Headmasters Newsletter

A man was walking along the beach one day. Ahead he noticed another, older man picking up a starfish that had become stranded on the sand and throwing it back into the sea.

“Why do you bother?” the man asked him. “The beach goes on for miles and countless starfish get stranded every day. You can’t really make a difference.”

The old man looked at the starfish in his hand and then he threw it to safety among the waves. “I can make a difference to this one,” he replied.

Countless children feel stranded at school. For some Calder House can make a real difference.

Headmasters Newsletter - April 2010

Thursday, 01 April 2010 00:00

Dear Parents,

The Spring Term was another incredibly busy term with 3 new children joining the Calder House family. The term will of course be fondly remembered for the huge amount of snow, which hit the area, causing us to close our doors for only the third time in our history. The images of your children building snowmen, throwing snowballs or making their very own igloos will live long in our memories.

The Spring Term will also be remembered for the fantastic ESB results the children achieved. Nearly half of the children achieved the highest possible grade of distinction and should be warmly congratulated for their hard work. These were the best results we have achieved and the ESB examiner was very happy to congratulate the school on how well we had prepared the children.

The Calder Cougars took part in numerous football matches against other prep schools and the Calder Kittens Netball team performed brilliantly in their matches with Henry proving an excellent goal scorer. With numerous cricket and rounders fixtures arranged for this term I am sure that sport will continue to thrive at Calder House School.

At the end of term we said goodbye to Connie who returns, ready to thrive, to her local state primary school. Connie has contributed much in her time here and will be sadly missed. However we are very pleased to welcome Jemima to the Gold Class. I am sure that everyone will try and make Jemima feel at home in her new school.

Congratulations:
Congratulations to Hodge House who won the House Cup last term. In a very keenly contested competition Hodge held on doggedly to the lead despite pressure from in particular Stallard House. Hodge House members were allowed to wear their own clothes to school on Friday 16th April as a reward. Congratulations, too, to the Green Class who won the Class Point Award last term. All members of that class were also allowed to wear their own clothes to school on Friday 16th April.

Further congratulations must also go to Mr. Perks who has reached the finals of the National Outstanding Teacher Awards. Three inspectors will be visiting school on Friday April 30th to observe Mr. Perks teach and talk to children, teachers and parents about Mr. Perks. If you would like to support Mr. Perks the inspectors will be available from 1120- 1150 in the School Hall on Friday April 30th. We would value your contribution here as your voices carry much more weight than mine! Please let me know if you are able to come.

If you are unable to come but would like to contribute the inspectors are happy to accept written testimonials. Please feel free to write to the inspectors outlining why you think Mr. Perks is such an outstanding teacher and the difference he has made to your child. Mr. Perks teaches most of the children in the Blue, Yellow, Purple, Brown and Green classes Maths, English, Spelling, Science, ICT or PE/Games. Your input would be much appreciated. Please address your letters care of the school office.

As you will recall, our Chess Club ran last term. Three children (Ben J, Sam EH and Harvey) gained enough points in their matches to go forward to the Regional Mega Final of the UK Chess Challenge, which takes place in June. Congratulations and Good Luck to them all! Special mention must go to Ben who managed to go through the whole term unbeaten! Well done Ben!

We would also like to congratulate Elliott for achieving the most housepoints in the term. Elliott collected an excellent 33 housepoints in total during the term!

School Lunchtime Clubs:
The following lunchtime clubs have been organised for your children:
Gardening Club:     Friday Lunchtime
Cricket Club:         Monday and Friday Lunchtime
Volleyball Club:    Tuesday Lunchtime and Thursday Break time
Drama Club:        Monday Lunchtime
Lego Club:        Thursday Break Time

Assemblies:
Once again there is a kind invitation to all parents to come and watch their child’s class or house assembly. Please make note of the date in your diary

The dates for the class/house assemblies are as follows:
23rd April Head's Assembly
April 30th Gold Class
May 7th Green Class
May 14th Brown Class
May 21st Purple Class
May 28th Yellow Class
Half Term
June 11th Breeden House
June 18th Hodge House
June 25th Kent House
July 2nd Stallard House
July 9th Blue Class
July 16th No Assembly
July 23rd End of Term

Once again you are more than welcome to come and watch your child’s assembly on the appropriate date. Each assembly will begin at 0850 and end at approximately 0910.

PE/Games:
As usual, we will not be going swimming this term but having all our sports and PE lessons here on our school site. Most children have remembered to bring in their full PE kit already, and we would be grateful if you would ensure that it remains in school for the duration of this half term. Although PE lessons take place on Wednesdays, there will be occasions in the run up to Sports Day in particular, when extra PE lessons will be scheduled, and so it will be necessary for children to have their kit in school every day.

