End of a Busy Year!

Special Events to Mark the End of a Busy Year!
Our Open Morning and Evening this week was a lovely chance for children to share their work and achievements from the year with parents and carers. It was wonderful to see families sharing this special time together and to reflect on the progress the children have made in a wide range of curriculum areas.

Our Year 6 children have treated their relatives and the staff and children in school to a wonderful Leavers' Assembly this week. They took us on a journey through their memories of their time at school and combined acting, dancing and singing skills to showcase their wonderful enthusiasm and energy.

It was a delight to watch their confident performances and it was a real credit to themselves, staff and their families that they had so much to celebrate after all of their hard work this year and throughout their primary years.

We will miss them all as they move on to High School next week and I am sure they will be wonderful members of their new school communities. I wish them all lots of luck, happiness and success in all they do.

Thank you to Reverend Helen who spent time with Diamond class last week talking about 'Moving On' and helping to prepare the children for their next step on their journey and their special Leavers' Service next week.

Thank you to everyone who made last week's Summer Fair such a success. The event raised a fabulous £1,024 for school funds – a wonderful achievement!

All classes were treated to a special performance of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe on Tuesday morning – the children were captivated by the show and it was a real treat for everyone. Thank you to FASA for funding this special end of year treat.

Thanks also to FASA for contributing to the cost of the Year 6 Leaver's Treat on Thursday afternoon – all of the children returned with smiles and stories from their pizza and bowling treat!

There are more talents on show in school today as children from across school share some of their skills ranging from dance, piano playing and gymnastics to magic, singing and joke telling. Thank you to all of the children who contributed to this.

This week's Praise Book children are:

• Mrs Hayward's Class – Billy Fellows
• Miss Danha's Class – Jonny Fellows and Heidi Woods Mrs Richardson's Class – Ruby Felton
• Mrs Stoker's Class – Libby Grace Felton
• Mr Perry's Class – Emma Mansell
• Mrs Bird's Class – Amber Riley and Abbie Bradbury Smith Congratulations to you all!

Tidy Team -The winning classes this week are Amethyst, Sapphire, Pearl, Amber and Diamond classes – well done!
The winners of our Attendance Cup this week are Diamond and Amethyst – well done!

Well done to Carrie Ann George (Amber class), Edward Whittaker (Amethyst class), Finlay Bradbury Smith and James Peake (Amber class) who were awarded with our Lunchtime Superstar Awards on Friday. These children have impressed Mrs Hayward and all of our Mid-Day Assistants with their wonderful manners, good appetites and politeness at lunchtimes throughout this term.

Congratulations also go to Ruby Felton (Pearl class) and Tom Winter (Amber class) who have been awarded our Fair Play Superstar award today after being nominated by our MDAs for their fairness and kindness in the playground and at lunchtimes.

We have counted up the final tallies for our Team Points this term and I am pleased to announce that Oak team have managed to win overall for Summer Term. They will be enjoying their team reward on Monday afternoon next week. Please look out for a note in school bags if your child is in this team. Well done to them all!

End of Key Stage Test Results
As you will be aware, the end of Key Stage tests have been made harder this year and the way that the changes have been introduced has been very disruptive. Children were not given the normal amount of time to prepare for the tests.

Across the country, despite their hard work and talents many children have not achieved the new expected standards in these tests, indeed for Key Stage 2 the combined percentage for Reading, Writing and Maths across the country is 53% this year – much lower than previous years. This is a result of changes to the National Curriculum and a resetting of the expected standard – it in no way deflects from the progress and achievements all of our Year 2 and Year 6 children this year.

We are confident that all of the children have made great strides in their learning and are pleased that, despite the range of changes and short timescales these children have been subject to, they have achieved strong results in very challenging circumstances.

In summary the Year 6 results are:
Reading 76%
Writing 76%
Maths 81%
Achieved Expected Standard

Year 2 results:
Reading 67%
Writing 43%
Maths 67%
Achieved Expected Standard

The outcomes and progress for all children are testament to the hard work they have put into developing their English and Maths skills and the dedication and commitment of their teachers and support of their parents in ensuring they strive for every child to reach his / her full potential.

I am proud of the achievements of all of the children in school this year and congratulate our Year 2 and Year 6 children and staff for performing so well under incredibly difficult circumstances.

ABC Childcare
This week ABC have held their Pre-school Graduation. Staff were all so proud of the children and they looked so grown up in their graduation caps. ABC would like to wish all the pre-schoolers lots of luck and best wishes as they move on to 'big school'. The team have really enjoyed the time the children have spent at ABC and will miss them all very much.

ABC hope to see lots of the children over the holidays at their out of school club. They have some fantastic activities planned – please pop in or call ABC to book a place. Staff are already busy planning the after school clubs for September. If you or your children have any ideas for themes or activities please get in touch; ABC would love to hear from you.

Thank you from ABC for all your support this year – have a fabulous summer.

Leavers' Service
A reminder that our Leavers' Service will be held in Church tomorrow, Monday at 9.30am. We look forward to sharing this special service with you.

Hellos and Farewells
We say a sad farewell to Miss Danha on Tuesday as she moves on to pastures new. We wish
her much luck and happiness in the future and thank her for the enthusiasm and dedication
she has brought to our school during her time here.

We also wish Mrs Kay, Miss Jones and Mrs Brett lots of luck as they leave our school. We thank them for their hard work in EYFS and Key Stage 1 and wish them well.

We welcome Mrs Maughan and Mr Davies to our teaching team in September alongside Miss Clarke who joins us as a Teaching Assistant in the new school year. We look forward to welcoming them all to our school.

Education Outreach Worker
Our NEP Education Outreach Worker, Ian Murfitt, is available to give help, advice and support to any of our families during the summer break. Please contact him by phone on 07825 253532 or via email at ian.murfitt@malbank.cheshire.sch.uk if you have any problems, worries or just need to talk something through.

Finally
As we reach the end of another busy and successful year at Audlem St James, I would like to thank you all for your continued support of our wonderful school. Once again, children, staff and Governors have worked tremendously hard this year to make it the best it can be for all of our children.

A reminder that school reopens for children on Tuesday 6th September. I wish you and your families a very happy, healthy and (hopefully) sunny summer and look forward to working with you and your children again next year.

R Jewitt

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