On a rather wet Thursday in October, school held its first sponsored Scooter Challenge. Over 200 pupils "scootered" around a course in the school grounds in relays, each having 30 minutes to see how many circuits of the course they could do. A great time was had by all and never before have we seen so many scooters in school!

At the latest count we have already received over £1,600 in sponsor money which is a fantastic achievement raised through a fun activity. We are spending some of the money on decorating and refurbishing our library and buying additional books for it. Many thanks go to all your family and friends for helping to support this fund raising event. The amount raised has far exceeded our expectations!

Photos of some of the scooter stars can be found here.

Minster FM recently visited school as part of their search for the Young Stars of North Yorkshire - young achievers between 7 and 16 who make a difference and wave the flag for their school! Chris Marsden from Minster FM spoke to Elly, Bethany, Daniel, Alfie and Leo about what they liked about Osbaldwick Primary School and who they thought were the young stars in school.

You can listen again to the interview which went out live on Minster FM using the player below.

Already this term two of our pupils have won awards; firstly Robert Marshall has won a MP4 player for STEM (Science Technology Engineering Maths) Leaders Special award.

Secondly, Bethany White has won the STEM leaders WISE Special Advanced award. Her prize for this award was to have the certificate presented to her by HRH Princess Anne in London. Congratulations go to both of them.

On Tuesday 21st June, Bronwen Mollen went to meet her French pen pal at Buckingham Palace. Not only that but she told Chris Evans and millions of Radio 2 breakfast show listeners what she was going to do.

Bronwen came back on Thursday to tell everyone about her special day. You can listen to both parts of Bronwen on the Breakfast Show using the player below.

On Wednesday 15th June, there were some very special visitors to school. To coincide with Sports Day, Mandeville, the mascot of the 2012 paralympics, visited school to present a special award to Calum Japes for his committment to sports despite having a number of disabilities himself.

To celebrate the award, BBC Radio York were at Sports Day to interview Assistant Head, Mr Brown, Sports Coordinator Mrs Tasker, Calum himself along with his mum. You can listen to the interview using the player below.

Did you enjoy the Royal Wedding in April? Our children certainly did. We had two days with a Royal Wedding theme; in fact the children came into school to find golden scroll letters from the Queen on a velvet cushion for each class! Each letter gave requests for several activities in school, produce a fashion show, make a collage of ceramic tiles, design a Royal menu and make Royal souvenirs, make suitable headwear for a Royal Wedding. It all culminated in a fantastic wedding party where all the adults in school served the pupils as if they were Royalty. This was followed by a Magician’s Show kindly paid for by our School Association. The children will hopefully remember their two special days in school celebrating the Royal wedding for the rest of their lives.

On a more serious note we are over-subscribed yet again this year with appeals. All the 2011-12 new children into Reception are coming into school in September so our playgroup has some extra places that would not normally be available to your children, they’ll fill fast! So anyone who has a 3 or 4 year old pop into school or the playgroup and sign up while they are available. We have a very close relationship with our playgroup and if we know a child is there we can make sure their parents get the right paperwork for admissions, although we cannot guarantee you a place because the Local Authority control the admissions procedure. We can help you navigate the increasingly difficult admissions process and reduce your chance of missing out.

L.Barringer, Headteacher

Hello again, doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun! It certainly does in Osbaldwick School – or so Reception children tell me! They are of course our youngest learners. Mrs Snowball and her ever busy team give them lots of interesting activities to help them learn and achieve and the Chinese New Year was one of those. I know what you are thinking “Wasn’t that earlier in the year?” Well, yes I know but our ever keen youngsters have reminded me that I ought to tell you about the lovely Chinese meal they enjoyed and the complexities of using chop-sticks! Some had never had noodles before but they loved them and all the trimmings. A big thanks to Mrs Mollan, one of the classroom assistants for helping them celebrate Burn’s Night in January. You guessed it – another special meal but this time of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Who says our children won’t try new foods?, they even asked for seconds! Our youngest are true adventurers.

They would also like you all to know that they are well on the way with their sewing of flowers for spring and using very grown up tapestry rings to keep all those fiddly stitches and wools under control! I must say I’ve seen some beautiful work and I just wish I could do as well.

