Swaythling Primary

We're in the Newspaper!

2011-10-04T09:47:00.000+01:00

Following July's successful OFSTED inspection, the Echo have run a piece celebrating the school's success! It is great to have the whole school's success publicised in this way, and we all feel very proud of our school. (It's just a shame that the photographer cut off most of the teachers' heads!)

OFSTED Report

2011-07-28T10:10:00.000+01:00

We were visited by OFSTED in July, the new report has just been posted on the OFSTED website. It is really pleasing to see that the great progress the school has made over the last few years has been recognised.
We are particularly proud that the community nature of the school has been judged as outstanding- OFSTED's highest category. Our overall category has been upgraded to 'Good'; this is a great boost to all the staff who have worked so hard to improve the school in this way.
A wonderful way to start the Summer break!

You can read the report for yourself here

Sun, Sea and Sand

2011-06-13T16:49:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 7th. June saw a mass exodus of the school to Alum Chine Beach in Bournemouth as part of our 'Sun, Sea and Sand' whole school topic week. Whilst there was plenty of sea and sand available, the sun was in rather shorter supply!
Everyone involved had a great time (as you can see from the pictures), many sandcastles were built, and we all enjoyed the freedom and space of the beach.
As well as being great fun for all involved, the visit was a tremendous boost to the children's creative work- their writing, art and drama work were all of a much higher quality for having taken part in the trip.
Many thanks to all the parents who gave up their time to come and accompany us on this visit.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

2011-02-27T21:31:00.000Z

half-term ended with areal treat for the children of Key Stage 2, as we played host to our good friends of the Nuffield Theatre who put on a visually stunning performance of 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' for us. The audience were absolutely spellbound for a couple of hours as they were transported to an alternative version of Victorian history, which also explored themes of loyalty, friendship and trust.

We have a real commitment to enriching children's learning through culturally significant plays, literature and art- this production was by common consent probably the most engaging and enjoyable production we have hosted. We thoroughly recommend getting along to catch it at the Nuffield Theatre.

Violin Concert

2011-02-27T21:22:00.000Z

Last Wednesday saw the first concert given by our strings section. Year 3 have been learning to play the violin since September, and really gave a fantastic display of their growing musical ability. Many proud parents looked on as we were treated to a range of pieces of varying styles and complexity.
Our increasingly talented woodwind players provided some contrast with a very confident performance. Another step closer to the Swaythling symphony orchestra!

Back to School!

2011-01-02T12:40:00.000Z

Happy New Year!
We hope everyone has had a great Christmas break; a reminder that school re-opens for the spring term on Wednesday 5th January at the usual time.

Christmas Plays

2010-12-16T09:53:00.000Z

Monday and Tuesday saw the performances of our two Christmas plays- the infant department performed 'Cat in the Manger', a traditional nativity story adapted from the Michael Morpurgo book, whilst the juniors performed the more contemporary 'Bossy Christmas Fairy'. Both performances were of a very high standard, and it was impressive how quickly and how well the children had mastered all the different skills necessary to put show like this together.
During the break we were entertained by our woodwind players, who have now reached a very good standard. A good number of parents joined us for both performances, and a great afternoon was had by all! Well done and thank you to all involved in these productions.

Carol Concert at St Alban's

2010-12-13T11:47:00.000Z

Monday morning saw the whole school involved in a very coldd march up to St Alban's Church for our carol concert- led by our good friend and Chair of Governors Rev. Gary Phillbrick. The church is a magnificent building, and this along with the pipe organ music lent a real sense of occasion to the event. A busy Christmas week in school has begun!

Open on Monday

2010-12-05T18:23:00.000Z

The weather has improved dramatically over the weekend, so we will be open as usual tomorrow. There is still strong probability of heavy frost, so make sure you wrap up warm and mind your step walking in. Let's hope that we've now had this year's dose of disruptive weather!

Friday Closure

2010-12-02T17:11:00.000Z

The weather forecast overnight is for exceptionally cold weather (-9 c), given the amount of slush that is going to freeze under those conditions, we will not be able to get enough staff in to operate safely. The forecast for Saturday is for much milder weather, so we are fully optimistic that we will be able to open as usual on Monday.
We apologise for all the inconvenience that this decision will undoubtedly cause, but we hope that in deciding early, it will make it easier to arrange childcare.

Bored?

2010-12-02T09:50:00.002Z

If you're looking for something to do- all our on-line learning tools are still available:

Click HERE. If EducationCity asks for a login: We are 852Swaythling, password 938282

Click HERE for Purplemash portal (login is same as Studywiz- if you don't know this just go to www.purplemash.com)

e-city click HERE

We are closed!

