Hollinwood Latest
It was lovely to welcome the whole school back after the October half term break. The children and young people have had a great first week back and it was lovely to see them so settled after the holidays.
Let’s see what some of the classes have been doing starting with Miss Prescott’s class…
“This week we have begun lots of exciting new topics. In Maths, we refreshed our knowledge of partitioning numbers, we found a really interesting way of using our desks and white board pens to do some partitioning, don’t worry we cleaned them up afterwards! We then moved on to measuring in centimetres and even had a go at meters, we discovered that lots of our smaller equipment in class can be measured using centimetres but bigger objects like the board, tables and doors would need to be measured using metres.
In phonics, we are currently working on a book called ‘Lost’. Lost is all about a kitten called Catkin who went missing! Jacob shared a story with us all about a cat that visits his home and that he thinks his cat may be missing Catkin! We really enjoy playing the ‘sound-word game’ we place 3 sounds on the carpet and the teacher says a word and the children must stand with the sound they heard in the word!
In Science this terms topic is Good vibrations, we listened to lots of different sounds and tried to identified where or who the sound came from using only our hearing skills! We then had a go at describing the sounds by using some scientific terms such as quiet, loud, high, low, and repeating pattern.
In outdoor education the class visited the supermarket with Mrs Bennett. Everyone tried very hard to do good listening, good looking and good walking in the busy shop, the children decided to choose some fruit and biscuits as a reward for making super good choices in the supermarket!”
Now to Miss Sanderson’s form…
“The students in our form are continuing to revise for their upcoming mock exams. I must say, they have all been very mature and are starting to recognise what type of revision techniques work best for them. Not only is revision helping them to prepare for their mock exams but it is also giving them some independence and ownership of their work and time. Myself, Miss Rashid and Miss Harrington are all very proud of them.
During our food technology lesson this week students created meringue baskets using the process of denaturation and agitation. Lots of high skilled techniques were used including piping and whisking the egg whites to a soft peak. They had a lot of fun creating their final product whilst also developing their knowledge around what are low, medium and high skills.
In our Geography lesson this week we looked at the different economic sectors and what factors could affect its location. Students chose an economic sector to research and developed a poster to present to the class.
During computer science, students have been developing their websites and have all come up with different ideas they would like to include such as colours, fonts and images. They have also been thinking about what they could name their websites and how to make it more appealing.
All students have been working really hard during their English lessons! They have now moved onto English language and have been developing their skills in how to structure their paragraphs whilst also being aware of how long each section is taking them to complete. At the moment, students are looking at a section of ‘War horse’ and analysing how and why the writer has wrote it from the horses’ point of view.”
Miss Sanderson, Miss Rashid and Miss Harrington.
Mr Heap’s classes…
Primary PE
“We have had lots going on within the PE department at Hollinwood Academy. Primary classes had lots of fun taking part in basketball last half term and lower KS2 have now moved on to gymnastics and dance and upper KS2 are developing their football skills.
We had a number of children from Mrs Woodhead’s class represent school in a MAT boccia tournament. All of the students enjoyed and engaged positively in the competition. Well done!
Unfortunately, the primary football tournament was cancelled due to facility issues but we are hoping that Hollinwood Academy are able to attend this half term.”
Secondary PE
“Within our secondary PE curriculum offer last half term students had the opportunity to take part in basketball. A number of our students participated in a wider school basketball tournament Hollinwood Academy entered a KS3 team and a KS4 team into the tournament and all students displayed resilience, hard work and fantastic team work.
This half term within PE students are participating in dodgeball. So far students have learnt the rules of the game and have enjoyed the competitive elements.”
Extra-Curricular Activities
“A number of students from secondary are now participating in our weekly after school football club. Students are developing their skill levels each week and enjoying the opportunity to play sport against other students from different schools.”
Outdoor Education
“Within Outdoor Education children and young people have been developing how to keep safe in their local communities. They have developed road safety, stranger danger and are continuously developing their confidence in their local communities. Children and young people are now moving onto accessing supermarkets, shops and town centres where they will get the opportunity to develop vital life skills, communication and budgeting.”
Duke of Edinburgh Award
“Our DofE groups have been accessing a range of different terrains and environments. Students have been building their stamina and confidence and have walked some longer distances. A number of our students have now started to complete their community volunteer hours and this half term we are going to start to build our physical activity hours through sport, orienteering and indoor rock climbing.”
Miss Rudge organised an art trip for our year 8 and 9 students to the ‘Van Gogh Alive’ exhibition…
“Wow! What an amazing trip we had on Tuesday! All pupils in year 8 and 9 attended the ‘Van Gogh sensory experience’ at Media City. Having dazzled over 8 million visitors across 75 cities worldwide, the most visited immersive, multi-sensory experience in the world is making its hotly anticipated debut at Media City this autumn for an exclusive three month run.
