Atwood’s news for week ending Friday 12th May

Mr Veale’s welcome

This week has been SATs week for KS2.  I wish to say thank you to the Year 6 team for preparing the children for these assessments.  The children, as ever, were great and took things in their stride.  Many of you will have read in the media that this form of assessment feels out of date and no longer fit for purpose.  Personally, I do hope that the accountability processes for primary schools do change very soon, as a one size fits all process has not kept abreast of neuroscience and what educationalists know about how children are all very different and the impact on them demonstrating what they ‘know’ or ‘can do’ via a set of formal tests.  That being said, we are in ‘the system’ and we have to make the best of it.

Polite Notice to Parents – dogs fouling the footpath

Let’s not hope there is a regular section in the Atwood news all about moaning and groaning, however the choices made by some Atwood parents certainly do upset our neighbours, whether this is parking in the Methodist car park, on someone’s drive, dropping off on the zig zag lines and the like.

This week, it has been brought to my attention that some Atwood dog owners are not picking up after their dogs on the pavements near Atwood.  Furthermore, when challenged, they have been quite rude and confrontational about this.

We all know that stepping in dog mess is disgusting and so if you are an Atwood dog owner, please do the right thing and pick up after your pooch.

Café Atwood in the offing

Have you noticed that the old buggy park attached to the old Children’s Centre is being converted to become Café Atwood?  For some time, I have wished to have a café here at Atwood for parents and children to enjoy before and after school as well as around events such as plays and assemblies.  However, there was never enough capital money to develop one, that is until Pegasus came to the rescue!

What is Café Atwood all about?  Café Atwood should be up and running ready for after the May half term holiday.  It will be run by parents with a little help from the Atwood staff and will be open occasionally before and or after school, selling teas and coffees, light snacks and seasonal products and items for the children, such as stationery, cards and other items.

You should soon notice some café tables, signage and planters in and around the red phone box area.  Mr. Chitty has organised WIFI for Café Atwood and so all we need now is the sunshine.

All profits from the Café will be benefit the children of Atwood and so it will be a ‘win-win’ situation.

Pegasus Encourages Walking to School Week Monday 22nd May to Friday 26th May

Mrs Mitchell is leading on encouraging as many children (and staff) to travel to Atwood sustainably, either by walking, scooter or bicycle.  I have dusted off my bike once more as I felt that my fitness was fading away, and I am really enjoying my bike ride there and back to Atwood from Bromley South station.  The hill up from Forestdale and into Selsdon to Sanderstead never gets any easier though.  In terms of fitness, walking is amazing for us all.  I did some research on the NHS website and found out all about the benefits of regular walking.

Taking at look at the opening paragraph, it states:

‘Walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier.

Sometimes overlooked as a form of exercise, walking briskly can help you build stamina, burn excess calories and make your heart healthier.
You do not have to walk for hours. A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your 150 minutes of weekly exercise, as recommended in the physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64.’ 

Why not take a look at the Atwood news stories from this week?

Schools Minister commends Atwood  https://www.pegasusacademytrust.org/news/year-4/schools-minister-commends-atwoods-multiplication-check-results-for-2022-   

Thought of the week 

In order to keep things fresh, the Word of the Week has been replaced by thought of the week and here it is:

Some men see things as they are and say, “Why?”, I dream things that never were and say, “Why not?” – Robert F. Kennedy

Team Points (Pupil Reward Points)

Remember that everyone at Atwood believe in the Terrific Trio:  Kind Words, Kind Thoughts, Kind Actions and for that, the children are rewarded.  The first key milestone for a pupil is to reach 50 Pupil Reward Points because they will be awarded a £5 Book Token in Celebration Assembly, as we also wish to promote the love of reading at Atwood.  I will be taking a look at the leaderboard after half term.

Each pupil has been assigned to a Team or House.  These are Air, Earth, Fire and Water.  All Pupil Reward Points also contribute to the Team Points each week.

Here are the all important totals for the term so far:

Congratulations to AIR who have won the Team Points Competition for this week.  

Why not head over to the Pupil Reward Points website?  https://www.pupilrewardpoints.co.uk

Attendance

The DfE continue to be concerned about attendance in the post covid world.  Indeed, governments across the world have noticed a worrying trend of children attending school less than before covid.  Atwood works on the 95% expectation and each year, we endeavour to hit our whole school community target of attending at least 95% of the time.  Most years, Atwood nearly reaches 97% which is higher than the national average.  Looking at the Year to Date percentage of 94.9% so far, we are doing better than many other schools, but we just need a concerted effort in the remaining part of this year to rise above 95%.  I know we can do it.

Attendance is important.  After all, children only have one opportunity to go to school, don’t they?  As a rule of thumb, we expect children to attend school at least 95% of the time.  This allows for a child to be absent for a couple of days per year due to coughs, colds and medical appointments that cannot be made in holiday times.  Remember that we never authorise holidays in term time.  Often I am asked to authorise a family wedding abroad, or to visit a poorly relative abroad.  None of these are valid reasons for absence in term time.  Please bear this in mind.

Here are the attendance figures for this week:

From us all at Team Atwood, enjoy the weekend.  Stay safe and see you next week!

Mr. Veale