Danbury Park School An Outstanding School (Ofsted 2013) At Danbury Park we all aim Be wise, be happy, belong kggfgahhhhjnbejamin S Website: www.danburypark.essex.sch.uk Newsletter 20 th January 2017 Dear Parents, Congratulations to the following children who have achieved their reading awards: Topaz Award Bailey R Ruby Award Lucy R Bronze Award Gabriel N Emerald Award - Ella H Bronze Award Chloe P Well Done to Madeleine D for achieving a pass with Merit in her recent Grade 1 Piano examination Certificates will be presented in Birthday Assembly on Wednesday 25 th January 2017 at 3.05pm Families are welcome to join us. Sandon Visit about Dora Love On Friday 13 th nine year 10 students from Sandon School came into Class Avocet to inform us all about Dora Love and her tragic experiences during World War 2. At a young age Dora was taken from her home and held in Stutthof concentration camp near Danzig. Although she survived, she faced many terrible experiences which killed the rest of her family. On her release she immigrated to England and started a new life. Even though she was put through the mental and physical traumas of the Holocaust, she found it within her heart to forgive and forget. She then devoted her life to educate young people to the horrors of the holocaust. This is why the students at Sandon came to spread Dora Love s message. To begin the lesson the students introduced themselves and explained the experiences that Dora Love endured. Soon after the class was divided into three workshops. During the first workshop we deliberated about forgiveness and how, after all the terrible hardships she faced, Dora found within her heart, to forgive and forget. The students sketched a graph of forgiveness. On one side it was easily forgivable and on the opposite side there was one hundred percent unforgivable. We were given a task to write our name on a sticky note then the group leaders spoke a statement. Next we had to place the note on the graph to say that we wouldn t forgive or we would forgive the statements that they said. For example: your friend copied your work.
Sandon Visit about Dora Love (continued) The second workshop, a drama, was about life in a concentration camp. The children found shocking and scary that Hitler decided people who had blonde hair and blue eyes should be in a superior group than others. To represent Hitler s format, as a group the children who had blonde hair were given a bag of sweets to show they were the ones who had power. Sadly for the rest of the children they were left to work. To finish off the workshop they asked about our feelings. Kindly the special few were distressed by the way their friends were being punished. On the other side of the equation the less fortunate children felt upset that their friends were deserting them and bossing them around. The last workshop was on a group of art, where one of the students made five different poppy petals to represent five different qualities. We were asked to write our names on a petal and dip our thumb into ink to press onto another petal. Next we wrote about hate and what it is and how we can stop it. After this they brought the hate book (which is a gathering of newspapers about all the hate of all the world in one month). Everyone grouped around and discussed how they felt about the book and its meaning. Unfortunately, we were shocked by how much hate there is in the world. Near the end of the Sandon visit, Alfie (one of the students from Sandon) explained how many people came from other countries to our country to take refuge. To show this he used a world map with a color code in the top corner to show how many people had come from the countries. After that all the students handed out sheets of paper and all the children were given a task to write a summary of what we learnt. Everyone believed that all the students from Sandon were brilliant at explaining the qualities of Dora Love. As a group we agree that Dora Love is a tremendous role model for young people to aspire to and we admire her for courage, bravery and forgiveness. Written by Woody, Oliver and Ben
Emergency School Closures As we approach the time of year when inclement weather is more likely, we would like to advise you of the school s emergency closure procedure. The decision to close the school is never taken lightly and we will do our best to keep the school open. However, there may be rare times when the weather is extreme, the site is unsafe or insufficient staff can get into the school and closure is unavoidable. Last year there was a change to the notification process and the local radio stations no longer give out announcements. Schools now notify Essex County Council and the information is available on their website at: http://www.essex.gov.uk/education-schools/schools/dates/pages/emergency-school-closures.aspx We will also put a message out on Parentmail and on the website. We aim to do this as earlier as possible. If you have not yet joined Parentmail, please ask at the office. If the weather and traffic are bad, please take care and get to school safely. We will understand if you delay your journey and arrive later than the usual time. Unless you are notified to the contrary via Parentmail, the school website and ECC website, the school will be open and we expect parents to make every effort to bring their children into school. Parking Parking is again become problematic and unsafe at the beginning and the end of the school day. We all need to take responsibility for driving and parking safely on the roads and in the carpark around the school to prevent someone being seriously injured. We are fortunate to have use of the Danbury Outdoors car parking area at the front of the school; many schools do not have this facility. However the space does need to be used sensibly and we do not have any spare staff to patrol or monitor the parking. Some reminders: Park in the parking area off the tarmacked roadways; Do not park along the posts on the road down from Well Lane as this roadway should be clear at all times to allow traffic to flow in and out of the car park following the one way system. By blocking this access point, congestion then builds up in Main Road and compromises the safety of pedestrians using the zebra crossing; Do not park on the paths at the top of Well Lane and respect the zig-zap no parking markings. The space and markings here are to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely and parking here causes obstructions for both pedestrians and drivers as well as danger when vehicles manoeuvre; Do not park across the entrance to the staff carpark as this causes difficulties for pedestrians entering the school site and crossing from the car parking area; Check the surroundings carefully before reversing or pulling away. Small children will be in the vicinity and are difficult to see. If you decide to park in the residential areas or Well Lane itself, please be respectful of and courteous to our neighbours so that they can access their own properties. Please make this your New Year s resolution and ensure that you are driving responsibly for the safety of the children and each other.