Year 4 are travelling to Ghana – virtually of course, like Year 2 last month. The internet is a wonderful thing since our budget doesn’t stretch quite that far! They are learning all about fair trade and the lives of our friends there and they’ll be capping it all by inviting their parents and visitors to their Fair Trade Café soon. Some of them are also busy at playtime, not playing but ‘play leading’. Our Year 4 volunteers have been trained by specialist trainers on a variety of games and playtime activities so they can help entertain our younger children at lunchtimes. It’s a very responsible job and includes a uniform too – caps and bright coloured jackets. So keep a look out for them, they are doing an important job!

World book day was busy for us, staff changing classes to read some of their favourite books to the children and a huge thank you to all the parents that helped their children with finding unusual places to read and photographing them. We have readers in trees, in car boots, in linen baskets, and even with dinosaurs to name but a few. Watch out for a Comic Relief. I’ll let you know next month on just which ‘super heroes’ came into school!

Lesley Barringer, Head Teacher

February and March are often quieter times in schools, but again it seems there is no such ‘quiet time’ in Osbaldwick Primary School.

Year 5, our resident ‘entrepreneurs and enterprise and personal finance specialists’ have again started raising money for their trip to London in the summer when they meet up with their French pen pals from Paris. As part of ‘Borrett’s Bank’, Mrs Borrett has given £1 to each child in the class and asked them to try to maximise a return on their investment by engaging in activities that will generate cash e.g. bun sales, where there is an initial outlay but potential profits if marketed well! A prize is waiting for the most successful. However this is a loan that needs to be paid back in a set time! So they need to work hard and think creatively because if they are not able to repay the pound within a month there is a 5p interest charge which goes up monthly. Naturally the children love it and team up with friends to run events; in fact I’m often stopped and asked permission if they can do this or that event! Y5 and Y6 are also becoming STEM leaders. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and together with North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership the children are interviewing people from this sector in business and at the University to find out as much as possible about their work. This is another popular activity for the children and besides improving their writing and speaking skills it allows them to think about careers for the future! Sometimes I think the volunteers are more nervous than the children! But thankfully they are always willing to come in and work with us.

Sporting activities also carry on and the children loved taking part in the athletics festival at Archbishop Holgate’s School and Y6 reached the final of the February Hockey tournament where they were runners up. We are very proud of them and again I must say, ‘Thank you’, to those parent helpers and members of the public who commented on our children’s excellent behaviour. I always pass your comments on to the children – and watch them walk a little taller! Y3 are off to Clarke Hall and are going back in time to live the life of the Tudors in March, so I know the children will want me to tell you all about their adventure in the next edition so watch this space.

Finally Y2 would like you to know they are in China at the moment! Virtually that is, I’m sure I saw them in the classroom! They are travelling around the world and will be heading off to India next. Such interesting times! Apparently there is a surprise when they return to Osbaldwick, but I’m under strict instructions to keep that secret until next time. I hope you can wait! See you next month.

Lesley Barringer, Head Teacher

Do you remember I told you Ofsted had been in the school just before Christmas? Well, now, I can tell you all about it.

Staff, children and governors are all very proud of the inspectors’ verdict that the school ensures outstanding outcomes for the children! The school, they said, made a significantly positive difference to pupils’ achievement and personal development and parents appreciated all the staff do, in particular the school’s care guidance and support for their children.

Overall we were good with many outstanding features. It was lovely to hear the children say how they thoroughly enjoyed learning at the school. I must thank my staff for that because although the work can indeed be hard, the children know the staff are there to support them – and make it fun – rather like a spoonful of sugar making the medicine go down! Moral, spiritual, social and cultural development is excellent as is our development of life skills such as business, enterprise and learning about personal finance. The inspectors agreed with the parents that the school goes out of its way to develop children’s skills exceptionally well for their future life. Children’s behaviour they say again is exemplary and school is a happy, harmonious and safe place to be with high expectations of the children in all things. Teaching was effective and children are inspired to aim high. Leadership was another strength of the school and I must mention the governors too. They achieved the highest accolade too with the inspector saying he had not seen such an effective governing body for 17 years!! So let’s give them a well done too – they are often forgotten! All in all the inspectors rounded off at the end of the inspection by saying to me that the team of people working in the school was one of the best they had seen and the children impressed them with their good manners, behaviour, welcoming attitude, confidence, aspirations and achievements and they were hard pressed to find anything to improve! Wow, as a head teacher I can tell you I was overawed and that doesn’t happen too often! It had been a privilege to be in the school’ he said as he left and I would just like to say, “Thank you” to all. It’s a privilege to a central part of the local community.

