April 2014 - Queen Edith Primary School

NEWSLETTER
APRIL 2014
NO. 16
Dear Parents and Carers,
The Governors have been working over the last few months to re-structure our school catering and
we will now be running the kitchen ourselves. Although little will change immediately, it will give us
much greater control over the food we serve and the quality of the ingredients we buy.
In consultation with the children we have implemented a few changes to the menus and will now
have an international day on Tuesdays and a pie day on Fridays, while keeping our pasta, jacket
potatoes and roast days. We will no longer be able to offer halal meat but want to provide really
tasty and enjoyable vegetarian meals. If you have suggestions for vegetarian meals your children like
at home please contact me as I would love to make sure all children have an opportunity to eat food
they enjoy, although I am now becoming an expert on nutritional values of food and the balance the
government require which is on occasions very restrictive!
Over the course of this half term teachers met with members of the Senior Management team to
look at each child’s progress. I am always very impressed with the deep knowledge teachers have
about each child and the concern which goes into ensuring that every child is reaching their
potential. Over years we have collected lots of evidence which confirms that children who read at
home with an adult make good progress and those who don’t regularly fail to meet the expected
level for their age group. This was a recurring theme throughout the conversation with teachers.
Where we saw children struggling often they were not reading regularly enough. Clearly regular
reading not only supports children’s own ability to read but also underpins their writing skills as well.
If you have been hearing your children read every day, thank you so much. It makes a huge
difference. If you haven’t then please consider starting this valuable activity. As well as giving them a
great skill for the future. it is also such a pleasure to see your child making progress which is assured
with daily practice. It is also very valuable to carry on hearing your child well after they are fluent
readers and at this point reading books together and discussing them can be a really rewarding and
positive family activity. It is particularly helpful to read a book to your child with vocabulary and ideas
that are a little challenging as this is good preparation for their next steps.
Within this newsletter there are ideas about reading which I hope will encourage everyone to find
some new books or revisit some old ones and remember the delight we can all find in a good book.
Teachers will always welcome opportunities to chat to any parent who would like advice about
reading at home and ways to encourage good habits.
If you are a parent or grand parent and could afford any time to come into school to help hear
readers during the school day this would also be much appreciated. Please contact the school office
and we will link you up with a very grateful teacher.
Best wishes,
Caroline Peet
Headteacher
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
SCHOOL MEALS
School meal prices are:
£2.10 per day
£10.50 per week
Cost for 1st half of term (28 days) = £48.30
Cost for 2nd half of term (38 days) = £79.80
Total for Summer Term = £128.10
Cheques should be made payable to:
“QUEENS’ FEDERATION”
All meals should be paid for in advance.
Our new online payment system for dinner money “Agora” is now up and running. If
you would like to check your child’s balance please ask the office for a new
registration letter.
If your child is not in at the beginning of the school day (because of appointments, etc)
but will require a school meal, it is important that you ring in and advise us before 10
am, otherwise the numbers catered for are incorrect and the last children may not
receive the advertised meal.
We believe there are pupils who are eligible for FREE SCHOOL MEALS who are not yet
claiming them.
Applications can be done online and the process is extremely simple. If you need help doing
this please come to the office. If you are receiving the following benefits you are probably
entitled to free school meals:
 Income Support
 Employment Support Allowance
 Child Tax Credit and parents whose annual income does not exceed £16,190 and
who are not in receipt of Working Tax Credit
If you are at all unsure whether you qualify please come to the office and talk to Miss Perry.
PACKED LUNCHES
Please can we remind parents that children are not allowed sweets
or bars of chocolate in their lunchboxes. Please do not send any nuts or nut products as we
have children in school with severe nut allergies.
Children should also only have water in their water bottles.
(Juice cartons can be bought in for lunch).
Many thanks.
