As we move towards the spring, our gardens are beginning to

show signs of new life.

This is the time when gardeners begin to re-sort the garden, valuing what they already have and planning for the garden they aspire to create.

Following the recent Ofsted visit to Dale, I have begun to work to nurture our school as a gardener would their garden. Celebrating the elements of our school that work well and making plans to develop those areas of school life that need further work.

Thanking you in anticipation for your continued support as we take our school forward.

Have a restful half term holiday.

Mrs L Sullivan - Head Teacher

Term Dates for 2013

Break up for Half TermFriday 15th February

INSET DayMonday 25th February

INSET DayMonday 18th March

Break up for EasterThursday 28th March

Back to SchoolMonday 15th April

Break up for Half TermFriday 24th May

Back to SchoolMonday 4th June

Break up for SummerTuesday 23rd July

FEBRUARY 2013

HEAD’S

SPOT

DALE NEWS

Eesaa from Foundation Stage enjoying the new Foundation Stage outdoor play area complete with astro turf which is great fun to play on!

Foundation Stage News

Foundation Stage have had a wonderful half term.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our topic about dinosaurs.  We found a mysterious egg that had a dinosaur inside, there was also a dinosaur footprint in the garden!  Our next topic is about traditional stories, such as 'The Three Little Pigs', 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' and 'Jack and the Beanstalk'.  We would really appreciate it if you could read any traditional stories over the holiday to remind the children of the story lines. 

Year One News

We have had a great half term and have been very busy! In Year 1 we have been learning about Fairy Tales and even doing a bit of acting. We also had the opportunity to write our own Fairy Tales so that we could use our imagination to create a world ‘Once upon a time...’ We made a lot of noise too, as we learnt how to make and play various musical instruments.

Next half term we will continue to be creative and will be learning about toys from the past. Please look for any toys that your grandparents used to play with.

Year Two News

We have had a very exciting half term. We have been learning about planes, trains and automobiles by being engineers for Dale Derby. Each class built a large form of transport - 2H built a train, 2F a car and 2B a plane. We have explored forces around us through play and scientific investigation, including how friction effects movement. We finished our topic with a fabulous train trip to Matlock Bath where all the children had a walk along the river and a picnic on the play areas.

Year Three News

This half term we have learnt about Eyam, a small historic village in Derbyshire. As part of our work we have looked at the physical and human features of Eyam, and we have studied maps of Eyam too. The children went on a trip where they visited Eyam Church, walked around the village and went to the location of the Riley Graves. The children now know many facts about the plague the Great Fire of London and about Eyam’s tragic but moving story.

Learning Mentors

•A few gentle reminders to Parents/Guardians when collecting or dropping off children to school: Please don’t park on the ‘Keep Clear’ sign outside of school.Lunchtime - parents must come in to the playground to collect their children. It is not acceptable for parents to park their car around the corner and wait for children to cross the roads at such a busy time.

•Parents must be reminded that they cannot used the same school toilets which are used by Dale pupils. The toilet near the School Office is available for any adult.

•Children must wash daily, be encouraged to brush their teeth and take pride in their appearance. A sensible bedtime routine, breakfast and coming to school prepared for the day means your child is ready to learn.

Year Four News

Year 4 have had an enjoyable half term learning about Italy and the Italian culture. This has involved watching a pizza making masterclass by our school cook, followed by an opportunity for the children to get their ‘hands dirty’ and make their own. They also designed and made the accompanying boxes and used what they had been learning in literacy to persuade others to eat them.

Year Five News

This half term we have been learning about how to keep ourselves healthy and also about life processes and plant life cycles. We have played at being blood cells, being pumped around the body by the heart, and taken flowers apart to see the different parts they are made of. In literacy we have researched people who have inspired us and written biographies. Currently we are writing explanations of super plants!

Year Six News

This half term Year 6 have thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Lost Thing’ by Shaun Tan. We have used

our powers of persuasion to create holiday leaflets for the imaginary city of Suburbia where the story is set. The unusual illustrations lead us to investigate the surrealist artists Salvador Dali and Magritte.In science we have been classifying materials and their properties, learning about solids, liquids and gases and how to separate mixtures.

Rock Climbing

This term saw another successful group of Rock Climbers. All pupils were fantastic and showed a lot of courage and natural talent, especially when being asked to climb high walls blind folded! Marcus Bicknell, Zunairah Shaid and Chloe Birdi made excellent progress during the 6 weeks. Well done!

Sports News

•Futsal Festival Winners - Boys Y5/6•DW Sports Indoor Football - 5 matches•Football - Girls 7-a-side Festival•Football - Boys 7-a-side Festival Semi-finalists•Football - Boys 6-a-side Festival Y3/4•Bikeability - Y5•Tag Rugby•Table tennis - County Finalists•Indoor Athletics - City Final Winners•Gymnastics Y3/4 Festival

Next half term:•Healthy Heart Week - 11 March -15 March•Sponsored Skip Day Y5/6 - 11 March•Dance Festival - 14 March•County Athletics Final - 26 March•Netball Festival - 26 March

Staff Governor

We are pleased to announce that Mrs Holness - Learning Mentor has joined our Governing Body as a Staff Governor. Her term will run for 4 years.

How to contact us:

Telephone 01332 760070

Emailadmin@dale.derby.sch.uk

AddressDale Community Primary SchoolPorter Road, Derby.DE23 6NL

Head TeacherMrs L. Sullivan

School Information

•School meals continue to cost £2.00 per day / £10.00 per week. Money must be paid on a Monday morning. Please remember if your child brings a packed lunch to school it must be brought to school at 9:00am. We will not accept late lunchboxes.

•Please look at the school website: http://dale.derby.sch.uk for more information and pictures of school life.

•Please ensure that your child’s uniform is named correctly. Lost property is kept outside class 1S.

Last month, as you know, we had an Ofsted Inspection

where the Inspectors spent two days with us. They visited classes, talked with school

leaders, governors, teachers and children. There were many things that they loved about the school, and we appreciated the way they conducted the Inspection. Although there were a lot of things that they thought were very positive, their overall judgment was that there are improvements that need to be made. We have accepted that, and as staff and governors, we are responding to the observations that have been made, and putting plans in place to make those improvements. We are confident that we can do this and we are committed to making Dale School the best it can be.

Anthony AdamsChair of Governors HALF TERM ACTIVITIES

GOVERNOR’S

SPOT