As I type this I can hear loud laughter coming from the hall as the children are watching the performance of Dick Whittington. It is bringing a happy end to what has been an eventful and busy half term. I am sure you are all looking forward to the Christmas holidays – I know I am and the children certainly are –their excitement has been off the scale over the last couple of days.

Even though we have only been here 3 days it has been an action-packed week in school. We started the week off with our last Sharing Assembly of 2023 and in the evening we had our annual KS2 Carol Concert. The church was packed and it was great to see so many family and friends in the church to watch the service. It really was a lovely concert and the children who attended should be proud of their performance. I would also like to thank all the staff who made it possible – especially Mrs Lawrence who co-ordinated the concert and prepared the children so well for their performance. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had the KS1 and KS2 Christmas parties which I know the children really enjoyed. KS1 had a special visitor at their party as Father Christmas made an appearance and I know the children were very thrilled and excited by that as they could not wait to tell me that they had seen him (some even thought that they had seen his reindeer and sleigh on the roof.) After the pantomime this morning we will be finishing the day in the hall with a rousing performance of the 12 Days of Christmas which is very noisy but the children love it.

Before I go I would like to thank everyone who has given me a gift. They are lovely and very much appreciated. All that is left for me to do now is to wish you all a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year and I look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday, 8th January.

 The children are all sitting in their classrooms quietly watching films bringing a quiet end to a very busy and noisy week. I have to say that the week did not get off to the start I had hoped. The whole school was excited at the thought of watching the Foundation Stage and KS1 Christmas shows but there ended up being no school on that day because of a broken boiler. Fortunately, we managed to get it fixed very quickly and we were able to come back the next day. I hope this interruption was not too inconvenient for you. I know these disruptions are never easy to manage but we need to follow health and safety guidance to ensure that the children are safe in our setting.

Fortunately, we were able to go ahead with our Christmas shows for families and friends and they were enjoyed by all those who watched them. The Nursery and Reception children performed some lovely Christmas songs for us and Key Stage One performed  ‘Lights, Camel ,Action’ which tells the story of the nativity through the format of a talent contest. All the children did the school proud and I would also like to thank all the staff who worked so hard to put these shows together. Without their continued commitment we would not be able to have these wonderful events which are a highlight of the Christmas season.

The children all looked very festive today in their Christmas jumpers which helped set a lovely atmosphere for our Christmas dinner. If you have not already made your donation you can still do so by using the Just Giving link which the school sent to you by text. The Christmas Jumper charity supports ‘Save the Children’ which helps to support children all over the world who are in need. I think we can all agree that this is a very worthy cause.

The fun has not ended in school yet as there is plenty for the children to look forward to next week. On Monday morning we have a Sharing assembly and in the afternoon the Foundation stage and Key Stage One children have their Christmas party to look forward to. In the evening it is the KS2 Carol Concert which we are holding at Christ Church. On Tuesday, KS2 are having their Christmas Party and on Wednesday the whole school is watching the pantomime ‘Dick Whittington’ which is always a popular event. I think after all that the children will be ready for a holiday although the excitement will be continuing into their holiday as it is Christmas.

Have a great weekend everyone. I am sure that you will all be busy with Christmas events and preparations but as we still have three days to go until the end of term please do make sure that the children do not become over tired as they will not be able to enjoy the events that we have planned for them in school.

 We are, like I am sure you all are, in the middle of Christmas preparations.  The school is all decorated for Christmas and the younger children are in the final stages of rehearsal for their Christmas performances next week. I know they are all very excited to perform to you and I know that you will all be very excited to see them perform. These shows are certainly a highlight in my calendar.

I hope you all received the link for our parent questionnaire. We have kept it open for over the holiday and into the new year so that we can get as many people as possible to complete it. Your opinion is very important to us and we want to know what you think about how we are running the school. Even if you think you have something to say that we do not want to hear please do complete the questionnaire. We are always open to suggestions that will help to make Little Heath a better place to be for everyone.

I know that it is getting towards the end of term but we still need everyone to follow our rules and that includes those for uniform. I am seeing an increasing number of children coming to school in trainers and these are not part of school uniform. There may be a good reason why children do not have the appropriate footwear for a day or two but it should not be longer than that.

Next week is a very busy week in school. As well as the Foundation and Key Stage One performances on Tuesday and Wednesday we have Open Afternoon for parents with children in Years 1-6. This runs from 3.00pm-4.30pm on Wednesday afternoon. This afternoon gives the parents in these classes an opportunity to share the learning that their children have covered over the last half-term.  It is not a session where teachers will discuss your child’s progress with you. On Friday it is also Christmas Jumper Day and we are also having our school Christmas lunch on this day as the children will all be dressed in festive jumpers.

 The PTA are holding the draw for their Christmas hampers on Friday 15^th December as well.  Some of the hampers are on display under the Christmas tree in the main entrance and all those that have seen them are saying how impressive they look (see picture below) so if you want a chance of winning one please do not forget to purchase your raffle tickets. The link to buy them is on the front page of our website.

 I hope you all have a great weekend. We are experiencing a lot of illness in school at the moment so try to ensure that your children get plenty of rest so they are well enough to enjoy the last week and a half of term. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 I think we can all agree that winter has definitely arrived.  For the first time this term I have had to defrost my car before coming to work in the mornings. Some people do not like the cold but I love it when the sun is shining and there is frost on the ground – especially at this time of year when Christmas is approaching. It really helps to set the mood for all the festive celebrations.

I am afraid that I am going to have to have a little moan. Unfortunately, some of the neighbours close to the school have been complaining that parents are parking their cars across their drives. I am sure that I do not have to remind you that it is against the law to do this and if people persist in doing this the neighbours are going to get the police involved. I would also like to ask you if you can respect our no car zone in front of the school. This has not happened for a long time but I have noticed recently that more and more parents are driving their cars up to the school entrance to drop off their children for school. We try to keep the area in front of the school a pedestrian area only so that it is safe for the children to come to and from school. We do not want an accident to happen before people start following our request.

We have started putting our decorations up in school and this always causes great excitement amongst the children. I know that some parents also started with their Christmas decorations last night because they attended a wreath making event organised by the PTA and apparently some lovely wreaths were made. The PTA also managed to raise an impressive £289 for the school which is always good news. I would like to thank our amazing PTA again for all their efforts in fund raising for the school –it is much appreciated.

 It is lovely being in a school at this time of year to see all the enjoyment that the children get from the Christmas period. I am sure that you are going to be busy with your Christmas preparations at home but I do hope that you get some time to relax over the weekend.  I look forward to seeing you on Monday morning when apparently it will still be cold.