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
WEEK ONE 21/04/2014 & 12/05/2014
MONDAY
PASTA DAY
TUESDAY
INTERNATIONAL
DAY
WEDNESDAY
JACKET SPUD DAY
THURSDAY
ROAST DINNER
DAY
FRIDAY
PIE DAY
MAIN
CHOICE
Assorted
Sauces: Beef
Bolognaise,
Chicken Curry &
Tuna
Battered
Haddock
Chips
Baked Beans
Toppings: Chilli,
Chicken &
Mushroom, Curry &
Tuna
Roasted Lamb
with Roasted
Potatoes
Roast Chicken Pie
With Mash Potato
VEGETARIAN
CHOICE
Assorted
Sauces: Baked
Beans, Grated
Cheese, Veggie
Bolognaise &
Coleslaw
Macaroni Cheese
Baked Beans
Grated Cheese,
Baked Beans,
Coleslaw or
vegetable Curry
Three Cheese &
Onion Tart
With Roast
Potatoes
Vegetable Pie with Mash
Potato
VEGETABLES
&
ADDITIONS
Seasonal
Vegetables
Salad Bar
Seasonal
Vegetables
Salad Bar
Seasonal Salads
Seasonal
Vegetables
Seasonal
Vegetables
Salad Bar
Seasonal Vegetables
Salad Bar
SWEETS
Apple Crumble
& Custard
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Chocolate Sponge
& Chocolate
Sauce
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Flapjack
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Lemon Cake
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fresh Fruit & Yoghurts
WEEK TWO 28/04/2014 & 19/05/2014
MONDAY
PASTA DAY
TUESDAY
INTERNATIONAL
DAY
WEDNESDAY
JACKET SPUD DAY
THURSDAY
ROAST DINNER
DAY
FRIDAY
PIE DAY
MAIN
CHOICE
Assorted Sauces:
Beef Bolognaise,
Chicken Curry &
Tuna
American Hot
Dogs with Real
Sausages
Potato Wedges
Toppings: Chilli,
Chicken &
Mushroom, Curry &
Tuna
Chicken with
Stuffing New
Roasted Potatoes
Fish Pie Topped with
Potato
VEGETARIAN
CHOICE
Assorted Sauces:
Baked Beans,
Grated Cheese,
Veggie Bolognaise
& Coleslaw
American Veggie
Hot Dogs
Potato Wedges
Grated Cheese,
Baked Beans,
Coleslaw or
vegetable Curry
Seasonal Crunchy
Vegetable
Crumble with
Fresh Herbs
Veggie Pie Topped with
Potato
VEGETABLES
&
ADDITIONS
Seasonal
Vegetables
Salad Bar
Seasonal
Vegetables
Salad Bar
Seasonal Salads
Seasonal
Vegetables
Seasonal
Vegetables
Salad Bar
Seasonal Vegetables
Salad Bar
SWEETS
Homemade
Shortbread
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Chocolate Brownie
Cake
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Raspberry Jam
Sponge Pudding
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Flapjack
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Chocolate Marble Cake &
Chocolate Sauce
Fresh Fruit & Yoghurts
WEEK THREE 05/05/2014
MONDAY
PASTA DAY
TUESDAY
INTERNATIONAL
DAY
WEDNESDAY
JACKET SPUD DAY
THURSDAY
ROAST DINNER
DAY
FRIDAY
PIE DAY
MAIN
CHOICE
Assorted Sauces:
Beef Bolognaise,
Chicken Curry &
Tuna
Pepperoni Pizza
Chips
Garlic Bread
Toppings: Chilli,
Chicken &
Mushroom, Curry &
Tuna
Turkey with
Stuffing Roast
Potatoes
Shepherd Pie
VEGETARIAN
CHOICE
Assorted Sauces:
Baked Beans,
Grated Cheese,
Veggie Bolognaise &
Coleslaw
Cheese & Tomato
Pizza
Chips
Garlic Bread
Grated Cheese,
Baked Beans,
Coleslaw or
vegetable Curry
Homemade
Creamy
Cauliflower Cheese
with Crusty bread
Veggie Shepherds
Pie
VEGETABLES
&
ADDITIONS
Seasonal Vegetables
Salad Bar
Seasonal
Vegetables
Salad Bar
Seasonal Salads
Seasonal Vegetables
Seasonal
Vegetables
Salad Bar
Seasonal Vegetables
Salad Bar
SWEETS
Homemade
Chocolate Muffins
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Sticky Toffee
Pudding & Sauce
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Cherry Cookies
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Fresh Fruit Salad
Jelly &
Ice Cream
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
Treacle Sponge
Pudding & Custard
Fresh Fruit &
Yoghurts
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Dates for the Diary .....
