The Coronation of King Charles

On Friday 5th May, we held our own Coronation Celebrations in honour of our new King.

The children came into school wearing red, white and blue and took part in a range of fun activities to mark this historic event including designing their own crowns, scone making, Royal tea parties and creating modern art.

Year 5 & 6 School Trip to Oxford Castle

Years 5 and 6 recently visited Oxford Castle and Prison to enhance their learning about Crime and Punishment as part of this term's topic.

The children all took part in a workshop about prison life throughout history and were then taken on a guided tour of the castle and prison.

They climbed the 101 steps leading to the top of St. George’s Tower, descended underground into the atmospheric Norman crypt, explored Victorian prison cells and discovered the great stories of the prison's most famous inmates.

The children were a credit to Brooksward and we only thought about leaving Coach Dave and Culley in the stocks for a few minutes!

School Council News :

World Book Day

We had a fantastic day and were very impressed with everyone's costumes. We shared our favourite books with each other and were able to view all the story tables that the each class had created.

Sustrans - Big Walk and Wheel Brooksward Came 1st in England!!

We came 1st in England and 2nd in the United Kingdom for the Big Walk and Wheel 
Such a great achievement due to the extra effort from all children and parents. Thank you for supporting such a great initiative.

Please continue to help reduce traffic outside school and healthy travel by walking and wheeling whenever possible.

NATIONAL SKIPPING DAY

Some of our children recently attended a National Skipping Day event at the Milton Keynes Rose in Campbell Park. This involved Coach Dave leading a group of children on a walk up to the Rose in Campbell Park and taking part in skipping activities which were organised by the Milton Keynes Schools Sports Partnership (MKSSP). The children had a great time and the feedback received from them was amazing. Lionel Weston one of the members wrote to us and said

Thank you and your two colleagues for taking part yesterday……and of course the children. They were a credit to you and the school in every way.

Well done to all of our children for taking part and being brilliant!

BOOK WEEK

What a super book week we had recently in school. We held various different activities to enable our children to share the stories they love, and discover new ones! We held a virtual storytelling event where the Teachers shared their favourites with the children. We held a second hand book sale for the children at lunchtime. This was a great success! Thank you as ever for both donating and buying these books. Not only do the children discover new books, it teaches them the value of sharing and re-using, an important environmental lesson we should all think about.

You also helped us to raise money from our Scholastic book sale too which is amazing as we get to choose even more books for our children.

We ended the week with our Dress up Day and saw some amazing outfits!! Thank you for your ongoing support.

STEM WEEK

As part of our STEM week we are holding a virtual STEM fair - this is a competition for children, or groups of children to design a science experiment, invention, or programme to show off their knowledge and enthusiasm for these subjects. 

We have received several entries which are amazing!!! You can see these in the video below... winners to be announced soon.

Facebook

We have set up a Brooksward Primary School Facebook page. Please have a look and give us a like and share ...

Facebook Page

Key Stage 1 learn about local history

Our key stage 1 children have been learning about local history and this week went on a local walk to Great Linford. They visited the Brick Kilns, built in the 1800s, Linford Manor, a 17th century Manor House and St Andrews Church, a late Saxon Church. The children were extremely well behaved, enjoyed the sunshine and were able to see their school learning come to life. 
Thank you to our staff and parent helpers.

Sustrans & The Big Pedal

WOW!!  So many of you have come into school on your bikes and scooters this week. Your support is fantastic. What a positive impact on the environment this will have had aswell as a great healthy way to wake up, get active and get to school.

Look at these results from this week - all subject to change so keep travelling on your scooters and bikes. What a great effort, thank you!

Here are the Big Pedal rankings for day 3

Brooksward school ranked 54th from 2225 school nationwide.

Brooksward school ranked 6th in south east England 

Brooksward school ranked 1st in Milton Keynes.

Sustrans Big Pedal - Come to school on your feet or your wheels!!

We are proud to say we are taking part in the UK’s biggest inter-school cycling, walking, wheeling and scooting competition from 19th -29th April. Sustrans Big Pedal.  We want you all to leave your cars at home and come to school on your feet or your wheels! There will be activities in school related to this and we might even see ourselves on TV......