School Absence:
We publish our term dates well in advance and expect children to be present throughout the school term. Whilst we understand that there are times when exceptions have to be made, we would be grateful if you would request authorised leave of absence, in writing, well in advance of when your child is going to be absent from school.

From time to time, a child may become unwell at school, and it may be necessary for us to contact you to arrange for them to be taken home early. Accordingly, please ensure that we have up to date emergency contact information for you.

School Exams:
The Summer term is the main term for exams. For some pupils it also involves end of Key Stage 2 SATs exams. In order to help them prepare for these exams (which will be marked by external examiners) they will be set extra homework which we hope you will ensure is completed appropriately. The exams will be held in the mornings of week commencing Monday 10th May. School exams (which cover English, Maths, Science, History and Geography) will be held during week commencing Monday 22nd June for all children. Please ensure that during exam time your child gets a good night’s sleep and comes to school after a good breakfast with a sustaining lunchbox. The results of the SATs will be made available during early July. The results of our school exams will be included in your child’s end of term report.

Electronic Equipment:
We have reminded your children that electronic equipment (i.e. Mobile Phones, I-pods, hand held games consoles, cameras etc) should not be brought into school at all.
Please remind your child that this is the case and do not allow them to come to school with any of the above equipment.

School Vouchers:
Once again, we are having a tremendous response to our request for Sainsburys “Active Kids” and Tesco “Computers for Schools” vouchers. Both schemes are still running and we are still collecting.

School Uniform:
Most children have returned to school with their boots or trainers for use at playtime. Please check with your child, and remind them to bring them in. Please also ensure that all kit is named.

Healthy Options:
The Blue class is doing a section on healthy lunch boxes for their cookbook. Please could all parents e-mail Mrs Devereux ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) with their ideas and recipes for healthy lunch boxes.

School Pick Up:
Thank you for observing the 5 mph speed limit on the drive, and for avoiding parking in the area of the turning circle. These measures are designed to ensure safety for parents and pupils when arriving at and leaving school. Please also make sure that when pupils are returned to you at the gate at the end of the day that they, and any other children who may be with you, are kept under your control and supervision, and do not run on the field (which is being grown for hay) or in any of the private areas. All dogs should be kept on a lead. This is essential as a public footpath runs across the school drive. We understand that from time to time it is necessary for other people to collect your child from school, and would be grateful if you would bring this information to their attention.

The usual reminders:
• When travelling to and from school do not use the private roads through the Thickwood housing estate, but use Thickwood Lane.
• For pupil safety and the convenience of all drivers, please do not park in the area of the turning circle or near to the arrival/dismissal gate.
• Kindly observe the 5mph speed limit on the school drive
• If you arrive at school before 8.30am, please keep your child with you in your car until Mr Agombar arrives.
• At the end of the day, once your child has been dismissed from the Pavilion, please make sure they remain under your complete care and control in your car, and are not permitted to play in any part of the field.
• Please ensure that all dogs are kept on a lead. This is important as a public footpath runs through the field.
• If you arrive after Mr Agombar has left the gate at 8.50, please bring your child to the main office.

Mr Perks will be holding his second E-Safety Talk to parents on Thursday June 10th in the school hall at 1600. Once again we recommend you all come to this meeting where Mr Perks and I will outline some of the dangers involved with the increased access some children have to the Internet.

Overleaf I have printed the important diary dates for you to make note of. You will notice that in the final week of term there will be an activity week, which will include an overnight stay in tents at school for the children. More information on this will be forthcoming closer to the time. I have also included the term dates for the next academic year.

I look forward to another busy term,

Andrew Day

Headmaster

Calder House is an independent Specialist School for children with Specific Learning Difficulties.

Approved by The Secretary of State for Education under Education Act 1996 S347(1)

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it : phone/fax 01225 742329

Diary Dates: Term Dates 2010/11

Summer Term 2010

Pupils return Thursday 15th April
Half-term Mon 31 May – Tuesday 8th June incl
Summer Term 2010 ends 12 noon Fri 23 July
Pupils return for Autumn term 2010 Wednesday 8th September 2010.

Autumn Term 2010

Pupils return Wednesday 8th September
Half-term Weds 20th Oct – Fri 29th Oct inclusive
Break up for Christmas 12 noon Wednesday 15th December

Spring Term 2011

Pupils return Monday 10th Jan
Half-term Mon 21st Feb – Tuesday 1st March inclusive
Break up for Easter 12 noon Friday April 8th

Summer Term 2011

Pupils return Tuesday May 3rd
The May Day holiday is on Monday, May 2nd.
Half-term Mon May 30th – Tuesday 7th June inclusive
Summer Term 2011 ends 12 noon Friday 22nd July
Pupils return for Autumn term 2011 Thursday 8th September 2011