When I was a child my dad worked at a hardware store so I spent a lot of time in the garden centre and mixing paint colours.

I simply can’t resist…

singing and dancing along to a good tune…Lorikeet Friday dance party is my favourite time of the week.

I still haven’t...

become a qualified Pilates instructor, but I will!

My TV guilty pleasure is...

Border Security Australia

My favourite place in London is..

So far, it has been Regent Street at Christmas time,

that was very magical.

The person that taught me to cook was….

Myself. My mother is much more of an ‘outsourcer’

The first thing I remember cooking was….

Chicken nuggets, the real kind—not the ones you

just put in the oven

My best memory of being at school is….

playing touch football on the oval at lunchtime and

buying a Zooper Dooper for 50c #googleit

People at school might be surprised if they knew..

I have been this height since I was 14 years old.

The greatest invention of my life is..

Netflix. Need I say more?

The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is..

Dr Seuss once told me over lunch, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind”

Our school lunch menu works on a three week rotation. Next week we will be following Menu 3

You can see the menu online on our website—Key Information/School Meals

What’s for lunch?

PTA MEETING Thank you all for attending the PTA meeting. It was Amrah & Kelly’s first ever meeting as co-chairs. Minutes will be circulated soon. If anyone wants to be included in the emailing list please email PTA. The minutes will also be available on the school website. It was great to see as many faces (old and new) at the meeting.

We focused on the forthcoming events such as World Book Day - Thursday 2nd March 2017. Please donate any unwanted good condition books. They can be handed to class teachers or PTA class reps. Refreshments will be available. If anyone can donate cakes or cupcakes (homemade or shop bought) they would be very welcome.

The Car Boot Sale (date to be confirmed will most likely be after the Easter holidays).

Summer Fair can't come soon enough, so to get us in the spirit we are already putting together our Summer Fair planning. The Summer Fair will be held on Saturday 8th July 2017. Not during Enterprise Week.

If you can't attend an event but want to be involved or can offer any help please e-mail us at pta@robertfitzroyacademy.com

RAG BAG Please remember the rag bag - any wearable clothes and shoes can be put in the special bin by the Brampton road entrance whenever you have your next clear out.

PARENT CLASS REPS With the help of Yvette we have managed to get a representative from nearly every class - we still need a parent class rep for Inca Class. Any volunteers?

Class Reps help build a sense of community among the class parents, and they provide the link between the parents and the PTA and gain a broader understanding of what the PTA does for the school. There isn't a lot of work to do, just talking to parents and attending meetings if you can, or keeping in touch with the PTA. Please e-mail us if you would like to do this.

VOLUNTEERS Volunteers are required to make the PTA and each event a success. There are lots of ways you can help and support your child through the PTA. Offering to help before events or at other times during the year is so valuable. It doesn’t matter if you can’t help on a regular basis, or even if you cannot come into school. There are always jobs that can be done from home if you have half an hour to spare e.g. wrapping gifts, preparing raffle tickets etc. We want as many people as possible to get involved with the PTA, but we understand that this may not be possible due to other commitments, so please keep in touch via e-mail, or via class reps. If you want to get in touch, please e-mail us at PTA@robertfitzroyacademy.com

RECEPTION

ADELIE – Kelly (Joshua’s mum)

EMPEROR – Gemma (Tamia’s mum)

ROCKHOPPER – Sarah (Finn’s mum)

YEAR 1

ZULU — Claire (Noah’s mum)

YORUBA — Sophie (Aaron’s mum)

ASHANTI — Laura (Anna’s mum)

MAASAI — Chantal (Elisha’s mum) Lola (Teyah’s mum)

YEAR 2

EVEREST — Rhian (Cassie’s mum)

CASPIAN — Yvette (Victoria’s mum)

SAFFRON — Merisha (Sienna’s mum)

YEAR 3

KOOKABURRA — Rhizlanne (Asiya’s mum)

LORIKEET— Jenny (Elspeth’s mum)

WALLABY — Georgina (Daniel’s mum)

KOALA — Tracey (Saphire’s mum)

YEAR 4

MAYAN — Stacey (Teagan-Jae’s mum)

AZTEC — Rhizlanne (Tasnim’s mum)

INCA — Currently vacant

CARIB — Georgina (Ashleigh-Mae’s mum)

PARENT CLASS REPS

Good Morning Project Our Good Morning Project language next week is Malayalam.

If you have any children’s books in Malayalam which you could lend to us for next week we would be very grateful. Please give the books to your child’s class teacher.

The Robert Fitzroy Academy does not endorse or recommend any commercial products, processes, or services. Therefore, mention of commercial products, processes, or services on our newsletter cannot be construed as an

endorsement or recommendation.

YOUR ADVERT GOES HERE

Would you like to advertise your product, service or event here on the back page of our weekly newsletter?

We have four spaces available on this page each week.

The fee is £5 for two issues

You supply the artwork (approx. 15cm x 10cm—postcard size) in any digital format and we will do the rest.

Artwork and payment must be sent two weeks in advance of publication.

Interested?

Please contact the PTA on pta@robertfitzroyacademy.com

to book a space.