Dear Parents,

School closes for pupils on

FRIDAY 22ND DECEMBER 2017 @ 3.25/3.30p.m. (Please note this is a non uniform day)

School re-opens for pupils on TUESDAY, 9TH JANUARY 2018 @ 8.50 a.m.

HOLIDAY REMINDER

Yours sincerely, H. Setchell Headteacher

2018 SAT dates KS2 (Year 6) SATs test week is the week beginning Monday 14th May 2018. The children will be involved all week and breakfast club will run for Year 6 each day. KS1 (Year 2) SATs will take place in May and June 2018. Year 1 phonic test week will take place the week beginning 11th June 2018. Please do not book a holiday at any time for the new Yr 1, 2 and 6 pupils during the period from Easter until the end of June 2018.

Dressing for Winter ! As you are aware, it is school policy that children go outside during break and lunchtimes and it is necessary that they are adequately dressed, therefore we ask you to send your child into school with a coat. We are also encouraging pupils during the cold weather to wear dark coloured tracksuit bottoms and top over their PE kits during the winter months. Your co-operation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

HEADLICE Please ensure that you check your own child’s hair on at least a weekly basis. The school nurse has also suggested that a twice daily vigorous brushing of hair will help in diminishing this problem. LA guidelines firmly put the onus for checking and treating in the hands of parents. Head lice can be dramatically reduced and even eliminated. However this can only be done through the FULL co-operation of ALL parents.

Remembrance Day (11th November 2017) We will be selling Poppies in aid of Remembrance Day for 30p each. These should be on sale from Monday 6th November. All pupils who belong to Uniform Brigades are encouraged to wear their pack uniforms to school on Friday 10th November 2017.

In Year 6, we have enjoyed writing leaflets about Skara Brae as part of our topic. Before writing, we had to consider the audience and purpose carefully and research the most appropriate information that we thought would persuade people to go there. We found lots of interesting facts about Skara Brae and it was hard to select the best ones to include in our leaflets without giving too much information away. Why not read one of our leaflets and see if it persuades you to visit this fantastic World Heritage site, on the Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland? Chloe 6N

05/17-18 3RD NOVEMBER 2017

GREEN MEADOW PRIMARY SCHOOL

Green Meadow Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 4EE

Tel: 0121 475 4505 Fax: 0121 476 8254

Miss H. Setchell—Head Teacher

www.greenmeadowprimaryschool.com

enquiry@greenmeadow.bham.sch.uk

Year 5

We have lots of

exciting things planned for Year 5 this term!

In preparation for starting our new topic, our half-term

challenge was to create a sculpture or sketch of an aspect of Ancient

Egypt. Miss Bonner and Miss Baillie have been amazed by the creative pieces that have been brought in so far. We will be focusing on the importance of the River Nile and the impact it

had on Ancient Egypt.

Children in Need-Friday 17th November 2017 We will be doing a 'spot' of fundraising! Pudsey Bear Biscuits will be on sale at break instead of toast for 40p. Dress up in

spotty clothes for a £1 donation. Children who do not want to wear

spotty clothes must wear normal school uniform.

PLAYGROUND EXPECTATION Please can I remind all parents and family members that while waiting with children before or after school they should be mindful of their interactions with other parents. As adults, we are all the role models for the children and, in their interests, people should not be approaching each other with disagreements that may be heard by our children. The school site is not the place for personal difficulties with other parents or family members to be discussed or aired. If you have any worries concerning your child at school, please do not hesitate to share them with staff as soon as possible. We ask that you arrange to speak with class teachers at the end of the day, when they have more time and are not welcoming or dismissing the children. If you have something you wish to inform school of urgently or in confidence, please phone the school office to make an appointment or email– enquiry@greenmeadow.bham.sch.uk Thank you for your co-operation.

Pre / Post School Request A reminder that during the periods before / after school, pupils remain the responsibility of their parents. Please support us by ensuring that:

Pupils are not on site before 8.40 a.m. unless they have an arranged pre school job.