DPSA news New Year Disco - Friday 27th January - Helpers needed EYFS and KS1 6.00 7.00pm 1.50 (payable on entry). We look forward to welcoming the EYFS children to their first disco. Drinks are provided and sweets will be on sale. We suggest you give your child no more than 50p for sweets (average cost 10-20p a bag). Glow sticks will be available at 20p each or 3 for 50p. Please note that due to space only parents who are helping at the disco will be able to stay. Please note: the children are dropped off through the main entrance and at the end of the disco are collected from the hall using the back door which is accessed from the far end of the staff car park. KS2 7.15 8.30pm 2.00 (payable on entry) Drinks will be provided. Sweets, bottled drinks, crisps will be for sale. There is also a children s raffle. Please note the DPSA and parent helpers cannot be responsible for what children choose to spend their money on. It is therefore recommended that parents check how much money children are bringing. Raffle tickets will be 20p each and sweets approximately 10-20p each. We need helpers for both discos. Please let your class rep know, email sallyj@doctors.org.uk or post on the DPSA Facebook page. Jumble Sale Danbury Village Hall Saturday 4 th Feb Please bring any jumble to the village hall from 9am. You d be amazed what sells so please bring things along! Lots of helpers needed please, either in the morning to sort jumble and/or in the afternoon to help at the sale (the afternoon is shorter only 1.30 3.00 at the latest and always harder to get help so please volunteer if you can). Bag2School Monday 6 th February Plastic bags will be sent out shortly. Please donate any clean unwanted clothes and shoes (excluding embroidered school uniform). We can no longer accept bedding. Bags can be left at the front of school from 9am on 6 th February. Quiz master needed! We normally host a really popular quiz night this term but our quiz master has now stepped down after kindly running the quiz for the last few years. If anyone knows anyone willing to run the quiz please let us know. Dates for the diary 25 th March Easter Egg hunt
Reminder and Notices Childhood Illnesses Workshop - Parents across Chelmsford are invited to a free NHS workshops aimed at providing information and advice about common childhood illnesses. The workshops, run by local GPs and community pharmacists aim to help parents feel confident when dealing with common illnesses by talking through scenarios providing practical advice on what to do and when. Feedback from the events showed that 100% of parents who attended would recommend the workshops to others with 86% scoring them between 8 and 10 (out of 10) for usefulness. Your local workshop will be held at: Marconi Social Club, Chelmsford, on Monday 6 March (7:00pm to 8:30pm) Chelmsford West Children s Centre, on Tuesday 7 March (10:00am to 12:00pm) To book your free place visit http://midessexccg.nhs.uk/your-health-services/your-health/childhood-illnesses and click on the booking link of the preferred date. Common Childhood Illnesses & Wellbeing Guide - For parents, grandparents and carers across mid Essex is now available to download from NHS Mid Essex website. http://midessexccg.nhs.uk/your-health-services/yourhealth/childhood-illnesses Relief Cleaner Vacancy - We are looking for a cleaner to join our hardworking dedicated team on a relief basis from 3.30pm to 5.30pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, initially from 14 th to 29 th March 2017. Duties include mainly hoovering but could involve wiping walls, tables, cleaning staffroom etc. Salary is on an incremental scale commencing at 7.52 per hour. School Uniform A letter has been sent home this week explaining that the school is in the process of changing our supplier for school uniform. Our uniform