Thursday 29 December 2011

Fantasy League Festive Update - December Manager of the Month

Year 1
Lebonhang Sibanda
Blue Berries39
Yeliz Kaya
The Back Jays39
Year 2
Sharon Chiswell
Chiswell's Chancers68
Year 3
Sophie Hann
Cool Arsenal54
Year 4
Dara Adu
Team cranberry60
Year 5
prayag vekaria
super gold piverpool58
Year 6
myles agyeman
Manchester united F.C76
Year 7
danny groom
danny donuts55
Year 9
Kevin Salum
United Borough Youth FC46
Year 10
lawrence croxton
liverpool 4 eva88
Year 11
Vivian Salum
viv UNITED44
S1
Teni Adu
Team Teni44
Left School
billy pengelly
bill united55
Staff Leader
Staff
Miss Tynan
Miss Tynan's Troopers89
Parent Leader
Parent
Mr groom
the old crocks fc82

Friday 23 December 2011

Yellow Win Inter House Quiz

The end of the half term saw a flurry of activity with the House competitions. Blue surged to the half term title - winning the cake and drinks reward at the end of the last assembly. However it was Yellow who managed to win the first Inter House Christmas Quiz. Packed with festive questions, it tested the children's knowledge of every aspect of Christmas: carols, toys, pop songs and movies! Each team had a joker to play - which Yellow managed expertly; as a result they achieved a great score of 90 points. Well done to the Yellows and we look forward to resuming the competition next term.

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Joskos Sponsored Kit Arrives

Nick from Joskos came to Broadford last week to present the children with the smart black kit which his company have generously purchased for the school. Because we are now taking part in a much wider range of inter school events, we need kits for the pupils. Without the support of partners like Joskos, the funding would not be possible. However, the size of the cheque has meant that we have been able to purchase particularly smart Macron kits. Can you name a school that looks smarter on the field of play?

Nick was extremely impressed with the children and their enthusiasm. I think he would have signed up for our next match if it were possible. One thing he has done is offer us additional coaching support from one of his technicians. We expect the partnership between the school and Joskos to be one that develops over the coming years and that it will be one that really helps to improve the lives of our children.

Pretty in Pink: L&Q Housing Presents New Kit & Cheque

Broadford Primary School have received an incredibly generous cash injection from L&Q Housing. In their most recent bout of community donations, the Harold Hill school was chosen to benefit from £3,400 of funding. As a consequence the school will be able to: pay for a professional coach to provide football coaching for children in Years 1- 6; purchase much needed equipment to allow three after school clubs to take place and increase our ability to offer extended schools provision by providing three after school clubs per week from 3.15 - 4.30pm
Malcolm Drakes (Headteacher) said "Without a doubt this tremendous grant will help us to raise the participation rate for all pupils taking part in sporting activities. The support will also enable us to host locality sports events with other community groups."
The L&Q representative - Stuart Norman - explained that the school's funding bid was successful because it showed the money would be targeted towards children who have real needs. NHS data shows that the Harold Hill locality has one of the highest child obesity rates in the authority. Encouraging children to take part in healthy activities is one way of helping to combat this worrying statistic. Working in partnership, L&Q Housing and Broadford School expect this project to just be the start. Hopefully the number of pupils impacted on will grow year on year.

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Demountable Classroom Disappears

Finally the crane arrived at 8am this morning to remove the demountable classroom. With the new Nursery due to be built in the early Spring it was important for this to be moved out of the way before Christmas. Because the crane is so heavy, the builders have had to cover the playground with protective aluminium tracking. Looking ahead to next year, we may be able to get a proper storage area now for all the new PE and playground equipment!



Monday 19 December 2011

Bronze Tracker Winners

Amazingly we had a number of children who did not let the Christmas festivities affect their work rate. Despite the distraction of glitter, concerts and parties these pupils still managed to knuckle down and achieve the last few merits needed to earn their Bronze Trackers. As a result they will now start the Spring Term on their Silver Trackers.

Congratulations to: Taylor McKatherine, Amy Mason, Jamie Groom and Emmanuel Pala.

100% Attendance Prize Draw - 126 entrants!

Congratulations to our two £30 prize winners from this half term's 100% attendance prize draw. In all there were 126 pupils eligible for the prize bucket... but Samson Wright (KS1) and David Sangojinmi (KS2) were the lucky recipients of the Argos voucher.

