Article 29
Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.
PE Competition
On Thursday 18th January, 11 children from year 5/6 took part in an athletics competition at Ellowes Hall Sports College against 10 other local schools. They competed in a range of sprinting, jumping and throwing events. The children represented the school impeccably and produced some impressive performances by finishing first in the Boys' Relay and Boys' Sprint. Overall Blanford Mere finished in 6th place. I'd like to say a huge well done to the boys and girls who took part!
Year 1 Burns Night Celebration
On Friday 26th January, Year One held their 'Burns Night' Celebration Day! We had lots of fun learning all about the poet Robert Burns and Scottish Traditions. The children explored different objects and pictures relating to Scotland and we discussed the uses and shared our thoughts and ideas. We also explored Scottish foods and drink, and the children then each created their own menu. As part of our Art focus, the children have been looking at textiles, and we linked this lesson to tartan material, learning how to plait and knot fabric. In our PE lesson last week, the children took part in some Scottish dancing; we tried learning the Scottish Reel 'The Dashing White Sergeant'. The children had such a fantastic time and impressed us with all they had learnt!
Attendance Winners
January winners were Year 3/4MC and 5/6AR with 97.20%. They wore their own clothes to school on Wednesday 7th February 2024. Fantastic – well done!
Wolverhampton Wanderers Primary Schools Football Tournament
On Friday 26th January, ten children from year 5/6 took part in a 6-a-side football tournament at the Dell Stadium. The boys and girls who took part show cased their brilliant footballing skills and competed in a group stage tournament where the top 2 teams from each group then progressed into the knockout rounds.
Blanford Mere started the tournament in impressive fashion by beating Ashwood Park 4-0. The next two games against Red Hall and Peter's Hill were much more of an even contest where the children unfortunately just lost out by conceding a single late goal in each game which resulted in 1-0 defeats. In the final game, Blanford gave another dominant performance winning 2-0. Overall, the team finished in 3rd place - just missing out on qualification to the quarter finals.
Well done to the team for competing with great enthusiasm and enjoyment. They supported each other throughout and showed great sportsmanship and integrity. Well done!
NSPCC Number Day
Thank you to everyone who helped make our Number Day a great success on Friday 2nd February. The children wore mathematical clothes, took part in the TTRS competition, and had extra maths activities as part of the day. We raised £329 this will go towards supporting the NSPCC charity.
A big well done to our 3 highest scoring pupils in our school for the TTRS competition:
- Jessica S (Year 5)
- Grayson P (Year 2)
- Zydaan (Year 3)
Below is what the children had to say:
RNP
Marcella: 'We are wearing our own clothes to help the children.'
RLK
Jude: 'We wear numbers and play maths games for number day.'
1JB
Kallie: “Today is Number day and we are raising money for children who need it.”
Arthur: “Number day is for kids who need help, the grown-ups say speak out to stay safe.”
1MC
Carter: "So we wore shapes and numbers because it is Number Day. We are helping people by giving money."
Tilly: "We are helping children who don't have lots of things by raising money."
2BW
Oliver: "Maths is really important - we did extra Mathletics and Numbots on Friday."
Elliott: "Maths is really fun and its good to celebrate it."
2JC
Daisy: "Number day is about using numbers more."
Logan: "We did lots of activities with numbers, this helps children who may not be able to count."
3/4DD
Jenson: “I've worn a hoodie with a calculator on to celebrate number day. I really like numbers and improving my times tables by going on TT Rockstars!”
Arjun: “I like that we get to celebrate number day by wearing numbers and connecting together. We answered the register with our favourite numbers this morning and doing the maths quizzes was fun.”
3/4MC
Abel: “I liked it because I saw most people were wearing numbers and there were fun activities for us to do.”
Scarlett: “I really like the costumes; I liked raising money for the charity.”
3/4JC
Isla W: “I liked Number Day because it is fun, it involves a lot of maths and I like maths and it involves lots of learning.”
Ashleigh: “I enjoyed Number Day because it was fun and you get to play lots of maths games.”
5/6HO
Dylan: “We have been learning about grid references and how numbers help us find things on a map. We also went on TT Rock Stars for the NSPCC challenge.”
Joshua: “I enjoyed doing TT Rock Stars and competing against other pupils in our class. Once I got the hang of using 6-figure grid references it was an enjoyable experience.”
5/6AR
Jacob: "I really enjoyed Numbers Day. I liked dressing up with numbers on my t-shirt and I enjoyed the estimation game we did in Maths."
Joseph: "I liked dressing up for numbers day and I enjoyed the game we played. Going on TT Rockstars was fun."
5/6MB
Alby: "We have been celebrating numbers and raising money for the NSPCC charity. Year 6 enjoyed a maths quiz where we were tested on our mental maths skills."
Kyla: "Today we have been learning about numbers. I enjoyed learning a maths song with Mrs Crook!"
Year 6 – local Maths competition
On Tuesday 6th February, our Year 6 Maths Team took part in a local maths competition at Crestwood Park Primary School. It was a closely fought competition - Bromley Hills were winning from the 1st minute until the very last question where we managed to pull it back to 90 points each. In the tie-break on angles, we were able to hold our nerve and come away with the victory. It was a fantastic morning and the children really enjoyed themselves engaging in a range of maths puzzles and activities. A huge well done to Mason, Freya, Frankie, and Destiny who represented our school so well and competed brilliantly to win the competition.
