Cherry Orchard Primary Academy Newsletter
October - Issue 2/2021
Embedded Files
Principal's Welcome
Principal's Welcome
As we approach the end of term 1, an especially long one at nearly eight weeks, the children should feel proud of what they have achieved. They have settled back into school routines really well - some of which haven't been in place for over 18 months now - and have been working hard at their learning. Although we are trying to get things back to 'normal' in school, we can't become complacent. COVID case numbers remain high and we have had some tricky situations to deal with this term, as members of staff have been out of school isolating or ill. We therefore encourage parents to please continue to test children, especially if they display COVID symptoms, to try to minimise the transmission rate in school. Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all children and their families a well deserved rest in the two week break - when it arrives.
Julie Forsythe - Principal
COPA receive our IB Primary Years Programme Verification!
COPA receive our IB Primary Years Programme Verification!
We are excited and proud to announce that Cherry Orchard Primary Academy has been recognised by the International Baccalaureate (IB) as meeting the standards and practices for the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). This means that we have in place the standards and practices that are required to become an IB World School. Over the coming days and weeks, you may notice some of the logos of the IB PYP put onto our school website. As a school that is now part of a network of global schools, including an increasing number of Trust Primary Schools achieving authorisation, we have the opportunity to develop the school going forward in collaboration with others who share the same values of the IB PYP. We are immensely proud of our pupils, staff and parents who took part in the verification visit, where we were awarded 20 commendations and all that has been accomplished in the lead up to this point. Thank you.
School News & Updates
School News & Updates
Parent Governor Election
Parent Governor Election
We had had two applications for the role of Parent Governor so thanks to both parents for standing for this role. We are delighted to announce the election of Deborah Emmanuel who will take up her post as COPAs representative on the Ebbsfleet Academies Board. Deborah has two children in the school, one in year 6 and one in year 1. Please look out for her on the main playground.
New 'Upcoming Events' Notifications
New 'Upcoming Events' Notifications
Please be aware that we have updated the website with a new button on the front page entitled 'Upcoming Events', which is in the top right hand corner adjacent to the 'contact us' button'. From here you will be able to see a calendar of events planned for the next term. This will also give advance warning of events scheduled in brief and further details will be added as they become available. You can select to view this in event order or opt for a monthly calendar view. We hope this will be helpful for parents who need to plan ahead.
KS1/KS2 Class Dojo Parent Communications
KS1/KS2 Class Dojo Parent Communications
After the half term, we will be moving over to ClassDojo as our main method of communication between home/family. Our IT Lead will be introducing this easy to use app across the school, with the exception of EYFS where Tapestry is regularly used and is working well. We have taken on board that some parents find the Google Classroom difficult to access and we hope this user friendly app, which you can download on any device, tablet, laptop or phone will be easier for parents and teachers to communicate. ClassDojo is an educational technology company which connects primary school teachers, students and families through communication features, including an easy way to communicate with teachers. DoJo points are already widely used in the classroom to reward good behaviour and compliment the IB learner profiles, and families at home will be able to see what Dojo points their child receives. You can read more about this on this link.
A link will be posted on your child's Google Classroom on Friday 22nd October. By clicking the link, you will be able to create an account with Class Dojo, download the app, and communicate with teachers from the app. Miss Boswell will also record a video explaining how to use the Class Dojo app, and this will be posted onto your child's Google Classroom on Friday 22nd October.
Parents Consultations
Parents Consultations
Parent consultations via the School Cloud, which were very successful last year, will take place on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th November, immediately after our half term break (for Maple class only, this will be Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th) The link to book appointments with your child's class teacher will go live on Tuesday 19 October and close on Monday 8 November at 3pm - but please don't worry as there are plenty of appointments for everyone and you will receive regular reminders to book. Once logged in you will have the opportunity to book a ten minute virtual slot with the class teacher, to fit around your working arrangements, We had a lot of positive feedback from parents last year, who felt this way of meeting was more productive and less encroaching on family time, especially where there are younger siblings involved.
