Newsletters

 Newsletter March 2016 Dear Parents, Carers and Pupils I would like to thank you all for another fantastic term. We have been busy as usual and here are just a few highlights of our recent work and improvement. Developing the Library and encouraging reading Miss Causebrook has been working hard to develop our school library, making it more engaging and inviting. After meeting a few reps we narrowed down our ideas and in phase one put in three iMacs and new library tables. The iMacs are available for the children to access audio books and every lunchtime we now have 30 – 40 pupils enjoying reading, playing learning games or listening to stories . We are also looking at training packages from Junior Librarian (the software we use for scanning out the books) and intend to exploit its functionality more effectively. The system has the capacity to allow children to search for books, make recommendations and post book reviews. Our next steps are to put some new sofas in the library to create more comfortable and inviting reading areas for the children. Miss Causebrook has picked the new furniture and I am just waiting to present the idea and costs to the PTA. One of our staff has kindly agreed to open the library at lunchtimes on Monday to Thursday so children can now go in under supervision. This has proved popular with our pupils. Pupil Voice and New Parent Forum Our many pupil voice groups are all working well. Miss Hamlyn has taken on responsibility for the play leaders and peer mediators. Our Eco Warriors have been working with Miss Lockyer on a grounds plan and our House Captains are taking their new jobs very seriously. Ms Arpesella launched the first in a series of curriculum workshops for parents this term and offered a very successful and well attended event on reading. Mr Tuck has offered a maths workshop and a spelling, punctuation and grammar session took place earlier this week. Mr Cope is coordinating these workshops and intends to offer further activities in the summer term. We have also agreed that a parent feedback form would be useful to gauge the success of the sessions. Mr Cope is also about a launch a new initiative from our development plan, a Parent Forum. Our intention is to invite parents from each class to attend termly meetings about our School Development Plan. This will allow us to hear parental ideas and feedback on initiatives and improvements. Outdoor Learning and developing the grounds Miss Lockyer has done a lot of work already this term on our outdoor learning plans. She has shared her initial ideas for an outdoor learning scheme of work with each year team and following feedback will complete the planning. We hope to launch this new scheme in the summer term once all the resources are available . Miss Lockyer has also worked with an architect to create a design for our grounds, including a new pond, outdoor classroom with seating, wildlife area, allotment and garden. The PTA have identified this project as their key interest. Healthy Schools Audit One of our new teachers, Mrs Herriot, has taken on responsibility for Healthy Schools. We decided to re­apply for the Bronze Award and, following a training session, she has been released to complete an audit and action plan. We decided this agenda was well worth investing in since it not only looks at sport and physical health but requires us to look at our site, curriculum provision, playground, school meals and the general well­being of pupils. One small but popular new change brought about as a result of this work is we have been running a healthy tuck shop with fruit on sale at break time. Site work During half­term Mr Forsey took advantage of the opportunity and plaster­boarded one of the walls in the Dining Hall, which has transformed the space and made it look far more modern. The remaining wood panelling will be plaster­boarded over the next break, and the visual impact is considerable . He also had time to finish a new allotment area near the playground which now has 8 large planters for the children to tend. STAFFING At the end of this term Mrs Driver, who has worked at Cleves for over 30 years, will be retiring. However it will only be ‘au revoir’ as she will be coming back into school to do supply from time to time. We wish her a happy and healthy retirement. CURRICULUM NEWS YEAR 3 We can’t believe that the end of the Spring term is approaching; it has been a fast paced term with a lot fitted in! The children have been writing really enthusiastically to ‘twist’ traditional tales and will finish the term writing non­chronological reports about dragons, which we hope will continue to excite and engage them all. In Science we have turned to rocks and they have been fascinated to learn about the different types of rock and how these have been formed as well as experiencing hands­on classification of the wonderful