For more information click here

Brooksward Fundraising Group

We are always looking at ways in which we can raise extra funds for the school. We have successfully held many fundraising events thanks to your generous support and time. We have now registered with Amazon Smile. 

 We are now signed up to Amazon Smile! That means that you can choose Brooksward School Fund as the charity you would like to donate to with each purchase. If you are already linked to another account, you can change it (if you would like to) by going to Amazon Smile in the drop down menu and choosing 'change charity'. If you don't have any charity linked with your amazon account, here is the link. 

CYCLE SAVIOURS visit Brooksward 

We were happy to welcome Cycle Saviours into Brooksward this week. Cycle Saviours is an exciting social enterprise that loves refurbishing, repairing, servicing and selling bikes. Their aim is to make cycling accessible to all and to encourage everyone to get on their bikes and explore Milton Keynes’ cycle networks whilst helping the environment at the same time. 

It was fantastic for us to meet with them as they were able to stress the importance of their work to the children in helping us all to think more about sustainable travel and transport. 

They held a workshop with some of our children about bike maintenance and repairs. The children learnt how to take off and change an inner tube, repair a puncture and fix a chain. The children enjoyed the visit and were excited to try out their new found bike skills!

If you want to know more about Cycle Saviours work or what bikes they have refurbished for sale,  please visit their website HERE

MK Dons Visit to Brooksward - February 

This week the children received a visit from the SET team at MK Dons and their goalie Lee Nicholls.

The children heard all about The Gift of Football. They were reminded of the importance of team work and determination and how this makes a team successful.

Book Week - January 2020

We have had a super week in school this week celebrating books and stories together.

 Thank you to all parents and pupils who came along to our  ‘Bedtime Story’ event on Tuesday after school. The teachers shared a book with everyone whilst children were able to listen with a hot chocolate and a cookie.

Brooksward Awarded Bronze Accreditation - Stars Engagement Programme

We have recently been given the Bronze Accreditation for the Stars Engagement Programme from Milton Keynes council.

This programme, led in school by Coach Dave is well underway in improving the transport and travel issues in getting the children to school safely. Coach Dave has done a lot of work behind the scenes with local councillors, PCSO's, and MK Council in rolling out several initiatives designed to make getting your children to school safely and with consideration for the environment and our neighbours.

Please continue to look out for more Stars Activities as we push towards reaching Silver!

Top of School Performance Tables - December 2019

The school performance tables have been released today and we are delighted to see that Brooksward is once again top in Milton Keynes!

It is an amazing achievement to have reached this for three consecutive years, showing once again what an amazing team of dedicated staff and fantastically, hard-working children we have here. Well done everyone!!

Click here for more information and to see the tables

Phonics News : Brooksward in the top 2% of schools

For the third consecutive year, we have received an official letter from the Rt Honourable Nick Gibb, Secretary of State for School Standards.

In his letter addressed to Ms Alikhan he wrote, “I would like to congratulate you, your staff and your pupils on your school’s outstanding achievements in the 2019 phonics screening check…..With 100% of pupils at Brooksward School reaching or exceeding the pass mark in the check, your school is in the top 2 per cent of all primary schools in the country.”

Well done to all involved and this just goes to show that team work makes the dream work!!

STARS ENGAGEMENT PROJECT - please CLICK HERE for further information on this project

As part of working towards our Bronze Accreditation for the Stars project we were lucky enough to welcome a (huge!) arctic lorry onto our playground.

The children were able to learn all about vehicles of this size and how different they are to the other forms of transport. They learnt about the size, weight and the drag and how this affects them on the roads and pavements.

The STEM Inspiration Awards - 5th November 2019

We are very proud to announce that Mrs Dearn was recently nominated for an Outstanding Science Club award at The STEM Inspiration Awards. We were the ONLY primary school in the country to be in this category!!!

The STEM inspiration awards recognise and celebrate individuals, organisations and clubs working to inspire young people in science, technology, engineering and maths.

