Name:…………………………………. Form:…………………………………..

ARNOLD MIDDLE SCHOOL PAGE 2

Dear Parents/ Carers Thank you for all your messages of support with our recent difficulties with the snow and, in particular, the collapse of the Year Five canopy, along with the brick work and windows. It has been a very challenging time dealing with the results of the canopy collapse and I would like to particularly mention the commitment and support received from our wonderful Site Manager, Dale Childs (and his family), in securing the building; overseeing the

clearing of the debris; moving the contents of the two classrooms and getting quotations together for the reinstatement of the building. Clearly, the work has to be overseen by Building Control as well as the Local Authority (as other schools with cantilever canopies nationally could also be affected). The insurers, Local Authority Legal Team and canopy company are all involved too; so it requires a lot of checking and confirmation at each stage of the work. Currently, we are waiting for the canopy company’s insurers to grant permission for the chosen builders to start work. The builders will then be able to order the specialist bricks (yes: the school was built in a particular brick type and colour all those years ago) and the windows and frames have to be made to order (taking a lead time of four weeks). In the mean time I would like to thank the two classes mainly affected, and Mrs Wood and Mrs Wright for their patience. Thanks also to Mr Sides and Mrs Yates for coping with the changes to the PALM Centre venue and the Sounds Write teachers for finding temporary rooms to carry on teaching. It certainly kept a few of us busy over the Christmas holiday moving furniture and liaising with the LA!

I am very sympathetic to the high number of parents affected by the erratic school transport during the icy and snowy weather. As I have made clear before; we will open the school at all times if it is safe to do so. The Friday before Christmas, I was left with ten staff unavailable for work even before the snow (winter

vomiting) and so had to make the decision to close as I could not guarantee the safe supervision of the children. Fortunately, our staff are made of strong stuff and most were able to get to school (and home again) during the January snow days.

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The Local Authority is responsible for the transport of our children to and from school. The coach company’s owners are responsible for making sure that their buses can run safely each day in bad weather. I get up every morning during poor weather at 06.00 to check the Met Office weather service (automatic ‘feeds’ to my email address); contact all three bus companies bringing children to our school to see whether they are running; speak to the head teachers at Harlington Upper and Parkfields Middle schools and our Site Manager to check on local conditions. The decision is then made based on my daily assessment of the particular safety needs of our school and the pupils. I then put the details onto our school website and drive to school (half an hour on a normal day and much longer if it is snowing) to try to get there before the staff and pupils. On the rare occasions that we close I also send the text alert to parents; contact the radio stations and telephone or email the LA before 07.00. I have put an extract from a recent LA letter to all schools explaining the decision-making process for school transport and this can be found on page 9.

To make sure that the LA is doing everything possible to provide safe school transport, I have arranged for an LA Transport Officer to attend our next available Governors Meeting to explain the regulations and methods used to support the coach companies in delivering their service. Among the issues to be discussed are: school bus

reliability; seat belts on school transport; communication between the LA transport department and coach companies (especially when one company states it is unsafe to send out the bus but the other two companies are running) and how the children can be best protected when the buses are delayed. Please let me know of any particular school transport difficulties that you have reported to the LA, as they claim that very few have been received from Arnold parents. I would like to know what your concern was; who you reported it to at the LA and any further action that was taken following the report being logged. In addition, I would value a brief outline of any further concerns you may have about the current transport situation. Please send an email to admin@arnold.beds.sch.uk, with the heading “School Transport” by Wednesday 24th February 2010 so that I can collate the main concerns, ideas or praise and express them, in writing, to the transport department at the LA. Then they can give a reasonable response at the meeting with governors. It’s not about ‘blame’ but about ‘informing’ and getting concrete solutions to ensure that our children get to and from school safely.

