July 2019
Summer Reading Challenge
posted 24 Jul , 5:19 by J Croxon
The Summer Reading Challenge is back at Glebe Farm Library!
You can find out more information on their website. Search for Summer Reading Challenge on Google for more information.
Don’t forget to send a picture to Mr Clarke of you reading in an usual place via ClassDojo. We’ll feature the best pictures on our website over the summer holidays.
#Remarkable Year Film
posted 24 Jul , 5:19 by J Croxon
We finished our school year with a very special film that celebrated all of the amazing achievements, awards and events that make Lea Forest such a remarkable school. If you haven't seen our #RemarkableYear film click the link or search for Lea Forest : TV on Youtube.
Year 6 Graduation
posted 24 Jul , 4:59 by J Croxon
We had an amazing time on Thursday as we watched our Year 6 children graduate from Lea Forest. In our first ever Year 6 awards night children and family members came together with staff to celebrate some truly remarkable children and their achievements this year
The night started with speeches and celebrations as Mr Clarke and Mr Taylor welcomed our children and their family members to Lea Forest.
This was followed by the award giving and a buffet tea served by our staff and a photo shoot in the grounds. We hope that everyone involved had a fantastic time.
Here’s some of our favourite pictures from a truly remarkable evening
The Greatest Showman
posted 24 Jul , 4:59 by J Croxon
Our Year 6 children finished the term with a blockbuster performance of the Greatest Showman. All of the children played a part in the show with amazing acting, dancing and singing and fantastic teamwork behind the scenes with our amazing stage crew, lighting and sound assistants helping to create a truly remarkable performance that was the greatest show Lea Forest has ever seen!
We couldn’t produce a show like this without our amazing staff and huge thanks goes to our Year 6 team for directing and writing the script, To Mrs Lewis and Mrs Hudson our resident props department for producing amazing costumes, scenery and props. Miss Cooper for her amazing Choreography and Mr Croxon for his work with the lighting, sound and filming of the production.
If you haven’t had a chance to watch the show yet make sure you click the link below and watch the video of our performance on Lea Forest : TV
Click here to watch The Greatest Showman on Lea Forest : TV
Head Teacher's Message
posted 24 Jul , 4:59 by J Croxon
What a REMARKABLE year!
What a REMARKABLE year we have had at Lea Forest! Not only did we get the BEST EVER RESULTS in Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, but we ended the school year with so many positives to celebrate. We have created a wonderful video to capture some of the successes from September until July - you won’t catch you breath when you see what we have managed to pack into just one year. I could not have wished for a better first year as Headteacher and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the children, parents, staff and wider community for all of your belief and support. I did set my expectations high in September, but with all of your hard work, these have been well and truly exceeded. We never rest on our laurels at Lea Forest and you’ll be glad to know that there are already lots of plans well underway to build on these successes and make the experiences even better for the children. We'll be sending details of curriculum topics, trips and visitors in September.
Parents’ Evening, Reports and Parent View
Reports were given out during the last week of term and parents had the opportunity to speak with class teachers and meet new members of staff. Thank you for all of the positive feedback from the reports. We are always changing the format slightly as we are always listening to what you want and always aim to deliver 100% satisfaction. During the open parents’ evening, we asked parents to complete our online survey. We had 113 surveys completed and I am delighted to announce that 100% of the 113 parents, would recommend Lea Forest to another parent. This means so much and just goes to show, what we are doing here at Lea Forest is right for the community we serve. The rest of the parent view results can be found on our website, Twitter, Facebook and ClassDojo.
Staff Goodbyes and Good Luck
There are always goodbyes at the end of every school year. On the last day of term, we said goodbye to Miss Artley, who worked in our main office as Office Manager and had been at Lea Forest for 10 years. She is staying with AET, but moving over to the Finance Hub at Greenwood Academy in Castle Vale. Mrs Green who had been at Lea Forest since January 2014, teaching across Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, is moving to a school closer to home to a promotion as an Assistant Head Teacher. Miss Ryan, who taught 3RR this year as an NQT is also moving to a school closer to home. Finally, we said goodbye to Mr Miah, who had been completing his teaching training in 4NN this year and has secured his first teaching post at a school in Hall Green. I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing them all the best of luck in their careers for the future.
Good Wishes
I would like to end the final newsletter of the year with a HUGE THANKS to everyone for helping us achieve such greatness this year. I am so proud to be the Head Teacher of Lea Forest and we will be aiming for even BIGGER and even BETTER things next year. We’ve set the bar high, but we all love a challenge.
That leaves me first of all to wish all of our Y6 children and families who have left us a REMARKABLE future. Many families had been coming to Lea Forest for many years and left with such lovely messages about how much the school has improved. Please keep in touch and let us know how you’re all getting on.
I’d also like to wish EVERYONE else a REMARKABLE summer break. We’ve all worked so hard here to make sure the children get a first-class education. Time for a rest now, so we can start all again on WEDNESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER.