variety of rocks we have in the school collection. We are now engaged in working scientifically to learn more about the properties of rock, developing the ability to work as a team to complete investigations within a given time frame. We have continued to study different aspects of Ancient Egyptian life, a highlight of which has been our Art project to make ‘canopic jars’ from clay. We are painting these this week. The children have been using both iPads and Chromebooks to begin to develop their ability to write computer code. We started out ‘debugging’ given algorithms to move a ‘sprite’ within a maze, and are now looking at building our own algorithms to move an animated ‘sprite’ around on screen. The children are learning to sequence instructions that control movement, background, sound and speech bubbles. They all now have their own online ‘scratch’ account which they can also access from home via the link on the year 3 topic extras page. So, if they are at a loose end over the Easter holidays, do encourage them to delve further into ‘scratch’ programming or spend some time on the typing programme to earn typing badges and enhance their ability to use IT effectively at school by being more familiar with the keyboard and typing more quickly. We wish Y3 pupils and their families a lovely Easter holiday … they deserve a break, as do we! YEAR 4 This has been a busy term for year 4, with lots of learning to squeeze into a few short weeks. We started the half­term with a visit from a real Anglo­Saxon man! He brought weapons, clothing and other artefacts for the children to investigate. The children heard stories about the Anglo­Saxon Gods and participated in a trial by ordeal. This was an interesting learning experience for everyone involved and thoroughly engaged the children in this topic. As if that wasn’t enough excitement, Roman Day soon followed, with the children taking part in weaving, creating mosaics, making oil lamps from clay, fashioning jewellery from metal wire and learning how to write like Romans by using quills and ink for calligraphy to write Roman versions of their own names. Our Design and Technology project culminated on Roman Day too, with a cooking activity where the children researched, designed and made their own flatbreads. Delicious! Electricity has been our Science topic this half­term. Children have designed, built and tested circuits and have investigated electrical conductors and insulators. In computing, we have finished our unit on Network Engineering and are now building and programming lego models, much to the children’s delight! Our literacy work has continued to focus on books by Anthony Browne. The children have studied ​
The Tunnel​
, for which they wrote an extra piece of narrative, including their own fictional character. As well as this, we have solved and created riddles ­ which included an orienteering activity, which the children really enjoyed. We are now studying Kennings and have been immersed in the legend of Beowulf. Summer Term promises to be equally jam­packed and exciting, so please enjoy a restful Easter break! YEAR 5 We’ve had a short but immensely productive and enjoyable half term in year 5. The children continue to impress with their work across the curriculum, but also with their outstanding homework ­ they continue to raise the bar with the standard of homework they produce. In literacy, our focus on poetry has brought out our inner poets and there have been rhyming couplets a­plenty. We have explored techniques that help us create rhythm as well as looking at poems that tell stories. We were also delighted to watch a production of Firework Maker’s Daughter by Philip Pullman and we’re looking forward to writing new scenes for the story using our vivid imaginations. We’ve particularly enjoyed our focus on British history since 1945 and we’ve been getting closer to the present day. As a child of the ‘80s, we’re now at the point where nostalgia kicks in even for Mr Tuck. The children have enjoyed learning about the history of each decade, but also exploring other areas of these decades such as art and fashion. We loved reading their homework that was based on interviewing a family member about their experiences in a chosen decade! Science has given us a chance to practise our investigative skills whilst learning about forces such as gravity and air resistance. It’s also allowed the children a chance to work collaboratively when doing investigative work, taking on different roles in a group in order to gather results. We’d like to wish you all a well­earned Easter break and we look forward to seeing you back at the start of the summer term ­ hopefully with some summer weather to match! YEAR 6 As we move ever closer to the end of KS2 Assessments (SATS) in May, our focus is inevitably on English and Maths. The children have been working very hard at what is an