Archive for January, 2012

27th January 2012

Friday, January 27th, 2012

Visit to Mrs Armitage

Nursery and reception children have all enjoyed a visit to Mrs Armitages house. They travelled on the bus and then joined Mrs Armitage for a drink and a slice of cake. The children asked Mrs Armitage lots of questions and also found out how to mend a puncture. Thank you, Mrs Armitage for inviting the children for a visit.

Year 5 meet Sports Reporter

Children in Year 5 had lots of questions for Paul Hayward a sports writer for a national newspaper when he visited the school today. Paul shared his enjoyment of his job and the pressure and excitement of meeting newspaper deadlines. Mr Brazil shared some of the children’s impressive sports writing with Paul.

On Time Teds

This week’s Key Stage 1 winners are Year 2 with 3 late marks and in Key Stage 2 the winners are Years 6 with 1 late mark. Fabulous! Well done to both classes for excellent punctuality.

‘Who Am I’ Group

After the half term break we will be running a group for children aimed at exploring their sense of identity. The idea is to help children understand and feel positive about who they are. A letter was sent home yesterday regarding this group. If you did not receive the letter please ask your child or ask at the office for a copy.

Funding for Gardening Club

The Brighton and Hove Food Partnership have awarded the school £200 as part of their Harvest Schools project aimed at helping schools to develop their growing spaces. Our space is small but we are eager to develop the area and grow more. Mrs Purdy is our keen gardener so she is very pleased to receive the funding for the Middle Street gardening club to make use of.

Secondary School Admissions Process Review

The meeting will take place at Middle Street on Friday 3rd February at 9.15 – 10.30. The meeting will be hosted by an independent consultant; Ian Nockolds. We still have 4 places available to parents and carers to attend this meeting. Please let Mr Smart know if you would like to join it would be a shame to miss this opportunity to share your views on secondary school admissions process.

Holiday Date Confusion

There has been a little confusion regarding the date we finish for the summer break. To clarify this for you we finish for the summer break on Friday 20th July. I know many of you will be wanting to book your summer holiday if you haven’t already done so.

Half Term Break

We finish for the half term break on Friday 10th February and return to school on Monday 20th February.

20th January 2012

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Reception to Visit Mrs Armitage

Reception children are very excited as they are off to visit Mrs Armitage next Thursday. Mrs Armitage is a book character and features in Reception and Nursery’s Learning Journey: On the Move. Nursery will also visit Mrs Armitage very soon.

‘Who Am I’ Group

After the half term break we will be running a group for children aimed at exploring their sense of identity. The idea is to help children understand and feel positive about who they are. There will be more information soon.

Family Seal

Mr Owers and Mr Meadows are looking forward to working with the group of parents who have joined the Family Seal programme about to run in school. If anyone else is interested in joining in do let Mr Owers or Mr Meadows know.

Friday Morning Singing

Do remember to come along to our Friday morning sing -a -longs on a Friday morning before school. We meet at 8.30 till 8.45 in the hall. If you have any requests for songs do let us know.

On Time Teds

This week’s Key Stage 1 winners are Year 1 with 1 late mark and in Key Stage 2 the winners are Years 3 with 0 late marks. Fabulous! Well done to both classes for excellent punctuality.

Request from Nursery

Nursery need contributions of small wood off cuts please. They would also like a volunteer to make a wooden lid for their sandpit. If you are able to help let the nursery staff know directly or leave a message at the office.

Secondary School Admissions Process Review

The secondary schools admissions process is currently under review. As part of the process Middle Street has been selected to host a focus group meeting to discuss the admissions process. There are places for 8 parents/carers to take part. The meeting will take place at Middle Street on Friday 3rd February at 9.15 – 10.30. The meeting will be hosted by an independent consultant; Ian Nockolds. If you are interested in sharing your opinions and contributing to the review please let Mr Smart know. There are also 2 public meetings to be held at the Jubilee library on Thursday 2nd February between 3.00 and 7.00 and outside Old Shoreham Road Sainsbury’s on Saturday 4th February between 10.00 and 2.00

Please Close the Gate

When you leave the school at times other than the beginning or end of the school day please remember to close the gate behind you and check that it is securely closed. It has been left open on a number of occasions recently.

Take Care When..

Here is a little road safety reminder. Please take extra care when walking out of Boyces Street into West Street. Please ensure your children walk with you rather than running ahead and possibly into the road to be hit by a car.

Half Term Break

We finish for the half term break on Friday 10th February and return to school on Monday 20th February.

13th January 2012

Friday, January 13th, 2012

Hello Will

The Albion player; Will Hoskins joined Year 5 yesterday afternoon. He visited at an opportune time as the children were finding out about the FA cup and were able to ask Will lots of interesting questions. Will is part of the Albion’s Adopt a Player scheme which you may recall as I explained in earlier newsletters we are involved with. You can find more information on our special Seagulls board in the junior’s cloakroom.

Friday Morning Singing

Do remember to come along to our Friday morning sing-a-longs on a Friday morning before school. We meet at 8.30 till 8.45 in the hall.

Request from Nursery

Nursery need contributions of small wood off cuts please. They would also like a volunteer to make a wooden lid for their sandpit. If you are able to help let the nursery staff know directly or leave a message at the office.

Book Amnesty

Please could you sort through your book cases ( and search under the bed and in the toybox) and return any Middle Street school library or general reading books back to school. You may return any books you find with your class teacher or at the office.

Contact Forms

Please could you return your emergency contact forms if you haven’t already done so. We can then update records etc.

