Well that was a much better end to the week! We've had lots going on this week as usual; values assemblies celebrating compassion, our Reception Family Assemblies, the school orchestra playing this morning and the Guitar and Ukulele concert this afternoon. We have also had a visit from The Friends of Bournville Park meeting with our ECO group and then we've had World Book Day of course!

The Parent/Carer survey is still 'live' so if you haven't had a look, please spend 5 minutes answering some questions- we really do appreciate your views and believe that all feedback is good feedback! The link is here.

Values of the Week

Today, teachers have presented the Values Champion Awards to the following children for demonstrating Compassion.

What's Coming Up

Red Nose Day - Next Friday

Our School Council met this week and decided that they would like our school to support this national fundraising initiative.

This year’s theme is ‘red-to-toe’ and at Bournville we are going to adapt this to ‘heads and toes!’. Consequently, we are inviting children to come into school wearing something red on their heads and their feet. Our ideas are:

· head – hats or caps, wigs, headbands, scarves, hair dye, face paint, hair clips, red noses

· feet – socks, shoes, wellies, boots, trainers, slippers

We would still like children to wear their normal school uniform but think they will look fabulous with red head and feet! During the day, your children will be thinking about and exploring our school value of compassion and kindness.

If you would like to donate to this fabulous fundraising event, please click here for the link.

Attendance 

This week's winners are:

* ASHA (Reception) - RGR

* AXEL (KS1) - 1RT

* ATTIE (KS2) - 5HPS

In January 2024, the Government launched a national campaign, developed from research into parental attitudes, as well as two local authority pilots at the end of 2023. This research found that some parents place less value on regular school attendance post-pandemic. The “Moments Matter, Attendance Counts” campaign, therefore, aims to primarily reach those parents and carers whose children are taking preventable odd days of absence – or “avoidable absence”.

Here at BVP, we monitor attendance on a weekly basis and will phone parents and carers to discuss a child’s attendance which falls below 90%, to identify any challenges and implement strategies for improving attendance. We will also invite you into school for a meeting if there are concerns.

Moreover, we also want to encourage parents and carers struggling with their child’s attendance, to reach out to school as the first step of support as we are here to listen and to help breakdown barriers to coming into school.

If you are uncertain whether your child is too ill for school, please refer to the really helpful NHS guidance https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/ and be mindful that a prolonged period of absence is likely to heighten a child’s anxiety about attending school in the future.

Arbor Update

As you’re all aware, we have launched the new option to book your child’s meals through the Arbor app. There have been a couple of parents having trouble with this process and would like to answer some frequently asked questions:

1. Where are the meal options?

Unfortunately, the weekly menus are not on Arbor for you to view. You can find this on our weekly newsletters or on the school website here. The “options” you will see to book are School Dinners, Packed Lunch and School Dinners Halal.

1. I still can’t get into Arbor!

Contact the school office and we will try to help where we can! It could be as simple as resetting your credentials.

1. Do I have to pay for Packed Lunch?

No, the option for packed lunches does not pull through to your credits, it’s purely for report numbers so we know how many children are packed lunches as well as dinners.

1. I’ve been charged for a meal my child didn’t have!

In a bid to tackle these issues we are advising parents to prebook their child’s meal option on Arbor. This way any incorrect dinner marks the children complete in the morning will be overridden by your booking.

1. What’s the dinner booking process?

1. On Arbor, go to the Arbor menu and click Quick Actions and click meals.
2. You should then be taken to the Meal Choices page where you should see Spring Term Lunch
3. You should then see a drop down which should show the meal options School Dinners, Packed Lunch and School Dinners Halal. Once an option is selected, click confirm choice.

***If your child always has the same meal option every day or every other weekday you can tick Pick for all future available dates which will carry out this option till the end of the academic year***

We would like families to keep in mind that Arbor is just as new to us as it is to you so we’re going through this process together. Once everything falls into place and we all get familiar with it, its should be an easier way for parents to access everything they need from one place!

Thursday was World Book Day and our students did not disappoint with their amazing costumes. It was great to see the children dressed as their favourite fictional characters. From Matilda and Alice in Wonderland to Spiderman and one of The Three Little Pigs; we were very impressed. 

Below are some pictures of our pupils enjoying WBD!

Year 4

Year 6 

*** Stopping Music Lessons ***

A gentle reminder that if your child wishes to stop having music lessons, this must be put in writing to Mrs Vaughan by March 15th at the very latest.

Our Music Makers

Today we were treated to some amazing music making in school. Our newly formed school orchestra performed for the first time in front of an audience and they were amazing. Such assured and matured playing. Good luck with your performance at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on 21st March, you’ll be fantastic.