Year 3/4 Inter Schools Maths Competition (Tuesday7th February)
The highly successful Inter-School Maths Championship took place in February for Year 3/4 - Eesha, Arjan, Luke T, Thomas B, Abel C and Eugene C competed against schools across the West Midlands at Priory School, Dudley. The competition encompasses an exciting range of mathematical challenges, puzzles and problem-solving tasks which pupils work through, in their school groups, to accumulate points. We are pleased to announce that our Year 3/4 children won their heat and are through the final in June.
This is what Helen had to say:
Hello All
Congratulations finalists.
I bet you are all really proud of your pupils. Well done to everyone!
The pupils did so well to reach the final and their mathematical skills shone through.
The finals will be at Priory Primary again on Tuesday 18th June 9:15am – 12:00pm. It will be in the KS2 hall as there will be 12 schools in the final. The Maths Championship results, and prize presentation will start from about 11:30am. The school that wins the final will be presented with a trophy. I will then get this engraved with the school’s name and come into school later in the term to present this formally to the pupils in an assembly which their parents/carers can attend.
Years 3 and 4 Finalists
Blanford Mere
Brook
Hagley
Hawbush
Lightwoods
Maidensbridge
Milking Bank
Newfield Park
Perrywood
Roberts
Straits
Tividale
Helen Owens
Summerhill Football Tournament
Well done to all the girls who took part in the Summerhill Girls Football Tournament this half term. It was great to see such enthusiasm and perseverance in very challenging weather conditions! The girls worked well as a team, encouraging each other to have a go and even managed to score a few goals. Thank you also to the parents for their support and encouragement, it is really appreciated.
Schools' Football Week
The children have had a wonderful time celebrating Schools' Football Week. Each year group has had the opportunity to take part in mini 5 aside football matches during lunchtime and practise their football skills during their PE lessons. EYFS took part in a mini penalty shootout against their teachers during their free flow time. It was great to see the children demonstrating important values such as working as a team, encouraging, supporting, and motivating each other. Unfortunately, due to the bad weather today we have had to postpone the penalty shootout for KS1 and Ks2. However, the children have enjoyed listening and dancing to a range of football songs on the boombox during lunchtime. Children also came to school wearing their favourite football top/coloured top on the last day to mark the end of our celebrations. We hope by providing these opportunities we have inspired more children to participate and get involved in football, but most importantly...have lots of fun!
3/4DD
Kian - I've loved doing all the football exercises and playing football at lunchtime.
Celina - I really enjoyed PE because we got to do lots of fun, football activities. We did football drills which helped my confidence at football.
Welcome Miss Hughes
We welcome Miss Hughes to Blanford Mere – she will be the teacher in Year 2 alongside Mrs Cartwright and Miss Jordan. Miss Hughes has visited the children and is an experienced the teacher. We know that the transition will be smooth. Miss Hughes class will become Yr 2BH after the break. We are sure that you will make her feel extremely welcome.
Children’s Wider Personal Development
At Blanford Mere, we work tirelessly to create a curriculum that supports children’s development. We support children’s interests outside of school and celebrate their achievements in classroom assemblies. Many staff members talk to the children about their activities outside of school – this is superb to see. We aim to equip each child for the next stage in their development, so that they can make the most of their opportunities and fulfil their potential in life.
If your child takes part in out of school activities and you would like this to be shared in the newsletter, please email info@blanford.dudley.sch.uk with the written content and we will gladly do so!
School Photographs!
The date for ‘The Photographer’ has been arranged for Tuesday 12th March 2024. Individual photographs will be taken for those children in school who have no brothers/sisters at school. Where there are two or more children from a family in school, they will be photographed together. If you would like any other combination taken i.e. brothers and sisters taken separately as well as together, then please let us know by emailing info@blanford.dudley.sch.uk by Monday 11th March 2024.
We ask that all children wear the correct winter uniform, to include shirts, ties, trousers/skirt/pinafore and jumpers/cardigans.
Children in Year 6 will have photographs taken for a group leaver’s photo. If your child is not in school on this date (illness, appointments etc.) then they will not be included in the photograph.
If you have a child who attends afternoon Nursery and you would like your child to have their photograph taken, then please bring them to the main office in their uniform at 8.15am. If it is your child’s birthday is on this occasion, then please send them in their own clothes on the following day.
Mini Kickers
Mini Kickers for Wordsley Wasps will be restarting at the end of the month, should any children wish to continue playing football. We offer training on Saturdays at Wordsley Park from ages 6-9 with the intention of setting up teams for the new season. You can find out more information on Wordsley Wasps Facebook page.
Friday 9th February – INSET Day – school closed to children
Friday 9th February – Half term
Monday 19th February - School reopens at the usual time
Wednesday 21st February pm – Yr 5/6 Maths Competition
Friday 23rd February – Year 5/6 Black Country Museum visit
Tuesday 27th February - Blanford Babies – 9-10am – The Hub
Thursday 7th March – World Book Day – see email that was sent on 06.02.2024
Tuesday 12th March – School Photographer
Wednesday 13th – Friday 15th March – Yr 6 Condover Hall
Friday 15th March – Red Nose Day – children to wear their own clothes or wear Something Funny for Money! We ask that children donate £1 to this fantastic cause. If you do not want your child to take part in this event, please send your child in their own clothes.
Tuesday 19th March - Blanford Babies – 9-10am – The Hub
Friday 22nd March – Break up Easter holidays
Monday 8th April – Children return to school at the usual time
Have a great half term.
Mrs Crook and Miss Stanton
Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher
