News Stories

Rats! - A performance by the Colston's Choir - 6th July 2009

After many weeks practising, the school choir gave a stunning performance of its summer production, RATS!, to a packed school hall on 6th July 2009.

Based on the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, full of witty songs and some superb character acting by the children of Year 6, supported by a loud and melodic chorus from years 3, 4 and 5, RATS! showed that Colston's has many fine performing artists destined for even greater things.

Under the musical direction of Miss Heppinstall, assisted by Mrs. Randall, Mrs. Payne and others, songs such as Alderman Greedy and Eat, Drink and Infect had the audience tapping their feet throughout, and the dancing and choreography added to a memorable evening.

You can see more lots more pictures in the Rats! section of Colston's in Pictures.

If you would like a high resolution copy of any of the photos, please contact Rob Davies directly or via the school office.

Art Week 2009

Over two hundred people packed the playground to see the Art Week parade on 10th July, a riot of colour and creativity.

Art Week at Colston's provides a fantastic opportunity for all the children to be imaginative, to enjoy new creative experiences and also to learn as they go. This year's theme, chosen with the staff, has been science and technology. We wanted to demonstrate how science and technology permeates our lives and maintain a creative experience. Parents and teachers have really stretched the theme, producing an amazing variety of ideas and activities to fulfil these ambitions and we hope the children have again had a fabulous time.

Art Week would not have been possible without the support of many people. Thank you to the parents who have given up their evenings planning and their time this week to help in the classroom, the teaching staff who support Art Week very enthusiastically, and the PTAF who fund the activities.

You can see what each year ghroup did below, but there are many more photos of the parade in the Art Week 2009 section of Colston's in Pictures. You can also see more of Year 2's work by clicking here, and Year 4's work here, and Year 5's work here.

Reception

Light and movement. A performance of Sunshine, Solar Panels, Raindrops & Rainbows

Year 1

Robots and astronomy

Year 2

Electricity - making and decorating lighthouses. Making instruments and the creation of sound and music.

You can download an MP3 of Year 2 singing 'ABC' by clicking here!

See Year 2's Lighthouses by clicking here!

Year 3
Pneumatics

Year 4
Pinhole photography, zoetrope animations, clay modeling and Geodesic UV Light Dome in the school hall

Year 5

Our thoughts and feelings about technology in our lives

Year 6

Casting teeth, felting workshops and model airplanes

If you would like a high resolution copy of any picture, please contact Rob Davies via the school office.

It's that time of year again, when the sun is shining and it is the perfect opportunity to walk to School. Yes it is Walk to School Week. Last year the turn out for Walk to School week was very good, this year it would be great if 85% or more could walk to School during that week. Don't worry if you live too far away to walk all the way, parking your car at least 10 minutes from School and walking still counts as walking to School.

This year the theme for the Week is Walk 'n' Talk; this is to demonstrate how sociable walking to School can be. It is the perfect opportunity to chat to friends and family whilst strolling to School. This year there will be the chance to join the walking bus on Monday and Friday morning. The walking bus will leave Redland Railway Bridge at 8.30am and will then stroll to School where light refreshments will be available. On Monday, Nadine Horton PCSO from the Cotham Beat will be giving a road safety talk during assembly for KS1 and KS2 children to ensure the children understand how to walk safely to School.

On Friday to celebrate a week of walking to School, children and their Parents/ Carers are encouraged to dress up as their favourite TV/ Movie character and spend the whole journey talking/ communicating just like them. The more outrageous the better!

The class with the most children walking to School will win the Golden Boot Award, which will be announced Friday afternoon. We look forward to seeing you all walking 'n' talking to school.

Walk To School Week Poster Competition

After a successful Walk to School poster competition last year, the Eco team decided to run it again this year. The competition was to design a poster to inform people about Walk to School Week. It had to include the theme for this year which is Walk 'n' Talk. The competition was judged in two sections, Foundation Stage/ KS1 and KS2. The turn out in the KS2 section was great and there were posters from each class. The Eco team judged the competition and chose a 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd for each section. They looked for posters which were eye catching and informative. Well done to everyone who designed a poster, these are now on show around the School.

