Friday 25^th June

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: 4C Sabah, Anoosha 5F Hafisa, Tasbiha 5N Everyone! 6K Taiyeb, Zenab 6C Mohammed, Rashida 3B Jackia, Iqra 6P Omar, Faraaz 4B Hassan, Mariam 5K Hiba, Waheed, Zain 1H Noor, Saira, Zainab, Isha 1S Mohima, Umar 2M Farhan, Hamida 3W Tayyabah, Jamel 3S Mujtaba, Asim, Zain, Hassan 1A Sophia, Saadia Keep up the good work!

House Points

1^st        Earth   199

2^nd       Air       196    

3^rd        Water  195    

4^th        Fire     178                

Well Done

To the Classes of the Week:

1H – Little Birchy

5N – Big Birchy

Every Child Counts

Year 2 children taking part in our Numbers Count programme have made amazing progress this year. Miss Rees, their teacher, has completed her training and is now officially a Numbers Count teacher. Well done to all of you!

Attendance

Last week was the best week ever for attendance at 96.9% – well done everyone!

Dates

Monday 28^th June – School Inspection

Network Choir at Barlow Hall am

Y6 Ignition Project

Tuesday 29^th June – School Inspection

Reception Trip to Blackpool Zoo

Governors Teaching and Learning Committee 5 pm

Wednesday 30^th June – Nursery Trip to Talacre Beach

Thursday 1^st July – Y6 Big Sing at the Bridgewater Hall

Y2 trip to Platt fields Park

Friday 2^nd July – Y6 trip to Alton Towers

Network Choir at Cultural Links Exhibition

3S attend MMU Book Festival

Inspection

The school will be inspected by a team from Ofsted on Monday 28^th June and Tuesday 29^th June. I hope everyone will take the opportunity to feedback to the inspectors through questionnaires. It is our chance to show people outside the school what a fantastic place Birchfields really is.

Friday 11^th June 2010

Good Work

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: 2M Saffa, Ayaan 1S Aisha, Ishmail 2S Azman, Hasnain 1A Sophia, Sana, Sania, Yhaqub 2P Nabeel, Ramesha 5F Sadiyah, Mina 3S Joshim, Ansah 3B Imam, Salmaan, Aqsa, Ahmed, Taniq 6K Aisha, Roda 6P Hafiza, Jhoti, Kainatt 5N Sumayyah, Aiyshah 5K Daood, Laiba 6C Yamin, Shahryar 4D Waseef, Sumayyah 4C Humzah, Maryan 4B Hasnain, Shanjeda Keep up the good work!

House Points

1^st         Earth    191

2^nd        Water   189      

3^rd        Air       186      

4^th        Fire      172                  

Well Done 

To the Classes of the Week:

1A – Little Birchy

3B – Big Birchy

To the classes with the Healthiest Lunchboxes:

3W and 3B

Dates

Monday 14^th June – Network Choir at Barlow Hall am

Tuesday 15^th June – Class Photographs

Cricket Tournament at Parrs Wood 3.45pm – 6.00pm

Wednesday 16^th June – 3S Publishing Group at MMU

Monday 21^st June – Network Choir at Barlow Hall am

Nursery Closed All Day

Thursday 24^th June – 3S at Heaton Park

Monday 28^th June – Network Choir at Barlow Hall am

Y6 Ignition Project

Tuesday 29^th June – Governors Teaching and Learning Committee 5 pm

Wednesday 30^th June – Nursery Trip to Talacre Beach

Thursday 1^st July – Y6 Big Sing at the Bridgewater Hall

Cricket vs. Arden Primary School – all welcome to support our team!

Friday 2^nd July – Y6 to Alton Towers

Network Choir at Town Hall and 3S at MMU

Manchester Fayre

World Cup School Dinners from Manchester Fayre

To help pupils celebrate the 2010 World Cup, school meals provider 

Manchester Fayre is serving up special themed menus and is running a competition to test pupils' knowledge of football. The dining room will be decorated with flags and bunting and children will be able to enjoy a range of dishes including; Heskey's Hoki in Tomato Sauce, Peter Crouch's Pita Pocket  and Lampard's Marmalade Pudding with Custard. To enter into the competition, pupils need to visit www.myschoollunch.co.uk/manchester. The first 300 correct and complete entries will win a mini 'England' branded football and there's a Nintendo Wii complete with 'Sports Resort' for the school that sends in the most correct and complete entries. For more information about school meals, or to find out what's on the menu today, visit www.myschoollunch.co.uk/manchester

On Thursday 20^th May, the children in Key Stage Two had an assembly on E safety. There are lots of dangers that children should be aware of when using the internet which were discussed during the assembly. We were shown a video about a ten year old girl who was a member of some social networking sites. The girl in the video, Becky, had not realised how the information that she had posted online was available to everyone using the site. Becky had also accepted lots of friend requests online from people she did not know personally. This meant that Becky was chatting to people online who could have been lying about who they were. Children should be aware of the E Safety SMART rules to help keep them safe online. SMART stands for SAFE, MEETING, ACCEPTING, RELIABLE and TELL.

