Summer Fair.
The Lower Park annual event turned out to be a great success once again. New attractions this year included a Dog Display Team and Maypole Dancing.

School Council cook up a plan.
The Lower Park kitchen occasionally serves up its own surprises but recently the school council turned the tables on the cooks and dinnerladies.

Potty People.
The 'annual' PTA plant sale and delivery service took place on 7th May 2005 to raise money for the school.



Hundreds of potted plants were delivered all over Poynton by volunteers who kindly gave up their Saturday morning despite the somewhat damp conditions and occasional downpour.

Most now know the difference between Impatiens walleriana, Pelargonium and Lobelia erinus! Do you?

Marathon Man.
Our very own Paula Radcliffe, well almost, Mr Parry completed the London Marathon and not only that came 335th in a fantastic time.



Find out more about this stunning athlete's performance in the newsletter.

School band showcased.



Members of the popular Lower Park School Swing Band recently took part in a Showcase Concert in Winsford. It was a perfect opportunity for the group of eight to eleven year olds to perform alongside other choirs and ensembles from around the region.

The band, led by head teacher Mr Coulson, played with immense enthusiasm and great skill, wowing the audience with their versions of Water Melon Man, the James Bond theme, Fiery Dance and YMCA. More in this newsletter.

Pop the questions?

The latest Pop and Trivia Quiz night proved to be a really money spinner! It was very well attended and raised an incredible £1100.00. Thanks to Mr Hampton, our quizmaster and his assistants for compiling such a varied quiz content, to Mr MacDougal for donating the cheese and to the PTA for working so hard.

Ofsted Inspection.
Now if you wondered why the staff have been walking around with bigger smiles on their faces than usual over recent weeks - all can now be revealed. The Ofsted inspectors who were in the school in the week beginning 17th January have delivered their full report and, as the headteacher Mr Coulson says, it's "a cause for great celebration".

Read a brief summary and what Mr Coulson has to say about the report here.

You can also download a PDF copy
of the Ofsted parents' summary here OR the full version from the Ofsted website.

(You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open .PDF files. If you don't already have Acrobat Reader you can download it free from Adobe's website.)

If you want to find out what is involved in an inspection there's also lots of info on the Ofsted website.

No. It's nothing to do with smelly feet! *special feature

Lower Park pupils got a 'sniff of the past' when they discovered what life was like during the second world war. See the website exclusive photobook of their experiences. Click here.

Food Glorious Food.
Now don't believe everything you read in the press. School food IS good for you, certainly at Lower Park where there is a selection of healthy options. If you don't believe me take a look at this week's menu. Download it as a word document by clicking on the letters below.
More healthy than the LP Times editor's packed lunch of a jam sandwich, bag of crisps, a chocolate bar and fizzy drink!

Book Fair cash boost.
Thanks to all the parents and Lower Park bookworms the recent fair raised a staggering £900 for school funds.

Tag Rugby Champions
Lower Park tag rugby team, made up of a squad of 9 players, boys and girls, have pulled off a great success in a recent school competition. They won 4 matches and drew one.



Ashley Parry, the PE co-ordinator at Lower Park said, "The standard of rugby from all the schools was brilliant, and our team was pleased but surprised to do so well".

We're going to have Ball
and so can YOU.
Two years ago the PTA arranged a fantastic 'Black and Silver Masked Ball', which raised a staggering £5,200 for school funds. This was helped by the fact that there was auction of celebrity goodies. The editor of the LP Times still has a signed photo of Ronan Keating on the wall in the downstairs loo!

This year promises to be another great evening with guest celebrities (tbc) and another grand auction. Find out more.

Ilam 2005.
Another successful trip to Ilam. The visit gives the children a chance to study science, geography and history and increase their understanding of environmental issues.



There'll be more details soon written specially for the LP Times by some of the children who went there.

Bargain Books!
Watch the books 'fly off the shelf' at the school book fair at the school from Tuesday 17th May. What's more if you buy a book the school gets commission to help buy more books.

Gamelan.
As part of a fantastic music opportunity, Year 6 children from Lower Park School were invited to Poynton High School to sample the delights of Gamelan.

The pupils took part in an hour-long workshop. They were able to explain to their classmates back at school that Gamelan, the music of Indonesia, is usually percussion oriented. They also found out that the most common types of Gamelan uses bronze, iron, bamboo, or wood bars, as well as bronze and iron gongs, gong chimes, cymbals, bells, and two headed drums.

Water experiments.
The Junior department have started their new topic on rivers.



To enhance this work, each class visited the River Bollin at Styal. The year 6 who were the first to go, looked at speed of rivers, water clarity, incline of the surrounding area and investigated river creatures.

Email Address Change. *important announcement!
Just when nearly everyone knows it off by heart, the school and the Head's email address has been changed by Cheshire HQ. The new ones are in this newsletter and also on the school introduction page.

Lower Park's Big Brother.
No, the teachers aren't taking part in a gameshow with hidden cameras, daily tasks, food rations, cold showers and fighting over who gets the big bed - even though some of you might think it would be a good idea - there are CCTV cameras around the school to improve safety as well as protect the school and its property.

School Development Plan
2004 - 2005.
Got yours yet? If you haven't or it's gone astray you can download your own personal copy here.