March 2022
Messages from Mr Clarke-Castello
posted 26 March 2022 , 09:15 by J Croxon
I am pleased to report that it has been another wonderful week at Lea Forest. It’s been great to see classes making the best of the beautiful weather that we’ve been blessed with and spending some of their learning time outside. We always encourage outdoor learning wherever possible as we know the children really benefit from this and let’s face it, we have to take every opportunity to catch a glimpse of the sun in this country.
Trips and Visits
We’ve had more trips taking place and this week it was Year 4 who got to experience what life was like for Vikings and Anglo-Saxons at Stafford Castle. The children represented the school brilliantly and despite their longer than expected coach journey, fun was had by all. To find out more about their visit, check out page 4 of this newsletter and look for even more photographs and videos on Twitter. Look out for upcoming trips and visits on our calendar. If you have any queries about trip payments, please contact the school office.
Football Success!
What a great first outing it was for our Year 3/4 football team this week when they attended a competition held at Archbishop Ilsley in Acocks Green. They came away with 5 wins and managed to score 17 goals in total. Mr Carlton was really pleased with the performance of the boys on the pitch, but also reported that they represented the school perfectly. The boys were keen to tell me about their successes and I look forward to seeing them build on this in the future. The player of the tournament (and top goal scorer) was Max.
Autism Awareness Week
Next week, we are celebrating Autism awareness with a special assembly on Tuesday and by wearing ‘rainbow colours’ on Friday. We are asking for £1 contributions next Friday which will go to charity.
Have a great weekend (fingers crossed for more sun)
Mr Clarke-Castello
Character Curriculum
posted 26 March 2022 , 09:15 by J Croxon
At Lea Forest we aim to develop our pupils’ character through the growth of relationships that define us as humans. Through our curriculum, we develop a set of competencies (behaviours) which enable each and every one of our pupils to lead a remarkable life. These competencies can be found on the Character Curriculum page of the LFP Website. In addition to the tasks provided by individual class teachers, a ‘Character Curriculum Challenge’ will be set fortnightly on the newsletter.
On this occasion, we would like you to take advantage of the good weather and combine two Character Curriculum tasks by visiting a park (or playing outside in your garden) or prepare your garden for summer by planting some seeds (using this YouTube clip to help you). Remember to send pictures of you enjoying the start of the good weather to Mr Croxon or your class teacher (either on Class Dojo or Twitter) and the best ones will be evidenced in the ‘Character Curriculum (evidence) Book’ for your class!
Sustainability - Top Tip of the Week
posted 26 March 2022 , 09:15 by J Croxon
This week we are thinking about saving water.
World Water Day is on 22 March every year. It is an annual United Nations Observance, started in 1993, that celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2 billion people currently living without access to safe water. A core focus of World Water Day is to inspire action towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Water is so important and yet we can easily take it for granted. We can all be more careful and use less, for example turning off the tap when cleaning your teeth and fitting water savers to toilets. Visit the website below to find out more and order free resources to help -
https://www.stwater.co.uk/wonderful-on-tap/save-water/get-water-fit/?iid=hp:get_water_fit:card1
Year 4 Trip to Stafford Castle
posted 26 March 2022 , 09:15 by J Croxon
Year 4 had an INCREDIBLE time at Stafford Castle on Wednesday. The trip supported the children’s learning in their Vikings and Anglo Saxons topic. Pupils explored real artefacts from the past, they minted their own coin and they clambered up the huge, grassy hill to the historic Stafford Castle. It was a truly memorable day for all!
Air Quality Update
posted 26 March 2022 , 09:15 by J Croxon
The recent warm weather has seen the air quality drop around Birmingham to a Poor Level. Information and guidance for parents and children that suffer from breathing difficulties when air quality is poor can be found on asthma.org.uk
Please ensure your child has their prescribed inhaler in school if they require it.
Our air quality monitor provides live information on the quality of air that we are all breathing.
We are asking all our community to do all they can to help improve air quality by leaving the car at home, not idling their engine around the
school and choosing environmentally
friendly ways to travel whenever
possible.
