Headteacher: Alison Johnson Deputy Headteacher: Melissa Morton Tel: 01388 762380 Fax 01388 768675 email: peaseswest@durhamlearning.net www.peaseswest.durham.sch.uk

Wednesday 23rd March 2016

Peases West Primary School Billy Row Crook County Durham DL15 9SZ

Safety

Last week, a child was injured as a direct result of a car being driven along the school lane. On this occasion, thankfully, the child was not seriously hurt, yet was

understandably shaken and distressed.

Whilst we have seen a significant reduction in the amount of vehicles being driven along the school lane, we are still experiencing a small number of vehicles continuing to make

their way along the school lane.

It is important that the lane is kept ‘vehicle free’ during the school day, including at breakfast club and after school clubs drop offs/pick ups, as children, including some of our youngest children in school, are making their way along the school lane, and again,

THIS IS NOT SAFE. The staff car park should also not be used as a drop off area, as it is for staff, visitor and emergency vehicle use only. Designated disabled access is

situated at the top of the school drive.

Whilst we appreciate it may be inconvenient to park elsewhere and walk along to school, we know you will agree that your children’s safety is our highest priority and together we

can make Peases West Primary a SAFE SCHOOL ZONE.

Thank you for your co-operation with this matter.

Staffing update We are delighted to inform you that following successful interview, Mr Jimmy Atkinson has

been offered the post of Class teacher in school and will begin in September 2016. Information relating to the staffing structure for September 2016 will be shared once

finalised.

We are once again collecting Sainsbury's Active Kids Vouchers in school. These can be handed in to your child’s class teacher or to the school office. Collect Active Kids vouchers

when you shop at Sainsbury's and donate them to school. They can then be redeemed for active and sports equipment,

experiences, and much, much more!

PE AND SPORT

EYFS - ‘Ready Set Go’

Children in EYFS showcased their multiskills as part of the ‘Ready Set Go’ programme they have taken part in this term with Lenny Gressman. It was great to see Parents joining in too!

Marcus Watson from Sustrans has been working with children in school this

half term on ‘Healthy Hearts’ and map reading skills.

Thank you to Marcus and Sustrans for funding our new

cycle/scooter rack!

Class 2 children called their local ‘Winter Walk’ the ‘best day ever!

School uniform School uniform can be ordered online at www.stparent.co.uk.

Orders are collated, so please order by 3rd of the month for same month delivery.

Year 5 Multiskills day at Parkside Year 5 children recently experienced a Multiskills day at Parkside Academy, where they had the opportunity to engage in a range of activities including Technology, Dance and Science.

Year 5 DT workshops at Wolsingham School and Community College Year 5 children have also taken part in a series of DT workshops at Wolsingham School

and Community College, designing and making toys. Thank you to Wolsingham School for donating some Reading books to our school. Our

Reading ambassadors, Alannah, Jay, Evie and Cailtin visited Wolsingham school with Mrs Morton to select a range of books to add to our library.

World Book Day Events Thank you for your support with our recent Coffee afternoon, which provided Parents and Carers and family members the opportunity to take part in our book ‘swap shop’ , and explore our Reading scheme as part of our World Book Day celebrations.

PTA Easter Fair We had a wonderful time at our Easter Fair.

Our School Council members were an AMAZING support - thank you boys and

girls! Thank you also to our Class 4 ‘runners’ who collected children from classes

throughout the afternoon. A final thank you to our MAGNIFICENT

PTA, whose hard work made the afternoon’s activities a success!

We look forward to informing you of the total raised!

Parent View

Thank you for the recent Parent questionnaires which were returned to school.

We value your feedback and your views on all aspects of school life help staff and governors to make Peases West Primary School the best place it can be!

You can always share you views by using the ‘Have your Say’ section of the newsletter. This can be handed in with your child, or posted in the ‘rainbow’ box in the main entrance.

Alternatively, Parent View gives you the chance to tell Ofsted what you think about your child’s school, from the quality of teaching to dealing with bullying and poor behaviour. The survey can be completed at any time;

https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk

Thank you!

Congratulations to the Greenfinch Family group who visited Bamboozles as their reward for achieving the most family points last term!

Class 4 - Easter story Class 4 visited Dawson Street Chapel in Crook to take part in an interactive retelling of the Easter story.

Joanne Boyd visited Class 4 children to discuss the dangers of energy drinks and

alcohol.

Parents meetings

Thank you for your support with our recent Parents/Carers consultation meetings. Class 3’s meetings will be held early in Summer term.

Thank you so much for your support with the recent Scholastic Book Fair . Together, we sold over £500 of books, which means we received £220 for school funds! This will be prioritised

spent on Reading books.

Adventure trail

Our adventure trail will be installed when we return to school. Please ensure children do not play on the equipment on entry/exit to school until the installation has been finalised

and necessary safety checks carried out.

Year 6 Safety Carousel

Year 6 children visited Newton Aycliffe to take part in a

Safety Carousel. Here they experienced workshops based around fire, road, internet and

water safety.

E-Safety

Thank you to the Parents who joined Pauline Stewart, Education Development Advisor, in school for her session covering e-safety.

Youtube Risks – Uploading Video

Many children spend a lot of time watching vloggers (Video Log) such as Zoella. (Zoella can have over 3 million hits on her uploads!). Some children chose to emulate these Vloggers, and in doing so without careful thought can leave themselves open to bullying or online grooming by revealing personal details and making videos and comments available to anyone. This is not illegal but the minimum age to create a Youtube account is 13. Having an account for a younger child breaks the terms and conditions of the site. It is not possible to upload videos without creating an account. The following links provide additional information for parents and teachers :- https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802272?hl=en-GB&ref_topic=2803240 and http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safety-tools/youtube

Extract from Youtube Website:

Parent resources

We understand that parents and guardians sometimes have questions about children's behaviour online. We've put together some tools and resources to help you manage your

family's experience on YouTube.

What age does my child need to be to use YouTube?

In order to create a YouTube account, you must confirm that you're at least 13 years old. If a video is flagged and we find that the uploader inaccurately stated their age during the

account creation process, we will terminate their account.

We challenged the children to ‘do themselves proud’ and complete a ‘Silly Mile’ in school on Monday, and we were certainly proud of their achievements! Nursery children completed their own ‘mini mile’

in the outdoor area. Children had a lot of fun completing their miles, and raising money for Sport Relief. They also

enjoyed some Sport Relief related activities during the afternoon in school! Sponsor money is still coming in - thank you for your support!

Praise, Positives & Progress ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Things to develop ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... Suggestions for improvement ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... Thank you. Name: ………………………………………………………………….. (optional) Date:…………………………………………..

We value and welcome your comments on all aspects of school life. These can be shared by completing and returning the slip below. Thank you!

Dates for your yearly planner:

School closes for Easter break on Thursday 24th March. Thursday 24th March - ‘50p Friday’ non uniform fundrasier!

11th-13th April - Installation of adventure trail

Wednesday 13th April - Class 1 visit to Auckland Castle Tuesday 19th April - Class photographs

Friday 22nd April - Coffee afternoon/Maths workshop Monday 2nd May - School Closed (Bank Holiday)

WB 9th May - Year 6 SATs Monday 23rd May - EYFS festival

Thursday 26th May - 50p non uniform fundraiser

School reopens on Monday 11th April for teaching purposes. School closes on THURSDAY 26th MAY for Summer half term.

School closes for Summer break on Tuesday 19th July.

A very happy Easter from the children, staff and governors of Peases West Primary School.

Copies of our Yearly Planner are available on the school website.