Latest News!Miss Jesson's Word of the Weeksublime
It wasn't just excellent , it was sublime! 2019 - 2020Could you be a Totternhoe Governor?
Do you have experience in finance, marketing HR, business or education? Come to our potential Governors tea on Wednesday 18th March @ 2pm Your local school needs you! Home Learning
CHERRY CLASS ASSEMBLY 20.03.2020
CANCELLED FOR PARENTS World Book Day - 06.03.2020The world of literature came alive on Friday as all the children and staff took part in World Book Day 2020. The children dressed up in a variety of characters whereas the staff went with a Roald Dahl them - everyone looked fantastic! In the afternoon, we had a parade of all the children in their costumes and then the children split off and heard a story of their choice read to them which proved a big hit. A big thank you for all the effort put in by parents/carers and children!
Holly & Rowan Class Trip to Roald Dahl Children's Gallery - 02.03.2020Holly & Rowan Class left excitedly to board the coach that would take them to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery. We are pleased that they have arrived safely and have already received some photos.
Have a look at the Rowan and Holly galleries to see more pictures! Oakley's Competition
SEND Drop ins
Does your child have SEND or do you have concerns they might? Mrs van Vuuren (assistant SENDco ) will be holding half termly drop-ins where you can come, have a cup of tea and a chat. This could be a specific concern or for general advice. 24 March 2020: 1 - 2pm 5 May 2020: 1 - 2pm 16 June 2020: 1 - 2pm KS1 & KS2 Gymnastics Competition - 04.02.202012 children from Years 1-4 took part in a schools sport partnership competition at Harlequin Gym in Leighton Buzzard. In small groups they performed a routine, some to music and some without, as well as a vault exercise. They also had the opportunity to try out some of the equipment on offer at Harlequin. It sounds like a great morning was had by all - including Mrs K and Mrs Backhouse!
Reading AmbassadorCongratulations to Darcy who has become our first Reading Ambassador!
We asked children in Years 4 and 5 to write a short paragraph explaining why they would be suitable for this role. After a vote, the staff decided that Darcy would be a superb ambassador. Darcy will play a key role in promoting a love of reading, helping organise reading events such as World Book Day and our Extreme Reading Challenge, encourage children to use the reading shed and lunchtimes and lead by example in all lessons. Congratulations Darcy! Extreme Reading Challenge
Sports AmbassadorCongratulations to Fraser who has become our first Sports Ambassador!
We asked children in Years 4 and 5 to write a short paragraph explaining why they would be suitable for this role. After many discussions, the staff decided that Fraser would be a fantastic ambassador. Fraser will play a key role in promoting PE and School Sport at Totternhoe, help run and organise inter-house competitions, lead by example, especially in PE lessons and at break and lunchtimes and attend school council meetings. Congratulations Fraser! Keep your eyes peeled for information about our reading ambassador! Oakley - Pets as Therapy Dog We are VERY excited that we have started to be be visited by a school therapy dog as part of the Pets as Therapy Read2Dogs scheme. Jacqui is visiting us along with her dog, Oakley each week. Most weeks she is spending time with our Squirrel Squad and then she visits another class.
How it works Most adults are apprehensive about speaking in public as it can be very daunting and young people are no different. Research shows that young people can become nervous and stressed when reading to others in a group. However, when a PAT Dog enters the group, children often become less stressed, less self-conscious and more confident as the dogs are non-judgemental. Before long the young people are starting to look forward to the reading experience as they are going to read to their new friend. PAT Dogs provide comfort, encourage positive social behaviours, enhance self-esteem, motivate speech and inspire young people to have fun. The children have been told how much Oakley enjoys hearing stories and they have been sitting and interacting with Oakley. We're not sure who is enjoying it more! CYE - November 2019 - See CYE News! page
Dear Parents, the internet connection is very slow, and Mrs Mitchelmore is doing her best to start uploading some photos. In the meantime Mrs Harrison had a little more success on the Kensworth page, so please take a look at : https://www.kensworthacademy.com/latest-news.html for some photo updates and a video. Aldi's 'Kit for Schools' CampaignA MASSIVE thank you to everyone who has sent in stickers as part of the 'Aldi's Kit for Schools' campaign. We have sent off the poster and are awaiting our free kit and to hear whether or not we have won £20,000 to build on our health legacy at Totternhoe - fingers crossed!
Y1-4 Run4Fun - 8.10.1910 children from Year 1 and 2 and 10 from Year 3 and 4 took part in the Run4Fun at Linslade Middle on Tuesday 8th October. They all came back bursting through the door telling us all about how much fun they had had. They took part in a variety of activities such as team relays and mass participation. Thank you to Mrs Backhouse, Miss Murray and Miss Kanyuka for accompanying them.
