As I predicted in my last blog this week has passed in a blur and not only is it the end of term but also the end of my working life. I have thought about this day over the years and I feel totally different to how I imagined I would. I cannot quite believe that it is all over and I do not think that I will realise that it is until September when I do not have to start a school year again. I just hope I do not get in the car and drive over here –that would be embarrassing!

I have had a lovely week though and I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make it that. It actually started last Friday when I was presented with my lovely gifts from the parents at the school Summer Event. It was a lovely surprise and I would like to thank everyone who contributed towards my presents. I received some lovely jewellery, some wine, chocolates and a John Lewis voucher. During this week I have had a lot of people that I used to work with dropping in to say goodbye which has been lovely. Then yesterday I was treated to a wonderful assembly when all the classes put on a little act to say goodbye to me. It was really touching and a lovely thing to do and has given me another lovely memory of Little Heath. This was followed by the annual Teachers versus Year 6 Rounders match and I am really pleased to say that the teachers won this year – that is certainly a good memory for me to take with me.

I have touched upon the Year 6 and I think that it is important for me to mention them because today is their last day as well and we will be sad to see them go. Last night they treated all their families and friends to their end of year performance which was called ‘We’re all Going on a Summer Holiday.’ They really did themselves proud and I know everyone who watched it thought it was an excellent performance. This morning we had their ‘Leavers Assembly’ which was even more poignant than usual for me because it will be the last one that I will ever see.  At the moment preparations are in place for the ‘Leavers Parade’ when the whole school come together to clap the Year 6 off the premises and I will be joining them this year because I am leaving – I just hope that I do not get too emotional as I pass through all of the children.

All that is left for me to say, for the last time, is that I hope you all have a wonderful summer. It has been an absolute pleasure to work at Little Heath but I am ready for the next chapter of my life. I wish you all every success for the future and I leave happy knowing that I am leaving the future of Little Heath Primary School in the very capable hands of Mr Gradwell.

 School has been a hive of activity today as preparations have been taking place for our PTA Summer Event this afternoon. The children have been very excited all day in anticipation of this event and I know that they will have a good time this afternoon when school has finished and they can go and try all of the activities. We were worried at the beginning of the week as to how the event would be as the weather forecast was not good but thankfully it has not rained which always helps to make it a much more enjoyable experience for everyone attending.

I am sure that, like us, you are all in countdown mode as it is only one week until the summer holidays and I am sure, like us, you are looking forward to the break. For me it will be my last week as a head teacher so it is going to be tinged with some sadness but I am determined to enjoy it because it will be the last time I have the end of term experience. It is so busy in school though that I am sure the week is going to fly by.

Next week is all about the Year 6 as it is their last week with us. On Wednesday they are performing their end of year production for the school before they perform it to their parents on Thursday night. On Friday morning it is their Leavers Assembly which is always an emotional experience where we share their experiences and memories of Little Heath with the whole school. After that they have their Leavers Party to look forward to on Friday night. It is always sad when our Year 6 leave us but we do hope that they feel well prepared for the next stage of their education and that they take lots of happy memories of Little Heath with them.

I hope you have a great weekend. I do not know what your plans are but for those of you who are sport fans there is a lot to watch what with the Wimbledon finals and England football team being in the final of the Euros – something we did not think possible a couple of weeks ago. We may all be celebrating on Monday morning if we do win –I know that there will certainly be big celebrations in my house if that happens. As you know we are having a soft opening on Monday and the children do not have to be in until 10.00am although we will still be open at the usual time. Let us see what the weekend brings.

 It has been a bit wild in school today because it has been ‘Break the Rules Day.’ I have seen many infringements of the school uniform rules but it has all been for a good cause because everybody who broke a school rule had to bring in some wine or chocolate for the PTA summer event next week. We now have a big pile of goodies in school ready for next Friday. I must make sure that I do not break any more rules by sampling some of them before next week.

