School Bell A.C.E

AT ACE and we are constantly looking at ways we can improve things and sometimes that does involve change. Basically, we want to be the best primary school we can be and to do that takes time and people’s patience for us to make the relevant changes that are needed. School Improvement is the single most important business of the school. It is the process that schools use to ensure all students are achieving at high levels, and that is what we want to achieve at ACE.

Some exciting updates to the ACE environment

At our school, we believe we need to constantly evolve and develop. Keeping pace with the advancements of the world is one of the greatest challenges for all schools.

Where schools used to be required to simply update textbooks every ten years, they are now faced with the formidable goal of preparing pupils to enter a world that moves much
more quickly and expects much more. But it is also important to ensure that with these changes children also have an opportunity to develop their understanding of the wonderful and beautiful world in which we live. Currently, and during the academic year 2022/23, we are planning to further emphasise opportunities in technology and outdoor education
and to provide a seamless learning experience for our children. This fits in with the bigger picture of eventually also providing our town with its own secondary school provision, enabling children to be educated in their town from birth to the age of 16- but for that to happen we need you!

We would like to share with you what we have been doing this year and what we are planning for the next year at ACE. It is very exciting and we are looking forward to the opportunity to further enhance all aspects of our education provision for our children.

Classroom and Learning Zones Extension

We feel very privileged that the Diocese has awarded our consistent effort to be an excellent school through extensive developments to the south section of the school through the extension of two classrooms and one shared learning zone. This is a wonderful opportunity to give our children expanded classroom environments to enhance their learning opportunities. We are hoping for the work to be completed by the start of the autumn term. Our staff take great pride in their classroom environments, so this is a fabulous opportunity to make memories for a lifetime.

Peace Garden

It has been a real pleasure seeing so many wonderful people being involved in this project. It has been designed by experts and installed by the fabulous people who recently installed some beautiful vegetation in a local food establishment in Madehurst. 

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Theresa Dear and her band of fabulous gardeners too. We feel very blessed to have so many people from our town who support their local school.

We want to dedicate, maintain and nurture the Peace Garden as a symbol of hope for the future and our school’s commitment to peace- peace within ourselves and our school ever for the children to understand the importance of resolving conflict- and a place where the children can go to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern day life has an important part to play.

Development to our Forest area with experts from Chichester University

Forest Schools may seem like a fairly new concept in the UK, with the first one springing up in Devon in 1993, and it has been in this school since 2015. The first Forest School in the UK was inspired by the popularity and success of outdoor creative learning in Denmark and wider Scandinavia. Although Forest Schools continue to grow in popularity, there are currently only 108 certified Forest School practitioners in the UK. However, the extensive benefits of attending a Forest School have been widely reported around the world. No longer limited to Scandinavia, Forest Schools have become increasingly popular around the world, in countries including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Germany and Malaysia.

We wanted to develop our Forest School experience so we have worked in partnership with experts from Chichester University to extensively develop our area. This will allow the children the opportunity to explore a woodland environment and provide them with even more reasons why loving the outdoors is so important and is so crucial when it comes to constant fighting to save our environment.

Ace at the St Nicolas Lent Lunches

A simple lunch of homemade soup, bread and cheese was offered on Fridays during Lent at St Nicholas’ following the 12 Noon Eucharist. Profit made was shared between Family Support Work, Home Start and Worthing Churches Homeless Projects.

ACE boys and girls took on a new role at these lunches by serving the congregation at these special events. We were also fortunate enough to take part in the special service prior to lunch.

Ukraine – An ACE Response

“Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make change.” I’m guessing every single one of us is currently trying to stay positive in general right now, with the depressing images everywhere we look at the moment. Each morning I wake considering what is my place in the world today.

A powerful quote that always sticks with me is, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” 

From this, I take the knowledge that I can’t control everything so it’s powerful to let that notion go. Focus on the small things you actually can control- in this case, our children and our ACE families focused on raising money for the people of Ukraine. 

ACE children ran a fortnight of support for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. This included cake sales, book sales, blanket and shoe box collections, blue and yellow day, car washing day, prayer day, art day, games day, various sponsored events and second hand uniform day. It was quite astonishing just how it involved every single person from little babies to great, great grandparents! We are an ACE family united in our support for the families suffering during these terrible circumstances in Ukraine at this time.

Author visits ACE

Steve Clifford, an inspirational author, spent two whole days in our school. He led an engaging workshop for the whole of Key Stage 2, then Key Stage 1, followed by individual class workshops, focusing on editing. The children were enthralled whilst listening to him read. Some lucky children even got to ask him a question. He certainly inspired a future generation of authors! We are extremely grateful to Steve for spending time with us here at ACE.

Children in Key Stage 2 were able to use a stimulus around the year 3033 to write an opening to a story in which they wake up to a desolate world around them. We were blown away by their enthusiasm. Steve commented on the quality of the children’s writing and how impressed he was overall.

Thinking World Book Day – Year 6 Trip to St Oscar Romero School

St Oscar Romero school invited us to meet an author named Elle McNicoll. She was truly inspiring and told her story of how she was rejected by publishers. Elle told us not to let anyone hold us back, because it is our future and our decision what we do with it. Aaron from year 6 said, ‘The author told us that it doesn’t matter who you are, you can do whatever you want to if you try hard enough, even if you are at a disadvantage’.

The Term Ahead