Diary Dates ~ Wednesday 6 December ~ Early Years Nativity @ 2.00 pm.

Tuesday 12 December ~  KS1 Christingle @ St Mary’s Church at 1.45 pm.

Thursday 14 December ~ KS2 Christmas service @ St Mary’s Church 1.45 pm.

Friday 15 December ~ Christmas dinner

End of Term ~ Tuesday 19 December 2006

Term opens ~ Thursday 4 January 2007 

Congratulations ~ Jasmine ~ selected for church choir/Bailey ~ appeared in Football Shoot magazine/Katherine ~ passed level 6 ASA Swim award/Elizabeth ~ passed level 6 ASA Swim award/Jemma ~ gained a part in Saldance Theatre Arts Disco Show 2006/Kayleigh ~ gained a part in Saldance Theatre Arts Disco Show 2006/Charley ~ Won trainee of the week for Whittlesey JFC/Joshua ~ British Gymnastics award level 5,6 and 7/Esther ~ British Gymnastic  proficiency award level 4 and 5/James ~ Work well Gymnastic award and SIMS Gymnastic Club championship floor and vault championship/Summer ~ playing Cinderella at Cresset pantomime/Jessica ~ becoming a brownie in the 3rd Whittlesey pack/Toby ~ SIMS Gymnastic floor award 2nd place and certificate for participating in floor and vault championship/Thomas ~ Level 7 ASA swim award/Isaac ~ under 10s boys 25 metre freestyle at Manor Dolphins 2006 Gala/Maiya ~ Under 13s girls in the National cross country relay championships in Mansfield and in the North Midlands cross country league at Heanor/Sue Iles-Palmer ~ Gained Level 2 ITQ/Danny ~ has been selected to enter the advanced football development by Kick off soccer/Ellie ~ ‘Pupil of the Term’ at Manor Leisure Centre/Aaron ~ won a PC CD rom in Primary Times.

Reminder ~ arriving for School

Children attending breakfast club should not be arriving at school until 8.15 am.  For children not attending breakfast club they should be arriving at school for 8.45 am. 

Alderman Jacobs School cannot be responsible for children before these times.

Primary Maths Challenge

Well done to all the Year 5 and 6 pupils who took part in the Primary Maths Challenge on Friday 24 November.  Some of the questions were extremely challenging! And everyone did really well. A special well done to Alex Forrest for scoring full marks.  Certificates will be presented in Unit Assembly.

Mr Colbran ~ Maths Leader

Christmas Coffee Morning

Many Thanks to all the PTFA for arranging a   wonderful morning.  Thanks to all our performers and musical staff ~ Mrs Comes, Mrs Hill, Mr Colbran and music group teachers.  Thanks to all who came to help and to run stalls and to all families and friends who came to enjoy the event. 

Remembrance Sunday

Many Thanks to Max and Kayleigh for representing Alderman Jacobs School at the Remembrance Service in Whittlesey.

 Modern Foreign Language ~ www.linguascope.com

The school has just subscribed to the Linguascope website which is a site aimed at learning a new language or improving existing language skills in French, German, Italian, Spanish or English. I’ve been using the French site in some of my lessons with KS2 children, and Italian/Spanish with my younger KS1 MFL club children, with excellent results.  The good news is that everyone with the Internet at home can log into the site using the Alderman Jacobs School sign-in details which are:

User name: and Password: (please enquire at school)  There are 6 sites in all, but only 3 are available to pupils ~ these are:

Linuascope,   linguaprime (for younger children) and Lingastars (GSCE level!!).

Please take some time to look at the site with your children and you’ll be amazed how easy it is to pick up new words while playing the games.  Subjects range from “colours” to “the weather”, and from “telling the time” to “shops”.  The different language sites are set out in the same way to make it easier to identify the subjects you wish to learn about.  One important point to note: Please do not give out our sign-in details to anyone who is not connected to the school as this will invalidate our

Allyson Godly ~MFL

Healthy Lifestyles Websites found by Web-busters

www.kidnetic.com ~ This is a funny website with lots of recipes and games that help you to learn about your body. Found by Gabriel 

www.yahooligans.com ~ Click on the games link and choose from a wide range of fun sport games. Found By Falco  

Pudsey Bear

Thank you to everyone who supported Children in Need we raised a grand total of £546.26. A big thank you to all the volunteers, Mrs Massey, Mrs W Barnes, Mrs Loew-Berry, Mrs Orwin, Mrs C Barnes, Miss Hales, Mrs Cairney, Mrs Watson and Miss Mills who helped count and sort all monies raised on the day.  Also a big thank you to our caretaker Mr Wyeth for once again all his support and help.  Mrs M Bielawski 