We hope that by making all the children at Birchfields aware of the dangers of E Safety, that everyone can remain safe online.

You can find out more information about E safety and the SMART rules by looking at the following websites.

http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/8_10/

http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/help/web/staysafe

Friday 14th May

Good Work

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: Everyone in Year 6, 5F Raqeeb, Hana 5K Sayidah, Masuma 4D Sadia, Halima 4B Yaseen, Shabina 4C Sunnatun, Asif 3W Rukea, Zainab 3B Aniq, Nathan 2P Kasim, Ayan, Aaliyah, Muqaddas, Nabeela, Abdur, Nabeel 1H Abid-Ur , Callum  2M Farah, Maheem 1S Tiyanna, Jack Keep up the good work!

House Points

1^st        Water            

2^nd       Air                  

3^rd        Fire                            

4^th        Earth             

Well Done to the Classes of the Week

2P – Little Birchy

Y6 – Big Birchy

Dr Singh-Raud OBE

We were very sad to hear of the death of Dr Singh-Raud last week. Dr Singh-Raud took assemblies during Sikh festivals and came to speak to the children about working hard to achieve success. He had been given the OBE by HM the Queen for services to education and the community. Dr Singh-Raud came to Birchfields himself and was the biggest fan and promoter of our school. We are thinking about his family at this time and especially Amanpreet and Simi who come to Birchfields. 

School Creed

In memory of Dr Singh-Raud we have adopted a school creed, a way of being together at school that all of us can agree to try to live up to:

This is our school,

Let peace dwell here,

Let the rooms be full of contentment

Let love abide here,

Love of one another,

Love of mankind

Love of life itself.

Let us remember that,

As many hands build a house

So many hearts make a school

Dates

Monday 17^th May – Choir at Barlow Hall

Parents Maths class 1.15 – 3.15

Wednesday 19^th May  - Year 1 weekly parents library session am.

Thursday 20^th May – Parents weekly library session 3.30pm

Friday 28^th May – Choir at Barlow Hall

Half Term holiday begins

Monday 7^th June – Back to School

Site Manager

We would like to appoint a Site Manager to be responsible for site security, site staff and maintaining the school grounds and buildings. If you know someone who lives locally and who is interested in this important job; please ask Mrs Sinnott in the school office for further details. The closing date for applications will be Friday 11^th June.

China Trip

During the Easter holidays, Mrs Lee-Spencer went to China to visit
The Day School of Beijing Primary.

 The objectives of the visit were:

•  To develop a link with a Partner School for both staff and children
• To share and exchange teaching methods
• To compare cultures and languages
• To enable children from Birchfields and The Day School of Beijing Primary to make friends and to work together
• To plan a joint curriculum project for our children to do and
• Our ultimate goal is to sustain a long term working partnership

Mrs Lee-Spencer and Miss Eva Haiyan Sang – Head Teacher of our Partner School signed an agreement to secure our future work together.

Working together will provide children and staff the opportunity to broaden their horizons and to develop inter-cultural awareness. We will be able to learn from each other; our cultural differences, languages, customs and traditions.

CLICK HERE to see photos and read her day-by-day diary.

China is becoming more and more important for schools across the country. Over 500 secondary schools in England offer Chinese as a foreign language. 

TV stars

Amirah from 2P and Safia in 6P have become TV stars, featuring in the CBeebies’ show ‘Let’s Celebrate’, talking about how their family prepare for and celebrate Eid.

Click here to watch clips from the programme. Well done both of you!!

Sport Relief

Birchfields joined in with Sport Relief on Friday 19th March, with every class taking to the playground in the glorious weather to run a mile for charity. A lot of fun was had, not least by the staff who took part in their own mile run at lunchtime. There were two staff runs; first up was the key stage 1 and foundation run, followed an hour later by the key stage two run. See the photos below to see who joined the fun!!

This week is Science and Technology week at Birchfields Primary School. We began with a Mad Science assembly on Thursday 11th March and there are lots of other activities going on through the week. Tuesday 16th March is Technology open morning and parents are invited into the school hall to look around a range of activities with their children.  Friday’s good work assembly will be replaced with an assembly to celebrate all the activities from Science and Technology week, with each class presenting a short account of their week. Hopefully everyone will have lots of fun and learn lots of new and exciting things, enjoy Science and Technology week!