Key Stage 1 Winners

1st - Ella Smalley 2W 2nd - Alyssa Thomas 1H 3rd - Daisy Woolnough RD

Key Stage 2 Winners

1st - Lottie & Lydia 5P 2nd - Finn Heal 6H 3rd - Rose Rimell 3R

Year 2 celebrates May Day with Maypole Dancing

Friday 1st May was celebrated in style by the children from classes 2J and 2W with a spectacular display of Maypole Dancing.

You can see many more pictures in the 'Colston's in Pictures' section of the site.

The children, Mr. Jarman, Mrs. Wallace and Mr. Gavaghan all worked hard to learn the complicated routines in a couple of days, with the help of pupils from Cotham School.

If you would like a high resolution copy of any picture, please contact Rob Davies via the school office.

Year 4 goes Greek!

Classes 4R and 4S recently performed a classical Greek play, The Gorgon Slayer, or Perseus and the Gorgons, to wide critical acclaim from staff and parents alike.

The play tells the story of Perseus, and his quest on behalf of King Polydectes of Argos to cut off Medusa's head. The amazing make-up and costumes added to some dazzling acting by the children, under the guidance of Ms. Robins and Mr. Sapsford.

You can see lots more photos in the 'Colston's in Pictures' section of the website.

If you would like a high resolution copy of any of the photos, please contact Rob Davies directly or via the school office.

Keep Your Brain Active at Home with Mathletics

www.mathletics.co.uk

Mathletics is a fun way of improving maths skills and can be accessed from any computer connected to the internet at www.mathletics.co.uk Children from Years 1 to 6 all have their own personal login details.

See Inside the new Staff Room

Colston's longest serving member of staff, Mrs. Jean Ashcroft (resplendent in her tiara and fairy wings), officially opened the new staff room on 11^th February.

Building work to create a new extension to the previously cramped facilities was carried out during the Autumn terms, with the finishing touches completed just after Christmas.

At the ceremony, Head Teacher Mr. Gavaghan thanked Paul Robinson and Tom Burgess from the Governing Body who had initiated and overseen the plans, and gave special thanks to Mr. Walker, our caretaker, who has worked tirelessly to manage the contractors and complete the finishing touches.

The new extension retains period features from the older building, and a large glass roof gives the space lots of natural light. It also means that the old staff room area could be fitted out with computers and desks for staff to carry out planning, preparation and assessment work.

The meeting table laid with cake for the opening ceremony (children please note, it isn't usually laid with cake), and the glass roof

(Left) Mr. Gavaghan with Paul Bowtell, one of the co-chairs of the Governing Body and (right) Nick Mayfield, the other co-chair, with governors Simon Read and Tom Burgess.

Mr. Walker tries to stop the other members of staff from getting to the cakes.

Our Battles with the Weather

Thank you to all children, parents and staff who helped keep Colston's as one of the few Bristol schools open on the first day of the recent snow. On Thursday 5th February 'Snow modelling' was the main activity of the day and photographs of the many snowmen/women/bunnies that we constructed are on the website here. There are more to view on the Bristol Evening Post website. BBC Radio Bristol also visited and enjoyed some time in the playgrounds with Year 6.

Having to close on Friday 6th was disappointing and we apologise to all members of the school community who found themselves inconvenienced by the school closure. The two most frequently asked questions on Friday morning were: 'Why was the school closed?' - We were unable to guarantee sufficient staff to offer a satisfactory level of supervision for the day. Most staff were unable to reach the school by opening time; the head teacher's car was abandoned in Central Bristol and the access roads to Cotham were treacherous - and, 'How can we find out if the school is closed?' To prevent 'hoax phone calls', we have an emergency contact with Bristol City Council. They were contacted at 7.40am and they then contacted the local media to advertise the closure. BBC Radio Bristol announced the school was closed as did the school website at about 7.45am.

Mr Walker, our school caretaker, has been extraordinarily busy. Playgrounds have been swept clean of ice and snow, pathways have been gritted and repairing frost damage to our playground drinking fountains has been a full-time job. Thank you Mr Walker.

Silver Award for Eco-Schools Work

Our continuing success in recycling, saving energy and teaching about sustainability has won us a Silver Award to add to our Bronze awarded in September 2007.

