We have been creating our own podcasting radio program. We have used 'Podium' software. If you have this program please click on the title above to listen.

This is our first attempt. Watch this space for more information about our club next year...

Cypriot Picnic: Thursday 10th July 2008

The following menu will be cooked using traditional Cypriot recipes.

Greek Meatballs

Chicken Stew

Pork Pasta

Jacket Potatoes

Fries

Peas

Sweetcorn

Salad

Cherry Cheesecake

Light and Dark Custard

Milk Faye

Yoghurts

Milk and Fruit

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

1pm to 3pm

These beautiful potatoes, which were served up and enjoyed at our school at the beginning of the week, were grown in our very own alotment!

Mrs Richardson and her gardening club - made up of children from a number of classes, lovingly grew these perfect vegetables and proudly watched as they were hungrily eaten by both staff and children!

The summer fair and picnic will be on Thursday 10th July starting at 1.00pm. The children will be learning about Greek Cypriot culture and traditional costume and will be using this as the theme for the day.

Children can come in traditional Cypriot costumes or in holiday wear (no swimwear).

There will be a range of activities to include children's entertainer, face painting, games, various stalls, refreshments, raffle etc.

Once again, in order to make this as successful as in previous years we are holding out the 'begging bowl' and asking for donations of good quality books, bric-a-brac, soft toys, raffle prizes and holiday items for a holiday tombola. (If you could send some sunshine that would be good too!)

Below are some photos from last year's summer fair. It was a huge success and the theme was Independence Day! As you can see much fun was had by all...

We are having a non-uniform day on Tuesday 8th July and would like to ask that the children donate a small token prize in the same colour as their class.

• F1 - White
• F2 - Red
• Y1 - Green
• Y2 - Blue
• Y3 - Yellow
• Y4 - Orange
• Y5 - Pink
• Y6 - Purple

All donations will be used during the Summer Fair/ Picnic.

As always we thank you for your continued support.

Friends of Southfield

Everybody loves a pie and pea supper...especially after a hard week!

On Friday 4th July, Friends of Southfield are holding a very special evening of dancing, eating, drinking and games at Armthorpe Community Centre from 7pm - 11pm.

The evening will be to raise funds for Southfield's 30th birthday party which will be held in September.

Please come along and invite family and friends (over 18's only); the more the merrier! Tickets are £5.00 and can be bought from Mrs Lee in reception.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Massage in Schools Programme (MISP)

Miss Duffin (Year 2) is leading Southfield forward in using massage in schools which is quite a new concept in modern day society. Although massage in some native and traditional cultures, is as old as mankind itself!

This child-to-child massage programme has been developed as an inclusive whole school strategy for reducing children's stress levels, aggression and bullying. The MISP is a well-structured yet simple programme.

The clothed, peer massage is:

• for children 4-12 years old
• given and received with the child's permission
• given by the children, to each other
• on the back, head, arms and hands
• 10-15 minutes twice a week
• all children ask permission from each other before they start and say 'thank you' to their partner at the end.

The programme is an effective tool for improving child mental health and has had positive benefits for the children participating, such as improved concentration and increased confidence.

Children are empowered to make choices and they develop respect for the needs and feelings of others.

Members of the school community and parents have been consulted by Miss Duffin, before implementing the Massage in Schools Programme, which links to other aspects of the Southfield curriculum.

Positive touch activities also contribute to our teaching and learning styles.

Benefits of the Massage in School Programme

Studies and observations have shown that:

• children became calmer and have improved concentration
• children have more confidence and increased self-esteem
• it teaches children to respect others and leads to social inclusion
• there is a reduction in bullying and aggression
• emotional health improves
• it helps children recognise 'good' and 'bad' touch
• children show improved motor skills
• it encourages visualisation and kinaesthetic learning
• children are encouraged to make choices
• cooperation improves as children work in pairs and in groups
• there is a calmer classroom environment - the teacher benefits from all these aspects
• massage is fun!

Children's quotes:

"I like doing the massage because it is calm and gentle."

"Since starting the massage I do not get bullied because I am friendlier."

"When I give massage I feel good because I feel like I have helped someone relax."

"Massage makes me feel happy and I have loads more friends."

"Since doing massage my handwriting is better!"

Teacher's quotes:

"Children enjoy it very much. It creates a calm environment and children become more careful about the way they behave towards others. They are more thoughtful and considerate. Parents and other staff can also see the benefits..."

Ofsted quote:

"If you have a child leaving school with high self-esteem then the education system has achieved its greatest goal. The Massage in Schools Programme (MISP) helps with this objective."

Roger Brown, OFSTED Inspector.

If you are interested in finding out more about our Massage in Schools Programme then please see Miss Duffin in Year 2. Photographs of the children doing massage will be posted to this site soon...watch this space.

Southfield is about to get its very own blogging site which is to be launched this week (Wednesday 25th June).

This is a place where you can find out what has been happening at our school from the people who matter the most - the children!

Click on the link to go our very own blogging site!

http://shareit.yhgfl.net/doncaster/armthorpe

Please post your comments on the blog site as we look forward to hearing from you. If you would like to begin a discussion then you will need a username and password to contribute to this site. Please see Mrs Hogg in Year 5 for further details.

Lego Mindstorms Club

Communicating through the Senses

At Southfield we love ICT and were very excited when Mrs Hogg got invited on a robotics training day!

