Newsletter October 2018

October 2018Parkside Middle School NewsletterDear Parents,As we come to the end of an unusually long half term it’s heart-warming to share with you the continuing pro-gress that the school has continued to make since the excellent Ofsted inspection in July.Only yesterday we were visited by Headteachers and Senior Leaders from two other schools in Worcestershireas part of a school Peer Review project and all were unanimously agreed that Parkside is an incredibly highperforming school where pupils make outstanding progress and are well cared for.In addition, we have received test data from GL Assessment for all the Year groups that did not have to sitSATs tests last year. The national average attainment across all schools is always set at 100.0. You will seethat attainment for all Year groups is significantly above this.Year Group English Maths National Average 5 107.6 104.0 100.0 7 115.5 116.0 100.0 8 117.8 125.0 100.0Have an enjoyable half term break.Best wishes,Mr Mills

Wishing all of our pupils, parents and staff a wonderful half term break. We look forward to seeing everybody back on Monday 5th November. HEAD BOYS AND GIRLS Congratulations to Olly Harper, Jack Purshall, Lotte Seager and Tanya John who have been selected as our Head Boys and Girls. HOUSE ELECTION On Friday 19th October 2018 house elections took place. Pupils were able to vote for their house captain after watching podcasts recorded by all candidates. Congratulations to the following: GLOUCESTER House Captain: Sam Taylor Vice-captain LaQuisha Esparon HEREFORD House Captain: Lily-Rose Preece Vice-captain: Isabelle Underwood MALVERN House Captain: Caitlin Lynch Vice-captain: Lizzie Rose WORCESTER House Captain: Amelia Bowles Vice-captain: Emily Cook LIBRARY NEWS PTA NEWSWThee'veLibhraadryacveelerybrbautseyd and This year’s Halloween disco was a huge success raising valuable funds for the school. A hugeeWxcoirtilndgBaouotkumDanytewrmith. a thank you to the pupils who entered the pumpkin carving competition, prizes will be distributed toBnuudmdbinegr oafrtaiscttsiveitnietesrtehdisohuarlf the winners by the end of the week.'dteersmig.n a Halloween book Also, Year 5 and Year 6 will be participating in a Reindeer run next half term which will be launchedcharacter' competition, whichpOroudr uBcoeodkmsoamrkecvoemrypweteitiirodn on the 8th November.awnadswgorenadtelyrfusul pported by alldpeuspigilsnsw. iOthufrawntiansnteicrs will be PARENTS EVENINGaennntroieusn.cOedurawt tihnenebresgwinenriengoTfannezxiet tLeirlmly.6EO and Poppy Parents Evenings will take place next half term on Tuesday 13th November from 3:30pm-OGurreepnoeet5ryHcPo.mWpeetliltidoonnweatos 6:30pm and Tuesday 20th November from 4:30pm-8:30pm.wboonthboyf tywoou!very The Parents Evening Booking system will be open to book appointments for both parentstalented writers, Lailah evenings on Monday 5th November at 6pm. There will be a maximum of two appointmentsSWteepatolseoahnedldMaatbilodoakHsoadlegkin. per teacher.Cthoisnghraaltfutleartmionwshtiochyotouobkoth.Aplvaecreydbuigrinthgalnukncyhoutimtoe and PARKSIDE’S WELLBEING CHAMPIONSewveerryaoisneedwohvoersu£p7p0orfoterdnoeuwrbbooookksfa, itrhaanndk dyoonuattoedalsl econd This half term, we chose 12 pupils to become Parkside's Wellbeing Champions. They attended ahthaonsdebwoohkossfuoprpoourrtesdalues. !Next training session at Alvechurch Middle School on how to promote positive mental health andterm we will now be able to wellbeing. The role of our Champions will be to raise awareness about mental health, providebuy some new and exciting opportunities to talk with their peers and signpost peers to adults that they can talk to in school.titles for all to enjoy. Our Champions are friendly, approachable pupils and we hope that they will be a crucial element in helping us to promote positive mental health and wellbeing at Parkside Middle School. MACMILLAN COFFEE AFTERNOON - YEAR 5 On the afternoon of the 28th September we hosted a Year 5 coffee afternoon in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Year 5 pupils brought in cakes from home and then parents, carers and relatives were invited in to enjoy the lovely treats. It was a huge success and we raised over £450 which is fantastic. Thank you so much to everybody who donated.

