May 2023

What a fabulous, fun-filled last week to the half term we’ve all had.  There has been lots of celebrations and it’s so lovely to end the half term on such a high.  We’ve also had so many trips and visits taking place. 

Visiting Schools

We had more visitors in school this week who were all leaders who travelled from a Trust in Nottingham.  They were blown away by the excellent standards of teaching and learning throughout the school.  One leader left the following comment in our visitors book: “What a wonderful school you have! The calm, purposeful learning environment was a pleasure to walk around. The pupils are a delight and their behaviour for learning (no matter what class or age) was an absolute credit to the teachers. Consistency is key to all that happens in the school and you can see the leaders are so passionate about working here. So much to reflect on, a massive thank you to all involved.”   

Summer Fair

This year our Summer fair and Family Fun Afternoon will take place on Friday 14 July from 2:30 - 4:30pm. After half term we will be holding a number of Non Uniform days where we will be asking for donations. Please see donation requirements below:

Friday 30 June

Bottles (Squash, Pop, etc..) & toiletries

Friday 7 July 

(also Sports Day)

Bric-a- Brac, toys, games, etc..

Friday 14 July

Cakes, biscuits, sweets, chocolate & Plants

TTRS Competition

We have had a wonderful ‘rock stars’ themed day today, focusing on TTRS.  Our Key  Stage 2 pupils have taken place in a regional competition against the other AET schools in the Midlands. Results to be announced after half term! Everyone has looked so great, all dressed in their rock star outfits and our winners of ‘best dressed’ will receive prizes after the half term break.

I hope you all have a happy and safe half term holiday and look forward to you returning promptly on Monday 5 June.  Lessons begin at 9am, so please ensure your child is on time.  Thank you for your continued support - Happy Holidays!

Mr Clarke-Castello

On Monday, we celebrated UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Day for Culture in order to explore the essential role of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development. Each year group was given the opportunity to explore a different culture through a variety of art, dance, music, poetry, debates, literature and history. All KS2 classes were lucky enough to experience a professionally-led Dance workshop, whilst KS1 completed a Lego workshop with Mr Croxon. During lunch the children also experienced foods from around the world when they selected from a ‘World Food Menu’ in the canteen. We are so proud of the respect, tolerance and resilience our pupils show not just on World Day For Culture, but everyday! Above all, it was wonderful to see everybody express their identity through our ‘Dress to Express’ non uniform day. Thank you for all the support from parents and carers and to Mrs Hicklin for organising such a successful day.

Early Years were so lucky to meet Chris The Animal Man and all of his friends on Wednesday. We pushed our limits to be unusually brave with handling a variety of different animals. We got to meet Peter Parker the tarantula, Bruce the blue tongued skink, Ying and Yang the corsac foxes, Tank the frog and Snowflake the corn snake. Chris taught us about what they liked to eat and where they lived. 

We were really proud of how brave everybody was!

Year One went to the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham on Tuesday 23 May. The children were a credit to our school and displayed impeccable behaviour for the entire trip. 

The children were learning about different habitats and even had a classroom experience where they discovered the different layers of the sea. The children discovered that all clownfish are born male and the most dominant male becomes the female of the group. When the female dies, the next dominant male will become the female. The children were fascinated by this fact. 

One of the most exciting parts of the day was seeing the penguins. The children adored watching them swim in the water and huddling together in a pack at the edge of the water on the ice. 

On Thursday Year 2 visited Birmingham City Centre. We started our adventure catching the train from Lea Hall. For some children this was their first experience of going on the train and they thoroughly enjoyed it.  We walked past significant landmarks around Birmingham including: The Rep, The ICC and The Sealife centre which supported our Geographical skills and knowledge. We enjoyed spending time in Birmingham Central Library; we shared some books in the children library, visited the terraces and explored Shakespeare’s memorial. We sat in the sun and enjoyed our lunch before visiting the bull and heading back to New Street to catch the train back to school.

The children represented our school fantastically, demonstrating all of our school values. We are so proud of them!

