Tuesday 29 September 2015

Year 3 Trip ETA 5.15pm

The children are now on the coach, but there is quite a back log to get out of the park and round the roundabout onto the A13.

We expect them at approx 5.15pm


Year 3 Wat Tyler Park: Return Home Delayed

All of our pupils are safe and well at Wat Tyler Park. However there has been an unfortunate accident on the train track which crosses the access road. Police and ambulances have attended the scene to attend to a man who was injured at the level crossing.

It means that the road access to the park is closed and the children are unable to leave until the area is clear. We will continue to update you, but we haven't a huge amount of information to share.


We expect the children to be leaving after 4pm and they are unlikely to be back at school before 5pm.

Thank you for your understanding


Fact Hunters: Currency & arches

Jacob Owsley
Were you aware that Augustus was the founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor, ruling from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD. It wasn’t Julius Caesar.

Ty Sutton
Pieces of eight were the world's first global currency. As the coins of Spain they were used across the vast Spanish Empire, stretching from South America to the Philippines, but were also used outside the empire as well. In 1600 one coin would have been worth the equivalent of a modern £50 note.

Gavin Butler
Did you know that the Gateway Arch – in St Louis USA – took 2 years and 8 months to build. It cost $13million and is the world’s tallest arch!

Micayla Smith
Did you know that the most popular sport in Lithuania is basketball?

Brandon Lee Bundy
The Terracotta army is carved with incredible detail: every one different in gestures and facial expressions.



Star Writers:

Chiwendu Nwaokolo, Michael Rack, Molly Wheal, Jessica Simpson, Breana Coffey, Fayo Ayodola, Emma Bloy, Ronnie Mersh, Finley Short, Riley Hann, Laicey McGeoghan & Jack Eve: these children have all produced pieces of outstanding writing this week. Look out for examples of their work on the blog!







Year 3 WW2 Experience

Our Year 3 pupils - who have been studying World War 2 - benefitted from a workshop experience with soldiers from the conflict.

First they experienced a play, which told the story of Sergeant Tull's time on the front line. The children were exploring how Sergeant Tull felt being away from home and how it felt whilst  bombs were going off.   Throughout the play the actors explained the background of WW2 as well as the key details of the conflict.

Afterwards the children go to handle artefacts that soldiers would have used during the war and objects they would have taken with them to remind them of home (pictures of famous movie stars, books, biscuits).

"My favourite part was being able to handle some of the weapons from the war. We looked at the different types of grenade and guns that were used on either side"
Fabian Cacaj

Finally the children took on roles as evacuees and soldiers who were under attack on the front line.

"We had to pretend that we were preparing our uniform, checking our weapons, going over the top, avoiding on coming fire, a grenade being thrown and going off, gas bomb being thrown and searching for surviving comrades after the attack." 
Ramone Holme Slater

The reenactment finished with the children saluting the flag.

"It made me realise how scared the evacuees must have been as they were sent away from their homes. We were on a train when a bomb went off. When we heard the siren we were scrabbling to put our gas masks on... I felt really scared!"
Olivia Wheal





Monday 28 September 2015

No hot school lunches on Tuesday 29th September

We are hosting over 40 schools on Tuesday 29th September so that we can work on improving and developing the way in which we assess your children’s progress. It means that the kitchen will only be able to serve packed lunches for pupils on this day.

Your child has bought home a letter, which needed to be returned by Thursday 24th Sept indicating if they would like a packed lunch and their choices.

If you are in KS2 (Year 3-4) then the charge for the packed lunch is £2.15.

If you are in KS1/EYFS then the lunch is free as usual. Normal service will resume on Wednesday 30th September.



Tracker Awards:

Well done to Kieran Dash who has picked up his Golden Bookmark. Deborah Mushonga has placed the final merits on her Star Tracker and now moves onto the Prestige Level!




Diary Dates

Monday sees the Freshwater Theatre coming in to entertain the Y2 children with the events of the Great Fire of London. We will also be welcoming Councillor Gillan Ford who is keen to come and meet the children. In the afternoon the Mulberry Spinebreakers are off to Hilldene library.

Tuesday 29th is the day when all school dinners will be packed lunches as the hall is being used for an assessment day. Year 3 are off to Wat Tyler Park for their team building day and we have the Leadership & Management Committee meeting.

Palm have their Sharing Assembly on Wednesday morning and PC Wayne is visiting Year 1.

