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.
Mrs Miller’s Final Newsletter
Dear Parents,
As I write my final newsletter to you, I look back on the 24 happy years that I have spent at Blanford Mere Primary School. I moved to Blanford Mere from my previous school to be nearer to my family - a decision I have never regretted.
I have enjoyed the challenge of improving the school and providing better facilities for the children and staff to work in. Although I will not be able to see the outcomes of the current building work 'in action', I know that it will provided much needed additional space and will considerably improve the existing layout.
It will be with great sadness that I retire from Blanford Mere having formed happy relationships with children, staff, parents and friends of our school community. Although I am very much looking forward to a more relaxed and stress free way of life, I will miss the affection and kindness shown to me by the children; it has been a privilege to be part of their lives and to know you as parents. May I thank you for your kind words, cards and gifts - I shall treasure them
24 years in one school is a long time. 30 years as a Headteacher seems even longer! I have seen so many children grow and pass on through our school. We regularly hear updates about ex pupils and the way they are making their way in life, contributing to society and bringing up the next generation. It is wonderful to think that Blanford Mere has played a part in their education and makes the hard work of leading a school seem really worthwhile.
In recent years, children have started arriving in our Nursery and Reception classes whose parents came to Blanford Mere when I first started here. It is lovely to know that they regard Blanford Mere as the school they want their children to attend too and that they entrust them to us for their care and education. We also have staff who were here as children and my own daughter now teaches alongside an ex-pupil from my time here too!! Blanford Mere is a special place and I shall remember my time here with love and affection. Blanford Mere has always felt like a family to me and it will be very hard to say goodbye at the end of this term.
The last 3 academic years have been extremely challenging as we navigated our way through the pandemic. Children and staff have worked steadfastly through difficult times as we tried to bring stability and continuity in unprecedented circumstances. I would like to thank the staff for their perseverance and commitment. My aim was to bring us safely through the pandemic - I sincerely hope that there is now light at the end of tunnel and that school life can return to normal.
I would like to thank the staff and governors for their support and commitment to the school.
I wish the school well and I am sure that it will have a bright future. I am proud of what we have achieved – it is a huge team effort and I am honoured to have played a part in it.
Kind regards,
Mrs Miller.
Mrs Miller’s final week. I’m a Headteacher…Get me out of here!
We were keen to say goodbye to Mrs Miller in as special way as possible. On Monday, we held a surprise assembly for Mrs Miller, titled “I’m a Headteacher, Get me out of here!” which has seen her subjected to a series of daily trials throughout the week; she had to win stars in order to retire! Today the staff and children laid on a memorable leaving assembly for Mrs Miller; a tribute to our "tireless and passionate" Headteacher.
The staff and children have thoroughly enjoyed the week…even Ant and Dec made a daily appearance! Eventually, Mrs Miller triumphed to earn her stars and was happily sent on her way today with plenty of wonderful gifts, flowers, and well wishes from the children, staff, parents, and governors.
She will be greatly missed but we hope she thoroughly enjoys her well-deserved retirement.
Good bye Mrs Miller – message from the staff
It is with extreme sadness that we say goodbye to Mrs Miller today, after her 24 years as Headteacher at Blanford Mere Nursery and Primary School. We want to thank you for your years of dedication to education, and especially for all the lives that you have impacted over the many years!
We appreciate and are proud of the work that you have done, the person that you are and the difference that you have made.
May the blessings of good health, the joy of good friends, a loving family, and the contentment of a job well done, fill your life with happiness! We will remember you, always!
We wish you a long and happy retirement and the very best wishes for the future.
Love from all of the staff at Blanford Mere Primary School.
…and children
Dear Mrs Miller,
Thank you for being our Headteacher. You have inspired, encouraged and helped each one of us to be the best that we can be. Now is the time for you to rest, relax and put your feet up. Enjoy your retirement – we will miss you.
Love from all of the children at Blanford Mere Primary School
Staffing news
- We welcome Mrs K Crook, who be the Headteacher from 1st September. We wish her an enjoyable time at Blanford Mere, we are sure that you will all make her extremely welcome.
- We also welcome Mr L Kimberley who is an experienced teacher and will become the new EYFS Strategic leader and Reception class teacher.
- We look forward to welcoming back to school Mrs M Cope who will be teaching in Year 3/4 and taking over the maternity cover post. Mrs Cope has a wealth of experience; working in many local Primary Schools in the borough.
- We say goodbye to Mrs L Johnson, who has worked at the school for the past 16 years in a variety of roles as Lunchtime Supervisor and Breakfast and After school club. She will be leaving us after securing more hours in a local Nursery provision. Thank you and all the best Mrs Johnson. We would like to wish her every success for the future.
