Meanwood CE Primary School

Newsletter 13
Friday 9th December 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

To say this week has been really busy is an understatement! There have been
performances, Christingle, trips, rehearsals galore, a Santa dash and out of
school activities.
The children have been excellent and embraced every challenge. Thank you to
all the staff for their dedication at this time of year and for ensuring all of our
curriculum enrichment activities have run smoothly.
We have one week to go. Keep the faith. We will make it to the finish line.

Christingle and KS1 Performance

Year 1 and Year 2 put on a wonderful performance of our Christmas play, "The Grumpy Innkeeper" at
Church last night. We were very impressed with the hard work every single child put in to their singing,
dancing and their speaking parts. We are so very proud of you all! Thank you to all the staff involved and a
special mention must be given to the kind parents who made the beautiful angel wings too!

Dates for the diary

Church Service (Holy Trinity): 12th December 9.30-10.30. All parents/carers are welcome!
Den Building: 13th December (warm, outdoor clothes and wellies)
PTA Christmas Fair: Saturday 10th December. Choir are singing at midday in the hall.
 CARE Champions
We’ve had another hugely successful week in school as we continue to promote our CARE values. Here
are this week’s CARE Champions:
Reception: Amelia and Freya
Year 1: Eloise, Harry, Joshua and Callie

Year 2: Hosea and Alethea

Year 3: Mary D and Mary T
Year 4: Annabelle and Luke
Year 5: Ava and Lin-Ah
Year 6: Adrian and Adhya

Final Christmas Performances – Date!

Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 will take part in a Christmas Production. There will be two performances on Monday
12th December. The afternoon performance will begin at 2pm and the evening performance will begin at
6pm.

There is a a high number of places booked for the evening performance and for many parents there will
be standing room only or restricted viewing.

If you have booked places for both performances please consider only attending the afternoon
performance. We completely understand if this is not possible but we want to ensure that everyone
enjoys the experience.
 Next week in a Nutshell
We thought it would be handy for parents to have a summary of all the things we have planned in
school for the following week. Anything in green is an event/activity open to parents . All other
events/ activities are happening within school

Week beginning 12th December

Monday (School uniform with christmas headgear)

• Church Service at Holy Trinity Church: 9:30am -10:30am.
• KS2 afternoon performance in the hall: 2:00pm- 3:00pm.(Please arrive through the front
reception door). Refreshments avaliable for a donation. Please see costume letters e-mailed
in the week for Years 3 and 4. Years 5 and 6 should wear school uniform with christmas
accessorise for this performance.
• KS2 evening performance in the hall: 6:00pm-7:00pm. (Please arrive through the front
reception door). Refreshments avaliable for a donation. Year’s 5 and 6 to wear party clothes
and christmas accessories.
Tuesday (Warm outdoor clothes)
• Grotto building: whole school. Please come dressed in appropriate outdoor clothing to keep
the children warm.
Wednesday (School uniform)
• Tickled Pink pantomime for Reception and KS1 (am). This will take place in the school hall.
Thursday (School uniform)
• A quiet day
Friday (Party clothes)
• Toy and party day in school: your child can bring a toy into school and dress in their party
clothes. Please be mindful of what toy your child brings in. Within a busy classroom
environment there is the potential for accidents to happen. No phones, cameras or other
internet enabled devices are allowed.
• Monitoring results go out (via email- if you require a paper copy please ask at the office).

Prayer for the week Hall Lettings

Dear Lord,
As the three kings followed a star to
glorify the birth of our saviour may we
see the light of the lord shining on us
from above. May it guide us to a happy
and contented place where love
conquers all.
Amen.
Struggling for a venue for a party or a function?
Why not hire the school hall?
Evenings and weekend bookings can be made for through Leeds
City Council on 0113 3787998 or educ.lettings@leeds.gov.uk
The price is £27 per hour.
 Useful Contact Details
For all school enquiries: admin@meanwood.leeds.sch.uk

For extended services information and enquiries (breakfast club and after school club):
extended.services@meanwood.leeds.sch.uk

For school hall bookings: educ.lettings@leeds.gov.uk

For PE uniform: www.hardgear.co.uk/meanwood

Twitter
Remember to follow us on Twitter. We try to tweet all the exciting things we do in school. Our twitter
handle is @MeanwoodCe.

