Balsall Common Primary School

School sponsor and local business owner, Rod Adlington, plans to row from Lanzarote to Antigua in a bid to raise £250,000 in aid of two charities, starting 3rd January. We are delighted to add our support to such a brave school sponsor and invite you to visit the website to support his effort www.thebrightsidesrow.com .

One of Rod's aims for this epic challenge is to raise as much money as possible for the charities Meningitis Nowow and The Get A-Head Charitable Trust (a Warwick-based neck and head cancer charity). Tragically, Rod and his wife Anna lost their fourth child, Barney, to Meningitis at the age of three and a half.

Rod will be skipper of the Brightsides rowing team of three men and one woman, rowing the Atlantic as part of the 'Atlantic Dash' race. They leave Lanzarote on January 3rd and the finish will be in Antigua, some 3,200 miles and 40 days later. With a range of skills and experience the crew will face not only the back-breaking grind of the trip itself, but 40˚c heat, seasickness, monotony, potential unwanted shark and marlin interest and a bucket loo!

Rod Adlington is the managing director of Adlington Ltd, a long-established free range turkey and chicken producer and supplier nationally to supermarkets, butchers and food websites. The company has been based in Balsall common since 1956.

Good luck Rod and the team!

Does this look familiar to anyone?
We think this may have been accidentally swept up at home by mistake, and ended up here in school with donations to the Christmas Fayre.
It looks like someone was in the process of sending a birthday present to someone called Suzie, who lives in Derbyshire......but it's found its way here instead!
Please call into the school office if it's yours.

Same message again today (Monday 6th December) as last week.
After school football is cancelled tonight - the forecast is for a lot of rain today and a high chance it will still be raining at 15:30.
It is Year 3/4 boys and girls - no football club tonight.

Delighted to receive a visit from our MP Saqib Bhatti MP this morning.
He spoke to Reception and KS1 in assembly and was even brave enough to field some questions from 5 year olds!
Thank you Mr Bhatti.

It’s been a busy week for the Year 3 & 4 swim team with two galas taking place. Last Tuesday we swam against Solihull School in a very close and competitive gala.
Unfortunately on the night we lost, but there are so many positives to take away from this.
On Thursday we then travelled to Eversfield School. It was one of their best galas and the whole team did not let Tuesday’s result affect them on the night. In the end we won by 62pts to 43pts.
A big thank you for all our new poolside helpers and all the swimmers that took part.

Alongside 30 other schools, we received an invitation to attend a conference presented by Dame Jane Goodall at Solihull School recently. Our Year 5 and Year 6 school councillors represented school and discovered what an inspirational woman Jane is! At 90 years of age she is considered the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees and is still working pursue her love for nature and animals. Many inspirational stories were told and it was a privilege to take part in this conference. The school councillors have since shared their knowledge with our KS1 and KS2 pupils.
To get involved, please view

Chimpanzees - the Jane Goodall Institute UK Our closest cousins sharing more than 98% of our DNA. JGI has been researching chimps in the wild at Gombe for over 60 years.

Last week saw a great deal of excitement in Year 3 as they celebrated the end of their Diwali topic with some special guests, and a practical demonstration of different traditional dances.
First Anushka Amliwala, from Aspire Dance, Birmingham, got the energy levels soaring as she explained the history of Bollywood Dance and showed the children through some of the moves. When asked if they wanted to join in there was no stopping them. All of the children, and staff, were on their feet joining in.
Next, Mandeep Heer from Cardio Bhangra Fitness, Cheylesmore Coventry, followed up with a classic Bhangra tune, the energy and enthusiasm was incredible.
Lastly, but by no means least it was Jamilah, from Core Gym, Leamington, to perform Garba. This was the most complicated, but there was no deterring Year 3 now.
It was great to see how quickly everyone picked up the moves and were able to put a complete dance together.

Last week, Year 1 have been learning about the story of Rama and Sita as part of this half term’s Diwali topic in R.E. The children chose their favourite part of the story and drew some beautiful pictures inspired by traditional Kalamkari art, using a mixture of pencil crayons and black fine line pens.

The decorations have gone up around school, and we are really looking forward to this weekend’s Christmas Fayre, we hope that you can join us.

Don’t forget, this Friday is another non-uniform day and we welcome donations of bottles.

The PTA are also running a Christmas raffle and if you want to buy tickets you can do it via this link.

Balsall Common PTA Christmas Raffle 2023 Balsall Common Primary School PTA have a fantastic raffle called Balsall Common PTA Christmas Raffle 2023. You can view all the details and purchase tickets here https://give.bcpspta.org.uk/raffle/7/balsall-common-pta-christmas-raffle-2023

We’re holding a Science photography competition. The theme is Habitats in Autumn. To enter, take one photo to show a habitat in Autumn and explain how the photo links to or shows what you know about habitats. Reception and KS1 need to write one sentence. KS2 - one paragraph. The prizes include tickets for the MAD museum in Stratford.