No balls / equipment are brought into school and used.

Bikes and scooters are not ridden on the playgrounds.

Pupils are properly supervised by parents at all times. The Bournville Village Trust MUGA is open before / after school. If your child is using this space, please supervise them to minimise problems / injuries. You will be able to enter school in the morning via the gate. Thank you.

SAFEGUARDING ALERT Safeguarding children is one of the most important roles of any school organisation. You have an important part to play in keeping children safe. In order to protect our pupils, please do not post on social media (e.g. Facebook) any school photos, images or letters. Letters from school can be found on the school website under the Parents Tab. Thank you for your co-operation.

Reception Class Places 2018 A reminder to all parents/carers who have a child who was born between 1.09.2013—31.08.2014. You need to make an application for your child to start Reception Class in September 2018 by no later than 15th January 2018. The quickest and easiest way to make an application is online at www.birmingham.gov.uk/schooladmissions or by contacting a member of the School Admissions and Pupil Placements Service on 0121 303 1888. Our final open morning is being held on Monday 6th November 2017 from 9.30 —10.30 a.m. for parents to come and view provision and find out about the school. Please contact the school office if you wish to attend.

SCHOOL MEALS WEEK The school kitchen will be taking part in the ‘School Meals Week’ initiative from Monday 13th November to Friday 17th November 2017. For only £2.20 per day children will be able to enjoy a tasty nutritional meal each day. If your child/ren currently have sandwiches and you would like them to sample our menu choices during this week please call into the office to book them in.

Year 4 Our Geography topic is Extreme Weather. As part of our topic we have been finding out about hurricanes. We wrote a report and had great fun presenting it for Green Meadow News.

Here is part of our report. In the early hours of the morning, at precisely 2:00 am, Hurricane Irma charged through the South East of America, bringing chaos and destruction to the country. This monster began as a small group of clouds off Africa. However, due to the dramatic increase in the temperature it soon became a deadly hurricane. By Nouraan and Evie VEHICLE ACCESS TO SCHOOL SITE

Due to health and safety reasons and the increasing number of parental vehicles trying to enter the school site, there will be no vehicle access before or after school. This includes After School Clubs. The gates will remain closed. Please park appropriately on Green Meadow Road with consideration for our neighbours.

SCHOOL CLOSURES As the dark nights return and the cold weather will be upon us, we would like to remind parents of our arrangements for school closures. We have decided that we will only text parents when a decision to close has been made. Should you not have a text from us then please be aware that the school will be OPEN. As we are using this method of communication, please ensure that school has your current mobile number. Like everything else, this strategy will only work effectively when everyone is fully engaged in the process. In addition to the text, a notice will be posted on the school website if the school has to close. Thank you for your support.

ASSEMBLIES The children and staff work very hard to provide a very high standard in our Assemblies and these occasions are a highlight in our community. We asked for parental support last year in not leaving before the end of the assembly as this can be very disruptive to the event. This proved to be generally successful and we would like this practice to continue. If you have to leave early then I would be grateful if you contact me beforehand and we will designate a place near the door so as to minimise any disruption. This will only be done on a limited basis as we expect parents to stay. It would also be appreciated if ALL mobile phones are switched off during these events. We would suggest that parents with younger siblings sit at either side of the hall so you can move into the Rain Forest Area or the Infant Dining Room if the younger children become restless. Thank you for your support in this matter.

SCHOOL CHRISTMAS EVENTS Please look below for a reminder about the Christmas Event Dates that are being held in the last week of term. As always, due to health and safety requirements, no children under 5 can be permitted into any of the events. Please make arrangements with friends and family for your younger children (babies / toddlers / pre school children) if you wish to attend. There is space at these events for each family to have 2 tickets. It is the school’s expectation that 1 ticket is provided for each parent. All family units are different so you are expected to liaise with the other adult who has parental responsibility about ticket organisation. Please ensure that you receive a copy of our November Christmas Event letter. This will be

sent out mid November with all the relevant details of the event on it. Each child will receive the request for ticket letter. Refreshments and a raffle will be available at each event.