For our families who have not used the school cloud system before, you will need to sign up to the School Cloud here https://cherryorchardpa.schoolcloud.co.uk/. Here is a short walk through video guide to booking and taking part in a parent/teacher School Cloud video appointment.
Parent Survey
Parent Survey
Those parents that have been with us for a while will know that we regularly survey our parents to ensure we are meeting our obligations for your child in the classroom, as well as other key areas across the school. Your views are important to us - so please take five minutes to complete this survey to let us know your views, both positive and negative, so that we are aware of what's going well and where we can make improvements.
Individual Pupil Photos rescheduled
Individual Pupil Photos rescheduled
You will know that school photos were cancelled this week due to our photographer being taken ill. These have been rescheduled to November 10th and will take place in the same manner all day. Again if students have PE that day, they will need to come into school in their school uniform and bring their PE kit to change into.
School ties!
School ties!
We appeal to parent to please provide your child with a school tie. We are very proud of our school uniform and ties are an essential part of Cherry Orchard's school uniform policy. They are on sale either from Brigade - our uniform supplies - or from the school office. We are aware there have been some delays to school uniform orders and we are making allowances, but school ties can be purchased from school and must be worn. Your child will receive a green uniform slip if they are wearing incorrect items of school uniform.
We appeal to parent to please provide your child with a school tie. We are very proud of our school uniform and ties are an essential part of Cherry Orchard's school uniform policy. They are on sale either from Brigade - our uniform supplies - or from the school office. We are aware there have been some delays to school uniform orders and we are making allowances, but school ties can be purchased from school and must be worn. Your child will receive a green uniform slip if they are wearing incorrect items of school uniform.
Principal Gold Tie Awards
Principal Gold Tie Awards
In Term 2, we will return to our incentive of promoting smart school uniform by resuming the Principal's Gold Tie Award every Friday.
Children displaying smart and correct items of school uniform will be awarded a golden tie to wear for the following week; an elastic one for Infants and a clip on one for Juniors.
These will be washed/rotated in between for hygiene reasons and be awarded at our Celebration Assembly on Friday morning by Mrs. Forsythe - our School Principal.
T1 Walk in Wednesday
T1 Walk in Wednesday
For those parents who have not been with us for long, we are also making a welcome return to our Parents WIWs. The first one in Term 1 will take place on Wednesday 20th October and this will be an opportunity for your child to show you their classroom.
Although staff will be around, this is not the time for in depth conversations with teaching or support staff, but more a chance for you to see their work on display and in books or to see their creations - particularly in the younger years.
Please also bear in mind that in some areas children are working with teaching and support staff on after school interventions in some area - so please be mindful of noise and disruption.
Attendance for school age pupils
Attendance for school age pupils
Just a reminder that leave of absence during term time will not be authorised. We do appreciate that during these challenging times, it has been difficult to be with friends and family and to get away for a family break. However, we would urge you to consider how much this seriously affects your child's learning. Our effort to achieve age expected learning continues at COPA, with before/after school interventions, as well as robust and cumulative planning, to build on children's learning. Even a day or two out of school could mean your child might struggle, due to prior missed learning. Please consider whether your child can manage in school with a cold if managed with medication before keeping them at home, but obviously as stated above, please also consider a lateral flow test if you are unsure, as regular testing is key. All the time your child is negative, they can attend school.
100% Attendance Certificates for the term will be awarded on Friday in recognition of those, who have been in school regularly and Letters of Concern will be sent out to parents where attendance is below our Academy guidelines of 95%, to raise awareness of falling attendance percentages.
w/e 15.10.21 - KS1 Best Attenders
w/e 15.10.21 - KS1 Best Attenders
Well done to Maple Class
w/e 15.10.21 - KS2 Best Attenders
w/e 15.10.21 - KS2 Best Attenders
Well done to Baobab Class
World's biggest Coffee Morning!
