Timings:    It has come to our attention that our school day is 5 minutes short (despite extending it last year). To resolve this we will be starting 5 minutes earlier from September. Doors will now open at 8:35am with registration at 8:45am. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Governors’ Awards:      On Thursday 11^th July, a special ceremony was held to recognise children at Moat House, who have worked hard or shown good behaviour or attitude during the Summer term. The following children were awarded with a certificate and a voucher, in front of a very proud audience of parents, governors and staff, for their hard work and achievements.

Sports Day:      Sports day was held on Thursday 11^th July and all of the children competed to earn points for their houses in a range of activities, including discus, javelin and an obstacle course. As well as thoroughly enjoying the event, the children behaved brilliantly and this was complimented upon by Beth (our sports coach) who visits other schools and rated Moat House as being exemplary. We would like to say a huge thank you to parents, carers, friends and family for coming along to support the children and especially our Year 6 children who did a super job of supporting the younger children to ensure that the events ran smoothly.

Recorder Concert  Our Year 3 children performed for their parents and carers on Wednesday 10^th July; some of the other KS2 classes were also in the audience. They played a few pieces as a whole year group and a few in individual classes. The children were magnificent and a real credit to their music teacher (Miss Sinclair). We were all singing Eye of the Tiger for the rest of the afternoon!

Year 1 Visit the Library:    Year 1 classes have been visiting Bell Green Library to explore books and activities. They have been given the option to open their own library card, which allows them to borrow books as they wish. The children all chose a book to borrow and we will be returning it on our next visit. The children were also introduced to a special Summer Reading Challenge, which encourages children to visit a library three times and read six books. You can visit any library - it doesn't have to be in Bell Green. If you complete this, you will be awarded with a special medal and certificate, so make sure you plan in some library visits over the summer holidays. Remember this is for all ages and it is totally free of charge! Happy reading!

Transition Day: On Wednesday 3^rd July, all of our children were excited to be told their new classroom and teacher for September. They spent the whole day in their new classrooms and the children and staff enjoyed getting to know each other. These are the classes for the new academic year:

Year 5’s Busy Week: Many of the Year 5 children had a brilliant time in Derbyshire in the week commencing 1^st July (and mostly managed to avoid the rain) whilst taking part in lots of outdoor fun and activities. Apart from the excitement of sharing a room with their friends, the highlight of the trip was the low ropes course at Conkers but the children enjoyed all of the activities, including a seven kilometre nature walk. On Tuesday 2^nd July, the Year 5 children who did not attend the residential trip in Derbyshire made their way to Go Ape at Coombe Abbey. Although many children were initially nervous about the height of the activity, they were all very brave and the majority managed to complete the activity on the highest level! We were all very impressed with the resilience they showed when they found the tasks difficult and with their impeccable behaviour. Two children who stood out during the trip were Kasey and Jamal who effortlessly made their way around the course with no fear and even encouraged others to have a go at the more challenging parts! Well done Year 5.

Careers Event:     On Friday 28^th June, our wonderful Year 6 children took part in our first ever careers event, where our learners were interviewed by real life business owners for job roles across many different sectors. The event started with students attending a jobs fair to find out about the jobs on offer. They were then asked to complete an application form and a letter to support their submission. As with any other job, they then contacted the school office to arrange their interview time and date. The day started with children arriving at school dressed smartly for their interviews and a workshop from West Midlands Police who described all of the different careers available within the police force. Then, throughout the afternoon our interviewees took part in their interviews with our supportive volunteers. A huge thank you goes to Donna from Vanity, beauty, nails, tanning, Ann from Henley Green Medical Centre, Matt from Selco, Georgina from Coventry Building Society, Chloe from CVLife, Allan from Grinsell’s Home and Garden Maintenance and our incredible school governors. We look forward to running the event again next year!

Year 1 go Wild:   On Tuesday 25^th June, Year 1 were very excited about their trip to All Things Wild. The children enjoyed seeing animals such as meerkats, camels, zebras and tortoises, as well as getting the opportunity to touch or hold snakes, rabbits and stick insects. They also had plenty of time to play and explored a dinosaur trail, where they spotted a life size tyrannosaurs rex, stegosaurus and triceratops. What a fun day! 

Year 6 Kayakers:  On Tuesday 25^th June, a group of eight Year 6 children went to Coventry’s Canal Basin to have a go at kayaking. They were first taught how to use the paddle before getting into the kayak. Next, they played games to help them control their balance on the water. After that, they went on a trip along the canal. Although some of them got caught in the bushes, they managed to untangle themselves. Finally, they got dressed in their dry clothes and returned to school – the children had a blast.

Year 2 Dentist:    On Monday 24^th June, the Oral Health Team and their very naughty unicorn friend visited Year 2 to teach them about the importance of brushing their teeth twice daily, for two minutes and to use floss. The unicorn was not very good at brushing their teeth, so needed reminding about the food and drink that is helpful, as well as harmful to teeth. The children could recall how important it is to drink milk and water as well as eating fruit and vegetables. They also knew how damaging fizzy drinks, chocolates and sweets are to teeth and gums. All of the children were encouraged to visit a dentist every six months to ensure that their new adult teeth would grow strong, straight and without decay.

School Council Visit to Castle Wood:           On Monday 24^th June, our Key Stage 2 School Councillors visited Castle Wood to discuss the impact of the work that they have done over this year. They were all surprised with the amount of things that they have achieved, including fundraising for local (as well as national) charities and the purchase of bins on the shared site to improve the cleanliness of the environment.

Sun Safety:  Every year we teach our children about the importance of staying safe in the sun and they learn to Slip, Slop, Slap to remain safe - Slip on a t-shirt to keep themselves covered, Slop on some sun cream and Slap on a hat to shade their face and neck. We've not had too much to worry about so far this year but are hopeful that we might all be using sun cream and sun hats soon!

3MM’s Class Assembly: We all thoroughly enjoyed 3MM’s class assembly on Friday 21^st June, especially with the tension, as many of us tried to answer the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” style questions! The children have been learning about Western Europe (Geography) and Mary Anning (History) and demonstrated that their ability to retrieve tricky information is phenomenal! Well done 3MM – it was a lovely assembly.

Hado Tournament:        On Wednesday 19^th June, a group of ten Year 5 children participated in a Hado tournament. If you have never heard of Hado, neither had we! The children took part in teams of three to throw virtual bolts at their opponents to break their targets, while dodging around on a small court. The team that broke the most targets won! The group took turns to play in one of the two teams that Moat House had entered. All of the children did really well playing this new sport and were great ambassadors for Moat House. One team came fifth in their group and the other team came third. Well done to all of the children who took part!

RNLI Fundraiser: Thank you for your contributions to our fundraiser last week. As a result of our children wearing blue non uniform for the day, we managed to raise £310.06. Thank you for supporting us and our local charities.