News

Friday, 20th July 2012

Dear Parents,

Summer Term Newsletter No. 13

SUMMER TERM BOOK PRIZE WINNERS

As we reach the end of the academic year, we congratulate all the children for the hard work they have put into their learning and the progress they have made in so many ways. Every one of them is special to us and it is always a real joy to see them grow and achieve in their learning. Today we celebrated the Book Prize winners for the Summer Term, whose efforts and progress have particularly stood out. The well deserving children this time round are:

Hedgehog Class – Jessica Healey

Squirrel Class – Annie Campbell

Frog Class – Daniel Keighley

Dragonfly Class – Carla Harrison

Rabbit Class – Miles Koe

Otter Class – Jacob Spencer

Fox Class – Ashley Stewart

Badger Class – Oscar Powell

Kingfisher Class – William Robinson

Swan Class – Connor McCarthy

Owl Class – Maya Lewsey

Eagle Class – Jasmine Ferguson

ART AND DESIGN PRIZES

As well as the Book Prizes we also recognised the artistic talents of three members of our school whose attention to detail and creativity has really stood out. The three children who have produced stunning artwork this year are:

Infants Jin Seo Choi

Lower Juniors Alina Wallace

Upper Juniors Nancy Blakeney

SPORTS AWARD

The Sports Award for the Summer Term goes to someone who loves his sport both in school and out, plays with real flair and passion, and always has an encouraging word for his teammates. Congratulations go to Aaron Galijatovic.

SPORTS DAY SUCCESS

So after a very long wait, it is Portland who are the winners of Sports Day this year and, boy, were they happy! Despite the occasional drizzle, Sports Day went ahead as planned and the children were fantastic. In the morning they teamed up with their buddy partners and took part in a carousel of activities all linked to the Olympics theme. Six activities before break were followed by six after, and then we had our races and Olympic torch relays during the afternoon. Many congratulations to each and

every one of the children who participated with such enthusiasm and effort. Thanks also to all the staff for organising the children so well, to the FOA catering team for the teas, to Darrel Leggett who set up the cordoned off areas and prepared our podiums and wreaths, and especially to Sami Rich and Mr Phil, who did such an amazing job ensuring the day ran so smoothly.

SAMI RICH GOES ON MATERNITY LEAVE BUT CLAIRE GOODFELLOW IS BACK

Today Sami Rich starts her maternity leave in anticipation of her baby’s birth in just a few weeks time. We look forward to sharing Sami’s news with you on our return and send her and Pete our love and best wishes for this exciting next chapter in their lives. We shall certainly miss Sami’s smiling face, her devotion to the children and her amazing contribution to the sport in the school. She will, of course, be back with us later on next year, following her maternity leave. One of our fantastic Special Needs Assistants, Allison Haffenden, is however leaving to move on to a new role in special needs education. Allison has been such an asset to the school and we shall really miss her dedication, good humour and patience. Good Luck in your new role, Allison.

REPORT FEEDBACK FORMS

We are very grateful to all of you who have sent in report feedback forms this week. We will be looking at the comments you have made as part of our Inset Day at the start of next term to see where and how we can improve our partnership with you. Your comments really have been most valuable.

ASHLEY SCHOOL KITCHEN – LACA PRIMARY CATERING TEAM OF THE YEAR

We are delighted to inform you that last week our kitchen catering team became the UK Primary Schools Catering Team of the Year, as judged by the Local Authority Catering Awards. The award recognises the outstanding contribution the team has made to the school community this year; serving delicious meals every day, running culinary workshops for the children every week, finding opportunities to use our school grown food, composting all our food waste, and supporting so many of our school events so willingly. Congratulations, Catering Team. We are very proud of you and look forward to developing the catering with you even further next year.

YEAR 3 RAINFOREST SOUNDSCAPES AND YEAR 5 ANCIENT GREEK POTTERY

Along with this week’s Reception Year Talent Show and the celebration of work that the Year 2 children shared with their parents, we also celebrated the Great Works of two of our year groups on Tuesday afternoon. Year 3 shared their rainforest songs and stunning rainforest soundscape, composed in partnership with one of our parents, Janek Schaefer. With our eyes closed, we listened to the incredible sounds they had recorded to capture the rich diversity of the rainforest. Thank you for such the wonderful sound you created in song and soundscape, Year 3. Owl Class in Year 5 have recently taken part in two ceramic workshop, working alongside a local ceramicist, Cathy Ball. The first session involved the children using their knowledge of Greek design to create and decorate a pillar and then they had to form a fish to balance on the top. This was the most challenging part. Cathy then took the pots away to fire them in her kiln at 1000 degrees and two weeks later Cathy returned with the fired pots ready for the final step. All the pots were wrapped in newspaper and then ten at a time placed in a brazier where they were set on fire and smoked. What an experience, and how wonderful the pots looked as they emerged from the flames. Every one of them was different. At the end of the day the children displayed their work alongside the pottery of Cathy for parents to see. Thank you, Cathy, for all your support and hard work. We loved learning from you.

A VISIT TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM – YEAR 5 REPORT

Meandering through the first of the Olympic traffic on Monday morning, Year 5 eventually arrived at The Parthenon, sorry, the British Museum. Discovering the immense size of the Elgin marbles and stone statues dedicated to the Greek gods was awe inspiring. Carefully investigating the beautiful pottery and recognising Greek gods and goddesses by their trade marks was exciting. The visit concluded a great learning journey where the children have been finding out all about the impact the Ancient Greeks still have on us today. Their findings have been fascinating and have included; mathematics, fashion, theatre, science, food, medicine and architecture.

YEAR 6 BUGSY MALONE PERFORMANCE AND FAREWELL

It was an emotional night last Friday as our Year 6 children gave their final Ashley performance and what a memorable performance it was. We loved every minute of it, Year 6. You gave us a highly polished last show!

So it just remains to thank you all for your support of the children and the school this year. We wish you a happy and hopefully sunny summer holiday. We return for the Autumn Term on Wednesday, 5th September – Tuesday, 4th is an Inset Day – when we look forward to welcoming another 60 children to Ashley. We say farewell to our Year 6 children, who have been absolute stars this year and wish them every success in their new secondary schools. We also bid farewell to Alexandra and Christopher Nunn (subject to their final plans) and to Lucy Bailey, who are all moving to Geneva! Keep up that reading with your children and see nearly all of you in September.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Dunne

Headteacher

PS:  Well done to our children for their amazing Design for Change projects. They are creating such positive change!