- We also say goodbye to Mrs Harris, she will be leaving her EYFS Practitioner post in our nursery. She has gained a position as an Art technician at a local Grammar School. Thank you for all of your hard work, dedication and commitment to the school, and the Nursery provision. We wish her the best of luck.
- We would also like to welcome Mr M Di Tano to our cleaning team.
- We would also like to welcome Mrs Patel and Mrs Maher to our After School Club team.
Our teaching team have been preparing for September. They have already spent time in school getting to know their new classes on ‘Transition Day’ and being part of the ‘handover’ of information to ensure continuity and a swift start to the new academic year. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of our staff team who have worked hard this year in their various roles, to make this academic year a happy, successful and productive one for the children.
Sports Day
The children had a fantastic sports day this year and the great British weather was kind to us. It was so lovely to welcome parents back into school. Thank you for supporting us with this. The track events were a great success and all children managed to take part in their event and represented their class well.
Year 3/4 Gym Festival
8 children from year 3/4 had the opportunity to take part in a gymnastics festival as part of the Commonwealth Games celebrations within Dudley. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being able to use the specialist equipment at Dudley Gymnastics to perform several disciplines such as: vaults, floor routines, balance beam and parallel bars. The children thoroughly enjoyed this unique experience and were a credit to the school.
Alby: “I got to do vaulting which I have never done before – it was really good. And, I got to balance on a very thin beam and nearly fell over when I jumped off!”
Rosie: “I’m glad I went to the gymnastics this morning because I have never been on the parallel bars before and I was quite good at it.”
DPA Live Music
Year 2 were very lucky to receive a visit from Dudley Performing Arts (DPA) last week. The very talented teachers showed Year 2 their musical instruments. The children saw the teachers play the flute, the clarinet, and the violin. There was also someone using their voice as an instrument! They showed Year 2 the different parts of the instruments and played some famous songs. The children even had a competition to see who could name the song! The teachers showed the children the kind of activities they would be involved in if they decided to have Music lessons with DPA, and gave them a helpful leaflet. Year 2 really enjoyed joining in with a song and using their voices as instruments. It was exciting to see Musicians with such passion! Thank you DPA!
End of term Reward
Last Friday, the whole school from Nursery to Year 6, enjoyed an end of term treat with fun on the bouncy castles! They also enjoyed the rest of the morning or afternoon as a reward for their good behaviour over the past term. Very few children lost their end of term treat, which was fantastic to see. Keep up the high standards of behaviour.
Year 6 Leavers Treat Day
Last Thursday, Year 6 enjoyed their Year 6 Leavers Day, as a gift from school, with a fun filled day at the Dudley Showcase Cinema followed by Bowling. This was truly enjoyed by staff and children; we wish year 6 every success at secondary school.
Year 6 Leavers Assembly
Yesterday, Year 6 Leaver’s assembly ‘Memories of Blanford Mere’ was an excellent performance and greatly appreciated by their families. Thank you to Mr Baker for his hard work and dedication in organising and preparing for the memorable occasion. We look forward to hearing about the children’s success in the future! Good luck!
Attendance Winners July
Well done to Year Yr 5/6B, who won the attendance award for July with 95.88%. Fantastic!
Year 1 RRSA Display in Morrisons, Kingswinford
The children in Year 1 have been busy making collaborative posters about children's rights, so that we can share our work with the local community. The work will not be named, but the children should be able to spot the bits that they have contributed. It will be on display over the summer, so please pop along and take this opportunity to discuss with your children what they know about their rights
Summer Reading Challenge
We are very excited about the Summer Reading Challenge 2022! For each book you read over the summer, and keep a record of via the app/website, you can earn badges and prizes! Please follow this link to create your account for FREE and have a fantastic summer of reading; https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/. Our very own school library will be opening in the new academic year, as well as visiting our local library. Keep your eyes and ears peeled, and keep reading!
Thanks, Mr Wade
Mathletics
We wanted to let you know that your child’s Mathletics account will be refreshed on Monday 1st August 2022, ready for the results from the next school year. We look forward to another fun year of learning!
What does this mean?
- Results are reset so you’ll only see the latest and most relevant results
- Progress bars are reset so you can see how your children are progressing with this year’s curriculum
What about their achievements?
Your child’s Avatar, certificates, and Live Mathletics scores will still be there, ready for another exciting year of maths!
What do I have to do?
Your school will take care of everything. They’ll set your child’s new curriculum and learning journeys, and you’ll be able to use Mathletics at home in the meantime.