Attendance Term Dates and Training Days

Reception: 92% Autumn 1: Tuesday 6th September – Thursday 20th
October
Year 1: 89.7%
Autumn 2: Monday 31st October – Friday 16th
Year 2: 94.2 % December
Year 3: 97.3% Spring 1: Tuesday 3rd January – Friday 10th February
Year 4: 92.7% Spring 2: Monday 20th February – Friday 31st March
Year 5: 88% Summer 1: Monday 17th April – Friday 26th May
Year 6: 94.2% Summer 2: Monday 5th June – Thursday 20th July
School Attendance: 92.6% Training Days
Well done Year 3 you are this week’s Friday 21st October, Friday 21st July, Monday 24th
attendance champions! July and Tuesday 25th July.

Final Week After-school Clubs

There are no after school clubs in the final week of this half term.
 Illness
The last two weeks have been, to put it mildly, very difficult. Illness has ripped through the school leaving
people very poorly. We have had the full range: from tummy bugs to the flu/cold like virus which seems
to linger forever.
Thank you for being resilient in your approach. Although our attendance has taken a hit (which is
completely understandable) overall, we have battled through well. Talking to other colleagues in schools
across Leeds the picture is the same if not worse. One school has resorted back to bubbles.
We are promoting good hygiene in school and trying to ensure that the children remain healthy.

We have attached two information sheets on Scarlet Fever and Strep A. These will hopefully give you
some guidance if you have any concerns over your child’s health.

There is also a standard letter from the DfE which includes advice and guidance around Strep A and
Scarlett Fever.

Communication and Digital Forms

Apologies if you may feel a bit bombarded with all the different bits of communication you may be
receiving at the minute. We are trying to a move to a fully electronic way of working regarding permission
forms etc and still finding that there are ‘snagging’ points.
We will get there! Changing methods of communication to try and make them slicker and more useful is
one of our priorities. We don’t always get it right and when we don’t we appreciate feedback from
parents that is constructive and well meaning.
WhatsApp groups are a very useful way for parents to share ideas and help out others. However, if you
ever have an issue that you think needs addressing or clarifying please come and talk to us. We are in the
playground every morning and every night after school. We will always try to listen, explain and find
solutions.
 PTA
Christmas Fair
It's tomorrow!
100 jolly jars have been checked and organised

150 bottles have been tagged

200 teddies have been washed and named
400 chocolate bars have been labelled
Evie (Y4) has been practising 3 hairstyles
15 elves will be ready to welcome you to the Grotto

* all numbers are complete estimates!

Winter Term Events Round Up

We've had a great term with lots of successful fundraising, thank you everyone who has been involved
and/or donated. We will be looking at ways to invest the money back into school in the new year so if you
have any ideas please come along to the meetings.

☕ Welcome coffee

🔮 Disco!

💡 Rock and Roll Bingo part 1

♣️ 50 Club

🎂Bun Sale(s)!

🎄 Christmas Lights switch on

🖊 Smiggle Raffle

💡Rock and Roll Bingo part 2

Lots of festive wishes from the PTA x

 Diversity Day
The staff have been speaking and realised what a diverse and brilliantly talented community we have in
school. Without even thinking we could name twenty different countries where our children and families
originate from. We want to celebrate this so we have decided to have a Diversity Day on 21 st January
2023.
Currently we have a vague vision of what this looks like but would like to involve the parents and children
as much as possible to give us ideas and guide our thinking.
On the day itself we want all children to come in dressed in something that represents them. This could be
a symbol of their heritage or anything that shows their uniqueness.
Additionally, we would love members of the school community to come into school and share with the
children stories, cooking and facts about different cultures and traditions.
We want to everybody in school to have a full appreciation of the wide heritage and diversity that makes
our school special.
As mentioned earlier, we are welcoming input and guidance from the community on this as we want it to
be whole community celebration where everyone is invited.

If you have any ideas or even better could offer to do something in school on that day we would love to
hear from you.

Please contact the school through the admin email or give us a ring. One of the SLT team will be happy to
speak with you.