April 2014
Tu
W
M
W
22
23
28
30
Training Day – school closed
Start of Term
Governor Cttee Meetings
Management Cttee
May 2014
M
5
Tu
6
12th – 16th
S
17
M
19
26th – 30th
Bank Holiday – school closed
PSFA Meeting
KS2 SATs Week
Summer Fete
Governing Body Meeting
Half Term
5:30 pm
9:30 am
6:00 pm
Queen Edith School Council
Thank you to the Spring Term School Council Representatives for sharing
their great ideas:
Spring Term School Council Reps
Year 2
2.1
Zoey and Hoi Lok
2.2
Freyia and Marshall
Year 3
3.1:
Lucy and Zahir
3.2:
Olivia and Sam
3.3 Chelsie and Olivia
Year 4
4.1:
Asha and Maxwell
4.2:
Miriam and Joseph
Year 5
5.1:
Barza and Jacob
5.2:
Hope and Joseph
Year 6
6.1:
Zaydene and Safi
6.2:
Hannah and Aamir
There will be a Coffee Morning with Cakes and an Easter Egg Trail at St James' Church, Wulfstan
Way on Saturday 26th April, 10 am – 12:30 pm in aid of the Lifeboat Service.
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
On Thursday 3rd April, Year 3 finished their pirate topic by having a Pirate
Day! All the children dressed as pirates and took part in a variety of pirate
activities. This included creating a pirate ship and landscape on computers,
completing an outdoor treasure hunt with challenges and riddles, and
making authentic-looking treasure maps. The children agreed that it was a
fantastic way to end the topic. This is what they had to say about it:
“It was awesome because we did a treasure hunt” – Paul
“Finding all the treasure with Ms Shearer was excellent” – Lavinia
“It was really fun making maps with Miss Khan” – Bethany
“The best bit was when we designed a pirate ship on Sketchup and did a treasure hunt” – Lucy
“It’s a shame parents didn’t come, because it was outstanding fun” – Samuel
“We loved Sketchup, because we got to make awesome pirate ships” – Luca
“It was a great day, because we even made treasure maps” – Mattia
Year 4 Trip
On Thursday 6th March, we went to the West Road Concert Hall to listen to a wind
Orchestra. While we were walking into the hall to find our seats we passed a man with a
bassoon. The bassoon looked like a wooden tube with a metal piece on the end. A double
reed was on the end of the metal bit which is the part you blow through to play the
instrument.
When we had settled in to our comfy seats the lights went down as a man standing by the
drums lowered his arms. In the darkness the musicians started to play some music by Danny
Elfman. It was a good opener and one of my favourite parts of the afternoon. After that, they
talked about the instruments. Among the instruments they talked about was a trumpet, a
trombone, a clarinet, a flute and a bassoon. My favourite instrument was the flute, I would
really like one for my birthday.
Next, they told us a story about woodwind instruments on one side of a river and brass
instruments on the other side. It was about how they're so different and were at war with
each other but then two instruments from different sides fell in love and then both sides were
got along in Bandland.
For the last pieces of music they did 'Celebration' which is the one I didn't like because the
rhythm wasn't nice for me. The next thing they played was by John Williams. My favourite
one by John Williams was the Star Wars music, the reason why is because I like Star Wars.
The last piece they played was written by a man called John who was at the concert. I
thought it was cool that he had written it especially for us.
Jesse, 4.2
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Year 5 had an amazing residential visit to Kingswood on the Norfolk coast this term. We
were very fortunate with the weather, which meant that the adventurous outdoor activities
were even more enjoyable. As well as challenging ourselves on the zipwire, climbing and
abseiling walls, and leap of faith, we visited the beach to discover how the different plants
and animals were adapted to living in the rock pools.
