Making a Musical Mark Last week’s ‘Come and Play’ with Dudley Performing Arts was a great success. The DPA staff were overwhelmed by the large number of children, who had turned up to perform together, and said it was probably their best attended session in any school. With djembe drums, violins, a keyboard, guitars, flutes, tenor horns, trumpets and 12 trombones, the makeshift band made an amazing sound. If you couldn’t make it this time, please come and play next time - there’s always room for more children, parents and grandparents.

This week it was a pleasure to be able to see our school choir on stage as part of a massed choir of over 1,000 children at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, one of the best concert halls in the world! ‘Sing!’, presented by Music Mark West Midlands, featured children from across 14 local authorities performing a varied international programme of modern and traditional songs. As usual, our Greenfield children were brilliantly supported by their families, who turned out in good numbers to enjoy this memorable event. Our next big performance in school is our spring musical, ‘Alice in Wonderland’, starring the children of Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5, with shows on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 March. Rehearsals are well underway and I know we are going to be in for a real treat.

Greenfield’s Got Creative Talent Our 2018 Eisteddfod takes place on the afternoon of Friday 2 March. The original National Eisteddfod of Wales was a grand gathering to which poets and musicians from all over the country were invited and can be traced back to 1176, so we are following in the footsteps of a long artistic tradition. My own maternal grandfather was a keen amateur Welsh-speaking actor and reciter, who competed in Eisteddfods in South Wales in the first half of the last century. Our Eisteddfod is an important part of our life at Greenfield and enriches our curriculum by giving the children the opportunity to perform. It has been wonderful to see so many children taking part in this week’s auditions in singing, instrumental music, dance and poetry. The standard of entries has been really high and I know we shall all enjoy their artistic talents on the big day. The coming half term break provides the perfect time for our finalists to perfect those performances.

All Eyes and Ears Have you ever thought your child has difficulty in reading print or has your child ever told you they can’t see the whiteboard in school clearly? If so, please get their eyes checked during the half term break. It's recommended that children have regular eye tests at least once every two years. These tests can be done at a high street opticians and are free for all children under 16 years old (and those under 19 years old in full-time education). Similarly, if you're worried about your child's hearing, please don’t hesitate to speak to your GP or health visitor. It’s not always easy to identify problems with sight and hearing, but if you are in any doubt, please get your child checked. Sight and hearing difficulties can have a big effect on your child’s life and really impact on their learning in school.

The Greenfield Team wishes all our children and families a wonderful half term holiday and we look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday 27 February at 8.45 am. Parents’ Evening letters have gone out this week, so if you haven’t already returned your appointment slips, please make sure they come in on the first day back.

Peter Bravo Headteacher

Email: info@greenfield.dudley.sch.uk Website: www.greenfield.dudley.sch.uk

Attendance for Last Week

Well done to our top classes:

Iceland: 98.57% Zanzibar: 98.52% Mauritius: 97.41%

Individual attendance of less than 90% or ten or more unauthorised sessions (equal to one school week) will result in a referral to the

Education Investigation Service, which could result in a Penalty Notice being issued.

Friends of Greenfield School

Dates for the Diary

Friday 9 March Family Quiz Night - 6.00-7.30 pm

A fun evening for the whole family!

Look out for information in book bags.

Wednesday 14th March FroG Monthly Meeting – 8pm at The

Longlands Tavern (upstairs).

Diary of events for coming months to follow to include children’s discos, mufti days, cake sales, a chocolate bingo evening and our first

“Curryoke” evening.

Many thanks and wishing you all a happy half term.

The FroG Team.

Change to Legal Tender

The £10 notes had a bit of a makeover last

year. The new polymer note features a portrait

of Jane Austen, who is one of the most well-

known and popular British authors of all time.

The old style paper £10 note featuring Charles

Darwin will cease to be legal tender from

1 March 2018. We will therefore not be

accepting the old paper £10 notes in school

after today to allow us time to process them

before the cut off date.

Please can we remind parents that the old

style round pounds and paper £5 notes are

no longer legal tender, so we cannot accept

them in school.

Don’t forget to swap your old style money for

new at the bank!

Our online payment facility with ParentMail is a

really easy way to pay for most items in school

including trips, Before and After School Club,

DPA lessons and much more and negates the

need for much of the cash transactions that

used to happen within school. If you don’t

currently have a ParentMail account, please

come to the school office and we will be happy

to set you up.

What’s on locally?