Travel Tracker Update
posted 26 March 2022 , 09:15 by J Croxon
We've recorded an amazing 8206 active trips to school so far this month! That's amazing!
Our most active class this week are the fabulous 5RW
We're currently top of the Birmingham and UK league tables as well! Keep up the great walk and help us reduce traffic and pollution around our school
Rights of the Week
posted 26 March 2022 , 09:15 by J Croxon
Parental guidance and a child’s evolving capacities: Governments must respect the rights and responsibilities of parents and carers to provide guidance and direction to their child as they grow up, so that they fully enjoy their rights. This must be done in a way that recognises the child’s increasing capacity to make their own choices.
Times Table Rockstars Update and Year 4 Rock Off
posted 26 March 2022 , 09:15 by J Croxon
Well done to 4SC who top the leaderboard this week with the highest number of correct answers.
Next week Year 4 will be competing in a Top Of The Rocks Competition against two other AET academies; Noel Park and Trinity.
Good Luck to all the children taking part.
Please encourage your children to play at home in order to improve their rock speed and accuracy.
Votes For Schools Update
posted 26 March 2022 , 09:15 by J Croxon
This week, voters have been discussing the way we treat animals and the attitudes we have towards them, in light of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill currently going through Parliament.
Children have been voting on:
"Should all animals be treated the same?" in Key Stage 2.
“Are we kind enough to animals?" in Key Stage 1.
Messages from Mr Clarke-Castello
posted 19 March 2022 , 09:05 by J Croxon
I seem to be writing this every week, but I really can’t believe how quickly another week has sped by. It’s been a really positive week and a week where I have had the opportunity to reflect on our continued journey of ‘excellence’ here at Lea Forest. We had our governors in school on Tuesday and they had the opportunity to visit lessons, look at children’s books, speak with children and staff and get under the skin of what happens on a daily basis at Lea Forest. I was delighted with the positive feedback received from governors.
On Wednesday I attended AET’s Principals Conference in London with leaders from across our network of 57 schools. It was inspiring to hear our CEO, Becks Boomer-Clark, speak about the pivot from ‘turnaround’ to ‘high performance.’ This brings the focus on schools back to education with a commitment to providing every child, in every classroom, every day with an excellent education. Becks visited Lea Forest just a couple of weeks ago and it was overwhelming to hear her tell everyone that “Lea Forest is the most exceptional primary school she has ever visited.” I was also asked to share samples of children’s work from Lea Forest with Principals from primary, secondary and special schools. Everyone was so complimentary and were amazed by the quality and high expectations of our children’s work.
We’ve also had trips and visits taking place this week. Year 1 visited the Black Country Living Museum to support their learning in history, whilst Year 2 got to meet lots of different animals at Hatton Farm. As I have written before, we want to be able to provide real-life and first-hand experiences for our children to be able to bring their learning alive.
Our children in Reception have been busy this week with their bikeability course. We’ve been so impressed with their progression of skills and to see their confidence grow as cyclists. A huge thank you to Mr Haw for organising this opportunity for our children.
I was delighted with successes on the football field this week. We had two football matches on Thursday evening, managing to bag two wins. Congratulations to our team for their wins against Parkfield (2-1) and Corpus Christi (4-0). We didn’t even concede a goal!
We have ended the week participating in Red Nose Day, dressing in red and wearing red noses to raise money for charity. I will share how much we have raised in next week’s newsletter.
Have a great weekend!
Mr Clarke-Castello
Year 2 Trip to Hatton
posted 19 March 2022 , 09:05 by J Croxon
Year 2 had a fantastic day at Hatton Country world on Wednesday. They had the opportunity to hold and feed lots of different animals. They particularly enjoyed the workshop about animal adaptations and how their bodies change depending on their environment or audience. We had lots of brave children in year 2 who held a python, a bearded dragon and a chinchilla. We also learnt lots of interesting information about them.
They also fed the goats and sheep and went on a walk around the farm. They also had the opportunity to visit the Falconry area and see the birds of prey.