The children’s behaviour was brilliant, as was their support and encouragement for one
another when tackling the activities. Thanks to all the children for making it such a pleasant
trip, and to the staff who gave up their time to care for the children while we were away.
Scholastic Book Fair
Thank you so much to everyone who bought books at our
Scholastic Book Fair this half term. Altogether, we sold an
amazing £1500 worth of books! That means that we
earned £900 in free books for the school!
Another fantastic achievement.
Thank you for your support!
Now Keep on Reading!
Are you wondering how you can help your child continue to make progress over the
holidays? The answer is: READ – if they read a little bit, every day, it will make a
massive difference.
This half term 3.3 have been enjoying reading books by Alex Shearer – Ms Shearer’s
dad! We would also recommend ‘The Twits’ by Roald Dahl to any Year 3 child as it is
funny, exciting and disgusting with lots of devious tricks. This term we also read ‘Little
Wolf’s Book of Badness’ by Ian Whybrow. This is a story made up of letters from Little
Wolf to his parents after he has been sent away to Cunning College to learn how to be a
proper big bad wolf. Little Wolf isn’t very happy about this, and he soon discovers
something very strange about his new teacher - Uncle Big Bad…
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Queen Edith Nursery have been thinking about their favourite book and suggest:
‘Oonga boonga’ by Frieda Wishinsky, illustrated by Carol Thompson.
The Nursery would also like to promote the Nursery lending library of books, puzzles and storysacks
for parents.
KS2 have been taking part in a 'Read for my School' competition which was introduced after
Christmas. The children have all been able to access and read books online then have written book
reviews about what they have read. The competition finishes today, so far our School has read 1,400
books. All the teachers are able to nominate a child from their class who has read the most books
and their name will be entered into a prize draw. Last year our School won 100 books.
This is the link: http://www.readformyschool.co.uk/ and click on How It Works.
Read it again!
At Queen Emma, we love reading and know that reading is so important for a child to learn,
grow and develop. In school this term, we took part in the Cambridgeshire Children’s Picture
Book Award 2014 called “Read it Again”. Following an assembly by Anne Worthington,
Community Engagement Librarian in Cambridgeshire, we enjoyed sharing the 8 short-listed
books in class together.
The 8 books were:
"Weasels" by Elys Dolan
"Bob and Rob" by Sue Pickford
"Pi- Rat!” by Maxine Lee
"The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water” by Gemma
Merino
"Hugh Shampoo" by Karen George
"Sidney, Stella and the Moon" by Emma Yarlett
"Penguin in Peril" by Helen Hancocks
"Ready, Teddy, Go!" by Michael Davidson.
Each child then had 1 vote, to nominate their
favourite of the 8 books. We collected all the votes
together and the winner at Queen Emma was:
“Ready, Teddy, Go!” by Michael Davidson
Our votes have now been sent off and will be added to the results from lots of other
Cambridgeshire schools and the overall winner will be announced in June.
We have a display of the books in the reception area up near the office and the children will
still be able to enjoy looking at the books as we have 2 copies of them in school.
Mrs Abbersteen
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
PE AND SCHOOL SPORT UPDATE
TAG RUGBY TOURNAMENT
On Thursday 13th March, we took twenty three children to a tag rugby tournament at
Shelford Rugby Club. We were optimistic going into the tournament, but the standard of
play was very high, with some well organised teams who’d clearly had a lot more practise
and experience playing tag rugby.
Our Year 6 team finished fifth in their group. Although they scored some great individual and
team tries, occasionally they were a little rash in possession and too quick to break the
defensive line, creating gaps for the opposition to run into. The Year 5s went two better in
their group, finishing third: a really encouraging performance, with the team giving every
team in their group a tough game and improving as the tournament went on.
Well done to everyone involved.
Our Year 6 and Year 5 tag rugby teams
GIRLS’ FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
Our girls’ football team participated in a tournament at Coleridge School on Monday 17 th
March. (It was designed for schools in the Parkside and Coleridge Schools, but we rather
gatecrashed!)