In addition to this we had 6 runners up prizes of £5 which went to: Kingsley Onwuebuzie, Georgia Brooks, Chelsea Mark, Lebohang Sibanda, Kailen Davey, and Prince Onwuebuzie. Without a doubt these pupils will have a fantastic time flicking through the catalogue to choose what they want to buy.

When we return in January we shall find out which class has managed to top the attendance league. At stake is the prize of a trip to the Brewery to go to one of: bowling, cinema or Kidspace! After a tremendously consistent performance the favourites appear to be Willow (Year 5), but they did not have a good week last week. Sneaking through the field are Rowan, who have now taken the KS2 weekly trophy for consecutive weeks.

Make sure you keep an eye on the newsfeed to find out which class emerges triumphant.

Overall the effect of the certificates, prizes and exciting curriculum is that we have managed to beat our attendance target again with a score of 95.03%. Well done everyone. To have kept this up in what is traditionally the worst term for attendance is a great effort.

Corn Board Comes To Broadford!

BFG Donation:

We would like to thank the Broadford Fundraising Group for their amazing donation of £600! The money is to be split between two worthwhile school projects. Half the money will go towards subsidizing the Year 6 trip to Stubbers, while the rest will be put to playground equipment for the whole school. With this, we have purchased a set of ‘corn boards’. An American game, which we are sure the children will love. This donation would not be possible without the support shown for BFG events by you, our parents and carers.


Important - Free School Meals Applications

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Dear Parents/Carers

If you are eligible for Free School Meals, we would urge you to apply for them. Not only does the scheme offer you support as parents and carers, it is invaluable to the school. At a time when funding is getting much tighter for schools, the Pupil Premium is actually going up! This is a sum of money that is paid to schools on the basis of how many Free School Meals (FSM) pupils there are on roll. The amount paid by the Government is now £488 per pupil. This funding can have a direct and positive impact on our children here at Broadford. Please check the criteria below and apply if you meet them. Applications are confidential.

You may apply if you are in receipt of any of the following benefits:
  • Income Support
  • Income Based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income Related Employment Support Allowance
  • The Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit (but NOT Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income of less than £16,190
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

How to apply

Liberty Centre, Romford RM1 3RL. Manual forms for completion are also available if you visit the Public Advice and Service Centre in person.
You can have your eligibility checked immediately by telephone if you agree to the usage of the Eligibility Checking Service - a Government based service which will advise Havering if you are eligible or not. Your agreement to the use of this system means that with specific information your eligibility can be checked, but that we will not be given full details of the benefits you currently receive. There will also be no need to apply annually to renew the service as we will be able to periodically recheck your eligibility.

Please contact 01708 433929 or use the application form to apply.

Sunday 18 December 2011

Facebook Statistics Update

It is hard to believe that at the beginning of the year (in September) we had no way of communicating with parents through sites like Facebook, Twitter or our webpage. However the response from all stakeholders in the school to our new methods of communication has been overwhelming.

It is interesting to look at the stats for the Facebook page as they show the 'readership' of the page is mostly female (85%). Of this, the age demographic shows that 41% of our readers are women aged between 25-34 years old. The largest group of male followers (7.5%) are slightly older, aged from 35-44 years old. We will have to get our football team blogging their results so that we can push up the number of dads following the newsfeed.

We also have some web friendly Grandparents, as 1.5% of our readers are aged 55+.

Soon in the New Year we will be relaunching Parent Mail - as their service has just been revamped. This will increase our ability to keep all parents, carers, Governors and friends of Broadford in the picture about what is happening at our school.

We would like to take this chance to thank you for the support you have all shown the school over the last term. 2012 promises to be a very exciting year as Broadford will continue to move forward. Already we have football matches for the girls and boys team. Year 5/6 are booked on a visit to the Tower of London as part of their 'Take One Building' project. Year 3/4 will be working towards producing a piece of music to be performed at the Rose Theatre. Literacy Week is at the beginning of March - when we shall see the return of the Multi Story Theatre company... and that is just to start with! It makes it all the more special to be able to share this with you as it happens.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our followers/readers!

Final Christmas Post Count

When the postbox finally closed on Friday lunch time, the statistics of how many cards had been delivered was truly staggering. A team of crack posties, who had been selected from Year 6, had managed to deliver over 1000 cards to just the KS2 classrooms! Who would have thought so many could be delivered in such a short space of time?