Totternhoe Football Festival - 5.10.19On Saturday 5th October we held our annual football festival. We were joined by teams from Kensworth, Lancot, Mary Bassett and St. Augustine's. Many children came out of the festival gleaming with pride and their were lots of positive comments from visitors and parents. Thank you to all our helpers: the PA, Mrs Mitchelmore, Mrs van Vurren, Mrs Tebbutt, Mrs Backhouse, Mr Backhouse, Mrs Coote, Mr Shuffleton and Mrs Reason and anyone I may have missed! We were extremely proud that we raised £557 which will go back into the school. Just to add to the excitement, it didn't even rain! We're now looking forward to our Netball Festival next year.
Y3/4 Football - 26.9.1910 of our Year 3 and 4 children took part in a football tournament, as part of our Leighton Linslade School Sports Partnership, at Leighton United Football Club, Tilsworth. Although they weren't successful in winning any games, they all said what a great time they had had. That's the spirit!
2018 - 2019Platinum School Games Mark Award
We are delighted that we have achieved the Platinum School Games Mark!We are delighted to announce that we, Totternhoe CE Academy, have achieved the School Games PLATINUM Mark Award for the 2018/19 academic year. The School Games Mark is a Government led award scheme launched in 2012, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community, and we are delighted to have been recognised for our success.
Our sporting achievements this year include: Running a football festival Attending Weatherfield and Lancot's football festivals Raising money for team GB with Luke Lennon-Ford through Sports for Champions Holding workshops including cheerleading, golf, judo and cricket Taking part in many of the Leighton Linslade School Sports Partnership events such as: tag rugby, athletics, orienteering, tri-golf and gymnastics With many young people competing in local inter-school competitions this year, we are extremely proud of our pupils for their dedication to all aspects of school sport, including those young volunteers, leaders and officials who made our competitions possible. As part of our application, we were asked to fulfill criteria in the areas of participation, competition, workforce and clubs, and we are pleased that the hard work of everyone at our school has been rewarded this year. We look forward to applying once again in 2020! Y3/4 Orienteering - 2.7.198 children from Year 3 and 4 took place in our last event of the year as part of our Leighton Linslade School Sports Partnership. The children had lots of fun but were very tired by the time they came back after competing in sports day during the morning! Mrs O'Neill and Miss Smith were so impressed by the children throughout the day, their perseverance and attitude towards each activity - even teachers from other schools were commenting on how amazing they were!
Sports Day 2019We had a super morning of sports on Tuesday 2nd July at Sports Day. The children took place in various races including running, bean bag hat race, egg and spoon, relay, hurdles and medley. Water came in 4th place with 108 points, Air in 3rd with 111 points, Earth in 2nd with 132 points and Fire managed to hold onto their title from last year, coming 1st with 149 points. Thank you to the PA for providing refreshments for the adults and ice lollies for the children!
Arts Week 2019We have had another fantastic arts week this year! We hope that you enjoyed the afternoon where you had the opportunity to come and see all of the beautiful work that the children have created. With Mrs Hughes they made bird feeders out of lolly sticks, with Mrs Mitchelmore they went into the Wonder Wood and made bug hotels, with Mrs Backhouse they sewed cushions, skirts etc., with Mrs Beary and Mrs Petherick they decorated feathers and made pom poms and badges and with Miss Jesson they made smoothies, mini pizza quiches, peppermint creams and biscuits. Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers - Mrs Beary, Mrs Petherick, Mrs Tunstall, Mr Mitchelmore, Mrs Knight, Mrs Bowles, Mrs Harvey, Mrs Robson, Mr Kelly, Mrs Titmuss, Mrs Burke, Mrs Fowler, Mrs Kennet, Mrs Calvert and Mrs Halling - we couldn't have done it with you!
Tri-Golf Competition - 20.6.19We had a lovely afternoon at the beautiful Leighton Buzzard Golf Club. All of the children tried really hard and kept persevering when the pesky ball didn't end up where they wanted it to! At the end of the tournament we finished with 209 points!
Lancot Football Tournament - 8.6.196 children from Year 1 and 2 took part in the Lancot football tournament on a very wet, windy and cold June morning. There was a cracking goal from Connor, Emily and Holly both made a fantastic save, Bobby was SO close to scoring and Amber gave her all in every game. All the children worked well as a team and got better and better as the day went on. We were EXTREMELY proud of them!
