Ingleton Middle School

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May 2010 Newsletter

Dear Parents

This half term has passed very quickly and we are now at the beginning of the Statutory Tests Week.

The Key Stage 2 Assessment Tests for English, Maths and Science will take place during the week Monday 10th May to Friday 14th May, 2010.  It is vitally important that all pupils in year 6 are in school for the week.  Also, it would be a really good idea if you can encourage your children to eat a healthy breakfast, go to bed at a reasonable time and bring a bottle of water into school, this all helps concentration and brain power!!

Y6 pupils have worked extremely hard and deserve to do well.

During SATs week Y7 & 8 attend East Barnby, French students arrive the following week and then only one more week and its Spring Bank half term, where does the time go.  School is somewhat busy.

Thank you for your support this term.

Summer Term Enrichments
Shown below is the Enrichment timetable for the summer term to give you an insight as to the choices available to our pupils, we are very proud of the wide and varied range of activities we are able to offer.  The ones at the bottom of the table are the After School Clubs, these are completely free of charge and some still have spaces available.  If your child is interested in joining any of them please ask them to collect a letter from the office. 

Year 8 Settle College Uniform Fitting
On Wednesday 19th May we have a Settle College uniform fitting in our school library from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.  Parents of Year 8 pupils are invited to come into school so their children can try on uniform, orders can then be placed ready for the next school year. Please remember, payment will be required for any orders placed. We advise parents to attend if they possibly can, there will be an opportunity to try on and order uniform at the College transfer evening but this does tend to be very busy.

Lefevre Project
We are looking forward to the arrival of the group from France on Monday 17th May and the moment we have been working towards since September has finally arrived. 24 youngsters and 3 members of staff from the College St Joseph in Herbignac will be with us for just over a week.  During that week they and their English partners will enjoy a packed programme including lessons in school taught by our pupils, trips to White Scar Caves, Ingleton Quarry, Lundholme Farm, Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes, a Sheepdog Demonstration and Lightwater Valley.  They will also do the Waterfalls Walk and take part in activities organised by the National Park.  Thanks to parental and Twinning Committee support the programme will be enhance by evening activities including a Beetle Drive, Silly Sports and Hotdog Supper and a whole school Disco.  We are very proud of our youngsters for taking up this exciting and challenging opportunity.  If any of the parents are willing to help at the disco or Beetle Drive please print/complete the form below and return to school.

Visit from Finland
In June we are pleased to welcome a group of 9 youngsters from Saaksjarvi School in Mantsala, Finland.  They will be spending the week with us and will enjoy some time in school as well as a variety of excursions.  Thank you very much to those families who have offered to host the youngsters.

Eco-School up-date
We are very busy in the Quad, School Council, Quad Renovation Group, Gardening Club, Mosaic Enrichment and those involved in the potato competition organisation, are all working hard towards the Silver Eco School award, which we will hopefully achieved by the end of this term!  A raised bed is in the process of being planted up for our mini-market garden and the interform potato competition is well underway. We are aiming to be more self-reliant - growing food to harvest and cook and are looking forward to being able to produce food for the canteen.
Bio-diversity - we are encouraging bees and butterflies with a scented flower bed and are also going to plant wild meadow flowers. The bug hotel is having a make-over to encourage mini-beasts - invaluable for studies in Science. We have received a grant to enable us to have a living willow feature and are also looking to drain the pond to make it an area where we can have a bog-garden. To make the area look more attractive we have put solar lights around and also have the beginnings of a stepping stone solar path that we are hoping to extend around the Quad. We hope that the teachers will make use of the Quad for lessons, so that it is truly used as an outdoor classroom.
I hope you are now aware of what we are doing to improve our school environment. If anyone has any suggestions as to how else we can improve this area please let me know.
If you would like to help improve our Quad by donating tiles, plants or collecting Tesco vouchers we would be very grateful. 

Swimming Lessons
The swimming programme will begin on the first Monday back after half term, Monday 7th June.  For swimming lessons all pupils will need to bring swim wear (no bikinis please), towel, plastic bag for wet gear, a coat, goggles if they wish to use them and an inhaler if needed.  If a child is unable to take part in any of the lessons they must bring a letter into school.  Timetables will be displayed in classrooms and pupils advised of which day they are swimming nearer the time.  At swimming lesson times pupils need to line up as they would for PE lessons, ready to walk, with staff, to the Swimming Pool.

Solutions for the Planet 2010
Following the 'Big Ideas' Event at Leeds Armouries we are once again proud to announce that some or our pupils have reached the Solutions for the Planet Regional Heats.  On Wednesday 19th May 11 pupils, along with Mr Harrison and Mr Weir will be attending the heats at the University of Sheffield.  The groups will have to present their idea to a judging panel (and 11 other teams!) then answer questions regarding it. 
This year's ideas are:  

• Money4Mishaps - Louis Henshaw, Fred Price, Ben Whitbread, Conor Willan; 
• EnviroSaver - Matthew Mosley, Kevin Shuttleworth, Andrew Foord, Andrew Huck; 
• Power Panel - Jack Edmondson, Marcus Fleming, Connor Hastie.  

We wish them all the very best of luck.

York Visit
On Wednesday 30th June 2010 our year 7 pupils will be visiting York to support our Medieval England topic in Humanities.  They will be touring the Dungeons, visiting the York Museum and walking the city walls. This promises to be a fantastic visit that will enrich their studies and bring the past to life.

Goodbye to Ana
Ana, our Comenius Assistant from Spain has come to the end of her stay with us.  Officially she finished in March, but continued to come into school in a voluntary capacity.  She has brought an extra dimension to both curricular and extra curricular work and we appreciate all she has done.  Following her experience with us she has decided to become a teacher and will commence at Lancaster University in September.

Letters Home/Consent Forms
We seem to have an increasing number of pupils either not taking letters home or failing to return consent forms by the given date.  On occasion we have contacted parents to ask for verbal consent but this is now becoming so frequent that we feel deadlines are being ignored.  From now on, if a pupil does not have a signed consent form/reply slip handed in by the deadline they will not be allowed to take part in the activity.  Also, if letters are lost replacements are available at a charge of 5p per page (the cost of photocopying).  We hope all pupils will now realise that deadlines have to be met and will remember to hand everything firstly to you at home and secondly to return slips to school.  We would be grateful if you would speak to your child regarding the importance of relaying information efficiently.

Head Lice
Unfortunately, we have, again, had some cases of head lice in school.  Can we please request that you check your child's hair regularly and take any necessary action.  Treatments are readily available from pharmacies or the 'wet combing' method is effective if you want to avoid chemicals.  For further information please contact your local health centre or pharmacy. Thank you.

Aerosols
Just a reminder that the use of aerosols is not permitted in school.  Some pupils have been bringing aerosol bodysprays and spraying them around in the cloakrooms and changing rooms which can cause problems for pupils with asthma.  Please ensure that your child does not bring any aerosols into school.
 

I have received the May Newsletter

 Signed .................

 Parent/Guardian of .......................................................................              

My son/daughter................................................... is taking part in the French

Exchange and I am willing to help at the * Beetle Drive/Disco (please delete as appropriate or leave if

you would like to help with both)

Signed...........................................................   Date.........................

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