April 2023
Messages From Mr Clarke-Castello
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
First of all, I would like to start this week’s message with a huge Congratulations to Mrs Murphy who ran in the London Marathon last weekend. We are all so proud of her achievements. She has managed to raise just over £2800 to date. If you’d like to donate, there’s still time. Click on the link: https://app.collectionpot.com/pot/3073503/
It’s been another really busy week here at Lea Forest and the children never fail to amaze me. One of the favourite parts of my job is having children visit me with their work. The children are always so proud to show off what they’ve learned and are always so articulate in explaining what they’ve been up to.
Year 6 SATS
Year 6 SATS tests will begin on Tuesday 9 May - Thursday 12 May. Children will need to be in school by 8:00am. We will provide them with a breakfast, time to be with their friends and also to discuss any worries or concerns that they have. This is an extremely important week in the children’s academic life and they MUST attend school everyday, with no exceptions. The children and staff have all been working so hard in the run up to
these tests.
Upcoming Assessments
This term ahead is very busy, full of assessments to capture how much progress the children have made and to benchmark them nationally against other schools. Year 2 will begin their SATS on Monday 15 May. For these tests, children sit in small groups with familiar adults. Children in Year 1 will also take part in the phonics screening assessments. Mrs Gonzales will be working with all of the children on a 1:1 basis for these assessments. The last set of statutory assessments are for Year 4 who will be completing their multiplications tables check (MTC).
Healthy Snacks
We will be re-launching our ‘Healthy Snack Swap’ next week. Staff will be continuing to encourage children in KS2 to bring healthy snacks (e.g. fruit, vegetable sticks or rice cakes) at break times. If a snack is deemed to be unhealthy, there will now be the option to swap it for a healthy alternative (with the unhealthy snack being returned at the end of the day)
See you all on Tuesday for another remarkable week at Lea Forest!
Mr Clarke-Castello
#TeamLeaForest Sports News
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
Children from Year 4 travelled to Archbishop Ilsley School in Acocks Green this week for a Tag Rugby Taster Tournament. They had the opportunity to play Tag Rugby against several local schools and practice their throwing, passing and tagging skills with the sixth form PE Students.
We were also really proud of of football team that played two matches on Thursday evening in the rain! Team Lea Forest managed to come away with one point after a draw and a loss. The team, now under Mr Comrie’s management, looked sharp and worked together. More great things to come. Watch this space…
TTRS Update
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
Our weekly Times Table Rockstar competitions are taking place and it has been wonderful to see the children challenging themselves to beat their highest scores.
It has also been wonderful to see the children improving their speed and achieving their rock statuses.
Our Top 3 Rockstars this week are:
1st - Archie Brown #LFP4NN
2nd - Sameer Ahmed Hussain #LFP4SH
3rd - Demetri Amory #LFP3KR
Sustainability Top Tip
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
Make a Compost bottle
Making your own compost is a great way to improve the soil in your garden or pots.
You will need: an empty 2 litre bottle, a sharp knife, shredded newspaper, soil from outside, compost materials (grass clippings, vegetable scraps), small handful of dead leaves, flat dish, spray bottle with water.
Directions: Clean the bottle and remove the label, then cut off the top of the bottle about 5 cm below the neck. Punch 8 to 10 small holes for air and drainage long the sides and bottom of the bottle. Put the bottle on a flat dish and put some soil, shredded newspaper and old leaves inside the composter. Spray the contents until they are wet, then add your compost materials. Turn the bottle top upside down and place it in the open top of the bottle to act like a funnel so you can add a little water daily to keep the contents damp. Put in a sunny spot and cover with a kitchen towel when not in use. Check the compost every day and stir it every few days, adding water to keep it damp. As it breaks down, add more kitchen scraps to keep it growing.
Safeguarding Tip of the Week
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
This week our focus is on child on child abuse. Children can abuse other children. This is generally referred to as child on child abuse and can take many forms. It can happen both inside or outside of school and also online. Child-on-child abuse is behaviour by an individual or group, intending to physically, sexually or emotionally harm others.
