Dates for your Diary

School is closed on Monday 22nd January -Teacher Training day

Class assemblies start at 9am

2H class assembly on Tuesday 30th January

3P class assembly to be rescheduled

National Number day is on Friday 2nd February

Parents Evening

Wednesday 14th February for Nursery, Years 1 and 3

Thursday 15th February for Reception, years 2,4,5,and 6

 

 

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Parent Governor Vacancies

We currently have 3 vacancies for parent governors. If you are interested in becoming a parent governor, please         complete the attached nomination form, which should include your personal statement. Completed forms should be   returned to the school office by 4pm on Wednesday 31st January 2018. If there are more than 3 applications then a ballot will take place. Further details on this will follow if necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

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All party food that was left over on Thursday 21st December has been donated to a good cause:

Foodbank Sparkhill

Units 20-21 Rovex Business Park

Tyseley B11 2AQ

 

 

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Spring and Summer Term dates

Monday 8th January to Friday 16th February

Half term Monday 19th February to Friday 23rd February

Monday 26th February to Thursday 29th March

Easter Holiday Friday 30th March to Friday 13th April

Monday 16th April to Friday 25th May

Half term Monday 28th May to Friday 1st June

Monday 4th June to Friday 20th July

Teacher Training day Monday 22nd January

 

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School Dinner Money

Dinner Money and Milk

money for next half term:

 

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Dinner Money = 6 weeks @ £11.25 per week = £67.50

Milk money = 6 weeks @ £1.10 per week = £6.60

Pizza money 6 Friday’s @ £2.25 = £13.50

All monies needs to be paid in advance and not in arrears.

 

 

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Farewell to staff

Sadly, we have some staff leaving at the end of this term. Mrs Guest, who has worked at the school for about 12 years – firstly as a Teaching Assistant and then as our Welfare Officer, is moving to New Zealand. We wish her the very best for her new life there.

Mrs Malcolm and Mrs O’Sullivan, who are Teaching Assistants, are also leaving us for new jobs. We wish them both well.

 

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Park Hill raised an amazing £625.19 for Save the children

 

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School closure due to poor weather conditions

As always, we will endeavour to keep the school open if we can when it snows. However, if the school is closed due to extreme   weather, please listen out for radio announcements on BBC WM, Heart FM and Free   radio. A list will be published on the internet on the council’s website. A text will also be sent out to parents. Please ensure that your contact details at the school are up to date.

 

 

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Would you like to receive this Wednesday letter as an email?

If you would like to receive the Wednesday letter by email each week, you can either call into the school office and inform Mrs. Furlong or send a note into school with your child’s name, class and your email address.

Emails would save the school money spent on texting and photocopying. Many parents receive emails on their mobiles or tablets which enable them to view upcoming events and important dates whilst out and about.

 

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Inspire Workshops for Autumn Term     

These will be connected with maths this term and we do hope that as many parents as possible will attend. Please note that, for Years 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, these workshops will be held in maths groups, not in the children’s usual classes. The dates of the workshops are as follows:

 

Nursery

9.00 on Wednesday 17th January for parents of morning children

2.00 on Wednesday 17th January for parents of afternoon children

Next term inspire workshops will be held based around reading. The dates of each workshop are as follows:

Nursery

Wednesday 2nd May at 9am for morning children; 2pm for afternoon children

Reception

Wednesday 14th March at 9am for both classes

Year 1

Tuesday 6th March at 9am for 1W; Wednesday 7th March at 9am for 1BM and 1G

Year 2

Monday 12th March at 9am for 2G and 2H; 2pm for 2T

Year 3

Monday 15th January at 9am for 3P and 3BM; 2pm for 3R

Year 4

Tuesday 13th February at 9am for 4E and 4S; 2pm for 4B

Year 5

Monday 5th February at 9am for 5M, 5L and 5B; 2pm for 5G

Year 6

Wednesday 31st January at 9am for all classes

 

 

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Reading                                         

 Please continue to support us in encouraging your children to read for about 30 minutes every day. If you are able to ask them questions on what they’ve read, so much the better!

Please also continue to encourage your children to complete their new reading diaries with comments on books they have read or new vocabulary they have learned from their reading. For children in Foundation, Years 1 and 2, when they have written 5   comments in their reading diaries, they will receive a merit prize in assembly; when they have made 10 comments in their reading diaries, they will receive a book as a prize. For children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, we will expect them to make 10 comments in their reading diaries for a merit prize and 20 comments for a book prize.

Reading Lists of Recommended Books for each Year Group

Attached to this letter will be a list of recommended books for your child’s age group. (The list for Foundation children will follow shortly.) Every time your child reads one of the books on their particular list and enters details of it into their reading diary, they will win themselves 5 house tokens!

Parents, if you would like to recommend one of your favourite children’s books for a particular year group, please let Mrs Bakalou know and we can publish it in the Wednesday Letter so that all can have the opportunity to try that book out.

