Finer Diners
Well done to the children who have already been nominated for Finer Diners! Each week the Midday Team are on the look out for children doing the right thing while eating their lunch, when spotted the child's name goes into a draw which takes place during the Golden Assembly on Friday. A number of members of staff take great pride in organising and setting up the dining experience for Finer Diners on Friday lunchtime...... a great time is had by all!
New Parent Governor
Following the recent election we welcome Nick Hoare, parent of a Y3 pupil, to the Governing Body.
40 votes were received in total, of which there were 29 votes for Nick Hoare; 8 for Michael Dimelow and 3 papers were spoiled.
Staff changes... The period up until the end of May is the time when staff consider their career moves for September....... Phil Goode has made the decision to resign from his post at Hunter's Bar Junior School to pursue other interests. He would like to say a special thanks to the wonderful pupils at the school whom he feels privileged to have taught. They have provided him with extremely joyful memories that will live with him for ever. Also he thanks the parents for their kindness and support throughout. We thank Phil for the work and commitment to the School for 20 years and wish him well for the future. Shirley Harrison has made one of the hardest decisions of her life.... she will be leaving Hunter's Bar at the end of this term to make a move to Sheffield Hallam. We have strong links with SHU and we are recognised as a Partnership School as a result of the excellent mentoring provided by many of our teachers. Shirley is one of our advanced mentors and we are extremely proud of this latest achievement. Shirley has a strong passion and enthusiasm for teaching and I am sure she will have a great and positive influence on teachers coming into the profession. David Timbers will be moving up the road to Greystones in September where he will teach in both KS2 and in KS1. We are grateful for all the contributions David has made in music and PE and we wish him well with his move. Juliet Murray has now begun her maternity leave (we'll let you know about the baby soon!). Jacqui Stockley is covering Mrs Murray's teaching role until the end of the academic year. Mr Oliver Wright has been appointed to the 0.6 role from September. Helen Walton will soon be returning from her maternity leave. She has decided to combine motherhood with a part time teaching role at Hunter's Bar and has resigned from her Assistant Head position. We are very much looking forward to her return to the classroom in September. We are always fortunate at Hunter's Bar to be able to recruit from a wide field of applicants and as part of our process we always see candidates teach and interact with the children. Following recent interviews I am pleased to say that Sybil Herbert and Chloe Saunders have been appointed to join our teaching team in September. Communication to school ... and other places... Please remember to let us know if..... your contact details change your child is absent from school you will need to collect your child during the school day for example for a medical appointment Leading Parent Partnership - Working Together We've been working hard since the mid point review..... and I'd like to thanks all parents for your enthusiasm in attending events at school and for the helpful feedback you give us. You are telling us that: the 'front of house' experience is improved. you have enjoyed the events and opportunities to see your child in school during the school day. you have been able to offer your help in school and that your help is valued. you have valued workshops and initiatives that give you information to help you support your child staff have been more proactive in speaking with you on an informal basis. communication - it can always be better, timescales giving better notice periods helping you to get necessary information to us. increased e-mail communication creating spaces in school for opportunities for parent & pupil work and work with parents in general. Hallam Kwik Cricket Festival 2009 Congratulations to all the year 5 children who took part in the Kwik Cricket festival held at Hallam Cricket Club on 9th June. We were extremely lucky to be able to field two boys teams and a girls team. Teams consisted of eight players who were all required to bowl, bat and field. All the teams had a great day showing fantastic teamwork and skill. The festival was a close run thing with the girls team finishing second and the boys team winning in the final against Hallam Primary. The second boys team came third. WOW!! As winners of the festival children will be invited to play in the City Finals at the end of June. The winners of the City Finals will be invited to play at Headingley Cricket Club in Leeds
Mr Timbers School Dress Code Thank you for your views on this.... The outcome of the consultation was: In favour: 69% Against: 31% The outcomes of the consultation was discussed at the Parents & Community sub committee and also at Full Governors on the 11th June where it was decided to explore further the principle of an optional dress code. The work will continue into the next academic year so we will not be in a position to implement a dress code for September. I hope this information is helpful as you consider what your child's needs are for the start of school in September. We will keep you informed of any decision that is made. Peer Mediators The Peer mediators have had a very busy year. Lots of things to do and problems to solve. But do you really know what we do? Lots of people don’t. One of our jobs is to make sure that you are in the right place at the right time. This is not because we want to be cruel or mean but purely to stop you getting into trouble. But our main job is to help you solve your problems. Had a fall out? Lots of bright yellow bibs help you to identify who and where we are. We can take you up to the library and help you sort it out. For this we use our fool proof strategy. GLIDE. G = GREET L = LISTEN I = IDEAS D = DECIDE E = END So Y5s peer mediators have great jobs and fantastic experiences! By The Y6 Peer Mediators Sports day When: Thursday 25th June, 9:15 am Where: High Storrs School