We are looking for adult volunteers who would like to help with our Knitting Club. This is held every Tuesday from 1-1.30pm. Please contact school if you are able to help out.

Please note that our school hall is available for hire on Monday, Tuesday and Friday evenings and also all weekends. For further information and competitive rates, please contact school and speak to the school office.

Lesley Barringer, Head Teacher

Well it’s the New Year already; how does the time fly! The weather hasn’t helped of course, were we at St Thomas’s Church or not for the School Concert? Each day seemed like a guessing game thanks to the treacherous paths. Walking over a hundred children on a very icy Osbaldwick Lane would not have been a good idea! Still as I said in at the time, ‘all’s well that ends well’ and both concerts were a great success, in School and in Church!

Of course, who knocked on the door though, two weeks before we broke up for Christmas? OFSTED – Her Majesty’s Inspectors. What timing! We still managed the concerts AND impressed OFSTED. The report is due to come out in early January so all the parents will be watching out for that letter from school and the inspectors. Until then I can’t really say anything else but if I said I was extremely happy that would be a clue!

We seem to have been under the spotlight over the last two months also having a mini-inspection to focus on re-validating our Inclusion Award by the Local Authority. That I can tell you about – fantastic! We are the first school in York to achieve this award twice and I must say a huge, ‘Thank you’, to all the children and parents who have supported us.

The children of Osbaldwick, and many from outside the immediate area, are part of our community and they have done you proud again and again. Its one of the reasons I love being Head Teacher here. Let’s hope 2011 is a good one too... How will we top 2010? I don’t know, but the children and staff of school are always likely to surprise you!

Lesley Barringer, Head Teacher

Christmas is fast approaching and all is a hive of industry at school. Just imagine it, decorations and calendars being made – you remember, just like when you were a child! Oh, and don’t forget the concerts – all the practice and hard work, frustrations and overload. Just imagine what it’s like in the staffroom! But then the day comes and as we all say – it was alright on the night – better than alright!

Our infant nativity is always held in school where the little ones can take the limelight, and again they made us and their mums and dads – and grandmas and grandads - proud. A huge “thank you” to St Thomas’s for coping with a hundred and twenty children plus staff and parents, it certainly is full for the traditional carol service with our juniors.

But it’s not all concerts. The children have been undertaking the ‘Global Challenge’ by wearing pedometers to count their footsteps over a number of weeks and comparing the distance walked with other children around the world and what that would look like if they drew a straight line out into the big wide world and see where they would arrive! Some walked 18,000 steps a day! The staff did this too and the children looked to see if they walked as far. Guess who won? The children - by a substantial mile! So if you happened to see Osbaldwick pupils walking more than usual in November, well now you know why. Let’s hope they keep up the habit. Just a note, the teachers did try to suggest that as they had longer strides to cover the same distance they were at a disadvantage and should be able to double their numbers. Sadly the children wouldn’t give way on that one, so a good try staff, but just accept that we lost!

Sport has also been a busy activity in school. Our football team has had mixed results but overall we have come out well from most matches and the boys have been exemplary ambassadors for the school. Oh yes and the Year 3 dancers were fantastic at the dance Festival at the University of York. It was a wonderful Saturday with lots of schools in attendance, dancing to the theme of Diversity-All around the World – it was a pleasure to watch.

Just a note for parents in the area, our playgroup will soon be able to take more three year olds, so if you are interested contact Osbaldwick Children via school or speak to Tracey Cooper the manager. Enjoy the festivities and I’ll see you in the New Year.

Lesley Barringer, Head Teacher

Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun! It certainly does in school. Lots of activities are going on in school. Our school harvest was a great success with a virtual tour around the world by balloon! The children ‘called off’ in Scotland and Russia, the Caribbean and Egypt to name just four and sang about all the lovely food available there. We were packed out with parents - the queue seemed to reach Sainsbury’s! It was marvellous. The children and parents have been working hard collecting toys and other interesting things to put into show boxes to be distributed across the world to children less fortunate than themselves. Some have managed to not just fill a box but wrap one too, while others have provided the contents, making gifts of whatever they can. I am so proud of them all and a huge thank you to all the mums and dads for they help and support. We really appreciate it in these times of austerity.