Sustainability Top Tip of the Week
posted 19 March 2022 , 09:05 by J Croxon
Around one-third of the food produced globally is lost or wasted, and this has a major impact on climate change, contributing around 8–10% to total man-made greenhouse gas emissions.To tackle the problem of food waste, Love Food Hate Waste launched Food Waste Action Week (7-13 March).
If you don’t already, consider freezing and using a microwave to defrost food safely to help reduce the problem. All leftovers have an environmental impact – whether itʼs a soggy bag of salad or last nightʼs dinner. While governments and businesses have an important part to play in recognising and addressing the climate crisis, food waste from UK households produces roughly 25 million tonnes of CO2 every year.
Science Week at Lea Forest
posted 19 March 2022 , 09:05 by J Croxon
Each year, the British Science Association runs a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) called British Science Week. During this celebration of Science, people from all over the UK take part in events and activities to develop their skills in all three scientific disciplines (Chemistry, Biology, Physics). This week at Lea Forest, we have celebrated British Science Week, using the theme of ‘Growth’ and have taken part in a series of activities and events to help promote the benefits of scientific involvement (which can be seen in the gallery below).
As well as this, we have spent some time trying to break the preconceived notions of what a scientist looks like, (based on popular culture's depictions of scientists). Often stereotypically thought to be Einstein lookalikes, we have celebrated the ‘Smashing Stereotypes’ campaign, which has looked at people in the STEM workforce and shares the stories of their everyday work as a scientist, using #EverydayScientist on social media (and will continue to do so) through our ‘Scientists of the Month’ assemblies.
Votes for Schools
posted 19 March 2022 , 09:05 by J Croxon
To celebrate this year's Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Key Stage 1 voters are considering our learning differences, while Key Stage 2 voters look at the array of labels that are used to describe these.
Their job is to decide whether or not these labels are helpful for people with neurodiverse conditions, or more of a hindrance or oversimplification.
Key Stage 1 will vote on "Does everyone learn differently?"
Key Stage 2 will vote on "Are labels helpful for neurodiversity?"
Times Table Rockstars Update
posted 19 March 2022 , 09:05 by J Croxon
Well done to 4SC who top the leaderboard this week with the highest number of correct answers. Please encourage your children to play at home in order to improve their rock speed and accuracy.
Right of the Week
posted 19 March 2022 , 09:05 by J Croxon
The Convention applies to everyone: whatever their race, religion or abilities, whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from.
We are talking about this right because March is Women’s History Month. At Lea Forest we recognise and celebrate the significant women throughout history who have had an impact on contemporary society.
Travel Tracker Update
posted 19 March 2022 , 09:05 by J Croxon
We've recorded an amazing 5986 *active trips to school so far this month! That's amazing!
Our most active class this week are the fabulous 4SC and 2MC
We're currently top of the Birmingham and UK league tables as well! Keep up the great walk and help us reduce traffic and pollution around our school.
Parking Around The School
posted 19 March 2022 , 09:05 by J Croxon
Several times this week we have had to remind drivers to park legally and safely around the school at hometime and the start of day. Several drivers have also been reported to West Midlands Police this week for dangerous parking.
If traveling by car is unavoidable we ask that drivers do not put our children at risk by parking in a dangerous or selfish manner. Park a few streets away instead and walk the last part of your journey.
Times Table Rockstar Update
posted 13 March 2022 , 10:05 by J Croxon
Well done to 5RW who top the leaderboard this week with the highest number of correct answers. Please encourage your children to play at home in order to improve their rock speed and accuracy.
Travel Tracker Update
posted 13 March 2022 , 10:05 by J Croxon
We've recorded an amazing 3714 active trips to school so far this month! That's amazing!
Our most active class this week are the fabulous 4SC.
We're currently top of the Birmingham and UK league tables as well! Keep up the great walk and help us reduce traffic and pollution around our school.
Don't Choke Us
Please don't leave your engine running if you park close to the school. We don't want to breath your exhaust fumes. Switch your engine off and you'll save fuel and money as well as helping to keep our air cleaner.
