Clarence Road, Four Oaks,

Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B74 4LD

Telephone: 0121 308 5392 Fax: 0121 308 5061

DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES

Tue 17th Apr Four Oaks Youth Meeting 4pm at Cluster Hub

Wed 18th Apr PTFA Meeting – 7.30 pm

Thur 19th Apr Dental checks for 5 year olds

Year 5 and 6 Girls Football after school

Mon 23rd Apr Year 5 at Bockleton all week

Tue 1st May Cross Country at Bishop Vesey - 4.00 pm

Wed 2nd May Parent Council Meeting - 2.00 pm

Thur 3rd May SCHOOL CLOSED FOR LOCAL ELECTIONS

Mon 7th May BANK HOLIDAY SCHOOL CLOSED

Tue 8th May Class and Team Photographs

Wed 9th May Squirrels Class Assembly - 2.30pm

Fri 11th May Squirrels Class Assembly - 2.30 pm

Mon 14th May KS2 SATs WEEK

PTFA Meeting – 7.30 pm

Tue 15th May “Italian” Lunch

Thur 17th May Moles Class Assembly – 2.30 pm

Fri 18th May Moles Class Assembly - 2.30 pm

Sun 20th may PTFA Fun Run

Thur 24th May Year 6 Parents meeting - Sex, Relationship Education

Wed 30th May WHOLE SCHOOL JUBILEE CELEBRATION DAY

Thur 31st May Hares Class Assembly – 2.30 pm

Cluster Rounders’ Tournament for Year 3 at Hill West - 4.00 pm

Fri 1st June Hares Class Assembly – 2.30 pm

BREAK UP FOR HALF TERM

Mon 11th June Children Back to School

Tuesday 17th April 2012

ARTHUR TERRY YEAR 6 TRANSFER

Over the last couple of years we have had a small number of parents and children who have been very disappointed that they have not been allocated places at The Arthur Terry Secondary School. Fortunately this has not happened this year. When it has however, it has often come as quite a shock and so we thought that we should bring this to your attention. The catchment area distance changes each year and is due to changes in birth rates and the number of children eligible for transfer to Arthur Terry living in close proximity. Birmingham City Council is responsible for calculating these distances. The distance for children starting in September 2012 was 1930 metres The distance for children starting in September 2011 was 1633 metres We hope you find this information useful and will be able to use it as a guide when thinking about secondary transfer.

Behaviour Focus - Personal Presentation

At present, in school we are encouraging the children to take pride in their appearance, believing that this will also impact on the children’s pride in their work. An ancient eastern proverb says: "The clothing of a man is his smile. The steps of a man reveals who he is. " Although the image or personal appearance of our children have little or nothing to do with their abilities or intentions, it is essential that they learn to begin paying attention to the way they present themselves. This will be a vital skill later in life. We know that you send your child to school dressed smartly and we are endeavouring to ensure that they return home to you in the same fashion. All children are asked to make sure that their shirts are tucked into their trousers or skirts at the start of the day and remain like this until home-time. We would be grateful if you would support us in this. Our aim is to be an outstanding school and outstanding schools need to address all aspects of their work including how they present themselves to the community at large. If you have any questions about this policy then please do not hesitate to talk to your child’s class teacher.

School Meals

Please note that the amount due for

next half term will be £64.00.

This is calculated at the new rate of

£2.00 per day as advised in last

month’s newsletter.

If you would like to pay

weekly then the rate is

£10.00 per week.

Sun Cream And Sun Hats

Due to the warmer weather,

we would like to ask parents to apply

’once only’ sunscreen to children

before school. Children should bring

a hat when necessary and should

make sure that they have

their water bottle too.

School Uniform Grants

Application forms for school uniform grants are

available this week. Sutton Coldfield Municipal

Charities who administer the grants will,

however, need all forms back in by

23rd April at the latest.

Please collect your copy from the display

stand in reception or contact the school

office for further details.

SCHOOL CLOSED

Thursday 3rd May

for Local Elections

and

Monday 7th May

for Bank Holiday

Spare Clothing for KS1

If you have any unwanted school uniform, especially trousers, skirts or pants, please

could you donate them to school. If your child has borrowed any spare clothing could you please return it to

school for others to use.

NEWSLETTER

In a bid to reduce costs and become more environmentally friendly we will no longer be providing paper copies of the newsletter as a matter of routine. The newsletter will continue to be emailed to you and is available to view on our website (www.hillwest.bham.sch.uk). Anyone who does not have access to view the newsletter on line is welcome to collect a copy from the display stand in the school office reception area. If you would like to receive the newsletter, and other correspondence electronically then please contact the school office or collect a Parentmail form to enable us to enter your email details and include you with the majority of families who now receive information this way.

NATIONAL DAY OF SPORT

We are holding Sports Day on Monday 25th June this year to

conincide with London 2012 World Sports Day. Children from all over the country will take part in sporting events to celebrate the Olympic Games.

KS2 - 9.30am KS1 - 1.15pm

Advance warning - your child will need to wear a house coloured t-shirt once again.

Congratulations!

On Saturday 17th March one of our parents, Mr Andrew Lawrie, arranged a collection in aid of Marie Curie Cancer

Care.The collection took place at The Mall in Sutton Coldfield and several of our

pupils volunteered to play their instruments, which they did,

magnificently. The amount raised came to a stunning £875.00.

Congratulations to all those involved, including:

Ariane Moore, Rachel Moore, Remi Preece, Grace Burns, Sophie Tandy-Gordon, Emily

Hyde and Imogen Lawrie.

INCLUSION FOCUS

As you are aware our SENCO is Mrs Tombs. She is also the

Assistant Head Teacher with responsibility for Inclusion. Therefore if you would like any support in regard to special educational needs or Inclusion

please feel free to contact her directly.