The data - which had been collated by Patrycia - showed that the most popular class was Rowan. Close behind were Maple and in third was Elm.

After Christmas the real challenge begins of ensuring that the cards are recycled. Our eco friendly posties have vowed to set up recycling bins to make sure that none of the cards are just thrown away. Now that we have solar panels on the roof, a building that manages its own airflow and efficient under floor heating, we don't want to lose our green credentials.

Congratulations to the children, as less that 10% of the cards posted failed to get to their delivery target! This was due to effective labelling with first names, surnames and classes being clearly marked on the cards.

Generous Donations Raise £212.12

A big Broadford thank you to all the parents, carers, Grandparents, relatives and visitors who donated a fantastic total of £212.12 in small change last week. At the end of each Christmas Concert (6 in total) the Year 6 children collected donations in buckets. Once the small change had been totalled up the monies were divided into four equal pots. One quarter will go to Breast Cancer Awareness, another to Jeans for Genes. 25% will be donated to Children In Need and the rest will go towards new equipment for the school playground.

Everyone gave extremely positive feedback about the concerts. Although they were all completely different the children's performances were all of the same high quality. A great way to end the term. Well done to everyone involved and thank you to all the parents who gave the events such tremendous support!

Tuesday 13 December 2011

BFG Christmas Disco Fundraiser!

We would like to extend a big Broadford thank you to the BFG (Broadford Fundraising Group) who organised and ran the Christmas Disco last week. With well over 140 tickets sold, the event was a stunning, festive success. Selling drinks, dressing up as Santa and decorating the hall: these were just some of the ways that the mums, dads and friends of Broadford helped to make the disco a night to remember. Counting up the takings has shown that £400 was made from the event - all of which will go towards aiding our children. Thank you to everyone who supported the event as the children had a great time.



Pupils In The Paper

Recently we have benefited from a substantial amount of coverage from the Romford Recorder. Forming a good relationship with the local press is important for us as we want all of the community to hear about the wonderful work the children are doing. For the last two weeks, Broadford pupils have been recognised as the pupils of the week. With their hard work, effort and enthusiasm the two pupils, Myles & Patrycia, were easy choices. What better way to recognise that than by publishing it in the local paper?

In addition to this we have had our new mosaic featured in the press. After working **** it for three days the children really had created a noteworthy piece of art. Beaming proudly the children couldn't wait to show it off.

We are very proud of our pupils here at Broadford and are very pleased to have the chance to share what they have done with the rest of Havering! Well done.

Friday 9 December 2011

Broadford Christmas Tree Competition!

At Broadford we have gone Christmas tree crazy. With four festive trees decorating our hallways and reception areas it really is 'beginning to feel a lot like Christmas'! However, the question on everyone lips is whose is best. Look at the pictures below and see if you can decide? To keep the trees themed, pupils have been asked to bring in decorations of a particular colour:
EYFS - Red
KS1 - Silver
KS2 - Gold
Reception - Silver/Blue
We would be very interested to hear your opinions on our decorating skills. We would also like to thank the pupils and parents who have bought in decorations, baubles and tinsel for the trees. They really are a whole school effort!
 EYFS
 KS1
 KS2
Reception

Broadford vs Pyrgo Priory Tag Rugby Match

Over the course of this term we have tried to introduce as many new activities for the children as possible. Thanks to the generous help of our sponsors, these clubs have remained free to all! One of our best successes has been the Year 3/4 Tag Rugby club. Led by Mrs Burrell, the children have throughly enjoyed the club and have now had the chance to prove how much they have learnt.

Yesterday the 14 pupils took on the might of Pyrgo Priory. In a closely fought match the Broadford pupils lost 5-3, but can hold their heads up high for the effort they made. Some incredible tries were scored by both of the teams. Russell ran his heart out, Nathan dodged and weaved, Joseph fought for every pass and Emma was unstoppable. Kailon played an outstanding match and scored an incredible try! A rematch will definitely be on the cards next term!

Broadford Christmas Performances

We would like to remind parents that we have our Christmas Concerts next week. Although the dates were sent out in September and in last week's newsletter I am sure you won't mind being reminded again! The details are as follows:
Christmas Performances:

KS1 Mon 12th at 9.30am & Tues 13th at 2.00pm KS2 Mon 12th at 2.00pm & Tues 13th at 9.30am

Nursery & Reception Wed 14th at 10am (morning Nursery) and 2pm (afternoon Nursery)

We are happy for parents to take photographs or video footage of the concerts. However we ask that you are considerate of other parents and do not obscure their view as you do so.