The children have been taking part in lots of extras including football and netball and orienteering too. We aim for our pupils never to get lost; a kind of satnav for girls and boys of all ages! The football team won a stunning victory over Knavesmire, 5-1. Well done to the boys for their effort, commitment and sportsmanship, again proving Osbaldwick children are a credit to the school and their teachers and parents.

Finally the choir would like you to know they are practising ‘Beetles’ songs for performing in the community or school soon, so watch out for news.

Oh yes, and don’t forget Christmas concerts will be Tuesday 7th December for the infants at school at 2pm and 6pm and Thursday 9th December for the Juniors at St Thomas’s Church at 2pm and 7pm. See you there!

Lesley Barringer, Head Teacher

October is upon us and our new little ones have settled in well into reception, very busy and enjoying themselves – all bright-eyed and bushy tailed!

The after school dance class has already proved to be very popular and there is a waiting list after only a few weeks! Pupils have been given the chance to join a large group of boys and girls of all ages with professional dance instructors and are aiming to give a show at the Grand Opera House, York.

In mid September we had a sun dome in the school - a huge inflated dome in the hall with pictures and maps of the sun projected onto the ceiling and walls - it was like standing inside the sun without the heat!! The children learned how it works and how important it is to us on Planet Earth. They loved it and the science suddenly became amazing to them — it’s all part of making learning fun.

Our older pupils started the school year with their annual residential visit to Robinwood in Lancashire. Mr Shoobridge, Mrs Snowball and Mrs Jones all accompanied them in their adventurous activities including rock climbing, stream walking, night blind walking and crossing the ‘Piranha pool’. Don’t Ask! But don’t worry we haven’t lost anyone yet — not even the teachers! They all managed to survive and return more confident, if a little dirty and this year wet, but with marvellous memories they will never forget.

As Headteacher it is always lovely to hear from the organisers that yet again our children did us proud, tried everything, were polite, had a great sense of humour and were marvellous ambassadors for the school. Many thanks and a huge “WELL DONE” to them. Mums and Dads should be proud too.

Watch out for the Harvest Festival on 14th October at 2pm at school. I look forward to seeing you there!

Please note that school is available for lettings for groups who may wish to use us. If anyone is interested then please to contact the school office on (01904) 411036.

Lesley Barringer, Head Teacher

As we start the new academic year this is my ninth year at Osbaldwick and I’ve watched the school grow and prosper. Our Year 4 children right at the end of the summer term won the lower juniors category at the York Film Oscars. What a fabulous evening – red carpet, dinner at the racecourse – real celebrity status for our stars! Please look on our website for the photographs and videos: http://www.osbaldwickprimaryschool.co.uk.

The future of the school looks bright and together with Osbaldwick Children, our Pre-school and Out of School Hours Club, the school is oversubscribed and bursting at the seams for space, while remaining a family school with a calm and friendly feel – all because of the children and staff. You may have noticed some buildings added to the school over the summer – temporary ones to allow us some more space to work with our children in small groups and one to one where necessary. This will allow us time to consider our future space and building while still giving the children we have now the space they need. So a big “Thank you,” to the Governors for being so independent and putting the children first in all things.

The Governors and Pre-school are closer than ever with Governors now members of Osbaldwick Children Committee. We are working even more closely and I would like to thank the Committee for all their hard work and commitment over the years to support children and their families.

It seems that there are lots to look forward to this year – but then would I expect any less! Remember if you know anyone wanting a place in Reception they must contact school and when the time comes, fill in the correct paperwork for the local authority within the deadline. There are still nine on our waiting list just for Reception this year and the places were given out in April, followed up with appeals! There are waiting lists in other year groups too, so as the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed, even if we can’t guarantee you a place. If you are unsure in any way, just ask at the Pre-school or School, we’re here to help and in so doing hopefully avoid disappointment and worry.

Lesley Barringer, Head Teacher

The Minster School and its choristers have once again been taking part in a choral partnership project with primary school pupils in York including Osbaldwick Primary School.  

