On Saturday 11^th May the school took part in the Thanet rugby festival. Twelve enthusiastic and skilled players, made up of girls and boys, represented Cliftonville Primary School.

The festival is held every year and is the biggest held in Kent.  The children played a number of friendly games against other Primary Schools.  At the end of the festival team Cliftonville were presented with the trophy for 'Fair play and sportsmanship'.  Well done to all the children involved!  As a result the children will now represent Thanet in a Kent Tag Rugby Competition.

Thank you to Mr Holyer and Mr Kirby for their coaching and support and to parents for cheering on the team!

You will know that we have been involved with the KM Charity Team campaign to encourage children and families to walk to school.  I am really pleased to announce that we have been awarded the 'Green Travel Mark' in recognition of the positive impact this has had.  This project would not have been successful without parental support and the leadership of Mrs Glover and Mrs Sear, our Education Attendance Officers.  Mrs Glover and Ms Whichcord will be receiving the award on behalf of the school at a ceremony at Leeds Castle in June.

I am delighted to report that, following a rigorous recruitment process, Ms Whichcord has been promoted from Assistant Headteacher to Deputy Headteacher.  She has had an amazing impact of pupils across the school in the year she has been with us and it is clear that she has further plans to improve the education and life-chances of your children.

A HUGE thank you to everyone for helping improve the pupils' attendance.  It is making such a difference to their academic progress.  114 pupils received bronze badges for 100% attendance in the Spring term and 76 pupils received silver badges for 100% attendance in BOTH the Autumn and Spring. 

Click on the link for information on the Kent Test arrangements for children starting secondary school in September 2015.  Confirmation of the changes to the test will be confirmed in May 2014.  The test date is 10th September 2014.

http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places/kent-test?theme=mobile

Thank you to everyone who supported the book fair last week.  We will receive £1004.77 commission to spend on more books for the whole school.

Click on the link for more coverage of our Literacy Week, linked to World Book Day.

http://www.thanetgazette.co.uk/World-Book-Day-characters-classroom/story-20783857-detail/story.html#ixzz2vSUUVq00

The children had a fabulous week of activities, special assemblies and drama workshops.  Thank you to our parents and carers who helped with the character costume day...there were some great outfits!

Officers from Margate Task Force have been reading with school children to help mark World Book Day.

Pupils from Cliftonville Primary School were joined by firefighter and Watch Manager Andrew Bigginton and Police Constable Scott Wilson for National Book Day. Andrew and Scott encouraged pupils with their reading and listened to individuals read aloud before answering questions about their jobs.

Margate Task Force brings together fourteen different agencies and organisations inclusing Thanet District Council, Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Thanet Community Networks, Kent County Council and Job Centre Plus. The team works to transform public services and improve efficiency.

Cabinet Member for the Margate Task Force Cllr Iris Johnston said, "Anything which strengthens relationships between the Task Force and younger members of the community is fantastic. The Margate Task Force exists to collectively improve Margate and Cliftonville and any scheme which encourages young residents to engage with the team and understand their roles can only be beneficial in working towards this."

Assistant Head Teacher of Cliftonville Primary School, Louise Wilson, said, "The officers were really enthusiastic and the children absolutely loved the experience. This kind of interaction where pupils familiarise themselves with key figures in the community and their roles in an informal setting is really beneficial for both their development and their understanding of the world around them. We hope this is just the beginning of future work with the Margate Task Force on this type of project."

To get in touch with the Margate Task Force, or for more information call 01843 577536 or email MargateTaskForce@thanet.gov.uk