Bloxwich Academy have celebrated the love of reading in many ways.

Firstly, we have introduced a new reading scheme called ‘Accelerated Reading’. Your child brings home a reading book every day and they take a test after every book, which checks your child’s understanding of different vocabulary and their book. This has been a fantastic success. The children have loved to celebrate changing their books, they have loved choosing a new book and they have loved reading at home with their parent/guardian.

We are so pleased that our parents/ guardians have supported their children to develop their love of reading. You have listened to your children read, you have offered encouragement and positivity when your child has read well, and you have challenged your child and checked their understanding of certain vocabulary throughout their book.

Thank you to all our pupils for their amazing reading this term.

We have to provide information to the Department for Education (DfE), which dictates how much funding the school receives. As you know, the more funding we receive, the better provision we can provide for your children.

One of the key funding categories is how many children take up Universal Free School Meals (UFSM) on census day. All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a free meal (hot dinner or sandwich) every day. Some parents choose not to take this offer and supply their children with a packed lunch.  We always try to ensure that on census day one of the more popular meal choices is available. On this day, we have a themed dinner day the ‘American Diner’ and as a result our menu has changed to hot dogs, burgers (vegetarian option available), fries and donuts, but remember there is also the school sandwich option you can order which is also very popular for many children.

We would like your help to try and encourage your child to take up the UFSM offer and if at all possible, test it out next Thursday.

First and foremost, welcome back! I must say, for the first time in a long while, life felt somewhat normal during the summer holidays, and it was lovely being able to meet up with friends and family. I was lucky enough to spend some time on the beach in Wales, and probably enjoyed a few too many ice-creams in the process! It has been wonderful coming back into school and hearing about all the fun and exciting things the children have been up to over the holidays; it sounds like you have made the most of the summer break.

Secondly, I need to tell you how incredible impressed I am with how brilliantly the children have been upon returning to school. Honestly, they have come back to school with such a fantastic attitude and so well behaved; it is wonderful to see that they have such high expectations for themselves, and a determination to be the best they can be. As parents, you really should be proud.

As you are aware, this year we have decided to name our classes after peaks and mountains starting at Roseberry, a distinctive hill in North Yorkshire, and ending at Snowdon and Ben Nevis, the two tallest peaks in the UK. The idea behind this was to symbolise to children how they achieve greater feats as they grow through the school, and that although the challenges become harder, the rewards become so much richer. We want children to believe in their own abilities; every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing, and the best view comes after the hardest climb.

This year we have been fortunate enough to employ an additional teacher for each year group, allowing us to take children into smaller groups for more focused teaching. Children have been so warm and welcoming to our new staff members, and have taken to this new way of learning brilliantly.

Something else that is new for this academic year is our Jobs Board. At Bloxwich Academy Primary, we want to offer children the opportunity to not only develop educationally, but also socially. We want to instil a sense of responsibility and purpose, helping our older children to become well rounded citizens as they grow in maturity. The Jobs Board contains roles within the school community that they can apply for such as lunchtime monitor, librarian or playground buddy. The response from children has been unprecedented, and it is great to see such enthusiasm.

Most of you will have now received letters advising of the extra-curricular clubs and activities we have planned for this term for our different year groups. Places are limited therefore we ask that you return consent slips as soon as possible. We also have an array of Good to be Green events taking place over the coming weeks; please make sure you have returned your child’s consent slip so that they can take part.

During this first week back, children have been participating in a range of memorable experiences linked to the topics they will be learning about this term. Teachers have really enjoyed creating these activities for your children, and have taken plenty of pictures which can be found further along in the newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading about their experiences as much as the children enjoyed taking part.

Thank you for your continued support and your hard work over the holidays, ensuring the children returned with such positive enthusiasm. Take care and enjoy your weekend!

Ms. S. Shepherd

We have had a magnificent year in Science. The whole academy was involved in planting daffodil bulbs around the school grounds, and it was wonderful seeing them grow and bloom.

We held an engaging whole school topic around endangered animals, and this allowed the children to talk about current events and issues sounding real life problems in society. All the children found out about the reason why animals are endangered and how these events impact on the environment.  

If you have a love for science, why not have a look at these websites to find out some fun summer science activities.  

https://funlearningforkids.com/summer-science-experiments-stem-activities/

https://go.walsall.gov.uk/Portals/0/Uploads/Summer%202021%20Activities%20Booklet.pdf  Please take pictures of any fun experiments, nature walks or science related activities that you have completed and share them with me in September. I’m looking forward to seeing what interesting things you find out. 

This year has been like no other but what a year it has been! School has been buzzing with all the sports and extra-curricular activities taking place throughout this academic year. Pupils have had the opportunity to try activities they may never have tried before and develop their knowledge and skills which has been fantastic to see.