Sports News
Another very competitive swimming gala took place at Bromsgrove School last Tuesday - whose Year 5 and 6 team are one of the Top 3 in the Midlands. The atmosphere was electric on the night and the swimming was the same and we won the gala 114pts to 109pts. Well done to all swimmers.

Last week, the Year 5 and 6 boys football team played their first 2 league matches of the year. In the first match, they played Dorridge (last year’s champions) and narrowly lost 1-0 after a deflected shot dipped past the Balsall goalkeeper. In the second half, the team kept pushing for a goal and Tommy T had a brilliant shot tipped over the bar.
The team had a further 6 impressive shots but their keeper kept them in the game.
Harry P and Alex W (captain) gave a great performance in midfield and controlled lots of the passing.
For the second match, they played against Ulverley and dominated in all areas. Tom S and Patrick had lots of great runs into the box early on. Theo T, goalkeeper, said he felt pumped up and determined to win. Amazingly, the team stormed to a 6-0 victory with Tom S and Patrick scoring two goals and Will T and James O scoring one goal each.
Tom S said he was flabbergasted by the quality of the passing. The fans went crazy at the final whistle. The team also said they knew they weren’t going to win them all and were proud of their performances on the night.
Mr Burdett and Miss Sawicki were really proud of the team and their resilience. Thank you to Mr Cook (minibus driver) and Miss Hopkins (First Aid) for also attending the
match.
Man of the matches- Harry P and Alex W.
Written by Dan K and Amber K (Year 6 Sports Reporters)

Nursery had a very exciting week with their first ever Wild Wednesday session! We have been reading Room on the Broom and learning how to be witches and wizards. We made our very own magic wands and exploding potions!

As part of our remembrance work last week Year 5 and 6 were lucky to have a visit from an outside speaker – Kabir Pal. Kabir spoke to the students about his great grandfather Bulaka Singh. Kabir Pal’s great grandfather was one of the 1,440,437
Indian soldiers who fought for Britain in the First World War. Kabir, a Year 8 student from Wheelers Lane School in Birmingham, talked about his grandfather’s contribution to the First World War and his great uncle’s role in fighting for Britain during World War Two. Over 2.5 million Indian soldiers fought for Britain in this second global conflict.
Through this visitor the students learned about the contribution and sacrifice made by Black and Asian troops which can sometimes be overlooked in traditional histories. The students asked some very intelligent questions and considered how we might honour the memories of all those who participated in these gruelling conflicts.

The PTA met this last Wednesday evening. Plans are in the final stages for our Christmas Fayre! I know that we will all enjoy that event together as a community and support the work of the PTA in raising further funds to enhance the experience of children at our school. Make sure that date, 2nd December, is in your diary! Also, please don’t forget the non-uniform donation days
Chocolate - Friday 24th November
Bottles - Friday 1st December

The Year 4 children have been away on their residential to Ingestre Hall and had an amazing time, taking part in all kinds of creative learning.
They have had opportunities to create dances, pieces of artwork, digital media and so much more. It has been wonderful to take so many on this valuable out of school learning experience. My thanks go to the team of staff who have enabled the trip to take place and especially to Mrs Price, who has led the preparation, planning and delivery of the trip.

We have been notified that Parking Officers will be monitoring the area around the school and motorists who park on the grass verges, behind the yellow lines, can be issued with a Parking Penalty Charge Notice to the value of £70. The parking restrictions apply to the carriageway, footway and grass verges in that area. Having seen the photos they have sent through of the way some parents are parking, we fully understand their concerns around safety and legality. Should you need to drive to the School, please ensure that you park in an appropriate manner, as we would hate for any of our parents to receive fines of this nature.

AQUA FIT SESSIONS NOW AVAILABLE!

The Swim School at Balsall Common are now offering ladies only Aqua Fit sessions in our pool every week on Monday at 7.30pm and Thursday at 7pm.

Special introductory price of only £5.95 per session available until Christmas (pay as you go - no membership required)!

Online booking is NOW OPEN!
Go to: https://theswimschool.co.uk/balsall-aqua-fit-fun

Photo shows the Westbury Aqua Fit class in action.

Applications are now open for Nursery admissions for September 2024. The application form can be found on our website and should be received by 1st December. https://www.balsallcommonprimary.co.uk/admissions/
All applications for Reception 2024 should be made via the Solihull Council website.

Admissions | Balsall Common Primary School Balsall Common Primary School

Year 5 have been participating the Solihull Council Bikeability scheme. The volunteers have been helping children become more aware about road-safety when riding their bikes. Some children continued to develop their riding confidence with Mr McKinnon, on the playground. Special thanks to Mrs Walkerdine and Mr Burdett who stepped in, at the last minute, to be honorary instructors.