It was great to see the improvement in the girls’ play from the previous tournament at
Netherhall in October, as we confidently won 2-0 and 3-0 to qualify for the final. This turned
out to be a very different game against some strong and physical opponents and, despite
lots of possession, we couldn’t quite find a goal, meaning we went to the dreaded penalties.
Although Isla and Minahil converted theirs, unfortunately we also missed one, meaning St
Phillips won 3-2.
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Goalscorers (not including penalties) were: Minahil (3), Martina and Isla. There was no
official ‘player of the tournament’ award, but I’m fairly sure it would have gone to Martina
for her fantastic work rate, brilliant dribbling and all-round awareness. Well done!
It was disappointing not to come back to school with some silverware and medals, given
how well we’d played, but a really enjoyable way to spend a Monday afternoon.
Our girls’ football team
FOOTBALL MATCHES AGAINST THE PERSE AND MILTON ROAD
Three days later, we took two teams to play against the Perse. Our B team lost their match
3-0, although the match was much closer than that scoreline suggests. We had the majority
of the play in the first half and created a lot of chances. Unfortunately, we had a mad couple
of minutes where we lost our defensive shape and conceded two goals. Despite creating
more opportunities in the second half, we couldn’t convert them and conceded a third goal
in the final minute.
Our A team won their game 5-1: an excellent result against traditionally very strong
opponents.
A couple of weeks later, we travelled to Milton Road for three football matches (two boys’
teams and a girls’). After a brief tour of North Cambridge (thank you to drivers for your
understanding and patience) we arrived at our destination to find three Milton Road teams
waiting patiently, but no referees and no posts.
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Instead of shuttling between the boys’ B team and the girls, as I’d been intending, I ended up
refereeing the girls’ game and leaving the boys to their own devices, so details are a little
sketchy. All three teams lost by similar scorelines – 7-3, 7-3 and 10-3. If memory and
children’s reports are accurate, Martina scored a hat-trick for the girls, Sakib and Aaron were
on target for the B team and Theo (2) and Kyle notched the A teams goals (apologies if any
of those details are incorrect). Well done, in particular, to the B team who were able to
manage their own substitutions without any disagreements – very impressive!
Hopefully, there will be more matches to look forward to in the summer term, so we can
look to end the year on a winning note.
KORFBALL TOURNAMENT
The first of two korfball tournaments this half term took place at the new University Sports
Centre on 22nd March. Once again, we were competing against local school and club teams.
We won our first match against Tigers 4-0, drew 0-0 against Milton Road A, beat Milton Road
B 6-0 and beat Cambridge City 2-0 in the final match to win back the title we won in the first
competition of the season.
Saif (6), Nicholas (2 – on his competitive debut), Safi, Isla, Martina and Seby scored the goals.
Well done to everyone who played!
Our winning U11 korfball team
The following Saturday saw the U9 team looking to repeat their success in the last
tournament in February. We had two games in our group, both of which we won
comfortably 4-1.
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
We then played against the other group winners, both of whom were teams from Milton
Road School. The first match was a little closer, but we fought back well from going a goal
behind to win 3-1. As in the last tournament, we saved our best performance and biggest
win for the last game, running out 5-0 winners. Well done to everyone who played, but a
special congratulations to Matthew and Toby who scored most of our goals (I lost count of
how many they managed between them).
Our winning U9 korfball team
HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
This Tuesday (1st April) we took two teams to the Abbey Sports Complex to play in a hockey
tournament against other Year 5/6 teams from schools in the Cambridge School Sports
Partnership.
In trying to enter as many sports competitions as possible this year, we have sometimes left
ourselves a little short of preparation and this was one of those occasions. The teams were
picked based on performances in the Year 6 House hockey tournaments before Christmas
and most of our players hadn’t picked up a stick since. We were, therefore, mainly aiming to
have fun and, hopefully, improve our skills as the tournament progressed, which we
definitely did.