Year 3/4 Quad Kids Athletics8 children from Year 3 and 4 took place in the athletics competition at Fullbrook School on Wednesday 22nd May 2019. Mrs Backhouse and Miss Murray were SO impressed with their effort, sportsmanship and behaviour. Great job!
Young Writers Poetry Competition - Year 1, 3 and 4We were thrilled that EVERY child in Year 1, 3 and 4 who wrote a poem for the Young Writer's poetry competition, were chosen to be published in their poetry book. We cannot wait for our copy of the book to arrive and to display it in pride of place in the library! Take a look at some of the fantastic poems below.
Dogs have a good sense of smell Only dog I know is called Kiki Grumpy, big, fluffy, naughty and cheeky Sometimes jumps over the gate By Camron Hamsters like straw Animals like to exercise Many hamsters like to climb Sometimes hamsters have a wheel They have a soft tummy Enjoy playing Really want a hamster By Delphi The Snow Squirrel When I woke up, I looked out the window It was sparking snow shining in the sunlight Then I saw a cute orange squirrel And its tail was swishing around the garden Suddenly, the squirrel was digging In the thick snow, looking for something With his big eyes Then I followed hum with my parents by my side Then I knew what he was looking for Some nuts for him and his family By Darcy BBQ In the Snow Once were having a BBW But a newsflash announced “Huge snowstorm coming, have a BBQ if you dare…” Delicious burgers got covered in snow A penguin came and stole the crispy chips Some really nasty kids from next door threw snow at us A huge snowman that the nice kids made fell on us The biggest icicles you’ve ever seen fell on us too! We’re having another one tomorrow Do you want to come? By Joseph Dolphins Under the Sea Dolphins splashing over the sea Water flying over me The sun is setting far and wide Seagulls soaring through the sky Stars are jumping in the night Dolphins exploring at height Their flippers shiny as the sea Seaweed glowing, just like me By Leah School Fire School’s on fire! Can someone call the fire brigade? House next to us is calling them Okay Oh no, the fire’s spread! Look, the firemen are here! Finally, the flames are getting smaller, I can believe it Rent a building to use as a school until the fire’s gone Eventually, the fire will go By Timothy Trim Trail Grand Opening - 13.5.19We were excited to officially open our new trim trail area, including the all weather surfacing that has been put in place. Thanks to the PA, £9000 was put forward by them from the Co-op community fund. Mrs Morgan attended as their representative. Mrs Hayward represented the Governor's Trust who gave a £1000 donation towards the development. Mr Brown completed a charity bike ride and raised £300. The rest of the money was funded by a sugar tax grant and our PE sports funding money. A representative from the Leighton Linslade Schools Sports Partnership, Mr Seymour and Mr Brown, had the honour of cutting the ribbon.
All Stars Cricket - 8.5.19The children enjoyed a workshop run by Brad from All Stars Cricket yesterday. More information about becoming an All Star can be found here.
Greatest Showman Workshop - 2.5.19Each class had a musical theatre workshop run by Premier Education throughout the day on Thursday 2nd May. The theme of 'The Greatest Showman' proved very popular and the fun could be seen on each child's face. They each took part in some warm up activities such as moving around the room in different ways and then learnt a small piece of choreography to one of the songs from 'The Greatest Showman' and of course they were allowed to sing! Photos coming soon!
Y3/4 Dunstable Town FC Weatherfield Football Tournament - 6.4.199 children from Year 3 and 4 attended the Dunstable Town FC Football Tournament at Weatherfield School on Saturday 6th April. They took part in various warm up activities and then played 5-a-side in mixed groups. The children who had taken part, along with their families, were then invited to DTFC's match against Bedford Town.
KS1 Athletics - 28.3.19 4 children from Year 1 and 4 children from Year 2 attended the KS1 Athletics event at Vandyke Upper School which was lead by their young leaders. They took part in a carousel of athletic activities including: jumper, pitcher, launcher, runner, bouncer, skipper and thrower. At the end of the event, the children then took part in various relay races. They all had a great time and were very excited to be driven by Mrs. Backhouse in the minibus! To top it off, we came in 3rd place overall with 68 points!
