Walton-le-Dale Primary School Spring Newsletter, 2013.

Dear Parents, Children, Other family members and Governors, Welcome to our Spring Newsletter, which gives you an insight into life at WLD! Inside, you will find information from each year group about the themes and skills children have been learning over the past term, plus other news and developments in school. We hope you find the newsletter interesting and informative! Mr. Sherwin, Acting Head Teacher.

News about our staff As we approach the Easter holidays, we say a fond farewell to Mrs. Douglas, who is leaving our school to take up the post of Assistant Head Teacher at Leyland Methodist Junior School. Mrs. Douglas has been at WLD since qualifying as a teacher and, in that time, has made a significant contribution to the life of the school in many areas, and also kept us updated on the antics of her pet rabbits! She will be missed by colleagues, parents and children but we wish her every success and happiness as she begins her new life at Leyland! After the Easter break, Mrs. Douglas Year 5 class will be taught by Miss Gabbott, who has worked in our school for much of this school year, teaching children of different ages. She is very much looking forward to teaching her new class, and will work closely with Miss Winnard in Year 5 to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible, and that children in Year 5 continue to benefit from great teaching and learning! After Easter, Mr. Shields will take up the post of Head Teacher at Walton-leDale, replacing Mrs. Entwistle, who retired at Christmas. Mr. Shields has previously been the Head at Primrose Hill Primary School, Euxton, and brings with him several years experience of leading an outstanding school. On behalf of all children, parents, governors and staff at Walton-le-Dale Primary, we would like to welcome Mr. Shields to our school and congratulate him on his appointment!

Crosby still and Ash Children in Mr. Richardsons Year 3 class have had a regular visitor over the past few weeks Ash the dog, accompanied by Ms. Crosby, parent and governor, who kindly volunteered their services to help children read. As part of a scheme to promote reading, Ash popped into school for one morning each week to listen to the stories children told him as they read aloud. Judging by the wagging of Ashs tail, he seems to have enjoyed listening to the tales told!

School developments Over the next few months, we are planning to make some changes in the appearance and resourcing of the school, which will further improve the learning environment. We have purchased new books, equipment and materials to supplement our existing resources in all curriculum areas, and are extending the range of books available to use in our guided reading lessons. New storage is being installed in classrooms and around the school to house these resources. Forty eight new computers are being bought for KS2 classrooms, to be installed on new computer stations in classrooms, and the schools ICT capability is being enhanced by the installation of a new wireless internet network. All classroom tables and chairs are being replaced with new ones, colourcoded for each year group. All tray units (childrens drawers) are being replaced with new ones. KS2 dining tables and chairs are also being replaced. Hall floors are being re-sanded to improve their appearance, old doors replaced, and the toilets and cloakrooms in Years 5 and 6 will be completely refurbished, as the first part of a programme of improvement. We are also hoping to replace the remaining original windows in KS2 with uPVC units, to match the rest of the school, and remodel the main entrance to improve the layout of the reception area. The playground currently used by Years 3 and 6 will be resurfaced. All of these improvements are planned to be in place by the beginning of the new school year, and we will keep you informed of how the work is progressing throughout the next few months.

Whats in a name? You may have noticed recently that the names of the classes in school have changed. Up until now, each class name has been a species of tree Beech class, Ash, Oak, etc. After a vote throughout school, children chose animals as their new theme for class names and we now have a new series of names by which classes are identified endangered animals. The final design for each class was selected from drawings provided by children in each class, and these are now featured on the school website.

Keeping us informed. It is really important that the school office is informed of any changes in your contact details addresses, contact telephone numbers, etc. This is so that we can reach you quickly should the need arise and, additionally, it helps us to provide you with up-to-date information through our textmessaging service. Your cooperation is very much appreciated thank you.

WLD Parents and Teachers Association (PTA). The PTA works extremely hard to raise money for the school by organising events throughout the year, including discos, craft sessions and seasonal fayres. All parents with children at our school are automatically members of the PTA so, if are able to spare a few hours to support their valuable work, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Jasmine Fletcher at jfletcher99@blueyonder.co.uk if you can help. Thank you.

Summer Term Dates for your Diary. Monday 15th April School reopens after Easter break Tuesday 23rd April PTA Bog-eyed jog event Thursday 2nd May Nursery closed for County Council elections Monday 6th May School closed for May Bank Holiday Monday 13th Friday 17th May (KS2) Year 6 SATs Wednesday 22nd May Nursery Sports Day Thursday 23rd May Fd2 (Reception) and KS1 Sports Day Friday 24th May KS2 Sports Day; school closes for half-term Monday 10th June School reopens after half-term Monday 24th June Wednesday 26th June Year 6 outdoor educational visit to Robinwood Activity Centre Thursday 4th July Annual reports to parents Monday 8th July Friday 12th July Parent/Child learning conference week Tuesday 23rd July Final assembly for Year 6 parents at 2:00pm; Nursery closes for Summer break Wednesday 24th July School closes at 1:15pm for Summer break.

School Website You will have noticed some changes to the layout and organisation of the school website recently. Mr. Richardson, as the schools ICT Leader, has been working very hard to further develop the appearance and content of the website to make it easier to navigate and even more informative. We hope you like the changes. Visit www.wldps.com for a look now!