Minchinhampton Primary School
Newsletter No 12
27th March 2015
HEADTEACHER
Dear Parents/Carers
With the other head teachers from the Academy Trust, I was lucky enough recently to attend a conference with
a man called Dylan Wiliam who is Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at the Institute of Education
and a man worth listening to (see www.dylanwiliam.org) If Educational Policy was defined by people like him
as opposed to politicians with short term agendas and their own (possibly inaccurate) pre-conceptions, I firmly
believe education would be in a better place than it is. He does not ‘pull his punches’ when discussing politics
in education. He spoke about the National Strategies for English and maths which were designed to radically
improve achievement in this country. They cost ½ billion ponds to implement but actual levels of attainment
went up very little. He said it would have been cheaper to offer every child in the country a £1000 bribe to try to
improve their exam results! Wiliam is unconvinced by many other expensive solutions that have been seized
upon over the years. He says there is little empirical evidence that many initiatives have had any significant
impact on pupil achievement including curriculum reform; how schools are structured (for example small
schools, large schools, middle schools); computers, interactive whiteboards and workforce reforms. And yet,
he says, there is more need than ever to get this right because the world is changing at such a pace. There are
many traditional skills that are disappearing fast from the workplace and being replaced by technology.
Essentially there is a race on between education and technology and unless we are clear about what children
really need from their education, we are going to fail them hopelessly. Education (despite the age old claims by
one generation that the next is ill-educated and theirs was a golden age before it all went wrong)- has
continued to improve steadily. The average IQ of the population has gone up by 3 points every decade for the
last 80 years. Schools and education have got better but unfortunately the price of admission to the workplace
has also gone up. Wiliam says there is only one 21st century skill worth worrying about- ‘We need to produce
people who know how to act when they are faced with situations for which they were no specifically prepared.’
(Paper 1998).
Wiliam claims there are only three areas of teaching practice that are empirically proven to have impact on
children’s learning- formative assessment, metacognition and philosophy for children. We have been weaving
more and more formative assessment into our practice over the last few years and now we intend to make it
better still. Formative assessment is nothing new- it is what good teachers have always done. Good teachers
establish where the pupils are in their learning. They identify the learning destination and then carefully plan a
route to get there. Along the way they make regular checks on progress and make adjustments to the course
as conditions dictate. This all sound terribly simple but at its heart is a really strong commitment to each child’s
needs, a fine and subtle appreciation of learning and an excellent level of interaction between teacher and
pupils so not so simple then. We need our children to take responsibility for their own learning- to understand
themselves as leaners and to be constantly evaluating their learning and the learning of their peers. We want
the children generating their own ideas and questions and we often take these as the starting point. Wherever
possible we want them to use their initiative and think creatively, exploring different possible solutions to the
same problem. We want them to be resilient and persevere when faced with a challenge. Again, not so simple,
but definitely worth spending our time and energy on.
I’d like to say a word quickly about our ongoing project to develop our reading spaces in school. Our thanks
must go out to Mrs Webb for all her inspirational work. Over the last two years Mrs Webb has built up our
impressive stock of books both in the library and in each classroom. She runs whole class sessions in the
afternoons, promoting the very best new books we have on offer; she manages the school librarians who help
to organise, maintain and promote the library; runs book clubs with groups of children and produces arresting
and exciting displays. We must also say a very big thank you to Mr Knowles, Mick Orr and Meg Mclaughlin who
have very recently created our reading pods (or caves as they seem to now be known) outside my office
window. The children have taken to these immediately and at lunchtime or during guided reading sessions,
there are reliably a huddle of them happily tucked up inside, pouring over books. The Water Garden has
always been a space where some children like to go and read as well as act out their oral re-tells. We aim to
encourage this further by providing them with chests full of dressing up clothes (hence the request later in this
newsletter) and building cabinets to house ‘outdoor’ books- these being some of our older books, past their
best and ready to be put out to pasture. Lastly we have an artist coming in this next term to work with children
and parents to create little ‘borrower- style’ installations of scenes from stories. These will be found all through
the library and other shared spaces and will each come with a QR code. You will be able to scan the QR code
with a mobile device; this will then links you to a video of a class re-telling of that story or perhaps also some
artwork, drama or writing by the children.
Have a lovely Easter everyone
N Moss
Head teacher
SCHOOL NEWS
The Year 3/4 production of ‘Heroes of Troy’
I have witnessed a very mixed bag of school performances in my time as a head teacher and parentsometimes, through no fault of our own, they just don’t hit the mark. Why then does this never happen at
Minchinhampton? Of course the head teacher always says something nice and parents will always feel proud
but at this school I am reliably and sincerely blown away by your children’s confidence, talent and gusto. I just
sit there agog, with my camera in hand, thoroughly entertained and absorbed, and losing sight of the fact that
this is a primary school production I am watching: I may as well be in the West End! So here I am again,
scrabbling for more superlatives about another excellent production from the 3/4 team and their bushy-tailed,
nerveless, multi-talented pupils. Thank you to all the staff and pupils for giving us such a treat!