World Book Day - March 2019
Totternhoe CE Academy had a fantastic time celebrating World Book Day on Friday 8th March. Among the costumes were characters such as Matilda, The Lorax, Harry Potter, Horrid Henry, Dennis the Menace, The Worst Witch and Little Red Riding Hood to name a few. The staff joined in too. Staff dressed up as characters from David Walliams' books, including The Midnight Gang, Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy, Mr Stink and the Demon Dentist. The children with the best home-made costumes from each year group were awarded a certificate and an extra World Book Day voucher to spend. As the theme this year was 'Share a Story', each teacher shared a story with their class. Reception heard, 'Owl Babies', Year 1, 'Man on the Moon: A Day in the Life of Bob', Year 2, 'I'll Take You to Mrs Cole', Year 3, 'The Magic Paintbrush' and Year 4, 'Until I Met Dudley.' As well as this, in our mixed year group houses, we had 'Book Buddies', something that we do throughout the school year. The older children read the books that they and their younger partner had brought in. We are all looking forward to celebrating again next year with our NEW Year 5s!
Festival of Sport - 27.2.19Children in Year 1, 2, 3 and 4 took part in a 'Festival of Sport' ran by the Young Leaders at Leighton Middle. They took part in activities such as floor curling, archery, tennis, throwing and catching, bowling and rolling balls onto a target. They all had a lot of fun - the younger children especially loved the trip in the minibus! Miss Hughes and Miss Smith were very impressed with their behaviour throughout the event.
Susie Davids Author Visit - 25.2.19
We were all very excited to welcome local author Susie Davids to Totternhoe. She spent some time with each key stage where she read one of her stories (Alfie and the Greatest Creatures: Alfie in the Tropics) and answered all of the children's questions. This story is part of a set of stories that follows Alfie's quest to find the greatest animal. We are all excited to welcome her back in May for another reading!
KS1 & KS2 Gymnastics @ Harlequin Gym - 5.2.2019
KS1 and KS2 took part in the LLSSP Gymnastics event at Harlequin Gym. KS1 performed a choregraphed routine to Aladdin's 'Arabian Nights' and also an individual vault piece. Half of KS2 performed a set body management routine and the other half performed a set floor management routine. They also all performed an individual vault piece. Mrs Beary, Mrs Backhouse and Miss Jesson were extremely proud of their confidence, performance and team work!
Sports for Champions Athlete Visit - Luke Lennon-Ford - 16.1.19On 16th January, we were visited by Team GB's Luke Lennon-Ford, a 400m sprinter. The children all took part in a 4 minute circuit which included leg drives, star jumps, spotty dogs and press ups. They were very supportive of each other and cheered their classmates on. The whole school then went to an assembly held by Luke where he told us about his daily routine, showed us some of the workouts that he does, talked about what he eats and also gave us the opportunity to ask him any questions. We learnt that his personal best was 45 seconds and that he has been recorded running at 26mph. With the money that the children raised through sponsorship, we were able to send Team GB £487.80. We also raised £94.20 for school.
Y3/4 Sports Hall Athletics @ Cedars - 15.11.188 children from Year 3 and 4 took part in the Sports Hall Athletics at Cedars. There were a variety of activities that they had to complete including long jump, throwing, speed bounce and relay races. They worked incredibly well as a team and were supportive of each other at all times. Thank you to Mrs. Harvey who accompanied us.
Y3/4 Tag Rugby @ Cedars - 08.11.18Well done to our Year 3 and 4 tag rugby team. They worked well as a collective team and improved with each match that they played. Thank you to Mr. Street for running a session prior to the event. A big well done also goes to the children that had never played tag rugby before!
Dunstable Town FC Football Tournament - 20.10.18Congratulations to Totternworth for the wonderful football that they played at Dunstable Town FC's friendly Football Tournament at Weatherfield. There was some amazing football by all involved! The children were then treated to lunch and invited to be mascots at Dunstable Town FC's match against Corby Town where they drew 3-3.
Year 3 and 4 Boys Football - 27.9.18 A big well done to the Year 3 and 4 boys who took part in the football tournament at Cedars Upper School. They all showed great sportsmanship and team work throughout all four of their matches on a beautiful, sunny Thursday afternoon.
2017 - 2018School Games Gold Mark Award - 3.7.18We are delighted to announce that we have achieved the School Games Gold Mark Award for the 2017/2018 academic year. The School Games Mark is a Government led award scheme launched in 2012, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust, rewards schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community, and we are delighted to have been recognised for our success. We are extremely proud of the children for their dedication to all aspects of school sport . We are pleased that the hard work of everyone at Totternhoe has been rewarded this year. We look forward to applying once again in 2019!
MKDons Football Competition - 17.5.18Well done to the Year 4s who took part in the football competition held at Stadium MK, home of the MKDons. The children all played very hard, showed great team spirit, perseverance and sportsmanship. They all looked professional and were very well behaved.