Miss Nortcliffe

Friday 29th January 2010

Good Work

These children have received a sticker for excellent work:1H Sameer, Zeshan 1S Fascha, Aisha 2P Kasim, Arooj 2M Kshoma, Jannah 4D Ali, Nisa 4C Reema, Farrzana 4B Farzana, Yaseen 3W Ammal, Zainab, Iqra 5N Ayman, Affan, Tasneem 6K Alia, Hamza 6P Ali, Kainaat 5F Irum, Zak, Omar 6C Taibah, Shuryar 5K Murad, Maryam 3S Areba, Fatcha. Keep up the good work!

House Points

1^st  Air 121

2^nd  Water 116

3^rd  Fire 113

4^th  Earth 103

Well Done to the Classes of the Week

1A – Little Birchy

5N – Big Birchy

Prince of Wales

On Thursday next week, 5N have been chosen, from all the classes in Manchester who visit the Science and Industry Museum, to be there for the visit of Prince Charles. Well done to 5N we can’t wait to see the photographs!

Dates

Wednesday 3^rd February – Cake Sale 3.30pm.

Thursday 4^th February – 5N Science and Industry Museum

Monday 8th – Friday 12^th February – Going for Goals Week.

Birchfields News!

Humanities Week

The week beginning 8^th February is our Humanities Week. The theme for the week is ‘Going for Goals’ and we are looking for successful ex-Birchfields pupils to come in and inspire the children here today. If you are able to come and speak to the children about how you have accomplished your own goals please get in touch with the school office or contact Miss Offord or Miss Foley. head@birchfields.manchester.sch.uk

Cake Sale

Last week we raised £1100 for the Haiti Earthquake Appeal. Thank you to everyone who contributed. On Wednesday 3^rd February we are holding a cake sale after school, organised by the School Council. Please send in cakes or raffle prizes in on Tuesday and come to the sale. ALL WELCOME!

Junior PCSOs

Next week our Junior Police Community Support Officers will be patrolling Lytham Road and speaking to drivers who are parked on the zigzags, coming the wrong way down the street or any other dangerous manoeuvres.

Attendance

Our attendance continues to improve and was above our target of 95% last week. Overall attendance for the year is 92% so we still have some way to go to reach our target. However, this time last year it was 89% so we are making good progress. Due to improved attendance the pupils across the school are achieving better than ever. So keep up the good work!!

Friday 15th January 2010

Good Work

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: 2P Sana, Zain 2M Farah, Mouazzim 2S Subhan, Nimra, Tasnia, Rafey 1A Farha, Raneem 1S Nazim, Akash 1H Rukhsar, Ali 4C Rose, Basima 5F Aisha, Jihad 5N Atiqa, Maida 3B Jackia, Rida 4D Naseem, Noormah 4B Zainab, Muhammad 3S Zain, Arman 3W Morium 6C Yusaf, Umear 6P Hussein, Ibrahim K 6K Burhan, Zainab. Keep up the good work!

House Points

1^st  Air 105

2^nd  Fire 98

3^rd  Water 96

4^th  Earth 90

Well Done to the Classes of the Week

2M – Little Birchy

3W – Big Birchy

Packed Lunch

Well done to all parents/carers and their children who have been trying especially hard to provide healthy lunch boxes. We know that it is vital for our children to eat healthily so that they are ready to learn and have better life chances when they are older. Due to your hard work, Birchfields is to be recognised as a National Healthy School next week.

Dates

Monday 18^th January – Choir go to Lancasterian School.

Tuesday 19^th January – Governors’ Teaching and Learning Committee 5pm.

Coats

Would all parents/carers ensure that your children bring a coat to school. More and more we are using the whole school environment to make the pupils learning more enjoyable and healthy. At this time of the year, the children must have a coat on outside.

Cars

Would all parents and carers ensure that they drive carefully, do not turn in the staff car park, do not wait on the zigzags and do not enter Lytham Road from Birchfields Road, especially at this time of year – Thank you.

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club will be opening again from Monday 18^th January.

1-1 Tuition

1-1 tuition will start for selected

Year 6 pupils next week.

Attendance

1A, 3S and 5N had the best attendance last term and are going on trips to Wacky Warehouse and Bowling – well done! It was fantastic that 96 pupils had 100% attendance last term.

Let it snow!

Everyone had an unexpected day off on Tuesday 5th January as school was closed for the day due to the snow. Some teachers and children braved it in, but Miss Offord made the decision to close school at about 9:15 and everyone headed back home to have snowball fights or build a snowman. Have a look below at what the school looked like in all its snowy glory.

