Westfield Nursery and Primary School
Smile and Succeed
Newsletter: January 2017
Mrs Karen Barley
I cannot believe I have been at Westfield for a whole year now, where I have felt very welcome and have been very
happy. I would like to say thank you for all your support, questions, ideas and friendliness and wish you all a very
Happy New Year.
Since September we have had a fantastic term, lots of trips, visits, residentials, after school clubs, performances and
fun learning for all children across school. The staff have all worked so very hard to support the children socially,
emotionally and with their learning development. We could not provide the children with such a stimulating,
engaging and interesting curriculum without the dedication and commitment of all staff, so I know you will join me
in thanking them for their efforts.
Twitter
We have been using our Twitter feed lots recently for school trips, learning and activities in classes and
for sharing news. You can follow Westfield Nursery and Primary School on Twitter using @westfieldnps.
Please keep up to date with all of our learning and events.
P.O.W! Parents of Westfield
The week before the end of term our fantastic Christmas fayre raised £750 for school funds
and was a huge success. Santa proved to be very popular in his Grotto, and the children had
worked hard on producing crafts and activities for class stalls. The funds raised by the PTA so
far this year since the summer, were able to pay for all children to attend the pantomime in
Carlisle at The Sands. We felt this was a fantastic use of the money to benefit all children and
ensure they had a memorable experience to share during the festive period. In addition Westfield Housing
supported us with funding for the buses.
Attendance
We had 48 100% attendance children who collected golden tickets on the last day of term so that they could go Ice
skating, yesterday, 5th January. This took place at Dumfries Ice Ring and all children involved had a fantastic time.
Charity Contributions:
Young Carers
This year we donated the proceeds from our Christmas performances to West Cumbria Carers. EYFS/KS1 Lights,
Camel Action and KS2 Straw and Order. Some of our children and families receive fantastic support from them,
enabling the children to have fun times and events funded for them, to support the work the children do as carers
within their families. It is really important work and we felt a very worthy charity. We were able to donate £381.65.
Autism Support Allerdale & Copeland
Our amazing choir raised a total of £434.15 whilst on tour in early December; they called at Keswick, Cockermouth
and Workington at the Hub. They sounded so amazing they had a single donation of £40! The money was split
between school and Autism Support Allerdale & Copeland, school received £200 which has enabled us to get the
smart new hoodies for the choir, the remainder was donated to Autism support. The group provide us with lots of
support and expertise, including supporting our families with Autistic children.
Uniform
Reminder about requirements for uniform. Please ensure your children have the appropriate footwear, trousers,
skirts and tops. Black school shoes or plain black trainers should be worn, but children can change into football
trainers for play/lunchtime if this helps to avoid damage to shoes. Children should ensure they are responsible for
changing shoes back before going into class. We appreciate your support with this and know you understand how
important it is that children look smart when representing the school in the community. Please see the office if you
need supplies!
Breakfast Club – Early Birds
Breakfast Club is closed for the 1 two days of term but it will be back to normal on Monday 9th January at 8am.
Children are able to come along on the morning for £1, there is no need to book.
st
New Website Launch
www.westfieldprimary.cumbria.sch.uk
Our new website has gone LIVE. We are very excited to finally show you our website which we feel reflects the
changes and developments that have taken place over the last year. Mr Tweddle has been working hard on all of the
pages and documents to ensure you have as much information as possible about what we are about at Westfield
School. Please take some time to have a look and give us feedback!
Viking Arts Project
We are very lucky to be working with a professional art group Prism Arts this term on a collaborative project based
on Vikings and their sagas. This will involve a number of key stage 2 children who will be working once a week with
Mrs Heywood and the artists. Their work will culminate in a whole school Viking celebration event near Easter. The
Year 4 children will all be able to access the themes and topics in class, to consolidate their Viking learning and
enable them to have a hands on experience of life in Viking times. We are very excited about the project and will be
tweeting to keep you up to date.
Anti-bullying Week
Next week 9th January we are having a whole school Anti-bullying themed week. Each class has a book that the core
of their work will be based upon and will give the children chances to understand their own and others feelings in a
safe and supported way. Each class will have a worry box, where children can confidentially put relevant notes and
messages to their teacher should they have any issues they don’t wish to share in class, but would like to talk to an
adult about. We hope you will support the children with any concerns that the weeks theme should bring up.
Dinner Money
Firstly, could I thank the majority of parents for paying Dinner Money on time. Unfortunately we have a
considerable amount of arrears. From Monday if your Dinner Money is not up to date you will need to send a
packed lunch with your child until all arrears are paid. We ask if money can be paid on a Monday if possible but we
understand that some people get paid later in the week, please talk to the office staff so that they know when to
expect payment.
Dates for this term
Thursday 12th January 2017
Thursdasy 19th January 2017
Music Ensemble Visit for whole school
Representative from Glaramara to speak to YR5
Parents.