World's biggest Coffee Morning!
We were delighted with the turnout of parents supporting our coffee morning last month. Thanks to the generous donations of cake - we raised a whopping £200 towards MacMillan Cancer support.
Thank you so much for your support.
COPA kicks off the Football Tournament
COPA kicks off the Football Tournament
Our Boys and Girls football teams took part in the Dartford Football Club tournament last week proudly wearing their new COPA Football strip - complete with the COPA strapline - under the watchful eye of team coach Mr. Outram! For their first attempt, they did remarkably well with the boys finishing 5th in their group and the girls finishing 3rd. This is the first match they have ever played together, so now they are practising weekly, we hope to improve on these positions next time round.
Primary Years Programme IB Learner Profiles
Primary Years Programme IB Learner Profiles
Each Tuesday, pupils will be reflecting on different attributes of our Learner Profile and thinking about how these can be demonstrated and nurtured through our learning at school and at home. At the end of the week, teachers will choose a child from each class that has demonstrated the attribute in a particular way and present them with a certificate to take home. Last week we were all great at reflecting - lets see who the teachers spotted being great thinkers!
KS1 Reflective w/e 15.10.21
KS1 Reflective w/e 15.10.21
KS2 Reflective w/e 15.10.21
KS2 Reflective w/e 15.10.21
IB Primary Years Programme
IB Primary Years Programme
Cherry Orchard Primary Academy is a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme and pursuing authorization as an IB World School. You will notice that in the description below, there are words and phrases that may be new to you when describing your child’s learning within the IB PYP programme. To help you as valued members of our learning community, we will be introducing you to these in more detail.
This week, we wanted to introduce you to the phrase ‘key concepts’ and what these means in the school learning environment at COPA.
The key concepts listed here are utilised to support and facilitate connections between subjects that are taught. The understanding of concepts leads to a deeper inquiry and helps students to transfer knowledge learned in one area of the curriculum to another.
A simple way to bring these to life is using the example of a plastic bottle.
Using all of the key concepts, can you think of how we can link all of these with the plastic bottles? We have found that by using concepts as ways of connecting different subjects, pupils have been given more opportunities to make real connections in their own lives and in the world around them.
IB PYP Information Event Reminder - Tuesday 19th October at 9am
IB PYP Information Event Reminder - Tuesday 19th October at 9am
You are welcome to join us at this event held in our school hall, designed to give you more information on how the learning community at COPA teach and learn through the IB Primary Years Programme. This session is designed to inform, but also for you to ask questions to our IB PYP coordinator, Mrs Foxwell, regarding the programme implementation.
National Online Safety
National Online Safety
We are a fully certified NOS School!
A message to all parents who children have recently joined Cherry Orchard. Please sign up yet for a National Online Safety account by clicking on our unique school link here.
You will be able to access up to date online safety information and watch a range of free, informative webinars. You will also be able to find out all of the important safety information regarding apps like TikTok as well as teaching your child to look out for 'fake news' and other important, topical current events. We encourage all parents to sign up, accounts are free and apps on android and IOS are also available.
Remember to always encourage your child to play in a shared family space, where you can supervise their activity as this is the best way to ensure their safety.
Children will continue to be able to access 1000's of free e-books through their myOn accounts. Children new to the school will be set up with logins and information sent out to you in due course. Children in KS2 (Years 3 - 6) will be able to link their myOn accounts to their Accelerated Reader account meaning that their 'suggested' reads will be within their ZPD level.
Arty Party Week at COPA!
Arty Party Week at COPA!
This week has seen an amazing week of learning for the children - who have been collaborating to produce several fabulous sculptures including a spectacular totem pole of animals - which will be on show on walk in Wednesday this week.