 Another Friday, another non-uniform day.  Today’s Mufti -Day was because the children had to bring in donations for the PTA Christmas Hampers and once again Little Heath parents have been very generous. I would like to thank you all for the lovely Christmas goodies that you have sent in today –I am certainly going to be purchasing some tickets for the hampers when they go on sale next week. I also promised you last Friday that I would tell you how much we raised for Children in Need this week and I am happy to report that we raised an impressive £279.

As well as a Mufti-day we also had the Year 4 Assembly this morning. I always love class assemblies and this morning Year 4’s assembly was about their learning that they have covered this term and the class presented it really well - they should feel really proud of themselves. I would also like to thank Ms Davis, Mrs Proudlove, Miss Russon and Mrs Meadows for all their support in helping the class put their assembly together.

I do not think that we can deny any more that Christmas is definitely on the way and getting in the spirit of the occasion the PTA have organised a Christmas wreath-making class in school next Thursday night. I love to see all the wreaths on the doors at Christmas and if you attend this class you have a chance to give it an extra personal touch by making it yourself. I do think that there are a couple of spaces still available so if you are interested and have not booked a spot contact the school office to see if you can take part.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I am sure that you will all be getting busy now with preparations for Christmas but I hope you can still find some time to relax before we all meet again on Monday morning . 

 I have been looking at spots all over today. We have not had an outbreak of Chicken Pox in school but the children have all been wearing something spotty in aid of Children in Need. We have been collecting in the donations but if you still have to donate online please do so and then we can send our donation off to Children in Need. I know that times are difficult but this is a very worthy charity that does a lot of good so if we can donate as much as we can I know that the money will be used to make a difference to children who really need the support.

Next week in school we have another mufti day on Friday. This time it is in aid of the school because the PTA would like the children to bring in an item to put in a Christmas Hamper so that we can have our annual Christmas Hamper raffle which is a great fundraiser for the school. Before you send the item in can you check that it will still be in date until at least Christmas which, in case you do not know, is December 25^th. In a few weeks, we will be asking you to purchase raffle tickets to try and win one of these hampers and I assure you that as someone who has won one in the past, they are well worth winning. My family still talks about the year we had extra treats at home because I won a Christmas hamper.

Another thing that we have to look forward to next week is the Year 4 assembly. This is on Friday as well and I know that all the Year 4 children are looking forward to performing in front of their family and the school. May I remind those of you who have young children that if you are bringing them to watch the assembly (and we do love them to join us) if they do create a disturbance you take them out of the hall. There is a lot of preparation that goes into putting the assemblies on and the children performing are usually nervous so they need to be able to focus on what they need to do. A fractious child can distract them from their presentation, which could impact their confidence in doing something like this again in the future. Thank you for your co-operation in following our request.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I think we can all agree that autumn has definitely arrived and our weekends will soon be spent in getting ready for Christmas which is very exciting but also a lot of hard work so try and enjoy some relaxation time while you can.

 

 Another week has flown by -  I cannot believe that we are nearly halfway through November -the ‘C’ word will definitely soon be entering our vocabulary. This time last week we were preparing for our annual firework display. I am sure that if you attended you will agree that it was a great evening and it all went very well. I would like again to thank everyone who supported the event and I would like to give special thanks to the members of the PTA who organised the whole event. It takes an awful lot of work to put an event like this together and without their commitment Little Heath would not be such a well – resourced school.

I am sorry but I need to have a little moan again about names not being on uniform. I am constantly going around the school picking up ‘lost ‘uniform but I can only return about 50% of it as it does not have any name label. If you could please check your child’s uniform over the weekend and make sure it is all clearly labelled that would be much appreciated. Can I also ask that if you are marking it with a pen that it is one that has indelible ink so that it will not disappear if an item of clothing is left outside in the rain.

Next week is another busy week in school. It is Anti-Bullying Week and we start that on Monday with ‘Odd Socks Day’ which helps celebrate the differences between people. On Friday it is ‘Children in Need’ day and this is a charity that we always support. The children can come into school not wearing uniform as long as one of the articles of clothing is spotty.  The children can bring in a donation of at least a pound into school or you can make the donation using the link found on below (it is also on the newsletter).

https://www.justgiving.com/page/little-heath-primary-school-1699441348829

We have not got all the excitement of the fireworks this weekend but I am sure that you will still have an enjoyable time. I look forward to seeing you all on Monday (wearing your odd socks).

 I hope you all had a great half-term. It was lovely to get an extra hour’s rest on Sunday although the darker nights are not a good thing. I know the start of autumn and the colder weather can be depressing but there are so many good things to look forward to in this half-term that it makes the cold damp conditions much easier to bear.

One of those things that we have to look forward to is our Fireworks display which is taking place tomorrow night. This is always one of the highlights of the school calendar and is thoroughly enjoyed by all who attend. It is a really good fundraiser for the school so I do hope to see many of you there. Even if the weather is not great as long as you wrap up well the weather does not matter when you are watching the visual spectacle of fireworks exploding in the sky. I do hope that I see lots of you there. If you see me, please do speak to me because sometimes it is hard to pick up faces in the dark and if I do not acknowledge you it is because I have not recognised your face.

Another thing to look forward to is our first Sharing Assembly which is on Monday morning. If your child is taking part, you will have received a letter I do like to see children sharing learning that they are proud of and I think that having to present it to an audience is a great skill to develop for their future life. I know that many of the children do get nervous before doing this but then feel very proud of themselves when they have completed their presentation.

That is all for now. I do hope you have an enjoyable weekend and I hope to see many of you at the fireworks tomorrow night.

 We have come to the end of a busy week so thank goodness it is the half term break.  There has been a ‘sea of red’ in school today as all the children and staff have been wearing red to show their support for the anti-racism movement. We have supported this in the past as we think this is a very important principle to reinforce in school and I think that with the atrocities that are happening in the world at the moment it is an even more important message to reinforce.

I hope you all found the parent consultations useful. All the people that I have spoken to have told me that they found them very useful and I hope you all found them that way. Although these meetings do involve a lot of work for the teachers I know that they do enjoy these meetings because they know how important parent involvement is to helping children succeed. When children see their parents interacting with the school in a positive way it helps them to view school in a positive way which helps to have a positive impact on their achievement.

We have had a celebrity in school this week and although many of you will have seen them when you came into the school you may not have realised it. For those of you who do not know who they are I have included a photograph below.

 As you can see there are a bunch of flowers but they are no ordinary bunch of flowers. These are flowers that were bought for Madonna to have in her dressing room at the O2. When she left she left the flowers behind but somebody who has been working at the 02 gave them to us and they certainly helped to make an impressive display in our main entrance.  Just imagine the stories they could tell us if only they could speak.

I hope you all have a fabulous half-term. I know from speaking to some of the children that some of you are heading for sunnier climates and I am very jealous. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday, October 30th. 