It can happen to children of a similar age or stage of development and can be harmful to the children who display it as well as those who experience it.
Signs to look out for can include: absence from school, physical injuries and disengagement with friends and family. Child on child abuse can affect both girls and boys differently. Children with special educational needs are regarded as more vulnerable to suffering this kind of abuse.
Online Safety Centre Tip of the Week
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
This week's free online safety guide focuses on Grand Theft Auto. GTA, which carries an age rating of 18ᐩ, is an action-adventure video game series where players control criminals and wreak havoc in order to complete missions and progress through the game. Available on numerous platforms, including Playstation, Xbox, desktop computers, Nintendo Switch and Mobile, the aim of the game is to increase user engagement, making gamers believe that they are not just playing as the character, but becoming the character, thus exposing them to inappropriate content.
Year 6 SATS Week
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
Year 6 SATs week is a very important week in our school calendar. The timetable for the tests is as follows:
Tuesday 9 May
Punctuation & Grammar – Paper 1
Spelling – Paper 2
Wednesday 10 May
English Reading
Thursday 11 May
Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic)
Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning)
Friday 12 May
Maths Paper 3 (Reasoning)
Please support your child by making sure that they get plenty of rest, go to bed at a reasonable time and above all arrive on time for school every day.
Thank you in advance for your support.
We wish all of Year 6 children the best of luck in their tests.
Throughout your time here at Lea Forest Primary Academy, it has become clear that we have incredibly talented, kind, passionate and resilient pupils that we are all extremely proud of. There is no doubt that we have future scientists, authors, actors and athletes. Looking back over the unprecedented events that you have all overcome since joining Lea Forest in 2015, including two interrupted years of the Covid-19 pandemic, just shows that you are truly unstoppable – you all have a lot to be proud of! You have matured into individuals that will have incredible adventures, careers and lives. We truly hope that you never forget the love of learning and educational enquiry that you all have. All of the children and staff at Lea Forest Primary Academy believe in all of you!
Bikeability
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
Bikeability is returning to Lea Forest this term. All children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 will have the opportunity to take part in the Level 1 and Level 2 Bikeability Courses run by our friends at the Active Wellbeing Society. Children do not require a Bicycle or helmet to take part as all equipment will be provided on the day. Parents and Carers must ensure that they have completed the consent forms and returned them to the office by 1st May 2023.
Important Dates
Yr 3 & Yr 4 Bikeability Week May 15th - 19th 2023
Yr 5 & Yr 6 Bikeability Week May 22nd - 28th 2023
Scientist of the Month
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
Mary Anning
Mary Anning was a famous fossil hunter and collector from the 19th century. Over the course of her life she made many incredible discoveries in her hometown of Lyme Regis and became famous throughout the scientific world. Today, Mary is remembered as one of the greatest fossil hunters to have ever lived.
In 1811 when Mary was 12 years old, she was fossil hunting with her older brother Joseph when he found something strange sticking out of the cliff that looked a bit like a crocodile skull… What they had discovered was the skull of an ancient type of marine reptile called an ichthyosaur. This was the first complete skeleton of an Ichthyosaur ever found and made Mary very famous.
Travel Tracxker Update
posted 28th Apr 2023 , 11:19pm by J Croxon
Now the sunny warmer months have arrived we really hope all our families will make an effort to leave the car at home or park and stride to help reduce traffic around our school.
We'd love to see more children cycling, scooting or walking in the sunshine!
In April we've recorded 4240 active trips to school and awarded 532 travel badges.
Messages From Mr Clarke-Castello
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
Welcome back! I hope that everyone had a fabulous Easter break. The summer term is always the best term with so many events taking place. We will be sending out lots of information over the coming weeks so please make sure that you check Class Dojo and keep-up to date with the latest news on our website and weekly newsletters. Attendance has been amazing this week - well done!
