Christmas Party!

On the last day of term we had a Christmas Party. We loved decorating our tables in a Christmas theme and the Secret Santa was a great idea. The food was delicious and everyone enjoyed themselves.




6S Class Reporter

Year Five Production - reviews

Parents, Governors and Guests will be seeing the Year 5 production this week. To whet your appetite for the show, here are two reviews of their performance of 'Ebenezer':

'In the year 5 production there are some very nice songs. I like how they use actions. It is amazing how they have remembered their lines. Their acting is amazing! There are some very funny jokes. They all have beautiful singing and acting skills. I like it when they show Scrouge's past.'

- 4Z Class Reporter

'Ebenezer, the year five production that my class watched, was exceedingly good, and I could tell that the pupils and staff put a great detail of work into it. How do I know this? Firstly, the year fives definitely got a five star rating for acting completely like Victorians, and the few pupils that played Ebenezer Scrooge truly mastered his attitude and character. Next, the songs were another brilliant feature as all the children put a ton of effort and passion in to singing all the words and doing the actions. I particularly liked the song 'Hate Everybody' as it made me laugh, and the song 'It's too late now' had some fantastic extra characters! Lastly, I really loved the character of Fred (Scrooge's nephew). The actor showed a lot of enthusiasm and did an amazing job.

All in all, I believe that all the parents that go to see this play will absolutely love it. Well done year five!'

- 6P Class Reporter

Admission Arrangements: Consultation

You may have heard about Havering's Consultation about Admissions to Infant, Junior & Primary schools. Full details are on the UJS website. click here to go to the Admissions page

OFSTED - 13th December 2016

Click here for the Letter to Parents from OFSTED and their guide to School Inspections.

Celebrating Assembly

Friday 16^th September 2016

We created monster poems in literacy to write descriptively 

This week in Literacy we have been exploring how language 

is used for effect by creating similes. We had to write a list 

poem about ourselves using similes only!

Chair of Governors Annual Report for the Academic Year 2015 – 2016

I would like to start this report in reverse chronological order as in the last few days we have received our fantastic SATs (Statutory Assessment Tests) for Key Stage 2 results which confirms Upminster Junior School as the top Junior School locally (in Cranham & Upminster).  More detail of these results will follow in due course but I would like to thank firstly the Year 6 teachers and Teaching Assistants (TAs) for their hard work throughout the year and the school Senior Leadership Team for their drive and enthusiasm.  I must not forget the whole school approach to learning as this did not just happen overnight so congratulations to all staff for their efforts over many years.  Lastly, well done all Year 6 Pupils for their willingness to take on the new style SATs and achieve great results.   I wish them all every success in Year 7 at their new schools.

Turning the clock back now to where we started in September 2015, two Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) joined us for their first year in teaching, Miss Southgate in Year 5 and Miss Zweistra in Year 4.  They have both done exceptionally well and hope they found it an enjoyable experience and stay with us for many years.

The transition from Year 2 in the Infant School to Year 3 in the Junior School was expertly handled by the year leaders, Mrs Gunthorpe and Mrs Mordew who share the responsibility with adequate backing from Miss Nelson and Mrs Clarke and outstanding support from their TAs.  Educational trips out included visits to Colchester Castle and Colchester Zoo.

Year 4 found themselves without their leader, Miss Latheron for a long period of time due to her hospitalisation for a hip operation but Miss Zweistra and Mrs Jones showed great calmness throughout and got on with the job.  It was good to see Miss Latheron return for the second half of the summer term and well on the way to complete recovery.  Educational trips out included Tower of London, Kentwell Hall and Belhus Woods.

Year 5 led by Mrs Zweistra, with Miss Southgate and Miss Begiri in support, attended the residential trip to Bushey in Hertfordshire for the 1940’s experience.  They thoroughly enjoyed a unique learning experience about life at home in London during World War II.  These trips are successful due to the support during the week by TAs and parents; therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Mrs Emes, Mrs Fitzgerald, Mrs Gulvin, Mr Lee, Mr Haley, Mr Lawrence, Mrs Wilson and Mrs Sillett for making it a pleasant week for all the Pupils in attendance.  Year 5 should also be praised for being outstanding ambassadors for Upminster Junior School.  Other educational visits included Go Run for Fun at the Olympic Park, Transport Museum, Science Museum, River Ingrebourne with Essex Wildlife Trust, The Old Chapel opposite the Upminster Windmill, the National Gallery, Leeds Castle and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Mrs Riches again led Year 6, ably assisted by Mr Waskett and Mrs Pedder.  Mr Waskett will be leaving at the end of the summer term to further his career at another local school in Hornchurch.  He has been an exceptional teacher at Upminster Junior School for the past six years and he will be missed but we wish him well for the future.  Apart from the SATs the highlight of the year, as always, is the residential visit to PGL in June for all Year 6 Pupils who wish to go.  Again it was a successful venture where they get to participate in all sorts of outdoor pursuits.  Other educational visits throughout the year included the British Museum, orienteering at James Oglethorpe School, the National Gallery, a Mosque and Groovy Greeks in Southend. 

