Archive for March, 2008

28th March 2008

Friday, March 28th, 2008

Middle Street Violinists Perform

A group of children who have been learning the violin were brave enough to perform to the whole school on Tuesday morning. They performed a selection of classical pieces with a little bit of the James Bond theme tune thrown in for fun. The children performed brilliantly and were much admired by us all.

Brighton Primary Schools Cross Country Competition

Middle Street will be represented by a group of excellent runners at this event. The event takes place on Saturday morning at the Brighton Rugby Club at Waterhall. Good luck to all the Middle Street runners.

Year 6 Meditate

The Year 6 children will be visiting the Brighton Buddhist Centre on Tuesday 1st April. They will be finding out about Buddhism and learning a little bit about meditation.

Ecolicious Nutritious Café

Year 5 would like to invite everyone along to their Eco friendly and healthy café. Year 5 parents are invited to join the Year 5 children in the Hall at 2.30 pm and children and their parents/carers from the rest of the school are welcome to pop in for a snack from 3.00 pm. The Year 5 children have prepared the food themselves and will wait on the tables. They have also arranged for a variety of activities for customers to join in with. 50% of the proceeds will be donated to OXFAM and 50% will be donated towards playground equipment.

Festival Parade Workshop

We need more parents/carers to help prepare for the children’s Festival Parade which takes place on 3rd May. A workshop led by Sarah Parsons from Same Sky will be running in school on Monday 31st March from 1.30 pm. Please come along if you are able to help.

New Books in the Library

We are currently in the process of updating our school library, buying books and replacing furniture etc. We also have a (very much appreciated by us all) group of parents who will manage the library and ensure it is kept tidy and well organised. We have recently bought some new books which include the ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’ , titles by the author Sharon Creech, new editions of old favourites such as ‘Huckleberry Finn’ and a selection of scary books to mention but a few! There will be more to follow. Unfortunately some children are unable to borrow books as they are over their limit. Please check at home for overdue library books and return them to us as soon as possible. There is no charge for overdue books.

Easter Afternoon Tea

The School Association raised over £500 at the Afternoon Tea event. A big thank you to everyone who donated eggs, cakes and other prizes. The donations were very impressive and very much appreciated. Look out for more exciting School Association events coming up soon.

School Association Coffee Morning

Our monthly coffee morning takes place next Wednesday 2ND April in the Family Room from 9.00am.

Want to Know More About the Role of the Educational Psychologist?

Vivian Farmy our Educational Psychologist is running an information session on special educational needs for all interested parents at St Martins Church Hall in Lewes Road. Vivian will explain the Code of Practice, the role of the Educational Psychologist and how she works with schools. The session takes place on Tuesday 2nd April at 9.30. The 49 bus will drop you off almost outside the venue.

Opening the Main Gate

We are having lots of problems with our main gate at the moment. This is because the wrong button is being pressed to release the gate by parents/carers and visitors as they leave the school. Please remember to use the black button in the top white box on the wall. The other button is for emergencies only and stops the gate locking again once it’s been used and therefore compromises the security of the school.

Hats

We have 2 beautiful hats, which have been beautifully made by a parent. The hats are presented in a hatbox. If you would like to own one or both of these hats please speak to Vanessa Denyer (Year 1 teacher) or a member of the office staff.

Spring Term Break

We finish for the Spring Break on Friday 4th April and reopen for the new term on 21st April.

14th March 2008

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Parents Evening

Thank you to all those parent/carers who attended the parents evenings this week. If you couldn’t make it this week but would still like to meet with the class teacher please arrange a mutually convenient time directly with the class teacher.

Brazilian Football

Our Brazilian football team are playing in a tournament today at the Sussex University.

Arts Mark Award

We were very pleased to welcome to the school a very special visitor yesterday. Recently we applied for the Arts Council Arts Mark Gold Award and yesterday the assessor arrived and spent the morning in school. She was very, very complimentary about the range of creative opportunities on offer at the school and the children’s work in all aspects of the arts. We will hear in May if we have been successful in achieving the award.

Easter Tea

The School Associations Easter Tea takes place this Thursday at 3.00 in the hall. There has been a request for helpers so please let the office know if you are able to help on the day.
There will of course be an Easter Hat Competition and a raffle. Donations of Easter Eggs and cakes will be gratefully received.

North Street Road Safety Scheme

I had the pleasure of meeting with Mr Owen McElroy on Tuesday. Owen is the project manager for the North Street Road Safety and Urban Enhancement Scheme and came in to discuss with me the issues for pedestrians around Middle Street and Boyce’s Street. This meeting came about as a result of last year’s petition to make Boyce’s Street safer for pedestrians. I will keep you informed of further developments.

New Members of Staff

You may have noticed a few new faces around school recently as we have some new members of staff. Ms Jan Bennett, Mr Andrew Wright and Ms Kelly Martin are new Teaching Assistants supporting in classes across the school. We also have 3 trainee teachers working with us until the Spring Term break. They are Ms Anne McConnell, Mr Roger Aldous and Mr Carl Gendre.

Disability Equality Duty

Next week Ms Whiting will be sending home to all parents/carers a questionnaire that will help us develop our Disability Equality Scheme. We would appreciate it if as many of you could complete it and return it as it provides us with very important information.

Congratulations to…

Joe Foot in Year 4 has achieved his 1500 metres swimming badge. Well done Joe!
Sam Foot in Year 1 has achieved his 10 metres swimming badge. Well done Sam!

Easter Weekend

Next week school finishes on Thursday for the long Easter weekend and reopens on Tuesday 25th March.

Spring Term Break

We finish for the Spring Break on Friday 4th April and reopen for the new term on 21st April.

7th March 2008

Friday, March 7th, 2008

Lets Dance Flamenco!

Year 3 performed their stunning Flamenco dance last night at the Dome. The children were performing in the annual Primary Schools dance festival. As usual the children were true professionals and a credit to their parents and the school. Well done children and thank you to Ms Moriarty and the Year 3 staff and parents. A special thank you to Izzy Mackender, who made all the wonderful costumes.

World Book Day

Years 1 and 2 walked up to Borders Books yesterday to take part in the World Book Day celebrations. They met authors and illustrators, browsed through books and listened to stories. They also had the opportunity to ask questions.

Parents Evening

You should have received the Parents Evening letter on Wednesday. If you did not receive one you should request a copy from the office. Parents Evening takes place on Tuesday 11th and Thursday 13th March, next week.

Easter Eggs Please

We would very much appreciate Easter Egg donations for the Easter Egg raffle. The raffle will take place at the School Association’s Easter Afternoon Tea to be held on Thursday 20th March. The tea takes place in the hall from 3.00 p.m. Raffle tickets can be purchased from the school office.

Family Linx

We are very fortunate to have a family support worker attached to the school. Kathy Egan works for the ‘Family Linx’ service and is able to offer support and guidance in the family home on issues around behaviour, relationships, accessing support and information, practical help and advice. Kathy is also hoping to run some workshops for groups of parents for example: support with tackling children’s issues around bedtime and sleeping. So we’ll look forward to hearing more from Kathy in the near future.

Dinner Money Please

Mrs Walker says, please could all dinner money debts be paid up as soon as possible. Thank you.

Brazilian Football

Some of our Year 6 children will be entering a Brazilian Football competition next Friday morning. Miss Busby will be choosing the team early next week to go and compete at Sussex University.

Spring Term Break

Please remember the Easter holiday is a long weekend this year rather than part of the Spring Term break. The school is closed on Good Friday 21st March and Monday 24th March. The school closes for the Spring Term break from Monday 7th April for 2 weeks reopening on Monday 21st April.