21.4.18
Congratulations to our fantastic football team. They braved the hot weather and joined the football festival held at Weatherfield Academy. We are extremely proud of all the players, who showed great team spirit as well as our Totternhoe values of; Justice, perseverance and service. 8.3.18 Indoor Athletics
Well done to our indoor athletics team who traveled to Vandyke Upper. Mr Seymour has just sent through our results... Your School Highlights from the day. 2nd Place in Pitcher Event 4th Place in Jumper Event Determination School Games Value Award - Nominated by the PE and School Sport Apprentices 7th Place Overall We are all over the moon that we won the Value award! We are super proud of you all. We are now a RWI MODEL school!!
We were very proud to receive national recognition from the Oxford University Press in the award of Model School Status for our phonics teaching in the Read Write Inc scheme.
The award recognises the commitment, passion and excellence of the staff's delivery of the program and the progress of the children we teach. This is an exceptional achievement as the school has been delivering the program for less than 2 years. Ruth Miskin (creator of the program), says, “I am so thrilled that the children in Totternhoe Lower School are making such fast progress. Model Schools are vital in our drive to help children in other schools make the same progress.” Oxford University Press Educational Consultant, Angela Boba says “I am delighted that Totternhoe Lower School has become a Read Write Inc. Model School. It has been fantastic to see the school develop and flourish, it’s great that other schools in the area can visit and see their brilliant Read Write Inc. lessons in action.” Angela attended the celebration assembly at the end of Autumn term to present the certificate to the school We will now be used as examples of good practice for other schools. The consultation period to become a primary school has now ended. Thank you to everyone that completed a form to share your views. Please read Octobers newsletter for the outcome!
Volunteer of the Year!Our very own Mr Kelly won the Volunteer of the year award at the same ceremony for all his years of dedicated work both as a governor at our school and for his commitment to the British Heart Foundation. Well done Mr Kelly.
6th October 17
WE ARE A RWI BADGE SCHOOL!
We are a “Get Reading. Keep Reading. Change Everything.” school. We use the highly successful Read Write Inc. Phonics programme to teach our children to read, write and spell. Our children do well in the phonics screening check and by Year 2, the majority are fluent readers with the best chance of success in the KS1 tests. Ruth Miskin Training recognise us for teaching the programme with fidelity and passion – we know what it takes to make reading and writing pleasurable and rewarding for our children. This badge recognises that we:
sign up to the Ruth Miskin Training newsletter go to: http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/newsletter-subscribe/ Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for all the support at home with reading and phonics. Victorian day was a huge success! Thank you everyone for the effort with costumes, the children looked amazing. We were celebrating 150 years of a school being in Totternhoe. Please see here for more information about what the school looked like 150 years ago.
Macmillan Coffee Afternoon
Fri 29th Septmeber Well done everyone you have raised £145.55! School council, House Captains and PA all worked together to ensure a super time was head by all. September 2017
Thank you to everyone that attended the Phonics Workshops. We hope they were useful. If you have any suggestions or comments, remember to come to parent forum or jot them down for the suggestions box in the foyer. 6.9.17
Year 3 and 4 at the Living Rainforest. 
RE AWARD
I am delighted to announce that we have been awarded the Bronze RE Quality Mark. The inspector was especially impressed with his meeting with the children and how well they spoke about what RE means to them and the school. 2016 - 2017Tring Museum - Holly class
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March 2020 News
Dear Parents / Carers, Following the latest government announcement please do not send your son or daughter to school if they have a cough or temperature. Please also be aware that if anyone in your household has these symptoms everyone in the household should self-isolate for 14 days, including siblings of those with symptoms. All additional learning and PA events have been cancelled at this time. We are just finalising the home learning package and will get this out to you all by Friday at the latest. Thank you for your support at this challenging time. Mrs Coote has set up a Covid-19 information page attached to this News tab. Please take a look for the latest information. I am receiving daily updates from the DFE as well as Mrs Bennett (our CEO) and we are all working together as a school and Trust to ensure that all our children, staff and local community are kept as safe and healthy as possible. The mid-year reports are being written by teachers please start to think about what you like about Totternhoe and what you would like to see improved. The Parent/ Carer questionnaire is coming out soon! Remember you can also come to parent forum or drop us a note in the feedback box in the foyer or by email. Best wishes,
Mrs Bates Children's Wordle
Staff Wordle
Attendance Teddy winners
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Totternhoe CE Academy, Church Road, Totternhoe, Dunstable, Beds. LU6 1RE
Parent and Public Enquiries: please ask for Mrs Barford or Mrs Coote Preschool T: 01582 668841 Main School T: 01582 662959 E : totternhoeoffice@tot.dsamat.co.uk |
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