Happy reading, everyone

 

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School jumpers are still   available at buy one and get one half price.

Sweatshirt = £8.50 or 2 for £12.75

Book bags = £4.50

PE bags = £4.00

 

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NUT FREE ZONE

As of today we are asking all   pupils not to bring in any nut products because of the risk of allergic reaction. We wish to ensure the safety and well being of all our children and staff.

This includes peanut butter sandwiches.

Thank you for your

co-operation.

 

 

School term dates 2017-18

Autumn Term 2017 Wednesday 6 September 2017 to Friday 20th October 2017 Half Term: Monday 23 October 2017 to Friday 27 October 2017 Monday 30th October to Friday 22 December 2017 Christmas holiday : Monday 25th December to Friday 5th January 2018

Spring Term 2018 Monday 8 January 2018 to Friday 16th February 2018 Teacher day: Monday 22nd January 2018 Half Term: Monday 19 February 2018 to Friday 23 February 2018 Monday 26th February to Thursday 29 March 2018 Easter holiday: Friday 30th March to Friday 13th April 2018

Summer Term 2018 Monday 16 April 2018 to Friday 25th May 2018 Half Term: Monday 28 May 2018 to Friday 1 June 2018 Monday 4th June to Friday 20th July 2018

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 UNICEF Rights Respecting School Award

 

Here at Park Hill, we are seeking to become a UNICEF Rights Respecting School.  We will be  putting the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) at the heart of our school ethos and  culture to improve well-being and develop every child’s talents and abilities to their full potential.  Our children and the school community will learn about children’s rights and how to put them into practice every day.

Each class has now been introduced to the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and has brought home a copy of their class charter.  Please keep the charter and read and discuss it with your child.

You can find out more about the UNCRC at https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/?gclid=CPHVpv3iqNQCFU0Q0wodS9oCGg&sissr=1

 

 

 

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End of Key Stage results

Reception (Teacher assessment)

Children who achieved a Good Level of Development for all subjects (the expected standard) : 67%

The percentage of pupils at expected standard for – Reading : 80%   Writing : 67% Maths : 77%

 

The tests in England changed last year for children in Year 6 and Year 2. New, more difficult, tests were introduced which were based on a new curriculum. We are very proud of how our children have tackled the many changes; showing determination and resilience and working closely with their teachers to try to be the best that they can be.

Year 2 (Teacher assessment)

Children who met the expected standard:

Reading : 63%   Writing: 61% Maths: 66%

Year 6

The percentage of pupils at the expected standard for the end of year 6:

Reading : 56%   Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar: 79%     Writing: 74%   Maths : 59%

Well done to our pupils and staff for all their hard work! Thank you to our parents for all their support.

 

 

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Fundraising for our school charity, Birmingham Children’s Hospital

A huge thank you to all parents for your contributions over the last few weeks – for the Mad for Science week, admin team hamper raffle and last week’s Friends Summer Fete.

So far we have raised over £1753.98 for the hospital – a fantastic achievement for all of us, parents, pupils and staff!

This is how we have raised the money:

International Week dressing up £505

St George’s Day dressing up £228

Mad for Science Week £500.80

Admin team raffle £450.18

Children’s bookstall at the fete £76.35

 

 

 

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 Communication

Parents and carers can contact the school in a variety of ways to best suit them:

-All staff are available in the playground before and after school, if you wish to have a brief discussion. Of, for a longer talk, you may arrange a meeting with a member of staff.

-You may email enquiry@parkhill.bham.sch.uk to request a meeting, including the full name of your child and the class they attend in your message. You are welcome to phone in or send a note in with your child to request a meeting, if you prefer.

-As long as it is arranged in advance, and is mutually convenient, staff can meet with parents from 8.30am to 8.45am or after school between 3.45pm to 4.45pm (except on Wednesday and Thursday).

-If you wish to meet with a member of the Leadership team; Mrs Khan (Head teacher), Mrs Bakalou (Deputy Head teacher), Mr Malcolm (Assistant Head teacher), Miss Smith (Assistant Head teacher), are available to meet between 8.15am and 6pm. A meeting can be   arranged by speaking to us directly before or after school, by contacting Mrs Hill (0121 449 3004) or by emailing the school.

 

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Safeguarding and  Mobile Phones in school

Please do not use your mobile phones when you are in the school, either attending a workshop, meeting a teacher or reading with your children. This is for the safety of all our   children. Thank you for your co-operation.

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Thank you to all the staff at Park Hill

We recently had a visit from a parent whose children left our school a few years ago. She wanted to share news about how her children were getting on (as a lot of our families often return to us to do). She wanted to share her message in our newsletter :

‘I remember Park Hill affectionately for all the things it has done for my children. My   youngest child left 3 years ago but I feel that I can still pop in; other parents still welcome me and there is such a lovely atmosphere here. This wasn’t the nearest school to where we lived but I wanted to send my children here because it was so mixed.