increasingly demanding curriculum and we are very proud of their determination and resilience. Our literacy since half term has been the writing of a non­chronological report on African Elephants, so why not quiz your child and see how many interesting elephant facts they can tell you. You could also ask them about the rules for inserting a semicolon! We have still had time for other things, though, and have begun our Natural Phenomenon studies on earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes. By the end of term, children will be creating a short presentation on the iPads to explain how earthquakes come about. In science we have been looking at the process of dissolving and the factors that affect it. Finally, we will be creating moving toys out of the wooden CAMs the children made in the DT workshops at Rydens Enterprise School. The visits there were tremendously successful and the children enjoyed using belt sanders, drills, saws and hammers. It was a joy to see their resilience and application to a hands­on project; they are all really proud of what they achieved there. BRONZE ARTS Work has begun for the pupils who are undertaking the coursework for the award. They have been coming in two lunchtimes weekly to an open classroom forum to work on their topics. We are currently reviewing the trip to the Lion King which was enjoyed by all. We will film their contributions this week. They have all made a really enthusiastic start! PARENT WORKSHOPS During this term we have held a number of successful parent workshops covering topics including reading, grammar and maths. These were very well attended and we hope you found them useful. A number of handouts were provided at the sessions and these can be downloaded by visiting the following page of our school website ­ ​
http://www.cleves.co.uk/about­cleves/curriculum/literacy/ We plan to hold further workshops later in the year. If there is something you would particularly like to see covered, please let us know. MATH TUTORIAL VIDEOS Mr Tuck, Mr Smith and Mr Russ have​
put together a number of videos which show the mathematical strategies we teach at Cleves. These videos could also be used by pupils as a revision aid as there are examples to try after each tutorial. If you feel there is a certain area of maths or a strategy missing, please let us know by emailing Mr Smith (​
[email protected]​
) or Mr Tuck (​
[email protected]​
). The videos can be accessed via the curriculum page on our school website ­ ​
http://www.cleves.co.uk/about­cleves/curriculum/literacy/ MUSIC NEWS This has been a busy term for music at Cleves! Cleves Choir sang in a concert with Weybridge Male Voice Choir at St Mary’s Church on Saturday 12th March to raise money for the RNLI. The children were brilliant and are a credit to our school ­ a big thank you and well done to everyone who was involved! Also this term, we have celebrated the vast and varied musical opportunities at Cleves in our Spring Concert ​
From Beethoven to Beatles.​
Almost every music ensemble performed on this evening (Cleves Choir, Funky Thursday Choir, Handbell Ensemble, Cleves Orchestra, Steel Pans), along with some solo items from just a few of our talented musicians from all year groups. Congratulations to everyone involved in this event. It was a true showcase for the outstanding musical opportunities available at Cleves. SWIMMING As you may be aware, we offer swimming lessons for children in Year 5 who cannot swim the required 25 metres set out by the National Curriculum. As well as being a statutory requirement, it is of course an essential life skill. Next term we will be requesting Year 4 parents to send in documentation showing that your child can swim the required distance. For those pupils who cannot yet swim 25 metres confidently we will be sending out details of how to sign your child up for swimming lessons in Year 5. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Smith (​
[email protected]​
) IT CONTRIBUTION At Cleves we are proud to offer an innovative curriculum with outstanding ICT provision. We are extremely well resourced ­ in each year group there are over sixty Google Chromebooks for the children to use as a tool for their learning. In addition to this, throughout their time at Cleves, the children will also use a range of other ICT tools including laptops, iPads, new Apple Macs in the library which are used as listening stations, as well as a purpose built radio station. The use of these devices form an integral part of the curriculum at Cleves. We are only able to offer and maintain this fantastic IT provision through asking each parent to make an annual contribution of £30. We are extremely grateful of your support and would like to gently remind you that you are able to make next term’s contribution via your online account. If you have any questions or would like to find out