Best wishes, Mr Clarke
EAL Trip to CityServe and Summer BBQ
posted 16 Jul , 4:39 by J Croxon
You can purchase our uniform online direct from our supplier. Click here to visit the shop. and order your uniform, PE Kits and book bags from our web shop. Every purchase also earns cashback for the school as well.
EAL Trip to CityServe and Summer BBQ
posted 16 Jul , 4:39 by J Croxon
We’ve had a busy week of foodie fun at Lea Forest our EAL Hub children and Miss Jones took a trip to the City serve Kitchens to prepare their own meal and learn about healthy eating.
On Thursday our catering team produced a summer barbecue for our children which was a huge success that we look forward repeating next year.
Building Works Update
posted 16 Jul , 4:39 by J Croxon
We’re extremely excited to announce that over the next 12 months our main building will undergo a major facelift and refurbishment with the demolition of the current link corridor and caretakers house and the construction of a smart new entrance, corridor and office block on the Hurstcroft Road side of our building. Phase 2 will see the current Yr3 block extended to add extra classrooms as we prepare to expand to three form entry. We’re expecting works to start early in the autumn term and will keep parents updated via the newsletter and website.
Hurstcroft Road Elevation - New Admin Block Main Entrance and Corridor
Playground (West) Elevation - New Admin Block Main Entrance and Corridor
School Games Finals
posted 16 Jul , 4:39 by J Croxon
It’s been another successful week of sports at Lea Forest as our children from Key Stage 2 took part in the Birmingham School Games on Friday. Miss Lewis and Mr Carlton were amazed by the determination and sporting skills our children demonstrated as they competed against the best schools from across Birmingham. Our Year 3 and Year 4 Athletics Team finished 4th overall and our Year 5 Kwik Cricket team finished 7th We’re really proud of all of our sporting achievements this year and would like to thank our amazing coaches and staff for supporting our children at all the events they’ve attended this year.
Head Teacher's Update
posted 16 Jul , 4:39 by J Croxon
A summary of the week
On Monday 10 July, the Senior Leadership Team had a day away from school to evaluate the successes of the year and to set future targets. As a whole school we are delighted with just how much progress we have made in a short amount of time. A school year speeds by and without reflection, things can be lost. It was great spending a day reflecting on how far we have come. Our school development plan for 2019/20 has been started and is ready to be worked on with the whole staff and children. I will share the new school development plan with you all early in September.
I was in school earlier than usual on Tuesday morning as it was SATS results day for Year 6 and I am sure you will join me in congratulating our year 6 pupils on their REMARKABLE successes this year. The children and staff have worked exceptionally hard and we are very proud of what has been achieved. The pupils of Lea Forest have exceeded the National average for Reading, Writing and Maths combined for the second consecutive year. As a school, we have achieved a stunning 90% combined, which is 25% greater than the national average at 65%. In addition to this, 22% of our pupils achieved the Greater Depth Standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined. We have made huge improvements in our results over the last three years now and are delighted with the upwards trend and standards achieved. I will send out a separate letter with further details, but it goes without saying that I am one very happy head teacher.
We also had our Early Years Graduation on Tuesday which was a lovely event, celebrating the successes of our wonderful children in RBE and RGH who are just at the start of their educational journey. I am sure they will all aspire to be as successful as our current Year 6 children. Thank you to all of the parents and family members that joined us for the morning and thanks to all of the Early Years staff.
Wednesday was also a busy day with Year 6 out at Drayton Manor and some of our Year 5 children at the local AET secondary school Greenwood (Castle Vale). Although it’s been a very busy week, I could not miss out on a celebratory trip to Drayton Manor, so I joined the children and it was an amazing day and a well-deserved treat for our fabulous Year 6. I received wonderful reports back from Greenwood, who commented on how talented our Year 5 children were at Spanish. I think this has a lot to do with the lessons Miss Simpson provides. Their cookery skills were also top notch! It’s always great to hear positive feedback about our children from other professionals.
Unfortunately, on Thursday, I wasn’t able to be in school as I was at a Governors meeting at another two AET schools. The reason I use the word ’unfortunately’ is because Thursday was BBQ day and I missed out on the outdoor picnic. Mr Taylor and other staff did tell me all about what I’d missed. A big thank you to CityServe and our catering staff who provided this experience for us. We will be doing this again next year as we received nothing but positive feedback.
We ended the week with our Family Fun Day. The PCAB had been working very hard behind the scenes for months to make sure this was even better than previous years and they didn’t disappoint. The Family Fun event was packed and everyone seemed to enjoy all of the activities and stalls on offer. The event ran from 2pm until 5pm and it was great to see the whole community come together all for a good cause. All of the staff lent a hand too! I was that ’popular’ on ’soak the teacher’ that I ended-up having wet sponges thrown at me for about 45 minutes. I’m glad to say that I’ve eventually dried out. From all of the hard work and your generous contributions, we managed to raise an astonishing £1,603.73 profit. We now need to decide on what we want to spend the money on to further benefit the children. Look out for a short survey coming your way from the PCAB.