Staff News
We are delighted to have welcomed a new member to our staff team this week. Ms Sharon Richards is an extremely experienced and talented
teacher and has joined our Year 6 team in the final push as we approach SATS. Due to Mr White’s promotion to Deputy Headteacher, alongside
Miss Francois, Ms Richards will be teaching 6MW for the remainder of the academic year, following SATS week. The children will still have
lessons taught by Mr White and he will be heavily involved with the year group until they leave us in July. Ms Richards will also join Miss Evans
in leading English across the school.
Playground Developments
During the Easter break our Key Stage 1 playground undertook a transformation. The children returned on Monday in amazement. We are delighted with the final outcome and the children’s feedback has been amazing! So many of the children took time to come and say “Thank you” to me. I asked them if they liked it and one child replied, “No - I looooooooove it!”
Eid Mubarak to all celebrating! May this blessed day be filled with love, joy, and togetherness with your loved ones. Wishing you a prosperous and peaceful Eid, filled with blessings and happiness.
See you all on Monday for another remarkable week at Lea Forest!
Mr Clarke-Castello
Sporting News
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
We've got lots of exciting sports competitions and tournaments coming up this term. Please see below for dates and locations. Mr Comrie and our PE coaches will be sending out letters and information to parents shortly.
Monday 24th April - Mixed Tag Rugby Key Stage 2:
Archbishop Ilsley School
Tuesday 16th May - Rounders:
Hodge Hill School
Wednesday 17th May - Boys Football League Matches:
Lea Forest Field
Tuesday 13th June - Tennis:
West Warwick Tennis Club
Thursday 15th June - Girls Football Tournament:
Archbishop Ilsley School
Children's University
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
The children's university programme at Lea Forest has been specifically designed to provide a broad range of clubs and activities to encourage children to participate in learning beyond the classroom.
Aims:
To raise attainment in all subject areas
To engage children in a wider range of sporting activities
To engage children in a wider range of extra curricular activities
To give children a sense of achievement and a goal to work towards
To encourage children to commit to attending clubs across a term
To promote a love for learning and to create new aspirations
To increase the engagement in out of school learning, e.g. reading and home learning tasks
Our after-school Children's University and Sports clubs start from Monday 24th April 2023.
We still have spaces in several after-school clubs for this half term. All clubs run until 4:30pm.
Clubs this half term:
Monday: Outdoor Gym, Gardening, Rounders.
Tuesday: Cricket, Tri Golf,
Wednesday: Tennis, Dodgeball
Thursday: Reception Football, Year 5 and 6 Basketball and Outdoor Gym.
Places can be booked via the Clubs and Booking Places section on the Lea Forest Website:
Eden Camp - Year 6 Trip
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
On Wednesday 19th April, the children from Year 6 visited Eden Camp Modern History Museum in Malton, Yorkshire. The wonderful experience immersed the children in the sights, sounds and smells of life on the Home Front and the Front Line of modern global conflicts (World War One and World War Two). The immersive, cross-curricular visit also encompassed a whole host of subjects and themes, from art, religious education and citizenship, to geography, design and science.
During our visit, the children experienced a range of virtual and character led exhibits, enjoyed a sing-a-long with the music stars of the 1940s and experienced the difficulties of everyday life during global conflicts, both for those on the ‘Home Front’ (where they learnt about censorship and propaganda) and those fighting on the ‘Front Line’ (where they learnt about life in the trenches). To experience this wonderful learning opportunity for yourself, why not take a virtual tour of Eden Camp Modern History Museum using the link or QR Code below?
Freshwater Theatre Company - Year 5
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
On Thursday 20th April, Year 5 had a visit from the Freshwater Theatre Company as an exciting introduction to their new Geography unit - Longitude - where they are
going to be learning all about the United States of America as well as how the world is separated into time zones.
First of all, the children took a flying trip to a meeting of the European Union, to find out which countries are part of Europe and a little about their languages, capital cities and environment. Then, they flew over to the continents of North and South America, where they learned in more detail about the countries of Brazil, Argentina, Chili, USA and Canada. The children were fascinated to find out just how big the USA was and how the temperatures could vary so much across a single continent.
