Middle School Newsletter

We're ready for another great week in Middle School. Read on for an update of all the amazing things that happened last week! 

Autumn 1 Key Dates

Tuesday 24th September: Class / Coaching group & Individual Photos
Thursday 26th September: 'Meet the Team' Evening 4:30pm - 6:00pm 
(Entrance via Middle School Doors)
Friday 27th September: Above and Beyond Out and About Trip (September)
Friday 27th September: Macmillan Coffee Morning 9:00 - 10:00am (Primary Hall)
Monday 30th September:  Student Voice Campaigning Week
Friday 4th October:  Student Voice Representative Elections
Monday 7th - Thursday 10th October: Bikeablity Course - Year 6
(Selected Students)
Thursday 10th October: Year 6 SATs Workshop for Parents
8:30am - 9:15am & 5:00pm - 5:45pm
Friday 11th October: School closed for INSET Day
Monday 14th October: Year 6 Pathways - Moving onto secondary at School 21 workshop for Year 6 parents and students 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Monday 14th - Thursday 17th October: Year 6 Mock SATs 1
Friday 18th October: Family Film Night 5:30pm - 7:30pm - (Title TBC)
Monday 21st - Friday 25th October: Half Term Holiday

*Year 7 iPads: The school is currently reviewing the lease agreements we offer to families to ensure that the best offer is provided. As soon as this process is complete, we will notify families about dates for information sessions, sign up and delivery. We apologise for the wait and any inconvenience caused. 

Middle School Attendance Winners - 13/09/2019 - 19/09/2019

Year 5 Machu Picchu  - 100% Middle School Winners

Year 6 -  Kilimanjaro - 97.1%

Year 7 - Himalayas - 99.6%

Year 8 - Olympus -  98.6%

We are hosting our annual coffee morning for MacMillan cancer research on Friday 27th 9:00am - 10:00am. We are asking for donations of baked goods (nut free) to sell at the coffee morning to raise money and we would love to see as many parents as possible to come along and share a cuppa and a slice of cake with us! 

All donations can be brought to the front office on the morning of the event - please label the cakes with any ingredients used so we can cater for dietary requirements. 

Huge recognition for our values of Community and Responsibility to the group of parents who well and truly go above and beyond to support our Coffee Morning every year! Thank you! 

Ancient Greece Arrives in Year 6
This week in Year 6 we began our project studies on Ancient Greece! We learnt about different Ancient Greek artifacts and had a go at sketching them ourselves. We also celebrated Miss Ejvet's birthday on Friday, Happy Birthday Miss Ejvet!

Spaghetti Towers in Year 5

Our newest additions to Middle School, our fabulous Year 5s, have been working hard to develop their teamwork skills! In Machu Picchu, the students build towers together from spaghetti and marshmallows to test out their collaboration. They settled on the motto: when your spaghetti and marshmallow tower collapses in life... smile, laugh and work with your team to build it again! A brilliant mindset developing our value of Community!

Celebrating Excellence in Our Community

A'Sheerah, in Year 5 is an example of excellence in our wonderful community! Earlier this year she competed at elite compulsory level 4 and scored high enough to be selected for London region team. She then went onto compete against all teams in Great Britain.

The London region team placed 4th out of 12 Regions.

A'Sheerah placed 8th individually out of the 50 competing gymnast. She is now ranked the top London gymnast for her age!

On Saturday she competed voluntary  level 4  and placed 3rd overall. She will again be representing the London region team in November and will compete against all gymnasts in Great Britain as a result. If she places high enough at this competition she will be selected to train in Lilleshall where gymnasts such as Ellie and Becky Downie train!

This is a huge accomplishment and we are very proud of A'Sheerah! We wish her all the very best for the next step in her competition journey and thank her and her family for sharing her story with us. 

*If you have a story of an accomplishment outside of school that you would like us to share in the newsletter, please email it through, with a photograph if possible, to Ms Kyrk on akyrk@school21.org.uk . 

Marching for Our Planet!

On Friday last week, Kajya and her family went to take part in the Climate March which gathered support from all over the world!  Kajya reported on the event for us: I was sad to miss school because it was Ms Evjets birthday and also I really like science. But the planet dying IS science and I think everybody has to take this more seriously. My dad painted my face and we made a sign to carry with us. When I got there I was amazed at how many people came to hopefully have an effect. It felt good to be a part of the biggest climate protest in the world that not only might make a difference but will make history. 

A reminder that this Thursday evening will be our Meet the Team event. A letter was emailed home last week. If you would like to attend and have not yet RSVPed, please click this link to do so. The Meet the Team event is a nice opportunity to meet the adults working with your child in a fun and easy-going environment, to have an unofficial 'tour' of the school (personalised and provided by an expert - your child!) and to have some fun with your family. Please ensure you enter through the Middle School doors for this event.
We look forward to seeing you there! 

School Lunches

A reminder that Year 5 and 6 students continue to receive free school lunches as part of the Mayor of Newham's initiative, however, when students start Year 7 they must pay for their school lunches through your Parent Pay account. A letter was sent again last week regarding this, including how to sign up through the Newham website if you feel you are eligible for Free School Meals. 

The letter is available again by clicking here. 

All families can sign up for Free School Meals (if eligible) at any time; it is advisable that current Year 6 parents look into doing so this year to avoid delays when their child starts Year 7. 

If your account runs out of funds, students are to visit Ms Nandra in E1 at lunch time - she will support students to get their lunch that day, and will contact parents to remind them to top up the account. 

If you have any questions or require any support to sign up for Free School Meals, please contact Ms Nandra through the front reception or via email at rnandra@school21.org.uk. 

Walking Home Alone Permission

All Year 5 and 6 students whose parents give permission for them to travel home alone must complete the online permission form sent home earlier this week. The link for doing so is available again here. 

Please note that students will not be permitted to walk home unless this permission has been received. If you have any problems completing the form, please contact the front reception for support. Thank you for your support in this matter. 

Middle School Clubs Update

Ms Paul is working very hard to set up the Middle School clubs currently. If you have any questions or queries please email middleclubs@school21.org.uk. You patience is very much appreciated during this initial set up time. We are working hard to communicate with families concerning dates and times and when children have been offered places. Please ensure you keep an eye on your emails as well for communications from the school. We thank you for your ongoing support!

Recognition Board

Another big week of recognition - 502 names over the week! Congratulations to everyone included on the boards - you have stepped up to live our values of Openness, Community, Humanity, Excellence and Responsibility! 

The Lunch Menu for This Week is Week 3!