It feels like a while since I’ve been able to update you all as unfortunately the dreaded viral infection that’s been doing the rounds finally caught me! It was lovely to return to work and catch up with all the children…and even nicer to hear they had missed me as much as I’d missed them!

It’s been an incredibly busy week with lots going on – lesson observations, visits from prospective new pupils and their families, watching school drama productions, trips out, delicious baking and so much more!

I’m going to start though with some photos that were intended for my last blog of the first lot of snow we had. It was great to just go out and play – snow angels galore! Class 3 worked together to make a small but perfectly formed snowman too..

Class 4 have been lining up to show me their work this week which they are quite rightly super proud of. I observed one of their Maths lessons this week and was very impressed with both their attitude towards their learning as well as the level of independence they showed. My favourite part was Kobi (in Year 2) telling me “don’t help me Miss, this is an independent learning activity!” I guess they take their Maths really seriously in Class 4!

They have also been busy reading the book “Charlie’s Superhero Underpants” about some lost underpants and completed many activities based on the story. Have a look at these great photos on display outside their classroom….aren’t their underpants fantastic?

Miss Foxcroft has been working Class 5 hard too. They were all very keen to share with me their ‘edible soil’ which looked better than the real thing. They have studied real soil to identify all the different elements within it such as rocks, topsoil, insects etc… They have made posters to show the different layers..

..and then made their own edible versions which really helped to reinforce their learning..

Tyreece, Conor and Szymon also showed a high level of perseverance with their Maths. They have been learning how to do the more formal method of column subtraction which they found really tricky to start with. However, they didn’t give up and were really pleased with their efforts..

On Thursday morning, all of our children were lucky enough to be able to go and watch a production of The Jungle Book, a joint performance by children at Hollinwood and New Bridge Schools. It was fantastic – the pupils must have put so much effort into learning their lines and songs, it really was a pleasure to watch.

One of the many benefits of being part of the New Bridge Group is having their specialist subject teachers working with our pupils. Mr Bloska is our music teacher and he has started his time with us by teaching the children to play first the Ukulele and then the Guitar. They are doing so well, despite finding it difficult at times. Mr Bloska has introduced them to an app on the iPad that they can use to practise in class. A few children have even bought their own instruments to play at home. We will make a band of them yet, watch this space..

Another benefit is that we have access to many training and development opportunities for our staff. One that is already paying dividends is something called Talk 4 Writing. It provides the children with lots of different ways to learn the rhythm and language associated with writing stories. Mrs Lawrie’s class have really enjoyed using these new skills while reading a book about Captain Spike. First, they made up some actions to help them remember the story. They then did some ‘hot-seating’ which is where they imagine they are the characters and talk about how they would be feeling, what they would be thinking etc… After this, they had to change a part of the story to make it their own idea and they then drew their own story map and planned out their tale in more detail. It was only at this stage that they attempted a first draft of their story. The results of all this effort were amazing! You can see all the different stages here as well as Emily’s efforts – all her own work and she was very proud..

Well, that’s all for this week. Next Tuesday we are having our annual Easter Coffee Morning and hope lots of you can join us for a brew and a cake. We are also having a belated World Book Day on the Tuesday as our original dates had to be postponed due to the snow. Wednesday is our last day in school and we return after the Easter break on Monday 16th April (you can find all this year’s term dates here).

Have a great weekend everyone,

Miss Thomason
Head of School

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