Newsletter

Issue: 98 w/e 3rd October 2014

Message from the Head Dear Parents and Carers

This week began with training for all staff on the new maths curriculum. The training

was led by Lynn Churchman who is the Director of the National Mathematics Part-

nership. One of the changes to our maths curriculum is that all the children need to

know tables to twelve by the end of year 4. This takes me back to when I was at

school!

Finally, I am so very proud to tell you that Larkswood Primary School is featured in

this year's Parliamentary Review: A Year in Perspective. We were invited as a very

successful school to write about our journey from requiring special measures to

good. You can find this online and it will shortly be available on our website.

Have a good weekend

Lynne Harrowell

The school said thank you to our cook, Herma and her great team of ladies for all the

great work that they do and for the wonderful food that they serve. The food

served on Thursday was especially tasty and as you can see, Mr Hau enjoyed his

helping of chicken.

Thank you Herma! You definitely display the Larkswood value of excellence every

day and fully deserve your certificate too.

Herma receives her certificate of

Herma and her team.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Wednesday, 15th October 2:00 - 3:15pm

Jobs Fair for Parents & Carers

Thursday, 16th October 7:00pm - 9:30pm

LPSA Quiz Night – Adults only

Tuesday, 21st October 6:00 – 7:00pm

Year 4 Trip to London Zoo

Wednesday, 22nd October 6:00 – 7:00pm

LPSA Annual General Meeting AGM

Thursday, 23rd October

LPSA Halloween Cupcake competition

Monday, 27th - Tuesday, 4th November

HALF TERM— Children to return to school on Tuesday,

4th November (Monday, 3rd November STAFF INSET

DAY)

Thursday, 13th November 9:00-10:00am Blue Hall

Speech & Language (SALT) Coffee Morning

Thursday, 13th November

Parents Evening

Thursday, 4th December 3:00 – 6:00pm

Year 6 - Harry Potter Studios

Thursday, 11th December 3:00 – 6:00pm

LPSA Christmas Fair

Friday, 19th December (School finished at 1:30pm)

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

Friday, 19th December (School finished at

1:30pm)

BACK TO SCHOOL (Spring Term 2015)

EVERY WEEK AT LARKSWOOD Every Monday, 9:00 – 11:00am Stay & Play: Larkswood Playgroup for Under 3’s

Every Tuesday, 7:30 – 9:30am Headteacher Drop-In (Glass Office) Please go to the Glass Office via the school office

Every Thursday, 9:00-10:00am Train To Gain: Keep Fit with Gary in the Blue Hall

Every Friday, 8:30 - 9:00am LPSA Uniform Swop - Wooden Hall

BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS Every Monday, 3:30-5:15pm Karate: Yr3-Yr6 (3:30-4:20pm) Reception-Yr2 (4:25-5:15pm) Wooden Hall

Every Tuesday, 7:30-8:30am Basketball Club Yr5 & 6 Wooden Hall (Mr Hau)

Every Tuesday, 3:45-4:45pm KS1 Football Astro Turf (Mr Hau)

Every Wednesday, 7:45-8:45am Netball Club Yr6 Wooden Hall (Ms Bruce)

Every Wednesday, 3:30-4:30pm Riverdance Rachel - Irish Dancing KS1 (3:30-4:00) KS2 (4:00-4:30pm)

Every Wednesday, 3:45-4:45pm Yr5 & 6 Girls Football Astro Turf (Mr Hau)

Every Thursday 7:45 - 8:45am Gymnastics Club

Every Thursday, 3:45-4:45pm Yr5 & 6 Boys Football Astro Turf (Mr Hau)

Every Friday, 3:45-4;45pm KS2 Athletics Club Astro Turf (Mr Hau)

PARENT CLASSES / Family Learning Every Monday from 22nd September to 1st December (10 weeks) 12:45-2:45pm Family Numeracy

Every Wednesday from 24th September to 22nd October (5 weeks) 1:30– 3:30pm Family Art

Every Wednesday from 17th September to 3rd December (10 weeks) 1:00– 3:00pm Family Language ESOL

Design a Christmas Card………………….

Once again Larkswood Primary School will be giving the children the oppor-

tunity to design their own Christmas cards using the school card shop.

