Important 'Tudor News' to share with you...
Newsletter 14- Friday 26th April 2019
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Dear Parents/ Carers,
New term, new energy…
It is always great to see the children (and staff!) return recharged after the holiday break. A new term brings new themes for learning and the Tudor Creative Curriculum promises some stimulating opportunities for the children these coming months. Previous correspondence has highlighted how the curriculum has been transformed at Tudor over the past couple of years and it is great to see how the school receives super feedback on what we offer the children.
The staff are obviously the key driver to making learning fun and we are really blessed with our teaching team. The learning environments really do inspire the children- even the entrances to each room (as shown below) make it look like you are entering another world (or time period!).
The new themes are:
Early Years- Animals
Key Stage 1- Turrets and Tiaras
Lower Key Stage 2- Tomb Raiders (Ancient Egyptians)
Upper Key Stage 2- It’s all Greek to me! (Ancient Greece)
Probably the most important news item to share- Responding to Research
On Thursday of this week, Ms Smith and I attended an important conference that was focused on child anxiety. It was extremely informative and it clearly highlighted how the wellbeing of children is being adversely affected by a number of factors. Whilst we were proud of the number of support measures that Tudor Primary already offers (and continues to offer and enhance), the issues that children in the modern day face continues to make this a vital area to focus on. We must recognise that schools can only supplement what parents provide their children.
A key message was about the overwhelmingly negative impact of mobile phones (and social media access) on children. As a parent myself of two primary aged children, I can state that the research is frightening. The more access that children have to a world in which popularity and success is based on the amount of likes/ followers as well as the ability to be visually acceptable to others in photos must be challenged and I firmly believe it is my duty to share this with you. The ‘normality’ and/ or acceptance for children to be on social media and/or games Inappropriate for their age is also very harmful indeed. Please consider your own modelling of behaviours too- the more our young minds at Tudor see the people they most care about glued to screens, the more they are likely to mirror this. As mentioned above, schools can only supplement the teaching of parents. The impact of sleep is also concerning- research was shared how many behavioural ‘issues’ are purely related to poor sleep routines. Some children in our school are suffering because of the points made here and such situations are only likely to become more problematic…
The Tudor Activity Centre
The build for the Tudor activity centre is planned to commence after the first May bank holiday. Be assured that the construction area will be clearly marked and this will not affect the school drop offs in any way.
If you know of any companies that would like to sponsor the apparatus that will be a focal point of the children’s enjoyment for the next 20 years+ then we would love to hear from you. The photo to the right shows another view of what is soon to arrive!
Have you considered using the best school breakfast club around?
Our Breakfast Club has a great reputation. Along with our year 6 breakfast provision, it is not unusual to have about 80 children in school well before the ‘official’ opening of the doors at 8.45am. Relating to the start of the day, do try to ensure your children are able to benefit from the learning activities that Tudor provides from when the doors open at 8.45am. If your child is able to be at school from this point, it will mean that they can benefit from an additional 50 minutes of school a week. That’s 2000 minutes per school year!
Summer term clubs have now been allocated- please don’t forget to pay…
The summer term after school clubs proved popular and any required ballots have taken place. You will have been informed if your child has been allocated a space. As you know, the school heavily subsidises these extra-curricular opportunities and we are keen to keep costs low. Please do make sure you complete the required payment for any clubs that your child is attending.
The FOT Quiz night!
The next school quiz night will be taking place on Friday 17th May. Make sure that you read the letter that shares how you can join in the fun. The next FOT meeting is on Tuesday 30th April at 7.30pm. This is held in the school staff room- come and join us!
Sharing our success with a wider audience- well done Athreya and Joe
Many children at Tudor took part in the BBC national writing competition- 500 words 2019. I am really pleased to say that two Tudorites made it through to the next stage of the competition. A big well done to Athreya R and Joe K-S! it is great to hear of such success…
And finally! A new term always brings a new energy to school and I trust that the next few months will be another successful period for our school. We are excited about the new forest school opportunities in lower key stage 2 as well as skiing lessons becoming part of the curriculum in upper key stage 2. Such ‘extras’ really do make our school stand-out and I really believe that those parents who have just been informed that their child has been allocated a place in next year’s reception classes will be excited- after all, we had 200 applications- WOW! We continue to pledge that we see ourselves as a key part of our community and we always aim to work WITH parents and families. Thank you for all that you do (and don’t do!), that helps enrich the lives of these amazing Tudorites that come to our school each day.
We are all #TeamTudor…
Mr Rob Weightman/ Headteacher