Make a Hedgehog Hut

With Children’s Gardening Week taking place next week, here is another idea for an activity to do with your children. Hedgehogs have been declining in numbers over the last few decades. Creating safe places for them can help to protect them.

You will need: 

Bricks or blocks, Wooden planks, perhaps fallen fencing

Logs and branches, Shrubbery and foliage

Hedgehog feed: you can use beetles, earwigs, worms, cat or dog food but avoid mealworms and milk as this is bad for them.

Instructions:

1.Choose the quietest location you can find, the corner of the garden or in a forest for example

2.Use your sturdy materials to construct walls but be sure to leave an entrance

3.Cover your framework with foliage, branches, and shrubbery to make it nice and dark for 

the new arrivals. 

4.Fill the hut with plenty of leaves 

and shrubbery so that they’re nice and 

comfortable. 

5.Leave your food in the corner for them to eat.

This week our safeguarding focus is on knife crime. Knife crime is a crime is any crime involving a knife or any other sharp object.There were 47,348 knife crime offences recorded in England in 2022. This was an increase of 6% on the previous year. Some adults and young people decide to carry a knife because: it makes them feel tough; they believe it earns respect; for street credibility; or they believe it protects them from others. There are no good reasons for carrying a knife as a weapon and 7 out of 10 young people who end up in A and E with a knife injury have been stabbed with their own weapon. Carrying a knife actually puts you at a higher risk of being injured.  While most young people will never carry a knife it is important that everyone understands the seriousness of the issue and how important it is to tell someone if you know that a friend or someone you know is carrying one.

This week, Key Stage 1 have reflected on the importance of respecting opinions that are different to our own. The children have voted on: 

"Do you respect views that are different to yours?" 

Meanwhile, Key Stage 2 have explored what an extreme view is and how these perspectives go against British Values. They have voted on: 

“Can you recognise when someone has extreme views?” 

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 add-on to Snapchat, SENDIT. Although not a standalone application (as it requires users to have an active Snapchat account) it is important that trusted adults realise that any risks associated with Snapchat also affect children using ‘Sendit’. Within the app, people play question games like ‘Truth or Dare’ and ‘Never Have I Ever’: users select a question to share on their Snapchat story for their friends to reply to. All responses are anonymous, although - for paying subscribers - ‘Sendit’ reveals hints about who sent which message.

Throughout this year, all of the children from Year 6 have had the opportunity to take part in the ‘F2D Young Entrepreneur Project’. This project has enabled our pupils to design an item of clothing to their liking, and then have the item manufactured. Alongside this, the children have gained an insight into manufacturing processes and business requirements with the aim of empowering them, giving them a platform to express themselves and grow in confidence, all in a creative environment. The programme concludes with the students receiving their fully custom made item of clothing, a certificate and showcasing their finished designs to their peers and parents / carers.

It was a bit of a shock to the system this week having to complete a full 5 day week! Nonetheless, we’ve had a fabulous week. Year 6 have enjoyed a more relaxed week after completing their SATS the previous week. Year 2 have started their SATS and will continue into next week, so attendance is crucial.  Year 1 Phonics screening and Year 4 MTC tests are also looming, so it is so important that children are not missing days from school. We’ve had so many trips taking place this week including: Cadbury World, The Black Country Living Museum, Birmingham University, Birmingham Central mosque and sports competitions.  Years 3 and 4 have also enjoyed Bikeability.

Cultural Diversity Day

On Monday 22 May we will be celebrating World Cultural Diversity Day. The celebrations are led around the world by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and aim to highlight not only the richness of the world’s cultures, but also the essential role of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development. At Lea Forest, we will be asking everyone to 'Dress To Express' their culture! Each year group will be exploring a different culture through a variety of art, dance, music, poetry, debates, literature and history. KS2 classes will be taking part in a professionally-led Dance workshop, and KS1 will be completing a Lego workshop with Mr Croxon. There will also be a World Food menu in the canteen. Through these celebrations, we hope that every student and family in Lea Forest comes to understand the importance of celebrating the diversity within our own communities and the wider world. 

