BISHOP THORNTON CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL: News

Autumn Term 2010

We look forward to welcoming all our children on Thursday 2nd September 2010.

Easter Gardens 2010

Well done to everyone for the Easter Gardens which were displayed in St John's Church over Easter.

The prizewinners were:
Harry & Jessica
Douglas
Robert
Alex
Will S

Our successful bid to be part of the Arts Council's 'Creative Partnerships' programme means that everyone has now started work on our whole-school project. We are working with Jenny Milne, a visual artist and sculptor, to explore the landscapes and heritage of the area, seeing how these compare with other places in the UK.

All the children have begun work on a scrapbook/sketchbook which will build up a picture of their daily lives, families and special events, and Class 2 are looking for people to interview who have grown up in this area. If you think you can help, please contact us at school.

Link Schools

At the end of the Autumn term we were able to write to our link school 'penpals' for the first time! Class 1 are getting to know the Y2 children from Hunslet St Mary's Primary School in Leeds; while Class 2 practise their French writing to pupils at l'Institution St Louis near La Rochelle in France.

Christmas Dinner

The whole school enjoyed Christmas dinner at the Chequers Inn (thanks again to the Walker family). The children, staff, governors and guests sat down together, tucking into a real feast!

More pictures in the Galleries

Robinwood

Years 4, 5 & 6 (and the teachers) had a fantastic time at Robinwood Dobroyd Castle. Lots of pictures in 'Galleries'...

Year 3/4 Swimming Finals

Well done to Joe and Harry, who represented the school at the partnership swimming finals on Wednesday 18th November at Ripon Grammar School. As a relay team with Cathedral School they came 2nd, with Joe going on to come 1st in the final for backstroke and 2nd in front crawl.

Swimming finals for Year 5/6 will take place after Christmas.

Swimming Gala Success!!

On Wednesday 21st October the annual swimming gala at Ripon Spa Baths took place, with Class 2 competing alongside other schools from the area. The children were all a credit to the school for their behaviour and their performances. We are still waiting for the overall results to be collated and passed to us, but here are some of our successes:

1st places for: Douglas (25m freestyle), Kirsten (25m breaststroke), Year 5/6 relay team

2nd places for: Sam (25m breaststroke), Will (25m backstroke), Natasha (25m freestyle), Joe (25m backstroke & breaststroke), Harry (25m freestyle), Year 3/4 relay team

Well done to everyone for a great end to the year's swimming lessons!

Curriculum extras!

This has been a very busy half-term with lots of exciting things happening as well as the on-going work in class:

-The whole school enjoyed working with Karen and Yesmien from the Ourspace Project
-Class 2 are developing their music skills this year with weekly visits from Hilary Waddington of the NYCC Music Service
-Class 1 have enjoyed a visit from the staff and the pets of Pets at Home, Harrogate
-Class 2 hunted minibeasts at Hackfall Woods
-Class 1 explored habitats at Harlow Carr
-Some of Year 4 & Year 5 have been challenging themselves at Gifted & Talented maths sessions organised by St Aidan's CE High.
-Everyone has been working hard to make their £1 grow for Harvest

With 1 week until the half-term break, we are still looking forward to the swimming gala, cinema visit, cooking bus and Harvest Service!

Swine Flu

We have just been notified of a case of swine flu in school. Please read the letter below for further information.

1.10.09 swine flu.doc

Welcome Back

We are pleased to welcome everyone back for the Autumn term! The problems we have been experiencing with the school's internet connection finally seem to be (almost) resolved, and we are looking forward to having the website running properly again.

Take a look at the calendar for events this term: more details on all of these will be available nearer the time.

Baby Ward!

Dexter Ward was born on Sunday 19th April, weighing 7lb 11oz. Congratulations to Mrs Ward and her family: we can't wait to meet the new arrival!

Cross-country 2009

The cluster schools cross-country competition took place at Newby Hall on Thursday 12th March. Over 200 runners took part this year in the event which was organised by Skelton Newby Hall Primary School. Well done to all the runners, who all completed the challenging course in good weather conditions.

Congratulations to Joe who came 2nd in his class (Year 3 boys); Kirsten who came 2nd (Year 4 girls); and Douglas who finished in 25th place overall.

And Baby Waller...

Florence Waller arrived on Friday 22nd May, weighing 7lb 7.5oz. Congratulations to all the Waller family!

Extreme Reading...

We had a fantastic response to our World Book Day 'extreme reading' competition, with the children showing lots of imagination in thinking of their unusual locations!

Snow 2009!

Severe Weather Conditions

With the bad weather and snow set to continue, please make sure you check that school is open by listening to Stray FM or checking the websites for BBC North Yorkshire and NYCC. The Governors do try to reach everyone through the telephone tree, but there are times when this may not run smoothly!