Thursday 17th December saw the performance of the Birchfields Chirstmas Play – ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Around 180 people from Reception, 2P, 5K and both the Key Stage 2 and staff choirs took part in the two performances, watched by the rest of the school as well as the dozens of parents and family members who came. Below are photos taken both from the rehearsals and the two performances.

We have put loads of new photos and videos on the Music page. Click on Music on the right hand side to go and have a look!!

Friday 20th November

Good Work

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: 1S Ibrahim, Laiba 2P Nabeel, Aneesa 1A Bazla, Sabeer 2S Mariam, Uzman, Azman, Hasnain 1H Saqlain, Liza 4C Yusuf, Mariam 4B Mariam, Farzana 4D Haleema, Uzair 3W Tajriyani, Mohammed 3B Aliza, Fasee 3S Maisha, Mujtaba 5N Atiqa, Mamnoon 6C Asam, Hassan 6P Rizwan, Jana Keep up the good work!

House Points

1^st Water

2^nd Air

3^rd Fire

4^th Earth

Well Done to the Classes of the Week

2S – Little Birchy

4C – Big Birchy

Packed Lunch

Well done to all parents/carers and their children who have been trying especially hard to provide healthy lunch boxes. We know that it is vital for our children to eat healthily so that they are ready to learn and have better life chances when they are older. It will be great for Birchfields to be recognised as a National Healthy School.

Dates

Thursday 26^th November – Y4 Pirate Day

Friday 27^th November – Eid Holiday

Coats

Would all parents/carers ensure that your children bring a coat to school. More and more we are using the whole school environment to make the pupils learning more enjoyable and healthy. At this time of the year, the children must have a coat on outside.

Children in Need

We are all raising money today for Children in Need. This is a very important charity that helps children experiencing difficulties in this country. We are thinking today about children who are not as lucky as we are and doing our best to help them.

Eid Mubarak

We would like to say Eid Mubarak to all of our Muslim pupils and their families for next week. We would like to remind all of our school community that we will be closed on Friday 27^th November.

Friday 6th November

Good Work

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: 6P Arisha, Omar 5N Nabihah, Mamnoon 5K Yaseen, Laiba 5F Raqeeb, Zak 4D Naseem, Sadia 6K Taiyeb, Mustafa 6C Yamin, Sabah 4B Mariam, Orla 4C Joshim, Arman 3W Raneem, Ahmed 3B Muhaimin, Aqsa 2P Arman, Ramesha 2S Zain, Iftihar 1A Sania, Afsakur 2M Niyla, Mustafa 1H Sameer, Rashed Keep up the good work!

House Points

1^st Water

2^nd Air

3^rd Fire

4^th Earth

Well Done to the Classes of the Week

2M – Little Birchy

4B – Big Birchy

Science and Industry Visits

Year 5 have been visiting the Science and Industry Museum to help them with their Learning Challenges this term. They have worked hard, enjoyed their visits and been a credit to the school. Well done!

Dates

Tuesday 10^th November – Crucial Crew Y6

Teaching and Learning Governors Committee

Wednesday 11^th November – Individual Photographs

Islamic Workshop Y6

Skipping Workshop KS2

Thursday 12^th November – Islamic Workshop Y6

Monday 16^th November – Friday 20^th November

Anti Bullying Week

School Website

Have you visited the school website recently? www.birchfieldsprimary.net . There is lots of really interesting information there – including this newsletter in the ‘News’ section. Each class has its own blog – so come on children let’s show the world the fantastic learning that’s going on at Birchfields!

Poppies

Poppies are on sale next week to raise money for the British Legion. This year we are especially remembering the people who fought in the First World War 1914 – 1918; as the last soldiers who fought in this war have died this year.

Friday 23rd October 2009

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: 1S Afsana, Ahmad 2P Ayan, Mohi-U-Din, 1H Macy-Mae, Madihah 2S Whole Class 1A Yawar, Laiba 2M Inshul, Zain 3W Saisha, Muzamil 6K Saarah, Manika 6P Masuma, Saqlain 4B Saira, Sidra 5F Zak, Aminah, Hafisa 5K Ameerah, Zain 4C Reyan, Basima 5N Manahill, Fatima 4D Swimmers, 6C Hasna, Saif 3S Yonis, Izzat 3B Ahmed, Muez, Musaiyab Keep up the good work!

 House Points

1^st Air

2^nd Water

3^rd Fire

4^th EarthWell Done to the Classes of the Week

2S – Little Birchy

4C – Big Birchy

Attendance

A letter will be going out today for all parents whose children have 85% attendance or less. It is not a coincidence that our pupils achieved the highest standards across the school ever last year and also the highest level of attendance ever. If your child has 85% attendance during their time at Birchfields, they will miss 7 terms of their education. That is well over a year and almost impossible to catch up. We want all of our children to achieve the best possible standards so that they will have the best possible chances in life. If you are experiencing difficulties with your child’s attendance or punctuality, we will do our very best to support you and your child in school.