Key Stage Two Carol Concert (Yr3—Yr6) Tuesday 19th December at 9.15 a.m.

Key Stage One Christmas Play (Yr1—Yr2)

Tuesday 19th December at 2.00 p.m.

Key Stage One Christmas Play (Yr1—Yr2) Wednesday 20th December at 9.15 a.m.

Key Stage Two Carol Concert (Yr3—Yr6)

Wednesday 20th December at 2.00 p.m.

Foundation Stage (Reception) Christmas Sing-a-long

Thursday 21st December at 2.00 p.m.

Attendance Congratulations to Class 4W again as they are the Junior and whole school winners with 99.48% for the month of October. The best attenders in the Infant Department were Class 1S with 97.29%. Well done. Reception Green class have recorded no lates for the month so they are the early bird winners for October – well done Reception. Our attendance needs to be above the national average of 96.50%. It is 97.38% for the first half of the autumn term which is very encouraging. There has been a dip in October to 96.93% so let’s make sure that children who can be in school are in school each day. There have been 127 recorded lates in October which is disappointing. Once again the Infant Department is more punctual than the Juniors. School starts at 8.50 a.m. and ALL children need to be in school for that time. Letters will be sent to the parents of persistent latecomers asking them to come into school to discuss a way forward. We must reduce the number of lates we have in school. Thank you to all those parents who support their children in arriving on time each day.

Infants Juniors

Class Attendance for the Month

Lates Class Attendance for the Month

Lates

Green 95.73 % 0 3D 95.50 % 19

Meadow 97.71 % 4 3M 97.60 % 17

1J 97.29 % 4 4B 96.58 % 12

1S 97.92 % 7 4W 99.48 % 13

2B 97.19 % 11 5B 97.19 % 10

2G 96.56 % 3 5C 97.49 % 9

6N 95.83 % 13

6W 94.90 % 5

Overall attendance 96.93%

RECEPTION Reception have been using their imagination to make homes for the fairies, elves and goblins that live in the nature trail during outdoor learning. The children have had so much fun creating these homes and making up stories.

Harriet said: "There is a dragon on the roof and it has laid eggs." Noah said: "I have made a fairy bed with this leaf." Poppy said: "This acorn top is a cot for a fairy baby."

PARKING Parking can be a divisive issue when looked at from different perspectives. When you park please ensure that all perspectives are covered. We would like to stress the need for parking procedures which minimise the risk of our pupils being put in danger. Please park at all times with due care and consideration both for our neighbours and, most importantly, for the safety of our children. The Police regularly patrol this area. If you see dangerous driving or parking we would ask you to record the car registration number and call the Police on 101 to report the matter.

Year 2—Great Fire of London Year 2 are about to start their new topic. We will be learning about the Great Fire of London. We asked the children to research the topic over their holidays. They have enjoyed sharing their facts with us. Did you know it started in Thomas Farriner's bakery in Pudding Lane? Did you know the fire lasted for 4 days? Noah made a fantastic model using card, coloured paper, a box and pebbles. We can't wait for our trip to Aston Hall to learn more.

Year 1

On Wednesday we had a horse and a Farrier visit us in school. The children watched as the Farrier changed the horse's shoes. They

were fascinated with the whole process and learnt some interesting facts about horses and how to care for a horse.

"He used a tool to clean the horse's feet before shaping the shoe to fit the horse's foot". Bertie 1S

"We saw the farrier put nails in the horse's shoe." Esme

Year 3 Year 3 have been so excited to explore a new picture book called Tuesday in English. They started by exploring the front cover for clues to help make a prediction of what the book might be about. After reading the book, the children created a summary of what happened using time conjunctions. They are really excited to become police officers at the end of the week to report why there are mysterious lily pads lying around the village! Take a look at some of the great summaries.