Mrs Tombs as Assistant Head works very closely with myself and Miss Marsh the Deputy Head to ensure the effective day-to-day management of the

school. Our other leadership team members consist of ;

Mrs Nichola Leeson - Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning

Mrs Pardo - Enjoyment and Enrichment Manager

Mrs Willmore - Basic Skills Manager

Mr George - Strategic Achievement Manager

Together we form a cohesive team to ensure that the needs of all the children in our care are met effectively. The aim of inclusion is to embrace

all of our families irrespective of race, gender, disability, medical, behavioural or other need. It is about giving equal access and opportunities

and getting rid of discrimination and intolerance (removal of barriers). It affects all aspects of school life.

The departure date is fast

approaching and April 23rd can’t

come fast enough for the pupils

and staff attending the study

centre this year.

We are fortunate to be joined by

some students from The Arthur

Terry School who will be helping

the children over the fun packed

week.

We hope everyone has a super

time!

BOCKLETON

CLIMBING FRAMES

We would like to ask that NO children use the climbing frames on the school site before or after school, including siblings.

May we please ask that

parents do not park or drive their

cars on to the school drive at any time.

If you have a disability, please speak to the

Head Teacher to request permission to drive

on to the site.

FOUR OAKS MINI SOCCER

The Four Oaks Boys Club are holding weekly training sessions for boys and girls ages 4 to 9 years of age on Saturdays from 12th May. Held at Hill West and running for 6 weeks the sessions will cost £15.00 (the first one is free)

and the aim is to create three new footbal teams—U7s, U8’s and U9’s, to start in the 2012/13 season. To register please see the website:

www.fouroaksboys.co.uk or call Steve Pugh 07968 807376 or Paul Maguire 07958 072853

SCOOTERS AND BIKES

May we please remind you that scooters and bikes should not be ridden either

down the school driveway or in the KS1 playground.

Please can you monitor your child and any siblings to prevent accidents from

occurring. Many thanks for your

cooperation.

PARENT’S EVENING RESPONSES

The parent feedback from our March 2012

parent consultations was extremely positive

with everyone commenting favourably on the

new format. Thank you if you were one of the

parents who expressed a view.

You were particularly pleased that the book fair

was organised to coincide with your visits; that

you were able to see your child’s books and you

felt the teachers had a good understanding of

your child’s strengths and weaknesses and

shared this with you.

We aim to take on board all aspects of the

feedback we received, and look forward to

seeing as many parents as possible at future

consultations.

Welcome Back Mrs Munro Mrs Munro returns from maternity leave this week and we hope you will all join us in welcoming her back. She will be working Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and will be responsible for the teaching of specialist Art lessons.

DON’T FORGET TO

FOLLOW

HILL WEST PRIMARY

SCHOOL ON TWITTER

PING AND PONG, OUR CHICKENS,

NEED SOMEONE TO PUT THEM TO BED ON SUNDAY EVENINGS.

THIS IS NOT AN ONEROUS TASK AND ONLY

INVOLVES GETTING THEM INTO THEIR SLEEPING

COMPARTMENT AT DUSK. IF THERE ARE ANY

EGGS YOU WOULD, OF COURSE, BE VERY

WELCOME TO HAVE THEM

IF YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP

PLEASE LET MRS BALLA KNOW

PTFA Fun Run

The PTFA Fun Run will be held this month on

Sunday 20th May at Sutton Park - Jamboree

Stone at 10:30am. On the day entries will be

£10.00 for the 10K run and £5.00 for the 4K run

and will close at 10:15am. You may also pick

up an entry form from the display stand outside

the school’s office or from the school website.

As yet the PTFA have not received many

entries from school and so we are hoping to

promote the event for them in assemblies over

the coming weeks. We would love to see as many families there

as possible as it is sure to be a very good morning. Please don’t

feel you have to run, many of our families decide to walk the 4k

course and everyone on completion gets a medal for

participation. The children who take part really do feel a sense

of achievement afterwards and we will celebrate this in

assembly on Monday 21st May.

Good luck to all those taking part! I hope to congratulate you all

on the finishing line.

BE ON TIME 10 TO 9

Congratulations to Mrs Tombs who was married during the school

holiday. We are sure you will join with us in wishing her and her husband a very long and happy life together. She will now be

known as Mrs Hull.

TRIPS AND VISITS

STILL TO COME

10th May Year 4 Kingsbury Water Park

29th May Year 2 Warwick Castle

21st June Year 5 Space Centre

11th July Reception Twycross Zoo

LUNCH BOXES

We strongly advise you to include an ice block in your child’s lunchbox,

especially during the warm

summer months.

YEAR THREE SWIMMING

Year Three classes have been swimming each

day at Wyndley Leisure Centre since the

beginning of March.

Congratulations to all children who have

now learnt to swim 25 metres and to those

who have improved their skills.

Further swimming lessons are available at the

following locations:

Wyndley Leisure Centre 0121 464 7743

Sutton Dolphins 07525 205052

S4 Swim School 0121 374 2109

Jubilee Celebrations Day— Wednesday 30th May On Wednesday 30th May we will be holding a Royal themed afternoon in honour of HRM the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. During the afternoon children will be involved in various activities including: kite flying, a carnival parade, a treasure hunt and making thrones and royal memorabilia. All children can come to school wearing red white and blue, and a themed lunch will also be available. If you do not wish your child to take part in any of these activities, then please put this in writing to your child’s class teacher.

AGREED TEACHER

TRAINING DAYS for

2012-2013

Monday 29th October 2012

Monday 7th January 2013

Thursday 28th March 2013

Monday 22nd July 2013

Tuesday 23rd July 2013