Every Child Counts

Miss Rees has put information about the Every Child Counts programme on our website. www.birchfieldsprimary.net There are really helpful tips on helping your child with mathematics. Our first number of the month is 6. If you have any interesting facts about 6, or spot 6 in the environment; please let Miss Rees know and she can share your findings with everyone

Foundation Stage

Reception teachers would like to thank all the parents/carers who helped them with their reading week, which was a great success. We would like to remind parents/carers that after the holiday, the Foundation Unit will open at 8.45am. Please drop off your Nursery and Reception children first so that your older children will not be late to class.

9th October 2009

Good Work

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: 2M Arslaan, Znairah 2S Fahima, Anisha 2P Amina, Rezwan 1S Hasan Ali, Isma 1H Hamzah, Zainab 1A Alsaba, Muneeb 3W Ra’id, Aqueel, Jawad 5N Mustafa, Sahar 4D Aqsa, Neha 5F Jihad, Fahmida 5K Shahnazur, Amna 3S Raja, Aliya 6P Omar, Arash 6K Zainab A, Zainab B 4B Tasnia, Tania 3B Fasee, Aqsa 4C Humayun, Anoosha Keep up the good work!

 House Points

1^st Air

2^nd Water

3^rd Fire

4^th Earth

Well Done to the Classes of the Week

1A – Little Birchy

3S – Big Birchy

 Choirs

We are looking forward to both our staff and pupil choirs performing in singing assembly on Wednesday. Well done to everyone involved, as they have been working hard in their own time to perfect their singing!

Dates

Friday 9^th October – Year 6 Crucial Crew

Friday 16^th October – Year 6 Crucial Crew

Tuesday 13^th October – 4D Dunham Massey

Monday 19^th October – Year 6 at Showcase cinema

Friday 23^rd October – ½ term holiday

Monday 2^nd November – Back to school

Healthy Schools

We have been working hard to achieve both Gold Award and National Healthy School Award. Unfortunately, at the moment, our packed lunches contain too many biscuits, sweets, crisps and sugary drinks. Please would parents and children make sure that these items are replaced with healthy alternatives such as yoghurt, fruit and water.

Diwali

We will be celebrating Diwali on Friday 16^th October this year with parties and a special assembly by 5N and 1S at 9.15am. All parents/carers are welcome to attend.

2nd October 2009

Good Work

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: 1S Farooq, Isha 1A Tayyaba, Moneeba 2P Safa, Zain A 2M Abdul, Jannah 2S Hasnain, Nimrah 4B Hafsa, Sadia 5F Irum, Safa, Aminah 5K Sehrish, Ragad 3W Karishma, Aqueel 4C Humzah, Asif 6C Shazia, Hasna 3B Isaam, Salmaan 6P Jhoti, Rejah 6K Jamal, Aishsa 4D Waseef, Isha Keep up the good work!

 House Points

1^st Water

2^nd Fire

3^rd Air

4^th Earth

Well Done to the Classes of the Week

2P – Little Birchy

6C – Birchy

 Dates

Friday 9^th October – Year 6 Crucial Crew

Friday 16^th October – Year 6 Crucial Crew

Monday 19^th October – Year 6 at Showcase cinema

Friday 23^rd October – ½ term holiday

Monday 2^nd November – Back to school

 Governors

At our Governing Body meeting last week Councillor Paul Shannon stood down as Chair. We would like to thank him for the work he has done over the last 5 years and look forward to continuing to work with him as a member of the Governing Body. Mr Rabnawaz Akbar has been voted on as our new Chair of Governors. Mr Akbar has been associated with Birchfields for many years and still has a daughter who attends our school in Year 2. We were also pleased to welcome 2 new parent Governors; Mr Imran Ashraf and Mr Kasir Iman both of whom have children at Birchfields.

Uniform

We would like to remind parents and children about our no jeans or football tops rule. These items of clothing do not encourage a sense of belonging to Birchfields that we try and encourage.

Chewing gum

Could we also remind parents and children that chewing gum is strictly forbidden due to health and safety rules.

 Parking

We have had a complaint from one of our neighbours that there has been a car parked in front of their drive. Please have consideration for others when parking near the school. Better still, please use Sainsbury’s car park to keep Lytham Road safe.