2010-12-02T07:17:00.000Z

Unfortunately, the snow last night was worse than expected,and we can't get enough staff in to operate safely. Update to follow later.

Daisy Dip: Success!

2010-11-30T15:08:00.000Z

Hearts sank on Tuesday as we learnt that the Daisy Dip bid had missed out in the popular vote to a project in Portsmouth for the 'People's Millions' vote. Friday, however, brought better news- a phone call from Meridian TV asked us to get down to Daisy Dip quickly, and a film crew were there to record the presentation of the cheque for most popular runner-up project.
This is excellent news for the community, bringing about a much needed facility for the area, and the whole process has been highly educational for our children who have been involved throughout- learning that participation in the community brings its own rewards, and that determined people, working together, can bring about real, positive change.

Pictured here are some of the children who worked on the project, along with Mr Cappleman, parent governor and a huge driving force behind the bid. Well done everybody!

Primary maths Challenge

2010-11-25T16:37:00.000Z

This week some of our gifted and talented mathematicians in Year 5 and Year 6 participated in the Primary Maths Challenge. Ten students completed a set of 25 questions on a variety of maths topics. The top scorers will get certificates in the next sharing assembly. You can try out some of the questions yourself at: http://www.m-a.org.uk/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=259a

Daisy Dip Project

2010-11-23T12:18:00.001Z

Last year our Year 5 children (This year's Y6) were involved in a project to improve Daisy Dip- a neglected and underused local area. Today is a very important one for our community- Daisy Dip goes head to head with a Portsmouth project for a £48,000 National Lottery Grant to improve the area for our children and all the local community. Please support this bid if you can!

You can vote, but only until midnight: 0871 626 8861
You can also see the report featuring our children on 'Meridian Tonight'. Fingers crossed!

Update: You can see the report- featuring our children here

Peter Pan

2010-11-22T15:40:00.000Z

We are working hard to get more live theatre into school, and we recently enjoyed a real treat as our good friends at the M&M Theatre Company took us all on a magical trip to Wonderland by staging their latest spectacular show in our Hall. All classes attended, and if the cheers were anything to judge by, it was greatly enjoyed by everybody- adults and children alike.

Harvest Festival

2010-09-23T16:58:00.000+01:00

Tuesday saw our annual Harvest Festival up at St. Alban's Church, led by our good friend and Chair of Governors, the Rev. Gary Philbrick.
As always, there was a real sense of occasion in the magnificent church interior, and we were joined by a good number of parents, who joined in enthusiastically with the singing!

Our families' generosity continues to grow and grow year on year, and the fantastic donations of food have now been passed on to the Basics Bank, a charity that works with those in need across Southampton.

The didgeridoos Have Arrived!

2010-09-17T14:52:00.000+01:00

We are working hard to make sure that we offer a culturally rich curriculum, and this year we are working very closely with our good friends in the Southampton Music Service, to provide a musical dimension to our cross-curricular topics.
Year 5 are working with the Music Service on an 'Amazon' topic, whilst Year 4 are learning all about Australia. As you can see, there was much excitement when the didgeridoos arrived; and as anyone who was inside at lunchtime will be able to testify- they are definitely working!

Primary Languages Competition

2010-06-18T11:27:00.001+01:00

Primary Languages Competition

On June 14^th a group of twenty children went to Beechwood Junior School to take part in the annual Southampton Primary Languages Speaking Competition. This provided them with an opportunity to show off their developing French skills in a creative way. The children prepared for the competition with great commitment and determination.

The year 4 children performed beautifully a traditional French song and dance, and won their category. Several year 5 and year 6 children showed off their spelling skills in the Spelling Bee, which was eventually won by Kundie. The year 5 and year 6 entrants excelled in the Culture Quiz, answering quick-fire questions about French geography and culture in front of the large audience. Ariba was the year 5 winner and Claire was the year 6 winner. The children were all so quick and confident that the only way to decide upon a winner was through sudden-death play-offs .

All of the children behaved very well and performed with enthusiasm and confidence. Bravo!

We were very proud of the children’s efforts and of their fantastic behaviour, which was commented upon by parents who attended. “Bravo tout le monde!”

Chess Club

2010-04-29T12:05:00.000+01:00

As a school which believes passionately that children can be taught to think, we are really happy that we have been able to start a Chess Club for Year 3 & 4.
Chess is great fun; a game which can be enjoyed at any age, but also a great way to develop logical and strategic thinking.
Many thanks to our friends at Southampton University Chess Club who are running the activity with us. As you can see from the picture, the concentration was incredible, and all the children who attended had an absolutely brilliant time. Let's see who the first grandmaster to emerge from Swaythling Primary will be!