Votes for schools
posted 13 March 2022 , 10:05 by J Croxon
To celebrate International Women's Day, this week voters have been exploring the role films have to play in our understanding of what women and girls can achieve, both in front of and behind the camera.
They have voted on "Do films show good role models for girls?" in Key Stage .
"Have recent films challenged stereotypes of women & girls?" has been the question explored by Key Stage 2 pupils.
Sustainability Tip of the Week!
posted 13 March 2022 , 10:05 by J Croxon
This week we are looking at -
Eating a PLANT BASED diet
We all know that the processing of animal products – red meat in particular – is one of the worst offenders when it comes to omitting harmful CO2 emissions.
One way to help?
We can make positive changes by favouring plant-based foods over animal-based foods. Eating a diet full of a range of fruit, veg, wholegrains, nuts and legumes is a great way to ensure you’re eating in a healthy and climate-friendly way.
Contact Information
posted 13 March 2022 , 10:05 by J Croxon
Over the half term holidays our information systems were updated and migrated to a new software system called Arbor. Parents will have received a new text message from the system. If you have not received a text yet we do not have the correct number on file and ask that you get in touch with the office to help us update our records as a matter of urgency.
We are asking all parents to inform our office staff of any changes to email addresses, home addresses, mobile numbers or emergency contacts so that we can contact you in the event of an emergency.
Please let us know by completing our online form at: https://tinyurl.com/UpdateMyContactInformation or by visiting the office with your updated details.
We'll be introducing more of Arbor's features later in the year - look out for more news in future newsletters.
Character Curriculum
posted 13 March 2022 , 10:05 by J Croxon
At Lea Forest we aim to develop our pupils’ character through the growth of relationships that define us as humans. Through our curriculum, we develop a set of competencies (behaviours) which enable each and every one of our pupils to lead a remarkable life. These competencies can be found on the Character Curriculum page of the LFP Website. In addition to the tasks provided by individual class teachers, a ‘Character Curriculum Challenge’ will be set fortnightly on the newsletter.
On this occasion, we would like you to combine two Character Curriculum tasks and use the washing machine and then hang the washing on the washing line or clothes airer or complete other age-appropriate household chore from the following list. Remember to send pictures of you undertaking the household chores to Mr Croxon or your class teacher (either on Class Dojo or Twitter) and the best ones will be evidenced in the ‘Character Curriculum (evidence) Book’ for your class!
Attendance Update
posted 13 March 2022 , 10:05 by J Croxon
It’s great to see everyone working so hard to achieve or beating our 96% target.
We can only do this if we all work together!
Our attendance for
the week is
97.20%
Our attendance for
the year to date
96.95%
Our Spring 2 attendance competition begins on 1st March 2022!
Come to school every day from Tuesday 1st March until Friday 8th April and you will be entered into our prize draw. There will be one lucky winner per year group who will each win a large £10 Easter Egg
Messages from Mr Clarke-Castello
posted 13 March 2022 , 10:05 by J Croxon
I’m not sure where the last week has gone, but it’s certainly flown by. As always, what a wonderful week it has been at Lea Forest with so many events and activities taking place. We’ve had science workshops, trips, visitors and Year 6 have been away on their residential. I have been busy across both schools this week and also got to spend 3 days at Whitemoor Lakes with our Year 6 which was fun. A huge thanks to my amazing senior leadership team at school for holding the fort.
Year 6 Residential
Our Year 6 team have spent 2 nights and 3 days at Whitemoor Lakes where they have taken part in lots of fun activities including: high ropes, abseiling and canoeing to name a few. They also had a campfire and played lots of fun games too. Residential visits for Year 6 are all about making memories and we are sure that these memories will remain with the children for many years to come.