We only consider school closure as a last resort, and there are many factors to be considered such as staffing, advice from County Hall, and the ever-changing weather conditions...

Class 2 Animations

Follow the link to enjoy the animations produced by Class 2 during their workshop with professional animator Ben Hall. It may take a while to load, so please be patient...

http://www.principalteachers.co.uk/pttv/bishop_thornton.html

Drums Agogo!

The whole school had a fantastic morning working with Alison Lyon for her 'Drums Agogo!' workshop. The school building was shaking to the sound of more than 20 full-size African drums. More photos in the Galleries...and in the local paper on Friday.

Happy New Year!

We have had a very cold start to 2009, finding weird and wonderful ice shapes around the school...

Goodbye and welcome...

We said our goodbyes to Mrs Rosemary Clarkson at the end of last term as she enjoys a well-earned rest from school. Welcome now to Mrs Jayne Takacs who is supporting children across the school in their learning.

Orienteering winners

We were very successful in the Claro Ripon Village Schools Orienteering Championship at Ripley Castle on Thursday 6th November. From over 200 entrants we had the following winners:

G6 category: bronze medals for Katrina, Rebecca & Joe
G5 category: gold medals for Natasha & Sam

A big 'well done' to everyone who took part, with all teams scoring despite the difficult weather conditions.

School Council Elections

Following speeches and a secret ballot, the new School Council members are:

Matthew Baul
Katrina Sunderland
Will Stobbs
Timothy Stryker

Their first duties will be to decide how to spend the Harvest donations, and to appoint the playtime Buddies...

Class 2 Mosaics

Class 2 had a fantastic time at Fountains Abbey taking part in a mosaic workshop. The day involved making sketches, using these in designs and then making the finished articles! More photos in the 'Galleries' section.

Appointment of parent governors

Thank you all for your excellent response to our vacancies for parent governors. The new governors, with immediate effect, are:
Adela Baul
Raine Burnett
Alison Leeming-Sheppard

Class 2 dam-building

Class 2's afternoon dam-building at Colber Beck. The children had a fantastic time investigating materials and structures and their effects on running water.

Parent Governor Elections

We are looking to elect 3 new parent governors for a 4-year term. Being a school governor offers you:

-A chance to be involved in the 'hidden' life of the school, including school development and financial planning
-Full training on aspects of governance fom finance to 'getting started'
-Termly meetings of the full Governing Body
-Opportunities to meet governors from other schools in the cluster

If you would like to know more about being a governor, please contact Allyson Buckton (Headteacher) or Debbie Simpson (Chair).

Welcome back!

It has been great to see everyone again after the (slightly disappointing) Summer holiday. We have welcomed lots of new faces into school, with 7 new children and 1 new member of staff, Mrs Ren Frankland who is working with Mrs Ward in Class 1.

New windows and a new back door were fitted over the holiday so we are all looking forward to fewer draughts and leaks as Autumn approaches...

Some dates for this term have already been set, please see the 'Events Calendar' for further details.

As ever, if there is anything you would like to see us about, please pop in or give us a call.

Rounders Victory!

On Thursday 3rd July the children from Years 2, 3 & 4 travelled to Holy Trinity Junior School in Ripon to take part in the schools rounders festival. They returned as champions, having won every game and finished at the top of their group! Well done to all the players, and thanks to Mrs Ward and Miss Drew for taking the team.

Fire Service Visit

On Thursday 19th June we enjoyed a visit from the Blue Watch team at Harrogate Fire Station. They gave a presentation to both classes on fire safety, then everyone got the chance to go outside and explore the fire engine.
Through their fire prevention work, the fire service offer all households a free home fire risk assessment, including the supply and fitting of smoke detectors where needed. If you would like any more information on this, contact Harrogate Fire Station on 01423 504082.

Before & after school care

Smarties Day Nursery in Ripley now offers 'wrap around care' for children before and/or after school, as well as offering a holiday club. They also offer a drop-off and pick-up service to local schools.

For further details contact Louise 01423 771892

A Busy Summer Term!

We are looking forward to all the sporting fixtures this term, and hoping they won't be rained off like last year! Here are the main dates (although they may be changed at short notice if the weather lets us down):

Monday 9th June: Class 2 Kwik Cricket (Markington)
Tuesday 17th June: Class 2 Kwik Cricket (Knaresborough)
Thursday 26th June: Class 2 Kwik Cricket (Pateley)
Monday 30th June: Class 1 mini-orienteering
Thursday 3rd July: rounders festival (TBC)
Monday 7th July: Class 1 mini olympics (TBC)
Tuesday 15th July: Sports day (Markington)

Happy Easter!

