Dear Parents/Carers On Friday 3rd March we had our much anticipated World Book Day event. The day began with a costume catwalk. The children looked fantastic and were able to recognise which novels characters hailed from and provide a brief synopsis of those books. During assembly, a new initiative “Knights of the Reading Table” was introduced. Children were invited to apply for a position on a review panel. In order to be considered they would need to provide a book review. The children chosen will come from all year groups and their reports will be published in a later newsletter. All year groups hosted a carousel of reading activities including a “Come Read With Me” event (in the style of a menu tasting). Children came along to sample, or rather “taste”, a book. Many children returned to borrow the books they had sampled. Thank you to parents, carers and children for making such a great effort with the costumes and making this a truly enjoyable event. Please have a look at our World Book Day gallery on the following page!

Year 4 have their “Pyjama Day” tomorrow (Friday 10th March) in aid of the charity “Place 2 Be”. Please note that this is a dress up day for Year 4 pupils only. We are showcasing more of our talented pupils on page 4 of this newsletter. Well done to you all and thank you for sharing your successes! Yours sincerely Ms Anderson (Acting Principal)

W E E K C O M M E N C I N G 6 T H M A R C H 2 0 1 7

PICKHURST POST

Pickhurst Lane, West Wickham, Kent, BR4 0HL

Tel: 020 8462 5867 Fax: 020 8462 9394 Email: office@pickhurst.com

Web: www.pickhurst.com

Pickhurst Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Message from the Acting Principal

Inside this Issue: Message from the Acting Principal World Book Day Gallery Playground Activities & Gardening Club Year 5 Mini Magicians Pupil Achievements Sports News Miss Walsh’s P4C Corner School Council Forest School Drum Lessns Attendance & Punctuality Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth Competition Clubs Dates for your Diary

P A G E 2

World Book Day Gallery

Thank you to the children and parents/carers who made our World Book Day such a huge success! The children brought the characters alive with their creative costumes which they clearly had put a lot of thought into. It was a really fun day for all!

P A G E 3

Here are some photographs of the pupils getting involved in the lunchtime activities on World Book Day! Children had a choice of joining in games of badminton, skipping, balance boards, stacking cups, basketball and football. All activities are organised and supervised by Play Leaders, who monitor the games and keep the children safe. The Gardening Club restarted for the first time this year and Mrs Smoothy and the children started off sowing sunflower, cosmos flowers and carrots. Pickhurst is taking part in a flower and vegetable competition run by The London Children's Flower Society. A large number of schools take part and will be judged in the summer!

Next week the children will be planting potatoes in the school garden, in a scheme ran by Agriculture and Horticulture Development called Grow Your Own Potatoes.

Playground Activities & Gardening Club

Year 5 Mini Magicians!

On Tuesday 7th March 'Magic Rob' visited Year 5 for their English lessons. He dazzled the children with some tricks and then went on to teach them how to perform one using a deck of cards. His instructions were clear and concise and he was on hand to help if the children became stuck. On Thursday, the children will be writing up what they have learnt in the form of instructions as part of their 'Hot Task' Do ask the Year 5 children to see their trick ... I am sure they will take great delight in showing you! If you would like more information about Rob the magician or would like him to perform at a future event, have a look at his website: www.robyoungmagic.com

Mrs Dempster (Assistant Head Teacher/Progress Champion)

P A G E 4

Mr Ruskin (Coney Hall FC U8's Manager) kindly sent us the following football report. Well done boys, a fantastic achievement! “Last weekend, the Coney Hall Under 8's were invited to go along to Brighton & Hove Albion's elite training ground to play against the Brighton Academy team. The boys played 4 games against a strong Brighton team. The boys battled and played a very good team game which resulted in a win, 2 draws and one defeat. This was an amazing achievement for the boys who not only showcased their determination and commitment, but also adapted very well to playing a new formation of 7 a side for the first time against a skilful Brighton team. The boys, Max R, Teddy M, Stanley B & Will H (3DS), Jacob K, Alex G & Ryan B (3C) can be extremely proud of their performance and representation of the club. All in all a fantastic experience and day out for the boys.”

Pupil Achievements

Anya in Y4 has been a part of D&B Performing Arts School for 4 years. Last year she was invited to take one to one singing lessons; she was then put forward for her first singing exam and got a distinction in her Grade 1 exam.

On Friday 3rd March, the Pickhurst Academy boys’ football team travelled to Darrick Wood to play a league game. The boys started brightly on a difficult pitch but found themselves one goal down at half time. The second half began with Pickhurst applying lots of pressure, hitting the post and forcing the Darrick Wood goalkeeper into making some good saves but, against the run of play, Darrick Wood went into a two goal lead. The Pickhurst Academy boys did not lose heart and got a goal back with five minutes to go, but were unable to get an equalising goal and the score finished 2-1 to Darrick Wood. On Saturday 4th March, the Year 6 boys from Pickhurst Academy and Davidson Primary Academy, who had not played previously for the school team, played against one another. The boys played four 15 minute quarters in a very entertaining game that Davidson won by 5 goals to 3. The boys from both schools were clearly enjoying representing their respective schools and were appreciative of the opportunity. Thanks to Mr Belgrave and Mr Spencer for giving up their time and looking after the teams on the day.

Sports News

She has also auditioned to play “Nala” in Disney's “The Lion King”. She made it through all the initial auditions and eight weekly assessments. She has now graduated from Cub School after training with them for 12 months. Although, she will not now be on stage, it was an achievement to train with the Disney team. Anya, this is an amazing achievement—well done to you!