Careers Event

After the huge success of last year’s careers day, we are pleased to inform you that we will be holding another one this year. This time the event will be for years 4, 5 and 6. Children will be able to have meaningful encounters that will help prepare them in the next stage of their development. Children will be able to find out about jobs that they may not be aware of and to give them high aspirations for their own future career pathways.  We are looking for volunteers for our open careers event. Children will be able to speak to you about career prospects in small groups on Wednesday 14 June. To register your interest please visit: https://tinyurl.com/LFPCareersEvent23.

PE kit reminder

It is essential for children’s safety that no jewellery is worn during PE lessons.  It is important that the P.E kit is seen as an extension of our school uniform, therefore our high standards should be kept. All children require the following items for P.E:

• House Colour Plain T Shirt or Lea Forest Branded T Shirt from the uniform shop (patterned designs and football shirts are not permitted)

• Black Shorts / Jogging Bottoms or track suit trousers for outdoor use

• Black Slip on pumps or trainers

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.

Tennis:

Tuesday 13th June

 West Warwick Tennis Club

Girls Football Tournament:

Thursday 15th June

    Archbishop Ilsley School

Rounders Update:

This week a team of our children from Year 5 and Year 6 took part in a Rounders festival at Hodge Hill College. The children learnt fielding and batting skills as well as having the chance to play friendly games against teams form local schools. 

Our 97% target is still achievable this year if we all work together on ensuring children are in school EVERY day and not missing any learning. 

Our attendance for 

the week is

96.98%

Our attendance for 

the year to date is

95.24%

We are running a new attendance competition throughout the Summer term.

Children will collect reward stars for a class chart to earn prizes at the end of the Summer 2 half term. The more stars that are collected the better the prize!

National Children’s Gardening Week

Make a pinecone bird feeder

National Children’s Gardening Week takes place over half term so for the next couple of weeks, I am going to suggest some activities that you can do with your children to encourage their awareness of the environment and sustainability.

Encouraging birds into your environment is always positive.

Follow this link for instructions on how to create this simple and cheap bird feeder.

https://www.childrensgardeningweek.co.uk/things-to-do/pinecone-bird-feeder/ 

Child Sexual Exploitation

This week our safeguarding focus is Child Sexual Exploitation. This is something that happens when a group or  individual takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity. It is a hidden crime and quite often the victim is groomed by the abuser and therefore does not understand that they are being abused. This abuse can start online and then images or videos can be used to threaten the victim into continuing a relationship. 

Signs to look out for can include: changes in emotional wellbeing, spending time with older individuals or groups and going missing from home or school. To learn more about CSE visit https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-abuse-and-neglect/child-sexual-exploitation 

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 Reddit. Aimed at children 13 plus, this rather unique site blends the idea of a social network with news, discussion forums and various other media. The site is broken down into a variety of categories covering every topic imageable with each being treated as a community where users can submit content for users to see and comment on. This can take the form of links to existing online content, or user-generated text and image-based submissions. Submitted content can not only be commented on by others but also rated. 

This month, we have been looking at how music was used in the coronation of King Charles III. Music played a very important part in the celebrations, with King Charles commissioning 12 brand new pieces of music to be composed. There was also a huge music concert with a range of contemporary and legendary performers from across the world. In our assembly, we have focused on the traditional elements of a royal occasion; fanfares, choral music, marching music and organ music.  

Check out our Royal playlist: 

‘Zadok the Priest’ by Handel

‘The King Shall Rejoice’ by Handel

‘There is sweet music’ by Elgar

‘The National Anthem: God Save the King’

'Fanfare For A Dignified Occasion' by The London Fanfare Trumpet

‘Coronation Fanfare’ Household Division

‘Fanfare: Castell Conwy’ The Regimental Band of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers

'Fanfare: Majesty’ The Band of the Life Guards

Chevaliers De Sangreal’ from ‘The Da Vinci Code’ by Hans Zimmer

‘Arrival of the Queen of Sheba; Organ Solo’  by Handel

‘The British Grenadiers’ the Household Division

‘Scotland the Brave’ the Household Division

‘Heart of Oak’ the Household Division

Another short week with so much squeezed in…

Congratulations to Year 6

We would like to congratulate all of our wonderful Year 6 pupils on all their hard work and resilience during this week’s SATs assessments. We are proud of every single one of them for their excellent attitudes and effort. Whilst important, the tests are only a measure of your children’s attainment on the day in Reading, Maths and Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation. Your end of year report will give a broader overview of your child’s achievements and successes across the year. Thank you as well to all the parents who have given such positive support to the children, school and staff for the SATs tests. I am sure that you will appreciate how hard everyone has worked, not only to prepare children for the tests but to ensure that a balance has been maintained with the other subjects in the curriculum. Thank you to all the adults who have been involved in supporting and preparing the children for this week.  We were also really excited to share the upcoming events with our Year 6 children, including: Drayton Manor; our visit to the Bristol Hippodrome to see ‘The Lion King’; our Year 6 leavers’ performance of ‘The Lion King’; our Year 6 water fight; and our Year 6 Graduation and barbeque. 

Year 2 SATS

Year 2 will be beginning their SATs on Monday 15 May. For these tests, children will sit in small groups with a familiar adult. There will be two reading papers and two maths papers. The practise papers that were sent home after the Y2 SATS meeting are replicas of the assessments children will complete next week. We would like to say a big thank you for all of your support with this. Miss Evans, Mrs Murphy and Miss Collis are happy to provide any support or extra information if required.  Please make sure that children arrive on time so they are settled and ready to start these assessments.  We are really proud of how hard the children have worked and their attitude and resilience to these assessments. We are sure they are going to make us all proud.  Thank you to all the parents who attended the information meeting on Wednesday, it was great to see so many of you. 

Bikeability

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.  Years 3 and 4 will take part in bikeability sessions next week, followed by Years 5 and 6 on the week beginning 22nd May.

Have a great weekend!

Mr Clarke-Castello

Misogyny

This week our safeguarding focus is on online misogyny. This is the abuse or hatred of women on the internet. This can happen offline too, however the anonymity of the Internet gives individuals and communities the opportunity to form hateful beliefs around women. Influencers can use their platforms to spread hate, both online and offline. Misogynistic ideas and language can impact all children and might convince some girls that they are inferior to boys and also influence boys into not showing their real feelings. These ideas and language used must be challenged in the moment, it’s important that children understand that these views are unacceptable. For more information please visit: https://www.internetmatters.org/issues/online-hate /what-is-misogyny/   

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 Apex Legends. The multiplayer battle royale video game, which is free to play, is a game consisting of twenty three-man squads (groups of players) who are dropped onto an island from a dropship and compete to be the last team standing. Each player on the squad gets to choose a ‘Legend’ to play with; one of eight unique characters with a specialised skill set in either ‘Offense’, ‘Defense’, Support’ or ‘Recon’. The game is currently available on PC, Playstation and Xbox and carries a 16 rating in the United Kingdom. 

Wednesday 14th June 2023

9.30am-12.30pm

 After the huge success of last year’s careers day, we are pleased to inform you that we will be holding another one this year. This time the event will be for years 4, 5 and 6. Children will be able to have meaningful encounters that will help prepare them in the next stage of their development. Children will be able to find out about jobs that they may not be aware of and to give them high aspirations for their own future career pathways.

***Volunteers Needed***

We are looking for volunteers for our open careers event. Children will be able to speak to you about career prospects in small groups. Refreshments will be provided. To register your interest please visit https://tinyurl.com/LFPCareersEvent23  or scan the QR Code with your device.

This week, voters have explored whether adults should be involved in deciding which books children read. With more young people reading due to the rise of "BookTok", they have considered the recent amendments to Roald Dahl's texts, as well as the increase in book banning in certain places. They have had their say on: “Should adults choose which books you read?”

Our vision here at Lea Forest is to provide our pupils with a wide body of knowledge and skills and an exceptional character to live a remarkable life.  Our mission is pure and simple: We will provide an excellent education to every child, in every classroom, every day.

King Charles III Coronation

Children and staff wore red, white and blue today to mark the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms which will take place tomorrow, at Westminster Abbey.   