 I know the school had a lovely end to the week because it was the Year 5 assembly. I unfortunately had to miss it because of another appointment that I had to attend but I have been informed that Year 5 put on a really good assembly and that all the pupils did the school proud. I would like to thank them for all their hard work and I would like to thank Mrs Cresswell and Mrs Stevenson for all their work in supporting the class.

Next week, as we did last year, we will be supporting ‘Wear Red Day’ on October 20^th which is a day of celebration of the anti-racism movement. To do this we are holding a non-uniform day but the children must wear at least one item that is red. In exchange for doing this we would like the children to bring a donation of at least a pound for the charity. The children can either make the donation in cash and bring it into school or you can make the donation on your child’s Arbor portal.

It is also parent consultations next week when all parents can meet up with their child’s teacher to see how they have settled in their new year group s and to see how they are progressing with their learning. The teachers look forward to these meetings because they know how important it is to have parental support for children to achieve their potential. May I remind you that these appointments are for 10 minutes (15 minutes for Year 6) and if at the end of your appointment you feel there is something you would like to discuss with the teacher in more detail could you please make an appointment for a later date. If everybody runs over by just a minute or two it can cause a big delay for parents who come after them and also may cause them to be late for their appointments with other teachers.  

Unfortunately, it does appear that the beautiful Indian summer that we have all been enjoying has gone. However, I am sure that will not stop you all enjoying your weekend. I look forward to meeting up with you all again on Monday morning. Just one week until we can all enjoy a lovely break.

 

 We certainly had an exciting morning in school as it was our annual Harvest Festival event. I really enjoy this as it gives me an opportunity to meet lots of parents. The children performed some lovely songs connected with harvest and it certainly appeared that a good time was had by all. I would like to thank our wonderful PTA for organising the drinks this morning and I would like to thank all you parents for your kind donations of cakes and biscuits and for the money donated in purchasing them at the event. This year we are supporting Water Aid which I think is an amazing charity because it helps bring clean water to parts of the world where they do not have this. I really find it hard that everyone does not have access to clean water in the twenty first century which is why I think that this is a really important charity to support.

This is obviously a big week for saying thank you because I would also like to thank everyone who purchased a book from our book fair. I do think that teaching children to read is the most important skill that we can teach them in education and if they have access to good books it makes the task so much easier.  We will let you know how much we have raised when Scholastic let us know and we will use this money to purchase new books for the children to read in school.

There is more to look forward to next week as Year 5 will be presenting our first class assembly of the year. I always enjoy these and I know parents really enjoy seeing their children on the stage as well. An awful lot of work goes into putting these assemblies on so I would like to remind you all that whilst we love to have families come to watch these events that if you bring young children and they start to make a noise or become upset that you take them out of the hall so that the children on stage do not become distracted and are unable to perform. Presenting in front of an audience at such a young age can be a nerve –wracking experience but we feel that it is an important skill to master and we do not want them to be put off from taking part by a distraction in the audience.

Looking at the weather today summer has not left us yet and apparently it is going to remain warm all weekend so I do hope you all have a chance to enjoy it. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 We have had another lovely week in school. There is still some warmth in the air and we have even had some sunshine although we do know that autumn is well on its way because it is becoming darker earlier in the evenings.

The after school clubs have been running for a while now and I do know that the children love attending them. However, may I remind you that children should be signed on in advance to attend the club and they should not just be turning up on the day the club is running for a one off session.  If children cannot attend they should tell the person running the club in advance. The clubs are not organised for the children to attend only if they feel like it. Once they sign up they should make a commitment to attend and if they do not enjoy the club they should inform the person running it so they can be removed from the club list allowing other children to join.  

I am looking forward to next week because one of my favourite events of the year, our Harvest Festival, is on next Friday. I hope you have checked our newsletter for the slot that your child will be performing in although it is a flexible arrangement and if you need to take both of your children out at the same time we can accommodate that. Please remember to send in your donations of cakes and biscuits on Wednesday and Thursday.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday morning.

 It came as a bit of a shock to me whilst I was organising the events for next week that it will be the last week in September. Where did that month go? It does not feel like more than 2 minutes since we were preparing for the children to return to school after the summer break!  They do say that time flies when you are having a good time so perhaps that is a good sign.

I hope that you all managed to watch the news item about Artificial Intelligence that I sent you the link for last week. It did feel a little strange to see the place where you work being used for a news segment but I think that you will agree that the children all did us proud.  Another parent who works for the BBC has sent me the link below for an extended version of the story which I think is well worth watching. It has had thousands of views since it was published on Thursday and is a featured video on the BBC World Service. I think it is great that our school has been involved in such an important issue for children

https://youtu.be/ojjn9T_fuUw

We have a really good week in school and the school has felt full of energy which I love. Unfortunately, a side effect of all the children mixing together after a long holiday is that they pass lots of germs around and some children have had to miss school this week because they have been unwell. I would just like to remind you all that if your child has to miss school for either sickness or diarrhoea then they need to be off school for 48 hours after their last bout of sickness or diarrhoea. E.g.  if your child is sick on a Monday the earliest they can return to school is Wednesday.

The weather has not been the best this week but apparently it is going to get warmer this weekend which is something to look forward to. I hope you all have an enjoyable break and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 The weather has remained kind to us and we have had another lovely week. We are certainly trying to make the most of the weather and be outside as much as possible before the autumn descends upon us. We will look back on this time with fondness when we are trying to get through the dark winter months of January and February. It has been particularly great weather for our first week of extra-curricular activities.

I hope that many of you managed to watch the news item about artificial intelligence that was on the BBC this week in which our old Year 6 pupils participated in. The story raised some very salient points and I am glad that we were able to support such an important story. The children really enjoyed taking part and as it was in the last week of term it helped to give them another enjoyable memory of Little Heath. If you have not managed to see it yet I have copied some links below to enable you to see it. I would like to thank Mr Boleto for including our school in his report and we hope our children may be given further invites in the future.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/news/watch_newsround

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/66796495

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001qh8l

I hope you will excuse me for having a little moan. The children have only been back about two weeks and I have already lost count of the number of items of ‘lost uniform’ that I have had to pick up. I have tried to return as many as I can but I have had to put a lot in the lost property box because they have no name on them. We do keep asking for the children’s uniform to be labelled clearly and yet every year a lot of uniform that is not, cannot be returned to its rightful owner. Can I ask once again that you check that all your children’s uniform contains your child’s name in a place that can be easily seen. We will then not have to put out the mountain of uniform at the end of every term because all items will be able to be returned to their rightful owner.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. I think you all need to make the most of the sunshine because it does look like it is going to disappear next week.

 I hope you are all feeling rested and rejuvenated after the summer break. It has been lovey to have sunny weather this week because the sunshine does just make everyone feel better – it is a pity that we could not have seen more of it over the actual summer break.