The children have been treated to a fantastic art workshop organised by our Art & Design & DT coordinator Miss Goosani. During the workshop and week, our learners explored an animal that was selected for their year group, using as many different mediums and styles of art, to express the meaning of their animal in relation to the school totem pole, and an artist they were studying. As you can see from the photos opposite, they have thoroughly enjoyed their creative sessions and have produced some fantastic individual pieces of art work as well as collaborative pieces for display.
After school during the week beginning 22 November, we will be holding an Exhibition to show case all the wonderful pieces of artwork that have been made during Arty Party week by our children at COPA! Further details to follow next term - so look out for your year group invitation in the next newsletter.
Our next Parent Workshop will be on Tuesday 19 October at 2pm and will feature our (English as a Additional Language) EAL Coordinator - Mrs. Mithen - who will be able to talk you through how we support our EAL students and how parents can help support their children.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions and receive resources.
Please sign up here to give us an indication of language spoken and number of parents attending, so that we can prepare the resources in advance.
Our PTA have organised a Halloween disco on Thursday 21 October in the school hall. Tickets are on sale in the morning on the playground at a cost of £3.50 per ticket orf contact them on cherryorchardpta@hotmail.com.
EYFS & KS1 will start at 3pm until 4:30 pm with KS2 following up at 4:45 until 6:30pm. Children in KS1 will be able to get changed into their costume in school at the end of the day and the Nursery will have their own 'pumpkin party' in Cherry Pips in the afternoon.
The PTA are also running a Pumpkin Carving competition to get the parents involved. Please bring along your carved pumpkin to the volunteers of the PTA on Thursday 21st.
Extended Schools News & Information
Extended Schools News & Information
Registration Links
Registration Links
Registration for TERM 2 has now closed for processing and invoices will be sent out this week to confirm spaces. Bookings for TERM 3 will begin after the half term in accordance with our booking conditions. See below.
Lunch Clubs
Lunch Clubs
Miss Peacock is heading up the team for lunchtime clubs - in Term 2 we hope to have our new quiet area open as an alternative to the playground.
ASP / BC Bookings for TERM 2.
ASP / BC Bookings for TERM 2.
Please double check your junk mail or spam folder if you do not receive your invoice by the last week of this term and let Cherry Finance or Extended Schools know in plenty of time to rectify this before the end of the term. After this time, there can be no further changes because we have high numbers wishing to access this service.
New member of staff for KS1
New member of staff for KS1
Due to the increase in numbers, we are taking on a new member of staff; Miss Charlotte Scales will be joining the Extended Schools Team and we very much look forward to welcoming her in Term 2.
After School Activity Clubs
After School Activity Clubs
Please note pick up for Activity Clubs will be at 4:15 from the side gate off the main playground except for EYFS, which will by via the Nursery gate. Staff will bring children out at pick up time. Please be prompt to collect as staff have already had a long school day.
COPA Minibus
COPA Minibus
Our first minibus has arrived, as promised, on time and was delivered to Cherry Orchard on 30 September.
This has already been put to good use by transferring the Boys Football team off to their first tournament at DFC. The Girls team will also be using this on Thursday this week.
We hope to be able to offer this at a reasonable cost for parents who require transport into school in the mornings. Please register your interest here so that we can gauge the feasibility of offering this ready for the start of Term 3 and we will get back to you with further details.
Reminders
Reminders
Book bags should ideally be school branded and large rucksacks are not necessary.
Children in KS1 only need to bring in a book bag and a lunch box/water bottle if having packed lunch.
Reception parents are required to wait on the correct side of the EYFS gate at pick up, opposite their child's classroom, so that teachers can see children being greeted by their adult.
Calendar dates for your Diary
Calendar dates for your Diary
Parent Workshop 1 Tuesday 19th October PYP IB with Mrs. Foxwell
Parent Workshop 2 Tuesday 19th October - EAL with Mrs. Mithen
PTA Halloween Disco Thursday 21st October - see above
T1 Golden Afternoon Friday 22nd October
Term 1 End Friday 22nd October
Term 2 Start Monday 8 November
Term 2 End Friday 17 December (early school closure)
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