Newsletter October 2009

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ARNOLD MIDDLE SCHOOL PAGE 2

Dear Parents/ Carers As usual, we have had a busy start to the academic year. We were fortunate to start with a full compliment of permanent teaching staff and additionally were able to fill the vacancies for administrative and support staff. The following people have now started work and we welcome:

Mrs Kirsty Little, who has taken over supporting our Assessment Data Analysis and Reporting and SEN Department paperwork. Ms Rachel Carter as our new Finance Assistant (we sadly

said good bye to Mrs Mandy Lucock who has gone to work with her husband’s business).

Mrs Lorraine Horan as our temporary Reprographics Assistant who is helping keep the school copying under control whilst Mrs Sarah Yates is carrying out her Learning Mentor work for the Autumn and Spring Terms.

Miss Charlotte Lack will have started work as our temporary Science Technician whilst Mr William Sides is also working as a Learning Mentor for the Autumn and Spring Terms.

Miss Victoria Robinson has started work as our Teaching Assistant for Specialist Status working on our link projects with our partner lower schools and helping in the classrooms for science and mathematics.

Miss Jade Burroway has started work as a cleaner. We continue to work with the Local Authority (LA) to prepare for our Third Phase of Building work – a new Administration Block. We have been allocated £350,000 from the Capital Funding for Central Bedfordshire and a ‘Section 106’ from the local increase in buildings. The Governing Body were given permission to propose a ‘School Managed Project’ and we have an outline plan, through Nicholas Tye Architects (Maulden), ready to roll if the money is sufficient and the

plans proposed are accepted by the LA. I will let you know as soon as I can how this is going – it seems to be taking forever.

In this newsletter you will read articles about the standards of our pupils when they go on to Harlington Upper School. HUS are able to divide the pupils back under their previous school’s data and given us the information. Currently we have received the data for this year’s GCSE results, which are clearly excellent when compared with national statistics. Well

done to all the children. I know that all the head teachers are pleased to share the results as the young people ‘journey’ through their formal education from 4 to 19. I have included a letter from Shawn Fell, head teacher at Harlington explaining how good the results in our area are.

Also in the newsletter is a report from the Parents’ Forum, held termly with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The report is shared with staff and governors as well as parents. We have looked at all the queries and responded to them. The Parent Awareness Raising Evening (or PARE, as it is known) was held in the Pastoral and Learning Mentor Centre (PALM) very recently. It was a wonderful evening and I thoroughly enjoyed finding out about our latest initiatives with the Year Five

children, helping them to settle down to the routines and new friendships at Arnold School with Mrs Yates. The presentation, by Mr Sides, about the ‘Re-tracking’ programmes we use was very helpful to the parents who attended. I was very proud to hear that so many parents had such positive experiences of their child’s work in the PALM Centre. Thanks go to Mrs Sides, Mrs Yates and Mr Sides for giving us such an interesting evening. The Spring Term will have the usual Key Stage Two Evening for parents of pupils in Year Six. There is already a date in place for the parents of Year Eight pupils to meet staff from Harlington Upper School about options. Please note that this event is always held at Arnold School, in the hall and not at HUS, Our PARE event in the Spring Term will be about our virtual learning environment (VLE) and the way that our children are using it. We will also explain about the homework enrichment tasks that will be logged onto our school VLE. Keep a look-out for the invitation coming in early February 2010.

We have a large number of events in place at Arnold this year and the calendar of events is already published (last term and on the school website: www.arnold.beds.sch.uk). However, we have a couple of updates to the events – do make a note of them now before we get further into the school year:

Tuesday 24th November 2009 (19.30 – 21.00) our AUTUMN CONCERT Wednesday 16th December 2009 (19.00 – 20.00) our CAROL SERVICE at St. Nicholas Church, Barton-Le-Clay. These events replace the previous dates for the Christmas Concerts in December.

Early warning: following feedback from parents about the Athletics Sports’ Day, which were very positive about the organisation of the event but wondered if we could involve even more children; we have arranged two days of multi sport activities, including swimming, team events (such as rounders) and the more usual athletics events.