As always the children have settled into school well and it does feel like we have never been away –I do not know if that is a good or a bad thing. It has been lovely walking around the school seeing them all engaged in their learning - even all our new youngsters who appear to be adapting to school life very well. Starting school is a real milestone in a child’s life and it is great to be part of such a momentous occasion and we certainly work hard to make sure it is an enjoyable time for them.

Next week all the extra-curricular clubs start and for many children these certainly help to enhance the school experience. If you have not yet signed your child up to join any, please make sure that you do it as soon as possible.

With the weather set to last I hope that you all have an enjoyable weekend. I think we all need to make the most of this lovely weather before the chill of autumn descends upon us.

 What a week it has been. It has all passed in a blur and we are now at the end of the academic year. They do say that as you get older time passes by more quickly and I am sadly at that stage in my life where I find that is certainly true. It really does feel like it was just a couple of weeks ago when it was September and the beginning of term. 

It has certainly been a lovely and busy week to end the year with though. On Tuesday the PTA had their Summer Fun Day and it was enjoyed by everyone who attended. They managed to raise an amazing £1749.88 which will certainly help to support the school in the coming year. I would like to thank everyone who supported the event and to our wonderful PTA who organised the fun day. Without this support Little Heath would certainly not be such a well-resourced school.

Many of us will be looking forward to a holiday but we are also sad at this time of year as our Year 6 are leaving us and will not be returning in September. They have had a fun and action packed week. Firstly, they performed their leaver’s show, ‘I’m am 11 Year Old – Get Me Out of Here’ to the school and their families.  They all performed it very well and everyone who watched it found it very entertaining and enjoyable. They then took part in the annual ‘Teachers v Year 6 Rounders Game’ and, I am sad to say, that the staff were beaten again. CBBC then came in to do some filming with them regarding how artificial intelligence is being used in educational programmes and I know they are looking forward to being on television in the autumn. They ended the week with their Leavers Assembly this morning which was both a happy and sad occasion in equal measures. We do hope that they have enjoyed their time with us and are taking many happy memories with them. We also hope that they feel well prepared for the next stage of their education and that they can all achieve their dreams in the future. They have another fun event to look forward to as they are having their Leavers’ Party later this evening.

As it is the end of term I have been very fortunate to receive some lovely gifts from parents and I would like to thank everyone who has sent me a gift. I hope you all have a great holiday and I look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday, 4^th September for the start of what I hope is going to be another wonderful school year.

 Even though the energy of some children is starting to flag it has still been a good week in school. We had a lovely start to our week with an assembly presented by Mr Boleto who as well as being one of our parents is also a CBBC presenter. He did an amazing assembly on keeping yourself safe on social media including how to look out for fake information which can now look very real thanks to the advancements in artificial intelligence. The presentation totally engaged the children and they certainly learnt a lot. I would like to thank Mr Boleto for coming into school and giving the children such an informative assembly. He may be returning to the school next week with his CBBC team to do some work with some of the children for a future BBC programme.

The children met their new teacher this week. Although some of them are sad to be leaving their old teacher they all appeared happy in these sessions. We also had our ‘Meet the Teacher’ sessions during this week so that parents know what is in store for their child in the coming year. I hope you all found these sessions useful but do remember that if you have any concerns about your child’s learning you can contact the class teacher or myself to discuss them. Very often these concerns can be dealt with very easily and it is better to get them out in the open rather than worry about them in isolation.

We had a lovely end to the week with a piano assembly this morning and a non-uniform day. In the piano assembly all the children who have been having piano lessons in school presented some of the pieces they have been learning to the whole school and their parents. It was a lovely event although there was some sadness because Maria, the piano teacher, is leaving us so she can return to her home country to be with her extended family. The parents have all been very happy with how she has inspired their children to learn the piano and after listening to the music this morning I can see why they have been so happy to have Maria as their teacher. I am sure you will join with me in wishing her every success for the future.

As I wrote earlier it was a non-uniform day which made the children very excited. They were allowed to not be in uniform as they were all bringing in items for our Summer Fun Day which is on next Tuesday from 3.00pm -5.30pm. On behalf of the PTA I would like to thank everyone for being so generous with their donations.

Next week is also another action packed week in school. As I have already mentioned we have the PTA Summer event on Tuesday and then on Wednesday we have the annual Teachers versus Year 6 Rounder’s match. For the last couple of years, the teachers have lost so we are hoping for a victory this year. As it is the Year 6’s last week they are putting on their final show which they are going to perform to both the school and then their parents. We will then end the week with the Year 6 Leaving assembly in the morning and their leaving parade at the end of the day.

With such a busy week we will also need to have a restful weekend to make sure we have enough energy to get to the end of the week. Please remember that as it is the last day of term we do finish at 2.00pm next Friday.

 

Week ending 7th July 2023

 Hello Year One,

This week we have been working on halves and quarters of quantities in our maths lessons.

 We have been writing rhyming poems and descriptive poems about tigers. Year One know some amazing adjectives now!

For science we looked at the four seasons and wrote about the changes between the seasons and the reasons why the environment changes. We talked about the movement of animals and birds in each season.

We travelled to Africa for our geography lesson and explored the country Kenya. The children were able to write and draw in detail following our research.

Today was fabulous because we had a 'circus skills' workshop. The children loved it! 

Spellings

I do apologise that I forgot to give the spellings out today. I will do so on Monday.

Next Week

English

We will be mainly working on sentence structure and handwriting next week. The children will also be writing about their experiences in Year One and their hopes and goals for Year Two.

Maths

We will be working on number next week. This will include using number lines, partitioning tens and ones and exploring greater than and less than.

RE

I will be asking the children what or who they believe 'God' is. Their creation stories were very interesting, so I am sure this piece of work will be too.

Geography

Next week we will travel to North America and be exploring  famous landmarks.

I wish you all a restful and happy weekend.

Ms Davis

 I am sure that you have all heard but ‘the circus has come to town’ or, to be more precise, ‘Little Heath’ this week. The children have all had their chance to practise a variety of circus skills such as juggling and balancing. They all found it highly entertaining and very enjoyable. It was a lovely thing for them all to take part in as we approach the end of term.

As I mentioned in my first paragraph the end of term is nigh and I know you will be all looking forward to the summer break and having a rest. However, while we are in school we still have to follow all the same practices that we have followed all year so I was a little disappointed when my site manager informed me that people are starting to ignore the cones and are trying to drive up and park in front of the school to drop off their children. We deliberately arrange the cones so people cannot do this so as to create a pedestrian zone which makes it safer for the children to walk into school. Some people have been making the excuse that they do not want their children to be late for school but people need to get themselves organised so that they are leaving early enough to park up and give their children enough time to walk to school if necessary. We do not want an accident to happen for people to respond to this request.

