St Nicholas News! Newsletter for May 2018

Mission Statement

“To maximise the learning potential of every pupil within the love of God.”

May has been a very busy month so far. Both Y2 and Y6 have taken their National SAT tests. Both year groups went into the tests calmly, with confidence and were well-prepared for the questions set.

Choir: The choir sang beautifully at the National NAHT Conference in Liverpool on the 4th May—they got a standing ovation from the audience. It was a proud moment to be part of the St. Nicholas School family.

Worship: The whole school Christian Value for the Summer Term is Wisdom.

3JG’s Worship in 4th May was thought-provoking and joyful. The children reminded us of the ‘force’ that is always with us and read & sang beautifully.

4DE led Worship on 11th May— the theme was ‘Wisdom’ and the children told the school about what wisdom meant to them and sang a fantastic version of ‘Man in the Mirror’.

St Nicholas C of E Primary School , School Road, Blackpool , FY4 5DS Tel : 01253 966150 [email protected] .sch .uk Twitter: @stnicholas14

PTFA: The Non-uniform Day and Royal Wedding Party on 18th May was fantastic— a huge thank you to the PTFA who organ- ised this afternoon and helped out!

Pop Idol: Lots of brave and talented children auditioned for this year’s ‘Blackpool Pop Idol’ Competition. It was a hard decision for the school— everyone had to cast a vote—but the final decision was that Sadie Challiner in Y5 went through to represent St . Nicholas. Well done!

IMPORTANT - Year 1 National Phonics Screening Check A reminder that the children in Year 1 will be involved in the National Phonics Screening Check during the first week back after the half term hol- iday – the week beginning Monday 11th June. Please could Year 1 parents/carers continue reading with their child during the two week half term holiday in preparation for the phonics check. Additional phonics homework will be provided for all children for over the holiday period.

School trips: Y2 Trip to Greenlands Farm “First, we went to a big pig and we stroked it and it felt like hay. Then we went in the reptile room—we saw a bearded dragon, hedgehog, circus mice and a snake! We went on the coach, we also saw a massive cow called Golden and we stoked her. We had a go to try to walk with the cow on a rope which was really hard. We went to the playbarn—it had 6 levels—it was fun! We had our lunch there. We planted some seeds and then got on the coach and went back to school. It was a magnificent day!” Reported by Olivia and Ethan (Y2)

Y3 Trip to White Scar Cave: “It was really safe there as there were bars and we had hard hats . There were stalagmites and stalactites—some were HUGE! Water could come flooding through—the public weren’t allowed to touch certain things. It was a fun day—and in the gift shop there was slime, keyrings and pretty note- books!” Reported by Nadia and Frankie

Confirmation Service in school: The Confirmation Service for those children who have been attending classes with Father Martin in school, will be on Monday 18th June at 2pm in the school hall. Further details will be sent to those children being con- firmed.

Forest School arrives at St Nicholas!

At St Nicholas School, the children will have the opportunity to engage in motivating and achievable tasks and activities throughout the year and in almost all weathers. Children will work with tools, play, learn boundaries of behaviour; grow in confidence, self-esteem and motivation whilst developing an understanding of the natural world.

The Forest School concept originates from Den- mark, originally aimed at pre-school children, where it was found that children who had attended Forest School then arrived at school with strong social and communication skills, having the ability to work in groups effectively, generally had high self-esteem and a confidence in their own abilities. These foundations helped them to raise their academic achievements.

Forest School England defines Forest School as: 'An inspirational process that offers children, young people and adults, regular opportu- nities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a local woodland.'

Over the coming weeks and months I hope you will hear more about this—from the children themselves who are taking part!

Half Term Holiday: School closes at 3:30p.m on Friday 25th May for the half-term holiday. School will re-open again on Monday, 11th June.

Children’s University Graduation: KS1 and Reception will commence at 9:30 am on Tuesday 26th June KS2 will commence at 2.30pm on Tuesday 26th June

School Uniform: Orders from both Price & Buckland and from school must be placed by 22nd June in order to be delivered to school before the summer break. If you wish to receive your order during the summer break, or if you miss this deadline, you can still order from Price & Buckland and have the delivery made to your home or work address.

Sports News:

Year 4 have completed a fantastic 1/2 term of tennis coach- ing from Pete Hamadi at South Shore Tennis Club. Breakfast club places and out of school sessions can be booked on- 07825215263

Year 4 proud winners of the Blackpool Schools Ten- nis Tournament. Through to the Lancashire finals later this year.

Y4 at the Fit to Go’ Festival at Blackpool Football Club—it was a fantastic morning and the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Y1 Camping Day:

Year 1 had a fantastic day den- building, erecting tents, playing wide games and toasting marshmallows over an open fire. Thank you to Mr & Mrs Curtis from the local scout group who helped organise the day.

Extended Care Club: Please complete and return booking forms if ECC is required in September as places are going fast!! Dates for your diary in June Monday 11th June School re-opens after Half Term at 9am Y1 Phonics Screening Tests this week

Tuesday 12th June: Andrew Green (Author) in School

13th & 14th June Y5 Bikeability

Friday 15th June 9:10 am—Reception Class Worship in the hall Y6 trip to Liverpool Maritime Museum

Monday 18th June Youth Sports Week—various activities throughout the week 2pm—Confirmation Service in School

Tuesday 26th June Children’s University Graduation

Friday 29th June Y4 Trip to Liverpool

Attendance Champions! Coffee and Chat for Our top three classes for attendance Parents are currently….. We have decided to open 1st 6SD Rainbow Lodge (the building on its 2nd 4MG own by the lane) between 8:45am 3rd 4DE and 10am on a Tuesday morning for Every day counts! parents to come and have a chat and a drink. Our PTFA will be there to

Want to be a welcome you. teacher? Our teaching school is taking enrolments for our School Direct Reminder teacher training course. If you have a Parents are required to contact the degree and would like to know more office with a week’s notice if going please look at the Teaching School onto packed lunches. website here. Thank you.