December 2012

Attendance News - December 2012

Miss Zaman is very grateful to all those parents and carers who contact school when their child is going to be absent or is running late. We are also impressed by the increase in numbers of children who are coming into school on time. Please remember the gates are open from 8.45am and registration starts at 8.55am.

We are delighted with overall school attendance which is currently 95.52%

Monday December 17th

Arrived at Stansfeld (11 am). Everybody was excited. We settled into our dormitories. Some of the boys took AGES to put their quilt covers on! (perhaps they need to practice more at home?)

Next we had lunch. It was pizza, wedges and sweetcorn followed by fresh fruit and yoghurt. The pizza was yummy!

After lunch we went out into the forest and tried our best to find our way round using a map and compass. This is called orienteering.

Shannon Jones, Ashleigh Duncan and Emma Finch were really goodat this. The woods were incredibly muddy. Some of the children fell over and looked like mud monsters!

After our evening meal it was time for the Night Walk. We all had torches and sometimes we had to turn them off. This was a bit scary as it was VERY dark in there. We tried to listen for badgers moving around but all we could hear was Ross Thomas’s teeth chattering!

The best part of the evening was when Mr Bowden fell over and landed in deep mud! We all laughed at him.

Tuesday December 18th

After a lovely breakfast we all got together to find out what we were doing today. The teachers informed us that some of us would be

having an early night to make up for our lack of sleep last night (the GIRLS!) First of all we went for a 4 mile walk to look at where CS

Lewis used to live. We saw his house, his church and the pub where he used to drink. We also saw his gravestone and found out that he died on the same day as President Kennedy! (November 22nd 1963)

The walk tired us out and we had to eat lunch to gain some much needed energy for the afternoon.

In the afternoon we went back into the forest and we learnt some survival skills. We lit our own fires and cooked pancakes on them.

We also boiled a kettle on the fire and had hot chocolate. Everyone thought this was great fun although we smelt a bit smokey when we got back inside.

In the evening we did some art work. We sketched some stuffed animals and made clay models. Lucy made a really good cup. She did really well because earlier in the day she had felt unwell and had to visit the doctor.

Before bedtime we watched Home Alone 2 which everyone thought was hilarious. Would the teachers get a better night’s sleep tonight?

Wednesday December 19th

More survival skills today! The woods are getting muddier but we still managed to cook bread and boiled eggs over our fires.

Tomorrow we will be making shelters in the woods. If the weather forecast is correct we will need them to be waterproof! The rain has begun to fall now (2pm) and the sky is looking dark. We are having great fun though.

By Ellie T, Emma F, Dercio and Lucy.

This week is last week for swimming – Swimming kits will not be required for next week.

Next term will see Year 3 split with 3 JM going swimming until the halfterm break and 3EB swimming after the halfterm break. Both classes with have a play week together on the 12^th of February 2013.

-3JM dates: 8.1.13, 15.1.13, 22.1.13, 29.1.13, 5.2.13, 12.2.13.

-3EB dates 12.2.13, 26.2.13, 5.3.13, 12.3.13, 19.3.13, 26.3.13

Our new uniforms are avaliable from the office, if you have ordered and paid for your items already please collect them from tomorrow.

If you would like to order a new Lea Forest top or T-shirt please speak to a member of our office staff who will be able to help you complete an order form.

Parent Elections to the Academy Governing Board

The Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) is now beginning the process of setting up the Governing Board for Lea Forest Academy.

There are two positions for parent/carers of students at Lea Forest Academy on the Board. The purpose of this note is to invite nominations for these positions which will be filled by election with all parents or carers eligible to stand for election and to vote. In the event of there being only two candidates they will be appointed automatically.

The role of Governor is extremely important to the operation and development of the Academy and does represent a significant time commitment. Typically there are at least four full Governing Board meetings per annum and governors are also required to be members of one or two sub-committees which meet each term. It is not necessary for candidates to be experienced in the field of education, more to bring their experience, skills and parental perspective to the subjects and issues under discussion. I should also make it clear that all Governors have to be checked through the Criminal Records Bureau checks.

The objective is that the new Governing Board will be fully operational as soon as possible. Preceding the first full Governing Board meeting there will be a Governor Induction Programme, details of which will be advised when all appointments have been made. There will be further training later on.

If you wish to stand for election for one of the parent/carer positions please print out and complete the attached form with your details and the signatures of two seconders. For the purposes of the election please include a brief statement about why you would like to be elected.

Please note, nominations should be passed to Mrs Artley by noon on Monday 10th December 2012.

Lea Forest Primary Academy has opened it's doors for the first time today, our pupils were very pleased to show off their new uniforms with the smart new Lea Forest logo.

Our new signs are due to arrive in the next few days and will help to transform the academy buildings, keep an eye out for them this week. We're all looking forward to the improvements that are being made all around the academies buildings to help improve the learning environment and give our academy the best possible start.