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There is currently a consultation being carried out by Central Bedfordshire about the future of school transport and I advise you to visit the website to register your thoughts. “The current cost to Central Bedfordshire of providing home to school transport is in excess of £8 million per year. As part of Central Bedfordshire Council’s overall aim to make the most effective use of the resources available, a review been carried out. This review has identified potential areas of savings which could be achieved. The Council is now consulting on proposals for changes to the Policy.” www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/consultations/transport-consultation.aspx . The consultation closes on Friday 19th February 2010. Reminder: please would all parents dropping off or collecting their child(ren) by car remember that they should be considerate to other parents trying to get into the car park. I would also remind you that you are not allowed to stop at all, under any circumstances, in the bus lane at ‘dropping off’ and ‘collection’ times at the start and end of the school day. This is because the buses can not turn into the school site safely if the bus lane is blocked at the top: we have six buses to get into the bus lane, along with three taxis for children with additional needs. Cars blocking the Hexton Road are causing an obstruction. Remember that the communication between school and parents/carers is essential for everyone’s success! If you get in touch with us we should be able to respond within two working days. The teachers often find this most challenging because of their individual teaching commitments but there are many other support staff who can also help you resolve difficulties: Mrs Alison Creed is the Administrative Support for our two Key Stage Leaders (Miss Caroline Reeve and Mrs Rachel Moss). She may be able to get a resolution to your concern or arrange for Caroline or Rachel to get back to you.

Mrs Beverley Jones leads our First Aid Team and can often put your mind at rest if there is a problem with your child’s health or welfare. Mrs Dawn Peacock can assist you with any absence concerns

that may have. She is in regular contact (in liaison with Linda Sides) with our Education Welfare Officer, Shelley Hughes.

ARNOLD MIDDLE SCHOOL PAGE 5

Mr William Sides is acting Lead Learning Mentor this year, whilst Mrs Chesters-Lewis is on maternity leave. Alongside Mrs Sarah Yates, they can talk to you about additional support for your child with emotional, behavioural, social (friendship) difficulties that affect his or her learning. The number of children given extra help, through our Learning Mentors in the PALM Centre is continuing to grow and has a high success rate.

Mrs Tracy Tait provides support for our Core Subject Leaders (Mrs Kelly Boreham, Mrs Jane Hawkins and Mrs Linda Sides) and can be contacted to get answers to questions about the English, mathematics and science work – especially Key Stage tests. We now have a Teaching Assistant for our Specialist Status: Miss Vicky Robinson, so she may well contact you about additional support your child may be accessing to help learning in mathematics or science at KS3. Our Lead Teaching Assistants, Mrs Tracy Jones (KS3) and Mrs Annalisa McKenna (KS2), will be happy to talk to you about any learning difficulties your child may be having. They can arrange to meet you and talk through the options. They meet regularly with parents of children who have additional learning needs. If you do not get the answers to your queries you can also get in touch with Mrs Linda Sides about pastoral (Form Tutor matters) and behaviour or Mrs Lyn Lyman about curriculum, teaching and assessment. Our Key Stage Leaders are involved in ‘intervention programmes’ with some of our pupils who need extra help to keep their learning ‘on track’. Parents are involved in this programme with regular reviews of their child’s progress. Mrs Lyman has organised a plethora of additional one-to-one programmes with individual pupils who are in need of extra help for English or mathematics. This is based on previous progress and set up in liaison with our teachers. All one-to-one tutors are qualified teachers, as required by the government initiative that funds it. Parental support for these programmes is key to the success: as I wrote in our last news letter – parents involved in their child’s learning really does make a significant difference.

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We have a Parent Awareness Raising Event straight after the half term break and we want you to find out more about our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) or ‘learning platform’ where we are putting homework activities and other resources for our pupils to use. Mrs Sue Dye and Mr Greg Davis will be on hand to explain what a ‘learning platform’ can do and you can try the system out for yourself! I have added the other events that are taking place at Arnold in the second half of the Spring Term. Do take time to add them to your diary.

Best wishes Ann Payne

Tuesday 23rd February PARE 2 VLE and ICT(19.00 – 20.00) [providing robust ICT & VLE]

Thursday 11th March Parents’ Forum 2 (19.00 – 20.00) [Promoting community cohesion]

Monday 15th – Friday 19th March

SCIENCE WEEK (09.05 – 15.30) [Specialist Status]

Wednesday 24th March Thursday 25th March

Arts Performances (19.00 – 21.00) [Enriching the Curriculum, Art Mark accreditation, healthy lifestyles]

Wednesday 31st March Spring Concert (19.30 – 21.00) [Celebrating achievements]

Westoning Disco

Friday 26th February

Westoning Village Hall

7-9pm

Entry £3

Refreshments available

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PARENT SUPPORT ASSISTANT Being a parent or carer can be a difficult and challenging job. As parents we continually question whether we are doing a good enough job, and occasionally there are times when extra support would be appreciated. This support may be advice on how to get the children into a routine or how to deal with challenging behaviour; it may even be just someone to talk to. This is where I can be of help.