On Thursday 1st we have our welcome morning for our new parents and the School Nurse is in for the Nursery Stay & Play session. Rev Rich Shorter is also coming to lead an assembly with the KS2 pupils and Year 6 have their Health & Hygiene talk with our school nurse Cathy.

If you are interested, there is a Family Fun day at the new Ingrebourne Visitor Centre, which has just been built in the Hornchurch Aerodrome play park – face painting, and all manner of attractions are available as they open the new centre and coffee shop (Saturday 3rd October)


Year 6 Celebration Evening

To celebrate the end of our Year 6 pupils' time at Broadford we held our first 'Celebration Evening'. This meant that we were able to invite in staff, family and friends to share an evening looking back at the children's achievements and thinking about the next step forward in their lives.

It was wonderful to hear our pupils talking of their pride in the achievements they have had and the progress made while they have been at Broadford. This cohort of pupils have achieved some of best exam results we have had, many have coped with very difficult personal circumstances and all have participated in a wide range of activities during, before and after the school day.

We certainly have many fond memories of them. At the end of the evening we planted two 'legacy' trees so that they won't be forgotten. We hope that this will become a tradition, with outgoing pupils planting a tree in the grounds to leave behind for other cohorts to enjoy.

Perhaps best of all was to hear so many of our pupils now talking about the careers that they want to go onto as a result of the experiences they have had at Broadford!

I have loved the science lessons, especially the new Empiribox ones we have had this year. I love finding out how things work - especially plants and animals. The sense of curiosity I have had encouraged by my teachers - and the chance to work at Bancrofts for the Shine Project - has helped me realise I would like to be a marine biologist!
Spencer

In Year 6 my favourite part was the trip to the Royal Courts of Justice. I loved the chance to make an argument, the challenge to find the right evidence and the thrill of presenting my case to the jury. I would love to use the skills I have learnt to go on and become a judge.
Kulsoom

Mr Drakes always pushed us to develop our mental maths skills. I almost beat him in the Rock Stars... but not quite. It has made me think about a career as an accountant or actuary. Recently we had a talk from an actuary at Price Waterhouse Coopers. I think I would enjoy that profession.
Kailen

Well done to all our Year 6 pupils... good luck in making that dent in the universe!




We’re in the Paper: Star of the Week and Volleyball

Congratulations to Joshua Ore who has been selected as Star of the Week. He is a great fact hunter and a very well respected member of his class. Our volleyball enthusiasts have also had their trip to the Copperbox published this week. Make sure you get your copy.





E for Excellence Winners:

These wonderful children have demonstrated excellence this week. 

John Olatunji – Mulberry

Tommy Cressey – Pine 

Olivia Crane – Cedar 

Paige McGeoghan – Cherry 

Skye Griffiths – Ash 

Jack Peppitt – Hazel 

Ellis Drummond – Birch 

Kimberley Stewart – Willow 

Ronnie Marshall – Elm 

Sara Lopes – Maple 

Melisa Krasniqi – Acer 

Katherine Barrett – Palm 

Caitlin Bowden – Sequoia 












Certificate of Presentation:

Lillie Wicks, Oliwia Bartnik, Alin Botonog, Ethan Gibbs, Thelma Amankwah, Natalie Towner, Sonia Lewis, Maliat Bakreen, Nikola Urban & Javy Needro : all of these pupils have shown that they are making a sustained effort to improve and develop their presentation. By carefully forming their numbers and ensuring their handwriting is neat and legible they are producing much higher quality pieces of work.





Learning Power Awards:

These are the key skills that our children will need to learn effectively in class and be successful later in life. Tony Marshall, Joshua Kaylor, Hayden Northwood, Adam Abubakr, Sophie Adams, Smilte Mikalciute, Evan Andrews, Lebohang Sibanda & Bonnie Martin have demonstrated effective reciprocity this week – able to listen carefully, work collaboratively and take turns.

Adam Abubakr
Adam has been a great learning partner for Arya this week. Arya has a broken wrist and Adam has been very helpful in all of their learning activities.

Mitchell West, Yasmin Satti & Sacha Raif have shown that they can manage distractions, notice patterns and become absorbed in their tasks – well done for your Resilience certificate.

Elizabeth Ositelu, Oliver Hatwell & Eriya Byamugisha have managed to show that they can plan and revise their ideas to earn their Reflectiveness certificate.

Lucy Stevens & Tyrell Bertin have been making links between ideas and showing imagination to get their resourcefulness certificate.





Sunday 27 September 2015

Ingrebourne Country Park Opening



Star of the Week: Joshua Ore

Congratulations to Joshua who has been chosen as the Star of the Week.