We also had a lovely end to the week because we had the Reception class assembly this morning. This is always a much loved event because it is their first assembly and is looked forward to by all their families. The assembly did not disappoint and the Reception children put on a very good performance – especially when you consider that it was their first one. With all the singing and dancing it was like watching a West End show. I would like to thank them for giving us such an enjoyable end to the week. I would also like to thank Mrs Sheehan and all her staff for helping them put together such a good assembly.

Last week on this day the Year 6 held their Apprentice event and I am delighted to tell you that they managed to raise £652. The winning stall was Fun Time who sold some pocket money toys and coloured the children’s hair with chalks. The charity they have decided to donate to is Cancer Research and it is certainly a very worthy cause to support.

As it is very close to the end of term there is a lot going on in school as you will see from next week. On Monday we have our final Sharing assembly of the year when all the children who missed their Sharing Assembly throughout the year can present their learning to all their families and friends. On Wednesday Year 2 and Year 5 are going to Frinton and then on Thursday most of Year 6 will be visiting their new secondary school whilst in school our current children will be spending some time with their new teacher for next year.   We will also be visited by our new Reception and Nursery children. In the evening our current parents will be able to meet their child’s new teacher at either 4.30pm or 5.30pm. If you cannot make it the class teacher will put their presentation onto their blog - they will not be able to do individual meetings for parents who cannot make it. We will be ending the week on Friday with the PTA Summer Event which runs from the end of school until 5.30pm.

With all that to get ready for we will certainly need a weekend to help us rest before next week. The England football team are also playing over the weekend but at least the match is on Saturday so if they do not do well we will have Sunday to get over it. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 

 I am typing this watching some very busy Year 6 pupils prepare for the ‘The Apprentice.’ The Year 6 always get very excited by this event and the rest of the school gets very excited waiting to see what all the stalls are going to be. As I have explained before the winning stall is the one that raises the most money and I will inform you which stall won next week. All profits from this event do go to a charity chosen by the children.

It has been a busy week in school because we have had parent consultations. Although this is a lot of work for the staff they are pleased to catch up with parents because they know that the better informed parents are about their child the better able they are able to support them which then benefits the school. All the parents that I have spoken to appear to be very happy with how their child is progressing and that is always good news for us. I have to say though I would be surprised if I did get a lot of complaints because I am sure that as caring parents if you were not happy with how we were supporting your child you would take them to another establishment

I looked at the calendar today and I cannot believe that it is only 3 weeks until I leave. Time appears to have flown since I made my announcement back in January and now the end is nigh –I do not think that I will actually believe that it is all over until it is September and I do not have to return to Little Heath.

Next week we have another exciting Friday in school because it is the PTA ‘ Break the Rules’ day when the children can exchange some of the items they normally wear for those that are normally disallowed such as coloured socks and nail polish. In exchange for this the children must bring either wine, biscuits or sweets for the tombola stall on Fun Friday which is on Friday 12^th July straight after school. 

  I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend. Let us hope that the England football team can win on Sunday night so we can all come to school with smiles on our faces on Monday morning.

 They say that times flies by when you are having fun and that is certainly true of this week. We have held our Talent Night and our Sports day this week which has meant that it has been an action packed time in school this week so the week has just flown by. Before we know it the summer holiday is going to be here and I will be disappearing into the sunset.

The Talent Night was a huge success and certainly demonstrated that Little Heath does have a lot of talent. All the children that took part did themselves proud and put on an excellent show. I would like to thank all the children who took part for all the effort they put into their performances and I would like to thank the PTA for organising all the refreshments. I would also like to thank my wonderful staff as well for their support in running the evening.  I have been very lucky in my time here to work with staff who have been willing to give up their free time to allow us to put on events such as these which really do enrich the school experience for the children in Little Heath.