more about IT at Cleves please do not hesitate to contact Mr Smith. UNIFORM Just a quick reminder as recently it has been noted that a small number of children are coming to school in the incorrect uniform. In particular this has included wearing trainers instead of school shoes, boys wearing white socks instead of black/grey and girls not always having hair tied back. As you know, at Cleves we have high expectations regarding uniform and we would therefore appreciate your continued support in this matter. SPORTS NEWS It has been another very busy and successful term of sporting action at Cleves. Below is just a snapshot of what has been going over the last four and half weeks, starting with a very special achievement! FOOTBALL On Friday 11th March, following their success in the AFC Wimbledon tournament back in December, the Year 5/6 football team took part in the southern area final down in Portsmouth. Representing AFC Wimbledon, the boys were pitched against 15 other regional winners with the prize of a Wembley final awaiting the victorious team. As expected, the competition was tough but in the group stages we played exceptionally well, winning six out of our seven games. By drawing our other game we managed to finish top of the group and faced Dagenham and Redbridge in the semi final. This saw us play brilliantly; recording a comprehensive 5 v 1 win and setting up a final against last years winners, Portsmouth. To say the final was a tense affair would be a huge understatement. We fell a goal behind early in the game but our heads didn’t drop. A few minutes later a lovely piece of skill saw us equalise and we were suddenly well on top and by far the best team. After squandering a number of half chances we scored the crucial second goal and then managed to defend brilliantly against strong opposition, holding on to a famous 2 v 1 victory. We now progress to the National Final to be held at Wembley before the League 2 playoff final in May. A fantastic achievement and a once in a lifetime opportunity for the boys to play on the pitch at Wembley. Well done to Ethan, Oliver, Ben L, Ben M, Devon, Ralph, Jack and Finley. Girls The Year 5 and 6 girls football team have also had an exceptional term, culminating in a 14v0 win over Kingfield School in the Surrey Cup Semi Final. The Final will be played after Easter and the girls are heading into the match in excellent form. We wish them the very best of luck in that game. The boys in contrast have had a real mixture of success as their individual seasons begin to draw to a close. Year 5 Boys Cleves team 2 managed to win their league in dramatic circumstances against St Ann’s Heath. Trailing 2v0 with only seven and half minutes to go they secured a dramatic last minute victory, eventually winning 3v2! This means the team have lost just one game this season. Cleves 1 secured an impressive 0v0 draw against Bell Farm, a game in which they dominated but just couldn't score. They finished third in their group. In the County Cup a combined Year 5 team played Epsom Downs in the quarter­finals at Cleves. This was a most impressive performance against strong opposition. The 7v1 win now sees them play Whyteleafe in the semi finals just before Easter. Year 6 Boys The year 6 teams have also been in league and county cup action. In the County Cup the year 6 team also played Epsom Downs, this time at nine a side. Once again this was a tough fixture but an excellent first half performance saw them secure a 4v0 win. They now face a tough semi final match against Whitgift after Easter. In the league it has been a slightly disappointing end to the season. Cleves 2 had to win their final game against St Ann’s Heath to secure the league title. An injury and illness hit side couldn't quite do it and were beaten 1v0 by hardworking and strong opponents. Likewise Cleves 1 needed two victories against Bell Farm to win their league but eventually lost both games. INTER­HOUSE COMPETITIONS This term has seen the start of inter­house sports competitions throughout the school. At the end of each half term, every year group now holds a competition between the houses in which everyone competes. The position of each house within each year group is then collated, and the winning house in the whole school is announced. The inaugural competition was won by York. The pupils have really entered into the spirit of this competitive element within Games, and are eagerly awaiting the result for the second half of the spring term! NETBALL Year 5 Netball Very well done to all the girls who have attended the club on Mondays after school. Each week come rain, shine or extreme cold you arrive enthusiastic and keen ­ keep it up! The Y5 netball team played two exciting games this month. Firstly, we beat Cardinal Newman 3­2 at home. We actually won more convincingly than the scoreline suggests and the girls played with