At the end of the workshop, the children presented their findings back to the rest of the class with great enthusiasm. We are really excited now to start learning even more about the physical and human characteristics of this enormous country.
Safeguarding - Tip of the Week - Radicalisation
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
This week our safeguarding focus is on radicalisation. Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups. Signs to look out for: The signs to look out for can include; being overly secretive about online viewing, expressing a ‘them’ and ‘us’ mentality, showing an aggressive and argumentative nature that is out of character and questioning their own faith and identity. The Channel programme uses the Prevent Strategy to help young people to understand and reverse their thoughts and ideas. For more information please look at the following websites:
https://safeguarding.network/content/safeguarding-resources/radicalisation/
Online Safety Tip of the Week
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
Welcome to our ‘Online Safety Tip of The Week’. On each newsletter, we will provide you with some useful hints, tips, guides and fact sheets from the National Online Safety (NOS) website that you as parents and carers will be able to use to help keep your child safe whilst online. This week's free online safety guide focuses on Tik Tok. The popular video-sharing social media app allows users to create, view and download looping 15-second clips. Typically, these are videos of users lip-syncing and dancing to popular songs enhanced with filters, effects and text. Designed with young people in mind (but carrying an age rating of 13ᐩ), Tik Tok skyrocketed in popularity in 2019 and now boasts approximately a billion users worldwide. Despite the fun nature of Tik Tok, there are numerous hazards which parents should be aware of (visible on this week's safety poster)
Sustainability Top Tip
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
We all end up with scrap paper at home, from envelopes to newspapers and they almost always end up in the recycling bin.
Well, what if we could reuse it and recycle it ourselves?
Old paper can be recycled to make beautiful new paper which is ideal for craft projects: making cards, gift tags, collages etc. It’s a great activity to do with your children.
Not sure how to get started?
Click on the picture below to watch this video and find out.
TTRS Update
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
Our weekly Times Table Rockstar competitions are taking place and it has been wonderful to see the children challenging themselves to beat their highest scores.
It has also been wonderful to see the children improving their speed and achieving their rock statuses.
Our Top 3 Rockstars this week are:
1st - Khadijah Love #LFP4NN
2nd - Kian Morrall #LFP4NN
3rd - Layton Taylor-Crosby #LFP4SH
Year 6 Virtual Decisions Workshops
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
Building upon the success of our “Virtual_Decisions: GANGS” workshop, which took place prior to the Easter break, on Tuesday the children in Year 6 took part in the anti knife crime virtual reality worksop, “Virtual_Decisions: KNIVES”. Developed by West Midlands Police the VR experience addressed issues around carrying knives and the potential tragic consequences in the hope that it will help stem the epidemic that is ending young lives across the United Kingdom. Following the immersive 11-minute VR film, the children then took part in a creative arts workshop which explored the issues raised in more depth. Through discussions and drama exercises the Year 6 children were then able to reflect on their own personal journey within the VR and compare it to that of others, making it a user-led – and user shared – experience.
Congratulations to Kayden
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
Last weekend, Kayden in Year 3 celebrated his 8th birthday in style. As a treat for his birthday, his parents arranged for him to be the BCFC Mascot for the Blues match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Litter Collection
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
Over the last fortnight before the Easter break, our remarkable children collected 87 bin bags of rubbish from our local streets and parks as part of the Great Big School Clean.
We'll be continuing to care for our community this term as each class will be litter picking around our local area again. It is so important that we take care of our local area and think carefully about our actions.
Travel Tracker Update
posted 23rd Apr 2023 , 17:59pm by J Croxon
Now the sunny warmer months have arrived we really hope all our families will make an effort to leave the car at home or park and stride to help reduce traffic around our school.
We'd love to see more children cycling, scooting or walking in the sunshine!
This week we've recorded 1,950 active trips to school. RCG, 2JM and 3KR are the most active classes this week!
We have a lovely new Poppy themed badged for April.