As it is the end of term we have another action packed week in school. We have our new starters visiting us next week and most of our Year 6 will be visiting their new secondary school on Thursday. Children who are remaining in school will be spending some time with their new class teacher and then on Thursday evening parents (with the exception of the current Reception parents) can come in school to meet their children’s new teacher and find out about the year ahead. These sessions are for parents only but Mrs Robinson and myself will be in the hall running a crèche for any children that you cannot find childcare for. We will be showing a film during this time. Reception parents will be able to meet their new teacher in early September. We are ending the week with a ‘mufti’ day for the PTA when children can come into school not wearing their uniform as long as they bring in a donation for the PTA event the following week.

With all that going on I think it is just as well that we are breaking up for summer the following week. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend – I enjoy watching tennis so some of my time will be definitely spent watching Wimbledon. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday.

 We ended the week in a lovely way as it was the Reception class assembly this morning which was our last class assembly of the year but it was their first assembly In Little Heath. It is lovely to see our younger children perform and they did themselves proud this morning. Their assembly was about work they have covered during the year but with the amount of songs in it felt like we were watching west end musical and was enjoyed by everyone who watched it. I would like to congratulate them on their performance and I would like to thank Mrs Sheehan and all her staff for all their hard work in supporting the children.

Another big event that we had this week was the Year 6 Apprentice event. They have been very excited about this for weeks so I was glad that it could actually take place as I think some of them may have burst with excitement. There was a large variety of stalls from Beat the Goalie to face painting and all the other children had a great time walking around and seeing what was on offer.

It was a three-way tie between Icee Bros, Splash and Win and TSSJ.  All the money raised goes to charity and in total the class raised £634 which means it was well worth running. They are going to split the money between three charities which support cancer research, homelessness and guide dogs. I know that the charities will appreciate the donations and the Year 6 should all feel very proud of themselves.

As is typical of this time of year we have more events taking place next week. We are starting the week with a Sharing Assembly on Monday – if your child is taking part you will have been notified. On Wednesday evening we have our Foundation Induction Evening for all our new Nursery and Reception children. On Thursday and Friday, we have a Circus Skills workshop coming to the school and they will be taking the whole school for circus skills practice over the two days –I am sure that the children are all going to love that. The NEU are also taking strike action next week and if your child’s class has been affected you will already have been informed.

It looks like it is going to be a lovely weekend so I hope you all have a good time. As it is getting towards the end of term some of the children are getting rather tired so if you could ensure that your children are getting enough sleep I would appreciate it. With all that is going on at school we want to make sure they have enough energy so that they can enjoy the end of term.

 I would like to start the week by first apologising for not having a blog last week. I was unwell and had to go home on Friday and I only realised when I was getting ready to prepare this week’s blog that I had not published last week’s. My virus obviously temporarily affected my memory. Unfortunately, last week a few members of staff took unwell with a stomach bug but thankfully we have all recovered now.

The main event of this week was Sports Day. I was a little worried because earlier in the week there were some thunderstorms forecast for Thursday but thankfully the sun shone for the event and a great time was had by all (although the rain did come down later on). The children all appeared to be having a great time and I think some took advantage at the water event to cool down because a lot of them were drenched from head to foot and I do not think anyone could have accidently spilt that much water on themselves. If they had squeezed their shirts dry into the scoring containers they might have been surprised at how many extra points they could have scored. It was great to also have so many parents and family and friends in school to support the event.  The overall winner was Frampton House and I think that its two captains, Maya and Gracie, looked very pleased and proud to be picking up the winning trophy. I would like to thank Mr Mills for all his hard work and fantastic organisation in putting the event together –it would not be the same if he was not here to put it together for us.

Next week is another important week in school because it is Parent Consultation Week. All of you should have booked your appointments by now. I know you all find these meetings very useful and the teachers do like to share with you about how your child is progressing but I am going to ask like I always do that you do not go over your allocated time with your class teacher. It just takes a couple of people to run over by a little to upset the whole system. If you do feel that there is something that you would like to discuss in more depth with your child’s class teacher make an additional appointment to see them at a mutually convenient later date.

It looks like the good weather is going to last so I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning. I will not be saying that many more times in this academic year because the summer break is fast approaching.

 I hope you all had a great half – term - having that extra Monday on the end did make it feel like a long holiday. We now just have to get our heads down and work hard for the last half term before the long summer holiday. I know some children feel that as it is the last half term they do not have to work as hard but that is certainly not the case. Such is the size of the curriculum that it does take a full year to cover it and not just five sixths of the year so please support us with this by ensuring that your children stick to their regular routine (Including getting to bed at an appropriate time) until the end of the year and that they do not start their holiday early.

Thanks to our amazing PTA we are replenishing the books in our school including the library. Whilst we have been checking through all of our books we have realised that we have a lot of books missing. I know that we did lose some during lockdown when it was not as easy for us to keep track of everything but those times have passed so if your child takes a school book home can you please make sure they return it. If children do not return books, we may have to ask for a contribution towards buying a new book. With school budgets being so tight we cannot afford to keep replacing unreturned books.

It looks like it is going to be a warm weekend and even though we are being warned about the dangers of being in the sun for too long I intend to enjoy it. It has been so grey and rainy in recent times I am not going to apologise for enjoying the warm weather. I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 Another week has flown by and here we are at the summer half term –we have even had some weather this week which has made it feel like summer – at last! The big event in school this week was the Oakmere mini marathon which all the Key Stage 2 classes took part in. This is a wonderful event that all the local schools participate in and even though none of our children finished in the first three in either the Year5/6 or the Year 3/4 event all the children really tried their best and did the school proud. I think that many of the children are already looking forward to taking part in this event next year because they had such a good time this year.

I know I keep going on about it but I keep seeing children wearing earrings around school and I know that their ears are not newly pierced. I did ask if people could check their children’s ears a few weeks ago but may I please ask again that if your children’s ears are not newly pierced that they take their earrings out during the school day and wear no earrings or hole retainers instead. We have this rule in place for health and safety reasons and we do not want a child to get a badly damaged ear before parents respond to our request.

As I wrote earlier we now have the summer half term break to look forward to which is lovely and then we return for the second part of the summer term which is always action packed. When we return we only have a four-day week because we are having our occasional day on Monday, 5^th June so all that is left for me to do is wish you all a fabulous holiday and I look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday, 6^th June.

 It has been quite a quiet week in school this week because there has not been a day when all of the classes have been in. Year 6 were on their PGL trip from Monday to Wednesday, they were out on Thursday and then went to Stanborough Lakes on Friday. Year 4 and 5 also went to Stanborough lakes on Wednesday and Thursday respectively so you can understand why the school has been a quiet place to be in this week – it is going to feel really strange (and probably noisy) when all the classes are in school next week.