Both teams finished fifth in their groups, with Team A winning 1, drawing 2 and losing 3 of
their matches and Team B winning 1, drawing 4 and losing 1.
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Year 6 hockey players strike some interesting poses!
I’m also keeping a record of the number of times different individuals have represented the
school this year. So far, Safi and Martina are leading the way on 12, with a number of others
close behind. Well done to them for their enthusiasm and commitment!
For more information on all things PE and School Sport, please visit:
http://queenedithschool.org.uk/curriculum/physical-education
LEADERSHIP AWARD ASSEMBLY
Children in Key Stage 2 have again been working hard at our Team QE Leadership Award Scheme.
Children in Year 3 have been working towards the Bronze Award, Years 4 and 5 have been trying hard
to achieve the Silver Award, while Year 6s have been attempting the Gold Award. The award
recognises the many ways in which children at Queen Edith take responsibility: for their equipment,
in the classroom, in assembly and around school. This can include organisational tasks like
remembering to hand in homework on a regular basis, informal leadership responsibilities like
leading the class to assembly, through to some of the formal leadership roles which children are
given higher up the school.
Congratulations to those children who achieved the Gold and Silver awards and well done to all those
children who have continued to work hard to achieve their targets.
Year 5 children who have achieved the Silver Award
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Cambridge Kids Club @ Easter Holiday Programme
Looking for childcare for the school holidays? Let us help you. Cambridge Kids Club Holiday
Play Scheme club can provide your children with fun and exciting activities all week. You can
book your children in for as many full days (8am until 6pm) or half days (AM or PM) as you
wish.
Over Easter this year we will be open from Monday 7th - 22st April (Excluding bank holidays)
The theme for Easter is Springtastic and Eggstastic and the exciting highlight of the holidays
is our trip to Thetford Forest and the CKC Easter Egg Hunt round Cambridge City Centre!
During the May Half Term Holiday Programme we will be open from the Tuesday 27th - 30th
May 2014 and the theme for the week is CKC Goes to Hollywood.
For children staying all day, a mid-morning snack and afternoon tea is provided. Following
our holiday club satisfaction survey, we noted the number of parents who would prefer to
provide their own packed lunch rather than have a cooked lunch. Therefore we have made
the difficult decision to stop providing lunches and, in return, reduce our fees.
Please feel free to contact us on 07960 412 716 or [email protected] if you have
any questions.
Does your child love music?
Woodwind lessons available now!
Miranda Wheatcroft - BA(Hons) Music - is an enthusiastic, dedicated and knowledgeable musician
who teaches clarinet, saxophone and recorder at Queen Edith's on Monday afternoons. Whether
your child wants to learn a musical instrument for fun, or wants to work towards music exams,
Miranda works hard to make lessons enjoyable, progressive and tailored to your child's individual
needs and musical interests.
Lessons are either 20 mins (£10.50 per lesson) or 30 mins (£15 per lesson) and group lessons are
available if your child wants to learn with a friend.
Miranda is now taking bookings for the Summer term, so if you are interested, please collect a form
from the School Office or contact Miranda on 07734 032930. For more info, please see
www.miranda-music.co.uk
Kids Arabic Club New Weekend Class
We now offer Advanced Arabic Class from 10:30 to 1:30 every Sunday. Please
email or call us for more information. Space is limited, so be sure to enrol now!
New revised fees and a 50% discount for siblings.
www.kidsarabicclub.co.uk or call 07718621264
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Recycle for Queen Edith
Make £££s for the school, and help save the planet!
Place your empty printer cartridges and unwanted mobile phones in the “bin” outside the School
Office on the bench.
Thank you.
For 30 years, Cambridgeshire schools have been underfunded. Currently, we get £600 per
pupil per year less than the English average – that’s about £250,000 for a typical primary
school.
I’ve been campaigning on this for more than a decade, as have others before me, but no
government has ever been prepared to do anything about it – until now.
