Middle School Newsletter

To our Middle School Community,

As the cold weather closes in, the Middle School community settles in for a fantastic second half of the Autumn Term. This week saw new projects launch in Year 7 and Year 8, immersive theatre linked with English for Year 6 and plans for saving the world with robotics in Year 5.

Thank you to all the parents and carers who have been in this week and last to different events including our Y7 device workshop and an online safety presentation by the NSPCC. Please note that the portal for purchasing an iPad through the school has now closed as the orders have been placed. Revised dates for the information session were sent home in the newsletter on the first day back - a few parents have notified us that they did not receive this information - please check your inbox and spam folders, and that the front office has the correct contact information.

Yesterday a small group of parents attended our joint primary-middle consultation, answering questions around communications from school, curriculum, parental engagement and homework. Moving forward on the feedback, we are putting in place some strategies and actions on each of these.

Communications home: We will slim down newsletters so they are cleared and more succinct. Text messages will be sent the day before an event as a reminder that they are happening. Parents and carers please check that your email and mobile numbers kept at the front reception are correct as these are our main forms of communication. We will also update the latest newsletter on the website in a more timely fashion, ensuring the newest copy is published when it is emailed out.

Homework: Teachers send home tasks in Year 5 and 6, including IXL (online tasks) and CGP revision books for Year 6. In Year 7 and 8 tasks will be set on the google classrooms. If you would like to be invited to these to monitor the tasks your child has been set, please contact their coach.

Curriculum: Curriculum overviews will be sent home half-termly and will update on the website accordingly. See below for the link to the overviews for this half term.

Parental Engagement: We are looking into building up opportunities for parents and families to become more involved in our Middle School over the year. We look forward to running more community events like the Film Nights in the short term, and building on our successful start. Ideas are very welcome!

We look forward to welcoming parents and carers to our first Parents’ Evenings coming up towards the end of November. See below for further information on booking a slot.

Ms Kyrk

Dates For Your Diary

Monday 12th November: Road Safety Performance Year 7 / Year 8 9:00am

Monday 12th - Friday 16th November: Anti-bullying Week

Monday 12th November: Odd Socks Day - show off your uniqueness with the craziest pair of mismatched socks you can find!

Tuesday 20th November: Year 6 Transport for London Presentation 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Tuesday 20th & Wednesday 21st November: Parents’ Evenings 3:30pm - 6:00pm (Information will be sent home on Monday on how to book a slot with your child's teacher / coach)

Tuesday 27th November: Year 6 Parents workshops - Year 7 and Beyond Pathways presentations with Mr de Botton 8:45am - 9:45am & 5:00pm - 6:00pm (Letter and flyer sent home)

Friday 30th November: Above and Beyond Out and About Trip for November

Friday 30th November: Festival of Light Concert 1 (Year 3 - Year 5) 4:00pm - 5:15pm (Check ParentPay for tickets)

Monday 3rd December: Thursday 6th December - Year 6 Mock SATs

Tuesday 4th - Friday 7th December: Book Fair 3:00pm - 4:00pm  (in Room B7 off Primary Courtyard)

Thursday 13th December: Festival of Light Concert 2 (Year 6 - Year 8) from 6:00pm

Friday 14th December: Christmas Jumper Day & School Christmas Dinner

Wednesday 19th December: Exhibition of Beautiful Work 4:30pm - 6:30pm

Friday 21st December: Last day of term (school finishes at 1:00pm)

Monday 7th January: INSET Day (School Closed for Students)

Tuesday 8th January to Friday 15th February 2019 - Spring Term 1
 

Middle School Class Attendance Winners

Yr 5 - Joint winner 5MAC and 5MAT with 96.8%

Yr 6 - 6KIL 97.6%

Yr 7 - 7HIM 97.9%

Yr 8 - 8MOU 98.8% Overall Middle School Winners

Curriculum Overviews

Half termly overviews will keep you up to date on what your child is learning in all of their subjects and projects. The link to access the Autumn 2 Overviews is here. The next half term overview can be expected just before we break for Christmas and will be shared in both the newsletter and the School 21 website.
 

Uniform Reminder

Recently there have been quite a few students coming to school in incorrect uniform, especially on PE days and with the weather growing colder. Colourful shorts, leggings and tracksuits are not part of the school uniform and should not be worn, even on PE days. Proper coats should be worn during the winter over the top of the full school uniform, not hoodies.

Please remember to ensure your child is coming to school in the correct uniform each day. Students in incorrect uniform will receive a slip from teachers which is recorded. In repeated instances a member of the team will contact home to discuss what support is needed to ensure the student is in uniform.

As a reminder, the school uniform is listed below.

Full Uniform:

• A School 21 blazer, cardigan or V-neck jumper

• A School 21 tie

• Grey trousers or knee length grey skirt

• A white shirt

• Black socks or black tights

• Smart, completely black shoes

PE Kit:

• A turquoise polo shirt with the School 21 badge

• Black shorts in summer

• Black tracksuits in winter

• Black socks

• Black sports trainers (no converse, pumps or plimsolls)

Thank you for your support in this matter.

EVO 4 Peace: Autumn Term Sports Day

On Tuesday this week we were lucky enough to catch a break in the weather long enough to hold our first EVO Games of the year. All year groups demonstrated great sportswomanship and sportsmanship, competing in a series of tag rugby matches to determine which coaching group or class in each year would emerge victorious! Huge thanks must go to Ms Jenkins in particular for coordinating the event, the PE team and all of the staff who supported to make the day such a success.

Incredible Artwork!

Olivia in Year 5 produced this stunning piece of art as a homework task, inspired by The Rabbits. She used the traditional style of Indigenous Australians to create this intricate design. Now there’s debate on where in Middle School is best to hang it! Well done Olivia!

Bug Hunting in the Sun

On Thursday this week, Year 8 launched their new projects for the half term. Mr Ward’s group took a walk to West Ham Park, in search of all things creepy and crawly! The bug hunters returned with a mighty haul of insects which they will study and learn about in order to create a ‘minibeast mansion’ to encourage better biodiversity around our school.

Recognition

Our week was full of incredible above and beyond examples from across the school. Check this week's recognition board for your name. 

Staying Safe on the Way Home

As some of our community walk home alone, it is important to ensure that safety is considered, especially as the days are getting darker earlier. Follow this link for further information and tips from the NSPCC on helping your child to be safe when walking home alone. https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1103/out-alone-keeping-child-safe.pdf 

The Head Tennis Coach for Newham based at Stratford has a great offer running at the moment called Tennis For Kids which is a 6 week programme kickstarting their tennis journey. Kids who sign up to the programme will receive the 6 weeks of coaching, FREE racket and FREE
T-shirt all for £25! Plus many opportunities to continue coaching after the 6 week programme. This is a tennis programme for all ages.

To sign up for this great offer follow one of these links to book a course:

http://tennisforkids.uk/gooseley_playtennisnewham_com 

http://tennisforkids.uk/central_playtennisnewham_com 

http://tennisforkids.uk/stratford_playtennisnewham_com 

Next Week's Lunch Menu is Week 3!