Friday 13th March

Head's Message

OPAL external audit

At the beginning of this week, our external OPAL partners came to school to audit our provision.  The audit process was extremely thorough and looked into our OPAL offering across a range of criteria. 

I am pleased to inform you that we have been awarded the Gold OPAL mark for our excellent work in transforming children's play at lunchtimes.  This is a real achievement for a school going through this process for the first time. 

A special thank you to Mrs Smith, Miss Martin and Mrs Madahar for their dedication in getting OPAL up and running and ensuring it continues to develop (there has been a vast amount of behind the scenes work). 

A huge thankyou to our midday team Mrs Beadle, Mrs Birchall, Mrs Burge, Miss Ingram, Mrs Gill-Virk, Mrs Morris, Mrs Suman, Mrs Lister, Miss Marsh, Mrs McClenaghan, Mrs Thickett, Miss O'Neil, Miss Cheetham, Mrs Wheatley for bringing the OPAL principles alive with the children in all weather conditions!   The team have really embraced how lunchtimes have changed and helped the children to access all the new play opportunities available. 

Our OPAL champions for this year (see the photo below) have been fantastic in helping other children learn how to use the resources and look after them, tidy away and respect our new areas.  They are also brilliant at encouraging different children to play together across classes and year groups.  Thank you OPAL champions!

Thank you to the large number of parents who have donated items, provided wellies and embraced the mud that comes home! On the day the children were very excited to share their thoughts on the OPAL provision and their play ideas with the auditor.  This is another example, of how we are fostering the children's independence and voice, as they were all so confident in speaking and sharing their play. 

The 2 year OPAL journey has been a real team effort and is a great example of our school community coming together for the benefit for our children. We are so very proud of this achievement!   

OPAL doesn't end here - as we develop the front playground further, including a community day on 25th April 9am -2pm where we are inviting parents, carers, children, staff and local business support to help paint, tidy, build and garden to provide even more amazing spaces and resources for the children.  You don't have to come for the whole morning, any small amount of help is really appreciated.  The PTA will be providing refreshments and there will be a supervised play area for any school age children that come along. 

Red Nose day 

Friday 20th March is red nose day and we are inviting the children to come to school wearing normal school uniform with one red item, - this could be a t shirt, socks, hair accessory etc - in return for a donation of your choosing.  We don't allow red noses, as these often go missing and are frequently shared between children which is not very hygienic! We are also encouraging the children to bring a joke to school to share with their class.   Last year we raised £287.30 - I would like to break the £300 barrier this year if possible!  Thank you!

Calendar

Remember to use the school calendar to keep up to date with what is happening in school. 

Sticky questions

Here are the questions you can discuss with your child this weekend so encourage their deeper thinking, reasoning and oracy skills.

Reception: If you could do any magic, what would you do?
Year 1: If an animal asked to leave a zoo, should we let it?
Year 2:  How can you tell when a season begins?

We hope the superwoman in your family enjoys the gift your child has brought home today and has a lovely day on Sunday.

Ms Roberts