Once again, all the trips for the year groups listed above would not happen without support from our Teachers, TAs and parents and again I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of them for their dedication to our pupils’ learning experience.  We also must not forget the work performed by our Midday Supervisors whose day to day work with pupils epitomise our core values of self belief, trust, compassion, creative and resilience.

At the end of the Autumn Term, Mrs Boyes our SENCo (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator) left to progress her career at another school.  UJS welcomes Mrs Puirseil who will take over the role at the start of September.

Our Sports Co-ordinator, Mr Stanley, has done an outstanding job and introduced a whole range of new sports to the school.     I believe the School is the top performing Primary in Havering, if not the whole of London, as was proven by our success in the London Youth games.  Throughout the year the School has won many other competitions locally in Havering at all sports.  Mr Stanley’s pride and joy is the creation of our “QuadKids”.  

[“QuadKids Schools is the preferred athletics format for the School Games, including level 1 inter (whole school), level 2 intra school events, Schools Games qualifying rounds and level 3 County / School Games finals. This easy to run athletics format encourages participation for all ages and abilities and has been widely used throughout the UK for many years”.] 

Special congratulations to Mr Stanley for achieving a “1^st Class” Honours Degree this year.   He will complete his teacher training during the next two terms at Upminster Junior School.

Our Choir and Orchestra continues to go from strength to strength under the stewardship of Mrs Foan and Mrs Riches with support from many peripatetic music teachers.  The summer term culminated in yet another magnificent performance by the whole school at St Luke’s in Cranham and this time even the staff managed to play a star role by singing with the choir!

The Parents Association (PA) continues to raise money for the school as it has for many years and this year Mrs Wright stood down and Mrs Horne took over as Chair.  We owe an awful lot to Mrs Wright and she went out on a high when the PA donated £50,000 towards the school adventure playground which was officially opened in the Autumn by the Mayor of Havering, Councillor Brian Eagling.  Funds were raised by the PA through various events such as Christmas bazaar, summer fete, discos, film nights and quiz nights.  A very successful tuck shop runs every Friday afternoon which has proved popular with both the pupils and parents. The biggest event of the year and one that has been running for decades is the Upminster Firework Display.  Over the years this has helped to establish a link for both the PA and the school within the community and become very popular and successful.

The School Council which consists of one pupil from each class elected by their peers, has also had a successful year.  They conduct themselves in a democratic fashion and when they have an idea, they consult with their individual classes before bringing it back to committee for decision.  One of their favourite projects this year was to “adopt” a school pet and they are well on the way to achieving that.  When the School Governors had decided on their final two candidates for the position of Headteacher following Mr Woodford’s decision to move on, they played a major role interviewing each candidate over a half hour session   Both candidates admitted afterwards that the session had been the hardest part of the interview process. 

In April this year, the School Council had an opportunity to visit the Mayor of Havering, Councillor Brian Eagling, at the Town Hall in Romford and enjoyed asking him many questions about the work of Havering Council.  They also got the chance to wear the mayoral robes and hold the Mace which again they thoroughly enjoyed.  Mr Ansell, our Deputy Headteacher, deserves our thanks for encouraging and guiding the School Council to achieve their success.

The school Eco Council worked on an air-pollution project with Sustrans. They attached eight perspex tubes to various locations near St Mary’s Lane in front of the school. Sadly, four tubes went missing. The remaining four tubes were sent for analysis. Results show that the nearer the tubes were to the road, the more polluted the air was. In two tubes, the Nitrous Oxide level exceeded the safe levels set by Europe.  Thanks as well to the Digital Leaders who are trusted pupils responsible for supporting, promoting and developing, alongside the computing co-ordinator, Miss Nelson and Mr Welch our ICT System Administrator, the technology that is used within our school.  We are massively grateful to all of them.

A huge contribution during 2015/16 has again been made by the Parents’ Council which can be considered a “scrutiny” committee when it comes to new ideas but they also come forward with new suggestions and information to improve the school.

My appreciation for the efforts of the School’s Governing Body must not go without mention.  We meet officially at least three times each term but that is not all.  Each Governor has responsibility for a year group plus a curriculum subject and is expected to liaise with their classes and their subject lead and report back at the full Governors’ meeting each term.  Governors also assist by attending educational visits with their year group or class.  To meet their statutory obligations, Governors are also expected to attend training sessions regularly to keep abreast of changes in education law from time to time.  All Governors are doing the job voluntarily without any remuneration.

On the 19 April 2016, the school was reviewed by an external independent team. This was applied in the form of a one day Ofsted inspection and was a very thorough process. It was extremely useful in assessing the position of the school and was also conducted fairly.