The Action Team, comprised of children from Years 3,4,5 and 6, with supporting adults from the teaching staff, parents and Governors, has now developed its Action Plan to include work on the following areas:

Transport - The children's insistence that they felt threatened by the illegal parking by parents outside the school, and our high profile campaign to deter such behaviour seems to have been very successful (but we continue to be vigilant!). The children have also organised a Walk to School Week from 19th May 2008.

Recycling - Paper recycling in classrooms has become second nature to the children, encouraged by prizes for the best classes!

Litter - Reinstated Litter rotas have reduced the amount of litter in the playground.

Energy - Competition for each class to reduce electricity use, by turning off lights and equipment, is being helped by the watchful eye of the Eco-spies!

School assemblies, noticeboards, and classroom lessons all reinforce the Eco-Code developed by the children -

We are Colston's Primary School,

We recycle cos we know it's cool,

Packets, tins, bottles, paper and cans,

Leave it all out for the recycling van!

Reduce plastic,

Switch off all the lights,

Walk or take the bus,

Reduce all those flights!

Save the animals,

Don't chop down the trees,

Reduce, Re-use, Recycle,

Please, Please, Please!!!

Great progress has been made in the first year of Eco-Schools. Now we'll be working towards achieving our 'Green Flag' status next year. You can see further details on the Eco-Schools section of the website.

What Did You Do At School Today....?

You can now see what our children are learning in every year group, term by term, by looking at the 'Learning at Colston's' section of the site. From the menu above, select 'Learning at Colston's', the 'Curriculum Info', and then the required Year and term.

The teaching staff have compiled a detailed breakdown of what the children learn in each subject area, from Literacy and Numeracy, to Music and Art, and Personal, Social and Health Education.

The school hopes that this will help parents to support their child's learning at home by asking questions and discussing the topics being studied.

If you would like to know more details, please contact your child's class teacher

OFSTED praises childrens' personal development.

Colston's was inspected by OFSTED in December, and the report has now been it published. It states that:

"Colston's Primary is a satisfactory school with some good features, particularly in pastoral care. The vision of the headteacher in promoting an inclusive school permeates throughout. All pupils are welcomed warmly into the supportive school environment. There are positive relationships with parents and others in the local community. There are good links with outside agencies who contribute to meeting the needs of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities".

"(children).. make sound progress throughout the school, leaving Year 6 with good literacy and satisfactory numeracy skills. Overall, their standards are good, making an effective contribution to their economic well-being. The leadership and management have a good knowledge of the school's strengths and weaknesses that has come about through an accurate self-evaluation. Since the last inspection they have addressed the needs of the more able pupils and been successful in raising attendance and are now exploring and employing strategies to improve provision for underachieving pupils, particularly in mathematics. Currently, the satisfactory teaching ensures that pupils make appropriate progress although more needs to be done to improve their knowledge and skills in mathematics. This includes making sure that the needs of all pupils are consistently being met in all classes so that they can make good progress in relation to their abilities.

Joint Chair of Governors, Simon Read, commented to parents that "We were asked by the inspectors what we thought was special about Colston's. We said the diversity of the school is a real strength and that children are safe, happy, respect each other and thrive. The inspecors judged that the personal development and well-being of the children is good and their spiritual, moral, social and cultrural development is outstanding. As the report says; "pupils enjoy coming to school..." Or as one inspector said to us; "...the playground is an example of the way the world should be..."

He added "Nothing in the judgement is surprising. We have been evaluating the school over the last year with our new school improvement officer. The inspection report has confirmed that judgement particularly with regard to (a) standards in numeracy and (b) the progress of under-achieving pupils between the end of Key Stage One and the end of Key Stage Two. These are areas of concern that we are currently addressing"

"Standards have mostly improved since the last inspection - particularly in areas like the curriculum and attendance. The school results in literacy continue to be good, close to outstanding and numeracy skills are satisfactory so that overall standards are good."

The full OFSTED report and Simon's full comments can be read in the OFSTED Report section of the site.

Schools' Minister Jim Knight MP visits Colston's

The man responsible for all of Britain's schools visited Colston's recently to see for himself what is happening at the school.