Hosted within a stunning, purpose-built venue at Media City, this Covid-safe and family-friendly experience is anticipated to become the North’s biggest visitor attraction; providing a truly world-class cultural experience in the heart of Greater Manchester’s iconic cultural hub.
Our pupils explored Van Gogh on a journey through the Netherlands, Arles, Saint Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise, where he created many of his timeless masterpieces. Set to an evocative classical score, a thrilling display of over 3,000 inspirational images transformed every surface that surrounded us.
At Van Gogh Alive, we didn’t just look at his paintings, we stepped inside them and felt their power! We had such a lovely time and once again our students were a credit to us!”
Miss Rudge
Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and SEALs…
Mrs Lerigo’s STAR of the week is Oliver for amazing engagement and communicating with staff in his own wonderful way. Lots of smiles and giggles. Lovely week.
Mrs Lerigo’s SEAL Superstar is Harrison for always being willing to have a passenger on the outside bikes and ride other children around the playground.
Miss Pettigrew’s STAR of the week is Noel for joining in and engaging with sensory trays lots this week. Good Work.
Miss Pettigrew’s SEAL Superstar is Cody for gaining adults attention to point out pictures or objects.
Miss Marston’s STAR of the week is Mysha for working hard on her reading and writing. I am so proud of all your hard work this term Mysha, well done!!
Miss Parkinson’s STAR of the week is Mia for independent work in attention autism.
Miss Parkinson’s SEAL Superstar is Lewis for being a good friend.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR this week is Jared for a fantastic week!
Mr Corrigan’s SEAL Superstar is George for really good listening this week.
Mr Corrigan’s WOW moment goes to Blaire. Well done!
Mrs Halkyard’s STAR of the week is Tyler for trying hard even when things have been tricky
Mrs Halkyard’s SEAL of the week is Lucas for identifying how we can look after our wellbeing when online.
Mrs Halkyard’s DOJO winner is Lillie. Well done!
Miss Prescott’s STAR of the week is Lucas for working hard in all of his lessons.
Miss Prescott’s SEAL’s of the week are Madison for apologising after upsetting a friend and being brave and Zack for accepting an apology from a friend after having a disagreement.
Miss Collinge’s STARs of the week is Lenni for an amazing week and trying hard to make friends.
Miss Collinge’s SEAL Superstar is Lenni for being a caring helpful friend.
Miss Simms’ STAR of the week is Logan for showing good listening to his teachers and making the right choice in class.
Miss Simms’ SEAL Superstar is Evan for asking children in his class to play a game in soft play.
Mrs Woodhead’s STAR of the week is Hamza for excellent maths work
Mrs Woodhead’s SEAL Superstar is Lewis for sharing his toys and being a good friend.
Miss Tootill’s STAR of the week is Daniel for having a great week and making the right choices.
Miss Tootill’s SEAL of the week is Ethan for being a good friend and for having a positive relationship with my peers.
Miss Tootill’s DOJO winner is Thomas. Well done!
This week, our Story Bag winners are:
KS1: Oliver
KS2: Logan
I hope you enjoy the little suitcase full of books with your families at home.
Now to our ‘Commitment to Learning Stars’:
On Monday, we have our new school business manager Tania Tushingham joining our team and she is just as excited to start as we are to having her here at Hollinwood Academy.
Don’t forget that we have our pastoral parents evening taking place on Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th November 2021. This is an opportunity to speak to your child’s class/form teacher, to discuss how your child has settled into their new class and form and the progress they have made.
The meeting can be held face to face or via telephone and you will have a choice of an evening appointment on either Tuesday 9th November (3:00pm to 5:45pm) or Thursday 11th November (3:00pm to 4:45pm). Please can I ask that on the day of the meeting if you are suffering from any covid-19 symptoms or have covid-19 that you do not attend the meeting and contact the school office to re-arrange.
Over the October half term, Mr Hartley has accepted a new role as an Assistant Headteacher of Key Stage 5 at Firwood High School, Bolton. This is an exciting opportunity and we wish him every success as he will be leaving us in December.
Mr Hartley has worked at Hollinwood Academy as a KS4 teacher since September 2018 and lead practitioner for careers and employability since 2020. He has made a valuable contribution to the learning and development of the young people and the school.
I am sure you will join me and the rest of the staff, Governors and Trustees of Hollinwood Academy and the New Bridge Group in wishing Mr Hartley well as he begins a new chapter in his career.
If you are taking part in the bonfire night events this weekend I really hope the weather stays nice so everyone can enjoy the firework displays. We are heading to our local cricket club on Saturday to enjoy the bonfire and fireworks with family and friends. It will be an early night as both of my girls have their first Stand Out UK dance competition all day on Sunday in Sheffield. They are so excited to be able to compete in competitions again since COVID19.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Millard