Our Year 3 and Year 4 children have been busy rehearsing with a member of the Minster Choristers each week leading to a performance at the Minster on Friday 25th June. At the concert, the young singers had the opportunity to perform before an audience of proud parents and members of the public. They sounded wonderful and their behaviour was impeccable. They did us proud. Well done and again another fantastic memory for the children involved.

Mr Alex Donaldson, Headmaster of the Minster School said: “This project is all about encouraging all children to sing.  We’re thrilled that we’ve been able to work with Primary Schools from across York to help achieve this”.

Photos from the York Minster performance can be seen here.

It was finally here; World Cup month and everyone waited with growing excitement as the days to the opening ceremony in South Africa grew fewer and fewer.

To encourage the England team, teachers and pupils got together to produce their own video of the famous "Three Lions" song, including Mr Shoobridge's warnings about the referee!! And there wasn't a vuvuzela in sight!

See the video here.

Unfortunately the enjoyment and success of the osbaldwick video wasn't matched by the England team on the pitch.... and the rest as they say is history.... Oh well, here's to 2014!!

On Wednesday 23rd June three children went to London on behalf of our school council to the National School Council Awards Ceremony which was hosted by speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow MP in his chambers within the Palace of Westminster.

Over 2500 schools had entered the competition and 20 schools were shortlisted & invited to attend. We were nominated for our hosting of the York School Council Conference which took place at the Theatre Royal back in February. The day in London was breath taking, we had a full tour of Parliament followed by a delicious lunch in the Speakers Drawing Room, where we able to question our newly elected local MP Julian Sturdy.

After lunch the awards were given out amongst much pomp & ceremony….. and…..we won! A beautifully engraved glass trophy and £500 for the School Council to spend on another project. We were also interviewed by ITV Calendar & were on television 3 times the following day.

Well done to everyone who helped make our project such a worthy winner. What a unique day for Breanna, Annie and Andrew one they will never forget!

We have recently gained recognition for the work we have done related to personal finance at Osbaldwick School over the last 6 years by receiving an award from the Royal Bank of Scotland. This has been led by Mrs Borrett who has been instrumental in developing these key life skills for the future.

It is the first year that this national award for Primary Schools has been given, our school therefore setting the standard for future years. It involved detailing all the work that has been done in school including the Stationery Stop, enterprise activities, lesson plans and questionnaire responses.

The Chair of Governors, 2 pupils and Mrs Borrett attended a presentation ceremony in London followed by a flight on the London Eye. The award prize of £1,500 will be used to develop the provision of personal finance throughout school. To find out more about the awards visit the PFE Awards website and to see more photos of the award and the pupils' day in London click here.

Our school hosted the School Council Conference this year at the Theatre Royal. Representatives from the majority of the 52 primary school councils attended the conference. You may have seen the write up in the Press (Monday 15th Feb) about the annual York School Council Conference which was held at the Theatre Royal on Friday 12th February. 

Osbaldwick Primary was privileged to host the event this year and we wowed children, teachers and councillors from across the city with a stunning opener consisting of drama, drumming and dance. Some of our Year 6 continued to address nearly 300 delegates and lead them through a variety of presentations and activities, each encouraging pupil’s voices to be heard. Many more of our children were involved in the preparation and smooth running of the day, completing tasks as diverse as badge making and designing inspirational posters for display, to interviewing speakers, leading workshops, co-ordinating groups of children and generally ensuring everyone had a great time. 

The success of the event – as widely reported in the York Press - was credit to the fantastic teamwork and enthusiasm seen by our children in action. Well done and thank you to all involved.

The pupils of Year 3 have recently been studying what life was like in our country in the 1950s and some of the memorable events of that decade.

They discovered that one of the main events happened in 1953 when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at a coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey in London and decided to write to Her Majesty to tell her what they had been learning about.

One of the her Ladies-in-Waiting wrote back to the pupils on behalf of the Queen to thank them for taking the time to write and tell her. The letter said "The Queen was interested to hear that you have been learning about the 1950s and Her Majesty's Coronation in your history lessons, and thought it kind of you to tell her that you had been looking at pictures of this special occasion on the internet."

You can read the full text of the letter here.