He listened to a storytelling class in Reception, and saw a Phonics lesson in Year 1, before meeting with Headteacher Mr. Gavaghan and Joint Chairs of Governors Paul Bowtell and Simon Read.

Paul Bowtell commented that "Jim Knight's visit was a great opportunity for us to show him the tremendous achievements of our pupils and staff. We are pleased that he chose to come to Colston's having heard that our diverse community was a real strength of the school. We were able to discuss with him our concerns regarding the funding formula used for schools in Bristol, and the narrowness of the criteria used by Ofsted in its evaluations. We are grateful for his time and hope that he can use our input to good effect in his role as Schools' Minister".

Jim Knight's principal policy areas include raising school standards including national tests, the national curriculum, school funding and capital including Building Schools for the Future, and school workforce issues.

Before entering Parliament, he managed a publishing company, based in the West Country, for 10 years. Prior to that, he managed arts venues and worked for a small scale travelling theatre company. He is married with two children.

Jim Knight MP with Mr. John Gavaghan and Mr. Simon Read.

Have you seen the mosaic in the playground?

Last year the whole school community took part in learning about the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, and commemorated the event with some fantastic dancing and, during Art Week, by further developing its "One World" theme.

We now have a lasting, permanent memory of this in the Wall Mosaic outside the Year 5 and 6 classrooms in the Key Stage 2 playground. This amazing work of art tells the story of the journey of the slave ship Mousango.

It is well worth a close up look, as the photographs here cannot do it justice. Congratulations and thank you to all involved!

Pirate ship docks in Colston's playground!

The Key Stage 1 playground has a fantastic new addition this year - a huge wooden pirate ship, called the Jomanda, for children to play on.

Following the storm damage of January 2007 and the subsequent rebuilding of the railings and wall, the school consulted the children about what they would like to see provided in the front area of the playground. The idea of a Pirate Ship proved to be very popular, and over the summer holidays it sailed from a far off shipbuilders to dock at Colston's.

You can see pictures below from the official opening, where the naming ceremony was performed by a scary looking pirate called Cabin NoParrot.

Parents are kindly requested not to allow their children to play on the ship before or after school, as the school cannot be responsible for ensuring their safety at these times.

Colston's wins award for Eco-Schools work

The school is proud to announce its Eco-Schools Bronze Award for its work towards reducing litter and increasing recycling rates.

The Eco-Schools project has been running at Colston's since May 2007 - it introduces the concepts of sustainability into our everyday activities in school, aiming to help children become more effective citizens by encouraging them to take responsibility for the future of their own environment. The school has just been recognised for its early work in this area by gaining a Bronze Award.

The scheme looks at nine key areas of school activity:

Litter
Energy Conservation
Waste & Recycling
Water
School Grounds
Biodiversity
Transport
Healthy Living
Global Perspective

Pupil involvement is a key part of the Eco-Schools programme, and our co-ordinating group has eight children from across Key Stage 2 leading the monitoring, action planning and decision-making, under the co-ordination of Miss Davies, Year 1 teacher.

How the Bronze Award was won

The children held an Environmental Review of the school, asking 21 questions such as:

Are the lights left on in classrooms when people aren't in them?
Does the school recycle its paper from classrooms and offices?
Is there a problem with cars outside school before school and at home time?
Are there enough bins inside and outside, in the school grounds?

Each Key Stage 2 class was asked to give their responses and the results were put together by the co-ordinating group. From the nine areas, the children decided to prioritise Litter, Waste & Recycling, and Transport for action.

Work is ongoing, but Litter Rotas have recommenced using equipment bought by the PTAF, and new litter bins are being sourced. The Recycling Consortium has been in school to hold assemblies and workshops with all year groups with the message "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" and black bins are now in every classroom to collect waste paper for recycling.

The children voiced their real concerns about the dangerous parking by parents dropping off or collecting pupils before and after school; they think that by ignoring double yellow lines and zig-zags you are threatening their lives. We are discussing how to get through to persistent offenders with the children's help.

We've made a good start to our Eco-Schools project, and our Bronze award reflects this. Work continues towards the next stage, a Silver Award and ultimately a coveted Green Flag.

Keep up to date with the latest developments by visiting the Eco-Schools page of the website, in the Learning at Colston's section.