The children will each receive one blank piece of card to draw their design. On the back of this card you will find the various

purchase options (there are several different packs you may wish to purchase such as large cards, small cards and labels). This

will also have the cost information for whatever pack you may wish to purchase. Once you have chosen your pack you must

bring the card into the school office with the payment and by the due date to place your order.

The due date for orders is midday on 24th October 2014

NB. Please note that cards brought to the teachers or school office past the due date will be returned to the children.

It takes a few weeks for the orders to be processed so we must keep to this deadline in order to ensure your cards are re-

turned in time for you to send out to friends and family.

If you have any queries do not hesitate to contact Mrs Hiscott or Miss Lauren Thomas at the school office.

Playground Safety

Please be aware that children with scooters must not ride on them in the playground as it can be very

dangerous. All children are to walk and hold their scooters whilst on the school site.

Labelling Uniforms

Can you please ensure that your child/children has their name on all items of school uniform.

If an item of clothing is found with a name we can return the clothing instantly. The lost property

cupboard for clothing is no longer available.

All school uniform that is found without a name on it will go directly into the Friday Swap Shop.

Please note that this applies to school uniform only. We do however recommend that you put your child’s name in their

school coat so that this can be returned to the owner if mislaid.

Riverdance Rachel Irish Dancing Postponed this week only

Rachel will not be at Larkswood this week for her dancing lessons. She has been given a great opportunity to travel

to China where she will be teaching classes with the Riverdance troupe.

We hope that she has an amazing experience and look forward to hearing all about it when she returns.

Rachel will be back in Larkswood for her class on Wednesday, 15th October.

Important reminders for parents and carers

Forgotten Items……………...

Please can you ensure that your child/children have everything they need for the school day when they arrive at school in the

morning.

A high volume of items that have been forgotten in the morning are currently being brought to the school office during the

day to be delivered to children.

While we understand that swimming, p.e. kits and lunch boxes can be left behind in the morning rush to school, we would

appreciate it if you could ensure that they arrive to school with your child.

Many thanks.

Collection of children for appointments………….

Please ensure your child’s/children’s class teacher is aware of any collections of your children for hospital/doctor/dental/

optical appointments at the beginning of the school day and the time your child is to go to the school office to await collec-

tion. The school also requires proof of appointments, i.e. appointment cards/hospital letters etc. Please give these to a mem-

ber of the school office team in regards to your child’s appointment.

Respecting your neighbourhood.

We politely request that when bringing children to school all parents, carers and children re-

frain from dropping litter outside the school building and surrounding areas.

It has been noted that some school ‘drop offs’ are being made by car on the approach to the

zebra crossing outside the school. Children’s safety is paramount and stopping vehicles on the

road can be dangerous to children exiting the vehicle and can also cause congestion on what is

a very busy road. We kindly ask that you arrive to school in good time.

School times:

The school day starts at 8:45am and finishes promptly at 3:30pm

Nursery AM session: 8:45am to 11:45am

Nursery PM session: 12:30pm to 3:30pm

Change of plans to the Halloween Disco

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances the Halloween disco will not be going ahead, however the LPSA

will be organising a great Halloween Cupcake competition. More details will be coming your way very soon.

Even more to see on the

More great educational sites have been added to our Home Learning Zone on the school Website. Take a look now at http://www.larkswoodprimary.co.uk/home-learning-zone/

EYFS

ICT

IPC

Literacy

MFL

Numeracy

PE

Science

An afternoon tune with Mr Wybrant!

Class 2DW were very impressed with Mr Wybrant’s musical talents this week.

Mr Wybrant has recently started to learn how to play the ukulele and wanted to

share with the children what he could play so far. They were quick to show

their own talents as each class member had a go at strumming a few chords of

their own.

Year 4 have been busy this week investigating habitats as part of our science topic, 'The nature of life'.

We became scientists and conducted observations in our outdoor gar-den whilst recording the habitats of lots of lovely insects and animals.

The children were especially excited when they spotted a newt under a rock!

Miss Popat

The Nature of Life

Excitement mounts as years 2, 3 & 4 await a visit from the

author of Captain Underpants!

On Monday 13th October Dav Pilkey, the internationally-bestselling creator of Captain Underpants, will

be visiting Larkswood Primary School as part of his first UK tour in years! Dav’s comic book hero has

been making children laugh and love reading for over fifteen years and a Dreamworks movie is coming

soon. Dav will be doing a fun event including laughs, stories and live drawing in the school hall – fol-

lowed by a book signing.