Parking and Travel to School

As yet there is no further update on the closure of Green Road during busy school times. I will follow this
up with the council in the new year.
Again, just a polite reminder to be courteous when parking and driving around school. Please do not park
in the entrance to the park or to Hustlers Row: even if you are just dropping off. It causes congestion and
blocks access for emergency vehicles.
 Governor of the week
This will be a new regular slot in our newsletter. Each week we will feature one of our governors so the
school community can become more familiar with their role in school and who they are as a person. This
week’s governor is:
What are your roles as a governor?
I am the newly appointed (since September) chair of governors. I also chair the resources committee
which meets to looks at school finances, staffing and issues like health and safety. I attend the
teaching and learning committee and am on the RE committee. All the governors have specific areas of
interest through which they link into school. I am the link Governor for Geography (which I have a
degree in) and also the well-being link Governor. The well-being of the staff and pupils in school is a
priority for me.
How long have you been a governor?
I became an associate member of the governing body in 2018 shortly after the birth of my second son
(who is now in reception). I became a foundation Governor shortly afterwards and have never looked
back!
What are the best parts about being a governor?
I love learning more about our wonderful school and hopefully making a positive difference to the lives
of the staff and pupils in the school. I enjoy working with the school leadership team and my fellow
governors who all have their own areas of specialism and bring something unique to our group. I find it
really rewarding to develop new skills and also using my professional skills to help the school. The best
thing of all though is spending time in school with the children and at this time of year getting to join in
with the wonderful festive events.
Why did you become a governor at Meanwood CE Primary School?
Prior to having my eldest son I was a governor at another school in Leeds which I enjoyed and when an
opportunity came up at Meanwood a few years later I applied. I work in the public sector and I
passionately believe about giving something back where you can. Life is very busy but I’d not have it
any other way.
What book are you reading at the minute?
I love reading but I don’t have as much time as I’d like to do so. I am currently (slowly!) reading a
biography about Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. Before that I was reading Alexander
McCall Smith’s latest detective agency book.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
There’s not much spare time with young sons and their various activities but I love going to the theatre
(especially musicals and ballet), I dance (tap is my favourite), I love to plan holidays and travel (most
recently to Hamburg), I sew and I like to read. Most of all I enjoy spending time with friends and family
and I am looking forward to our Christmas break to be able to enjoy some time out with them.
I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a peaceful new year.
 Phoenix Dance Winter Break

Christmas Trees at the Myrtle Tavern

 Church Service
There will be a Church service at Holy Trinity Church on Monday 12th December 9:30am-10:30am. The
service will be a celebration of the children’s achievements. It will also be a time to reflect and consider as
we approach a very important date in the Church’s calendar.

Parents are welcome to come along but please be aware we have limited space in Church. The children and
the teachers take up most of the pews therefore the only space will be at the seats at the back of the
Church.

Monitoring Results
The format for the termly monitoring results is slightly different. You will receive the monitoring results for
your child on Friday 16th December via e-mail.
There will also be an explanation sheet to accompany the results so you can have a better understanding of
what they mean.
The monitoring results are aimed to give you an accurate picture of the current levels your child is working
at. The judgements for each subject are created through teacher assessment, low-stake quizzes/tests and
more formal end of term tests.

Reading Books supplied by the PTA

We are very lucky to have a such a hardworking and dedicated PTA. They supply the school with a vital
income stream that is used to enrich the lives of the children.
Recently the PTA purchased new books for every year group. The children are very excited about the new
books and are looking forward to reading them.
 Year 6 Performance Showcase
On Thursday morning, the whole school enjoyed the music showcase special assembly to celebrate all the
musical talent that we have in Year 6. It takes courage and bravery to stand up in front of the whole school,
especially when you are performing by yourself and we were very proud of all the children who took part.
We had a rap, poetry recitals, a piano piece played beautifully, ‘Silent Night’ played on the Ukulele and a
wonderful piece reflecting on Covid times, written by a pupil accompanied by chords played on the
electronic keyboard. We had a variety of acts and are looking forward to seeing all the other hidden talents
other children in school have, hopefully boosting confidence further along the way.
 KS1 World Cup Competition
On Thursday, we took nine children from Years 1 and 2 to participate in the KS1 World Cup Competition held
at YMCA. The children did not stop for the duration of the competition. They loved tackling and scoring goals.
This was a fun competition and all children received a certificate in recognition for their participation.

Year 6 Pop-up Museum

Year 6 put up their pop-up museum on Tuesday this week to showcase their learning and knowledge on
World War II from this half term's history topic. It was incredible to see how much the children have learnt
and how much they enjoyed sharing facts with our visitors! Halfway through, an air raid siren sounded and
the children put on a dramatic display of how different lives were affected during the war. This was finished
off with a good old Vera Lynn sing-song!
Have a lovely weekend. We will hopefully see you at the Christmas fair tomorrow. KS2 choir please meet in
the hall at midday if you are able to attend.
Mr Chapman, Mrs Parker and Mr Smith

SLT team