Following on quickly from our Talent Night was Sports Day and fortunately the weather was kind to us and the sun shone. I was present for both parts of the day and I was really proud of all the effort the children put in to the events but unfortunately there can only be one winning team and this year it was Osborne house and I would like to congratulate them. I would also like to thank all the staff who again worked hard to make it such a success and I am sure you would join me in giving special thanks to Mr Mills who has to spend days preparing for the event. He organises really enjoyable activities for the children to take part in to ensure that children of all sporting abilities are able to take part.

Next week is another busy week as we are holding our parent consultations. Each appointment is for a maximum of 10 minutes. If, after meeting with the class teacher, you feel you need more time than this, please arrange a separate time to meet with them after the consultation evening. If everybody runs over by even a couple of minutes it can mean that parents coming at a later time have a long wait or are late for their second appointment if they have another child in the school.

On Friday Year 6 are also holding their ‘Apprentice Event’ which the children find hugely enjoyable. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this event the Year 6 (in groups) organise a series of stalls or events which the other children have an opportunity to try out for a small amount of money. The activity that raises the most amount of money is the winner. All money raised does go to charity. For the children to participate they will need to bring a small amount of cash into school on Friday.

At last summer appears to have arrived so I hope you all find some time to enjoy it this weekend. I look forward to seeing you al again on Monday morning. 

 It has been quite a quiet week in school even though we have been carrying out the Phonics screening in Year 1 and the multiplication tests in Year 4. I think it is a credit to how the school organises the tests that it does not impact on the daily running of the school and we can maintain a pleasant atmosphere in school. Although we do strive to achieve the highest standards in the children’s learning I do not think that children in primary schools should be stressed by examinations. All we expect is that they apply themselves to their learning to the best of their ability.

Next week will definitely not be a quiet week in school as we have our Talent Night on Wednesday night and our Sports day on Thursday (weather permitting). All the children who are taking part in the Talent Night have been selected and hopefully they have been rehearsing hard at home in preparation for the evening. We will be holding a rehearsal for the show on Monday morning so the children should bring in all the props they need for their act on that day. We have not held a talent night for a long time so I am looking forward to hosting one again.

Thursday is the day of annual Sports Day so let us all hope that it does not rain. All the children get very excited at the prospect of this day because they all want to do well for their school house and it is great to see them competing hard trying to win as many points as possible for their team. The children in the Foundation stage and Key Stage One take part in their events in the morning and they start at 9.15am and the Key Stage Two children take part in the afternoon and their event starts at 1.30pm. The winning house will be announced in the afternoon but we also make an announcement in assembly so that the younger children know which house is the winner. Remember if we do not think that the Sports Day can go ahead we will inform you as soon as possible. Reserve Sports Day is Friday.

I hope you all have a great weekend. The European Football Championship is starting so I expect many of you will be glued to your television sets on Sunday night watching England taking part in their first game.

I hope you all had a good half term break although it does feel like it was a long time ago when in fact it has only been a week. It is amazing how you can feel like you have never had a holiday when you have only been back at work for a day.

It has been a relatively quiet week in school this week as Year 6 have been on their school journey. They were at PGL in Weymouth. Then, after having a day to recover from all their exertions, they have spent today at ‘Go Ape’. I joined them for their activities and they have all been telling me about the great time they had while they were away. I am really pleased to hear this because I think that these type of school experiences are very important in a child’s life and we want to give them lots of good memories to take with them when they leave us. Mr Gradwell told me that he received many compliments about the Year 6 whilst they were away. It is great to hear how they have been a credit to their parents, the school and most importantly themselves.

A big event that took place in school this week was the auditions for the Talent Night. We have not run one of these since before the outbreak of Covid and I know that all the children who auditioned are excited at the prospect at performing on stage. As the Year 6 have been away this week I will have to audition them on Monday and then I will get the letters out so the families of the children taking part Know who they are early next week.  I have seen the acts that are going to take part and I am sure we are in for a very good night so make sure to purchase your tickets early to avoid disappointment.

I hope you all have a great weekend. It does look like we are going to have no rain so at least that is something to look forward to.