Silly Science Workshops & Science Week
On Thursday 10 March we commenced our celebration of British Science Week with a range of Silly Science Workshops. British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths that takes place between the 11th and 20th March each year. The Silly Science workshops offered our children an exciting opportunity to experiment, investigate and explore the world around them in a playful, fun and engaging way with the support of a professional practitioner. The British Science Week activities will also continue into next week (W/C 14th March) whereby each class will be completing science themed activities across the curriculum based around a scientific text e.g. The picture book, ‘Pebble in my Pocket’ by Meredith Hooper, which explores the dynamic story of rock formation.
Commonwealth Celebrations Update
There is a very exciting summer of sporting and cultural events being planned for the Commonwealth Games, hosted in Birmingham! Mr. Haw met Perry, the official mascot of the games, this week to find out how Lea Forest can get involved, and there are loads of experiences being planned at school and spreading out across Birmingham and the Midlands, so watch this space! The first is called 'Wondrous Stories' and is on in Centenary Square next week - try and see this if you can, it looks awesome! Also, we are thrilled to announce that one of our ex-pupils - Jason - has been selected to be part of the Queen's Baton Relay. This is a wonderful achievement and we'll be cheering him on in July! Finally, good luck to Mrs Newbold and other community members who are auditioning to be volunteers for the games - let us know if this is you! Get updates straight away by following #B2022
Have a great weekend!
Mr Clarke-Castello
World Book Day 22
posted 05 March 2022 , 11:31 by J Croxon
At Lea Forest we had an amazing time celebrating World Book Day.
Teachers and Children dressed up as their favourite book characters and took part in an assembly, where they had the opportunity to show off their amazing costumes.
All classes enjoyed a Book Tasting activity, which enabled them to explore different book genres and new authors. The idea was that the children spent time reading books that challenged their book choices and hopefully inspired them to move away from familiar authors and begin to expand their knowledge of authors and the range of
books available to them.
Following on from this classes shared a story from an author that was new to them and their teacher, again inspiring children and
staff to move away from the familiar and begin to broaden their knowledge and understanding of themselves as a reader. Teachers planned exciting activities around their chosen story so that the children were immersed in the enjoyment of reading for pleasure.
Hopefully the children came home and shared their new found knowledge and were inspired to read for pleasure at every opportunity.
Article of the Week
posted 05 March 2022 , 11:31 by J Croxon
Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
This week marks the 25th anniversary of world book day and we wanted to discuss this right because sometimes children love to read just for
pleasure and to relax.
Happy World Book Day!
Times Table RockStar Update
posted 05 March 2022 , 11:31 by J Croxon
This week saw the start of a new Battle Of The Bands competition. Congratulations to 4SC who remain our Times Table Rockstar Champions!!!
A big well done to our Rock Stars in Year 4 who are really pushing their limits and achieving great scores in class when completing their soundchecks.
Please encourage your children to play at home in order to improve their rock speed and accuracy.
Travel Tracker Update
posted 05 March 2022 , 11:31 by J Croxon
We've got another amazing Travel Tracker Badge to collect this month!
We've got off to a great start already this Half Term and have already recorded 1450 active journeys to school!
Our most active class this week was 4SC in Key Stage 2 and 2BE in Key Stage 1.
Don't Choke Us
Our air quality monitor has shown us that pollution is increasing significantly around school at home time. Please do the right thing if you come to school in a car:
1. Park well away from the school.
2. Don't sit with the engine running, we don't want to breathe in your exhaust fumes and you'll save money on fuel too.
3. Choose to park and stride to help us improve air quality and reduce traffic!
Votes For Schools
posted 05 March 2022 , 11:31 by J Croxon
In light of recent headlines, this week voters have been discussing how useful it is to keep up with the news, and how headlines can make us feel.
Conversations have covered the UK's recent storms, changes to COVID-19 restrictions, Team GB's last-minute success in Beijing, and the developing situation in Ukraine.
Key Stage 1 have been discussing: "Should children keep up with the news?"
Key Stage 2 have been discussing: "Is it useful to keep up with the news?"
Sustainability - Top Tip of the week
posted 05 March 2022 , 11:31 by J Croxon
This week we are looking at -
Hidden waste
How many items that we recycle or throw away contain perfectly useable but hidden resources? Watch the video below for one example, but there are many more if you are thoughtful and careful. For example, if you get an adult to cut open toothpaste tubes or hand cream bottles, have a look inside and see how much is left before you recycle the packaging.
Let me know if you find any more hidden gems!
Mr. Haw
Contact Information
posted 05 March 2022 , 11:31 by J Croxon
Over the half term holidays our information systems were updated and migrated to a new software system called Arbor. Parents will have received a new text message from the system. If you have not received a text yet we do not have the correct number on file and ask that you get in touch with the office to help us update our records as a matter of urgency.
We are asking all parents to inform our office staff of any changes to email addresses, home addresses, mobile numbers or emergency contacts so that we can contact you in the event of an emergency.
Please let us know by completing our online form at: https://tinyurl.com/UpdateMyContactInformation or by visiting the office with your updated details.
We'll be introducing more of Arbor's features later in the year - look out for more news in future newsletters.
Cultural Capital
posted 05 March 2022 , 11:31 by J Croxon
What is cultural capital?
Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that students gain in order to become education citizens, outside of the confines of the classroom curriculum. That means developing an individual who is knowledgeable about a wide range of cultures, is comfortable discussing its value and merits, and has been given a vast array of experiences with access to skill development.
How do we deliver cultural capital?
Cultural capital can be seen as the ability to talk about legitimate cultural characteristics across a wide range of subjects and topics. In order to ensure our students feel confident in developing their cultural capital, we believe that the curriculum we present to our students should be reflective and representative of their own experiences. This means choosing to celebrate and shine a spotlight on inspirational figures from backgrounds that have typically been underrepresented and those that have faced discrimination. This includes artists, musicians, scientists, athletes, mathematicians and more.
Why is this important to us?
We aim to provide our children with the best start in life. This includes providing them with plenty of opportunities to experience the Arts (music, drama, photography, film, D&T). Experiences like this are crucial to developing children’s understanding of respect within society, culture. Focusing on developing cultural capital will help to close some of these gaps in learning and development that have been caused by the many barriers presented by Covid.
What can you do at home?
One great way of helping your child to expand their cultural capital is to encourage and develop conversations around the Arts. Asking for opinions about music or film and purposefully disagreeing to it can promote discussion and help children to develop their articulation skills and reasoning skills.
-Messages from Mr Clarke-Castello
posted 05 March 2022 , 11:31 by J Croxon
Welcome back! I hope that you all had a lovely half term break and made the best of the time spent with loved ones. It’s been a brilliant first week back at Lea Forest and as usual, our feet haven’t touched the ground. This week has also been the start of my role as Executive Principal across Four Dwellings Primary Academy, splitting my time across both schools.
There are lots of events, trips and activities planned in the coming weeks as we run up towards Easter. Please check out the calendar dates and keep-up-to date via ClassDojo, our website and other social media pages.
World Book Day
We celebrated World Book day yesterday and it was wonderful to see staff and children in their costumes, dressed as their favourite book characters. Reading remains a huge focus in school and we every child to be able to read fluently. Check out the photographs and further information about our special day on page 6.
Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is distressing and concerning, and we understand children and young people may have questions or be seeking reassurance. It's likely they have overheard conversations or seen events unfold on television and are curious about the cause and the impacts that this may have both globally and locally At times like these, the crucial role of the teacher and their true value is shown when they face off-the-cuff questions. Please be assured that while we are not teaching children about the war in Ukraine what we are doing is ensuring they have a safe environment to talk about what they see, remember, and are feeling now. The guidance and safety of adults at home and in school enables them to navigate their own emotions and trauma in a healthy, safe, and productive way
Fundamental British Values
Fundamental British values are an integral part of our curriculum, ensuring children become valuable and fully rounded members of society who treat others with respect and tolerance, regardless of background. Every school must promote the basic British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. This ensures young people understand the importance of respect and leave school fully prepared for life in modern Britain. This must be extended beyond the school gates - modelled by our parents and community
Have a great weekend!
Mr Clarke-Castello