Are you looking for some fun things to do this half term? The following websites are full of

fun activities and days out locally.

Mary Stevens Park http://www.marystevenspark.org/whats-on/

Discover Dudley Events http://www.discoverdudleyevents.co.uk/events-

2/

Family Information Service http://fis.dudley.gov.uk/FSD/PublicEnquiry_Liv

e/SynergyEnglishHome.aspx

Primary Times https://www.primarytimes.co.uk/birmingham/

Raring 2 Go https://raring2go.co.uk/kidderminster-and-

stourbridge/whats-on

Times Tables Rockstars

The top 10 Times Table Rockstars for this

week are...

1. Mary Cutler

2. Tom Hinds

3. Hibbah Ahmed

4. Shayan Jillani

5. Gracie Burford-Sargent

6. William Kilbride

7. Jacob Priest

8. Joshua Davies

9. Charlotte Yates

10. Finley Wright

Sabah Mahmood

Annabelle Findlay

Niamh Bills

Sophia Burgess

Toby Homer

Finley Carr * Kate Miles

Baxter Lawrence * Aaliyah Emery

Evan Burgoyne * Todd Stevens

Jessica Gardner * Poppy Turner

Diary Dates

19-23 February

Half Term

26 February - 2 March

Monday INSET Day - School Closed to

Children

Tuesday Martinique Swimming

Tuesday English Booster Club

Tuesday Greenfield Gazette

Tuesday Neat Feet Dance Club

Wednesday Miss Batham’s Boot Camp

Wednesday Film Club

Wednesday Dizzee Dance Club

Thursday World Book Day - Dress Up

Thursday Maths Booster Club

Thursday Neat Feet Ballet Club

Friday Eisteddfod

Friday Volleyball Club

Letters Sent Home this Week

Y5: Library Visit

All: Parents Evening

Dizzee Dance: Easter Celebration of Dance

Fall in love with recycling

Valentine’s Day is a day to show our loved ones how much they mean to us by giving cards and gifts, but it is

one of the most wasteful days of the year. Dudley Council is asking its residents to remember to recycle as

much as possible to help retain valuable resources.

Cards, cardboard boxes and wrapping paper can be turned into pulp and refashioned into new items including

cards, paper and even road surface materials.

Glass is a valuable resource which does not lose its quality over time and can be recycled many times. It is often reconstituted into bottles, but can even be used in

insulation materials.

Flowers brighten up everyone’s day, but once they have faded they make an invaluable source for compost. If

you don’t have a compost bin, you can simply cut them into small pieces and sprinkle around a garden to feed

the soil

For more information about Dudley’s recycling scheme visit http://www.recyclefordudley.org.uk/

Half Term Activities at Mary Stevens Park

Bird Feeder Making and Nature Art

Wednesday 21 February, 11am – 12noon

Not suitable for anyone with serious nut

allergies. Meet outside the Activity centre.

Drop in Mothers Day Craft

Thursday 22 February, 11am – 12noon

Aimed at children aged 3+.

Meet outside the Activity centre.

Growing Together Family Activity

Friday 23 February, 11am – 12noon

Meet at the vegetable garden near the café.

Hedgehog Activities

Saturday 24 February, 11am – 12 noon

Meet outside the activity centre

Let’s Get Active Half Term Activities

20 – 24 February, 2 - 4pm

From 2 - 3pm - free play activities including

swingball, chalk art and jenga.

From 3.15 to 4pm, scheduled activities including

parachute games, relay games, Frisbee golf,

football, dodgeball, basketball and an

orienteering challenge. Aimed at children aged

7-14. Meet at the Activity Centre.

For information about the activities, visit

http://www.marystevenspark.org/whats-on/

Safer Internet Day 2018

Last week, Greenfield celebrated Safer Internet Day, which focused on the theme of children making a positive impact online.

During the week, children took part in a range of workshops considering how we are all responsible in creating an internet

experience, which is both fun and respectful to all. In addition to this, children in Key Stage 2 completed an online usage survey - the results of which will follow shortly. In an increasingly digital age, at Greenfield we pride ourselves on teaching children how to be safe online and wish for

them to demonstrate what they have learnt, when they are at home. Please take the opportunity to discuss online safety issues with your child and how they can contribute to making the internet a positive

experience for all.

If you would like any other information in relation to E-Safety, please do not hesitate to get in touch with either Mr Dove or Mrs Remmers.

Thank you.