The two Multi Sport Activity Days will be on: FRIDAY 16th July and MONDAY 19th July. Parents will be invited formally, with further details, nearer the time. In the summer term we intend to develop the tradition of a whole-school musical production (following the highly-successful Lion King performances last year). We think rehearsals for these will run alongside the Enrichment Week activities – so the performances would probably take place week commencing Monday 24th May 2010. Watch this space! Keeping to our previous ‘Recital Evening Event’, usually at the end of the Spring Term, we are going to reverse this event with the Summer Concert: Spring Concert: Wednesday 31st March 2010 (19.30 – 21.00). Summer Recital: Wednesday 7th July 2010 (19.00 – 20.30). I must make a special mention for the children who attended the Grafham Water event at the start of October with four of our hardy school staff (Mr Davis, Miss Cooke, Mr Rudkin and Mr Salamon). They took part in many water sports, including sailing, canoeing and kayaking and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Apparently the staff at Grafham Water were exceptional, the accommodation good and the food extremely edible. I have asked Mr Davis and Miss Cooke to book another similar trip for next year already!


Following parental requests, we have begun putting letters that we send out to parents, via their child’s school bag (on a Friday) onto the school website: www.arnold.beds.sch.uk. Yes: I know it is the second time I have written this but I do want to highlight to you how useful it is for finding out information about our school. Thank you to all the parents and children for such a positive start to the year. Best wishes Ann Payne Head teacher

Free school meals at Arnold Middle School At Arnold we continually strive to ensure that all our pupils are receiving a well-rounded experience at school. As part of this endeavour, we would like to remind all our parents of the entitlement criteria for free school meals. If you think your child/children may be entitled to free school meals, please contact the school office who will be happy to help with the application. We ensure that these applications are dealt with sensitively and that no child is identified as receiving free school meals. If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact me at school. Taken from Central Bedfordshire Website: You are entitled to free school meals for your child/ren if you are:

Receiving income-related Employment Support Allowance.

Receiving income-based Job Seekers Allowance.

Receiving Child Tax Credit (but neither the applicant nor his/her partner is

receiving Working Tax Credit) and the joint annual income is below

£16,040.

Receiving the guaranteed element of Pension Tax Credit.

An asylum seeker supported under Part VI of the Immigration Act 1999.

An application form can be downloaded from: http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/advice-and-benefits/grants/Free_meals/default.aspx Many Thanks Miss R Truscott

Harlington Exam Success We have had a particularly busy and productive start to the new school year at Harlington. Two notable highlights have been our examination results and welcoming students new to the school. Year 9 students have made a wonderful start to their life at Harlington and have settled in well to new routines. Our house system and all-age tutor groups have helped new students quickly feel part of the family. This year the transition has been even smoother than normal because of the enhanced collaboration between Harlington and our partner middle schools. The exam results this year were yet again the best ever. Overall, 82% of all students gained the benchmark 5 of more GCSEs at grades A* to C. In value-added terms, our students make outstanding progress to GCSE; in 2008 this was the highest in Central Bedfordshire and early calculations indicate even higher achievement this year. A Level outcomes were again superb. The pass rate was 99% with an impressive 48% of all results being awarded at grade A or B. It is therefore not surprising that the great majority of students from our local community are well qualified to make a success of university courses or employment when they leave school. This wonderful record of success for our students reflects the work of all schools in our pyramid and the special partnership we enjoy between our schools, parents and pupils. The final examination results young people from our community achieve should not really be attributed just to Harlington, but celebrated by all local schools. As the partnership between schools strengthens and we work ever closer through the formation of the Harlington Area Schools Trust, we look forward to sustaining the outstanding achievements of local young people. Shawn Fell Headteacher Harlington Upper School [More details of life at Harlington can be found at www.harlington.org ]

Report from the Parents’ Forum Evening Thank you to all the parents who attended the latest Parents’ Forum in September. The following information tries to ‘capture’ the feedback from that event. Remember that there is no need to attend every meeting; anyone can attend at any time and contribute to the session. This particular feedback has already been received by all staff at the school and the governors.

We’re doing OK…..

Making the school a pleasant learning environment.

Pastoral care/ Pupil Care.

Transition between lower schools and Arnold was very good (this summer).

Enrichment activities at all levels.

Broad curriculum.

Website much easier to navigate – useful when bad weather reports.

Merits – can you carry forward points for larger rewards?

Pupil voice and responsibilities.

PALM Centre.

Teacher responses if a concern arises – prompt and courteous.

Wide range of educational visits.

Issue Action/ Feedback

PE Kits: do we really

need it all?

E.g. football boots

(girls) and

plimsolls (boys)

Is there a better

process for carrying

to and from school?

Checked website, school prospectus, Year Five

Booklet and P.E. uniform order sheet and can’t find a

requirement for plimsolls. However, football boots for

girls are optional – the girls do play football and

trainers will become muddy. The football course is

currently running at school. The children can use their

bag areas (below their designated pegs) to store kit in

a named bag. It can then be taken home only when it

is wet (and smelly) or is at the end of a half term.

