Dear Parent/Carer,
Celebration Fridays
Our Celebration Friday events for this Half Term begin again this week. Please join us in classrooms after school on the coming Fridays to join in the celebration of your child’s successes. We begin with Key Stage One this week, Lower Key Stage Two next week.
I have actually run out of my stock of Headteacher Stickers this week, I’ve seen so many achieving children. Our culture of success and celebration is one of the defining characteristics of the school. Motivated, enthusiastic and confident children enjoy school more and achieve better. We certainly have a great deal to celebrate at Robin Hood.
Last week’s School Census showed 363 pupils on roll at Robin Hood, our highest pupil population ever. We were at 297 pupils when I joined in January 2003 and had grown to 329 pupils by late 2007. Our steady continuing growth proves the ongoing popularity and success of the school. As ever, we are continually trying to build upon the good and effective practice that exists here. The teaching staff and I did a Learning Walk around school this week, looking at displays in classrooms and beyond. The walk gave us all a great deal of inspiration and determination to continue to develop outstanding learning environments in every classroom.
Newsletter Blog
Parents can receive the weekly newsletter paper-based via Pupil Mail, via email (please send an email to Mrs Smith with the Subject ‘newsletter’ if you want to receive your newsletter using this method) and now via the online newsletter blog at http://robinhoodnewsletter.blogspot.com/ As you know, Robin Hood was recognised last year by Dr Tanya Byron – a then Government education guru – as a leading school for Parental Engagement. We continue to work with other schools to help them develop systems and methods to improve the flow of communication between home and school as we recognise the vital importance of working together for the benefit of your child.
Parent Consultations
Our next round of Parental Consultation Meetings will take place during the week commencing 28th March. Information on appointment times, etc will be issued in due course. Parents of Year 6 pupils have all received an invite from their child’s class teacher to an individual consultation meeting in February. These meetings have had 100% attendance for as long as I can remember and are another very important part of the collaboration between home and school.
Friendly Faces
There are places available at Friendly Faces during the coming Half Term. Louise, Jill and Matthew are working very hard to develop the quality of provision at Friendly Faces that we aspire to. I am please to see our children getting opportunities outdoors, using the playground, Table Tennis equipment, etc.
Robin Hood’s Got Talent
Thomas Caldicott is in the talent spotlight this week. Thomas, a very promising young footballer, has been courted by a number of professional clubs and is currently training with the Leeds United Academy.
Walk to School
I was contacted last month by Vicki Franks, Transport Planner at Leeds City Council who informed me that Robin Hood falls in the top 5% of Leeds schools were pupils live within 0.8km of the school and travel by car. As this isn’t necessarily a ‘League Table’ that we would aspire to be top of, I am meeting with Vicki next week to discuss how we, as a school, can help reduce the number of car journeys. If it is possible to walk, please do… a bracing walk is good for health and wellbeing and reduces congestion and consequent danger on the roads. We have a bicycle rack at the rear of the school for those children for whom parents consider it safe enough to ride and please consider car sharing with friends and neighbours... which would save you the daily trip. Any parents who are interested in organising a walking bus to school from their street please contact me. I am fully committed to giving whatever support and encouragement I can to reducing the number of car journeys required to get our children to school.
Head Lice
Head Lice are a perennial problem in any setting in which there are large numbers of young children. Again, we have some incidences of head lice in school. The only way to manage this is through constant vigilance. Please make checks for head lice part of your daily routine, please check regularly. Medicated shampoos and ‘miracle cures’ have very limited success. Clearing a head lice infestation requires careful daily brushing with a head lice comb for a period of at least two weeks.
Have a great weekend,
Mr Wilson