Egg Rolling

2010-04-02T12:23:00.000+01:00

One of the long-standing traditions at Swaythling School is the annual Easter egg roll. Using only their noses, our children propel Creme eggs across the hall floor to thunderous applause! A great time was had by all. Many thanks to FOSS (Parents' Association) for providing the creme eggs.

Basketball Competition

2010-03-05T14:45:00.001Z

On Wednesday our children took part in a basketball competition at Cantell. It was a great competition, thoroughly enjoyed by all the children who took part. Whilst we weren't ultimately triumphant, the behaviour and attitude of the children who took part was a great statement about the school- well done everybody; and thanks to Mrs Ryan & Miss Brewer for organising the event and taking the children.'

World Maths Day

2010-02-06T08:01:00.000Z

As in the last few years, we are once again taking part in 'World Maths Day'. This is an annual event which encourages children all around the world to compete against each other, sharpening their mental maths skills at the same time. Let's see if we can be world champions!
Click HERE to go to World Maths Day site

Maths Games for Years 5&6

2010-01-20T14:58:00.000Z

I am very excited that we can offer access to the 'Manga High' resources for our Year 5 & 6 children. These games are certainly challenging- parents, you may wish to have a go too!
Click HERE to access the site.

Yes we are open!

2010-01-13T08:15:00.003Z

Today (Wednesday)'s weather has come as something of a surprise- but we are open. Take great care on your journey, as once again, none of our surrounding roads have been treated.
The weather forecast at the moment suggests that it will get warmer, and much of the snow and ice will melt, so all being well we will close at the normal time.
Meanwhile, congratulations to those of you who correctly identified the man in our mystery lollipop man contest (thank you Trish...)

Back to Normal!

2010-01-12T06:50:00.000Z

Thank you all for your co-operation and patience over the last week, I am pleased to report that we are back to normal hours today: start at 8.55 and finish at 3.10. The playground is still not safe at the moment, so play will be indoors.
Basketball and Tiptap clubs will start next week.

Update

2010-01-11T12:15:00.000Z

We are all back into school, and lessons have resumed as normal. The children are not able to get out to the playground, which is one large sheet of ice at the moment!
We hope to be completely back to normal as of tomorrow, so school will start and end at the normal time.
For today, we are closing at the usual time, but children may be picked up from 2.45 onwards if you need to.
Breakfast & After School Club are provisionally scheduled to re-start tomorrow (Tuesday).
Once again, thanks for your patience during this trying time- let's hope the worst is behind us, and we can get back to life as normal really soon.

Monday morning

2010-01-10T10:58:00.001Z

Monday 11 January 2010

It's not possible to give you definite news about school opening on Monday 11 January until fairly late on Sunday afternoon.

If the weather doesn't get any worse and we are open...

We will open at 10.00 and expect all children in school. The late opening will be to allow more time for everyone to make a safe journey to school. We will expect all children in school. We need to get back to normal as soon as it is safe.

We will close at the normal time (3.10pm) but allow children to be picked up any time from 2.45pm - this allows a longer "school run" time if Mayfield Road is still icy.

There will not be any breakfast club, or after school clubs (including Film Club & multi-skills).

If the weather gets worse...

If we have to close, we will try to let you know by 6pm on Sunday evening.

We will put an announcement on this website. On Sunday afternoon, we may not be able to get the information updated on the city's School Closures List or Radio Solent.

No School Friday

2010-01-07T18:19:00.008Z

Once again we are in the difficult position of having to close the school- Mayfield Rd is in a treacherous state, and has been the scene of many minor accidents today- we are just not on the gritting route the council has been maintaining.

I really hope that we will be able to get back to a near normal service next week, but with more snow forecast for the weekend, make sure to watch this space.

Particular thanks to our friends who live opposite the school for keeping me informed of the state of the roads in the area.

Try these:
Year 4:
Homework

Year 5:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/ks2bitesize/maths/problem_solving.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/

more maths

Year 6:

http://www.spellanywhere.co.uk/spellings.php?view=2&id=21112

Homework Sheet

Anyone: Fancying a real challenge! (Y5/6, parents)

Practice your French (Username swaythling, password: Saints329)

Snow

2010-01-06T08:09:00.007Z

Further update 11.30- Having looked at the forecast for overnight which suggests that temperatures will fall to -6C, we have reluctantly had to decide that we will not be able to open the school tomorrow (Thursday 7th January).