The Awards are a prestigious event held at the House of Lords. Mrs Dearn took a small group of children with her and they thoroughly enjoyed this experience. They behaved amazingly well and represented Brooksward school both professionally and politely. Well done children and well done Mrs Dearn !.

Milton Keynes Education Awards 2019

We are very proud to report that Brooksward won the Primary Team of the Year at this years education awards.

This is fantastic news for all involved :  Pupils, Parents, Staff and Governors. What a team!!

SCIENCE WEEK 

We have had an amazing week of science in school this week.

Cranfield University, Anglian Water, Rockwell Collins, Sphere Science, MK Waste Recovery and MK University Hospital have all been in school this week inspiring us with the work they do.

The children have taken part in several workshops and experiments and have been able to see STEM in action and close up!

The children carried out an experiment looking at chromotography where they separated colours to make a rainbow. They were very surprised when they didn't use a blue felt tip but it appeared on their filter paper.  They also made a drinks dispenser where the air pressure pushed out water from a bottle through a straw.

Harrison Foundation said, "That was fantastic!" when he made a drinks dispenser.

"Wow! Look at all the colours it has made, " said Alfie in year 2. 

Book Week

Stories with hot chocolate and cookies, story tables, book fair and dressing up : just some of the activities we have done during book week. 

PCSO Visit to Year 5 & 6

Years 5 and 6 have been very lucky this week! To support their work in History, they had a visit from local PCSO’s Gemma and Doc who came to talk to them about modern policing. One child told us: “We have been learning about crime and punishment in the past this term, it was really interesting to learn about police today – they’re so different to the past!” The children listened carefully, asked lots of interesting questions and were a credit to Brooksward – well done! - Miss De'ath

Christmas Choir

Well done to our school choir who performed at Intu Shopping Centre this week, raising money for Christ the Cornerstone appeal and our STEM appeal in the process.  All children behaved amazingly and the singing was beautiful. We would like to thank all the adults for supporting your children by bringing them along. 

Key Stage One Panto Trip

The children in Years 1 and 2 walked to Stantonbury Theatre recently in order to watch the pantomime showing there.  'Red Riding Hood vs the Wolf'.

They had a fantastic time, the children were very well behaved and had great fun! Thank you to all our parent helpers who accompanied us.

The Highway Man Trial

Year 5 and 6 have had a very exciting morning; today they held the trial of Isaac Darkin, a character from our class book ‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes.

The prosecution and defence have been working tirelessly over the last two weeks to prepare their cases and today were joined by barrister Stuart Stevens who heard the case. After the arguments were presented, the jury deliberated carefully and found the defendant to be INNOCENT! Following the trial, Mr Stevens kindly gave the children some time to ask their own questions about his job as a barrister, Tobias told us: “Seeing a real trial was great, the judge was so serious!”

A huge thank you to Mr Stevens for all his help and to Miss Roberts for arranging his visit!

Sports Day Success

The wonderful weather we have been enjoying has certainly made it easier to plan for our recent outdoor events. We were pleased to hear from so many of you that you enjoyed this week’s Sports Day with the return to the traditional competitive events. The egg and spoon and obstacle races as well as the tug of war were thoroughly enjoyed by the children. Coach Dave did a great job in organising Sports Day and together with his team of students ensured everything ran smoothly on the day. Well done to everyone and congratulations Butterflies and Newts, our sports day champions!

Trip to Warwick Castle

On Tuesday 19th of June,  KS1 visited Warwick Castle as part of their learning about Knights and Castles.  The children had a fabulous day seeing the features of a castle first hand and some of them even got to walk along the battlements. They enjoyed watching the 'Mighty Trebuchet Show' where they witnessed the largest working siege machine in the world firing a boulder through the sky. They also saw some fascinating birds of prey which swooped directly above their heads. The children have already produced some brilliant recount writing of their trip in literacy lessons. 

Foundation Stage Local Walk

Our Foundation Stage children recently enjoyed a local walk. They looked at the local environment and explored the area together. They had a super time and were very well behaved.

 What a fantastic letter to receive to show how well we are doing. 