11th September 2009

Good Work

These children have received a sticker for excellent work: 6P Ibrahim S, Sa’ad 6K Shabaz, Hamaj 6C Caitlin, Umear 5N Manahill 5F Tasbiha, Mukthar 5K Rehaab, Murad 4D Zara, Khazjda 4C Joshim, Asif 4B Rajiyah, Shabina 3B Muhaimin, Naeel 3S Logan, Asiya 3W Iqra, Suleman 2P Tahmina, Mosda 2M Wafa, Mevish, Niyla, Znairah, Tamsila 2S Rafey, Tayeba 1H Isha, 1S Hassaan, Ishrat. Keep up the good work!

 House Points

1^st Air

2^nd Water

3^rd Earth

4^th Fire

Well Done to the Classes of the Week

2S – Little Birchy

 – Birchy

 Dates

Please make sure that you keep Last week’s pupils’ pack somewhere safe throughout the year, as important dates are in there. We would also like to request that all forms are returned promptly.

 Monday 14^th September – Year 4 Parents meeting 3.30pm in the hall.

Tuesday 15^th September – Year 3 Parents meeting 3.30pm in the hall.

Wednesday 16^th September – Year 2 Parents meeting 3.30pm in the hall.

Thursday 17^th September – Year 1 Parents meeting 3.30pm in the hall.

Friday 18^th September – Eid Assembly – All parents/carers welcome.

Monday 21^st September – Eid holiday – school closed

Tuesday 22^nd September – Eid Parties – school open

Friday 25^th September – European Languages Day

Eid Mubarak!

This year for the first time, the Local Authority has given the governors permission to close the school for Eid. They have allowed us to change our holiday pattern so that the children will not miss days at school. To help us to repeat this every year; we ask that parents ensure that their children are back in school on Tuesday 22^nd September.

Jewellery

We would like to remind all pupils, parents and carers that jewellery should not be worn in school for the health and safety of the children and because it is valuable and may be lost.

4th September 2009

Happy New Year!

Welcome back everyone to the new school year at Birchfields. Last year ended on a high with our wonderful Local Authority report and success on the sports field. As we continue to go from strength to strength we also look forward to welcoming new pupils and staff to our school. Mrs Day, Miss Rees, Mrs Wales and Miss Parkes are our new Assistant Headteachers in charge of Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2. Miss Brierly (R) Mr Booth (Y4) and Miss Nortcliffe (Y5) have joined our teaching staff. Our new Teaching Assistants are Mrs Marsh (Y1), Mrs Coombes (Y2), Miss Greenhalgh (Y4), Mrs Willis (Y5), Mrs Haque (Y6) and we welcome Miss Weiland our visitor from Germany. Good luck everyone!

Ramadan Mubarak

To all our parents and children. We ask that, especially at this time of year, parents keep an eye on their children if they are fasting to ensure that they are still able to take part in the school day. We respectfully suggest, that younger children who want to keep the fast, may do so at weekends. Mrs Shehzad will supervise personal prayers in the hall at 12.45pm.

Uniform

It is nice to see so many children in school uniform; showing that they belong to Birchfields and helping them with their attitude to their learning. Just a reminder that school uniform is a red sweatshirt, white polo shirt and grey or black trousers. We ask that children do not come to school in football shirts or jeans. Children should also have comfortable shoes, no heelies or football boots. No jewellery or

make up should be worn. Please remember that PE kit should be provided. If possible this should be black leggings or shorts, white T shirt and pumps or trainers.

Junior Choir

Auditions for Junior Choir will be held in the Music Room at lunchtime on Wednesday and Thursday next week.

Leaving and Collecting your  Children

To improve congestion in the corridors parents are reminded that:

Reception and Year 1 pupils are currently in their old bases and should be left and collected from the Foundation Stage Unit.

Year 2 pupils should be left and collected from the canteen door.

Year 3 and 4 pupils should be left and collected from the railway end playground.

Year 5 and 6 pupils should be left and collected from the road end playground.

When collecting pupils of different ages we ask parents to walk around the outside of the building. Please do not wait close to the doors as it is difficult for the children to leave safely.

Good Work Assembly

Good Work Assemblies take place on Fridays: 9.15am for KS2 and 3pm for KS1 and Reception. Parents and family are welcome to attend these assemblies.

Parents Meetings

Parents meetings will be held in the hall next week for all parents and their children. These meetings will be about the expectations for the children in their new year groups. It will also be an opportunity to meet their new teachers and Assistant Head.

Thursday 10^th September, 3.30pm,Year6

Friday 11^th September, 3.30pm,Year 5

Monday 14^th September, 3.30pm,Year 4

Tuesday 15^th September, 3.30pm,Year 3

Wed 16^thSeptember,3.30pm,Year 2

Thursday 17^th September, 3.30pm,Year1

Office

Dinner Money is now £10 per week. A letter will be sent out next week for milk orders. School holiday dates are being sent out with this newsletter. Please keep them somewhere safe, so that you may refer to them throughout the year.

