Date: 12th July 2019 Issue: 010 June During the

BRENTSIDE PRIMARY ACADEMY 80th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

On Friday 28th June, Brentside Primary Academy celebrated its 80th Birthday with a party. The sun shone while pupils shared a birthday lunch and a disco in the blue & white decorated playground. After a school rendition of “Happy Birthday”, children released 88 biodegradable balloons, which were tagged with the school name and address, each representing a group of pupils in the school. To date, four members of the public have contacted the school having found the balloons -the furthest away of which, so far, was found in North Weald airfield in Epping. The winning balloon will be announced before we break up for the summer.

YEAR TWO VISIT TO RUISLIP LIDO

On Wednesday 3rd July, pupils from Year 2 went to Ruislip Lido for the day. Children took a packed lunch & a swim suit, so when they arrived at the Lido, they could make the most of the sunny weather and the splash pads. A visit to the forest & the sand park completed the day out, and gave an ideal writing opportunity for the following day!

YEAR 5 & 6 RESIDENTIAL TRIP TO KINGSWOOD

On Monday 1st July, 44 pupils from Years 5 & 6 headed off on a coach to Kingswood residential activity centre in Kent. The trip, which many older pupils undertake before they head off to high school, is aimed at developing self-confidence, independence & team building.

Pupils undertook a range of daytime and evening activities including making

a vehicle from barrels, planks and ropes, archery, a blindfolded obstacle

course, abseiling, Jacobs’s ladder, crate building, campfire activities & a disco.

Pupils had a very busy week, and returned happy but exhausted!

May we take this opportunity to thank the two teachers and three teaching

assistants who accompanied the children on this trip for giving up their time, beyond working hours, to do so.

The remaining Year 6 pupils, who did not go to Kingswood, had an equally

busy & fun week- including a picnic at the park, swimming, bowling, watching ‘Aladdin’ at the cinema, and taking part

in art and ICT activities.

NEW ARRIVALS! This week BPA have welcomed some new arrivals - in the form of 13 little

ducklings! The ducklings, which hatched on

Wednesday morning, have arrived courtesy of our resident mother duck, Pinga, who has made her home in our

nature area in the centre of the school.

The area is ideal for our visitors, as it is secluded, with shady areas and a pond – all of which can be observed by our children, and staff as they pass through the school.

YEAR 3 PROJECT Last Wednesday, pupils from Year 3 took part in an exciting workshop led by a photographer from the

TATE gallery, London. Pupils spent the morning

participating in group games and activities, after which they were

organised and positioned to have a class photograph taken, with their

teacher and teaching assistant. The photographs will be used as

part of an up and coming exhibition, which will show a

snapshot of all Year 3 classes in London at this point in time.

The project has been organised by award winning director, Steve

McQueen, and our Year 3 photographs will be on display at the Tate Britain, from November

2019 until May 2020.

UPCOMING EVENTS 18/7/19 – Attendance Reward School Disco 19/7/19 – BPA Graduation Day 23/7/19 – Year 6 Leavers Assembly & Graduation Ceremony- 1.30pm 23/7/19 – Last day of school- 2.30pm finish 4/9/19 – Children return to school.

NURSERY FARM VISIT

Last Thursday, Nursery pupils

welcomed visitors from “Ark Farm” to their classroom.

The children had the wonderful opportunity find out about, and

share close encounters with rabbits, tortoises, chinchillas, hens,

a dog, a hedgehog and even an owl.

ENTERPRISE FAYRES

Congratulations to pupils in Reception, Year 2, and Year 4, who ran their stalls for

the Enterprise Fayre last Friday. Pupils had been busy making, baking and creating in the run up to the Fayre. They

had also been busy designing posters and flyers to advertise the event.

Parents and carers arrived at the school at 2pm to support the event, where they

had the opportunity to purchase fairy cakes and cookies, cards and canvases, keyrings and bracelets. The event was a real success, and we are looking forward to repeating the whole experience again this week, when Years 1, 3, 5 and 6 have

the opportunity to sell their wares! The winning class will be the pupils who make the most profit on their product, so please come and support your child and their class on the day. We hope to make this a regular feature of our annual curriculum, so, if you feel you may be able to support us in any future ventures, please speak to a member of staff.

BOOKS FOR SALE

As mentioned in the previous newsletter, we are selling good quality,

second hand books that support the school scheme of Singapore Maths.

Demand for the books was high when we sold them at last week’s enterprise

fayre, however, we do still have a number of copies for sale.

We are now also going to be selling a range of books that support the English

Curriculum. Collins “Treasure House” series supports Spelling, Composition,

Comprehension and Grammar from Years 1-6.

The remaining books will be be for sale next week.

MESSAGE FROM ACTING

HEADTEACHER Another week, term, and year

draws to a close. A huge thank you to everyone: pupils,

staff, parents and governors for the significant contribution that they have

made to the school this year. I am immensely proud of all we have

achieved I wish you all a restful and safe summer

break when it comes.

The 2019 KS2 SATS RESULTS were made available to the school, and I just couldn’t wait until they are officially published next year to share them with you. Thank you Year 6 pupils- you have made us proud! Pupils achieving ‘Expected’: BPA NATIONAL Reading 90% 73% Writing 88% 78% Maths 91% 79% GPS 84% 78% RWM 84% 65% The % of pupils who have achieved ‘Exceeding’ has also increased since last year. ATTENDANCE UPDATE

Attendance Target: 96%

Reception Blue 92.8% Reception Red 93.0% Class 1 Blue 96.1% Class 1 Red 95.2% Class 2 Blue 92.9% Class 2 Red 94.4% Class 3 Blue 96.4% Class 3 Red 96.4% Class 4 Blue 95.9% Class 4 Red 95.5% Class 5 Blue 95.1% Class 5 Red 94.5% Class 6 Blue 96.5% Class 6 Red 95.7%

Class Attendance Prize for Summer Term-

Ice Cream Van visit

STAFF NEWS

I would like to inform you that we are fully staffed for September 2019.

This week, our pupils have had the opportunity to spend some time with

their new teachers in their new classrooms, in preparation for the new

school year in September.

STAFF LEAVERS & JOINERS

It is with regret that I inform you that Mrs. Reid, who has been at the school for many years, and taught so many pupils, parents and even staff, will be retiring at

the end of this term.

We wish her well in her retirement and are so grateful for the huge contribution

she has made to the school and to teaching over the years.

Well wishes and thanks go to the other members of staff who are leaving us at

the end of this academic year to move on to other schools and other adventures.

Welcome back to Mrs. Smith, who will be returning from maternity leave on

Monday. We look forward to having you back.