For those classes in school today we had a lovely end to the week as it was the Year 1 assembly. Their assembly was based on their learning from this term and they did a lovely job in presenting it to their families and the school. I would like to thank them for doing such an amazing job and I would like to thank Ms Davis, Mrs Alimadadi and Mrs Rexhaj for all their support in helping the class put their assembly together. Although these assemblies do not last long they involve a lot of work for all those involved.

Next week is another busy week in school. On Monday we have one of our sharing assemblies and if your child is involved in that you will have been informed by letter.  On Wednesday there is an Open Afternoon for parents with children in Years 1-6. It runs from 3.00pm -4.30pm and we start it during the school day so children can share their learning with their parents. On the same day we are running a relationships and sex education meeting for parents who have children in Years 5 and 6. This is so parents can see the resources we are going to use with the children during these sessions and ask any questions about what is going to be taught.

The annual KS2 Oakmere mini-marathon is taking place on Thursday and all children in Years 3-6 are taking part. If you have not done so can you please sign the permission slip on Arbor so your child can travel by coach to and from Oakmere – otherwise some children may find themselves having to walk there and back as well as running a mini-marathon. After such a busy week it is just as well that we have the half term holiday to look forward to.

The weather has finally got better this week and apparently it is going to get warmer over the weekend so we might be able to get outside and not have to be wrapped up like an arctic explorer. Hopefully the warmer weather will hang around so we can actually start wearing our summer wardrobe – I haven’t even got mine down from the attic yet. Whatever you do this weekend I hope you have an enjoyable time and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 It has been a very busy week in school even though we did have the additional bank holiday at the beginning of the week. Year 6 have been doing SATs all week and Year 5 have been to Lincolnsfield. As usual the Year 6 found that the SATs week passed very quickly. Year 5 also found that the trip they had been looking forward to all year passed very quickly and they were home before they knew it. I expect both year groups will sleep very well tonight although Year 6 do not have much time to relax as they go on their school residential on Sunday. They are going to Osmington Bay, Dorset, from Sunday to Wednesday and I am sure that, like Year 5, they are going to have an amazing time.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the school staff who have given up their own time so that children in Year 5 and 6 can go on a residential trip – without their generosity trips like this would not be possible.

Next week is another action packed week in school. It starts on Monday with ‘Walk to School Week’. Although we encourage the children to walk (or ride or scoot) to school every day, we do draw attention to the benefits of not coming by car during this week. Children who are not driven in a car to school benefit from additional exercise which is good for them as well as helping to improve their mood and behaviour. It also helps bring down congestion from cars which helps improve the local air quality and makes the local area a safer place for pedestrians. I know some families, because of where they live, need to drive to school, but I do ask that you park a little further away from the school during this week and walk the last 10 minutes to school.

Years 4, 5 and 6 also have an additional treat next week because they are all going to spend the day at Stanborough Lakes, taking part in activities on the water. It is a treat for them because the school is using its Sports Premium money to pay for this. We are doing this to help expose them to a greater range of sports activities so that children who do not enjoy the more traditional sports may find something that they want to continue with after their day at the lakes.

We will be ending the week with a great treat because it is Year 1 assembly on Friday. I always enjoy the class assemblies and I know that the children –especially the younger ones – love it when they have their parents coming in to watch them perform in school.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Apparently it is going to be a lot warmer over the weekend so I hope that it is true because so far in May the weather has not been great. I will be in school on Sunday to wave the Year 6 off on their residential and I will see the rest of you all on Monday morning.

 I am writing my blog a little early this week as I have to prepare for our Coronation event. I am looking nervously out of the window hoping that the weather is going to be kind to us and allow us to perform outside but you never know with the British weather. So far this morning we have had both heavy rain and sunshine in the space of an hour. Whatever happens I know that the children have enjoyed learning the different dances so I hope you all enjoyed their performances. I hope the children also like the gift we have given them of a little badge as a memento of the coronation of King Charles III.

I have to have a little moan now. I have noticed that a number of children who have had their ears pierced for a long time are wearing earrings in school. If children do not have newly pierced ears they are allowed to wear ear retainers so the holes do not close up but nothing else. Children are only allowed to wear earrings for approximately 8 weeks when their ears are newly pierced and during that time the earrings need to be taped up all of the time. Can you please ensure that your child does follow this rule as I will be getting children who should not be wearing earrings to remove them in school.

Due to the coronation we have another 4-day week next week but we have a lot to pack into those days. Year 6 have their SATs tests next week so it is a week they always dread but after it is all over they always say that it was not as bad as they thought it would be. I am sure that they will all do themselves proud. I would just like to remind everyone involved with the SATs that children always perform better after they have had a good night’s rest so please ensure that if your child is in Year 6 they do get to bed at a reasonable time. It is also an exciting time for Year 5 because they are going on their residential to Lincolnsfield so if your child is in this year group you need to ensure that they have slept well before they go because they have an active few days ahead of them.

The coronation is an historic event and I have never witnessed one in my life time so I am quite excited about watching it this weekend. Whatever you are doing I hope you all have a great time and I look forward to seeing you again on Tuesday Morning.

 It was with amazement that I looked at the calendar and I realized that it is going to be May next week. As it has been one of the coldest starts to a year it certainly does not feel like it is going to be May but apparently the warmer weather is on its way so let us hope that May does bring us warmth and sunshine.

Cold weather has not dampened our spirits in school and there have been lots of exciting things taking place. Year 1 have been on a trip to Willows farm which they thoroughly enjoyed and the choir, by popular demand, returned to perform at Mandeville Court. Year 3 and 4 have also been involved in some football matches and were fortunate to win both of their matches against Pope Paul.

Next week starts with the first of the three bank holidays that are going to take place in May –we are going to find it strange in June when we have to go to work on a Monday although in Little Heath we also have the first Monday in June off as well. Even though it is a shorter week there is still a lot taking place in school as many in Year 5 are taking part in Bikeability classes. If your child is taking part in these sessions, they can leave their bike chained to the fence if there is no room in the bike shed. They will be able to leave their bikes in school during the week as they will be locked in the school hall to keep them safe overnight.

The big event of next week though is our coronation celebration which is taking place on Friday afternoon at 2.00pm (weather permitting). The children are all rehearsing their dances and are really looking forward to performing them to you. As was explained in this week’s newsletter refreshments will be served by the PTA at this event and donations from parents will be greatly received. You may send them into school from May 4^th.

I hope you all have a great bank holiday weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday, 2^nd May.

 

 I am going to start my blog the same way that I always do after a break and say that it is hard to believe that we have just returned to school after our Easter break. It is amazing how quickly the children settle and behave like they have never been away. It was nice to have a break and I hope you all enjoyed it. I am back on chocolate after giving it up for Lent so I am feeling very happy –it is amazing how a small piece of chocolate can help put a positive spin on things.