Goodbye
It’s a very sorry goodbye to 3 members of staff- David Mathews, Sophie Vickery and Sonya. We will all miss
Sonya’s marvellous cooking and lovely positive manner with the children and we wish her well for the future.
Sophie has only been with us a short time but she has made a valuable contribution while she has been here
and we wish her well for her novel writing. Dave has been with us 3 years. He has many talents including
writing and playing the guitar and has brought these into school. We will miss him for his wonderful level of
care and commitment to the children and his excellent sense of fun.
Recent sporting events
The last few weeks have been positively riddled with competitive sport against other schools, including cross
country, football, netball and rugby. Here are a few of the children’s reports.
Year 5/6 Football
In the first match of the Stroud League final we dominated and had lots of chances but just couldn’t get a goal.
At one point Leonard Stanley almost scored but Will kept it out. The second match we won quite easily- we
powered through with some sensational goals- Sammy Davis Berry scoring twice, even though he was playing
in defence, and Billy also scored twice. The final match was between us and Park. They pushed us to the limits
but we finally came through with another goal from Billy. We had won the League for only the third time in the
last 20 years.
By Billy Eaglestone & Sammy David Berry & George Parker
Girl’s Football
We did really well in the tournament: we won most of our matches and only lost one match. We came third out
of eight teams. We worked really well together and this helped us to beat teams who were much taller and
stronger than us. We couldn’t have done it without Ailsa’s six goals and Shiyan’s amazing goal-keeping.
-Jessie Eaglestone & Ruby Thomas
Year 3/4 football
We love being in our football team and all got on very well. We have got through to the final which we will play
next term and we believe we can win. We feel confident because we understand the importance of team work
and realise it’s not just about the glory. We also never give up no matter what the circumstances. We’ve got a
good defence and are strong in the tackle; in attack we push very hard and score lots of goals; in the midfield
we’ve got lots of pace.
By Daniel Kettle, Joe Morris & Jake Halliday
Tag Rugby
I think our tag rugby team did a good job in the tournament. I feel like we tried our hardest to beat Avening
because we felt like they might be the best. We played 4 games during the Nailsworth tournament. We played
very well against all of the teams.
By Reggie Fellows & Leam Morgan
Gloucester Cathedral visit
On Tuesday the 17th March 2015, year 5/6 visited Gloucester Cathedral to Experience Easter. Each group
took it in turns to go around the Cathedral and learn about the Easter Story at various ‘stations’ the cathedral
staff had set up. This is what we learnt about at each station…
1) Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The Jews thought he was their saviour and
king sent by God to free them from the Romans. We celebrate today their feelings of hope that Jesus gave us.
We were then given a pebble which we had to write our own hopes or dreams on.
2) The Last supper. We thought about the words ‘Remember Me’ and how Jesus wanted to spend this
important time with his friends. We were given a piece of bread to eat and as we ate it, we had to think about
Jesus.
3) The Garden of Gethsemane. We learnt about how Jesus spoke to his father to gather strength for the
coming betrayal, and how alone he felt. We were given a piece of paper on which we had to write a time when
we felt alone.
4) The Crucifixion. Down in the Crypt we learnt about Jesus on the cross. We had to think about people who
are in times of need.
5) The Resurrection. Here we learnt about Jesus coming back to life. We were told that some Easter eggs are
hollow to represent the empty tomb. We got to suck on a mini egg to help us think!
Finally we finished off the day back in the Parliament room to make Easter cards and other Easter activities.
We had a a really interesting day!
By Megan Land and Alice Williams
This World Book Day we had a great time. Throughout the day we had the hooter and when it went off,
everyone had to stop and read for 10 minutes. Then when it went off again we all got back to what we were
doing. Our librarians did an assembly all about books and World Book Day to tell us more about the whole
event. They even told us some of the books you could get. We all think books are important and everyone
really enjoyed this exciting day.
By Lottie Sibley
This year we hosted an AMAZING red nose celebration to raise some cash by doing something funny for a
great lifesaving cause. Firstly, we pulled on some funky and creative tights and socks, which were as loony and
cool as ever. Then, we all had a generous helping of delicious cakes and biscuits. Later of course many of us
enjoyed the live television show, full of world records, funny sketches and moving videos from the UK and
Africa. Now, we couldn’t have raised hundreds of pounds without our fabulous school council, and who
organises that team, Mrs Young and Mrs Aurelius!
