Another lovely week for weather, so we’ll start with some photographs of our Year 5 and 6 pupils playing outside..

My focus this week is on Mrs Mayall and Mrs Halkyard’s upper Key Stage 2 classes. In particular I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to Ryan S and Ryan P who have been subject to the dreaded SATs. They have managed to remain calm and appeared stress-free throughout the tests (which is more than can be said for the staff!) Miss Mistry tells me that the tests this year were among the hardest she has seen. Although they took it all in their stride you can see the relief in their faces in this photograph taken as they returned to the class after their last test..

You can also see how supportive the rest of the class have been and here is a picture of a lovely ‘group hug’ celebrating the end of the assessments..

The rest of the class have also been hard at work, and here are some photographs of their Maths work, using data analysis to create bar graphs..

They have also been busy in Science, setting up an experiment to see if they can separate salt and water once they have been mixed together, and they have been making observations of this and writing up their results on a daily basis..

Both classes have also been very active in PE, practising agility skills and performing various exercises as part of a rigorous circuit training activity. Miss Holland managed to gain some super action shots..

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The two classes have worked together in PSHE (Personal Social and Health Education) where they have been building relationships and their understanding of each other. The activities included looking closely at each other and discussing what was the same/different, and also noting each child’s name on a piece of paper, pinning these up around the room and then writing positive comments on every paper. These were read to the pupils which did wonders for their self-esteem and confidence. With the two groups together – the established class alongside our newest group – this provided a perfect opportunity to get to know each other better and form new friendships..

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Both classes have been following the topic of World War 2. This has included considering how life was for people living in Britain during the war. Mrs Mayall’s class researched some rationing recipes and made their own outcakes..

Macauley particularly enjoyed washing up. Apparently he tells us that he has never washed up before – well, here’s the evidence for Macauley’s mum..

He made a good job of it, so make the most of it at home!

Another aspect of home-life during the war involved making do and making the best of old and worn clothes. On the theme of ‘make do and mend’ the classes worked well at stitching up holes in old socks. They enjoyed the sewing and found it very relaxing and all made great attempts at darning. Here you can see Mrs Mayall modelling the worn socks!

and the pupils ‘making do and mending’..

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This week I would also like to say how well our pupils coped with some of the changes we experienced due to the unforeseen closure of New Bridge School on Wednesday. This did involve a large number of unknown staff being in the building, as well as some changes to the timetable. Although some pupils find change a real challenge, they were well supported and had a positive day. It was nice for some of the New Bridge staff to see some of the work our pupils are producing. We certainly had a lot of admiration from the staff group who were working in our art room, they were extremely impressed by the wonderful art work on the walls.

This week’s ‘Star of the Week’ awards have gone to:

Mrs Dunsdon’s class – Ethan for great effort and improvement in letter formation and phonics..

Mrs Lomax’ class – Nathan for fantastic learning in science and helping other children make good choices.

Mr Corrigan’s class – Lewis E for being kind and sensible at play time every day this week..

Miss Parkinson’s class – Lucas for joining in with circle time and doing great work all week..

 

Mrs Halkyard’s class – this week Mrs Halkyard was looking for the most polite and well-mannered pupil – Chrissy..

Mrs Halkyard also gave a special award to both Ryan S and Ryan P for having such an excellent attitude towards their SATs tests..

Mrs Mayall’s class – Sophie for great work in class and gaining full points for behaviour.

And my ‘Head Teacher’s Awards’ go to:

Ryan P and Ryan S – my decision today has been very easy to make as it has been quite an exceptional week for these two. I am extremely proud of both Ryan and Ryan as they have worked extremely hard, focused well, performed their very best and managed to remain calm and have a positive week throughout all of their SATs testing. Well done, Ryan and Ryan!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend. I have two birthdays at home to celebrate – my son Hal will be 19 on Saturday and little Ava will be 7 on Sunday so we have the bouncy castle booked and hope the sunshine continues!

Sarah

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