In the afternoon we listened to our guitar and ukulele players in KS2, led by Mr Reed. This annual concert is always a musical highlight and we were not disappointed. We had over 70 children performing and once again their maturity and musicality shone through.

Thank you children for sharing your talents and showing everyone what a fantastic musical school we are.

School Orchestra and Choir

Youth Proms, Birmingham Symphony Hall - We have a date!

We heard yesterday that our choir and school orchestra will perform in the Symphony Hall on Monday July 8th. I will receive details of rehearsals, tickets etc in the next few weeks and will confirm all then. If your child is in choir and signed up, or is in orchestra please do save this date. We will be looking for parent helpers for this event, as we are taking a large number of children.

Annual Year 5 and 6 Evening Concert - change of date

Now: Tuesday 2nd July 6pm

If your child learns an instrument in school (not guitar and ukulele) or is in the choir or school orchestra, and is in Year 5 or 6 you will be invited to take part in our annual evening music concert. This concert was originally scheduled for Thursday 27th June but has had to be rescheduled to Tuesday 2nd July. We really hope all our amazing Year 5 and 6 musicians and singers are able to take part.

Maths Reading Books

As Thursday was World Book Day, here are some fantastic maths-related books that you could have next on your bookshelf!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle – A children’s classic about a caterpillar who counts all the different things he eats.

Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker – Based on the true story of Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who contributed to NASA’s space missions.

10 Cats by Emily Gravett – From an award-winning children’s author, a whimsical book about counting cats.

How Big Is A Million? by Anna Milbourne – A picture book with a large poster inside that shows just how big a million really is.

How Many Legs? by Kes Gray – If you love ‘Oi Frog!’ and other stories, this book about counting animal legs will be for you.

How To Count To 1 by Caspar Salmon – The title seems simple, but this hilarious book will get children counting to much bigger numbers.

One Thing by Lauren Child – A Charlie and Lola adventure, where Lola tries to count all the things she wants to buy.

The Book Of Numbers by Oliver Jeffers – A favourite children’s author, and a similar style to his book ‘Here We Are’.

One Is A Snail, Ten Is A Crab by April Pulley Sayre and Jeff Sayre – A picture book that uses animals to start noticing patterns in numbers.

The Shape Trilogy by Mac Barnett – Illustrated by Jon Klassen, these books have a wry sense of humour and get children thinking about shapes.

If you have any of these at home, or find them in your local library, please send us a photo of your child with the book and we will feature it in a future newsletter!

Science!

Today is International Women’s Day. Read all about the inspiring Amelia Earhart and learn how to make and test paper planes.

Online Safety

Check out the below website for the latest online safety tips. It provides a vast amount of information on how to help your child keep safe online when using different messaging apps. 

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/social-media/chat-apps/

We know how dangerous unsupervised online access for children can be, so we will continue to find new tips to protect our pupils. 

School Dinner Weekly Menus

Next week we will be on Week 2. 

Fresh seasonal salad bar and fresh bread available daily, as well as a daily selection of fresh fruit and fruit yoghurts.

Red Nose Day Menu!

Quote of the Week

'A book is a dream that you hold in your hand" - Neil Gaiman

As World Book Day was yesterday, we were inspired to use this wonderful quote by Neil Gaiman. He is a British writer who earned critical praise and popular success with richly imagined fantasy tales that frequently featured a darkly humorous tone.

Some of his books include Coraline, The Graveyard Book and Stardust.

And finally...

Thank you to all the parents and carers who have already responded to our Parent/ Carer survey - if you have added your name to the end of the survey, we will get back to you before the end of the term.

Keep safe and have a peaceful weekend everyone - we look forward to seeing you all on Monday.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is the responsibility of everyone in our school and at all times we consider what is in our children’s best interests. We work to ensure our children our safe and cared for and by doing this we are protecting their health and development and preventing them from harm. If we are worried, we will raise concerns, share information, and take prompt action with the aim of ensuring families receive the right help at the right time.

Going On In Your Area

Ultimate Activity Camps

They provide Ofsted-registered activity day camps for children aged 4-14 during school holidays. Children will enjoy a fantastic range of over 40 sports, games and art activities every week led by engaging staff at amazing locations. Running this Easter and Summer at King Edward VI Camp Hill School in Kings Heath, Birmingham. 

W: http://www.ultimateactivity.co.uk/FSF

T: 0330 111 7077

E: [email protected]

New Monthly Artisan Market!

Where: Bournville on The Green

When: Sunday 17th March

This is a great opportunity for our community to discover local makers, producers and curators and hopefully support some of the small businesses that are based right on our doorstep.