Newsletter

Volume 6 Turnditch CE Primary School I ssue 5

Wednesday 26th April 2017

Full Speed Ahead

A big welcome back to all children, parents and staff. With Easter behind us we march

readily into the new term, with many great and exciting things for the children to par-

ticipate in. The next two terms will be very busy but rewarding in many ways. We have

lots of activities in store for children beyond the teaching of a balanced curriculum and look forward to

offering new and exciting experiences to all our pupils.

With a short term of only five weeks we have much to fit in. This is the term where children in Year 2

and Year 6 sit their end of key stage tests. This is not something they will be unfamiliar with, as they

have been preparing for these tests throughout the year (not at the expense of an exciting, balanced

and broad curriculum).

All staff here at Turnditch School have worked very hard to fully prepare the children for their exams

without placing too much emphasis on them. We have endeavoured, wherever possible, to prevent chil-

dren from feeling under too much pressure. The quality of teaching remains very high and because of

this the children have been fully engaged in their studies and are fully prepared. We are not naïve

enough to think, or to say, that all children's learning has taken place at school. We are extremely lucky

to have your support as parents, not only with the homework that we send home for your children to

complete, but also in the support that you give daily to the school. The teaching of children is a com-

bined effort and many of you come into school and give your time freely, to help with reading and to sup-

port practitioners in classrooms. To you all as parents we say a great big thank you.

Should any children be sneaking a look at this newsletter, please be assured that you will achieve to the

very best of your abilities and that you do not need to worry, you are fully prepared. All the staff here

wish you the very best of luck and know that you will do very well.

Climbing Wall

The climb-

ing wall will arrive on Friday 12th May for

the Junior children in school to use. This is

a fantastic opportunity for children to cov-

er statutory elements of the outdoor and

adventurous part of the PE curriculum

whilst having a great amount of fun. Mrs

Seargant is responsible for the organising

of this provision through her many contacts

with outdoor activity consultants.

Ascension Day Walk

Our Ascension Day activities this year will take place on

Wednesday 24th May.

In the morning all the children will work in family teams

to compete in a range of activities designed by all mem-

bers of the school staff.

The whole school will have a picnic lunch (hopefully out-

side). If your child normally brings sandwiches you will

need to send £2.00 to the school office.

In the afternoon we will all follow a route planned by Mr

Bolton and Mr Naylor around the fields of Turnditch for

our annual walk. As family members you are all cordially

invited on this walk which will set

off from the playground at 1.00

pm. Friendly dogs are allowed but

please keep on a lead and in con-

trol at all times.

PAGE 2 NEWSLETTER

Turnditch Poetry Competition

The poetry competition this year will take place on

Tuesday 13 June in All Saints Church during the

afternoon at 2 .00 pm

Poems will be sent out by teachers on Friday 12th

May for your children to learn. As teachers when

judging during the first rounds, we mark children

on accuracy expression and clarity of their read-

ing. We look also at any included actions and vol-

ume.

The first round of judging will take place on Mon-

day 5th June where finalists will be chosen to

read in church on the following Tuesday.

School Maths Moderation

On Monday 3rd April Mr Naylor and I

attended Middleton by Wirksworth Pri-

mary School for maths moderation. This was a valuable

exercise and helped inform judgements we had already

made on attainment and progress in this subject area. As

always the children from our cluster of schools demon-

strated a high standard of mathematical processing and

reasoning skills in their maths books to which Turnditch

School was very much inline.

A big thank you to children, staff and you the parents

for helping to keep standards high at school.

Basic Skills Quality Mark Assurance

We have again been successful in keeping our Basic Skills Quality Mark Cer-

tification. This means that as a school we are providing high quality teach-

ing, in partnership with you as parents, in the areas of English and mathe-

matics. We were assessed as a school on Wednesday 5th April and came out

with an extremely positive evaluation.

A big well done to children, all staff and parents who have helped to ensure

that standards remain high here at Turnditch Primary School.

Bikeability

Bikeability will begin on the first week back af-

ter half term. The dates for the first two ses-

sions are Thursday 18th May and Thursday

15th June. This is an extremely valuable course

for our Y6 children, enabling them to under-

stand how safely to use their cycles on the

road.

Cricket

Children in Years 3/4 and 5/6 will be con-

tinuing with cricket coaching on Friday af-

ternoons.

A new Cricket afterschool club on a Friday

afternoon has also been started

A Cricket tournament for Yrs 5/6 will take

place on Wednesday 14th June.

Dinner Money

Since September 2014 children in the Foundation Stage (Reception) and Years 1/2 have

been provided with free school meals. This came into force under a government initiative

ensuring free school meals are given to children in the infant phase of their educational

journey.

For other children school meals cost £2.00 each day. You will find payment details for your

child by logging onto your account at www.scopay.co.uk , the amount required for this term

will be shown.

Any queries regarding dinner money can quickly be solved by talking to Mrs Worrall.

IMPORTANT

If you think you may be eligible to claim free school meals, it is vital that you act on this.

You can speak to Mrs Worrall, alternatively you could telephone ‘Call Derbyshire’

08451202985.

Please be aware you are still eligible and should continue to claim free school meals even if

your child is in the Reception or Year 1/2 class. Many schools, ours included, lose out on ex-

tra funding and financial support that is available to schools with

children who receive free school meals.

Tri Golf

There will be two afternoons of Tri Golf coaching sessions on Thursday 25th May and

Wednesday 7th June for our Years 3/4 and 5/6 children. Tri Golf is a fun way of introduc-

ing golf into schools. The coaching sessions give pupils the opportunity to try a sport not

always taught in schools. They will learn the fundamentals of golf using plastic golf clubs

designed for the younger golfer. These are used with a variety of targets and golf balls to

create hundreds of fun games. All the coaching is carried out by a Qualified P.G.A. Golf

Professional.

A team will be selected to take part in the Anthony Gell Cluster competition taking place on

Tuesday 27th June (Yrs 5/6) and from the Thursday 29th June (Yrs 3/4).

Swimming

Dates for Infants: Friday 28th April - Friday

19th May

Payment can be made on your account at

www.scopay.co.uk ,

Dates for Juniors: Tuesday 25th April - Tues-

day 23rd May

Clubs This Term

Monday Infant Soccerstars

Christian Craft Club

Tuesday Forest Schools

Wednesday Forest Schools

Thursday Gardening club (letter to follow ) Tchoukball

Friday Cross Country Y5/6—lunchtime Cricket Yrs 3,4,5 & 6

Drama

DATES FOR DIARIES

These are displayed on the notice board inside the en-

trance to school and are on our website

www.turnditch.derbyshire.sch.uk . A paper copy should be

with this newsletter but dates are subject to

change/additions and we will keep you informed by text.

Spring 2017

OUTSTANDING

CHURCH SCHOOL A huge well done to all children, staff, parents, clergy and parishioners who helped to support the

school in retaining its SIAMS outstanding grade (graded 9th March). The inspection was extremely rigorous but everyone pulled together and we achieved our inspection outcome goal. The school has a wonderful ethos and this shone throughout on the day of inspec-tion.

Joint Academy Sporting Event

A selection of schools who make up the multi academy trust

will be joining together to compete in a inter schools ath-

letics event. This should be a great day for all schools tak-

ing part. The event will take place at Moorways Sports Sta-

dium in Derby on Thursday 25th May. A coach has been

booked and children will arrive back at school for the nor-

mal finishing time.