Family Seal

This term we will be running our very first Family Seal (social and emotional aspects of learning) course. If you are interested in finding out more we are running an introductory session on Thursday 19th January at 2 pm in the school library. Please contact Tim or Alan if you would like an informal chat about the programme. They can be contacted via the school office. Last week’s Friday News can provide you with a bit more information about the programme.

Positive Parenting Sessions

There will be a new group starting on Wednesday 25th January 9.30 – 11.30 at Carlton Hill Primary School. The group provides support for specific issues and general helpful tips for supporting your child. The focus for this group is on children in Year 5 and 6, keeping in mind transition to secondary school and moving towards the teen years with trials and tribulations they can bring. To find out more go along to the introductory coffee morning at Carlton Hill on Wednesday 18th January 9.30 – 10.30 or contact Suzy King on 07768900463.

On Time Teds

This week’s Key Stage 1 winners are Year 2 with 6 late marks and in Key Stage 2 the winners are Years 3 and 4 with 4 late marks each. Fabulous! Well done to all three classes for excellent punctuality.

Drivers Beware

Please could I ask that parents and carers who drive to school to be very careful of pedestrians and cyclists when opening car doors and pulling in or out of parking spaces. Please also avoid parking up on pavements particularly in Boyces street. Middle Street is so busy first thing in the mornings it would awful if a child or an adult was injured.

Secondary School Admissions Process Review

The secondary schools admissions process is currently under review. As part of the process Middle Street has been selected to host a focus group meeting to discuss the admissions process. There are places for 8 parents/carers to take part. The meeting will take place at Middle Street on Friday 3rd February at 9.15 – 10.30. The meeting will be hosted by an independent consultant; Ian Nockolds. If you are interested in sharing your opinions and contributing to the review please let Mr Smart know. There are also 2 public meetings to be held at the Jubilee library on Thursday 2nd February between 3.00 and 7.00 and outside Old Shoreham Road Sainsbury’s on Saturday 4th February between 10.00 and 2.00

Thank You

A huge and appreciative thank you to all those parents and carers who have caught up with their dinner money payments. I know that you the parents and carers of our school already know this but for the benefit of those who read the Friday News but are not members of the school community please note the following; if there is ever any problem with dinner money payments the issue would be discussed with the parent or carer and a resolution sought and agreed. No child would be refused a dinner and left to go hungry. We have moved on from the world of Charles Dickens!

After School Clubs

If your child has a place on one or more clubs you will receive a text notification of this. I do advise that if you have not received a text that you check at the office as sometimes mobile numbers have changed.

Congratulations to…

Calum in Year 3 for playing his first chess match for Sussex under 9’s chess team and helping them win the 5 Counties Tournament! Well done Calum!

Half Term Break

We finish for the half term break on Friday 10th February and return to school on Monday 20th February.

Easter Break

We finish for the Easter break on Friday 30th March and return to school on Tuesday 17th April.

6th January 2012

Friday, January 6th, 2012

Happy New Year and Welcome Back

I hope you all had a wonderful and happy Christmas and new year. It’s great to be back and a special welcome to those new children and families who have joined the school this term.
I am also delighted to welcome Ms Katie Garside who has joined us and is teaching in Year 6.
Mrs Katie Jones will be saying goodbye to us for a year’s maternity leave next Tuesday. Katie’s baby is due on 27th January. All the best and good luck Katie with the birth of your new baby. Mr Smart is now our acting deputy and Senco. If you need to talk with him you can find him at the office.

Year 5 Swimming

Swimming begins for Year 5 on Monday morning.

On Time Teds

This week’s Key Stage 1 winners are Year 2 with 0 late marks and in Key Stage 2 the winners are Year 6 with 5 late marks. Fabulous! Well done to both classes for excellent punctuality.

Family Seal

This term we will be running our very first Family Seal (social and emotional aspects of learning) course. The course has been running successfully in Brighton and Hove schools over the last 3 years. The programme has been designed to create links between home and school and its aims are to help children develop their social and emotional skills supported by their parents. The course last 6 weeks and will take place on Thursday afternoons. The sessions are split into two parts with the first half just for parents having time to discuss social and emotional aspects of learning and the second half involves the children joining in with activities and games. The course is led by our Learning Mentors; Tim Owers and Alan Meadows and is open to all parents and carers. If you are interested in finding out more we are running an introductory session on Thursday 19th January at 2 pm in the school library. Please contact Tim or Alan if you would like an informal chat about the programme. They can be contacted via the school office.

Secondary School Admissions Process Review

The secondary schools admissions process is currently under review. As part of the process Middle Street has been selected to host a focus group meeting to discuss the admissions process. There are places for 8 parents/carers to take part. The meeting will take place at Middle Street on Friday 3rd February at 9.15 – 10.30. The meeting will be hosted by an independent consultant; Ian Nockolds. If you are interested in sharing your opinions and contributing to the review please let Mr Smart know. There are also 2 public meetings to be held at the Jubilee library on Thursday 2nd February between 3.00 and 7.00 and outside Old Shoreham Road Sainsbury’s on Saturday 4th February between 10.00 and 2.00

After School Clubs

After school activity clubs letter will be sent out next week and begin the week after

Dinner Money

Dinner money debts continue to be an issue for us and the company that provides the dinners. We have therefore been informed that families owing more than £10.50 will be refused school dinners until the debt is paid. So please check you are up to date with payments.

PTA Meeting

The next PTA meeting takes place next Friday (13th Feb). 9.15 at Cafe Coho in Ship Street. We would love you to come along for a fund raising chat. New members always welcome.

Half Term Break

We finish for the half term break on Friday 10th February and return to school on Monday 20th February.