Book Week

It was fantastic to see and be a part of book week in school recently. We had a whole week celebrating literacy. Thank you to our parents who came in to support our phonics session and our bedtime with a book sessions. The children love sharing these times with you. They also took part in a book swap with their classmates. A great way to share our favourite stories with each other.

The week culminated in a dress up day - children and teachers dressed up as book characters.Thank you children and parents for your support!

Year 6 STEM Work

Miss Cook and I were blown away with Year 6’s approach and attitude to our STEM challenge today! STEM incorporates learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - the children have been researching moving vehicles over the last few weeks and today they were able to put their learning into practice by designing and building their own ‘modern carriage’. Their problem solving skills and resilience were superb - well done Year 6! What do you think of their final vehicles?  - Ms De'ath

Year 6 Visit from PCSO - December 2017

"Year 6 had a very exciting visit from local our PCSOs this morning as part of their Crime and Punishment topic; they came to teach us all about different types of crime and the method and technology associated modern policing. The children were a credit to Brooksward, they listened intently and asked many interesting questions - well done Year 6! " - Ms De'Ath

Year 6 Trial 

This week the children in year 6 have been working hard as solicitors preparing their cases for and against The Highwayman, a character from our class book. Whilst both teams prepared strong arguments, it was the prosecution team who won the day when the jury found him guilty in our own court trial. A huge thank you to barrister Stuart Stevens for giving us his time and helping us to imagine what a real trial might be like!

Highwayman – Guilty!

Stoneage Day

Years 3 and 4 recently had a fabulous day of learning in school when the Past Alive team came in to talk to them about everything to do with the Stone Age. The children spent the day dressed as cave men and women and were able to touch and see various artefacts. This form of Living History is a great way of making learning interactive and lots of fun.

Punch and Judy

We had a visit from the infamous Punch and Judy this week in school. Our Key Stage One children had a fantastic time looking and learning about puppets.

Year 6 learning about Shang Dynasty

Harvest Festival October

What is a Harvest Festival?

Harvest Festival is a celebration of the food grown on the land.

Thanksgiving ceremonies and celebrations for a successful harvest are both worldwide and very ancient. In Britain, we have given thanks for successful harvests for many years. We celebrate this day by singing, and coming together with baskets of fruit and food in a festival known as 'Harvest Festival', usually during the month of October.

Due to your support of our Harvest Festival in school we were able to make a substantial donation to the Milton Keynes Foodbank. Thank you.

PGL TRIP

 Wednesday : The children and staff arrived safely at PGL after an uneventful journey and are looking forward to their stay.

Thursday :Good morning from PGL! We all slept well and didn't wake up any of our teachers so they are very pleased with us today! 

Friday : Good morning parents of PGL goers! We are very sad to be leaving today although we have had a fantastic time and conquered many fears! 

We will be leaving at lunchtime and are aiming to be back at school between 3.15-3.30. Keep an eye on Dojo or the school website for updates.  Miss Cook, Mrs Shrewsbury & Miss Swain

Year 6 - SATs complete and trip to Willen

Well done to all our Year 6 children for their hard work and focus last week during their SATs. To celebrate all their hard work Year 6 spent the day at Willen on Friday. The children were exceptionally well-behaved and the weather even brightened up.  Highlights of the day included a tour of the Buddhist temple and Peace Pagoda, a picnic lunch with the Year 6 children from Drayton Park School as well as ice-cream hand-delivered by Ms Alikhan!

 Year 5 Trip to Olney

Our year 5 children recently enjoyed a visit to the market town of Olney. They visited the Cowper and Newton Museum and studied the town's other significant people and buildings. Everyone had a great time and we the staff and children were lucky enough to explore the town on a lovely sunny day meaning lunch could be enjoyed al-fresco!  

Year 1/2 Trip to Woburn 

School Council Afternoon Tea with the Governors

The School Council recently invited the School Governors in to share an afternoon tea. This was a fantastic chance for the children to share what they had been doing with the school governors and to update them on their future plans. Thank you to the Governors for attending and we hope you enjoyed it!