P A G E 5

Miss Walsh’s P4C Corner

At their recent meeting, the School Council came up with the following suggestions:-

Eating school dinners outside on sunny days

Badges or sashes for playground monitors

Bring and buy sale—uniform/books/outfits

Blinds on Y5 windows

More handwriting pens

Book sales on World Book Days

Colouring area on playground

School Council

It is important to think creatively and critically.

That’s why P4C is so important for everyone. Miss Walsh’s P4C Corner

Why don’t you have a think about this week’s

philosophical question? I would love to hear

your ideas!

What things hold you back from doing the things that

you really want to?

P A G E 6

Forest School

Form 3C started their forest session with a bug treasure hunt, running around the forest with maps, compasses, clues and directions. There were eight teams and they all worked well together and completed the hunt, finding all the giant bugs hidden in the woods.

There are spaces available for drum lessons! If your child is interested in learning to play, please either ask for a form from the school office or contact the drum tutor directly on gaetano2k@hotmail.com If your child is interested in learning any other instruments, please speak to a member of the school office.

Drum Lessons

P A G E 7

Attendance & Punctuality

Here are the attendance figures for each class for w/e Friday 3rd March 2017. The overall attendance figure for Pickhurst Academy for this period was 97%. Congratulations this week go to Form 5B who achieved 100% attendance! Every minute really does count so don’t be late! 12 lates were recorded this week. Please note that each child’s attendance and punctuality rate is monitored on a regular basis. If it is seen that a child’s attendance or punctuality is below our expected requirement, then parents will be contacted either by letter or a mutually convenient appointment will be arranged to discuss the situation in order for us to offer support.

Form Attendance %

Late children

3C 99.7 0

3D 93.9 0

3DS 92.7 0

3L 99.7 1

4C 94.8 2

4F 97.4 0

4P 95.2 2

4W 97.1 1

5B 100 1

5BA 96.8 0

5E 97.3 0

5HR 98.5 1

5S 98.5 0

6C 98.6 1

6M 99 0

6S 97.1 0

6SN 96.4 1

6ST 95.2 0

6W 97.1 2

Well done to all those children who entered the Mayor of London's Fourth Plinth competition. The entries have been submitted to City Hall and judging takes place from this Friday. You can take a look at the entries our children have submitted by looking at the online gallery https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/arts-and-culture/art-and-design/fourth-plinth-schools-awards-2017-now-open, selecting 'Bromley' as the borough, and then 'Pickhurst Juniors'. This year the judging will be done by artist and sculptor David Shrigley. Here are a few of the entries submitted. Good luck to all who have entered!

Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth Competition

P A G E 8

Dates for your Diary w/c Mon 6th March Y6 parents’ evenings

Tue 7th March 3F & 3C to St Mary’s Church

Fri 10th March Y4 Pyjama Day

Sat 11th March Cross country at Crystal Palace

Tue 14th March 3L & 3DS to St Mary’s Church

Mon 20th to Fri 31st March The Big Pedal 2017

Thur 23rd March Y4 Hampton Court visit

Fri 24th March Red Nose Day—pupils may wear red in exchange for £1 donation

Fri 24th March 2pm Music concert

Fri 31st March Last day of term, school closes at 1.30pm

Mon 3rd to Mon 17th April Easter break

Tue 18th April Pupils return to school

Tue 18th April Offer day for primary school places

Fri 28th April Spring disco—all year groups (PTA)

Tue 2nd May Deadline for acceptance of primary school places

Tue 2nd to Fri 5th May Y4 PGL

w/c Mon 8th May Y6 SATs week

Fri 26th May Last day of half term, school closes at 3.20pm

Mon 29th May to Fri 2nd June Half term break

Mon 5th June Pupils return to school

Mon 5th to Fri 9th June Y6 to France

Fri 23rd June Summer garden party (PTA)

Thur 20th July Y6 Leavers’ disco (7-9pm)

Fri 21st July Y6 picnic (3-8pm)

Fri 21st July Last day of term, school closes at 1.30pm

Mon 24th July to Tue 5th September Summer break

Wed 6th September Pupils return to school

DAY TIME CLUB VENUE

MONDAY 12-12.45PM DWX GYMNASTICS HALL

12NOON CHESS CLUB MS ANDERSON’S OFFICE

3.20-4.30PM FOOTBALL KRAZEE Y3/4 FIELD

3.20-4.20PM SPANISH CLUB Y3 & Y4 4T

3.30-4.15PM JU-JITSU HALL

3.30-4.30/4.45PM SEW COOL SEWING CLUB Y4 BAY

TUESDAY LUNCHTIME DWX BALLET HALL

3.20-4.30PM FOOTBALL KRAZEE Y5/6 FIELD

3.30-4.15PM JU-JITSU HALL

THURSDAY LUNCHTIME LEGO CLUB Y5 INTERVENTION ROOM

3.20-4.20PM BEES ATHLETICS (MARCH TO JULY ONLY) FIELD

3.20-4.20PM SPANISH CLUB Y5 & Y6 4T

3.20-4.30PM CRICKET KRAZEE Y4, 5 & 6 FIELD/PLAYGROUND

FRIDAY 8.15AM WIND BAND HALL

LUNCHTIME DWX TAP DANCING HALL

3.30-5PM POTTERY CLUB Y4 BAY

3.30-4.30PM STEPHANEEZ PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE CLUB HALL

Clubs