Extend induction

days – 2 days?

We like this idea and will advance it further with the

other Harlington Area Schools to see if this is possible.

Issue Action/ Feedback

Recognition letters –

refresh and

re-launch?

Good idea! We’ll do this at Christmas. The Art

Department has already accepted a commission to

produce A5 size postcards.

Develop extended

school activities?

Or in lower years,

communicate

opportunities to

parents (to

encourage the child

to find out more).

We have numerous activities and will ‘post’ an

updated copy of the clubs on the school website and

put them in the next newsletter. The fixture list for the

whole academic year is on the ‘downloads’ section of

the school website already.

Selection of teachers

(male; female ratios).

Young boys possibly

need extra male role

models.

We can only appoint staff that apply for the jobs at our

school. We were fortunate to be able to appoint four

new male teachers for this academic year but females

are just as valuable!

End of Year 8

presentations – do

one for each form so

that every child is

recognised. Currently

large groups are

ignored.

Already making changes! Next year we will have a

Year Eight Leavers’ Assembly on Tuesday 20th July in

the afternoon with general presentations. We will be

having an Awards Evening, with prizes for Year Eight

invited pupils and their guests, with staff, on the

Tuesday evening.

Quality of the school

buses?

Seatbelts on school

buses?

Although the school transport is the Local Authority’s

responsibility, we do make representation to them

about the buses needing to be reliable and our wish

that seatbelts be fitted. A governor has met with the

Transport Manager to discuss this further.

Information on school

website and increase

use of texting service.

We regularly update the school website and now

know that there is a possible feature that could be

added to let parents receive ‘alerts’ when a new

update is made. Our ICT Manager is currently

investigating if the adaptations to our service can be

made. We will consider whether this is possible and

realistic to achieve. The texting service is expensive

and we send text messages when essential.

Additional challenge

in Years 7 & 8.

We have accelerated Key Stage Three courses in

English, mathematics and science. This prepares the

children for accelerated and even broader curriculum

opportunities at Harlington Upper School. We have a

much improved provision for gifted and talented

children. We will continue to try hard!

Parental involvement

@ events and

activities

e.g. Parents’ Forum.

We continue to offer opportunities for parents to

attend information events; we have a Friends of

Arnold School Association (PTA); parents are

welcome in school at any time. Parents just need to

let us know what they want in addition to what we

already have in place.

Issue assessment

reports before Easter

(rather than after) so

that there is time to

absorb all the info

before the Form Tutor

Meeting.

We like the idea of attaching a ‘questions’ sheet to the

appointments request form. We will endeavour to

send the reports before the Easter Break along with

the appointment schedule for response before we

have a break so that Form Tutors know the answers

before the meeting.


For all Year Groups

Watch out for tickets!

Feel somewhat

‘disconnected’ from

the school.

Accept that there is

not going to be the

same relationship with

school (than with

lower school) but

would welcome,

for example, more

traditional parents’

evening where we

could meet individual

subject teachers.

The school consulted widely on the change to

Parents’ Days and parents, at the time, three years

ago. It was agreed that parents were often worn out

at the end of a long evening spent in queues to see

teachers, despite a five minute appointments

schedule. Teachers were trying to give a full

response to all parents but with some teachers

having responsibility for core subjects (Mathematics,

Science and English) they had too many parents to

see (over a number of evenings) resulting in them

being ill with throat infections and too tired to teach

the following days. The Form Tutor role has

increased knowledge and support for individual

children based on both curriculum and pastoral

needs.

We will arrange a further meeting to discuss the best

way forward for the next academic year.

Why should your child have a school dinner?

‘Theme’ Days every fortnight

Friday 16th October – Italian Day

Wednesday 4th November – Indian Day

Wednesday 18th November – Chinese Day

EVERY THURSDAY IS ROAST DAY

All our vegetables and meat

for roast dinners are locally

sourced. By having a school

dinner you are supporting

local businesses.

Special Offer!

Any sandwich or

roll, dessert and a

FREE drink.

Only £1.90

You can pay for your child’s

dinner by cash or cheque on a

daily, weekly, half-termly or

termly basis.

If your child is off school,

they receive a credit.

Coming Soon:

Hot breakfast rolls

at

breaktime.

WATCH THIS

SPACE!

SCHOOLCOUNCIL@AMSSCHOOLCOUNCIL@AMSSCHOOL What an amazing beginning of term it’s been for our School Council this year! We have been incredibly lucky to receive £2000 from FASA (Friends of Arnold School Association) to go towards our goal of raising £12000 this year to create a new trim trail an outdoor space – thank you so much to FASA for their kind donation.

