To all our Parents at Breaside.
29th April 2008
Dear Parents,
The start of the term has been a good one and the highlight so far has been listening to the Year 5 giving their accounts of the trip to Dorset. For a number of those children, it was the first time away from home and I have been delighted to hear how well behaved they were. Our thanks go to Mr Arnold, Mrs Gerrard, Mr Armstead and Mrs Oliver-Brown for running the trip and supervising the children throughout the week. Hard but enjoyable work.
Thank you for supporting our celebration of St George’s Day by sending in your children in red and white colours. We have much to celebrate in England and we should choose every opportunity to do so. It is interesting to note that William Shakespeare was born and died on this day… and on that note, a very happy birthday to Mr Marriner in the school office who was born on the same day, and at the time of writing this newsletter, he is still very much alive!
Thank you to everyone who supported the Friends of Breaside’s Spring Ball at Brand’s Hatch. It was a super evening and wonderful to see so many people there. Our thanks go to Sarah Macgregor and her team for organising such a wonderful event.
Thank you to Mrs Stone for organising our “Sports for Schools” Day. We were visited by the Great Britain gymnast, Danny Lawrence, who gave a stunning display of his tumbling talents in the Hall, much to the delight of the children especially when he tried to give the Headmaster a nervous breakdown. We wish Danny every success in the Beijing Olympics.
The Reception class had an exciting trip to Godstone Park last week and I am pleased to say that the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves as well as being exceptionally well behaved.
At the time of writing, almost all of our 32 Year 6 pupils will be aware of which school they are going to join in September. In the Kent County Council tests, 14 children took the tests and 7 were selected for a grammar school place; in the Bexley tests, 18 children sat the tests and 8 were selected for a grammar school place. Two of our boys were selected for places at St Olave’s. In my previous letter I listed all the Independent Schools which had offered places to our pupils including scholarships to Whitgift, Eltham College and Trinity. All the pupils who applied for a place at Colfe’s and Bromley High were offered places. I will announce all the results at the Prize Giving on 2nd July.
During the course of the school year, we test our children in a number of ways. At the end of Year 2, we use the Key Stage 1 SATs. In Years 3, 4 and 5 we give our children age appropriate SATs tests and at the end of Year 6, the pupils take the Key Stage 2 SATs. As well as these tests, we also test our pupils from Year 1 with the standardised NFER tests in Maths, English, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning tests. Alongside our own teacher assessments, we do build up quite an accurate profile of your child’s ability and potential and we are able to track their progress individually. The NFER tests offer us an insight into how your child could perform in the 11+ entrance examinations. This year, for the Bexley tests, a child was required to score an average of 109 on each of the four papers to be selected and for the Kent tests, a score of 115 on each of the three papers was required, but these criteria do change on a yearly basis. We will always do the very best for each child in our school. We will never be able to guarantee selection in the grammar school tests, but we will do our best to realise and achieve each child’s potential. I know that our teaching staff do a very good job at Breaside, and considering that we are a non-selective school, our children attain high levels of achievement and I am often told by Heads of the local secondary schools how much they do want Breaside children.
Thank you to all the Year 5 parents who came to our information evening last Monday. I was disappointed not to see more parents there but I hope that those parents who did attend found the meeting useful. With the Bexley tests being so early in the new school year in September, we will be providing two days of booster work on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd September for our Year 5 children going into Year 6. Further details will be sent out nearer to the end of this term, but these days will concentrate on Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning work.
Please find enclose a revised copy of our school rules. I would be grateful if you would discuss these rules with your child and continue to support our discipline within the school. I would also like to remind parents that if your child is taking too long to finish their homework, a note to the teacher concerned is very welcome. In the Junior School, there is a time limit set on each subject and it is important that the child may stop after that time, as long as this is supported by a note from you. Naturally, any homework not completed or forgotten without an accompanying note will have to be completed at break time the next day.
We are in the process of revising our lunch menus with the help of our school council. The new menus will be sent home before the half-term break.
Looking ahead, please remember that there will be no school on Monday 5th May, there will be an Open Morning in school on Thursday 8th May and then the whole school photograph will be taken on the morning of Friday 9th May. Summer uniform on that day and thereafter please.
Yours sincerely,
Nigel D.Kynaston
If your child is happy at Breaside, tell someone! If your child is not happy, tell me! |