A selection of the bestselling Captain Underpants books will be available for children to buy before Dav’s visit. Books will be

on sale for £5 on Friday 10th October. Children can bring their money into school in a clearly marked envelope and their teach-

er will have an allocated time for their class to go and buy a book.

We hope your child enjoys this special event.

Miss Bruce (Leading Practitioner for Literacy)

Monday: Sausages & Caramelised Onions / Vegetarian Chilli

Tuesday: Spicy Chicken / Cheese & Egg Flan

Wednesday: Aromatic Madras Meatballs / Autumn Garden Pizza

Thursday: Lasagne / Quorn Sausage & Onion Gravy

Friday: Fish Fingers / Cheese & Potato Whirls

Our attendance target at

Larkswood!

As from September 2014 our school target for attendance is set at 100%.

It is proven that excellent attendance leads to great results and engaged

children. We look forward to working with all our parents and carers this

year to achieve our goal at Larkswood Primary.

Period: 22/09/2014 to 26/09/2014 Congratulations to the following classes who achieved the best class

attendance in their year group.

RSD: 97.0% 1SC: 97.1% 2PF: 97.7% 3JM: 99.3%

4DP: 96.3% 5ND: 95.0% 6DH: 99.3%

SCHOOL MENU

w/b Monday 6th

October

BLACK HISTORY MONTH SCHOOL MENU: Tuesday, 7th October

Jerk Chicken Dumplings Iced Jamaican Gingerbread

Lamb & Vegetable Pilau Spicy Green Beans Mango Ice Cream

Lentil & Sweet Potato

Curry

Roasted Butternut

Squash

Tropical Fruit Salad

Rice & Peas . Fried Plantain

All Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 parents and carers If you have received a letter from Waltham Forest Council regarding your child/

children’s free school meal can you please bring it to the school office as soon as

possible.

Thank you

We’re all looking forward to learning about and celebrating black history for Black History Month. On Tuesday, 7th October

the lunchtime menu with have a cultural flavour. See the full menu above. We will also keep you up to date with the work and

activities that will be going on throughout the month of October.

LETS ALL HIT THAT MAGIC 100%

Reminder to all Parents & Carers

Have you bought your ticket yet???

Have you bought your ticket yet??? H

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As Larkswood aim for a Gold Kitemark next year, we have entered 3 different events next week – 2 competitive events and 1 fun event. On Wednesday afternoon, 3 teams from Larkswood will be travelling to Chingford Foundation to compete for a place at the football borough final, which will be held at The Lammas School in Leyton. We have 2 boys’ teams and a girls’ team. They have all been training hard during play time and lunch time, utilising the excellent resource that school has to offer. On Thursday morning, 38 children from across the school (year 1 to year 6) will be taking part in the ‘Go Run for Fun’ fun run at the Leyton Jubilee Park. This event is organised by INEOS and NOVA, the same company who organises the Great North Run, and it will give hundreds of children in London an opportunity to run for fun. In addition, all participants, who have been selected by each class teach-er, will have the opportunity to meet Colin Jackson CBE. The same children from KS1 (year 1 and year 2) will then travel to Peter May Sports Centre to take part in the borough KS1 Cross Country competition on Thursday afternoon. The children from year 3 – year 6 will help officiate and marshal the race. Entering into all of these events will help the school onto its way to achieving a Gold Kitemark next year, and I sincerely wish all of the children taking part the very best of luck! Come on Larkswood! The football season for our three teams will kick off very soon! The boys’ teams will be kicking off their campaign on Monday 13th October and the girls will be starting the following Monday. For the parents of children who go to football training, please look out for letters asking for per-mission for your child to play. The KS1 Football Club filled up immensely quick! It was all hands on deck as the slips were given in thick and fast. Many thanks to the school office for managing and accepting the permissions slips – without you this could not have happened. If your child was successful and managed to be the first 24 slips in, they will have been given a letter, asking for permission to take part and information regarding the arrangement after school and collecting your child.

Larkswood

Primary

Sports

News & F

ixtures.

..

Onwards and upwards!

Mr Hau

Aiming high for Gold!!