Tel: 01902 843177 Email: office@codsall-middle.staffs.sch.uk www.codsall-middle.staffs.sch.uk

No 1 Week Ending 5th October 2018

Welcome back to school. I hope all our existing and new pupils enjoyed the summer break, which was, unusually, quite sunny! I would like to extend a warm welcome both to all new pupils and to the new staff who have joined us, Miss Welsh (English), Miss Allen (Art) and Miss Roberts (Science). We have also had Miss Osbourne join us as TA in the SEN department. Codsall Middle School is again over subscribed for 2018-19; a reflection of it success and popularity in recent years. School life is already busy, our staff will continue to aspire to provide excellent learning opportunities for all pupils across a wide curriculum, ensuring all pupils achieve their full potential and develop as life long learners fit for an ever changing 21st century. Kind regards Mrs Baker Deputy Head Teacher

Late Equipment We understand that children forget their belongings, however we are unable to accept PE kits, cooking ingredients, musical instruments, homework, etc. after 8.30am. Unfortunately, at times, we are unable to get these to your child(ren) and we do try to encourage the pupils to be organised and independent.

Attendance (as at 25/09/2018) We have 450 out of 548 pupils on 100% attendance. Year 5 - 123 / 143 full attendance Year 6 - 119 / 138 full attendance Year 7 - 112 / 143 full attendance Year 8 - 96 / 124 full attendance September Winners Year 5 winners are Kestrel Year 6 winners are Kestrel Year 7 winners are Kestrel Year 8 winners are Hawk

Overall winners are Kestrel

Thank you to the 90% of parents who have activated their Parentpay accounts. Parentpay is our preferred method of payment for trips, workshops etc. If you have not yet activated your account and would like help or a copy of

your activation code please contact the Finance Office. Although we do not accept cash we are happy to print Paypoint letters which allows you to pay by cash at any Paypoint. Thank you Finance Office.

On the 10th and 11th of October we plan to take all of our Year Five to the National Space Centre in Leicester to enhance our topic on space. Please see their website to view what they will be enjoying on the day. Who knows it may inspire a future astronaut or space scientist!

Maths in Motion is a weekly club where pupils practice their Maths skills while setting up virtual cars to race on Formula 1 based tracks. We are currently adjusting our cars and revving our engines in anticipation of our first race. We hope to build on the success of competing in last years' World Final and meet every Tuesday in room 9 until 4.30. New members welcome.

www.codsall-middle.staffs.sch.uk

ABSENCE If your child is unwell

please call school and

leave a message on our

absence line before 8.30am (01902

843177). It would be helpful for us to

know your child’s name and form,

reason for absence and expected return

date. We are unable to set work for

pupils who are absent through sickness.

If your child’s absence is a prolonged

one please keep in touch with our

Pastoral Team who can help support a

successful return to school.

Car Park Access Could we politely remind parents/carers that between 8.15 -

8.45am and 3-3.30pm our school drive way and car park are

not available for parent use, unless specific arrangements

have been made due to illness or injury. Thank you to the

vast numbers of parents who abide by this request and help

to keep our school community safe.

Coming Up Soon ………………………… Saturday 6th October: Open Morning 10-12noon - prospective new parents and new pupils welcome. Wednesday 10th October: 5O, 5K and 5F Space Centre Trip Thursday 11th October: 5H &5E Space Centre Trip Wednesday 17th October: Year 7 Girls Skirting Science Event Full Governors Meeting at 6pm Monday 22nd October: Year 8 Barclays Life Skills (am) Year 5 NSPCC (pm) Tuesday 23rd October: Year 6 NSPCC (pm) Friday 26th October: House Merit Winners - non-uniform day. Monday 5th November: School Closed - INSET DAY

On 17th October we will be "Skirting Science!" A minibus-full of our Year 8 girls will be visiting an event at Rodbaston, finding out about careers in Science. Miss Roberts will accompany them, as it’s a girls-only event and Mr MacRae doesn't look too good in a skirt!

Our new school council have now been elected and have already met to discuss ways in which we can improve our school. This is an important role which we hope to link to the provision and well-being we offer to our students this year.

Smart Watches Reminder that Smart Watches are not permitted in school, thanks for your support.

TWITTER For those parents who find social media a useful communication tool, you can now follow us on twitter: @codsall_middle. We currently have 299 followers but would love to see this number grow. Keep up to date with events and successes at Codsall Middle School.

www.codsall-middle.staffs.sch.uk

Parent Messages If you wish to leave a message for your child(ren) during the school day could we please ask that messages are passed to school no later than 2.00pm as it may not always be possible to get a message to a child after this time. Thank you for your support.

Codsall's Got Talent The final will be held on Wednesday 12th December - Auditions coming soon so watch this space.

Christmas Market Our annual Christmas market is being held here at school on Wednesday 28th November from 7.00pm If you are interested in running a stall at this event please contact Mrs Davison at md@codsall-middle.staffs.sch.uk

CMS have achieved Royal Horticultural Society Award Level 3 due to our hard work developing our sensory garden area. We have been awarded several hundreds of pounds worth of plants to develop our garden plans. These will arrive in three phases over the next year. Thanks to all those who have made this possible as it has transformed a very dull area in the middle of our school

into something we can be proud of. It will be a great resource for science lessons too. We have even made a collection on 170 million year old fossils (gryphaea, devil's toenails) found in the gravel in the area!

Schools Membership of Music Mark – a National organisation and Subject Association for Music Education. As a direct result of achieving the Silver Award for Music Provision from Staffordshire Education’s Music hub, we have now received congratulations on becoming a 2018/19 Music Mark School Member! They have recognised the value that we place on music here at CMS, and requested that we

become a Music Mark School Member. They thank us for all the hard work we do across the school to ensure that pupils here are able to access and engage with a high-quality music education; and our dedication to offering and delivering

a broad and balanced curriculum is both welcomed and celebrated.

Proposed Opportunities: 28th Jan -2nd Feb 2019 Year 7 & 8 Montgenevre Ski Trip. 28th-29th March Year 7 & 8 Performing Arts trip to London. 28th-3rd May 2019 Year 8 Bude, Cornwall Outdoor and adventurous activities. 13th-17th May 2019 Year 5 Laches Wood, Outdoor and adventurous activities. 3rd-7th June 2019 Year 6 Isle of Wight - Outdoor and adventurous activities and cultural experience. 8th-12th July 2019 Year 6,7 & 8 Bay of Naples Tour (this trip is now full

however you can add your child’s name to our waiting list)

Year 7/8 Girls Football The Girls Football team have progressed to the second round of the National Cup after a convincing 2-0 win over Hadley Learning Community. Good luck in the next round. Mr Tatton

The Year 8 boys were unfortunate to lose their National Cup game against Idsall all in a competitive match. They have plenty more fixtures ahead to look forward to.

The Year 7 boys team have had a successful start to the season with a 1-0 win over Cardinal Griffin in the Cannock and District League as well as an impressive 2-0 win over Kingsmead in the Staffordshire County Cup. The Year 5/6’s have been involved in friendly fixtures so far this year with Perton Middle. There will be plenty of friendly games and more competitive tournaments to look forward to.

Football Fixtures - Update

There is a printable Parent Calendar available on our school website. www.codsall-middle.staffs.sch.uk