Parent Governors

We need new Parent Governors. If you would like to nominate someone who you think could represent parents and help run the school; please give their name in to the school office next week.

July 2009

Forget Manchester United and Liverpool, or Real Madrid Vs Barcelona, Tuesday evening saw the galacticos of the Birchfields staff and year 6 clash in the biggest football match of the season. The predicted rain thankfully stayed away as the match kicked off and within a minute the inspirational Mrs Khares scored to put the staff ahead. A lovely flick from Nabil set Adil up to equalise a few minutes later, but it was Bilal M in goals at the other end of the pitch who kept the year 6 in the match with a succession of amazing saves. The first half was end to end with both teams having numerous chances, with the staff just about edging it 3-2 at half time through great play from Miss Parkes and Miss Smith combined with Mr Sherring’s tough tacking.  After a very early goal for the staff in the second half, a great comeback from year six, inspired by great defending by Faizol, Haris and Suram and wonderful atticking play from Sadek, Nabil, Nadeem and the magical Oreofe left year six leading 5-4 going into the last few minutes. Two goals from the staff, including a wonder strike from Mr Freeman, looked to have won it for the staff, but a shocking own-goal by Mr Pickering in the last minute left the score 6 – 6 at the final whistle and resulted in the match going to penalties. After a long and close penalty shoot out, the staff just about came out victorious with an 8-7 win on the penalties.

Many thanks must go out to the year 6 team for organising their team and all the subsitutions without fuss and for playing the game in  great spirit. Make sure you look at all the pictures below!

Fun with Numicon in Reception and Year 1
June 2009

Thank you to all the parents and children who are taking part in the Numicon Home/School Programme!

The Numicon approach began in 1996 in the UK. It was a success when SATs results improved dramatically.

Number ideas are very abstract to children. They need to have these shown to them in different ways. Using the Numicon approach offers children multi-sensory activities with patterned shapes, rods, number lines and a broad range of everyday experiences and contexts. This helps children with their understanding of number ideas.

Mathematical language is difficult for all children. The language that can be developed through each activity is shown clearly on the activity sheets. Our parents are finding these very useful!

We are delighted to hear all the positive comments from them so far. The children are having great fun with the Numcion kits at home and at school!

Amanpreet’s mum said,

“When it’s time for Numicon, my daughter puts everything aside – even The Simpsons! She ends up doing the activities for a long time. Her older sister is also very keen.
I find it interesting. It’s something different.”

- Written by Mrs Lee-Spencer

On Sunday 26th May our very own Mrs Sinnott from the office ran the London Marathon, which meant she had to run for 26 miles! Which is like running from Birchfields all the way to Blackburn!! Which is a VERY long way. We are all very proud of her and all the money she raised for charity. This is what Mrs Sinnott had to say about her experience:It was a very hot day and by 15 miles I was becoming very tired but managed to run on to 20 miles.  At 22 miles I was so tired and hot I almost fell over and had to have some First Aid treatment by the St John Ambulance Team, they cooled me down with a cold compress on the back of my neck, gave me water to drink and lay me down in the shade.  About half an hour later I was back on the run for the last 4 miles and managed it to the finish line to collect my medal although I had to receive some more First Aid treatment to help me recover.

Members of the wonderful Birchfields choir joined together with children from Oswald Road, Barlow Hall, Lancastarian and Bishop Billsborrow on the 20th March to perform in the Manchester Histories Festival. They performed in the Town Hall and in various places in the city centre, such as outside St Annes’ Church, Peter Street and Outside Central Library. They sang songs that are relevent to the history of Manchester and you can see highlights by clicking play before. If the film keeps stopping, press pause and wait until it has loaded to 100% before pressing play again. And let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

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Thursday (26th March) was the final of the South Manchester mixed foorball tournament over in Wythenshawe. We got there to find out that we had made the Premier League group; the league made up of the best four teams over the tournament. It meant that we had three really hard games to play, but we were in with a chance of winning the gold medal. Just like last week, it didn’t start well. Our first game was against Willows A team, who had won every game in the tournament, and who beat us in our first game 3 weeks ago. They raced into a 2-0 lead early on, before Nabil pulled a goal back. We pressed for another goal, but just couldn’t score and the Willows scored again to make it 3-1. Oh dear. Our next game was against St Anthony’s. Although we went a goal down, we came back with 2 goals from Oreofe to lead 2-1. We kept the lead for most of the match but we just couldn’t hold on at the end as St Anthony’s equalised in the last minute to make it 2-2. Our last game was against the Willows B, and we knew that a win would give us third place and the bronze medal. We were fantastic all match, with Khadija, Sadek, Roda and Bilal not giving them a chance with some great defending, and Nabil and Oreofe linking up amazingly up front, with Oreofe getting a hatrick, with all 3 being set up by Nabil.