My name is Louise Smith, I am the new Parent Support Assistant for your child(rens) school, I may be able to provide you with the support you require or may be able to put in touch with someone who can support you. As well as offering one to one support I shall be offering drop in sessions and delivering parenting programmes in school. If you would like support for whatever reason you can contact me direct or ask the school to contact me on your behalf, my number is 07512 058674. I work part time so please feel free to leave a message if I am not available and I will get back to you my next working day. I will also be in school for the reporting days and will be available on 19th April between 1.30 -3.00 and 20th April between 10.30-11.30, please make contact if you would like to discuss anything with me.

BEHAVIOUR POLICY REVIEW We will be reviewing our behaviour and attendance policy in the summer term and would like to offer this opportunity for parents and carers to give us some feedback on the current policy. All suggestions will be considered for inclusion in the revised policy. Please access the current policy via our website and make suggestions either in writing to Mrs L Sides or via email to the school office by the end of March.

We really would appreciate your involvement in this review process. Our pupils will also have the opportunity to participate in this review.

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Maths at Arnold

Arnold Middle School maintained their 100% record of having pupils invited to take part in the Finals of the Mathematics Association’s Primary Maths Challenge. This year saw over 94,000 children from 2,577 schools complete another challenging paper and Tai Parker Tang 6SR scored within the top 2% to claim his place in the invitation only Final. Well done to all the Arnold Pupils who completed the Challenge and we look forward to the results in March. Mrs Victoria Wright KS2 Teacher

ICT – Home Access Grant Home Access is a government drive which will help low-income families to get access to a computer and the internet to get online at home. If you are a low income family in receipt of certain benefits you could qualify for a grant to buy a computer and/or a minimum of one year’s internet access. The programme is aimed at those that need it the most and targets families that do not have access to a computer or the internet at home. Depending on what you need, the grant allows eligible applicants to buy one of the following packages:-

• Full package (a computer, one year’s internet access, service and support), • A computer with service and support, • One year’s internet access only. If you think you are eligible for a Home Access grant, please contact Sarah Yates on 01582 616400. This personal information will be treated with the strictest of confidence.

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Local Authority letter to schools about roads and school transport affected by weather conditions: “We are sending this letter to advise you of the ‘Policy and Procedures’ that Central Bedfordshire Council operates in bad weather conditions. When the roads are affected by weather conditions and the ability of the transport companies to service the routes they provide for the student/s we impose the following policy: As the weather can be different in each of these locations we ask the transport company to ‘Risk Assess’ their ability to run transport and whether this route can be completed safely or if at all. Where the operator believes there is danger and the route can not be completed, we advise the company not to run the route. Where transport can not be provided safely, the operator will notify us and the school. At this point the school would need to assess the student/s safety and where the child/children can stay until it is safe to operate the transport. The Authority understands this may cause difficulties for the school, but it is not acceptable to transport students when their safety is at risk.” Monitoring and Risk Assessment Officer Central Bedfordshire Council.

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This year, we are a small, but enthusiastic, group of parents who have joined the PTA committee (FASA) and we would like to take this opportunity to

introduce ourselves. You may see us around school from time to time, so please do stop and ask any questions you may have about FASA or, if you can

help us, by supporting our events.

We are:

Rachel Smith (Chair) – Mum of Naomi in Year 5 Nicki Anderson (Treasurer) – Mum of Sean in Year 6

Carol Gray (Secretary) – Mum of John in Year 7 Abby Miller – Mum of Amber in Year 6 Shirley Martin – Mum of Izzy in Year 5

Bev Everitt – Mum of Brandon in Year 5 Rolly Sibley – Dad of Luke in Year 6

If you are interested in helping out at one of the events listed below or becoming a committee member – you can quickly let us know by just replying

back to our school email address pta@arnold.beds.sch.uk

Events being supported by FASA this year:

24th/25th March ARTS PERFORMANCE 7-9pm 31st March SPRING CONCERT 7.30–9pm 17th – 21st May MUSIC AND DRAMA PRODUCTION 9th July YEAR 8 LEAVERS DISCO 16th July MULTI SPORTS EVENT 9-3.30pm 19th July MULTI SPORTS EVENT 9–3.30pm

We would be very grateful if parents could donate any raffle prizes for some of these events by sending them into school with your children or by dropping off

donations at the School Office.