Next week all the summer clubs start and the children are always excited to be starting a new range of activities although our external clubs remain the same (Lego, chess, dance and art). If you have not signed your children up for these please do so.

We have started preparations in school for our coronation event which will be taking place on May 5^th. As we just celebrated the Diamond jubilee last year, we have tried to do things differently for this event which is why the children will be performing dances. We will be sending out more details about the event next week. I do wish King Charles had chosen a later time of year for his coronation because there are rather a lot of assessments taking place in school this half term and I do think that July would have been a much better month - I also think that having three bank holidays in one month is too much.

I hope you all have a good weekend. According to the weather app the rain is due to return next week but let us hope that it is incorrect. I have a lot of meetings in the coming week so I will not be on the gate in the morning until Wednesday.  

 The week has passed by in a whirl –it does not feel like two minutes since I was writing my last blog and yet a week has passed and here we are at the end of term. If the next term passes as quickly as this one has, it will be summer before we know it. I must admit that I am longing for summer weather because I am really fed up of all this rain –it has really had a negative impact on our sporting programme as well as my general outlook.

This week in school has been dominated by the performance of ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’. It has proven to be a wonderful show and has been raved about by all those who have watched it. I am very proud of all the children and I would like to thank all the Year 3, 4 and 5 staff for all their efforts in putting the show together –all their efforts have certainly been worthwhile. I would also like to thank the PTA and all the parents who supported them for providing refreshments during the interval. Their constant support of the school is much appreciated as their fundraising makes a huge difference to the resources that we have to support your child’s learning.

Every time we put on a performance, as we do not charge for watching the show, we always choose a charity to support and this year we decided to keep it local and support the ‘Potters Bar Food Bank’. We managed to collect an impressive £207.25 which I know the charity will really appreciate. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to our collection.

Year 2 also had a special event on this week as they had a ‘Fire of London’ day in school. It was a lovely event for them but it was made possible by a large number of parents volunteering to support it. I would like to thank all the parents who did help out and make this day possible for the children. Days like this make learning so much more enjoyable for the children and because they enjoy it so much they retain the information for a very long time which enhances their learning.

We now have a 2 week break to look forward to. I hope you all have a good holiday and come back feeling refreshed and re-energised and looking forward to the new term ahead which starts on Tuesday, 18^th April.

 I cannot believe that we break up for Easter next week. This term feels like it has flown by but I also think the reason that I cannot believe that it is nearly Easter is because of the weather. When is the warmer weather going to arrive? I am really tired of having to wear layers to stay warm and although they keep telling us that we are not getting enough rain I feel like I am standing out in the rain quite a lot. Sometimes, at this time of year, we have allowed the children to start playing on the field again but it has been too damp for us to allow them to do this. Let us hope that the weather picks up over the Easter break.

As you all probably remember it was Red Nose Day last Friday and our contribution towards this worthy event was to sell the red noses. This year we managed to raise £376 and I would like to thank everyone who did purchase a nose from us. Unfortunately, we did not sell all the noses that we purchased. I think this is because they only had one design and the design itself was not very strong. I know that a few children broke their noses almost as soon as they opened them –I do think that the creators will have to re-think their design for next year.

The big event for next week is the Year 3,4 and 5 production of ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’. There have been lots of rehearsals for the show this week and from the parts I have seen you are all in for a treat next week. For those of you with children in those year groups make sure that you have reserved your tickets for the performances –you certainly do not want to miss out. We also have a ‘Sharing assembly’ on Monday morning so I will also see some of you at that.

Despite the fact that the weather is still not warm I hope you all have a good weekend. If the weather is bad outside it does give us a good excuse to do nothing but relax on the sofa.9

 I would like to start by thanking everyone for their kind words since I returned to school. I am glad to report that my operation was very straightforward and that I have made a ’textbook recovery’ according to my doctor. It has been really good to return to work as I was getting a little stir crazy in my house and as long as I do not pick up anything too heavy for the next few weeks I should be absolutely fine. I have to admit that I think I am in a lot better condition that some people who have not been away from work as there have been some very nasty viruses that have been going around in my absence and some of the staff and children have been quite unwell. I do hope that anyone who has been under the weather starts to feel better soon.

A disappointing thing for me is that because of my operation I was unable to join the Y3/4 PGL trip to Caythorpe Court. I went last year and all the children had a really good time and from what I have heard and from the pictures I have seen they are having another great time this year. These excursions are excellent experiences for the children to have and are only made possible by school staff giving up their free time –time they could be spending with their own families. I am sure you will join with me in thanking them for doing this.

It has been quite an exciting time for the children left behind today because it is ‘Red Nose Day’ and there has been a blur of red in school today. This is a very worthy cause and I would like to thank everyone who has purchased a red nose from us. When I know the total of what we have raised through the sale of the noses I will let you know.

Next week we still have lots to look forward to because we are continuing our Science Week as it had to be cut short because of the Y3/4 trip. On Monday we have an outside company coming in to carry out some exciting experiments with some of the children and I know that the children will really enjoy them. If your child is in Nursery or Reception there are also parent consultations taking place so if you have not made your appointment to see your child’s teacher there is still time to do so.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 

As you all probably know now I am not going to be in for the next two weeks as I am having a minor operation on Monday and then will need 2 weeks off to recover from the operation. I am feeling very strange about it all as I have never been off work for this length of time but I am going to make sure that I follow the doctor’s advice because I do not want to return too quickly and then have to be off again. In my absence Mr Gradwell will be in charge so if you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact him.

Today is a day a lot of children dread because the annual school reports have been sent home for Years 1- 6.  I have read all the reports and I do not think that any of the children have anything too serious to worry about although I do hope that they pay attention to the teachers’ comments –if they follow their advice they cannot help but be successful in their learning. Please remember to sign into Arbor so that we know you have received it.

Even though I am not going to be in there are still going to be exciting things happening in school. The big event for next week is going to be World Book Day which is on Thursday. We have not made a big deal about children getting dressed up this year as book characters which is why we are allowing them to wear their pyjamas if they want to. This is because these are difficult times and we do not want anybody having to spend unnecessary money on costumes that are only worn once. I know of some schools that just allow the children to wear their uniform on World Book Day because of this reason. I know that the teachers have planned lots of fun activities to do with books on this day. 

On Friday 3rd March, Jennifer Bell will be visiting the school to hold an assembly with all the children, and then carry out some writing activities with Yrs 4, 5 and 6. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure her for World Book Day but I know the children will be excited to meet her the following day. 

I hope you all have a good weekend. There is great excitement in my house because Newcastle are in the Carabao Cup final and I have family joining me as they are going to watch it on Sunday –let us hope they are not too disappointed with the result. I look forward to seeing you all again in 2 weeks.