As always, we annually support 2 charities. This year the council have voted and I’m delighted to inform you, that our chosen charities for 2009-2010 are the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty

to Children) and NICU (Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit at the L&D) I’m sure you will agree that these are both incredibly worthwhile charities and we look forward to raising money throughout the year.

The council have been working hard looking at ideas on how we can make Arnold even better. We are looking into purchasing some bottle recycling bins in order that we can develop this important area of sustainability. As ever, members of school council were recently involved in

pupil-led learning walks throughout the school environment. The purpose of these walks was to evaluate displays across the school. Pupils were looking for: a variety of displays; pupil work; EHWB (Emotional Health and Wellbeing) Values work and a variety of curriculum areas covered. They are currently writing a report for staff (!) and this will appear in the Christmas newsletter.

‘School Council is a good job to do because it helps to benefit the school. The best bit of school council is that we help to decide things to change about

Arnold’

Danielle

‘I like being on school council because it gives me power to help

make decisions in school’ Hayden

MEET THE GOVERNORS

Paul Dougan

I am 41 years young and have lived in Luton all my life. I have five lovely children and a wonderful wife. My youngest child Amy has just started at Arnold, so I thought it would be a good idea to try and join the Governors and

help with running what is already an exceptional school.

I hope to use some of the skills I have acquired to help Arnold continue to develop. My working career started as an admin. assistant then progressed

through a number of companies to Operations Director. I decided to open my own business 10 years ago which I sold in August 2008. My favourite football

team is Liverpool and my favourite holiday is Florida.

Claire Butler-Ellis

I am a scientist with a PhD in theoretical physics. I work locally for the National Institute of Agricultural botany, undertaking research, with a particular interest

in environmental impacts.

I have 2 children; John, who was at Arnold and is now in Year 10 at Harlington and Catrin who is in Year 5. I am involved with the local church and have

worked with Greenfield Lower School to develop church-school links.

I have an interest in music and enjoy playing and singing along with the children (in the privacy of our own home!)

As a governor, I am hoping to tackle the subject of ‘sustainability’ in Arnold

School, but also am very keen to use my scientific knowledge to support the specialist science status and to get involved in any other way I can help.

Latest news and updates A round up of what’s happening in a selection of teaching

departments

PSHCE In consultation with parents / carers and pupils we have produced a new Scheme of Work which includes Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) at KS3.

RE Further exploring the links with the community to support Community Cohesion, examples being the Harvest service delivered to us by Reverend Newton and the sharing of Harvest boxes with the local community during a ‘Tea and cakes’ afternoon on Friday 16th Oct. The next event will be at Christmas following our special assembly with a ‘Tea and mince pie’ event for the community.

SCIENCE KS3 curriculum has seen a revamp, this will take 2 years for it to complete a full cycle as only our current Y7 have started this new structure with Y8 retaining the old system to ensure the curriculum is fully covered. The content of the accelerated curriculum remains the same but it is taught as 5 key themes – Particles, Forces, Cells, Energy and Interdependence rather than 14 topics. Each theme is now visited at least twice a year ensuring skills and knowledge are improved. This structure has been implemented to provide a more spiral curriculum in line with the skills development as taught in Maths.

ENGLISH Our new Leader of English is Miss K Boreham. All pupils have target sheets with a grid and ladder sheets showing how to make the route to improvement more explicit as ell as involving pupils more in their own learning. The subject Schemes of Work are being reviewed to make them more relevant to pupils.

ICT Year 5 half term curricular links have been made with the work in PSHCE to create an opportunity for a presentation on ‘Keeping Healthy’, this also ties in with the work completed by many Year 5 science classes. Year 6 are studying some of the Y7 material but within a different context. Pupils will be exploring Internet research being taught how to search effectively and be able to assess the reliability of information. Internet safety will feature in course work for all years and tie in with the theme for the National Anti-Bullying campaign.

PE

Curriculum timed activities have changed this year, pupils now do the same activity in both their lessons each week to consolidate learning and skills development. All pupils will still enjoy two different activities each term, e.g. they may have 4 weeks of gymnastics and 4 weeks of football.

