Three weeks into the new half term and all our of children are now settled into their new classes. I think we can underestimate sometimes how big a change this is for them, especially given the close relationships they have built with staff teams during the previous year.

We have some new faces, both staff and pupils, at the lower school and it’s been lovely to have them as part of the team. Many of you will already know Mr Cruz who worked for us two years ago covering a period of maternity leave. He always loved working here and the feeling was mutual, so we are delighted to welcome him back on a permanent basis. Mrs Makin has also returned after a short time away and it’s like she never left! Miss Turner is our new teaching assistant in Class 6 and Mrs McCleary is our new administrator in the office. Welcome to them both.

Our Autumn Term topic is the Victorians and I know from many of you that the children have been coming home with tales of things they have already learned. Mrs Pulman kick started the term with a trip to Styal Mill with Class 3. As you can see from the photographs, they had a brilliant day and found out lots about how the Victorians used to live and particularly about what it was like to be a child during that era. They have been learning about different jobs children would be expected to do and how some aspects of their lives were quite unpleasant!

My highlight from the first week has got to be Emily acting out ‘chucking out the chamber pot’ through the door – she forgot there were two sets of doors and threw it instead towards Mr Quinn who had only called to say hello! It’s a good job it was only water!

Class 3 ended their week by making some beautiful food linked to their Food around the World topic. They have been learning about France and made Croque Monsieur, topped with béchamel sauce, flavoured with nutmeg. It was delicious and all the children tried and enjoyed the finished product, even though they didn’t think they would like it whilst it was being made. You can see Kaiden tucking in here and with Liam and Harry showing off the finished product..

Emily was particularly proud of her spelling assessment where she scored a whopping 94 out of 107. She completed this in one go too which showed excellent concentration from Emily..

We’ve also had great teamwork from the children playing boccia at break times..

..and Caitlin built a wonderful tower from some Maths equipment..

Class 6 have been reading a book about the Mousehole Cat, which is based in the village of Mousehole in Cornwall (Mrs Elliott’s favourite place!). They have looked at lots of different kinds of books to compare the genres..

They have also worked tremendously hard in Maths where they have used a lot of equipment to help them calculate sums using tens, hundreds and even thousands. Don’t they look proud at how much they have accomplished?

They have ended their week with a trip on a real steam train as they have been focusing on the history of these. They went on a fantastic trip from Bury to Ramsbottom and finished their day with a picnic in the park. Well done Class 6!

Mr Cruz has been doing some cross-curricular learning with Class 2. His DT lesson ended up being a mixture of Science too. They looked at how a rollercoaster demanded a large climb at the start so the car gains potential energy which is then lost as the car travels along the track. They discussed the friction of the car and track and how wind resistance can affect the process. Using a marble to represent the car and foam pipe insulation to represent the track, the boys managed to make a run which had two loops and a hill in it. It was all very exciting and the boys demonstrated excellent team work..

They have also ended their week with a trip and set off on Friday morning to Buxton Country Park..

They had a special visitor in tow, Molly the dog who belongs to Mr Cruz, and she has had a wonderful day too..

Class 4 have started their year with a different teacher as you may remember that Miss Fell started her maternity leave at the end of summer. We are delighted to share with you that she had a little boy last Saturday and Mum and baby are doing very well. Here are a couple of pictures of baby Edward – isn’t he just beautiful? Miss Fell promises that she will fetch him in soon for cuddles and I think there will be quite a queue..

Class 1 have made a great start too and have also been learning about what it was like to be a child in the Victorian era. They shared with me today their writing which was in the form of a diary entry of a child in the work house. It was clear they had put a lot of thought into their work which they were all very proud of. I was also asked to go in to see them perform a song they had been learning in a Music lesson. I certainly didn’t expect it to be a Bon Jovi number! They are learning some actions to go with it, as well as using some percussion instruments – with a bit of luck, they will be confident enough to perform it at our next Good Work Assembly.

Next week, on Friday morning, we will be hosting our annual Macmillan Coffee Morning in the community room. It would be lovely to see you all, bring some friends too! They are always a really good morning and very well supported, so whether you ‘Bake it or Fake it’, any donations of cakes would be much appreciated.

Have a great weekend everybody,

Toni Thomason
Head of School

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