will now be available from the One Stop School Gear shop in Beehive Lane, Great Baddow. There is parking outside the shop and they have the facility to order in person, via telephone or on the website. In order to make the transition as smooth as possible the school has purchased the existing stock from Schoolwear Plus. Over the coming weeks we will sell this stock from the school office. Our new supplier will be stocking items and sizes that are not available from the office and as stock becomes depleted they will increase their range. For the time being we will also still using Tesco as an additional supplier. Parent Consultations This week you should have received a slip with your appointment times for this term s parent consultations meetings. Dates for the diary Week beginning 23rd January 2017 Birthday Assemblies Wednesdays at 3.05pm Wednesday 25 th Jan 3.05pm Birthday Assembly 25 th Jan 23 rd Jan 29 th Jan 1 st Feb 30 th Jan 5 th Feb 8 th Feb 6 th Feb 19 th Feb 22 nd Feb 20 th Feb 26 th Feb Thursday 26 th Jan 3.00pm Friday 27 th Jan 2.50pm Boys Football Match at St Peter s Primary School Class Flamingo Assembly Families are welcome to join us for this assembly to celebrate your child s birthday. 6.00pm 7.00pm 7.15pm 8.30pm Infant DPSA Disco Junior DPSA Disco Full term dates for this and the next academic year (2016-17 and 2017-18) are available on the school website.
SCHOOL MEALS Week commencing: 23rd January 2017 Week 3 MONDAY Cheese and Tomato Pasta Bake (a combination of plain/wholegrain pasta with homemade tomato sauce) topped with cheese or Salmon Puff Garlic Bread Peas Sweetcorn Lumpy Bumpy Cake Custard TUESDAY Homemade Minced Beef Pie or Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese Creamy Mashed Potato Broccoli Mixed Vegetables Homemade Shortbread WEDNESDAY Roast Turkey served with Yorkshire Pudding and Gravy or Roasted Quorn Fillet served with Yorkshire pudding and Gravy Roast Potatoes Freshly sliced Carrots Peas Homemade Creamy Rice Pudding and Jam THURSDAY Homemade Pork Meatballs in Tomato Sauce or Vegetarian Quorn Balls in tomato sauce White and Wholegrain pasta Cauliflower Florets Sweet Corn Apple Crumble and Custard FRIDAY Oven baked Youngs Omega 3 Fish Fingers Chips Baked Beans Peas Cucumber Red Velvet Cake Yours sincerely Carol Gooding Headteacher
Danbury Park Community Primary School Dates for Spring Term 2017 Date Time Event January 27 th 2.50pm Class F Assembly 6.00pm DPSA Discos 7.15pm 31 st All day History Off the Page Class B 3.40 6.10pm Parent Consultations February 2 nd 6.00 8.40pm Parent Consultations 3 rd Am Fundraising activity details to be confirmed 2.50pm Class G Assembly 7 th All day One Voice 9 th tbc School Council KS2 Film Night 10 th All day School closed to pupils for staff training 13 th to 17 th Half-term break Feb 24 th 1.20pm Golden Time for KS2 starts Week beg 27 th Book Week March 2 nd World Book Day dressing up 12.30pm Year 6 Bikeability 4.30pm Governors Curriculum Committee meeting 3 rd 2.50pm Class H Assembly Tbc School Council Infants Film Night 6 th All Day Year 6 Bikeability 9 th 12.30pm Year 6 Bikeability 7.00pm Governors Resources meeting 10 th 2.50pm Class J Assembly 13 th All day Year 6 Bikeability 4.00 5.30pm High 5 Netball Tournament 6.30pm Governors Pay Committee Meeting 7.00pm Governors Personnel Committee meeting 16 th Tbc Tag Rugby Finals at Southend Rugby Club 12.30pm Year 6 Bikeability 20 th All day Year 6 Bikeability 21 st Pm Rising Stars (invited Year 5s) 23 rd 12.30pm Year 6 Bikeability 24 th Comic Relief pm Inter-house Dodgeball Tournament 25 th tbc DPSA Easter Egg Hunt 27 th All day Year 6 Bikeability 29 th 10.00am KS2 Spring/Easter assembly for guests & infants 30 th 12.00pm End of term lunch for staff and governors 31 st 2.30pm KS2 Spring/Easter assembly for parents Break up for Easter holidays