12th March 2010
Dear Parent/Carer,
Sorry we had no newsletter last week – it was non stop!
Mr Vindhani Headteacher from Karachi in Pakistan was with us on Wednesday and Thursday. Prior to this, I attended a conference in Reading for 3 days on ‘Connecting Classrooms’ run by the British Council with Headteachers from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh where we were working together as partners within the cluster of schools. Our cluster is 5 Pakistani schools, one primary in Leeds (us!), one high school in London and a further education college in Wales. On Wednesday Mr Vindhani met the children and observed teaching and learning. He was a big hit with the children and both sides learned a lot. Prior to this we had exchanged letters (Year 3) and gifts and we have exciting things planned for the future. Miss O’Malley is planning a Global Linking page on our school website where you can be updated. We were acknowledged as having excellent practice by the U.K. organiser and the other Headteachers and representatives from Education Leeds that we addressed at a seminar on Thursday were very impressed by our school. Many thanks to our Global International Schools and Community Cohesion Co-ordinator Miss O’Malley for her excellent work.
End of term assemblies
Monday 29th March at 9.15am - Years 3 and 4
at 2.30pm - Years 5 and 6
Tuesday 30th March at 9.15am - Reception, Year 1 and Year 2
Easter Bonnet Parade and assembly
I would also like to remind you that we break up for Easter on Wednesday 31st March and return on Monday 19th April.
Training Days Reminder
Our final two training days for this school year are: -
Thursday 1st April and Monday 7th June
Active Learning
Some of you may be aware that Miss Smart has been taking part in a film project with her class. This has involved a film maker coming into school and helping the children to make and produce films and also develop the skill of teaching through film. Only 12 schools in the city have been involved so it is quite a privilege. As a result of this, we have been given 40 free tickets to view a preview screening of a short animated film as part of the Leeds Young People’s film festival. This is on the afternoon of Tuesday 30th March at Hyde Park Picture House. We will keep you updated when we know who is going.
Mother’s Day Shop
Miss Smart would like to thank everyone who helped run the Mother’s Day shop again this year. A local company donated some great gifts and Mrs Tonkinson has been wrapping like crazy to ensure lovely gifts have been given to all you mums and carers alike! Thanks to all those who have supported this for the second year running!
St. Mary’s and St. Andrew’s Rainbows and Brownies - Places Available
St. Mary’s and St. Andrew’s both have places available for Rainbows (girls aged 5 and 6) and Brownies (girls aged from 7 to 10).
St. Mary’s St. Andrew’s
Rainbows - Tuesday 5pm - 6pm Rainbows - Monday 6pm - 7pm
Brownies - Tuesday 5.45pm - 7.15pm Brownies - Monday 6pm - 7.30pm
Cost - £12 a term Cost - £1 a week
Contact Mrs Ware - 0113 2776647 Contact Mrs Bray - 0113 2710156
Raffle Tickets
Mrs Mitchell will be selling raffle tickets at 20p each to raise money for Cancer Research. The prize is a knitted rabbit. Tickets will be available from 3pm Monday - Thursday outside the main school entrance.
School Lunches
As you know we aim to provide (through Crown Point Food) healthy and tasty hot school meals. We continuously seek to meet the needs of the children and consider their suggestions for improvement. If your child receives or has received school dinners in the past, I would be really grateful if you would fill in the slip below and send it back to school. We are considering having Halal meat as an option in the future, if there is enough demand for it. Please call in, ring the office or send a note if you are interested in this. At the moment we have daily vegetarian options available.
My child thinks school dinners are: .................................................................................
because .......................................................................................................................
School lunches would be improved if: ............................................................................. ....................................................................................................................................
Any other comments: ....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
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On a completely different note – we have reviewed our Behaviour Policy and would like to update you. A revised list of sanctions is being sent with this newsletter. Please do call into see me if you have any questions or comments about it.
Enjoy the weekend!
Mrs M Beesley
Headteacher
At Hugh Gaitskell Primary we endeavour to spot children being good and find ways to enhance and encourage positive learning behaviour.
We celebrate excellent behaviour in a variety of ways: lots and lots of positive comments, stickers to wear, stars for their team, small treats from a prize box, certificates, team points, weekly assemblies, termly parent assemblies, special trips and additional responsibilities in school.
When behaviour is less positive, the following systems are used by teachers and adults in school.
L Sanction
1 Non-Verbal
The child is reminded of the class and school rules and what will happen if their unwanted behaviour continues.
2 Verbal Cue
Warning 1 – The child writes their name on the warning card
Warning 2- If the behaviour persists their name moves up to warning card 2
Time out – The child is asked to leave the teaching area until their behaviour has improved.
Loss of playtime- The child will stay inside during playtime. If they miss 3 playtimes within a half term you will receive a letter in the post.
3 Strikes
Strike 1- The child loses 10 minutes of their golden time (this is a time at the end of the week when the children choose what activity they want to do such as football or cooking).
Strike 2- The child would lose 20 minutes of their golden time.
Strike 3- The child would lose all of their golden time and would go on green report card. Your child’s class teacher would contact you if this was the case. Green report card lasts for one week and the child’s behaviour for each lesson is recorded on it. They also stay inside for 1 of their lunchtimes.
4 Orange Report Card
If the behaviour has not improved or the child has acted dangerously, they would go onto orange report card. Mrs Summers or Mrs McNulty would contact you if this was the case. It means your child would stay inside at lunchtime for one week, would miss all of their golden time and would have their behaviour monitored during each lesson. An individual behaviour plan would be written by the child and their teacher if they are on orange report card for 2 weeks or more.
5 Red Report Card
If the behaviour has not improved or the child has acted aggressively, they would go onto red report card. Mrs Beesley would contact you if this was the case. It means your child would stay inside for a whole week at playtime and lunchtime, would miss all of their golden time and would have their behaviour monitored during each lesson.
6 Isolation
Mrs Beesley may make the decision that your child needs some time away from other children and would complete their work in the isolation room which is always supervised by an adult.
7 BEST House
Mrs Beesley may decide that time away from Hugh Gaitskell may be the best solution to suppressing some behaviours. If your child is referred to the BEST house it would be your responsibility to take them there. BEST stands for Behaviour in Education Support Team and they specialise in helping children to reflect on their behaviour and in making positive decisions.
8 Exclusion
In extreme cases, as a last resort, Mrs Beesley may decide that your child needs to remain at home for a set number of days to reflect on their behaviour and calm down. We do all we can to ensure that this happens very rarely - we would prefer your child to be at school and just like you, we want the best for them!
As of last week children have been able to choose an activity of their choice to spend their golden time in. These have included pizza making, football, baking and sewing. Lets hope this motivates children to stay off of report cards as we have lots of fun doing these activities!