Cambridge Catering Service

Cambridge Catering service has launched a new website.  It has been developed to add interest and provide helpful information for adults, teachers and pupils.  The My School Lunch website   (www.myschoollunch.co.uk/cambridgeshire  ) is an interactive website designed to encourage children to increase exercise levels and promote healthy eating through educational games, online competitions and through the ’Five a Day Fan Club’. There is also an area for    parents to leave feedback, read about latest developments and view menus.  The funfair incorporated on this site contains a number of educational games linked to Key Stage 1 and 2 of the National Curriculum.  The web-busters club, have tested out the website and have had great fun playing the games.  Try them out for yourself!  

Children in Need ~ To the children who need help

I am so lucky

To have all my stuff

Some kids don’t have toys

Not even some fluff

 My mum’s there for me

She never turns me down

But  some people have no mummies’

And sleep in the town 

Children in Need’s great

A mascot is Pudsey

He’s yellow and ill

But he’s very cuddly  

Poor little kids

Take their lives every day

Children in need will help them

In every way 

So donate some money

It’s all for the best

You can have some fun

Then Kids can have a rest By Georgie Aged 10

Year 2 Asda Trip

Last Tuesday class 9 went to Asda in Peterborough on a coach. We saw the fruit and vegetables and I saw a Star fruit.

Next we went to the bakery. We saw hedgehog bread, tiger bread and the bread had Asda on.  Then we went to the ware house and we saw the fork lift and it went and put some  paper rolls and we saw Pudsey Bear.  After that we saw the tins that had Asda on. Finally we went back to school.

Cameron 

 ICT stars

At Alderman Jacobs School we recognise how important it is for children to learn ICT skills and have invested lots of time and money in this area.  To encourage the children to improve their skills I have developed an ICT system for all the children.  There are 9 different colour levels for the children to work through during their time at Alderman Jacobs School with only a few highly skilled children being able to get the top Gold award. 

When a child has completed a level they will be presented with a quality medal star badge in the appropriate colour that they can pin to their bag.  Your child should be able to tell you which colour badge  they are working towards.    Details of the skills needed for each level are displayed on the ICT suite door and are now posted on the website.  Children working on the higher levels may need to practise their ICT skills outside the classroom and parents are reminded that Brainstretchers Club is open to all children in KS2 on a Tuesday or Thursday after school to make the ICT suite accessible to all.  Typing skills are also essential and children can practise these for free at www.bbc.co.uk/typing . Many thanks go to the PTFA for funding the purchase of the badges and other ICT equipment in the last year.

On a separate ICT matter, I have purchased digi-blue (video cameras) and Beebots (programmable toys) for the use of all children and they run on rechargeable batteries. These are changed by unscrewing the battery cover on each machine. Please could anyone with spare mini-screwdrivers, like the sort you get in Christmas crackers, donate these to a worthy cause?  Please bring these to class 4 or leave at the office.

Mrs Jenny Smith ICT Leader

 Times Tables Awards

In the spring term we will be starting a times tables reward system.  Pupils will be able to gain certificates for showing a thorough knowledge of their times tables and related division facts.There will be three levels of awards.

Bronze certificates for 2,5 and 10 times tables.

Silver certificates for 3, 4 and 6 times tables and revision on 2,5 and 10.

Gold certificates for all tables up to 10 x 10. with emphasis on 7,8 and 9 times tables.

Teachers will assess pupils at regular intervals using a variety of oral and written papers that require rapid recall.

Your support with helping your child learn their tables is greatly appreciated. Please speak to your child’s class teacher or myself if you require any guidance with this.

Mr Colbran Maths Leader

International Visit to Taipei/Taiwan with British Council and National College for School Leadership

When collecting our Alderman Jacobs School’s International Award in London 2005 I was asked by the British Council if I would be interested in continuing our international dimension and my own professional development through a placement in another country.  After obtaining consent from the Chair of Governors I indicated that I would and that I wished to study leadership in another country.  I wanted to gain new ideas to support my vision of Alderman Jacobs School providing the best possible care and education for our children.  I was subsequently invited to join a group of Heads from all over England on a visit to Taiwan.I knew virtually nothing about Taiwan but after some internet research I became fascinated by its very large primary schools and its high levels of achievement.  How could a   primary school with 2000 pupils operate I wondered as here in the UK our average primary is about 200 pupils? 