We regret any inconvenience this will undoubtedly cause many of you, but hope that this early notification will enable you to make alternative arrangements more easily.

Watch this space as the situation develops.

For up to date weather information:

http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/today.asp?zipcode=so173sz

Christmas Plays

2009-12-15T09:42:00.003Z

The festive season is well and truly upon us here in school, and yesterday saw the first of two performances of our plays. The Infants performed a version of "Babushka", a Russian folk tale that describes the Nativity, whilst the Juniors performed a more contemporary piece- 'The Polar Express'.

The children excelled themselves in both plays, and the audience were treated to a really lively and exciting start to the festive season.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Author in School

2009-11-09T13:49:00.003Z

Last Friday (6th November) was a fantastic day here at school! We were very fortunate to have a real life author in with us for the whole day.

Sandra Horn spent some time in every class, reading from her books and answering the children's questions about her work and being an author. I know that many of the children have been inspired to put pen to paper and start work on their own books. This was a truly inspirational day, and there was great demand for signed copies of Sandra's works at the end of the day.

Year 6 Leavers' Performance

2009-07-20T16:36:00.002+01:00

If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a dramatic treat! Year 6 entertained us with 2 performances of Roald Dahl's 'Red Riding Hood'. The performaces were excellent, and entertained the children and adults alike. Thanks Year 6, and good luck at secondary school.

Summer Fair

2009-07-12T12:20:00.004+01:00

Last Saturday saw our school summer fair, and despite a shaky start, the weather came good and we managed to hold it outside. The event was great fun; we had a huge turnout- new friends and old. The event raised over £1250, which is a marvelous achievement when you consider that the school community is only 150 families!
Equally importantly, however, the event had a lovely, relaxed, community feel to it. A huge thank you to all those involved in organising it, those who donated their time or prizes, and to everybody who turned out to support the school in this way. Particular thanks to Michelle, who had a key role in the organisation of the event, and was in many ways the founder of FOSS (our parents' association) who leaves us at the end of the year as her daughter moves up to secondary school.

Year 4 Adverts

2009-07-09T21:43:00.005+01:00

In literacy recently, Year 4 have been learning about persuasive texts. We looked at TV and magazine adverts and had a go at writing and performing our own radio adverts. We tried to make our smoothie drinks sound really tasty to persuade you to buy them!

Primary Languages Competition

2009-07-07T13:25:00.003+01:00

On a very hot Monday afternoon at the end of June, a mixed age group of eleven children took part in the first Southampton Primary Languages Competition at Beechwood Junior School.

The children had entered various categories: the Culture Quiz, the Song category and an ICT category. Ryan P and Mohammod from Year 5 impressed everyone with their knowledge of France and French life! Both of them reached the sudden death play-off, with Mohammod narrowly beating Ryan and the two other finalists.

The song was performed energetically and confidently by Max, Katie, Rhiannon and Archie from Year 3; Kundie, Shannon, Ariba and Charley S from Year 4 and Jasmine F from Year 5. Much to their excitement, they won their category.

Finally, Kundie and Charley S represented the whole of Year 4 by explaining their ‘Comic Life' ICT presentation to the judges. Year 4 had worked with Mr Mackay to prepare comic strip dialogues based on role play at a French market. Kundie and Charlie had to explain how this was done and were expected to read the French dialogue to the judges, which they clearly did well, as they also won!

We were very proud of the children’s efforts and of their fantastic behaviour, which was commented upon by parents who attended. “Bravo tout le monde!”

Year 5 Trip to Hale

2009-06-19T10:19:00.002+01:00

As part of their study of a contrasting geographical location, Year 5 went out to Hale in the New Forest this week Luckily the weather stayed good, and the children enjoyed a lovely day out in a school which has many similarities, but also some very interesting differences to our own.

The children were particulary struck by the lack of traffic fumes out in this part of the Forest.

We also managed to win the annual football match with Hale School!

French Assistante in School

2009-06-08T11:33:00.002+01:00

We are very lucky to have Charlotte, a Foreign Language Assistant, working in school with the children this term. Charlotte team teaches French to whole classes; works with groups of children and runs a French Club for various year groups. The children look forward to working with her and enjoy asking her about France and French life. It is wonderful to have a native speaker in the classroom to support their language learning.

It still seems amazing that we have taught French for such a short time, yet the children are so good at speaking it!

Year 5&6 Enterprise Day

2009-05-20T11:59:00.003+01:00

On Tuesday morning we had a real treat for Years 5 & 6- we had a group of business people and some University staff to put on an enterprise day for the children. This was a refreshing change for the older children who had been working so hard towards last week's SATS!

The children had an 'Apprentice' style challenge- to plan, design and market a children's club and present their work to the rest of the class. To make the task even more challenging, the children's club was in France, so the children had to use their French to translate for the posters and marketing materials, and use their Maths skills to convert pounds to Euro for their budget!

The children coped very well with this complex task, and produced some really good work. It was nice to have the business people and academics in school as well.

Year 3 Assembly

2009-05-15T16:49:00.006+01:00

We were treated to a real star performance on

Friday afternoon, as Year 3 put on their Assembly for the Junior classes and parents.

Clearly, a lot of work had gone into preparing the event, and the children shared some of the brilliant work they have done in English, Numeracy, IT, Music and French.

It was really good to see just how much fun learning can be, and also to get a glimpse into the future as to how technology will enhance learning.

The audience were spellbound:

Year 6 SATS

2009-05-14T11:31:00.004+01:00

This has been a busy week for our Year 6 children, who have been sitting their SATS in English, Maths and Science. They seem to have done very well and enjoyed it so far!

We have been serving breakfast for them all week as a way of calming them down, making sure they are fully fuelled to get through a busy morning, and also to have an opportunity to talk to their teachers about any last minute revision.

I don't know how much academically they have learnt during these breakfasts, but as a school we have learnt two things:

The most popular breakfast cereal amongst Year 6 children at Swaythling is Kellogg's' Cheerios.
Mr Parker makes the best toast in the UK!

I'm very grateful to both Mr Parker and Mrs Hurst for helping out to arrange these breakfasts- it has been really popular- 23 out of a possible 27 have attended!

Congratulations to our Sports Coach

2009-05-08T10:33:00.000+01:00

We pride ourselves on providing high quality PE here at Swaythling- in fact we have been awarded the PE Mark for providng 2 hours high quality PE every week ahead of the government deadline for this target.

One way we achieve this is through buying in our sports coach, Neil, through Sports4Schools. I am delighted to share with you the news that Neil and his colleagues have just been awarded the Southampton City Council's Quality Mark.

This is very well deserved- the children all enjoy working with Neil (second from the right), and he also runs our Football team, who are performing at an increasingly high level.

Drummer in School

2009-05-05T12:22:00.000+01:00

Today is the celebration of the 'Buzzing about Books' project which has been run by Mr Oliver and Mr Mackay. It has been a really great project, and many of the children have much improved attitudes to reading as a result of their involvement of the project. A highlight of today's celebration was the visit of Paul, a professional drummer, who has run workshoops for all the junior children.

Here are some pictures of Year 4.

Flu Information

2009-05-01T14:00:00.000+01:00

It's a worrying time with all the news being about the flu at the moment, but I think we should all be reassured by the fact that there have been no confirmed cases in Hampshire at all, and all those elsewhere in the UK seem to have only mild symptoms and make a good recovery.

Nonetheless, we are taking the threat very seriously, and have stepped up our cleaning routines, and spent some time over the last couple of days teaching the children about good hygiene practices (handwashing, throwing away used tissues etc.). This is the best way to stop the infection spreading.

If people are worried, here are some links for more information:

Health Protection Agency http://www.hpa.org.uk/

Southampton PCT http://www.southamptonhealth.nhs.uk/

SCC website: http://www.southampton.gov.uk/people/keepingyousafe

Hopefully, in the very near future, we'll all be wondering what all the fuss was about!

Happy Birthday Mrs Salter!

2009-04-24T13:34:00.000+01:00

An atmosphere of celebration was in the air on Thursday, as Mrs Salter, our Senior Midday Supervisor, celebrated her 60th. birthday.
Mrs Salter is a very important person to the smooth running of the school, so this was a lovely opportunity to both wish her many happy returns and thank her for the 27 years of service she has given to the school. (She brought in a nice cake as well...)
Happy birthday Mrs Salter!

2009-04-20T15:50:00.000+01:00

Welcome back after the Easter Holiday- hope everyone had a good break.
It looks like being a very busy half term in School! There are only five weeks before half term, and one bank holiday.
Year 6 have their SATS in the week beginning the 11th May, so are frantically revising and brushing up on exam technique. We have a few treats booked in for them once this week is out of the way-they (and Mrs Charlton and Mrs Dixon) will certainly have earned it by then.
Year 5 enjoyed presenting the weather in French just before we broke up:

first post

2009-03-23T10:13:00.000Z

Welcome to the Blog, this is a first test to see how it works.