So we ended up with the bronze medal, and we are through to the Manchester final at Whalley Range High School after Easter.

Thursday 19th March saw the last set of matches in the group stages of the South Manchester football tournament. We found out when we got there that we were in 4th place so far out of the 16 teams and all we had to do was win all our games and we’d qualify for not only the South Manchester final, but the Manchester final as well. Easy. Things didn’t go to plan though in our first game against 5th placed Benchill. We never got going, losing 4 – 0. The team were annoyed with themselves after the game, but after watching Benchill then go on to lose their next game, we knew that we were in with a chance again. Our next game was against Crowcroft. We raced into a 2-0 lead early on with both goals coming from Oreofe. Crowcroft pulled one back towards the end but, despite a few nervous moments, some great defending from Safiaan, Kadija and Roda meant that we held on to win 2-1. Our last game was against Newall Green. Despite their keeper being amazing (but obviously not as good as you, Bilal), another goal from Oreofe and a goal from Nabil saw us win 2-0. By Mr Pickering and Mr sherring’s working out, that all means that we think that we have made the top four and will be playing in the champions league group next week, to decide who wins the whole tournament. We will be working really hard over the next week  as we know we have to play a lot better than this week if we are going to have a chance of winning. Find out how we got on next week by checking back here next Friday…

Maths week.

This week was maths week at Birchfields. The intention of the week was to raise the profile of maths, inspiring children, parents and staff by demonstrating that maths is fun and enters into every sphere of life from art to science to spirituality. Activities included… “Maths market place” organised by teachers and their classes in the hall on Monday for Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and year 3 and on Friday for years 4, 5 and 6; “Architecture Workshops” hosted Islamic Architecture workshops for years 5 and 6 on Wednesday and Thursday, “Maths in a Suitcase” entertained years 3 and 4 on Tuesday with hands on activities, Years 1 and 2 made buscuits and sold them on parents evening with Mr Atkinson and “Little Bigtop Theatre” performed Sock-tastic Math-o-Matix- interactive maths show for reception and Nursery on Tuesday and Wednesday. – Written by Mrs Szulek.

Thursday 12th March saw the second round of the South Manchester mixed football tournament. Birchfields played fantastically well in all 4 matches, winning 3 and drawing the other. First up was the local derby against Ladybarn. It was a close match and we were relieved to win 2 – 1 with both goals coming from Oreofe. Next up was Crossacres, who had won all their previous games in the competition, but hardly got a kick as we won 2 – 0 with a close range goal from Adil and a volley from outside of the area from Nabil.  We then came up against Benchill. Despite dominating the game with Nabil hitting the post, Oreofe missing two great chances and their keeper making some good saves, we just couldn’t score and it ended 0 – 0. Our last game was against Crowcroft Park, in which we ran out 4 – 1 winners with two goals from Oreofe, and one each from Nabil and Adil. Everyone was fantastic during the 4 matches, from Bilal in net; Kadija, Qasim and Safiaan in defence; Roda, Sadek and Hanifa in midfield as well as Adil, Oreofe and Nabil scoring the goals upfront.

Next week sees the last of the league games and if we play as well as we did this week, we will hopefully be back for the finals the week after. Check back next week to see how we get on…

Art exhibition

We recently had a whole school art exhibition, where our school hall became an art gallery for two days. Judy Dennison from the company Images framed and mounted all the art work we had done in our Art lessons with Mrs Maroulis. During the two days we were able to visit the exhibition to see each other’s work. Parents and carers also came to see our work after school and really enjoyed it. Have a look at our photographs, we are sure you will agree that we all worked really hard.

Birchfields are taking part in a mixed football tournament in Wythenshawe. It’s taking part over three Thursdays, and in the first Thursday, we won our first game against St John Fisher 1 – 0, with Oreofe scoring the goal, before losing the second game to the Willows 3 – 0. This Thursday we have 4 games to play, so check back here to see the results. Below is a picture of our team:

Back row: Hanifa, Kadija, Roda, Nabil, Bilal and Qasim.
Front row: Safiaan, Adil, Sadek and Oreofe.

On Wednesday 25th February, members of the piano club and the choir went to the Bridgewater Hall. Click here to go to the music page and read all about it, see the photos and watch a film.

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4H appeared in the South Manchester Reporter last week, explaining what they have been up to in their hidden treasures project. Click on the article below to see a full size copy.

2P, 6C and the Birchfields choir performed The Nativity on Thursday 18th December. Both classes and the choir worked really hard and had lots of fun doing it as you can see from the photos below!

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