Please see the latest Temple Meadow news below.
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On Monday 3rd October, we held our Harvest Festival in school.
We managed to collect and donated 152kgs of food and 2kgs of non-food to the Black Country Foodbank which is an amazing achievement! We also donated £112.80 which will go straight to the Food Bank too.
Thank you to everyone who generously donated.
Forest School has gotten off to a great start this term. We have been playing team-building games, hunting for insects, listening to nature as well as learning how to use tools for different purposes. The various elements of Forest School have allowed the children to learn new skills outside the classroom and we can already see the benefits that it is having on the children. Den building has been a huge success where the children have worked together, listening to each other’s ideas and then even testing some dens to see if they are waterproof.
Within Forest School sessions, we have been investigating which animals have visited Forest School and the signs to show us where they have been. We have been lucky to be able to capture images of a badger and a fox in the Forest School area. Each session follows a structure with time to reflect on our own achievements, worries and thoughts and to inform future sessions. In the coming weeks, children are looking forward to using more of the tools to get creative as well as learning about fire safety and lighting fires.
Hello to everyone at Temple Meadow. My name is Ben Riley, I have recently been elected as your new Chair of Governors. I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself and share some of the ways the Governing Body are here to help and support everyone at Temple Meadow.
I only recently joined your governing body, but I have been a primary governor for 2 years based at Rounds Green in Oldbury. I’m really excited to represent you and support our fantastic school team here to help our students shine.
My aim is to build on the work of our previous Chairs and work with governors to improve our impact and profile at Temple Meadow. I am currently working on ensuring our web page governor profile gives you a sense of who we all are. I am then planning to work with Ms Walsh on expanding our engagement in school life; planning for governor presence at key events. I will be sharing more of these ideas in future newsletters.
I would really like to encourage you to consider filling the current Parent and/or co-opted governor vacancies as schools need active and engaged Governing Boards that represent the whole community.
Best regards
Ben Riley (Chair of Governors)
In Star Assembly last week, we were delighted to be able to reveal the name of our MPs who were unbelievably proud to be announced. Our MPs are as follows:
Amelia (1 Donaldson), Kyler (1 Tomlinson), Billy (2 Geraghty), Rose (2 Dahl), Esme (3 Fine), An Noor (3 Strong), Mohmmed and Sam (4 Ahlberg, Fatima (5 Pullman), Ruby (5 Rosen)
Alongside our Head Boys and Head Girls:
Mohammed, Kyle and Summer (6 Rowling) & Kyle. Karsen and Chloe (6 Morpurgo)
Please see the below flyer.
Please see the attached Applying for a Reception 2023 place poster.
We are really excited to continue to develop Pupil Voice at Temple Meadow and are rolling out something new which is our Pupil Parliament. In essence, we want to get more pupil voice heard. We want to hear their opinions, their views and promote discussion on all aspects of school life.
So how will it work? We currently have 3 highly committed Head girls and 3 Head boys in Year 6. We now plan to roll out an election for our MPs (Members of our Parliament). There will be 1 MP per class for Years 1-5 (the Head Boys and Girls count as MPs for Y6). Therefore, we will have a Parliament of 16 pupil representatives.
The parliament will meet at least once each half term and will regularly call upon wider pupil ambassadors, ECO committee and other pupil representatives. To become an MP, children will initially have to nominate themselves and create a short speech to share with their year group peers before a vote is held using official ballot papers. The successful MPs will be announced in a whole school assembly and on the whole school newsletter. When a pupil becomes an MP, they need to step down from any existing ambassador roles allowing an opportunity for someone else. Just as in the real world, your conduct as an MP needs to match the positive behaviour and attitudes you need in this representative role.
Our Parliament will look like this:
Our smaller Year 4 cohort will have 2 MPs in same way as all other year groups.
Year 6 Head Boys and Head Girls will be the MP’s in Year 6.
Our Early Years will get to share their views and ideas in a more holistic and age appropriate way. For example, Head Boys and Girls may visit to discuss things with them. Any children accessing the Hub will be represented by their home year group and be fully included.
Other pupil responsibilities feeding into our Pupil Parliament:
Of course, adults will join them and facilitate discussion. Myself and both Deputy Heads will be very much involved.
I think it will be a lovely addition to school life and supports some of the ways in which Temple Meadow promotes British Values as Temple Meadow values.
I can’t wait for the MPs to be elected as I have couple of key projects I’d like their view and ideas on.
What happens next?
Along with everyone we are sad to hear about the death of the Queen yesterday. She has been a ‘constant’ for every one of us in terms of the only Monarch we have known and such a familiar figure as a back drop to all living in the UK. She was, as many commentators have said, the most famous woman in the world. It is monumental news, as are all the events that now unfold; from state funeral through to all the things that happen regarding the coronation of King Charles III.
We all have our own political and personal views but I have no doubt whether you are a republican or monarchist or simply a ‘never really thought about it type of person’; I think we would all agree she was a remarkable woman; incredibly hard working; duty-driven and with distinct humility. She was always very dignified and apolitical. Clearly, when you hear all the accolades across the world, she was highly respected for her breath of knowledge over time and admired for how she conducted herself in public life.
So of course we are a school, the home of education; so we will plan all our very own Temple Meadow responses; led by pupil voice. We will frame our own responses to the death of the Queen and the accession of Charles III. We are always mindful of how a public death can impact on our community when there are bereavement issues.
As you can see, we took the opportunity today to mirror what happens at many public buildings and our Head Boys and Girls lowered our Eco flag on our flag pole to half mast at the end of break time. Our newsletter goes out with a black border mirroring what happens in national newspapers. We have already sought some pupil voice on ‘how they feel about the death of the queen at the age of 96 and given her long time as queen’ and ‘if they were King Charles III what would be something they would like him to do’. Of course, if not age appropriate, we don’t force something children are not interested in.
Today, Year 6 are discussing whether they would like school to have a book of condolences and how they would see that working.
Over the next few weeks, we will take opportunities for learning linked to all of these national events. We call this type of response to world events ‘continuous provision’ and we regularly do this.
Temple Meadow Primary School
Wrights Lane
Cradley Heath
West Midlands
B64 6RH
01384 569 021