Changing this has been one of my personal priorities since I was elected, and after raising
questions, holding debates, and putting pressure on Michael Gove, David Laws, Danny
Alexander and Nick Clegg, I am really delighted that David Laws announced that the
government would give us extra money to close the gap – in fact, we’re in line to get just over
£20 million pounds extra.
This is excellent news, and will be welcomed by every school in the county. But technically
it’s a consultation – we need to make sure it happens. Please sign my petition at
http://bit.ly/CambsSchoolsFunding to make sure it happens.
With your help we can secure a better deal for Cambridgeshire’s pupils.
Julian Huppert
MP Cambridge City
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Mr Donald Kitching - former Head Teacher of Queen Edith Junior School
Those of you with a long association with the school may remember Mr Kitching who has died
recently. He was Head Teacher of Queen Edith Junior School from September 1973 until December
1988 when the Infant and Junior Schools were amalgamated to form a Primary School.
Mr Kitching and I began our employment at Queen Edith Junior School on the same day and I worked
with him throughout his time at the school. He was a Head of the ‘old school’ variety and he ran a
tight ship. Working in an era prior to the National Curriculum and SATs, he set the syllabus and he
kept both staff and pupils on their toes. Good work was displayed in a rack outside his office and end
of year exams resulted in grades given on the children’s reports to parents.
In common with present day Head Teachers, Mr Kitching believed that education was not all
conducted in the classroom and he actively encouraged membership of lunch time and after school
clubs, inter- school sporting fixtures, drama and musical events and regular day and residential visits.
Some of you may remember that visits were made in consecutive Whitsun Half Terms to Interlaken
in Switzerland. I participated in both and have happy memories of hearing the children’s gasps as
they opened their curtains on the first morning to the towering sight of the snow capped Jungfrau.
We took boat rides on lakes, marvelled at glaciers and waterfalls, rode a chair lift and cable car to the
snow line and walked in beautiful alpine meadows. It was a wonderful experience, especially for
those children who previously thought that the Gogs were mountains!
An association with a centre near the Cotswold town of Burford was also established by him and
groups regularly stayed there. The nearby Cotswold Wild Life Park was used for animal studies and
visits were made to Oxford, Bibury Trout Farm, Bourton on the Water, the White Horse Hills and to
see the first Concorde plane in construction at Fairford. When the Cotswold centre closed residential
visits were made instead to Burwell House, Stibbington and Grafham Water.
As a keen artist, Mr Kitching had a kiln installed in the school so that pottery could be fired. The
finished products were displayed in the Hall in an annual exhibition, along with other art, project
work, wooden models and pieces of needlework.
Mr Kitching was quick to embrace new technology and Queen Edith was one of the first schools to
have computers. He would spend hours with groups of children, teaching them how to use these
new machines to programme models to move along the corridor.
Mr Kitching was known as a strict disciplinarian but he had a sense of humour and a good rapport
with the children. He regularly brought his dog to school! Each January he would return from the
Christmas break, with a long face, to tell the children in assembly that he had not received his dream
present of a helicopter! This became a long standing joke and when he retired a surprise was
arranged for him. The whole school walked up to Netherhall’s field and out of the clouds a
helicopter appeared. It landed and whisked an astonished Mr Kitching off on an aerial tour of
Cambridge! It was a fitting end to a successful career. He and his wife Helen later moved to Wales
where they spent their retirement years. He always maintained an interest in the school and he
enjoyed hearing news from staff members. We send our condolences to Helen on her sad loss.
Carolyn Powell
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
PSFA – What’s been happening
Bag2School on 14 March
Thank you to everyone who brought in the blue bags for Bag2School. We have recently had a
cheque for a whopping £500! Keep saving your unwanted clothing, shoes, curtains etc., for the next
bag to school in the autumn.
Disco 28th March
Another great evening, the children had a fantastic time! The PSFA made £789.33 with a donation to
the school’s charity of £126.50.
What’s coming up?
The next big event is the Summer Fete on 17th May, and this year we have decided on a seaside
beach theme. The PSFA is already working hard to organise this special fundraising day full of fun
activities for young and old. But, we cannot do it without your help, so if you can help in anyway,
please leave your name and a contact at the school office, or contact a PSFA committee member.
Thank you.
Recycle and raise funds for Queen Edith!
Do you have any used printer cartridges or unwanted mobile phones? Then bring them along to any
of the Wednesday coffee mornings (small hall, 9-9:30 am) and pop them into the collection box
provided.
Queen Edith is registered with Takeback Ltd (www.takeback.ltd.uk) who will make a donation to the
school for each cartridge/mobile phone we collect. So don’t throw those cartridges or phones away
– help the environment and the school by bringing them to the Wednesday coffee morning. And
why not enjoy a coffee and chat at the same time?
Happy Easter
The PSFA
Parent Questionnaire
A questionnaire will be sent out on 28th April asking your opinion about the school. This is arranged
by the school Governors every two years. You will receive one questionnaire per child and we would
be very grateful if you could complete each questionnaire you receive as soon as you can to make
sure we get an accurate indication from parents about all staff of the school.
Thank you.
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
(Footballers dependent on matches against
Milton Road)
Girls who finished as runners up in a football
tournament at Coleridge School:
Children who participated in the tag rugby
tournament on Thursday 13th March:
Hannah Adams
Isha Dandeh-Njie
Minahil Farooq
Sinead Goodley
Nina Koulman
Anna O’Grady
Martina Rudhun
Angelina Sitnikaite
Isla Sundhoo
Hana Yokoyama-King
William Ahern
Lottie Attle
Nat Baxter
Nicholas Boyd
Ellis Desborough
Minahil Farooq
Dan Frost
Aaron Garner
Edward Gaskarth
Sinead Goodley
Felix Kohler
Alexine Macpherson
Francesca Melville
Kyle Moran
Noah Partridge
Patrick Ptaszek
Anna Richardson
Jonny Risdon
Max Roberson
Martina Rudhun
Isla Sundhoo
Theo Vassiliou
Children who achieved the Silver Leadership
Award this half term:
Lottie Attle
Matilda Bentley
Aaron Garner
Felix Kohler
Lily Macfarlane
Alexine Macpherson
Patrick Ptaszek
Max Roberson
Other girls who represented the school in the
football match against Milton Road this half
term:
Charmaine Asuncion
Neelam Solanki
For achieving a silver medal in the bonus round
of the Primary Maths Challenge
Edward Gaskarth
Children who achieved the Gold Leadership
Award this half term:
Dan Frost
Sinead Goodley
Ammar Ibrahim
Nina Koulman
Anna O’Grady
Martina Rudhun
Isla Sundhoo
Hana Yokoyama-King
Eshel Yulzary
www.queenedithschool.org.uk
Korfballers who won the U11 tournament at the
University Sports Centre:
Nicholas Boyd
Minahil Farooq
Anna Richardson
Martina Rudhun
Isla Sundhoo
Safi Terywall
Saif Terywall
Isla Sundhoo
Korfballers who won the U9 tournament at Hills
Road:
Toby Jones
Matthew Monie
Zack Norman
Mekhi Osman
Sophia Terywall
Children who represented the school in a hockey
tournament at the Abbey Sports Complex:
Charmaine Asuncion
Maxim Demydchuk
Sakib Islam
Anna O’Grady
Noah Partridge
Jonny Risdon
Martina Rudhun
Isla Sundhoo
Mahdi Taseen
Safi Terywall
Saif Terywall
Eshel Yulzary
Children who represented the school in football
matches against the Perse and Milton Road this
half term:
Iwan Barnett
(Kieran Boak)
Nicholas Boyd
Kieran Brown
Poyraz Cimen
Ellis Desborough
Edward Gaskarth
Ammar Ibrahim
Sakib Islam
Aamir Khokhar
Kyle Moran
Bradley Pilsworth
Patrick Ptaszek
Max Roberson
Aaron Rookes
Martina Rudhun
Mahdi Taseen
Safi Terywall
Saif Terywall
Theo Vassiliou
Jack Watts
Seby Wilson
Kaan Yavuz
www.queenedithschool.org.uk