increasing confidence and skill. We then played our second ever away game at Bell Farm where, despite leading throughout the game, we had to settle for a 3­3 draw. All team members showed great sportsmanship and adapted their play to suit the opposing teams, so great job to Maya Boon 5L, Grace Gray 5GM, Grace Frise 5L, Anna Morgan 5W, Maisie Jacobs 5W, Sophie Jongejan 5L and Ria Tytherleigh 5L. Go Team Cleves! Year 6 Netball It has been pleasing to see such commitment from the girls who have attended the Year 6 Netball Club this season ­ a lovely group who come along each week to learn new skills, play matches and have some fun. The A team has made great progress this year. Since half term they have played 3 matches and won 2 of them. First up was Cardinal Newman at home; we won 12­0, with many players scoring goals and from all over the shooting area. They next played St Ann’s Heath and again we won convincingly 14­4! However next came Bell Farm, who are always difficult opposition and, despite an evenly fought match, they won 7­2 in the end. Next came the Elmbridge Netball Tournament on Friday 11th March. Well, the girls were amazing! Every single player was at the top of their game, intercepting everything, defending hard and adapting their tactics depending who they were marking. In our pool, Cleves won 4 out of 5 matches which meant we finished top of the group, even beating St Jude’s (who had beaten us earlier in the season). In the semi final we had to play Bell Farm again! Cleves competed to the end, giving all their energy and commitment, but eventually lost 3­1. The girls should be very proud of their achievements this season. Well done all of you. Year 6 Netball team: Zoe Dimond (Captain), Ana Rai, Chloe Donellan, Shirin Holmes, Eve Pauffley, Fleur Nigoumi, Dalia Koudsi. CROSS COUNTRY Our cross country teams have been involved in two competitions recently. Back in the beginning of March we took a squad of twenty four children over to Bracknell to take part in the cross country relay event. This is the first time we have entered the competition, one that attracts entries from all over the South of England. The competition involved teams of six (two from years 4,5 and 6) taking part in a 1500m relay over what can only be described as a traditional cross country circuit. Both our boys and girls did extremely well with the girl’s teams finishing 11th and 15th out of 36 teams and our boys finishing an impressive 4th and 9th, again out of a field of 36 teams. Congratulations to all that took part, there are some photos on our school website. Then, on Saturday 12th March, thirty runners took part in the Surrey Cross Country championships held in Reigate. This was a most enjoyable event which once again saw our runners do extremely well. Particular well done to Mac Douglas (7th), Nicholas Didaskalou (12th), Rachel Janssens (15th) and Otto Taylor (19th) who all finished in the top 20 in their races. Again, we have added some photos to the school website. TAG RUGBY Year 4 took part in the Weybridge Vandals Tag Rugby Festival at the end of term. Young leaders from Esher College took the team through some skills and drills, before they were given a chance to put their skills to the test in a series of friendly matches. It was an extremely enjoyable afternoon, with everyone learning some new skills and getting a taste of competitive play. This is a good foundation, preparing the way for more competitive tournaments in the upper school. DISTRICT SPORTS Trials for District Sports will begin after Easter for years 3,4,5 and 6. In order to be considered for the team, your child will need to attend the Tuesday morning running club. This runs from 8.00­8.30am every week. For more information and to sign your child up if they don’t already attend, please ​
click here​
. ECO WARRIORS The Eco Warriors have just finished running a successful campaign for the national initiative ‘Waste Week.’ The Warriors launched the event with an informative assembly, outlining the reasons why we should recycle and reuse items, especially electronic equipment. The children were asked to bring in old batteries and electronic items to the Cleves recycling points. The boxes were full by the end of the week! A sculpture competition was also run and the children made models using a variety of recyclable materials following any theme of their choice. Some excellent designs were entered and the winning sculpture will be displayed in Reception. Next term the Eco Warriors will be growing plants from seeds that have just recently returned from the International Space Station ­ we are all excited to see what happens! SPRING NEWS FROM THE PTA Just before we all disappear off into an Easter egg, we thought we would share our latest news and dates for your diary. Wednesday 20th April ​