We are also thinking about other events to organise and will keep you posted.

Finally, this is your opportunity to get involved with our school, a brilliant way of meeting other parents and help in our fundraising efforts at the same time! We

look forward to hearing from you.

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Science Club

Science club for years 6 & 7 has been running since October half term and has been a great success. Before half term we completed a CSI project which all club members enjoyed and those that attended had certificates sent home (parents will remember these!) This term we spent a few weeks designing and making an ‘egg lander.’ The aim was to make a protective box with parachute for the raw egg to sit while it was dropped. These ‘egg landers’ were dropped from 3 & 10m, while most of them survived there was one clear winner, Emma Keight from 7CMc. So a big thank you to all the scientists that come to our club and we hope to see more in the near future. Science club runs every Tuesday 12:20-12:50pm.

Emma Keight 7CMc Picture below from left to right:

Emma Keight Robbie Suttle

Liam Abrahams Matthew Rowe Bradley Hinkley

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VOICES IN A MILLION By Emma Bush

7LGK We went on a coach to the O2 arena where we were given t shirts that we had to perform in. When we arrived we had a long dress rehearsal which was tiring but it gave us a chance to see the other kids performing. The children that were performing were from stage schools that had been selected to perform at this event. Our stage school had to sing some solos but most of the songs we had to sing in a big choir of 4000! At the actual event in the evening, there were celebrities there, supporting adoption, as the whole event was for raising awareness of the BAAF—the British Association for Adoption and Fostering. We met Sinitta from X Factor, she presented the show as she is adopted herself. The whole thing was recorded on CD and DVD and there were lots of souvenirs available. We got back home at 12:30 at night! It was really good and a memorable experience.

Emma Bush

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P.E. Newsletter

Basketball has been the main focus for girls’ extra curricular activities this term, with both the year 7 & 8 girls competing in the Mid Beds League. The year 8’s began by drawing their first game against Robert Bloomfield 11-1, this was followed by a fixture against Parkfields. The girls played some high quality Basketball and came out the victorious team winning by a narrow 2 points. Well done to all the year 8 team who have now qualified for the county finals on the 5th March at the Bunyan Centre Bedford. The competition starts at 11am and all parents are welcome to come and support the team. Let’s hope the girls’ can finish as county champions, as they did last year. The year 7 team have played some tremendous Basketball and have picked up the skills and understanding of the game well. Again the year 7s are unbeaten at present and are currently in first place in their pool of the league. The girls have qualified as 1st pool winners and have one playoff game to play which will decide if they will make their way to the county competition. Good luck to the year 7s in their last pool game against Robert Bloomfield B team. Both teams have trained hard this term and last, and they have been practicing at lunch as well as after school. They have also received specialist coaching from a MK Lions Basketball coach. Thanks to all the girls for their time and commitment to the PE Department.

This term has seen the commencement of the Arts Performance Gym and Dance preparations. We are currently practicing every Monday and Friday lunchtimes in training for the final performances on the 24th and 25th March. This year’s performance will be based on the Disney production Aladdin. The department would like to invite all those pupils interested to come along to practises as it’s not too late to get involved.

Finally our year 6 Netball team have been in action this term, for the first time since practising consistently since September. The team took part in the Mid Beds High 5s Festival at Redborne Upper School. They beat Robert Bloomfield B team 6-0, they also played well against Woodlands.

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with a final score of 4-1. They went on to play Parkfields and unfortunately lost 4-1 to them. The team showed great potential and their defending was a strong point to their game, more focus and practising on attacking and shooting should ensure that the team do well in their up and coming county tournament on the 9th March held at Dame Alice School, again all parents are welcome to come and support the team and more details will follow shortly. Well done to all the girls: Jessica Jones Jessica Pitts Lucy Treacher Joanna Saunders Sara Marshall Ria Pachnanda Hannah Underwood The year 7&8 Netball teams have also resumed training again on Thursday lunchtimes in preparation for the dstrict county tournament on the 4th March at the Bunyan Centre. Good luck to both teams, let’s hope we can bring home some trophies and the year 7s can add to their impressive unbeaten record and league and county title winners. There has also been a very hectic schedule for the boys this term, with basketball, football and cross country fixtures, there has been a variety of competitive sports opportunities for our pupils. We start with the basketball season which has seen our year 8 boys compete in their league fixtures. They started the season with a hard-fought win against Marston Vale 2-0. This was followed by a 4-0 defeat to Etonbury and 8-4 defeat to Parkfields. Both these fixtures were close matches, and it was nice to see our basketball team develop in both ability and confidence levels. Our year 7 boys are currently still involved in their fixtures with Henlow dropping out of the league presenting us with the points we went on to play Robert Bloomfield B in a very close match. After a slow start we found ourselves right back in the game and it was not until close to the very end where thoughts of an impressive comeback were ended. The final result saw us lose 28 points to 18 however we followed this with an impressive home victory over Parkfields Middle, winning 20-16, the boys played some good basketball and worked with each other to maintain the team’s good progress.

