Half term is here already! Where has the time gone? The children and staff have certainly worked hard this term. I’m pleased to say that most of our 156 children at Leigh School had really encouraging reports from their teachers and parents were pleased to hear about their child’s efforts. If you were unable to attend one of the two parent meetings please contact your child’s teacher for a convenient appointment. It is very important that parents keep in touch with school about their child’s learning.

All children in school on Tuesday had a photograph taken by Braiswick photographers. These will be available in November.

Year 5 are getting much better at swimming and I hope they continue to practice during the holiday at the Excel Centre.

Year 1 had a fantastic trip to the Memorial Park on Wednesday. The weather and setting was typically autumnal and very British. Good luck to any of our parents in the half marathon on Sunday which is centred at the Memorial Park.

The clocks go back 1 hour on Sunday 25th October at 2am.

When the children return to school on 2nd November please ensure that they bring a suitable warm coat/anorak each day. Children brought to school in cars often forget to bring their coat into school.

On behalf of everyone connected to Leigh CE Primary School, may I wish you a ‘Happy Half Term Holiday’!

23rd October School closed for Teacher Training
2nd November Return to school
16th November Book Week
18th December School closes at 2:30pm for Christmas Holiday
5th January 2010 Return to school

It has been another eventful week at Leigh. The year 2 assembly on Monday, was very successful. Children used the story of The Rainbow Fish linked to our school focus on Peace and Reconciliation. They acted out the story and even did a dance to pass on their message. Well done year 2! We thank the parents once again, for coming to support their children; especially after having to change the date at the last minute.

The first of our Parent's Evenings ran smoothly on Wednesday. Parents were greeted by some of our Year 6 children and shown to the classrooms. I was really proud to receive an email commenting on their excellent manners which echoed the views of parents that evening. If you haven't already contacted your child's teacher for an appointment there is still time to arrange one for Wednesday 21" October.

If you didn't see the Coventry Telegraph on Wednesday, some children from Leigh School were featured in an article with Coventry Fire Brigade to launch the Christmas Shoebox Appeal. We are very proud to be part of this scheme and thank all of you who have made contributions so far.

Today children celebrated Harvest Festival in an assembly led by Mrs Malone and Mrs Rumsby. Once again, we were supported by lots of parents who were entertained with harvest songs, children making a pizza and poems. There was a bible reading by Year 6 children and some Year 4 children read out their own prayers. Thank you to all of you who have sent in contributions. They are not going to be sent off until the end of next week, so if you haven't made a contribution and would like to do so, there is still time.

Finally, a small request to parents. In line with our Healthy Schools policy, could parents please avoid smoking anywhere near the school grounds when picking up or dropping off their children. We would really appreciate your support on this matter.

How to feed the Hamster and the Fish...

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During assembly this week children were given information about Operation Christmas Child. To launch this initiative, the Coventry Fire Service visited the school today and some year 2 children had their photograph taken with the firemen and their fire engine. The photo is due to be published in the Coventry Evening Telegraph sometime in the future. We would be grateful for any contributions to the shoeboxes as soon as possible – look out for more details next week.

As part of the school's continuing work on Peace and Reconciliation, Year 5 and Year 6 participated in a 'Stress and Relaxation' workshop. The objective of the session was to help them to recognise the effects of stress both physically and mentally. They were given ideas on how to relax during times of stress which will be followed up by the teachers.

The Diocese are supporting the school with some money to improve the site. At Leigh, we value the children's opinions about what improvements they think we could make. The School Council have been busy gathering children's ideas throughout the school to contribute to future developments.

A big thank you to year 2 parents who supported the school's decision to rearrange the assembly. Unfortunately Miss Benwell was poorly but she is very much looking forward to seeing you all there at 9:00am on Monday 12th October to watch the children.

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We have had another busy week at Leigh. The children have had a variety of people leading worship/assembly this week. We had an interesting talk from a member of the Herbert Art Gallery staff on “Bones”. On Tuesday Father Brian Regan from St. Oswalds church led his farewell assembly for us before his retirement.

On Wednesday we had a special praise service and prayers for Natalie Morton’s family (Natalie was a pupil at Bluecoat School, another Cross of Nails school). We hope you all remember the family in your prayers at this sad time.

On Thursday, our school nurses talked to the children about staying healthy this Winter. On Friday our Year 1 children led assembly with some beautiful singing. A lot of parents came to the assembly and we look forward to many more opportunities where parents can be involved.

During the week Year 4 went to the Partnership Centre to study Victorians. We had an excellent turn-out for our Year 6 pre-SATs evening. Year 6 are still practising their cycling proficiency. Year 5 have started their Cov Kool Kids Project with a musician called Matt Bramhall. We look forward to the performance at the end of term.

We are all pleased that September was a dry month as the children did not have to lose any playtimes outside. Please can I remind parents that meetings with teachers are scheduled to take place on 14th October and 21st October and that school closes on both days at 2:30pm.

PARENT GOVERNOR NEEDED

Being on the governing body means having the opportunity to help youngsters achieve their goals and ambitions. Governors make sure that staff have the right tools to broaden pupils’ knowledge and widen their horizons. In essence it’s about making things better and being a critical friend to the school.

 Governors make key decisions like appointing the head teacher.

 Governors’ decisions directly affect the education and well-being of children.

 Governors can really make a difference in improving standards throughout a school.

A Parent Governor’s main role is to be the voice of the parents. You need to be a person who is approachable and is willing to listen to the parent’s opinions and is able to bring up issues at meetings. As a parent governor you would need to be very aware of the need for confidentiality at all times.

If you are interested in this role, please complete the slip below and send into the school office. To become a governor, you will have to be nominated by two or more other parents (not family). If there is more than one applicant, there will be an election.