HWA Blog - 22.03.2024
Spring has officially arrived at Hollinwood Academy, and our children and young people are embracing the season by decorating their classroom doors with creative Easter themes. It is always great to witness the enthusiasm and effort that our classes put into these colourful displays.
In addition to the Easter themed door decorations, this week our staff took a closer look at the learning that is taking place throughout the school. Staff looked at books, the use of iPads and staff looked at the positive parental involvement on Evidence for Learning. The staff were overwhelmed by all the positive parental engagement, the staff team would like to encourage all parents and carers to continue engaging with the app, especially if you have been enjoying the insights into the wonderful learning experiences that have been shared.
Our termly governors meeting also took place this week, and we were delighted to welcome two new governors, Becky Halkyard and Anne Madden. It was an excellent opportunity to showcase the outstanding educational practices happening within our school. The meeting provided valuable insights and discussions on various matters relating to the governance of the school. Our spring newsletter will feature an exclusive section dedicated to our new governors. We urge everyone to keep an eye out for the newsletter, as it will provide further details about Becky and Anne, as well as other important updates and events happening at Hollinwood Academy.
This week some of the secondary classes participated in science week. Here is a short account of the event:
**Fake News - scientific investigation**
Across the secondary corridor there has been a scientific investigation taking place to investigate “Who done it?” …. The beloved Miss Bouttell was unfortunately murdered on 20.03.2024 and it was down to years 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 to solve the crime and apprehend the murderer.
The students had to work in groups using their scientific knowledge, investigation skills and the evidence provided to catch the murderer.
The students showed great teamwork, good communication skills and most importantly had fun working together. Well done to everyone who took part, especially those who solved the case. A big thank you to Mrs Daniels, Mrs Duncan & Miss Ross for being suspects and our lovely victim Miss Bouttell. But the credit for such a wonderful investigation goes to Mrs Linekar, who spent days creating the activity, differentiating it for each year group, and most importantly being the MURDERER.
Secondary Science Week
Now to Mr Corrigan’s form…
English
"Our chosen literacy book this half term is, "There's a Rang-tan in my Bedroom". This story addresses important environmental and conservation themes and the children have really enjoyed the topic. Using the Talk for Writing approach, our key focus has been retelling and innovating the story through actions, story maps and writing. On World Book Day the class proudly shared their own favourite books from home and school."
MCN - English
MCN - World Book Day
Maths
"Our maths topic his half term is Measurement. Our lessons have been specifically focussed on the exploration of two main areas: length and height, and mass, capacity, and temperature. During our study of length and height, we have learned to compare and measure the length and height of various objects confidently. In the realm of mass, capacity, and temperature, we have learned to estimate and measure mass, capacity, and temperature accurately through games, hands on activities and problem-solving tasks."
Science
"This half term our science focus is Light, diving into the topic of light sources. This fascinating topic has involved exploring how light is produced, understanding different sources of light, and uncovering the properties of light. We have engaged in interactive experiments and discussions to deepen our understanding of key concepts, such as reflection and shadows. For Science Day we took part in several sensory experiments, which the children loved."
MCN - Science
Geography
"In geography we will be examining different types of settlements, such as rural and urban communities, discussing how they are formed, and the various factors that contribute to their development and sustainability. We have used this topic to explore the human and physical geography in our local area."
MCN - Geography
PSHRE
"In PSHRE this half term we have been exploring the importance of rules and how to care for others in our Citizenship topic. The class understand that animals have different needs to that of babies and young children, through learning how to care for them. We have also explored our differences and similarities, celebrating both."
MCN - PSHRE
Art
"Is it Art? Our Woven Art topic this half term has focused on developing the children’s ability to express opinions about artists, such as Cecilia Vicuña, while using creative techniques for cognitive development. We have shown great resilience with our plaiting, knotting, weaving and threading."
MCN - Art
Now to Miss Waterman’s form…
"CWN have had a busy term, we’ve been working hard to complete our BTEC entry levels and prepare for transitions onto new things post Hollinwood Academy.
Whilst our focus has been our assessments and preparation for transitions, this half term we have loved exploring our ‘Dinosaur’ topic! Our tough tray was transformed into Jurassic Park out of artwork created by the students. We’ve looked at all types of dinosaurs, what they like to eat and their size; a class favourites are the Brachiosaurus and Triceratops. The students loved digging for fossils, and we even spotted some dinosaur footprints in our classroom!