The Easter Service at St John's Church was very well-attended with friends and families coming to hear the children's songs and readings. Visitors could also admire the Easter gardens and decorated eggs the children had made as this was the first time we displayed these in the church. Many thanks again to Marilyn for giving us such a warm welcome. The winning gardens and eggs can be seen in 'galleries'.

Easter gardens - click for full size image

Decorated eggs - click for full size image

Highly Effective School!

We are delighted to have received a letter from the Local Authority telling us that we are considered to be a 'highly effective school'. This is the highest category for North Yorkshire schools, and is defined according to a set of criteria including 'attitudes and enjoyment' and 'teaching and curriculum'. This achievement recognises the hard work that staff, governors, children and the community put into helping the school succeed.

Goodbye to Mrs Wolfe...

We had a very sad day as we said our goodbyes to Mrs Becky Wolfe on Thursday 28th February. Becky has been with the school since September while Mrs Waller has been on maternity leave, and is now moving on to teach at Kirkby Malzeard CE Primary School. Becky has brought so much enthusiasm and humour to school and she will be hugely missed by both staff and children.
She celebrated her last day with a party for all the children, outdoor games and a special assembly where she was presented with certificates, cards and a digital photo frame. We will all miss you Becky!!

School Closed Thursday 1st May

Due to the Harrogate District Council Elections on Thursday 1st May the school will be closed all day while polling takes place. We will be open as normal on Friday 2nd May, then closed again for the Bank Holiday on Monday 5th May.

Activemark 2007 Award

As a result of our involvement in the Harrogate Schools Sports Partnership we have been awarded the Activemark 2007. This award celebrates school sport and links with other organisations, and shows that the school is working hard to provide at least 2 hours of high quality PE and school sports each week. Apart from the PE taught by the staff in school, extra activities have included orienteering, multi-skills, badminton, kwik cricket and gym. All the children in school have been able to join in a range of activities throughout the year.

Ofsted Success!

We were all thrilled to be rated 'outstanding' in both our Ofsted and National Society inspections. Read local press coverage here, or see the full reports by clicking below. www.ofsted.gov.uk

School's joy at 'outstanding' rating - Harrogate Today.mht
Ofsted report
SIAS report

Severe Weather

Welcome back to the new year. Although this half term is short, we are busy planning lots of exciting learning experiences...please check the Events Calendar for details.

This is also the time of year for severe weather. School closures for this area are broadcast on Stray FM (97.2 FM), so please tune in if you are uncertain about the conditions. If we do need to close the school, we will notify all parents using our emergency telephone tree system. We do appreciate it can be difficult for families if the school has to be closed, and take this decision very seriously.

A New Award for BTCE!

We are pleased to let you know that we have just been awarded the North Yorkshire 'Inclusion Quality Mark' for the year 2007-8. North Yorkshire is committed to ensuring inclusive education, and this award celebrates the work the school does to make sure all children experience success in the 3 areas of presence, participation and achievement. In order to gain the award, we were required to look at 12 different areas such as welcoming school and ethos, the curriculum, and monitoring achievement. Everyone connected with our school works hard to make sure children feel fully supported in all their learning experiences, and the Inclusion Quality Mark recognises this.

Merry Christmas!

Nativity scene by Class 1 - click for full size image

We would like to wish all of our families and friends in the community a very happy Christmas! We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our carol service and the performances of 'Shepherd Boy' as we prepare for Christmas.

Our New Website

Welcome to our new website, which we hope will give you information about what has been going on in school as well as forthcoming events and photos...

Data Protection

The school is required to issue a Fair Processing Notice to all parents detailing how information held within the school may be used. The links below lead to 3 versions of this which include further deatils, with FPN1 being a summary of FPN2 & FPN3.

School FPN1.doc
School FPN2.doc
School FPN3.doc

Christmas Shopping Evening

Many thanks to all those who supported our Christmas Shopping Evening on Tuesday 13th November, which raised a fantastic £302.60 for school funds. Our only challenge now is deciding what to spend it on!

Disability Discrimination Act Duties

The 2005 Disability Discrimination Act requires school to have a Disability Equality Scheme in place by December 2007, to show how the school is taking account of the needs of disabled pupils, staff and visitors. All our work on this can be seen below.

Equality_and_Diversity_overview[1].ppt
DDA statement 07.doc
equality_scheme_doc.doc
Draft access plan 07.xls

Extra sports activities

Both classes have been enjoying some extra sports activities led by specialist coaches. On Monday lunchtimes we are joined by Tim who is working on Kwik Cricket skills; this is funded by the Ripon Extended Schools group. On Wednesday mornings Julie is leading multi-skills work through the Harrogate High School Sport Partnership.

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