The end of the penultimate half time. It really is incredible where the time goes but as always, we seem to have fitted plenty into the week at Birkwood.
Safety has been a very crucial theme this week. We began with Road Safety Work delivered to Year 4 which was received extremely enthusiastically by both children and staff. Some excellent messages.
Keeping with safety, we welcomed Leeder Safeguarding who worked with Year 6 children around eSafety. This focussed on potential misuse of the personal data and behaviour within certain popular apps. I've written to KS2 families separately explaining that Apps have Age guidance and again I strongly advise that this guidance is adhered to. Coming soon are new laws from Ofcom, the regulator of all things media where children will require photographic ID to sign up to own an account on several popular apps. This is because these apps are aimed at older people. I am looking forward to these regulations being implemented and urge you to follow the guidance as good practice around ESafety moving forward.
We also had superb Science Workshop delivered by one of our parents! A pleasure to welcome him but also a great way to boost engagement.
This week, we enjoyed the school disco! As always, many thanks to the staff led by Miss Taylor and Mrs. Whitfield for the organisation of what was an extremely popular evening. Thank you for supporting us.
Year 6 and Year 5/6 enjoyed Primary Enterprise coming to school. They absolutely loved the opportunities provided by Paul Robson. Enterprise is a fabulous way to showcase some creative, entrepreneurial and presentation skills.
Well done to our Year 2 children who completed their end of Key Stage assessments. I know that Mrs. Rennison & Mrs. Lavender are delighted with the effort shown and I look forward to celebrating the progress of everybody involved.
Now that we have officially opened our new extension, children should now attend school in their usual school uniform, even on PE days. Children will then get changed in our fantastic new changing rooms.
Community events. Please see the below promotional literature for further information.
- Headteachers Superstar EYFS/KS1 - RN Y1 Einstein
- Headteachers Superstar KS2 - HW Y5 Attenborough
- Class Times Table Rockstars - Y5 Attenborough
- Music Maestro - AD Y4 Pankhurst
Half Term House Winners
- 1st Place - Air
- 2nd Place - Earth
- 3rd Place - Water
- 4th Place - Fire
- Overall Leaders for the school year - Earth
- School Attendance Target for the Year - 96.50%
- School attendance this year so far - 94.9%
- School attendance this week - 94.7%
- EYFS2 Anning - 97.2%
- EYFS2 Sharman - 92.5%
- Year 1 Einstein -96.3%
- Year 1 Nightingale -93.1%
- Year 2 Parks - 94.1%
- Year 2 Seacole - 93.8%
- Year 3 Earhart - 92.8%
- Year 3/4 Holmes - 97.4%
- Year 4 Pankhurst - 96.4%
- Year 5 Attenborough - 97.7%
- Year 5/6 Wollstonecraft - 99.4%
- Year 6 Kings - 95.6%
Well done to Class Wollstonecraft who are this week's winners with an excellent 99.4% attendance. Congratulations.
Our suite of X (formerly Twitter) Handles is here for you. Below is a link for 'all things Birkwood.'
PE & Sport
Appropriate trainers must be worn. No crop tops – Sports t-shirts please and shorts. A tracksuit may be worn – please make a judgment on temperature.
Afterschool clubs - Summer Term 2
This Year's Term Dates
Next Year's Term Dates Below
Wednesday 4th September 2024 – Children return to school
Friday 25th October 2024 – School closes for Half Term
Monday 4th November 2024 – Children return to school
Friday 20th December 2024 – School Closes for Christmas Break
Monday 6th January 2025 - Children return to school
Friday 14th February 2025 - School Closes for Half Term
Monday 24th February 2025 - Children return to school
Friday 4th April 2025 – School Closes for Easter Break
Tuesday 22nd April 2025 - Children return to school
Monday 5th May 2025 – School Closed May Day Bank Holiday
Friday 23 May 2025 – School Closes for Half Term
Monday 2 June 2025 – INSET Day
Tuesday 3 June 2025 – Children return to school
Friday 18 July 2025 - School Closes for Summer
For current Year 6 children, their tests shall be Monday 13th May to Thursday 16th May 2024.
For current Year 5 children, their tests will be Monday 12th to Thursday 15th May 2025.
For current Year 4 children, their tests will be Monday 11th to Thursday 14th May 2026.