By Olivia Ascough
Maths Day
On Monday 16th March 2015 Year 5/6 had a visit from maths genius, Miss Follis, who brought in some
awesome maths equipment, including quite a few IPads! Firstly we did a task to warm up our brains. We got
given some cards with numbers on and we had to put them in some hoops; either multiples of 3, factors of 24
or even numbers. It was like a Venn diagram, so some numbers went in the middle of the hoops or on the
outside. After that, we got split into two groups; Year 5 and Year 6. The Year 5’s did some maths games like
the Towers of Hanoi. Whilst they did that, the Year 6s went on a trail around the school with IPads! We got
given a number to start on and we had to find it .Then we scanned a QR code, and a maths sum came up. We
had to solve the question and go and find the number of the answer. It was really fun, and challenging! After
half an hour, we changed over, so Year 6s and Year 5s swapped around. For the games, there were lots of
really fun ones, but the most challenging was the Towers of Hanoi. This was created as a challenge for some
monks but had 64 circular plates instead of 8 (which we did!)! You had to work out what the least amount of
moves was to move the tower across. There was only one person who worked out how many moves you would
need for the 64 Tower in our class. All in all, it was a really fun experience and one we will surely all
remember!!!
By Rosie Hodges
Dance Festival
Minchinhampton Country dancers joined 300 other children from 15 schools at The Stroud Schools dance
festival on Tuesday 17th March. Our children danced fantastically and all enjoyed yourselves – Mrs Athey said
it was a special evening. She would like to thank all the parents for coming and joining in and Mrs Dyer for
taking the photographs.
SCHOOL INFORMATION
French club
Please note this club is on Tuesday NOT Friday- as advertised on the club lists.
School Nursery – places are now being allocated
The admissions process for entry into the School Nursery from September 2015 is now underway. If you have
applied for a place, you should receive a letter within the next week or two. A child can start in Nursery from
age 2 years 9 months (their 3rd birthday must fall in the term in which they start). If you would still like to apply
for a place or would like any further information, please contact Mrs Therese Watt, Nursery Manager (01453
883273 ext. 3 or email: t.watt@minchschool.net as soon as possible. Application forms are available from
either the Nursery or the School Office.
REQUESTS
Gold necklace gone missing
One of our Year 6 girls has lost her gold necklace - she thinks she left it in the office but we can't find it. The
necklace has a lot of sentimental value. Please can everyone keep an eye out for it.
Sports kit
Over time our supply of school sports kit for competitions has dwindled. Despite our ongoing efforts to check it
back in after a competition, when these events follow closely on from each other, it can become very
complicated.
Please could everyone check at home for any school kit that has crept off and hidden at the back of drawers
and at the bottom of sock-piles and dirty-washing baskets.
The PTA and myself are keen to re-stock our kit but we need to take accurate stock of how much we really
have before committing funds to this.
Donations
I know it’s hard to let things like this go but please, if you’re feeling generous, any donations of –
* Dressing up clothes or old clothes suitable for dressing up, as well as accessories like wands, tiaras, hats,
interesting scarves etc.
-for the children to use at lunchtimes we would be very grateful. One thought- it might be worth checking
through your clothes recycling before committing them to our container.
We are always grateful for donations of books so please keep them coming in and thank you to everyone
who has donated so far.
Also the scrapstore is still thriving at lunchtime but would be even more exciting with ongoing donations
from home, for example:* Material: blankets, sheets, tarpaulins, drapes- or anything for den building.
* Cardboard- very large boxes or tubes (for example ones that are found inside rolls of carpet).
* Plastic- guttering, keyboards, crates, hoops for creative play
* Storage boxes with lids.
Sainsbury Vouchers
We will be very grateful for any donations of these; the deadline is 5th May.
PTA REQUESTS
Waitrose
The PTA will soon be entered in the Waitrose Green Token Scheme to raise money for school computers.
They would be grateful if you can start saving your green tokens; the more tokens they get, the bigger the
donation. The PTA will let you know the week they are entered. Thank you.
OTHER NEWS
Evan, Thea and Lyra sold their pom poms at school! They raised £51.25 which they sent off on Red Nose Day!
GOLD CERTIFICATE WINNERS
Gold certificate winners are:
Aqua: Lily Townsend Peedell,
Noah Wood, George Watson,
Joshua McGeary, Sam Gardiner
Indigo: Barney Dunn, Max
Gerstheimer, Connor Purvis, Dom
Bradshaw,
Sapphire: Elizabeth Hands, Isaac
Erith, Joseph Chare, Daniel Kettle,
Grace Ewer
Cobalt: Freddie Burford, Moses
Skinner, Jessie Eagelstone, Joe
Halliwell
Midnight: Reuben Young, Maisie
Helm, Harry Vicary,
Azure: Alice Morgan, Elliot
Marson, Jemima Beardshall,
Angus Mansun Whitton, Lola
Burford, Calvin Muir, Kyra Smith
Sky: Oliver Hepburn, Billy
Eagelstone, Cameron Stewart,
Sam Bennett, Megan Smith, Kelly
Marie Chapman,
Teal: Alisha Mann, Amy
Thompson, Isaac Hewer, sophie
Shepherd, Amber Winders,
Cyan: Lily Beavis, Cameron Muir,
Turquoise: Felix Taylor Andrews,
Luke Perkins, Lukas Pruess, Emily
Braune, Noah Knowles Jackson,
Emily Hampton,