We have now begun a robotics club at lunchtimes and have begun to build our own robots! Our robots are able to communicate through sound and sight and we can program them to do lots of exciting things - including obstacle courses!

If you would like to see more of our club then please pop along to the Year 5 classroom at lunchtime or check out the display in the hall!

Please be aware that a lot of documents are now available to download from the website. You will need to look in the Downloads, Newsletters or Policies section. Thank you.

On Friday 27th June, Years 5 and 6 will go on an educational visit to the Doncaster South City Learning Centre.

The children will be split up in to their respective classes and take part in 2 ICT sessions - 3D video and Radio Production.

If you need a consent form for your child, please print one off from the 'downloads' section of the web site.

Your child will arrive and leave school at the same time as usual and if there are any changes on the day we will inform the office.

There are only a few weeks left of this school year. Please put the following important dates into your diaries...

• Monday 7 July - Reports out to parents
• Tuesday 8 July - 3.00-4.00pm - Infant disco
• Tuesday 8 July - 5.30-7.00pm - Junior disco
• Wednesday 9 July - 3.00-5.30pm - Concerned parents evening only
• Thursday 10 July - Greek picnic and summer fayre
• Monday 14 July - 9.30am - Year 6 Leavers' Assembly
• Monday 14 July - 6.00pm - Year 6 Leavers' Assembly
• Thursday 17 July - Year 6 Leavers' Party
• Friday 18 July -3.00pm - School closes

Adult Family and Community Learning Service

YOGA

6 week course - just £10

At: Southfield Primary

Day and Date: Thursday 19th June

Time: 9.15-11.15am

Would you like to learn how to practice the benefits of Yoga?

• Techniques to achieve relaxation
• Exercises for flexibility
• How to enhance your breathing

For further information please contact Mrs Lee at the office.

Our out of school club at Southfield is very popular. We are called Southfield Kids Club.

We do lots of activities at our club to keep the children entertained before and after school, as well as during holiday playschemes. Some of our regular activities include:

• Making jewellry
• Sewing crafts
• PS2, megadrive and Nintendo (as well as TV and video)
• Hamma beads
• Dressing up
• Bikes
• Drawing and Painting
• Outdoor games
• Toys and activities
• Dolls House and Toy cars
• Cards
• Keyrings

...and much, much more!

If you would like any further information about Kids Club and the activities we do then please pop in for a chat during opening times (featured below along with prices)

Breakfast Club:   7.30-9.00am - £3.00

After School Club:   3.00-5.30pm - £5.50   or   4.00-5.30pm - £4.00

Playscheme:   Full day: 8.00am -5.00pm - £17.00

Half day: 8.00am - 12.30pm  or  12.30pm - 5.00pm - £9.00

During summer playscheme kids club can only open 3 days per week - every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 8am-5pm. PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE!

In addition we have a Little Explorers Play Group, every Tuesday 9.10am - 11.10am - £2.00. This includes drink, snack and activities.

No booking necessary, please come along and join in with the fun!

Our annual Sports Day at the Sheffield Institute of Sport was a huge success again this year!

Charlotte Tonkinson, Natalie Butler, Sophie Oates and Katie Wakefield (all Year 6) opened up proceedings with an outstanding dance tribute to Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now!' Kicking off the day in the exciting way that it was due to continue....

Next came the hurdles.

Foundation Stage - 25m

Years 1 and 2 - 50m

Years 3 and 4 - 60m

Years 5 and 6 - 100m

In true Southfield spirit, everybody put in the upmost of effort and a great time was had by all - everyone who took part was deemed a winner! Below are some of the photos from these exciting races.

After the parents' and teachers' races (unfortunately of which we have no photographs!) and lunch it was time for the whole school to get involved with long jump, high jump, javelin and the obstacle course! A huge amount of fun was had by all as can be seen from the photographs below...

Our annual KS2 Christmas concert was a huge success. The children pulled out all the stops to ensure that their lines were delivered to perfection and their costumes and singing were of top quality. Below are some pictures of the children during one of the sell out shows.

As you can see the concert was extremely colourful and with a variety of characters including angels, devils and the obligatory donkey, much fun was had by all!

Years 5 and 6 went on a recent outing to the Frenchgate Centre. There was a great turn out of parents, friends and family members to see us all singing our hearts out.

Members of the public stopped to watch and some even joined in! Much fun was had by all!

The annual Year 6 Winmarleigh Hall Residential visit will run from 9 June to 13 June 2008.

The details are as follows:

Date of Residential: 9th June 2008 - 13th June 2008

Departure time from school: 10.30am

Arrival time at school: 3.00pm

Total cost of visit: £302.00

Breakdown of cost: Board and Lodging = £140.00, Activities and Instruction = £134.00, Transport Cost (Coach) and Insurance = £28.00. Total Cost = £302.00

A non-refundable deposit of £40.00 is payable. The LEA run a Remission Scheme, which entitles Parents/Guardians who are in receipt of benefits e.g. Free School meals to claim the Board and Lodging costs back for the visit. If you think that you are entitled please call into the school office for a form to claim.

If you have any queries, would like more information or if you would like any advice on assistance with payments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We have all recently been recording stars at school. We were recorded by The School Recording Stars singing and performing some of our favourite songs. They are now going to produce compact discs for us to buy.

If you would like to order a copy of the Southfield CD in time for Christmas, then please contact Mrs Lee in the office. The CD costs £9.99.