­ Come along, for some cheese and wine (and maybe chocolate!), to the next PTA meeting at 7.30pm. There will be lots on the agenda including decisions to be made on new fun learning activities and equipment for the children like the Outdoor Learning Centre. This is being precipitated by the extra money that our new Midsummer Ball will raise. Your ideas and feedback are highly regarded and it is your chance to influence key purchases for the school from the PTA money. Remember it is a guaranteed "RECRUITMENT­FREE­ZONE" so we will not be pouncing on anyone to help with activities or PTA tasks; but if you do feel like volunteering for anything do let us know (obvs!). Tuesday 17th May​
­ Fete in the Field is still as popular as ever with both children and parents. If anyone would like to lend a hand to the FiTF Team please email the lovely Donna Henderson ​
[email protected] Friday 10th June​
­ To help with clothing­clear­out planning please add the next Bags2School dates, 10th June and 1st Nov, to your diaries. Bags2School is not only a great charity, it also raises money for the school. Saturday 25th June ­ NEW ­ Midsummer Ball at St George's Hill Tennis Club, (7pm ­ 12.30) ​
This year, the theme is 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' ­ our ball flyer, with some key information you will need to know, will be circulated out in school bags this week. ​
Click here​
to view. Tickets go on sale at £45pp on Sunday 24th April at 4pm. Please see the flyer for detailed instructions on how to apply for tickets through the [email protected] email address (max 2 tickets pp on a first come first served basis, but you can specify who you would like to sit with on your table). There are only 160 places so make sure you put the date in your diary. AND ­ Don't miss your opportunity to WIN 2 tickets to the ball for only £1! Raffle tickets will be on sale for a full week commencing 11th April, at school pick up time by the main reception. We are counting on all parents to help make the night as successful as possible and raise as much money as we can to go towards building an outdoor learning centre, so we need your help in donating some prizes. Golf 4 balls, beauty treatments, tickets to shows, or any other weird and wonderful donations towards the auction or raffle would be gratefully received! Any questions or suggested ball prizes please email us at ​
[email protected] Friday​
​
1st July​
­ Our school evening picnic chill at the Sundowner ​
HAS BEEN MOVED​
to this ​
NEW DATE​
so please make sure you have made the change to your diary. If anyone would like to assist the gorgeous Kellie Scott with this event then please email her on kellie­[email protected] as always any help is much appreciated. NEW ­ Cleves PTA social media channels Cleves online peeps, keep in touch and join in the banter about PTA news and school events on these new social media feeds: Facebook – ​
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1670657246517634/​
or just search for “Cleves School PTA” . Find us on Twitter @PTAcleves . Thanks for reading this far down! Wishing you a very happy Easter with friends and family. Big Easter love from the PTA CHESS CLUB RESULTS Beginners Last term Cleves School took part in the 21st annual UK Chess Challenge which is held every year and attracts around 70,000 children in the UK. To qualify for the next round a player had to score 17 points or more or have the highest score in their age group. That is top boy and top girl in each group. The results were as follows: Under 8 boys Section = Jake Goodman 1st Place Trophy Under 8 boys Section = Jamie Khwaja Under 8 boys Section = Max Middleton Under 8 girl Section = Phillipa Liang Under 9 boys Section = Rohan Kulkarni Under 9 boys Section = Ellis Dunne Under 10 boys Section = Alex Friedrich Under 10 girls Section = Ruby Relfe Under 10 girls Section = Vivienne Gehle Well done to everyone! Intermediate/Advanced Dylan Kiose = Champion ­ receives a trophy The top player in each age group, plus anybody scoring 17 points or more who is not top player, qualify for the County Final (known as the Megafinal). The Surrey Megafinal is to be held at Hinchley Wood School (near Esher) over the May Bank Holiday weekend, and the following children have qualified: Leading Players: Daniel Burton = top U8 boy Dylan Kiose = top U9 boy Lily Chen = top U9 girl Nathan Moore = top U10 boy Matt Smith = gain 17+ points Weybridge Tough Ron Usharovsky = Champion ­ receives a trophy Arrangements for the Megafinal as above. Leading Players: Tom Usharovsky = top U7 boy Jack Blackman = equal top U9 boy Alexander Madakbas = equal top U9 boy Ron Usharovsky = top U10 boy Charlie Needell = top U11 boy Jasmine Madakbas = top U11 girl Francois Walter = top U12 boy Finally, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Easter. I hope you have an enjoyable break and look forward to seeing everyone on Monday 11th April. Mr C. Hodges Headteacher