Broadford Ofsted Update

Please use the link below to find the latest HMI Monitoring Report. Published on the 1st December, it details how the school has been making progress since the summer of last year. We look forward to welcoming parents to the next meeting with Governors on the 30th January (2.30pm) where we can inform you of further progress. Click on the image for the report.

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Cycling Awareness at Broadford

Outside school this morning was an incredible collection of scooters and bikes, which have been used for the Cycling Awareness today (years 1-4).  Aimed at increasing the children's awareness when they are out on the road the course has been a great success!

Admissions to Reception Classes in September 2012-13

Admissions to Reception Classes in September 2012-13

Havering Council has asked all infant, junior and primary schools to remind parents/ carers that the closing dates for applications for children who are due to start school in September 2012 is Tuesday, 15 January 2012.

Parents/ carers are reminded that they still need to apply for a place for their child(ren) even if they attend a nursery class or early year’s provider attached to their preferred infant or primary school, or they have an older child who is already attending their preferred infant or primary school and will still be attending their preferred school, or partner junior school, in September 2012.


Parents/ carers who have not submitted an application by the closing date are likely to find that they will not be allocated a place at their preferred school and may be allocated a place at a school that is some distance from their home address.

Parents/ carers must also remember that if they are applying for a place for their child at a voluntary aided denominational faith school they must also submit a Supplementary Information Form to the school(s) concerned and return it by the 15 January 2012. If they are applying for a place at a catholic school they must also approach a priest or religious leader to complete the standard Priest’s Reference Form. Copies of these forms can be downloaded from www.havering.gov.uk/admissions or can be obtained direct from the school(s) concerned.


Parents/ carers should be aware that the number of children requiring a place in Reception classes in September 2012 is forecast to be higher than last year. It is, therefore, very important that an application has been submitted by the closing date, more than one preference has been expressed and schools local to your home address have been included on your preference form.

If you require further information and guidance on the application process you can get information from the “Starting School in Havering” brochure. This is available for download on the Havering website: www.havering.gov.uk/admissions or a hard copy is available, together with a paper application from local libraries, the Town Hall and the PASC in central Romford.

Parents/ carers can, if they prefer apply online by going to www.havering.gov.uk/eadmissions which will take you directly to the online website.


Alternatively, you may wish to contact the School Admissions Team at Mercury House on 01708 – 434600 for further advice and guidance.

Sunday 4 December 2011

Broadford Cross Country Success

On Thursday morning 14 brave and hardy runners departed from the warmth of the Broadford reception area to take part in Campion Day. Last year the event was cancelled (due to snow)... but this time the blustery, wet conditions were no challenge to our children. Despite the fact that the bus company had sadly gone out of business and Mr Drakes' Cab Co had to spring into action, the children all got there in plenty of time. Practising regularly, for the last six weeks, had clearly given the children the chance to do very well and they did not let us down. Final results will be released this week as there were well over 150 competitors. It certainly has been an action packed term for sport and we are thankful that the weather has not put up any significant barriers to the events that have been organised. Well done children... a great performance!

Early Reading & Phonics Information for Parents

We were very pleased with the turnout for our Early Reading and Phonics information meetings last week. As we embark on our new approach through Read Write Inc, it is great to have the opportunity to share with parents how we can work together to support the children as they learn to read. If you were at the meeting and would like to revise, or weren't able to make it and would like a copy of the presentation please follow the link below:

You can also follow this link to learn how to pronounce the sounds with your child at home: RWI Youtube

Thursday 1 December 2011

Sponsorship from In-Doc for £500

We are delighted to announce that In-Doc, our photocopy dealers, have agreed to donate £500 to support the provision of after school clubs and the football teams. We have been very fortunate this year to receive support like this. So far £4,700 has been donated by firms interested in supporting the school and helping us to provide clubs and resources for your children.

End of Term Attendance Awards

Don’t forget that pupils who have 100% attendance are eligible for the end of term prize draw! As usual there will be two prizes of £30 and six runners up prizes of £5 for that most magical of stores Argos. However 100% means that you can’t miss a day. At this moment in time 160 pupils have their names in the hat! They have been informed today who they are and that if they keep up their brilliant attendance a shiny silver voucher could be theirs!