Parents from Penny Oaks were invited to an awards ceremony earlier this week to receive recognition for the work they have done in school to involve parents in activities. 

Parents Fatima Nakhuda and Tazeem Akhtar received awards from Better Start Bradford yesterday for the work they have done to engage parents with the school.

Fatima ran a toddler group for parents with toddlers. The group was held at Penny Oaks each Wednesday morning and gave parents with toddlers the chance to meet up and spend time together over a cup of tea and a biscuit. The group was successful in supporting parents and giving them someone to share experiences with. 

Tazeem helped to run a group of "Parent Champions" whose remit was to promote English and Literacy within the home. The group met once a week and took part in a variety of activities, from writing poems with a local poet to starting a board game-sharing library.

Both ladies have been an invaluable support to the school, and we are very lucky to have them in our community - we are very proud of their achievements!

 

Yr. 6 trip to London

On Monday 3^rd February our Year 6 children travelled down to London for a tour of the Houses of Parliament and a trip on the London Eye.

After an early start at Bradford Interchange, we set off to the capital on the direct train to London. The children were very excited - for most of them this was their first time in London. After arriving in London, we took the Tube to Westminster, where we were greeted by our first sight of the newly refurbished Big Ben. We took our trip on the London Eye from where we could see Central London from up high! We were able to spot Buckingham Palace, the Shard and plenty more iconic buildings.

After lunch in the park, we made our way to the Houses of Parliament for our guided tour. We were very excited to see the House of Commons and House of Lords. We learnt about the parliament post office, parliament "Ping-Pong" and much more. Our tour was followed by a workshop led by the wonderful Kai, and we were then treated to a surprise visit from our very own MP Imran Hussain! Mr Hussain was so interesting, and we loved listening to his tales of being an MP. He inspired us to chase our dreams and to not let anyone tell us that we can't do something we dream of doing. 

After our exciting day, it was back to Bradford on the train (with a McDonald's for tea!) 

Spelling Bee Competition

Today, three Yr. 6 students represented Penny Oaks at a Spelling Bee Competition at Co-op Headquarters in Manchester.  They were competing against other primary and secondary schools from across the Trust.  They came 4th overall.

Well done!!!

Kids With Bricks After School Club

We are very excited that the school will be hosting ‘Kids With Bricks’ After-School club next half-term.  A letter will be sent out next week with all the details you will need. 

Uniform Reminder

We have noticed there are more children coming into school in non-black trainers when it is not a PE day.  The Uniform Policy says all footwear should be entirely black - we prefer school shoes, but trainers are acceptable as long as they are entirely black with no coloured markings.

We would also like to remind parents that if headscarves and turbans are worn they should be black or forest green to match the colour of the school jumper.

Playground Gate in a morning

The gate is unlocked at 8.30 a.m. for the Nursery children.  All other children must stay with their parents until 8.40 a.m.  There have recently been a number of occasions where children have been left unattended.

Requests for leave in term time

Since Christmas, we received a large number of requests from parents wanting to take their children out of school during term time.  This is totally unacceptable.  Children should be in school for the required 190 school days per academic year.  If you take your child out of school during term time, we will contact the Educational Social Work Service who will implement a fixed-term penalty.  This could result in each parent being fined £80 per child.  In some cases, the fine could be £2,500 per child per parent and the parents could also receive a criminal record.

Co-op Update

• On Tuesday, Mrs Hussain attended an ECT Conference at the West Yorkshire Hub based at Co-op Parkland.
• Mrs Haywood met with the SEND Governor on Wednesday.
• Mr Waddington, Mrs Cieloch and Miss Boyce attended a Teach Like a Champion Event in Manchester on Wednesday and Thursday.
• Miss Boyce and Mrs Smith accompanied three Yr. 6 children to the Spelling Bee Competition at Angel Square, Manchester.

Values Champions

Advika (Rec.); Hanna (Yr. 1); Vera (Yr. 2); Ishaq (Yr. 3); Mustafa (Yr. 5) and Deeshan (Yr. 6).

Attendance Bear winners this week are Year 3

Rec: 96.5%;  Yr. 1: 97.8%;  Yr. 2: 90.8%;  Yr. 3: 98.5%;  Yr. 4: 97.9%;  Yr. 5: 95.2% and Yr. 6: 96.2%.

Whole school so far this year:   96.6%

Lates

Rec: 4;  Yr. 1: 2;  Yr. 2: 4;  Yr. 3: 1;  Yr. 4: 3;  Yr. 5: 2 and Yr. 6: 5.