BROMSGROVE DISTRICT PLAN REVIEW CONSULTATION SPORTS NEWSTwenty Year 8 pupils participated in the Bromsgrove District Plan Review Consultation. We have had a blisteringRepresentatives from Bromsgrove District Council came to speak to the pupils about priorities start to the new year andthey consider with regards to human and physical geography. They were then able to discuss our form has continued botha wide range of issues which were relevant to them as Bromsgrove residents, helping the on the pitch and the courts.planning team to understand what the issues are for young people in the District. Pupils will The children's hard work inreceive certificates for their involvement and the Council are going to keep us updated with their PE lessons and afterhow our pupils' contributions have influenced decisions and supported the next stage of school sports clubs haveplanning. came into fruition with great results in boys and girlsWARWICK CASTLE - YEAR 7 football games and Netball games. We have had winsYear 7 had an amazing day visiting Warwick Castle this half term. against Alvechurch, CatshillAll pupils behaved exceptionally well and enjoyed taking part in a number of activities; in and Witton Middle School toparticular, eagles flying just above their heads and entering the time travel rooms. name a few and hope toStepping down into the dark dungeons to experience what dungeon life was really like was continue our competitivealso a highlight of their day. start after the half term break. We have beenNATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM - YEAR 6 impressed with the new year 5's sporting prowess andOn Tuesday 9th October, Year 6 went to Natural History Museum in London to help with our look forward to starting theirScience lessons and Learning Journey. sporting fixtures after halfEveryone loved it, especially the earthquake simulator. It showed you what it was like to be in term.a real earthquake. A special mention must alsoThe building itself was amazing. On the outside there were lots of figures carved into the go to the year 8 sportswalls. leaders who have had aThe museum was full of facts and information. We found out that the Earth is made of 12 main busy time running PEtectonic plates which float around on molten rock! There are four different layers of the Earth: sessions for Meadows yearthe Crust, Inner core, Outer core and the Mantle. 3/4 as well as supportingIn the museum we saw lots of amazing things but on the top of the list was a massive moving staff during open evening.dinosaur! There was also an escalator going through a giant replica meteorite - it was so highup!Overall year 6 had an amazing trip to London. Thank you to all the teachers that planned thetrip. It was such a wonderful opportunity. - Written by Grace Bowater and Maisie YarringtonThe pupils were an absolute credit to the school and participated with real enthusiasm whenmeasuring earthquakes and creating volcanic eruptions. They amazed the staff at themuseum with their phenomenal knowledge about the Earthquakes and volcanoes. The pupilswere eager to visit all the various attractions around the museum and of course took greatpleasure in spending their money in the many gift shops around the building.The teachers were so proud of our pupils' behaviour and conduct throughout the day - it wasexemplary. Well done Year 6!

REMINDERS Dates for your Diary Attendance Monday 5th November—School reopens Tuesday 13th November—Parents Evening 3:30-6:30pm Please call school every day that your child is Tuesday 20th November—Parents Evening 4:30-8pm unable to attend. If parent/carers do not let us Tuesday 18th December—Christmas Concert know their child is away from school ill, each day Friday 21st December—School closes for Christmas break you will receive a text message to notify you that Monday 7th January—TE Day your child is absent. It is vital that parent/carers Tuesday 8th January—School reopens respond to update us otherwise your daughter/ Thursday 10th January—Year 8 Information Evening son's absence will be recorded as unauthorised. Thursday 17th January—Young Voices Concert Friday 15th February—School closes for half term Disabled Parking Spaces Please can we remind all visitors to the school car park that they must not park in disabled marked spaces unless a blue badge is displayed. School Lunch Price Increase School meal deals will increase to £2.30 from Monday 5th November.Drinks are no longer included in the meal deal. Prices of drinks vary from 35p-90p.