Maths has been all about weights and measurements, comparing different items within the class to find the heaviest; the students have enjoyed working together. In English students have been reading to individual abilities and working on spellings and grammar within sentence structures. We spent some time exploring the new library area within school and found some new books to bring back to class. The students have enjoyed stick puppets of ‘Hideasauras’ and acting out the ‘search’ they go on. As the weather improves we have been outside for Science looking at different habitats and searching for birds. In Food Technology with Ms Duffy students have been preparing starters, mains and deserts, using different equipment safety and cleaning up as part of their BTEC assessment. Music is always a favourite in our class and the students love using the boomwhackers, following tutorial videos. Each day we take part in a variety of sensory activities and have been focusing on group work; turn taking, problem solving, addressing peers and independence. Outdoor education has been focused on safety when access the community and places to eat and drink. The students have been great ordering their own food and drink choices and behaving appropriately.
We cannot believe there are only a few terms left until the students move on to future adventures! Myself and Rachel are looking forward to making these terms the best ones yet and continue to develop and grow in preparation for transitions to further education and adulthood!"
CWN - 22.3.24
Now to Mr Gold’s…
"This half terms topic for the year 7’s has been about acids and alkalis and the chemical reaction of metals and non-metals. They have enjoyed this topic as it has involved lots of practical work testing the pH of different substances and seeing what happens when you mix an acid and an alkali together. This week they have been learning about how metals and non-metals react with oxygen, recording their observations and learning how to write the reactions as a chemical equation.
Year 8 have been learning about waves. This week’s focus has been sound waves. They have learned how they are created and travel. They have also been learning about how we hear sounds including the structure and function of the ear as well as comparing the hearing of different animals.
The year 9 topics this half term have been electricity and magnetism. They have had fun building different electric circuits and seeing what affects the current and voltage in a circuit. This week they have been learning about magnetism. They have plotted magnetic fields, made their own compass, and investigated what affects the strength of an electromagnet.
The year 10’s and 11’s have continued to work hard on their GCSE combined science course this half term. The year 10’s have just completed a topic on electric circuits and electricity in the home. The year 11’s have completed units on radioactivity and electromagnetism. This week they have started learning about states of matter and investigating what happens when a solid, liquid or gas change state."
PGD - 22.3.24
Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA Creative STARs...
Mrs Lerigo’s STAR of the week is Abu Bakr excellent work creating a feather owl and following instructions.
Mrs Lerigo’s HWA Creative STAR is Jack for drawing the most beautiful daffodils and then painting his picture with water colour paints.
Miss Bramley’s STAR of the week is Zachary Adshead for being so innovative with his story telling.
Miss Bramley’s HWA Creative STAR is Abdul for his amazing writing skills and showing an improvement week on week.
Miss Pietraszewska’s STAR of the week is Alfie for being super creative in communicating his needs, wants and ideas with his teachers. Keep going Alfie!
Miss Pietraszewska’s HWA Creative STAR is Roman for exceptional engagement during our science lesson about 'Caring for our planet.' Great work, Roman!
Miss Bailey’s STAR of the week is Ohud for excellent engagement in our sensory story sessions this week and using some great language.
Miss Bailey’s HWA Creative STAR is Noel for amazing communication, using sign he has learnt in school to communicate at home for the first time!
Mrs Quinn’s STAR of the week is Kai for attending his Outdoor Education session this week.
Mrs Quinn’s HWA Creative STAR is William for beginning to point to the ‘toilet’ visual this week too!
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the week is Simisola for wonderful engagement with her PSHRE work this week.
Mr Corrigan’s HWA Creative star is Louis for good listening at playtime.
Mr Corrigan’s WOW moments go to ...
Maya & Louis for being proud of their friends.
Everyone! For a brilliant Music lesson. Well done!
Miss Boothroyd and Miss McDonald’s STAR of the week is Blaire, for turning her behaviour around and continuing to be positive.
Miss Boothroyd and Miss McDonald’s HWA Creative STAR is Xander, for using his imagination when completing his art work.
Mrs Davies’ STAR of the week is Ijaaz for improved shared attention during communication when staff have modelled an activity.
Mrs Davies’ HWA Creative STAR is Shayan for designing an amazing house for the gingerbread man.
Miss Gittins’ STAR of the week is for being brave and resilient after a tricky week
Miss Gittins’ HWA Creative STAR is Nabiha for designing a wonderful mini beast house
Our Super Spellers are Ollie, Zakariya, Nabiha, Hadley, Joshua and Caitlin.
Miss Matthew’s STAR of the week is Ebon for showing an improved effort in all his lessons this week
Miss Matthew’s HWA Creative STAR is Rafael for his competition entry for Art.
Miss Tootill’s STAR of the week is Billy for recognising his medical needs and having a mature approach when dealing with it.
Miss Tootill’s HWA Creative STAR is Jake for his creative writing in English.
STARS of the Week (22.3.24)
The Primary scientist of the week is Harrison!
Well done to our secondary Hollinwood Academy STARs this week:
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Needham