We are keeping to the same format that has worked for the last two years for our whole school Sports Day. It will mean we will be asking you to arrange for your child(ren) to arrive at High Storrs on the morning of the 25th June and hope this does not present too much of a problem. Staff will set up at High Storrs in the morning and will be there to receive the children from the normal time. Sports Day however will start at 9:15 which we hope will allow sufficient time for parents with children at a different school. We hope for an exciting event, the morning’s sport will be followed by a walk to school along the Porter Valley with staggered stopping places to eat a packed lunch before returning to school. We very much hope you can join us for this – the more parents / carers the merrier and it will help make the event more special if you can be there. Then all we need is fine weather! I know getting your child to High Storrs may present a creative problem solving challenge, especially if you are not available yourself to join us for the morning. I hope, in that case, that we have given you sufficient time to make arrangements with people you know. If you anticipate an insurmountable problem please let me or your child’s teacher know as soon as possible. Just to keep you informed, we are very nearly ready to submit our application to gain Healthy Schools Status. What that means in practical terms is that we consider ourselves to be a school that encourages our children to recognise and adopt a healthy lifestyle by: Educating children about healthy and balanced diets and ensuring that all food in school follows our healthy eating policy. Giving children as many opportunities to partake in sport as is practical. By using SEAL teaching materials we teach a Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) programme that promotes physical, moral and emotional development and enables children to make informed decisions about their lives. Remember Friday’s are FRUITY - Some children are allowed to eat fruit throughout the day. How about encouraging them to try a new fruit each week. It is our ambition to run a weekly Fruity Tuck Shop but we are limited by staff availability, if you are able to help us achieve this in any way then your help or simply ideas would be warmly received. As the temperature rises it is important that lunch boxes and water bottles don’t become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Unfortunately refrigerated storage for lunch boxes can not be provided. Here are some useful tips for keeping lunch boxes safe and cool: Pack lunches in an insulated bag or box, with a small ice pack. A frozen carton of drink can double up as an ice pack. Chill sandwiches before packing. Ask children to take their water bottle home at the end of each day so they can be thoroughly cleaned Joanne Brocklesby and Shirley Harrison Avatars at large! .......Look out for The Children's Festival banners that display our pupils' work!! Since January Janet Jennings and Jon Harrison from the Sheffield based digital arts organisation Lovebytes have been working with Y3 children at Hunter's Bar Junior School on an innovative creative technology project called 'Avatars'. The project aims to develop creative skills and digital literacy amongst primary aged school children and has resulted in a variety of exciting outcomes which you'll be seeing on display around Sheffield as part of the Children's Festival. The whole year group began by looking at character design; they had fun finding objects with human characteristics and then looked at the designs of some of their favourite characters in advertising, films, video games and websites. Inspired, they went on to design hundreds of their own characters or 'Avatars' using a mixture of art and craft and digital media. They then used these characters in their own computer games and interactive art. They were introduced to a computer programming language called Scratch which is a great tool for quickly developing animation and ideas. A smaller group of children went on to programme more complex games, thinking creatively and working collaboratively on mathematical and computational ideas, learning some of the fundamental principles of computer programming on the way. Scratch is free software, so the children can continue developing their own projects in the ICT suite or using computers at home. You can see the children's work on the Scratch website and download the code to make your own games at www.scratch.mit.edu/users/lovebytes The Avatars project has shown the children how digital creativity can be applied to a wide range of media, with some exciting real-world outcomes. In the final week of the project the children were treated to a presentation by Doncaster-based Wak studios who showed them how their Avatars could be made into 3D characters for animation. The children then created a storyboard and recorded sound for a short film sequence which will be displayed in an exhibition documenting the Avatars project at the Showroom Cinema 13 June - 