Looking Ahead
There’s lots happening in the last week of term, including: Parents’ evening, reports being sent home, book fair, Y6 pro-duction of The Greatest Showman, Lea Forest’s Got Talent, Nursery beach party, class parties, Y6 Graduation and our final awards assembly of the year. Make sure you don’t miss a single day as it’s promised to be a truly remarkable end to the school year. Keep up-to-date with all events on our website and all social media feeds.
Chess Club Tournament
posted 8 Jul , 4:39 by J Croxon
It’s another successful Thai Boxing win for Mikiel in 5BS. This time, he’s been crowned the European Champion by beating his opponent from France. This is such a REMARKABLE achievement. It’s great to see children living remarkable lives outside of school as well as in school.
For Mikiel to be so successful, he trains hard and is very self-disciplined. We’re excited to see the next belt that Mikiel wins.
So what next? World Champion!
Chess Club Tournament
posted 8 Jul , 4:39 by J Croxon
Our chess club took part in two exciting tournaments last week. On Thursday they travelled to Cofton Primary School in Northfield and finished 3rd overall and on Monday they travelled to Severne Primary School in Acocks Green and finished 4th overall with several players earning medals for their brilliant performances. Well done to our Chess Club we can’t wait to see how well you will do next term.
Festival of Remarkable Lives
posted 8 Jul , 4:39 by J Croxon
Mr Clarke was out of school on Wednesday and Thursday, attending the AET Nationanal Conference for Headteachers and the Remarkable Lives Festival in Northampton. Wednesday was a great opportunity for him to share some of the wonderful work we’ve been doing at Lea Forest.
Mr Clarke was glad to be joined by a group of our children and staff on Thursday at the Royal and Derngate Theatre for the Remarkable Lives Festival with 61 other AET schools. It was a remarkable day full of performances, awards and celebrations. Nima, Mason and Leo (Year 5) were awarded the #RemarkableIdeas STEM award for their wonderful weather balloon project.
Also, Mr Croxon won an award for ‘Discovering What’s Possible’ and Mr Clarke was awarded the overall “Remarkable Lives Award 2019”.
Mr Clarke would like to dedicate this award to the children, staff and parents - He could not have achieved this
Head Teacher's Message
posted 8 Jul , 4:39 by J Croxon
What a truly REMARKABLE week
WOW! What a busy week it was last week - apologies for the late release. The week started with transition day where all of the children got to spend the morning with their new teachers in their new classrooms in preparation for September. The morning went really well.
Here’s a list of the classes (and staffing) for 2019/20:
NPH - Mr Haw (Mrs Hopkins and Mrs Byrne)
RBE - Miss Evans (Miss Porter) RCF - Miss Francois (Mrs Cowley)
1KR - Mrs Reed (Mrs Brindley) 1HM - Miss Magee (Miss Lancaster-Squire)
2SJ - Miss Jackson (Miss Boylan) 2MC - Miss Collis (Miss Cooper)
3MA - Miss Allcroft (Miss Baker) 3SH - Mrs Hartles (Mrs Brandist)
4WH - Miss Hadfield/Ms Wale 4ST - Mrs Terry/Ms Wale 4RW - Miss Ward ( Year 4 TA’s Mrs Hudson/ Miss Clarke)
5BS - Mrs Seera (Mrs Tilley) 5BP - Ms Purcell (Mrs Colloby)
6NW - Mrs Wood 6NN - Mrs Newbold 6MW - Mr White (Year 6 TA’s Miss Mclaughlin/Mrs Lewis)
EAL Hub - Miss Jones (Mrs Peachy)
Work also started on the outdoor area for Reception classes too. In a week, the builders have already completed a lot of the work. I can’t wait to share the photographs of the finished outcome, which will hopefully be by the end of this week. It will be nice for our current children in Reception to trial the new area before our new children start in September.
Wednesday was a really busy day, with our Early Years sports day and some of our Year 4 children visiting London to perform in the CLIPPA poetry celebration. A small group of our children got to perform in front of a huge audience. I am so proud of their successes.
Sports Day
Friday was Sports Day for KS1 and KS2 and I was delighted with how it all ran. A huge thank you to Miss Lewis for organising it all and a massive thanks to all of the parents and supporters who joined us throughout the day. We asked for nice weather and it was delivered! The children really enjoyed themselves and it was just a wonderful all round positive atmosphere. Results for sports day can be found on page 3.
Year 6 SATS Results
On Tuesday 9 July we will receive SATS results for our Year 6 children who sat their tests in May. We have our fingers crossed for our best results ever. I’ll share these results with you as soon as I can.
Diary dates
Pay attention to our website, ClassDojo, Facebook, Twitter and our notice boards for all of the events happening during the last 2 weeks. There’s also a list of events on page 2 of this newsletter.
Have a remarkable week!
Summer Reading Challenge
posted 24 Jul , 5:19 by J Croxon