News Archive 2003-04

August 2004

Yesterday, Mrs. Parkin had a baby boy.  His name is Samuel Harry and he weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces.  Mum, Dad and Sam are all doing fine.

JULY 2004

On behalf of the PTA and the school, a huge thank you for the tremendous support you gave to our "quickly re-arranged" Gala Day.  On this occasion we clearly made the right decision- although we were not quite as lucky with the Key Stage 1 Sports Day last Friday!  We are delighted to say that although we lost one or two Gala Day attractions because of the re-scheduling, we appear to have made a healthy profit of around £5000. Needless to say, the money raised will rapidly be re-invested in your children's education.  Thanks again to everyone who helped make the day a massive success.

Tuesday 6 July 2004

SATs Results Best Ever!

Balsall Common Primary School's SATs results this year, both in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, are the best ever achiveved.  Key Stage 2 results, in particular, were outstanding.  Well done to all the children and the teachers.  Thanks also for the support given to the children by parents and staff throughout the year.

Monday 5 July 2004

Who is your new teacher?

After much careful thought we can now confirm the classes for next year.  As you will see from the class lists we are losing two members of staff and gaining two.  Mrs. Morris and Mrs. Singh will be leaving us to further their careers elsewhere and we wish them every success for the future.  I am delighted, however, to advise that we have appointed two excellent new members of staff, Miss Mitchell and Miss Tuckey.

 

Current Class	New Class	Teacher/s
RB	1H	Mrs. Holmes
RC	1P	Mrs. Heath
RL	1M	Miss Mitchell
1C	1T	Miss Tuckey
1H	2H	Mr. Hilton
1M	2A	Mrs. Aviss
Year 2 (split)	3C	Mrs. Chesshire
	3D	Miss Davies
	3M	Miss McCannah
3C	4I	Mr. Ireland
3L	4C	Miss Critchley
3M	4B	Mrs. Baker
Year 4 (split)	5H	Miss Heathcote
	5K	Mr. Kent and Mr. Mortimer
	5L	Mrs. Kelly
5D	6C	Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Griffiths
5H	6L	Mr. Latham
5K	6R	Mrs. Reynolds

June 2004

Wednesday 23 June 2004

Sky Blue Sam at Gala Day

Sky Blue Sam is coming to Gala Day!!  The huge, fluffy sky blue elephant will be arriving at school sometime after 4pm to say hello to everyone. He will also be presenting the trophies to the finalists of the school's Euro 2004 football tournament.

Monday 21 June 2004

Gala Day King and Queen Unveiled

Gala Day 2004 is only 5 days away.  These two children from Year 2 were pulled out of the Royal hat by the Headteacher, to be this year's Gala Day King and Queen.  It will be their job to open Gala Day (Saturday 26 June, 2pm) by leading the fancy dress parade from the school hall, out onto the field and around the main arena.  Any children can dress up for the parade, and although the theme of this year's Gala is the olympics, pupils may dress up as anything they wish.

Saturday 19 June 2004

BCPS Swim at National Championships

Balsall Common Primary School competed in the Finals of the 10th Bazuka National Swimming Championships for Primary Schools organised by the English Schools Swimming Association at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.

This is only the second time that the school has qualified for the Finals, the last occasion being 2000, and the five man team were delighted to be representing the school in both freestyle and mixed stroke relays.  The level of competition to reach this stage of the championships is huge, with 92 teams from across the country – as far afield as Plymouth and the Scottish borders – representing the twelve divisions of the English Schools Swimming Association. This year had seen the highest ever number of entries in the regional rounds that preceded the Finals.

The standard of competition was exceptionally high and for some members of the team this was their first experience of top level competition with electronic timing and stringent rule keeping. Underwater cameras and sensors on the starting blocks monitored adherence to rules, and the tension in the pool hall was electrifying!

The boys (Andrew H, Jonathan C, Jonathan L, Alasdair and Michael) produced some excellent swims and some personal best times to achieve 17th place in the freestyle and 21st place in the Mixed Stroke finals in events where literally hundredths of a second separated medallists and position.

Wednesday 9 June 2004

School Golfers Play at the Forest of Arden

44 children from Balsall Common Primary School were invited to the Marriott Forest of Arden Golf Academy for the final session of their six-week Tri-Golf course.

The pupils in years 2,3 and 4 have been taking part in their Junior Golf Passport, with Tri-Golf being the preliminary level.  Children have been coached in the school hall and on the playing fields by Colin White, the golf professional at the hotel and country club.  They have been using plastic putters and irons, but have made so much progress that Colin invited them all down to the Forest of Arden Golf Academy to have a go with proper clubs and balls.

Tri-Golf will continue at school in the Autumn Term, however Colin White has arranged some times for primary-aged pupils to have golf tuition at the Forest of Arden Golf Academy during the summer on Saturdays (12-1pm, 2-3pm) and Sundays( 11-12pm, 12-1pm).  This will begin on Saturday 10 July.  The cost is £3 per session, with the first session FREE.  If any pupils are interested please contact Mr. Hilton on the school number, or Colin White directly on 01676 526116.  There also may be an opportunity for parents and teachers to receive group tuition from Colin, depending on the amount of adults interested.  Please speak to Mr. Hilton if you are interested.

May 2004

Sunday 16 May 2004

Balsall Common Ski Team Win at Telford Slope

Balsall Common Primary School Ski Team were victorious in the West Midlands Ski Association Schools Race, held at Telford Ski Centre.

The school entered twenty children, aged from Year 1 to Year 6.  There were also three ex-pupils from Balsall Common Primary School taking part in the slalom event.  Each child had two runs down the slalom course.  The opposition was extremely tough, considering some entrants ski regularly all around the country.  However, the Balsall Common Ski Team raced fantastically well and exceeded all expectations.  The Under 8 Mixed team came first in their category, as did the Under 10 Boys team. 

Congratulations to the whole team for their huge effort and achievement, and all the parents for their suppport and encouragement, especially Sally Phelps who helped to organise the event.

Sunday 9 May 2004

Footballers Runners Up at St.Andrews

Balsall Common Primary School were the runners-up in the first ever "FlyBE Community Cup."  Having qualified for the finals the previous week, held at Birmingham City's training ground, the Balsall Common team of Year 5 and Year 6 children played at St.Andrews in front of hundreds of spectators.  Sixteen teams from all around the Birmingham, Dudley and Solihull area were there for the finals.

With a record of five wins, one draw and one defeat Balsall Common came top of their group, thus qualifiying for the semi-finals.  There they faced Kingsthorne Primary and came back from 1-0 down to win 2-1, the winning goal scored in the last few seconds.

In the final they faced a very strong St.Patrick's Primary School team and were narrowly defeated 1-0.  It was an extremely enjoyable day for all involved.  The children were each presented with a medal, from Blues player and Irish international Kenny Cunningham, and the school received a signed Birmingham City shirt and runners-up shield.

Saturday 1 May 2004

School Team To Play At The Blues

Balsall Common Primary School Football Team will get the chance to play on the pitch at Birmingham City FC's ground, St. Andrews, on Sunday 9 May.

The team played in the FlyBE Community Cup qualifying rounds at the Blues' Wast Hills Training Ground, Kings Norton, managing three wins and a draw.  This was just enough to qualify for the finals.  As well as playing in a Premiership stadium, the team will also have a tour of the ground.

Supporters are welcome to watch the tournament.  Entrance is via the Kop Reception at St. Andrews.  Kick off is at 12.30pm with a finishing time of around 2.30pm.

April 2004