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With our league football season around the corner, the year 6 boys squad were looking to continue their impressive work at Arnold. As current county cup champions we had already had a convincing win at Abbey Middle School which presented us with a quarter-final at home to Lincroft Middle School. The game was played at Barton Rovers F.C. we met a good Lincroft side and found ourselves behind in the game. The boys however, responded fairly quickly and soon

equalised, followed by a vast amount of possession and pressure but we couldn’t find the breakthrough. Finally with the end of extra-time approaching and penalties looming Matthew Vale headed in Connor Penning’s accurate cross to send us through to the semi-finals. Well done to all the boys who showed a great deal of determination and character. We now look forward to those semi-finals. Our cross country season has also started with pupils selected to represent a 5 & 6 and 7 & 8 squad. Our pupils’ ran very well and finished impressively. Special mentions must go to Jessica Pitts, who finished 16th, and Harrison Wright who finished 59th. Well done to all who represented the school with great determination. A special mention must also go Shannon Ewen, whose name was accidently missed off the congratulations list for the year 5 & 6 indoor athletics that was mentioned in the previous newsletter. Shannon competed extremely well and along with her fellow team-mates played a big part in what was a suc-cessful and enjoyable evening. PE Department Miss J. Cooke Mr. K. Tfifiha

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ARNOLD SCHOOL DIARY 2009-2010 Monday 15th February Half term week – return Monday 22nd February

Tuesday 23rd February Parents’ Awareness Raising Evening (2)

Monday 8th – Friday 12th March Year 7 French PGL visit

Thursday 11th March Parents’ Forum Evening (2)

Monday 15th – Friday 19th March National Science Week – whole school enrichment events

Wednesday 24th March Arts Performances (gymnastics, dance and drama)

Thursday 25th March Arts Performances (gymnastics, dance and drama)

Tuesday 30th March Year 8 group and individual photos + music groups

Tuesday 30th March FASA Disco

Wednesday 31st March SPRING CONCERT

Thursday 1st April Spring Term Ends

Friday 2nd – Saturday 10th April Ski Trip

Monday 19th April Training Day/Reports Day } Pupils not in school – appointment

times will be

Tuesday 20th April Reports Day } issued to meet with Form Tutors

on both days

Wednesday 21st April Summer Term Commences

Wednesday 28th April Yr 3 / 4 Parents of Children with Additional Needs Meeting

Thursday 29th April Junior Maths Challenge Day

Monday 3rd May May Day Bank Holiday – school closed

Monday 10th – Friday 14th May Key Stage 2 SATs Week

Monday 17th – Friday 21st May Year 6 PGL Activity Week

Monday 17th – Friday 21st May Enrichment Week

Week commencing Monday 24th May MUSICAL PRODUCTION

Tuesday 25th May Parents’ Forum Evening (3)

Monday 31st May – Friday 4th June Half Term Week – return Monday 7th June

Tuesday 8th June Parents’ Awareness Raising Evening (3)

Tuesday 15th June Year 4 Maths & Rounders Day

Wednesday 23rd June DT G&T Afternoon for Year 4 pupils

Wednesday 7th July Summer Concert

Thursday 8th July Year 8 Curriculum Induction Day (Harlington Upper School)

Friday 9th July All Pupils’ Induction Day (including partner lower schools)

Friday 9th July Year Eight Leavers’ Disco

Friday 16th July Sports Events (athletics, swimming and team events)* further

details to follow.

Monday 19th July Year 5 Intake Evening for parents (with children)

Monday 19th July Sports Events (athletics, swimming and team events)*

Tuesday 20th July Year Five French Day

Tuesday 20th July Leavers’ Celebration Assembly (evening with parents)

Wednesday 21st July Year 8 Day Trip - Summer Term Ends.