Headteacher weekly blog week beginning 28th January
Date: 3rd Feb 2019 @ 10:22am
Well the snow finally came once again. It appears now that snow seems to fall in the early months of the year as opposed to November or December. In these adverse weather conditions we of course do everything we can to keep the school open. When there is snow, we risk assess the situation which informs our decision on whether to close or remain open. Should we make the decision to close, an emergency message will appear on the website, a text message will be sent to parents and a message will be given on the local radio. Thankfully, we have be able to stay open and in these icy conditions we try to esnure all paths into school are fully gritted.
I was really pleased with the Year 1 pupils this week. They have been working so hard on their phonics and it showed in their phonic test scores! The staff have been working incredibly hard - Mrs Pimparel was even stood at the front of the dinner hall line with phonics flash cards to remind the children of their learning; she is never one to miss out on an opportunity!
I was in Reception this week and was massively impressed! So much so I took to twitter to share photographs of all their hard work!. The children had a great day making their space stations with their parents; they made a great display. Now, the class have moved to their Owl Babies text. The environment was wonderful, with engaging tasks for letter sounds, pen grip, number work and writing all related to the text. The children are now being encouraged to write by having their work shared on the WOW wall for writing. We are already seeing the impact of our new writing curriculum and I must thank the Early Years staff for their wonderful work.
We had another sporting success this week. Mr Firkins takes all the competitions we enter so seriously. He spent a lot of time working with the Year 3 and 4 pupils on improving their indoor athletics skills. Along with Mr Bond, he selected a team to compete with other local schools at the Heber. Mr Firkins was so commited to the cause that he drove all the way from Wallasey just to catch the last half an hour! It was worth it though as he got to see the team lift the Broxton Indoor Athletics Shield with a huge points score. Mr Bond tells me I will have to invest in a bigger trophy cabinet in the main entrance! Well done to all the pupils involved; you gave it your all and did so well.
It has been a long wait but the playground equipment is finally being installed. The PTA have kindly covered the majority of the costs. We already have the gym equipment which the children have enjoyed using. Next week, the 5 - a - side goals will go in along with the basketball hoops and ball shooter. The benches will also go in for the quiet seating area. The following week, the playground markings will also be finished, which will include our interactive Golden Mile track. Once that is down, the children will be encouraged to run as many laps as they can and it will be recorded on a tracking system. We will set up class battles to see which class runs the furthest - let battle commence!
Next week, we are doing work in class to recognise Mental Health Week. We have done a lot of work on physical health but this week we will focus on a healthy mind with mindfullness sessions, breathing techniqes and other activities and ideas. We will also squeeze in Safer Internet Day, which relates in some way to a healthy mind, and the pupils will learn how to keep safe when on-line.