9 July 2009 during the Children's Festival and Showcomotion Film Festival. They were also very excited to see their graphic design characters in the publicity for the Sheffield's Children's Festival. Mr Bywaters says "The Lovebytes Avatar project has been a fantastic experience for the whole year group in school. The project has really improved the children's computer skills, but perhaps more importantly has opened their eyes to the creative possibilties opened up by using technology. The opportunity to create their own computer game, whilst learning programming skills, has really captured their imaginations and made their new learning fun and relevant." Avatars was run by Lovebytes with funding from Arts Council England, Screen Yorkshire and Sheffield City Council. The Avatars project blog is on-line at http://www.avatars.tumblr.com To find out more about Lovebytes activities including workshops and exhibitions at the Children's Festival and Showcomotion visit http://www.lovebytes.org.uk Special thanks to: Mr Bywaters, Richard Johnson (Director of the Children's Festival), Gavin Saxton of Wak Studios and Vicky Morris from Cube Magazine. Primary Schools Athletics Congratulations to all our athletes who took part in the Y5/6 outdoor athletics heats held at the Woodbourn Road Stadium on Tuesday 2nd June. All children were a credit to the school running, jumping and throwing faster, further and longer than ever before!! Many achieving their own personal goals. For many it was their first time on a proper running track!! Children who came in the first five in their events are invited to take part in the City Finals held on Thursday 25th June at Woodbourn Road Stadium. If you would like to come along and support our athletes you would be most welcome. Any parents interested in being an official on the night please see Mr Timbers. City Finalists: Year 5 boys Joe Fleischmann - 600m & long jump Henry Chan – walk & mixed relay Laurence Jeffrey-Badger – throw Tom Blacksell – throw Louis Marven – mixed relay Year 5 girls Jeannie Banks – sprint & long jump Lydia Fray – 600m Rosa Gamsu– mixed relay Amy Chantry – mixed relay James Godden – sprint & long jump Thomas Lloyd-Hughes – 800m Jonathan Aubrey-Bentley – walk & mixed relay Andrea Ciravegna – walk Matt Boreman – throw Leo Fieldhouse – mixed relay Year 6 girls Charlotte Moran – 800m Katharina Bandmann – walk Jasmine Hill – mixed relay Meghan Molloy– mixed relay Congratulations!! Mr Timbers Flu advice We will be maintaining a ‘Business as usual’ approach and children should attend school as normal at this time. However, as part of our planning we have recently asked you to make sure we have your correct contact information. If you have not already done this please do so as a matter of importance. We are making sure that school is kept clean and that there are adequate supplies for thorough handwashing. Government advice on hygiene and symptoms is followed: “Always use a tissue to catch your sneezes, throw away used tissues where germs can linger and regularly wash your hands." “If you have flu like symptoms and are concerned, stay at home. If you can go online check your symptoms on the symptom checker on www.nhs.uk.or call the swine flu information line on 0800 1 513 513. If you have taken these steps and are still concerned call your GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.” For information, ‘Flu like symptoms’ can be sudden onset of fever, cough or shortness of breath. Other symptoms can include headache, sore throat, tiredness, aching muscles, chills, sneezing, runny nose or loss of appetite. During normal school opening times you should send your children to school unless they have any symptoms. If this is the case parents/carers should call NHS Direct or their GP. Please note that if a child has recently returned from Mexico (or elsewhere abroad) they should attend school as normal unless they develop flu like symptoms or unless there is specific advice to the contrary from a medical practitioner. In the event of a child being diagnosed with swine flu the Health Protection Agency (HPA) will notify the school immediately and with the Executive Director of Children and Young People’s Services will take the decision whether to close the school. Staff will attend school as usual even if it is closed to pupils and organise access to learning materials to give as much continuity to children as possible.
If you child attends Kids Club please make sure Kid's Club staff have the necessary information about after school activities your child attends. A number of recent slips in communication has caused school time-consuming and anxious moments in locating children for Kid's Club staff
We are continuing to work on:
We feel it's time now to go for the final verification and this will take place towards the end of this term.
A big thank you to all parents that read our ‘ What’s For Lunch’ leaflet, and completed the questionnaire. We hope you found it useful. As soon as all the results from the parent and children’s questionnaires are collated. We will share them with you. In the leaflet you will notice that we are trying to discourage crisps from packed lunches, please try to bear this in mind when preparing your child’s lunch.
Finally, we are always looking out for healthy opportunities to pass on to your children. If you have any novel ideas, simple recipes or good advice encouraging a healthy lifestyle and diet; or if you have any sporting skills that you would consider sharing with the children; or are willing to run any after school or lunch time clubs, please get in touch.
Year 6 boys
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