We are all recovering in school from a heavy party night in school last night. The PTA held discos for all the children and they proved to be very popular –thank goodness that we have a holiday to look forward to as I think that all who attended need a rest – there were a few tired looking children coming through the gates today. It is great that we can hold events like this again because they do help bring fun into school life. I would like to thank the PTA for organising this for all the children -especially Emily Taylor who co-ordinated the whole event.

The party theme has continued today because the PTA have also organised a ‘Love Yourself No Uniform’ day so the children have dressed to please themselves. It certainly creates a different atmosphere in school and the children are always happy to express themselves. We really appreciate all these fund raising events that the PTA organise for Little Heath because it does ensure that we have plenty of resources to enhance the provision that we provide for the children. The next project that we are planning to do with the money provided by the PTA is to update our Infant Library and add a substantial amount of books to both libraries. Reading is very important and if the children have high quality books to use it does make them want to read more.

As I am sure you all aware, half-term is upon us and although it has only been a short half term I think we will all enjoy our break. I hope you all have a fabulous holiday and we look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday, 20^TH February. Let us hope that the spring weather starts to arrive on our return because I am getting rather tired of this winter weather.

 I wonder if many of you are feeling like me in that you cannot believe that it is half term next week. It really does not feel like 2 minutes since we were coming back after Christmas –in fact I have to admit that I am still eating my way through my left over Christmas chocolate at home (the healthy new year diet is starting tomorrow). Let us hope that the next half term passes as quickly and the spring will be upon us with the warmer weather that it brings. I am over the cold weather now –especially since the blue skies appear to have gone and we have just been left with the grey and the cold.

 I am afraid I am going to have to have a little moan. I have noticed recently whist I am on the gate in the morning that some parents are driving their cars up to the school entrance to drop their children off. We have asked that you keep the area in front of the school a car free area and in fact we do have yellow zig-zag lines next to the school which you cannot park on between 8.00am – 5.00pm to ensure that we remain car free. However, some people are pulling up in front of the school to allow their children to run in whilst they reverse the car around. I would ask that you respect our wishes and please park away from the school. I know some people do not want to be late but it only means that you have to leave the house 5 minutes earlier to ensure you have time to park up and drop your child off at school. We do not want there to be a horrible accident before parents comply with our wishes.

On a cheerier note we have some good things to look forward to in school next week. On Monday we have a Sharing Assembly and if your child is taking part you will have been notified by letter. We also have our Open Afternoon where parents can come into the school to look at all the learning their children have covered since Christmas. I know the children love to do this and so we look forward to welcoming you between3.00pm -4.30pm on Wednesday.

The big highlight of the week for the children will be the Disco on Thursday night. I know that the PTA has sent you notification of this so if you have not already done so please make sure that you purchase your tickets for your child. A professional DJ has been booked and I know that he has great gimmicks to use with the children such as a bubble and a snow machine. The foundation and KS1 disco starts at 5.30pm and the KS2 disco starts at 7.00pm.

I look forward to seeing many of you at these events next week.

 Thank goodness that the temperature has gone up since the beginning of the week although the weather could still not be described as warm. On Monday it was below freezing and I was certainly wearing many layers so I could be outside. What amazes me is that many of the children do not appear to feel the cold and they were coming outside in just their school shirts - they certainly must have different blood running through their veins compared to me.

You will have noticed that we have been displaying our lost property outside in the hopes that it finds its rightful owner. We have accumulated this because too many children do not have names in their clothing and therefore we cannot return it to whoever it belongs to.  I know I keep saying it but can you please make sure that all your children’s school items are clearly labelled so that we do not end up with a heap of clothes at the end of every term. With everything going up in cost at the moment I would think that this is a time that we ensure we take care of all our things so we do not have to replace them.

I know that next week some of you are going to be inconvenienced by some of our teachers taking strike action but I hope you can understand why they feel it necessary to do so. As the NEU leaflet explained there are problems in education because of a lack of funding and resources. We find it very difficult to recruit because people find that they are better rewarded in other occupations for doing less work and we are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of all the children because we do not have access to all the resources we require through a lack of availability or funding. This situation does need to change if we want our children to develop to their full potential

I do hope that you all have a great weekend. Apparently the weather is going to reach double figures next week which is going to feel tropical compared to the -6 degrees that we started last week with.

 We had a lovely end to our week today because we had the Year 3 assembly this morning. The children were presenting all of the learning they have completed so far in Year 3. Whenever we have assemblies like this I am always amazed by the amount of learning that children do cover in class. I would like to congratulate the children on the great job that they did in presenting their learning and I would like to thank Ms Davis, Mrs Reynolds, Mrs Ameen and Miss Weller for their support in putting the class assembly together (and for all the support with the children’s learning across the whole year).

For some children in Year 3 it was their second performance of the week because many of them, along with children from other KS2 classes, performed at the O2 this week in a ‘Young Voices’ concert. As I explained in my last blog we have not taken part in one of these concerts for 3 years so it was a real delight to be back. All the children who were there really loved taking part in the concert and all of the families who were there, thought it was a really amazing spectacle to watch. Some parents have actually told me that they were ‘blown away’ by how good it was. I am really pleased that everyone involved had such a good time – it is really great that we are taking part in events like this again. Even though I did help out on the day the main thanks for their support should go to Mrs Lawrence and Mrs Robinson who have spent months preparing the children for the concert. I would also like to congratulate all of the children who took part. As well as performing brilliantly they were also really well behaved for the whole day and were a real credit to the school.

I hope you all have a pleasant weekend. I think the weather has certainly let us know that we are in the middle of winter this week but at least it has been bright and sunny -so much better than the rain and darkness that we experienced last week. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 Welcome back after what I hope was a great Christmas break for everyone. I certainly enjoyed having the time off after Christmas because it allowed me to recover from all the events over Christmas and I was really looking forward to getting back to work on Monday morning. The children must have felt the same way because they have settled back into school very well

Next week all the clubs start again which does bring more energy into the school. We have some new clubs starting next week as we now have a Lego Club on a Monday and a dance class starting on Thursday for our younger children. I do think it is good that we have such a diverse choice of clubs for the children to take part in - they do help to enrich the provision that we provide for our pupils.

Next week, as well as all the clubs starting again, we also have some exciting events to look forward to. On Tuesday the choir are going to the 02 to take part in a ‘Young Voices, concert. We have taken part in these concerts in the past but because of Covid they have been cancelled for the last couple of years. It is great that we can take part again and I know that the choir are very excited about performing in such an iconic venue. On Friday we also have the Year 3 assembly taking place. Class assemblies are always enjoyable events and I know that the children do love presenting them to their parents.

That is all for now. I do hope you all have an enjoyable weekend. I know we are experiencing some miserable weather (it is January after all) but I am sure that will not dampen our enjoyment. I look forward to seeing you all again next week.