Attendance Expectations

Children are expected to come to school every day and on time and aim to have 100% attendance. Good attendance is essential to guarantee the highest possible achievement. Lateness and attendance below 100% will have a negative impact on their learning, friendships and life chances.  Regular attendance at school enables children to make the best of the educational opportunities available to them. Parents and carers have a legal responsibility to make sure their children attend school regularly and if they allow their children to stay away from school without good reason they may be prosecuted. If a child is absent, parents or carers must contact the school by 9:00am on the first day of absence and give the reason for the absence. Home visits will be made if there is no contact. Poor attendance is monitored as a potential indicator of safeguarding issues in the home or elsewhere outside of the school. This safeguarding responsibility is taken very seriously.

Year 6 SATS

Year 6 SATS tests will take place next week (Tuesday 9 May - Friday 12 May).  Year 6 children will be sent home with a set of tests to complete at home over the weekend as a final push in preparation.  Children will need to be in school by 8:00am each day next week.  We will provide them with a lovely breakfast, time to be with their friends and also to discuss any worries or concerns that they may have.  This is an extremely important week in the children’s academic life and they MUST attend school everyday, with no exceptions. 

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.  There is a parent information session planned for next week on Wednesday at 2:45pm.  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). 

See you all on Tuesday for another short, but remarkable week at Lea Forest!

Mr Clarke-Castello

Upcoming Sports Competitions

Key Stage 2 Rounders Competition

Hodge Hill 16th May 2023 

Boys Football Matches

17th May 2023

Highfield Primary Vs Lea Forest

SS Peter and Paul Vs Lea Forest

Mixed Tennis Tournament

13th June 2023

Girls Football Tournament

15th June 2023

Term Dates - 2023/24

Autumn Term 2023

Term Starts: Monday 4 September 2023

Half Term: Monday 30 October 2023 to Friday 3 November 2023

Term Ends: Friday 22 December 2023

Spring Term 2024

Term Starts: Monday 8 January 2024

Half Term: Monday 12 February 2024 to Friday 16 February 2024

Term Ends: Friday 22 March 2024

Summer Term 2024

Term Starts: Monday 8 April 2024

Half Term: Monday 27 May 2024 to Friday 31 May 2024

Term Ends: Monday 22 July 2024

*** Please ensure any holidays booked are within the allocated school holidays ***

Grow your own herbs

Buying fresh herbs from the supermarket can be expensive and the pots don’t seem to last very long but, with a little bit of effort, one purchase can last for years.

Buy three or four pots of herbs in soil from your supermarket. Half fill three  30cm diameter plant pots with compost. Then, carefully tip the herbs out of their pots and tease their roots apart so that you have three clumps of each herb. Pot one of each herb into your pots so that you have a variety of herbs in each pot. Top up each of the pots with compost and firm down around the herbs. Water well and place on a sunny window sill. 

Now you can cut what you need and they will continue to grow and replenish as long as you keep them watered and in sunlight. Basil can only be kept outside during high summer but other herbs will survive well outside so you can decide whether to keep them indoors or out. If you don’t need three pots full, you can always give one or two away as super gifts.

This week’s focus is FGM. 

FGM or female genital mutilation is when a female’s genitals are deliberately altered or removed for non-medical reasons. It can be known as ‘female circumcision’ or ‘cutting’, but also has many other names. FGM is a form of child abuse and is a criminal offence in the UK. Teachers are required by law to report “known” cases of FGM in under-18s to the police. FGM can happen at different times within a female’s life, including her childhood. The signs to look out include long absences from school or a child talking about a special ceremony or ritual taking place. FGM victims say that the effects of having FGM never leave them, even when they are in adult life. If you have any concerns please contact the anonymous FGM helpline on: 0800 0283550

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 Virtual Reality. VR is the practice of creating computer generated images or sometimes even entire worlds for a user to experience as if they were there. Whereas traditionally we’d use a television screen to view these images and games, technology now allows us to put on a headset with much smaller screens inside and become fully immersed in these new worlds. While virtual reality is safe on the whole, it does carry an age recommendation of 13 years plus, as there are some things to look out for if you plan on giving it a try…

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!