The outcomes of the review were:

Ofsted Category Grade - Overall effectiveness Good

·        The effectiveness of leadership and management - Good

·        The quality of teaching, learning and assessment - Good

·        Personal development, welfare and behaviour - Good

·        Outcomes of pupils and learners - Good

A few of the judgements require “actions” to ensure that the school is secure.  Personal development, welfare and behaviour was said to be very effective and on the cusp of Outstanding.

Our Business Manager (Mr Brown), the Office Team (Mrs Clarke, Mrs Cooper and Mrs Rowe) and Site Team (Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Rowden) are very much in the “front line” and deal with pupils and parents from day to day in all sorts of circumstances.  Their dedication and loyalty to Upminster Junior School can often be taken for granted but without them, it would a massive impact on the smooth running of the school.

Finally, a tribute to our Headteacher Mr Tim Woodford must be made at this point as he will be leaving us at the end of the summer term 2016 to take up a Headteacher post in Hampshire.  He has been at Upminster Junior School since 2009 when he joined as Deputy Headteacher to Miss Field.  He took over as acting Headteacher in January 2014 when Miss Field moved on and was appointed as Headteacher in the summer term of 2014.

In June 2016, Mr Woodford and his wife had baby Charlotte.   They had already given great thought to when the baby was born and made their decision to move back to the New Forest area to be closer to their families.   We wish the family our best wishes for the future and Mr Woodford every success at his new school.

Jeff Stafford

Chair of Governors

Upminster Junior School

Ujschair@ujs.havering.sch.uk

12^th July 2016

FUN RUN IN THE SUN

On Thursday Year 4 went to Coopers to do a fun run. We had to wear pink t shirts and line up in row D. Before we did the run we did some stretching and some dancing. Then we were allowed to go to the starting line and when they blew the whistle we started to run a one mile fun run.  We had great fun.

By Hana Blaney 4J

Assembly

We were celebrating a rather important birthday in assembly today. Crowns have been made, and Raps were performed in honour of Her Majesty.

There's been lots of other activity this week, check out the Twitter feed @UpminsterJS for picnics and non-uniform day.


Two pupils were out of school to attend a poetry workshop at this week. They read their poetry, which had a heathy lifestyle theme, to the school.

Poetry

Housepoint certificates were awarded - congratulations to our 100 & 200 winners.

Here are some of our Housepoint winners:

And not forgettting pupils with birthdays this week - Happy Birthday to all of you!

Science demonstration

This week's Coffee Morning was led by Mrs Latheron, Head of Science. Her Laboratory Assistants, dressed in Red White and Blue for the 90th birthday celebrations,y entertained the crowds.

Mrs Latheron's team of scientists

YR4 student Mitchell demonstrated how a flame uses oxygen.

Jack demonstrated what happens if you mix a mint with cola (watch carefully at 0:14 & 0:45 seconds):

Ruby demonstrated how cornflower and water can be both liquid and solid to some younger siblings. She'll be halfway through her secondary school career before they're in the Juniors.

Never too young for science 

Isabella's experiment demonstrated the properties of water - however, the practical demonstration involved some audience participation - and they all got rather wet!

The PA team watch the experiments

UJS appreciate the tireless support of the Parents' Association. Many thanks to all who came to the event, hosted by the PA in aid of the Essex Air Ambulance.

Foxes, Trolls and Fables

A group of children working with Miss Enoch read:
- Aesop's Fables
- Kipling's Just So Stories
- stories about trolls
- How the Whale Became & Other Stories by Ted Hughes

Then they drew and wrote to make this frieze:

Harry, Ronnie & Liam 5B
and
Emily & David 4L

Assembly

SATs are over! Year 6 have worked so hard, we are very proud of them.

Some amazing work was shown this week. Year Three (who are still in the Roman era) have been writing travel advertisements - anyone for a tour of the ampitheatre?

Come to Londinium for your next holiday

Amelia's persuasive writing

Year Four are with the Tudors. This week, they've been painting self-portraits. Here are Nell & Honey as Tudor Queens:

Year Five have been writing stories based on Kensuke's Kingdom.


Year Six have been making nets of some unusual shapes. The school were shown the nets as a flat sheet of paper and then as a three-dimensional shape.

Our two tennis teams aced the Havering tournament; the Borough final was fought out between UJS-A & UJS-B.

The amazing UJS tennis teams receive their certificates

And here they are in action

The competition between Houses is heating up. Two houses have broken through the 1K mark, with the others not far behind. Who will win the cup this year?

100 Housepoint winners

200 Housepoints

All children were reminded of the playground and field rules, and how to play safely and sensibly.

Well Done to Year 6

Well done to all of our Year 6 children who have now finished their SATs. They have all worked extremely hard and should be incredibly proud whatever the outcome - I am sure they have done their absolute best.