As Head of Cambridgeshire’s largest primary school I felt that I could learn significantly from the schools I would be visiting in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital city.

After a gruelling 22 hour journey we arrived in Taipei     having, stopped briefly in Hong Kong.  I left my home at lunchtime on a Saturday and my destination was reached on Sunday evening Taiwan time.  (Taiwan is eight hours ahead of GMT.)  We were presented with beautiful bouquets of flowers as we arrived at our hotel – an incredible week had just began.

On the Monday our group met with Ministry of Education officials, British Council representatives and the Principals of schools we would be visiting.  Our journey from the hotel to Taipei City Hall indicated a modern,     vibrant, busy and crowded city.  There seemed to be millions of scooters, masses of traffic lights, huge sky scrapers but also plenty of green space too and everywhere polite, courteous and helpful people.

The morning briefing was followed by a visit to Li Shan High School, a secondary school with over 3000 pupils and       facilities which were stunning.  Student ambassadors aged 16+ years greeted us and took care of us.  Everyone seemed to speak excellent English and wanted to use it.  This wasn’t just stiff formal English but all the nuances of good English speaking were present.  Our Student Ambassadors would remain with us for the next few days as we visited our schools.

I think what struck me immediately about Li Shan High School was the courtesy and good manners of all students I encountered and their willingness to engage with us as visitors and to speak in English practising all they had been taught in their English lessons.  Relationships with teachers were informal but entirely respectful.  Pupils praised their teachers, teachers praised their pupils.

At our evening seminar on Monday we shared our views and were overwhelmingly impressed.  We decided that the    Principals role in Taiwan was different from the role we all had as Headteachers but there were similarities.

Schools begin early in Taiwan and Tuesday morning saw me up at 6.00 am and off to school for 7.00 am.  When I arrived at Ching Shin School I was met by banners and posters        welcoming me to the school, by pupils, by the Principal,

Yu-Ling Chien and by an entourage of parents and staff.  I felt like the Queen!  Outside the school was a posse of parents wearing volunteer tabards whose role was to move parents’ cars on as soon as they had dropped their children off.  I thought of our dropping-off layby and the congestion we sometimes get there.  The children were expected to make their own way into school.  I was escorted to the Principal’s office which was the size of our small hall and given the day’s programme.  It started with the school orchestra – good enough to play professionally and all aged 10-12 years.  Assembly for all pupils was held on the sportsground and I presented prizes to several classes.  All pupils then did ten minutes of exercise together on the playground along with the staff.

As the day went on I made copious notes about how the school was organised, roles, pupils, learning, teaching styles, relationships and expectations.  Frankly I came away buzzing with ideas!

At our Tuesday evening seminar the group shared our experiences and made plans to change some of our routines and practices in our own schools.  We felt Taiwanese children had to work very hard and that teachers’ expectations of them were high.  Even the four year olds were learning English and confidently using software to help them.  We also felt our pupils were fortunate to have large playgrounds as Taiwanese children did have restricted space.  We also felt that we, as UK Heads, could use the skills and talents of our parents more.  Taiwanese parents are very involved in their schools.

Another early start on Wednesday.  This time our school was Dao Junior High School.  Another amazing display from the pupils – skipping like you’ve never seen it before and diabalo spinning and again magnificent facilities for the 3000 pupils.  Again an excellent command of English from staff and pupils and I resolved to do more with our foreign language teaching at Alderman Jacobs School.

During Wednesday evening’s seminar, apart from serious jet lag kicking in, we discussed the Principal’s role.  At Alderman Jacobs School I am not only responsible for the curriculum, pupils’ learning, the finances, the building and grounds, personnel but also for all matters relating to our school and it’s smooth running.  In Taiwan Principals have staff to do all these things for them and they have time for vision and  public relations.  We decided that our roles were different but there were similarities.

A very early start on Thursday and in Li-Shan Elementary School for 7.00 am.  Again I saw volunteer parents on    traffic control, wonderful performances in the arts and sport, excellent English speaking, happy, well-behaved and motivated pupils.  Everywhere I went children spoke to me and giggled.  I was truly being treated like the Queen.  The downside for me was being photographed literally all the time!  Celebrity status has its drawbacks after all!  At       Li-Shan, as in the rest of Taiwan, children start school at    6 years of age and are part-time for two years.  This does not seem to inhibit their progress in any way.  However by the time they go home from school each day they have been there for 4½ - 5 hours.  Taiwan schools finish at 3.45 pm to 4.15 pm so the full day is longer than in the UK.  Teachers teach approximately 21 lessons each week and each lesson lasts 45 minutes.  All  the primary schools I encountered had specialist staff for PE, Music, English and Special Educational Needs.

