Dear Parents, Our school’s PA continue to do a wonderful job. The sponsored walk raised over £2000 and we are now in a position to upgrade our school server and some other hardware. I know the children and staff will be delighted as the machines have become very slow. The PA also have great plans to improve the area outside of KS1 and the entrance to school, making full use of the space available. This is a special year for our school and if you are able to help us please do not hesitate to contact the Chair of PA, Lisa Martin, via our school’s website.

Meet the Governor—Adam Willliams Children in Year 1 met their new class governor, Adam Williams, last week. He works for the St. John’s Ambulance Service and was kind enough to bring an ambulance to school to show the children. He wore his uniform and talked to the children about some of the equip-ment he uses for his job. I know that everyone had a great afternoon, including Mr Williams! Adam is a senior volunteer for St John Ambulance across Birmingham and Solihull. He attends major public events, train people in basic first aid and support young people in the community.

17th October 2013

Special Events *Inter-house cross country for KS1 was very successful. Year 1 winners were Bolt house and Year 2 winners were Armstrong house. Well done to everyone who completed the course. A special thank you to Mrs Petty and the ‘hares’ who led the way! * Our football team have been in action again, this time beating Shrubbery School and Highclare. * Year 3 had a wonderful day watching the ‘Horrible Histories’ in Birmingham. *Year 4 had a fantastic day as Tudors visiting Blakesley Hall. The children (and Mrs

Collins) really looked the

part.

Celebrating 50 years of our school

A fabulous time was had by children (and staff) in Year 4 when they time travelled into the Tudor era! Our visit to Blakesley Hall provided the perfect backdrop for our history topic. Staff at Tudor mansion were impressed with our passion for history, authentic costumes and Moor Hall's interpretation of Tudor dancing; we were the first group to teach our own Tudor dance to them!

Notices from the Headteacher Requests for Absence During Term Time

If you want to request absence during term time for your child, please complete a "Requeset for Absence During Term Time" form, available in the entrance porch. As has been stated previously, holiday requests can no longer be authorised by the Headteacher. Leave from school during term time will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.

FOLTE Last week we had some special guests in to school, the Headteachers from five of our ‘Trust’ schools. They all took a learning tour of Moor Hall and helped evaluate our provision. This is one effective way in which our working partnerships are developing. We will be sharing good practice in all of our schools together over the next half term. Parking As the weather deteriorates our parking and road safety issues surface and the dangers outside of our school gate are magnified. Please park with due care, avoid changing direction, offer to share lifts with another family. We are concerned about the use of scooters. We know some parents allow children to ‘scoot away’ freely and this is potentially very dangerous considering how busy the road can become outside of the school gates. Please take care. Vacancy We have a vacancy for our Moorhens before and after school club. We require an additional member of staff to work from 8am—9am, Monday to Friday. This post will commence from 5th November 2013 and will be for a fixed contract until 31st August 2014. Further details and application forms are available from Mrs Michel in the office. You can email her for further information at enquiry@moorhall.bham.sch.uk

Open Days

We are holding three "Open Days" for prospective parents for Sept 2014. These are:

Monday 4th November, 2.00 - 3.00pm

Wednesday 13th November, 9.30 - 10.30am

Wednesday 27th November, 9.30 - 10.30am.

Mr Steggall’s Thought of the Week

An e-safety fact—90% of parents think they have

banned their children from social networking sites but

75% of 9-19 year olds have a social networking

account

(Ofcom Media Survey 2008/9)

Diary Dates October 22

nd Netball Club Cancelled

23rd

Y5&6 Inter-House Hockey Comp. 25

th Break up for Half Term

November 4

th School re-opens for pupils and staff

6th Parents Evening, 4.00-6.30pm

7th Y5&6 Hockey Festival, Wyndley

7th Parents Evening, 4.30 – 7.30pm

12th Y3&4 Multi-Skills Inter-House Comp.

13th Y1&2 Multi-Skills Inter-House Comp.

27th KS1 Multi-Skills Competition

(John Willmott) 29

th PA Christmas Fair

SCHOOL COUNCIL The School Council have been helping teachers develop a new marking and feedback policy. Their contribu-tions have been fantastic. One member of the council said ‘Mr Steggall has been asking the school council about marking. We like to improve our work by reading the teacher’s comment and following their advice but some people find that too much green pen makes people scared! We need to say that green pen is just the teacher talking to you to help and give you the next step.’

Reminders - Our Harvest Festival will take place on Wednesday

23rd October. Please can you send in as much

produce as possible (fresh, tinned or packets) and we

will coordinate distribution with the Sutton branch of

Home Start. All gifts will be gratefully received.

Reception Class 2014

Preference forms for a place in Reception Class, September 2014 have been sent out by School Admissions and Pupil Placements Ser-vice. Parents can either apply on-line or by completing a Local Authority Preference form, which should be returned to the Local Authority by 2 December 2013. Proof of address will be required to be provided to the Local Authority. They will accept on-line applications until 15 January 2014. Applications received after this date will be treated in accordance with the procedure for late applications.

Whilst applications for a place in Reception Class 2014 have to be made to the Local Authority, it is extremely useful for us to know how many siblings we are likely to have next September. If you have a child due to start Reception Class in 2014, please can you pop into school to give details to the office staff. You will still need to apply to the Local Authority for a place using either their on-line or paper preference form.