Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Lower School Christmas Performance
Fri 12 Dec 2014If you were lucky enough to see our Y3 and Y4 performance, I hope you were as blown away as I was by the commitment and enthusiasm of the children and teachers in presenting what we saw.
The children and staff showed everything we value at Albany: hard work, tenacity and a determination to succeed whilst having fun.
We are currently revisiting our values and vision with the staff just to make sure that what is written down is still current and reflects the essence of the school and what we hold dear.
I will put more details on the website as we discuss this over the coming weeks.
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How we teach British Values
Fri 05 Dec 2014You may have been reading in the press and hearing on the news about the drive to embed British Values of tolerance, equality, diversity, respect for criminal and civil law, democracy and freedom. This list is not exhaustive but it gives you a flavour. We already offer a wide range of learning experiences for our children which help to embed these values so that children are ready for the next stage in their education.
Staff have recently audited our current provision and the results of this audit will be published in the coming days on this website for your information. To add to your child's learning experience and to that of all our staff (teachers, teaching assistants, office staff, cleaners and catering staff) we are all undergoing a training programme from the Achievement and Equality team from Notts County Council.
We have set aside staff meetings for training in Anti-Racist Education, Homophobic Bullying and also Female Genital Mutilation and Child Sexual Exploitation. Your children will have a series of workshops in the Spring and Summer terms which I will write about in more detail next term.
There has also been a suggestion that we run some coffee mornings and evenings with training opportunities for parents in the new curriculum. If you have any suggestions please email the school at office@albany-jun.notts.sch.uk
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E-Safety Training for Parents
Fri 05 Dec 2014Many thanks to those parents that came to the training sessions with Lorna Naylor on Wednesday. Feedback has been very positive and this is training which we will look to provide in the future. Please keep looking on the website for a new page we are creating to help you with this most important of topics. There will be information and links to other websites coming soon. -
What is coming up.
Sun 23 Nov 2014I am writing just with a few reminders about events happening in the next few weeks and also moving into the New Year. These last few weeks of term will be very busy and we want your children to have fun but also to work hard and behave as we all expect them to.
Over the next two weeks all children will be having their second set of assessments this term. We are sure they have all been working hard and are looking forward to celebrating the progress they have made. Teachers will be feeding these results back to you early next term. Please feel free to have a chat with your child's teacher if you have any queries, worries or concerns.
On Wednesday 3rd December we have 2 presentations about E-Safety for parents and carers. This is a huge part of our Computing curriculum and the messages it gives children are essential in maintaining the safety of our children online. Lorna Naylor, from Notts County Council will present at 2pm and 6pm. Please fill in the letter we sent out and let us know you are coming. It will be great to see you.
The Christmas Fayre is on Thursday 4th December and we also have our Christmas Performance for Years 3 and 4 on Thursday 11th December. Tickets are still available at 2 per family. On Tuesday 16th December we have the Carol Service at 2pm and then after school the disco.
In the New Year, we welcome back Ms. Rawson. I am looking to hold another information session for parents. I will talk about homework, progress of the children across the school and our plans for how we will be working with our children to promote British values. If there is anything else you would like me to cover please let me know.
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DFE.Ebola Advice
Thu 23 Oct 2014Wednesday 22 October 2014
Ebola Virus - Advice for Schools, Colleges, Childcare and Residential Settings
The government is closely monitoring the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa, and is taking action at home and abroad.
The overall risk of Ebola to the UK remains low. However we understand that people may be concerned where there are children, students or staff returning from or visiting Ebola-affected countries.
Public Health England (PHE), in conjunction with the Department for Education, has produced advice for schools, colleges, childcare and residential settings to ensure people are properly informed about the Ebola virus. This can be found on GOV.UK.
Advice for parents/guardians
Parents/guardians should not be unduly worried about the possibility of their children catching the Ebola Virus. You may wish to use the following key points from the Public Health England advice to reassure them:
- The risk of Ebola arriving in the UK is low and to date there have been no cases of Ebola Virus Disease being contracted in the UK.
- Any person arriving in the UK having travelled from any Ebola affected countries will be screened. If they are free of symptoms they are not infectious so there should be no restrictions on their school attendance or normal activities.
- It is not possible to catch Ebola from a person who is not showing signs of being infected. It can only be caught by direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is ill with the disease.
- There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend school or their early years setting as normal.
Further information on the Government's response to the Ebola virus can be found on GOV.UK.
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School Council Opens for Business
Wed 22 Oct 2014Our School Council met for the first time on Tuesday 21st. We discussed what a school council was for and also how we could find out what our children thought of their learning experience at Albany Junior School. Councillors came up with questions and a new questionnaire will be put together at our next meeting.
The council will share their minutes with their classes and also get children's thoughts about what a new trim trail might look like. They will then design it as a group and price the job before consulting with the company who will construct the play equipment. We meet again on 11th November 2014.
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Albany Storm to the top of the league
Fri 17 Oct 2014Albany produced a fine second half performance to win 3-1 at John Clifford Primary School in Beeston last night. After a turgid first 20 minutes the team found themselves 1-0 down just into the second half.
This galvanised the team who played with real spirit and purpose. Two quick goals by Gabe and a third from Corey, after fine battling from Rogan in midfield, settled the match. Mr. Mason and I were extremely proud of the team for their sportsmanship, effort and will to win. We look forward to January when the league starts again. The club will finish next Thursday.
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Parent Welcome Meeting
Thu 16 Oct 2014Many thanks to the 40 parents who attended the Welcome Meeting on Wednesday 24th September. We have listened carefully to the concerns expressed about the amount of homework given and the time expected for each piece. Staff have reviewed their expectations at recent INSET and Staff Meetings and the new policy is being finalised. I will look to consult with the Parent Forum next week by email then new expectations will be set out after half term. -
Albany Edge to Victory
Thu 09 Oct 2014In two close halves on Thursday at the Albany Arena, our football team took 3 points from our first league fixture against Bramcote C of E Primary. The first half saw chances at both ends. Mitchell had a great effort saved and Liam in goal made some great saves to keep the score 0-0. The second half sprung into life after Corey squeezed in a shot in from a tight angle. With 4 minutes left Bramcote equalized after a great run and shot. Both sides pushed for a winner. With a minute to go Corey scrambled in a winner after a corner. The final whistle went and Albany had scraped home, 2-1. Next week we play away at John Clifford in Beeston. Look out for the report here sports fans!! -
INSET Days
Wed 01 Oct 2014I just wanted to update parents and carers about the work we have done on our 2 INSET days (Friday 26th and Monday 29th). There can be the misconception at times that these are 'time off' for teachers. I want you to know that the focus will always be about your child and how we can improve our practise to make the learning of your child better.
Last Friday we had a session on E-Safety. All staff spent time with Lorna Naylor from Notts LA looking at how we can help educate our young people and also keep ourselves safe too. There will be 2 parent meetings on E-Safety on December 3rd. One at 2pm and one at 6pm. They will both last about an hour and a half and take you through a lot of the content we saw.
The next hour was spent looking at how we can simplify and clarify our approach to homework. This message came loud and clear from the Parent Forum and the Parent Meeting last Wednesday. There is more work to do on this. I will report back when there is more to tell you.
In the afternoon we spent time as a team carrying out activities designed to bring us together and to enable us to get to know each other better. Feedback was very positive.
On Monday, our staff alongside those from Albany Infants and Rylands Juniors were trained by Jason Wade in how to use the new Grammar Curriculum. It was a fun and tough session but your children will feel the benefits in the coming weeks.