Another brilliant gala took place last Tuesday against Warwick School - which was so close the result came down to the last race. Unfortunately we lost by 1 point, but we are closing the gap on the fourth best school in England. Well done to everyone that took part and all of the noise and support from parents too.

The PTA Christmas Fair is fast approaching. More info on booking Santas Grotto is coming soon and there will be non-uniform donation days for chocolate on Friday 24th November and bottles on Friday 1st December.

Year 1 started their Design and Technology project last week. First, we completed an exploration walk around the school grounds to spot and investigate
shelters. We talked about the purpose of the shelters, the materials used, how they were made strong and sturdy and whether they were permanent or temporary. Then, we explored photos of shelters around Balsall Common. With a partner, we recorded all the shelters we explored.

Year 3 have been learning about Sikhism and had a very enjoyable afternoon watching a presentation from a pupil in Year 3 and his Dad. We learnt so much about Bandi Chorr and will be taking part in a range of craft activities to celebrate this Sikh festival alongside our Diwali activities which also took place last week.

Instead of a pantomime this year, Centre Stage Balsall Common have a new production taking place this weekend. There are six pupils in the show Emily, Nell, Issy, Matilda, Lily and Poppy.
This is in addition to a number of former pupils, parents and governors from the school.
If you would like to support this community theatre go to https://centrestagebc.com to find out more and buy tickets.

Did you know you can listen to BCPS Radio on our website? The Year 6 radio presenters produce a fantastic podcast, including special guests. https://www.balsallcommonprimary.co.uk/bcps-radio-1/
Thanks to Mr Sudra for his technical support.

BCPS Radio | Balsall Common Primary School Balsall Common Primary School

As part of our art topic, Year 5 have been trying to use tints, shades and tones to create Chinese landscape watercolours. Look out for some of these displayed in the hall and in the corridors displays. Meanwhile, Year 1 have been learning about family trees as part of their History topic. Some of the children have produced their own family trees at home and have shared them with their classes. We love seeing the children learn about their own family history and the generations before them.

Thank you to everyone who ordered their Christmas cards - these have raised £955 for the school. The cards have been delivered to school and taken round to classes. They will be brought home over the next few days.
Also thank you to everyone who purchased second hand uniform at the sale before half term - this has raised £162. You can order uniform at any time by emailing [email protected] - all items are £1 and donations can be made via the Black PTA box in reception.

Solihull Music School are offering a free taster lesson. So if your child is keen to learn a musical instrument you can find out more and sign up via their website or give them a call on 01676 443456
https://www.solihullmusicschool.online/tasterlesson

Please can you return your child’s nasal flu consent form to your child's teacher as soon as possible and by Monday 13th November at the latest. Please complete this even if you do not give consent or if your child has already had it.
There’s some NHS information on the flu vaccine here

Child flu vaccine Find out about the nasal spray flu vaccine for children, which children can have the nasal spray, safety and side effects.

We are selling poppies in school this week - items are priced from £1 to £3.
Can children bring cash please.

Welcome back! We hope you had a lovely half term. Here’s a reminder of some key dates for the rest of the winter term.

An exciting end to this half term with the grand opening of the castle on the KS1 Play area yesterday attended by the Deputy Mayor of Solihull, the Chair and Vice Chair of the PTA and representatives of Balfour Beatty Vinci. The equipment was tested not only by the school councillors but also some of the adults! This equipment replaces an adventure playground built 30 years ago by the PTA which after many years of service had to be removed in 2019.

As today is an inset day, we hope that you all have a lovely half term and look forward to seeing you back in school on Monday 6th November

A big shout to the Swim Team girls who won their Gala at Edgbaston Girls School recently. This gala was very close and it went down to the last race to see who won, in the end we won by 2 points on the night. Well done everyone!

Would you like to know what's happening in Solihull and its neighbouring areas, for children and families? Then join Solihull Council’s Parents' Network for the latest information. Visit their site here https://www.solihull.gov.uk/children-and-family-support/solihull-parents-network

Brilliant news - Max in Year 6 secured 3rd place in the Motorbike Trials National Championships. He has been competing for this all year and only missed out on second best in the country by a fraction. He is also Midland champion. Well done Max!

Please be considerate and don’t double park in Dale Meadow Close. This has led to issues with the refuse collectors and health professionals accessing the houses in that road. Thanks

As we approach the winter months and the likely increase in illness, we thought you would be interested in the information published by the UK Health agency in the link and poster below which gives guidance on when your child needs to stay off school:

Is my child too ill for school? Find out when it's best to keep your sick child at home and when it's OK to send them to school or nursery.

Recently Reception learned about days out and holidays. On the Thursday, we planned our own little ‘day out’ – a picnic! In the morning, each of the children made their own sandwich for our picnic, either cheese, jam or ham, and then in the afternoon we all went outside and had our picnic together. We had so much fun!