Reception children had the opportunity to attend Lego Construction Club and make some wonderful creations. Year 6 and 3 had the chance to explore the world of Fencing. Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 have all had the opportunity to experience and learn more about trampolining, it has been great to see the progress that has been made.

It was fantastic to be able to get out and about and take year 5 and 6 pupils to some local football competitions at Willenhall E-ACT. Year 3 and 4 also represented school at an athletics event over at Streetly Academy. The organisers were particularly impressed by Bobo’s (Year 3) long distance run; what a fantastic performance he displayed! Year 6 tried Ultimate Frisbee for the first time at a local competition, both teams managed to win 3 out of their 6 games; which is amazing considering this was their first real attempt at this activity.

Sports Day brought us beautiful weather and was fun filled from start to finish. The packed program of activities meant the final few races were completed during PE lessons the following week. Pupils got creative and made eye-catching posters and banners to support and cheer on their houses. There were some impressive performances from children across the school on the day including:

Target Mat Throw – Thailia-Rose (Nursery), Jorgia (Reception), Noah (Year 1) and Millie-Rose (Year 2).

• Shot Put – Fatima (Year 6), Ava (Year 5)
• 200m – Reese (Year 3), Brandon (Year 4)
• 100m – Alfie (Year 3), Brandon (Year 4)
• High Jump – Julien (Year 5) & Caden (Year 6)
• Long Distance – Afie (Year 3)

I would like to say a big thank you to all primary staff, house captains and the six sixth Form BTEC Sport students who all had a key role on the day and worked hard to make sports day possible.

Miss Lloyd would like to invite you to join in with our latest whole school art competition. 
Theme: Staff Portraits
Your challenge is to create a portrait of a selected member of staff using what materials you have at home. You could paint the portrait, or sketch the portrait. You can use what ever media you choose. 
You will be provide with a template from your teacher with a member of staff’s name pre selected. You must use the space on the paper to create the portrait. We would only like an image of the teacher. Please see the examples from our children who attend Art Club. To be in with a chance of winning, you need to return your portrait to your class teacher before Friday 9th July 2021. 
The winning portraits will win a small prize and have the opportunity for their work to be displayed on the school website. 

Transition for our new Reception children 

This week we will be welcoming children into our wonderful reception classes as part of our induction programme to help prepare them for starting school in September. Our transition booklet provides parents/carers with all the vital information they need to support their child on their Bloxwich Academy journey. https://bloxwichacademy.co.uk/ey-induction/

We have planned high quality learning experiences in our indoor and outdoor environment for the children to play and explore whilst our wonderful early years staff get to know the children. Miss Thomas our Early years Leader has been busy visiting local pre-school providers to meet the children who have not attended our nursery setting.

Transition for our new Nursery children 

Miss Lloyd, our friendly nursery teacher has been busy calling the parents of all our new nursery children to discuss their child’s development and interests and any particular needs that they may have. She looks forward to meeting her new children very soon.

Transition Day for children moving into year 1 to year 6 in September – Wednesday 30th June

Teachers will be sharing with your child next week the classes they will be in from September and, on Wednesday 30th June, all children will spend the morning with their new teacher(s) and support staff for September. The children will undertake a range of activities during the morning.

Transition for year 6 pupils moving to high school Year 6

Y6 pupils were scheduled to attend the Secondary school for the last two weeks. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 infection rate increasing we are not continuing with this plan. However, the secondary school staff will be delivering a transition programme of work at the primary site to support their move up to the senior school. This will include a range of core subject, wellbeing/PSHE and physical education lessons.

Last week, Year 6 had the fantastic opportunity to take part in Bikeability sessions. Bikeability is England’s premier cycle training programme. It’s about gaining practical skills and understanding how to cycle on today’s roads. Bikeability gives everyone the skills and confidence for all kinds of cycling.  

When the day arrived, Year 6 brought in their own bikes, or used ones provided, and helmets to use. They started off on the playground learning about the safety of riding bikes and key skills. Then, they ventured off to the streets of Bloxwich and rode around in a train. It was fantastic to see all the children riding around. All the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and we can’t wait to see other year groups giving it a go too!

Today Nursery and Reception enjoyed a beach themed memorable day to start our new cornerstones topics. During the day, the children enjoyed dancing to seaside music, creating beach pictures, designing their own beach huts or buckets, as well as having yummy ice creams.

In Nursery our topic is called ‘How many pebbles on a beach?’ The children will learn all about beach destinations we could visit, animals that might live in the sea or on beaches and read beach themed stories.

In Reception our topic is called ‘Are we there yet?’ As part of our topic the children will look at different types of transport and their suitability for different journeys. Our topic also includes looking at places we could visit, including the beach. We look forward to posting more photographs of our wonderful activities and learning opportunities during the last part of the summer term.