Warm regards,
The Mathletics Team
Reminders:
All inhalers and epi-pens MUST be in school on the first day of term. Can I remind parents that although we do our best to look out for expiry dates, it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that these items are in date. If your child is registered as asthmatic, you should complete the form that has already been sent home with your child. Please send the completed form into school with two inhalers and a spacer. These must be labelled clearly with your child’s name. Please send into school on Tuesday 6th September 2022. If your child has been diagnosed with asthma during the holiday please email info@blanford.dudley.sch.uk with your child’s name, year group and the subject as asthma. We will then email you the appropriate form for you to complete and return with your child in September.
Children are not allowed to take part in PE unless all jewellery/earrings have been removed. If you wish your child to have their ears pierced, can I suggest that you have this done at the very beginning of the of the summer holiday so that their ears have the full six weeks to heal.
Hairstyles: it is not suitable to return to school in September with shaven heads, tramlines or extreme colours. Please remind your children of the rules. Children who have long hair must tie it up.
Could you please make sure that your child has all of their PE kit available in school every day from the first day of term as our timetable starts immediately. Although staff will let you know when the planned PE sessions are, there are often times when we have PE for classes or when teachers take advantage of good weather to do PE.
Dogs are not allowed on the school premises at any time, and if you have a dog please do not obstruct the pathway/gate as a number of children, who are frightened of dogs, find this intimidating.
In September, children may return in either summer or winter uniform depending upon both the weather and your preference. They should also wear black ‘leather style’ shoes not trainers.
Children should not bring any money to school – there is nothing to buy.
Dinners should be pre-paid, where applicable online using School Grid. All lunches should be preordered on School Grid, regardless of year group.
All children in Reception Class and KS1 receive free fruit each day for tuck and therefore do not need to bring any food from home. A reminder that all children in Year R, 1 and 2 will be entitled to a free school meal, we would like all children in these year groups (Universal Free School Meals) to take this option from September. Children entitled to Free School Meals through benefits should also take this option. Please remember to apply for free school meals if you are eligible as some of school funding depends on it.
Children in KS2 should also bring a piece of fruit for break – there will be no tuck on sale. (No crisps or chocolate please.) KS2 children: May we remind you that we operate a ‘healthy tuck’ policy. Since schools are now subject to strict guidelines about the type of food that is allowed/ available during the school day, we hope that parents will support our efforts to encourage children to make healthy choices. For parents of current Year 2 in particular, this is a real opportunity to continue the good habits established in KS1 where fruit has always been offered as the only choice at playtime. We also encourage children to bring in healthy lunchboxes.
Children should only bring a filled water bottle (not squash – see healthy tuck policy on the website). This needs to be named please so that children can easily recognise their own bottle and do not touch or drink out of bottles belonging to other children.
Attendance/Absence and Holidays in Term Time:
Attendance in school is compulsory.
Don’t forget that our policy on attendance, reporting children’s absences and holidays in term time is on the school website. If children are too ill to attend school then parents must phone the school office by 9.00a.m. to let us know the reason why children are not in school—unexplained absences are recorded as “unauthorised”. It is then your responsibility to ring school before 9.05am on any future days of illness, so our registers are kept up to date. Our policy reflects the government’s stance on holidays in term time.
We have been informed by Dudley Investigation Service that they are issuing Fixed Penalty Notices (fines) for a leave of absence in term time which is for a period of 5 days (10 sessions) or more.
Please can parents be aware of this information when booking any holidays, trips etc.
Holiday Dates:
A reminder that we break up for the summer holidays on today – Thursday 21st July. School re-opens for the children on Tuesday 6th September 2022.
Please familiarise yourself with the information about start/end times and entrances/exits for your child(ren), that was sent out to all parents in a newsletter on Thursday 14th July 2022. This can be found on the website in the ‘Newsletter’ pencil.
Dates for next academic year
Autumn 2022
Term starts – Monday 5th September 2022
Half term – Monday 24th October to Friday 28th October 2022
Term Ends – Friday 16th December 2022
Spring 2023
Term starts – Tuesday 3rd January 2023
Half term – Monday 20th February to Friday 24th February 2023
Term Ends – Friday 31st March 2023
Summer 2023
Term starts – Monday 17th April 2023
Half term – Monday 29th May to Friday 2nd June 2023
Term Ends – Tuesday 25th July 2023
Bank Holiday
Monday 1st May 2023
INSET Days 2022 / 2023
Monday 5th September 2022
Friday 21st October 2022
Friday 17th February 2023
Friday 26th May 2023
Tuesday 25th July 2023
Polling Day
Thursday 4th May 2023 (to be confirmed)
A great big thank you for your support, understanding and cooperation this year. It has been an extremely challenging time for parents, children and staff again, but now we can see light at the end of the tunnel and hope that next year remains the same.
We value the partnerships between Home and School, which makes sure that children make the most of their learning opportunities. Have a restful holiday.
Best wishes,
Mrs Miller and Miss Stanton