Junior Flyers go Cross Country

Following the success of the Summer School for Junior Flyers (some of whom are current Arnold students), Ampthill and Flitwick Flyers will be holding weekly Cross Country training sessions on Saturday mornings between October and February. Sessions start at 9am in Ampthill Park and are open to all local, middle school students. An hour long

session will comprise the usual fun and games that proved so popular over the summer and a variety of activities aimed at building speed, strength and endurance. Pupils will have the opportunity to participate in the Chiltern Cross Country league www.chilternccl.co.uk ; a friendly local league that organises monthly races for junior age groups, as well as seniors. The first Cross Country training session is on 24th October. These will continue until February 20th 2010. Don’t worry if you miss the first one or two, you may be able to join us later (subject to spaces). The cost for the course is £18. If you are interested, please email [email protected] by return with child’s name, age and sex.

We look forward to seeing you!

Welcome back to the autumn term of Books for Schools

From September 13th until December 6th 2009 there will be 12 tokens to collect each week in the Times and The Sunday Times: one each day from Monday to Friday, three on Saturday and four on Sunday. With books starting at only 10 tokens, it’s simple to make a real difference to our collection by picking up your daily copy of paper. Please collect as many tokens as you can and give them to your child to bring to school. Tokens can be deposited in our special collection boxes, or given to a member of staff. With your help we can make a real difference to our children’s library, ensuring that they have access to some of the very best titles available to encourage them to read and improve their literacy. Many thanks, in advance, for your help. Mrs Bassill Librarian


Congratulations to Joel Riddaway who is now a regular member of the Bedfordshire County Pool Team (Under 18's). Joel also plays in the adults Luton Thursday Pool League. His team have won 4 out of 4 to top the table and Joel won 3 out of 4—including his first 3 unbeaten.

Juniors from Luton and Vauxhall Tennis club shone at this year’s Bedfordshire County Closed Tournament.

The tournament proved to be a wonderful showpiece for the club’s up and coming youngsters including Arnold’s own Shanice Marshall-Sefia performing well. Shanice may only have been playing tennis for less than two years but she showed she is already a force to be reckoned with in the girls mini green competition.

On the day, she finished second beating three girls ranked higher than her. Over the summer she has won three of the seven tournaments she has entered, come runner-up three

times and third once.

At the county event, she won all of her matches up until the final in straight sets, where she succumbed to Emma Brown.

OUT OF SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENTS

CLUBS & ACTIVITIES We are always working hard to try and provide a wide variety of additional activities for our pupils. Form tutors keep pupils aware of the choice on offer to them as lie list is changing to adjust to pupils’ needs and the changing seasons. Below is a selection of clubs and activities, if you would like further information about these or any other activity do not hesitate to contact your child’s for tutor or the subject leader.

ACTIVITY Day / time /

location

YEAR GROUP

Lead teacher

Art Tues 3.30 in Art room

7 & 8 Mrs Baker

CC4G – Skills Computer Monday 12.20 in 2E

5 & 6 Mrs Dye

CC4G – Skills Computer Wed 12.20 in 2E

7 & 8 Mrs Dye

Research / Games Computer Tues 12.20 in 2E

7 & 8 Mrs Dye

Research / Games Computer Thurs 12.20 in 2E

5 & 6 Mrs Dye

Mission Maker Game Computer

Fri 12.20 in 2E

7 & 8 Mrs Dye

English club – includes a variety of activities from poetry to competitions

Tuesday 12.20 in 3B

5-8 Miss Boreham

French Film Club Wednesday 12.45 in 4E

5-8 Mrs Conquest

Homework support /Computer / Reading

Mon & Tue 12.20 in 1E

5-8

Miss Reeve

K’nex Wednesday 12.20 in 1E

5-8 Miss Reeve

Textiles catch up Wednesday 12.30 in FT

7 & 8 Mrs Douglas

Science Tues 12.20 in Lab 2

5 & 6 Mrs Gunter

Boyz only singing Mon 12.20 5 - 8 Mr Cadd

Young singers Tues 12.20 5 - 8 Mr Cadd

Orchestra Tues 3.30 5 - 8 Mr Cadd

Hand Chimes Wed 12.20 5 - 8 Mr Cadd

Wind Band Thurs 3.30 5 - 8 Mr Cadd

Recorders Fri 12.20 5 & 6 Mr Cadd

Percussion Group Fri 12.20 5 – 8 Mr Cadd

Rock Group Fri 12.50 5 - 8 Mr Cadd

Football Field / Gym Various Mr Tfifha

Cricket

Athletics

Basketball

Rugby

Girls Football

The opportunities are constantly changing and these will be shared

on our web site as they are developed. Other clubs / activities include Maths, Girls PE, Drama, please encourage your child to

speak to their form tutor if they are interested in any club and

we may be able to set it up.


REWARDS AND RECOGNITION

We are in the process of reviewing the rewards for merit achievement this year to take into account pupil comments (pupils, particularly those in KS3 have said they don’t like receiving public recognition, preferring to receive certificates in year assembly). This is a difficult issue to address as every child is different so we are considering having a separate structure of awards for the two key stages. All pupils will soon have the option of sharing their ideas and we will act on their viewpoints. The outcome will be shared with pupils in November / December when the final views have been analysed. If as parents/ carers you would like to make any suggestion please pass these to Mrs L Sides at school, please be aware however that funding is an area we have to be mindful of. Thanking you in anticipation of suggestions.

PALM CENTRE PARE October 8th 2009 We had a most enjoyable and informative evening where we shared with parents / carers some of the work we engage in to support our pupils as the needs are identified. The evening was planned to be informal with coffee and biscuits in the PALM centre as our parents arrived. The

relaxed atmosphere that is embedded in the PALM centre provided us with the opportunity to share in groups and with individuals the way this valuable support mechanism is currently and could also be further utilised. Mr Sides shared the ‘Retracking’ programme, Mrs Yates shared the ‘Social speaking’ techniques and I shared the work that goes on behind the scenes which make our transition and transfer structure the success it is. I would like to thank all parents / carers for their support and engagement in the evening. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Sides and Mrs Yates for their valuable contribution, not only during this PARE event but for the fantastic work they are doing to ensure our PALM centre goes from strength to strength. Mrs L Sides Deputy Head teacher

ANTI BULLYING CHAMPIONS (ABC)

All form have at least one anti bullying champion to support the work done to stamp out bullying. They met with a guest who was visiting school and the feedback I received was fantastic and a credit to all pupils who have volunteered to become an anti bullying champion for not only our school but also our community. The ABC will be preparing activities very soon for National Anti

Bullying week ( Nov 16th – 20th 2009) the focus of which is Cyber Bullying. The group have already made a great start with developing an anti bullying charter in their form groups; these will soon be displayed in form rooms. Thank you to all who want to make a difference.

SCIENCE SPECIALIST STATUS – LATEST

We are delighted to have been able to appoint our specialist teaching assistant Vicky Robinson, she joined us in September and has already started the outreach support with our Lower schools. Plans are set for some specific small group support for KS3 pupils who are working at the higher levels, i.e. L7 in Science and L8 in Maths. This work will involve developing their PLTS (Personal Learning and Thinking Skills) as well as advising on how to find and master the study techniques that suit each individual pupil to further enhance their learning. These sessions will take place during morning registration and assembly time and will not encroach on any subject curricular time. If you think your child would benefit from such support then please contact Ms Robinson via the school office and she will liaise with the subject teacher. Maths and Science subject teachers will also identify pupils for whom this support would be of benefit and contact you prior to any session. The annual year 7 joint Science / Geography trip to the Natural History museum is well in hand, however the activity for the science element of this visit will see significant changes to fit in with our specialism. We look forward to sharing a full report in a subsequent newsletter. Science staff are beginning to plan for National science week in March 2010, if any parent / carer would like to get involved please contact L Sides who would love to speak with you.

Music Department

MUSICAL EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

This term has seen an large number of new musical activities start up. Pupils of all years have been invited. Some of the activities are designed specifically for the large number of pupils receiving instrumental lessons who are all expected to attend at least one activity in return for receiving lessons in school. The activities now on offer are as follows :-

MONDAYS

Boyz Only = a group set up specifically for boys to come and sing. Open

to all years 12.20pm – 12.50pm

TUESDAYS

Young Singers = a singing group that performs easy listening and

popular classics and open to all pupils 12.20pm – 12.50pm

Orchestra = Our main instrumental group set up for all pupils receiving

strings, brass and woodwind lessons to attend 3.30pm – 4.30pm

WEDNESDAYS

Hand Chimes = an instrumental group open to all years who wish to

come and play hand bells 12.20pm – 12.50pm

THURSDAYS

Recorders = a group set up for any Key stage 2 pupils who wishes to

come and play recorders 12.20pm – 12.50pm

Folk Band = an instrumental group for guitarists, Key Stage 3 recorder

players and violinists 12.20pm – 12.50pm

Wind Band = an elite group for invited wind players who receive

instrumental lessons 3.30pm – 4.30pm

FRIDAYS

Percussion Group = an instrumental group specifically for drummers

and percussionists 12.20pm – 12.50pm

Rock Club = an instrumental group for electric guitarists and drummers

to play together 12.50pm – 1.20pm

FUTURE PERFORMANCES All the new musical groups are currently working towards a concert later this term when you will see and hear many pupils performing for the first time. There will be a series of performances throughout the year a summary of the main ones is listed below.

We very much hope you will join us at these events

MUSICAL SUCCESS

In the summer term the following pupils took and successfully passed their instrumental exams. We congratulate them all on their great achievement. Sally McCulloch Grade 4 Singing Natasha Wolfe Grade 4 Singing Samuel Jones Grade 3 Violin - pass with merit Abigail Brant Grade 3 Singing Esther Harris-Hines Grade 3 Singing Luke Lewis Grade 3 Trumpet Emma Bush Grade 2 Clarinet- pass with merit Ellie White Grade 2 Clarinet Emma Dolling Grade 1 Violin Kate Busby Grade 1 Violin CD Cadd Subject Leader for Music

Autumn Concert – 24th November 2009

Carol Service – 16th December 2009

Spring Concert – 31st March 2010

Musical Dramatic Production – 25th May to 28th May 2010

Summer Concert – 7th July 2010

Art Department

The last academic year proved to be a very exciting one for us at Arnold and this year looks to be just as rewarding.

There were two visits to the National Gallery last year, one with Year 8, when we looked at works on the theme of ‘Water’ in preparation for the Year 8 Painting Project. This was towards Christmas when we were able to look at the Christmas lights in Regent Street which rounded off our visit very nicely. Once again this year we plan to take our present Year 8 to the National, but this time we will hopefully have time to look at the National Portrait Gallery next door and once again look at the lights. This trip is now being planned and will be taking place on the 9th December and more information about this will arrive at your homes soon! In May in our enrichment week, all sorts of activities were planned. Most of our Year 7 pupils were taken to The National Gallery to look at Portraits, whilst in school pupils all worked with at least one professional Artist.

Two illustration, one printing and one ceramics Workshop took place run by professional Artists. Some lovely work was produced and the experience was enjoyed by pupils and teachers who took part in them. Even now pupils are spending lunchtimes glazing the pots they made.

Art club has proved most popular this Year and is flourishing with 23 members from Years 7 & 8. Pupils greatly enjoyed a visit from Mr Schneider, one of our parents, who is a professional Jewellery maker. He demonstrated how to make a mould from a cuttle fish, and then cast the pupils’ efforts in silver. This technique was invented by the ancient Egyptians and is still used today. Miss Douglas has joined us for some of these sessions and she is planning a Textiles Workshop later on in the year. Miss McCrow has also joined us on one occasion. Next Half-Term one of our parents, Mrs Badham, who is a professional Ceramic Artist, has offered to run a workshop for Art club, when the pupils will be making pots with lids.

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I would now like to announce a new venture for this Year. In order to celebrate achievements of Artists and to raise awareness of Art in the community, it is proposed that on the week of the 8th November there will be an exhibition of work displayed around the school, which has been created by friends and family. If you are a professional Artist or are in the world of design, if you have a particular craft skill or you have any connection with the world of Art as a serious hobby or are presently being trained to be a professional Artist, we are looking for pieces of work which we can safely display in and around the school. The Exhibition will be called ‘Relatively Artistic’ and will hopefully inspire children to take a greater interest in Art, Craft and design and to understand its significance in society. The work can be in any material, we have display cabinets and plenty of wall space. It would be preferable if flat work could be mounted or framed. If you would like to take part in this pioneering venture, please complete the entry form below. Cut it out, attach it to your piece of work and send it into school, either with your child, or deliver it to the office to be collected by me. Exhibits should come into school by Thursday November 5th . I do hope that you will take the time and trouble to look at the exhibition when it is displayed.

Forthcoming events

‘Relatively Artistic’ Nov 8th – 12th

Artsmark application Nov 18th

Year 8 visit to the National Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery 9th Dec


It is hoped that in the near future we will be awarded Artsmark accreditation and this is our main goal and aspiration this year. It is certainly deserved I feel and I would like to thank all of you for your support, which I know is greatly appreciated by staff and pupils.

I would particularly like to thank Mr Schneider and Mrs Badham for their enthusiastic help this year and for giving up their valuable time. I would also particularly like to thank our outgoing PTA who have supported the Art department so well in the last two years that I have been Arnold. They have enabled me to buy a video/ CD recorder and a visualiser, both of which have proved to be valuable assets to have in the Art room. Long may FASA’s support continue.

Future endeavours will include; Arts week for Year 7( as last year), a sketching trip for Art club, visits to the National Gallery for Year 7, and a Year 8 exhibition of work.

