World of Woodland newsletter Issue 24

Value of the month: Thoughtfulness

Now that we’ve recovered from the traditional rainswept Bank Holiday weekend, it seems that our summer has got started this week. With the start of May comes our new value for focusing on, thoughtfulness. We have amazing pupils who have (in the main) excellent empathy and demonstrate good thoughtfulness. In our assemblies and from room conversations we’ll be highlighting good examples of thoughtfulness and emphasising the power of ‘acts of kindness.’

This week sees our Year 6 pupils enter their final week of preparation for their SATs exams. Next week, all 165 of them will sit exams in Reading, Grammar and Mathematics. The results are released to us in early July and will eventually be a significant part of judgments made about the school. Staff try very hard not to stress the importance to our pupils but they are so vital for the school’s continued success. To ‘lighten’ the exam days, we’ll be cooking breakfast from 8am for all Year 6 pupils Monday-Thursday next week.

Mrs Griffin, our amazing Art teacher and Head of Year 8, has announced her intention to retire from the end of the school year. This week we have appointed Mr Matias as a new year leader, who will take on the Year 6 cohort next year. Mr Guthrie and Mr Hughes will take their respective year groups forward to Year 7 and 8. We are seeking a replacement Art teacher and hope to appoint one before half term for a September start.

Mrs Tate will be taking maternity leave in mid-June and will be replaced as Head of Year 5 by Mrs Petrie from half term. Mrs Tate’s Maths classes will be taught as follows:

Y5—shared between Mrs Ashby and Mrs Nolan

Y6/7—Mrs Ashby

Y8—the pupils will be shared between Mr New and Mr Solomon.

Mrs Tate has written to the parents of the current Year 5 to explain that our current grouping of Year 5 into five forms of around 29 pupils will be reshuffled  into six form classes going into Year 6 from September. This will initially mean average class sizes of 24 with space for growth—given there are 500 new homes being built around the new Sports Centre.

Since our last newsletter, Miss Hart has completed the London Marathon (her second one!) raising £3200 for Diabetes UK, of which £650+ came from our non-uniform day in April. Well done, Miss Hart, superb determination!

After the success of our joint ski trip with Alameda (March 2016) we will be repeating this offer for April 2017. Our ski trip is open to all our current pupils, including those who will be in Year 9 next year. The trip will be to the French resort of Morzine for 5 days of skiing, followed by a day at Disneyland Paris. The trip cost is £880, payable in 8 x £100 payments plus an £80 deposit. If you would like more details, look out for the letter home or email Mr Tate on tatej@woodlandacademy.co.uk

Rehearsals are well under way for this year’s Key Stage 3 production of Matilda and between now and our next Newsletter, the entire cast will have been to the West End to see the professional production for inspiration.

 Marathon machine

Just over a week ago I took part in one of the biggest challenges of my life - The London Marathon. Having begun my training back in October, I couldn't wait for the event to start. Running with my friend, Ash, we were running some good miles between 9 and 11 minutes ensuring we high fived each  other at every mile. Then the barrier kicked in - I had never hit the barrier  before in any of my training runs and, boy, was this tough! Mile 16 and I wanted to be sick. This was when I began to complete the rest of the marathon alone, having to slow my pace down and trying to soak up the amazing     atmosphere. The last 800 yards were in sight and to get me to the finish line I had to count to 100 for every 200 yards run. Finally, Buckingham Palace and around the corner was the finish where I picked up my pace and had my medal put around my neck. My goal was under 5 hours, which I didn't achieve, however I completed it in 5hours 20minutes.

Although one of my goals was not achieved in this challenge, I have been so overwhelmed by the incredible support and sponsorship I have received. The mufti day held at school raised over £650. The total amount raised so far is £3200. This will hopefully help to develop the technology and treatment around diabetes.  Without your support I would not have been able to raise so much. A massive thank you to everyone.

Miss Hart

 creative writing

On Friday 29th April 2016 a group of 14 year six boys had the opportunity to work with A-Level Creative Writing students from Redborne, along with their teachers.  The boys produced descriptive writing about their choice of settings, created 'found' poetry using some classic children's texts and, during the afternoon, they worked in teams to develop a new chocolate bar for Nestle.  All teams had to pitch their product to 'Nestle Executives' at the close of the day.

The boys worked really hard and embraced the opportunity to be creative.  They are all pictured below with their certificates which were presented to them by the Deputy Head, Mrs Boothby.

Mrs K Packman

 data checking sheets for years 5,6 and 7

Data checking sheets for Year 6 pupils’ went out this week because of the SATS tests next week.  Years 5 and 7 will follow next Monday, 9 May 2016.

These sheets are sent out once a year to check that your child’s personal details, medical history and contact details are up to date.

Could you please mark any corrections or additions and sign the sheet, even if there are NO changes.  If there are no changes it is still important that you return the data checking sheet so that we know the information we hold is correct. Please then return them to school as soon as possible, as it essential that we keep our data up-to-date.

The first class in each year group to return their data checking sheets will be awarded a free mufti day.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

Mrs T K Barker

Woodland Achieve First Place in Manga High National CompetitiON!

Woodland Middle School repeated the success of last April, once again winning the British Isles national mathematics competition, and beating over 1400 schools of all backgrounds.Congratulations go to all Woodland pupils who contributed by scoring medals in May, but special mention goes to the whole of year 6, who worked tirelessly throughout the month during their extra maths sessions to bring home this well-earned award.

At times, it seemed like we might be beaten into first place by some very competent primary, middle,  upper and secondary schools across the country, but the final result was a very convincing win over Carlow Educate Together in Ireland, and Sale Grammar School, by almost 1600 points, with a total of 4184. Previous multiple winners of the trophy, such as Barham School, Hugh  Sexey Middle School and Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys did not even feature in the top ten, highlighting the rigour of this competition, and the quality of the opponents we have beaten into first place.

Look out for mention in future releases of this newsletter for information on the top five individual performers over the month of April, as they will be rewarded for their efforts.

We are delighted with the impact Manga High is having in terms of helping reinforce a positive attitude towards learning and practising mathematics. While lots of the medal points were won during sessions in school, a great many were also scored while pupils were at home in the evenings, before school and at weekends.

Every pupil has the opportunity to enjoy Manga High, with each person having their own individual login. Tasks and activities  number in excess of 500, and range from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4 mathematics, so there really is scope for pupils of all   abilities and ages to tackle something challenging. There are also ‘Teach Me’ lessons, featuring online tutorials for almost all       challenges.

As I write, Woodland are an impressive third in the May competition, and looking for another top ten finish – so keep up the great work!

If you or your child need to be reminded of how they can access their login details, or if you require more information about what the resource has to offer, then please feel free to email me at lambertm@woodlandacademy.co.uk.

Well done!

M Lambert
Maths Subject Leader

 Flitwick Market and Coffee Mornings

Did you know there is a market every Friday in the Village Hall Carpark?

There are a wide range of stalls including:

Fishmongers, bakery, flowers/plants, cards and giftwrap, knife sharpening, pet food, jewellery, mobile barbers, various food stalls and so much more.

The Village Hall is open in market day for tea/coffee and cakes.  Local organisations are welcome to host a coffee morning for fundraising