Thank you to all the staff, too, for their efforts preparing our current Year 6 for the next stage in their education and especially to our Year 6 team who have supported the children in their final year. 

Mr Woodford

Tennis Aces

UJS took two teams to the Havering tennis tournament today. Both teams topped their groups and won their semifinals to face each other in the final. 

UJS1 narrowly beat UJS2 to be crowned champions. Congratulations to all the players, Mr Stanley, and to Ray, Kane & the coaching team for all their hard work & dedication and early mornings & rainy lunchtimes!

Assembly

Some wonderful work was shared in assembly today. Each year group presented some work they were proud of.

Year 6 have been recreating scenes from 'Millions' and described the activity in each shot. Class members represented Damian, Anthony and other characters in a tableau.

Using Freeze Frame

Housepoint certificates were awarded. Blue House gathered the most this week, but Red House are winning for the term so far.

100 Housepoints

Maisie keeps missing the Housepoint photo because of her violin lesson:

100 Housepoints

Oliver ran part of the London Marathon, representing Havering
insert pic




The stories discussed in assembly today were:
Kensuke's Kingdom - Michael Morpurgo
Millions - Frank Cottrell Boyce

School Council visit Havering Council

The School Council went to the Town Hall to meet the Mayor of Havering & to learn about our local democratic process.

They were greeted by the Mayor & Madam Mayoress.

The Mayor talked about his role, his regalia and the links to Parliament. Pupils were able to try on his robes and hold the Mace.

The pupils sat in the Council Chambers, and learnt how to conduct an orderly, formal meeting. They learnt some techniques that they will bring back to their in-school meetings.

After refreshments, it was time to return to school on the train.


The current School Council will finish their term of office in July. New councillors will be elected in September by their classmates.

UJS School Council 2015-2016

Assembly

It was another busy assembly this morning. Visit the Twitter feed on Friday mornings @UpminsterJS for as-it-happens updates.

The art competition on the theme of 'Spring & Summer' has been judged. All entries are being exhibited - has your child seen them?

The winner: a 3D summerscape using seasonal items by Sia

Second place: 'Tree' by Maya

In third place: James' watercolour bluetit

Hundred Housepoint certificates were awarded - congratulations to everyone on their achievement

100 Housepoints

We also had a 200 certificate to award - will anyone make it to 300 by July?

200 Housepoints

All members of the Girls' football squad stood up to receive a round of applause. Miss Beqiri and the entire school are very proud of them; they have played with 'grace & pace' all season to achieve some fantastic results, and are great role models for the younger girls.

Girls' Football Final

The girls have had an amazing season this year. And after the brilliant win against Elm Park Primary, the final against Parsonage Farm School was incredibly difficult. 

Miss Beqiri is especially proud of the outstanding effort, skill and sportsmanship shown by every single girl in the team.

We may have not won the Cup, but the grace, pace and the relentlessness with which the girls play is rarely seen even in the World Cup. UJS Girls are an astonishing team who works tirelessly together in every match, game and practice. 

Semifinal success

The girls' football team were outstanding on Tuesday 19th April in the home semi final game against Elm Park Primary. After a defence heavy first half, they got their confidence back and attacked from all sides.

The game ended with UJS girls winning 2-0 and through to the semi finals on Thursday 21st April. 

Assembly

Assembly was busy today, and for the first time we tweeted out what was happening 'live'. To see the full details visit our Twitter feed @UpminsterJS

Meanwhile, here's some highlights:

Stand up if you've achieved 100 or 200 Housepoints...

Housepoint certificates

We were also delighted to receive our Healthy School accreditation this week.  Staff and pupils have worked hard to gain this award. We thank all the families who are helping the children to understand and make healthy choices in their lives. Mrs Zweistra isn't happy to stop at Bronze though, in September we will be going for silver status.

Healthy School

This wasn't all; music certificates, charity donations, moving vehicles, cuckoo songs and much more were packed into the assembly before morning lessons.

Don't forget the Big Pedal starts this week. Older pupils remember when UJS won the challenge a couple of years ago, with the prize of a visit by a BMW stunt biker.

Spring term sporting success

The children have once again performed brilliantly during the spring term in many sporting events ranging from hockey to swimming and to representing Havering at the London Youth Games in both boys and girls football.

UJS Spring 2016

The results last term were:

• Year 6 hockey (2 teams) – Winners and runners-up

• Year 4 Hockey (2 teams) – Winners and 3rd in group

• Year 6 Tag Rugby (Oakfield’s Six Nations competition) – Winners

• Swimming Gala – Runners-up having made 7 of the 8 finals

• Tag rugby year 4 (2 teams) – Plate winners and Shield runners-up

• London Youth Games Boys’ Football – Joint 13th

• London Youth Games Girls’ Football - Joint 5th