Our Thursday evening seminar focussed on discussing our individual experiences and what we could learn to take back to our schools.  We also prepared for a farewell presentation to the Taipei Principals about what we found good about their schools and what they could learn from UK schools.  6.00 am Friday and up and preparing for my final day in school.  My Principal Wu Hui-Ling (Catherine) was truly inspirational.  She explained in detail how parents were involved in her school not just as volunteers with art, craft, health education, traffic control etc but also as consultants on issues such as the running of the school and the curriculum.  I found this to be absorbing and it gave me plenty of ideas to extend the role of parents at Alderman Jacobs School.  The children at Li-Shan were a pleasure to be with.  They were intrigued by their foreign visitor and wanted to practise their English and show their best work. 

I was able to spend time with the Principal and discuss the running of her large school, how she deployed her staff and her levels of accountability.

I did have free time on Saturday and explored the city but as always my thoughts were with school and I spent time buying artefacts for our children to see and to use in our next International Week.  Saturday evening I visited the Chinese Opera and again bought items for use in school!

Mrs Challinor and I kept in touch by email and I knew school was running well but I did really miss our children and my staff.  My thoughts were with them.

On Monday I explained the intricacies of the English education system to an assembled audience of dignataries and Principals.  We said our farewells – long and very emotional and went back to our hotel to pack and prepare for the formal farewell dinner at the “Grand” Hotel.  We encouraged our hosts to visit our schools, see our delightful children and experience our culture.

Well, was my trip beneficial ? Definitely a yes.  I need to discuss my findings with the staff and governors but I know that I will use my experience to benefit our school community and that I certainly want more parental involvement at Alderman Jacobs School and that I want to continue the international dimension at our school.

My thanks to all Alderman Jacobs School staff, particularly Mrs Challinor and our Governors for making this international placement possible and finally- it’s great to be back.             Margaret Sargent

Christmas Tree Festival

Every year our school participates in the ‘Christmas Tree Festival’ which is held at St Mary’s church.  This year, Year 5 have chosen to decorate the tree and represent our school.  Our tree entitles ‘Christmas In The Future’ and is decorated with the Children’s work.  If you would like to view our tree, the festival takes place in church from Friday 8 December to Sunday 10 December.  Entry Costs £1 for adults and 50p for concessions and all proceeds go towards the continued maintenance of St Mary’s Church.

Police Community Support Officer

Dear Parents

I would like to introduce myself.  I am the new Police Community Support Officer in Whittlesey.  I have been employed by Cambridgeshire Constabulary for 1 Year and 3 months and I have worked in Wisbech and Chatteris and now Whittlesey.  I know the area very well as I use to live here, and did for 10 years, and know many locals.

I have 1 child who attends Alderman Jacobs and another who attends Sir Harry Smith’s.

My job is to help make Whittlesey a safer place to live in, and that means assisting Police Officers to crack down on crime, gather intelligence, and also patrolling the town centre and rural areas, making sure all is in order.  I am very aware that some schools have major parking problems and my aim is to tackle that with a robust approach. I have given out over 300 parking tickets whilst in Wisbech, so be aware!!!!!

I also try to get involved in youth activities and making sure the children of today have “something” to do with their spare time, rather than commit crime!

On a lighter note, I enjoyed visiting the schools and giving talks on “Stranger Danger” and “bullying” “be safe, be seen” and many other topics.  It is a pleasure to work with the schools, including school councils, fetes, and various other projects in the schools, including outings, if needed.  I am a qualified Safer Cycling instructor, so you may see me teaching Year 6s how to cycle safely.

If anyone has any questions or problems and would like to talk to me, please do not hesitate to contact me on: 07764 638643, where I will be happy to try and help. Marie Quentin PCSO 7130

Whittlesey Police Station

A Fantastic response to the Shoe Box Appeal

Thank you so much to all the children and parents who have supported the appeal this year.  It has been an amazing success with a huge amount of shoe boxes being brought in.  I know that Darren and his family have been bowled over by your support.  It goes to show that the Alderman Jacobs School Community is very charitable and caring.

The class that won the prize for collecting the most shoe boxes is class 6. They will receive their prize towards the end of term.

Best Wishes and Merry

Christmas to all