My children are now 16 and 14; the 16 year old has just got 7 A* and 4 As at a grammar school. She always felt that she could talk to someone at Park Hill if she had a problem. My son, who wasn’t so confident and had   educational learning difficulties, has also done well. I remember talking to a teacher at Park Hill who helped me; the school always listened to me and helped me to put things into perspective.

We all have really fond memories of Park Hill and I thank you all for helping to help my   children to achieve everything they have achieved.’

 

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Attendance                                                                                                                                                                                         

  In the last week of last half term, the Attendance Lead for Birmingham, Edwina Langley, visited Park Hill to advise us on what else we could do to improve our attendance so that we reach  nationally-expected levels by the end of the year. The advice she gave us is what we will make sure we will be following from now on:

• As before, if a child’s attendance reaches a point below 92%, we cannot authorise any further absences unless some kind of medical proof is shown to us.  All absences without medical evidence will be unauthorised until the child’s attendance reaches 92% again.
• If a child is absent for more than 3 consecutive days, we also must have some kind of medical evidence in order for days an absence to be authorised.  Otherwise, they will be unauthorised. Likewise, if a child has more than 3 absences in a half term, we cannot      authorise any more days off without medical proof.
• If a child is absent and we cannot get hold of their parents on the telephone, we will make a home visit on the third day. If we still cannot make contact with the family, we will be forced to contact the police to undertake      investigations to ensure the child is safe and well. In addition, we will contact the ‘Children Missing in Education’ team at the Local Authority so they too can undertake investigations to find the child.  These measures are   simply to ensure the safety and well-being of all the children.
• If a child has 20 or more days of unauthorised absence, we will now pursue what is known as the Spotlight Campaign with the parents of these children.  This is where parents are  under obligation to ensure their children attend school every single day over a specified   period of time.  If they do not, we will be forced to follow  procedures which can result in court action   being taken.  We will actually be starting a Spotlight Campaign with some  parents very early this half term.

 

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School Uniform consists of:

Red jumper/sweatshirts or cardigan

A white shirt or polo shirt

Black trousers/skirt

Black school shoes

 

For PE:

A plain white T-shirt (without a logo)

A pair of black shorts/leggings/tracksuit bottoms

Trainers for outdoor lessons, with black pumps for indoor PE

 

School uniform should be labelled with the child’s name and class

 

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School closure due to poor weather conditions

As always, we will endeavour to keep the school open if we can when it snows. However, if the school is closed due to extreme   weather, please listen out for radio announcements on BBC WM, Heart FM and Free   radio. A list will be published on the internet on the council’s website. A text will also be sent out to parents. Please ensure that your contact details at the school are up to date.

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 SAFEGUARDING : late collection of children

If a child is collected late, parents are currently asked to sign the late collection book. We appreciate that families may face an emergency and the vast majority of parents contact us to inform us on the rare occasion when they have to  organise late collection or if someone else is coming to collect their child(ren).  However, there are some children who are consistently collected late where this is a cause of concern for us in terms of safeguarding.

When a child is uncollected from school or from another activity, the safety and welfare of the child will be the paramount consideration in determining appropriate action.

 

New guidance has been issued by the Safeguarding team at Birmingham City council which outlines the procedures for schools when children are collected late without notice from parents:

• The school will phone you and then any emergency contacts you have given (if we cannot reach you) to find out why a child has not been collected.
• If no-one can be reached, the school will call a Social worker at the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and social services will then try to reach the family.
• The school will call MASH if children have not been collected by 4.15pm (or at 4.45pm if they were at an after-school club).
• If MASH cannot contact the family, safeguarding procedures will be followed by social services.

 

You may have a copy of the guidance ‘Emergency procedures when a child is not collected’ from the school office if you wish.

 

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New Free Mental Health Drop in Service  : PAUSE

It provides support, care and treatment for anyone who need to talk about anxiety, stress or depression.

Þ Located at 21 Digbeth Birmingham, B5 6BJ

Þ Open Monday to Friday from12pm-6pm and Saturday and Sunday 11am-4pm.

Þ Friendly place for providing advice and support

Þ Brief therapeutic and counselling interventions

Þ Guided self help

Þ Support self-help

Þ 1:1 and group support and workshops

 

 

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Roger Godsiff visited Park Hill School on Thursday 26th November  he will be speaking to the school councillors

 

 

 

 

A Group of  International visitors came to the school on Monday 9th November to see the work we have done as part of the Health for Life Scheme which the school participate in.

 

Sandeep Rauglis, Yvonne Zeltuer, Sandra Passmore,

Louise Foreman, Rolond Schoech and Piotr Jackewski

 

 

 

 

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School Meals

Weekly dinner money  is £10.25 per week and this needs to be paid every Monday morning in an envelope with your child’s name on. May

we also remind you that all dinner monies must be paid in advance and not in arrears. 

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Events for parents in the Community Hub

Stay and Play     Tuesday, from 9am to 11am.

Friends of Park Hill   Friday  9-10.30am.

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