Teach First Career Day

Our Y56 pupils were delighted to be offered the opportunity to experience a Careers Day with our partner Teach First. Like us they believe it is their responsibility to inspire our pupil to use education as a key to unlock career and employment opportunities. 

The session - held at the Teach First offices in London - had three key objectives:
1. To understand the different roles that exist within companies
2. To reflect on their interests, motivations and skills and how these can help guide a career choice
3. To realise the education pathway required to achieve a professional career

Pupils were split into groups of five before they got to meet their volunteer hosts: money brokers, mathematicians, physicists, marketing executives and recruitment specialists. They were able to ask them about their roles, what they typically did, the parts of their job they enjoy and how they qualified for their career.

'We met a lady called Ionna. She was a mathematician who had worked in the city as a broker in a bank. Ionna could speak more than one language and is a tennis coach! She told me how maths had helped her achieve so much.'
Emma Bloy - Year 5

Afterwards the pupils used Apple as a case study to examine the different roles within a company, the qualifications and the average salaries of each role.

'Mr Drakes had told us that the average salary was £25,000. The jobs we looked at earned much more than that, but you have to study and pass your exams. Now I can see why A Levels and a degree can help me.'
Isaac Stevens - Year 6

It was an inspirational day, which we hope will give our pupils even more motivation to do their very best. A huge thank you to Teach First for the opportunity!

I loved the opportunity to learn about jobs I hadn't heard of before.
Samson

It has made me think about the kind of career I would like to try in the future 
Thelma

I didn't realise how much your qualifications link to what you are likely to earn
Kye

The Venn diagram activity made me think about my skills and how I could turn them into a career
Sophie 

It was great to meet the volunteers and hear about what they did for a job. Our table had a volunteer who was a corporate lawyer.
Simona




Attendance:

KS1& EYFS: Pine 99.03%
KS2: Birch 98.6%
Overall: 95.56%

The rules on attendance have been changed this year. The whole school target is now 96% and a pupil is deemed to be persistently absent if their attendance is below 90% (this bar has been raised over the last few years from 80% to 85% and now to 90%). It is essential that your child is here every day. Missing just 5% each year means that you miss an entire term during your Primary education. To stay at 96% you can’t miss more than 7 days of school across the whole year.



Learning Challenge Awards:

We are delighted to see that after just a few weeks we are already receiving elements of the Learning Challenge from pupils. Deborah Oluokun, Maisie Moss, & Sofia Raif: they have all been extending their learning at home… well done!




Friday 25 September 2015

MacMillan Coffee Morning - £117.04 raised!

Thank you to all the parents, friends and relatives who came to support the Year 6 MacMillan Coffee morning. We are delighted to announce that it raised £117.04 towards this very good cause!

It was so good to see so many members of our school community enjoying a coffee and a piece of cake together. The morning also gave our pupils a chance to meaningfully apply their maths skills and develop their communication and self confidence.

Reciprocity
We had to work in a team to make the cakes. First we were estimating the number of visitors and the portions we would need. Then our team had to decide on the roles: bakers, sellers, advertisers. On the day we had to communicate well with each other: cakes were running out, we needed to get change, helping people in the queue! It was really busy.
Drew Burkett

Maths
Mr Drakes tells us all the time that we need to be quick with our mental recall. Working out the change and handling the money was tough with so many guests. If you didn't calculate quickly and accurately the queue quickly began to grow.
Mason Lepley










Census Day: Thursday 1st October

On Thursday there is a national census of pupils who have school dinners in KS1 and EYFS. These are the pupils who are all entitled to a free meal as part of the Universal Offer. For every child served that day our budget for school meals is increased by £400 (the approx. cost per year per child for the offer).

On Thursday every child in KS1 and EYFS will be served a school dinner. However if they normally bring in a packed lunch, they can still have that with them in case – after being served – they decide they would rather eat their sandwiches.

If only 105 pupils took a free lunch, they base our funding for the rest of the year on 105. If after that the numbers go up then we have to make up the shortfall from money that would normally be used to buy resources for your children… so we are very keen to get the highest level of participation possible.



New Parents Assembly: October 1st @ 9am

We would be delighted to welcome all of our new parents to the school on October 1st at 9am. This would be a chance for you to meet me, our Chair of Governors, Rev Rich Shorter from the local Church and our Friends of Broadford Chair Mr Borrell. We can give you a tour of the school and talk to you about school systems, awards and opportunities.