Best Wishes

Lynne Baker

Leader of Art

Relatively artisticRelatively artisticRelatively artisticRelatively artistic

Title of work:……………………………………

Material used:……………………………………

Name of artist:………………………………

Name of pupil:…………………… Class:…

Relationship to pupil:…………………………

Arnold

School

Library

Excellent GCSE Results

Congratulations to former pupils from Arnold who took their GCSEs at Harlington Upper School in 2009. Their impressive results of five A* to C’s and five A* to C’s including Mathematics and English were much higher than national results.

Once again this year, particularly in light of recent world events and the fact that some of our families might well have loved ones who are involved in conflict in Afghanistan, I have been asked to support The Poppy Appeal. Last year you will remember that our young people raised quite a lot of money, as reported in the newsletter, and hopefully we will be even more successful this year. We will be selling poppies in the entrance hall straight after half term. PLEASE HELP US TO SUPPORT THIS MOST WORTHY CAUSE, BY GIVING

GENEROUSLY AND ALLOWING YOUR CHILD TO WEAR A POPPY WITH

PRIDE.

5 A*- C 5 A*- C (Including

English and Mathematics)

National Percentages

66% 48%

Arnold Middle School Pupils

80% 63%

ARNOLD SCHOOL DIARY 2009-2010 Monday 26th October Half Term Week – return Tuesday 3rd November Monday 2nd November Staff Training Day Wednesday 11th November New Intake Evening Thursday 19th November Fair Trade & Global Enrichment Day Friday 20th November Fair Trade & Global Enrichment Day TUESDAY 24th November WINTER CONCERT December Year 7 National Gallery Visit (one day) Tuesday 8th December Year 5 Pantomime Performance Wednesday 9th December Year 6 Pantomime Performance WEDNESDAY 16TH December CAROL SERVICE @ St. Nicholas Church, Barton Thursday 17th December Christmas Dinner Friday 18th December Autumn Term Ends Tuesday 5th January Spring Term Commences Monday 4th January Staff Training Day Wednesday 13th January Year 6 Parents’ SATs Preparation Evening Monday 25th January Mock SATs – Key Stage 2 Tuesday 9th February Harlington Upper School Year 8 Options Evening Monday 15th February Half term week – return Monday 22nd February Tuesday 23rd February Parents’ Awareness Raising Evening (2) Monday 8th – Friday 12th March Year 7 French PGL visit Thursday 11th March Parents’ Forum Evening (2) Monday 15th – Friday 19th March National Science Week – whole school enrichment events Wednesday 24th March Arts Performances (gymnastics, dance and drama) Thursday 25th March Arts Performances (gymnastics, dance and drama) Tuesday 30th March Year 8 group and individual photos + music groups Tuesday 30th March FASA Disco Wednesday 31st March SPRING CONCERT Thursday 1st April Spring Term Ends Friday 2nd – Saturday 10th April Ski Trip Monday 19th April Training Day/Reports Day } Pupils not in school – appointment times will be Tuesday 20th April Reports Day } issued to meet with Form Tutors on both days Wednesday 21st April Summer Term Commences Wednesday 28th April Yr 3 / 4 Parents of Children with Additional Needs Meeting Thursday 29th April Junior Maths Challenge Day Monday 3rd May May Day Bank Holiday – school closed Monday 10th – Friday 14th May Key Stage 2 SATs Week Monday 17th – Friday 21st May Year 6 PGL Activity Week Monday 17th – Friday 21st May Enrichment Week Week commencing Monday 24th May MUSICAL PRODUCTION Tuesday 25th May Parents’ Forum Evening (3) Monday 31st May – Friday 4th June Half Term Week – return Monday 7th June Tuesday 8th June Parents’ Awareness Raising Evening (3) Tuesday 15th June Year 4 Maths & Rounders Day Wednesday 23rd June DT G&T Afternoon for Year 4 pupils Wednesday 7th July Summer Concert Thursday 8th July Year 8 Curriculum Induction Day (Harlington Upper School) Friday 9th July All Pupils’ Induction Day (including partner lower schools) Friday 9th July Year Eight Leavers’ Disco Friday 16th July Sports Events (athletics, swimming and team events)* further details to follow. Monday 19th July Year 5 Intake Evening for parents (with children) Monday 19th July Sports Events (athletics, swimming and team events)* Tuesday 20th July Year Five French Day Tuesday 20th July Leavers’ Celebration Assembly (evening with parents) Wednesday 21st July Year 8 Day Trip - Summer Term Ends.

Newsletter October 2009

Documents

Transcript of Newsletter October 2009