Parking Issues & Parent Behaviour:

I am sure you will be appalled to hear that we have had a member of our parent community verbally attacking the parking enforcement officer who patrols the crossing and then spitting on her car. We need assistance from parking control to enfore the white zig zag lines by the pelican crossing. Parking on those lines reduces visibility for motorists as they approach the crossing and makes it difficult for pedestrians to see if it is safe to cross. There are also dangers as the cars then pull away, often coming very close to a nasty accident.

We do not expect that the enforcement officers – who are effectively here to protect the children – should be abused in this manner, especially when it is being done by one of our own parents. If you see any behaviour that does not fit with our value of showing kindness and politeness to others, please come into the office to report it, or see me on the gate. I invite the parking enforcement officers to come as I am concerned about the safety of our children. If parents didn’t park illegally and dangerously there wouldn’t be any need for them to attend our site so regularly. In case any parents are still not sure, I have published the extract from the The Highway Code below:

Rule 191
You MUST NOT park on a crossing or in the area covered by the zig-zag lines. You MUST NOT overtake the moving vehicle nearest the crossing or the vehicle nearest the crossing which has stopped to give way to pedestrians.
Laws ZPPPCRGD regs 18, 20 & 24, RTRA sect 25(5) & TSRGD regs 10, 27 & 28




Thursday 24 September 2015

Charlie's Learning Challenge

Congratulations to Charlie for the effort he has made with the Learning Challenge. He collected a great collage of images of London landmarks... and was able to name all of them!


Wednesday 23 September 2015

Mathematical Art

Following their trip to the Southend Aquarium, our pupils were inspired to use their mathematical knowledge to create some stunning artwork.










Tracker Awards:

Well done to Tommy Watson, Leah Joyce, Naleli Sibanda, Leah Joyce, James Wise, Maisie Moss & Skye Griffiths who have all finished their Bronze trackers. Jaydon Holloway and Tommy have picked up their Silver pencil this week. Holly Chilvers, Lewis Godfrey & Isaac Wright have all managed to collect enough merits to finish their Platinum trackers.





Tuesday 22 September 2015

Teach First Trip: We are now at Stratford

We've now reached Stratford and are on the 15.57 train back to Harold Wood.

We should be back at school by 16.45


Teach First - Egg Drop Challenge

In their final challenge the children had to work as a team to design a protective carrier for an egg.

Using their resourcefulness and reciprocity muscles the children had to maximise the materials on offer: cardboard, bubble wrap, tape and brown paper. 

The test was to drop the egg from a height of 6 feet!






Teach First Day: ETA 5pm

The careers day with Teach First is going really well. Our pupils have enjoyed thinking about how they can use their skills and interests to help them plot a career path.

We expect to be back at approx 5pm as we don't want to rush them out of the session. 


Fishy Artwork

On their visit to the Southend Aquarium the children were inspired by the Koi Carp and wanted to paint their own fishy designs!

"I couldn't believe how colourful the fish were. Their scales really shimmered in the light."
Sienna Nickson












Certificate of Presentation:

Oliwier Bartnik, Courtney Simpson, Haliya Gbadamosi, Isabelle Munford, Jack Eve, Emily Johnson, Tommy Watson, Jack Barnett, Olivia Wheal, Emily Claydon & Nikola Urban: all of these pupils have shown that they are making a sustained effort to improve and develop their presentation. By carefully forming their numbers and ensuring their handwriting is neat and legible they are producing much higher quality pieces of work.





Monday 21 September 2015

Star Writers:

Georgia Brooks, James Olatunji, Grace Gore, Adam Murray, Suada Cacaj, Summer Rose Trew, Ijeoma Ezeogu, Teni Adu, Sofia Raif, Charlotte Walsh, Georgia Brooks, Charly Wallace & Emily Claydon: these children have all produced pieces of outstanding writing this week. Look out for examples of their work on the blog!





Attendance:

KS1& EYFS: Cherry 99.7%
KS2: Sequoia 99%
Overall: 96.42%

We continued our great start back to the term with a high average attendance score! Congratulations to Cherry and Sequoia who have finished on top this time.



Under The Sea Artwork

With the sketches and photos taken at the aquarium, the group were able to look at the fish in more detail at school. From these images they were able to draw detailed pictures of their favourite fish. To finish them off the children used some oil pastels to decorate them.

"We used the PVA glue to help give our puffer fish a thick glossy finish. By applying it with a toothbrush we were able to give it a spikey texture."
Jackie Ramalingam