Friday 11th September

A very warm welcome to all of our new children, young people and families joining us this year, and welcome back to all of our existing children, young people and their families. It has been wonderful to see everyone return after the summer break and to begin another exciting academic year together.

The first week has been busy, as always, and in many ways, it feels as though we have never been away. However, it has been fantastic to welcome so many new faces to Hollinwood Academy and see children and young people settling into their new classes and routines so positively.

As I have walked around the school this week, I have been pleased by the calm, happy and settled atmosphere throughout the building. Classrooms have been full of enthusiasm, curiosity and excitement for learning, and it has been wonderful to see relationships quickly forming and reconnecting after the summer holidays.

I am particularly proud of our former Year 6 children who have made the transition into Year 7 so successfully. Moving into secondary education is an important milestone, and they have approached this new chapter with confidence, maturity and resilience. Equally, our new Reception children have made an excellent start to their school journey. Their gradual transition has helped them settle in well, and it has been a joy to see their growing confidence and independence each day.

Starting a new school year always brings a sense of possibility and excitement. There are so many opportunities ahead for our children and young people to learn, grow, develop new skills and create lasting memories. Our staff team is looking forward to supporting every child to achieve their very best and ensuring they feel safe, valued and inspired throughout the year.

We have an exciting academic year ahead, packed with excellent learning opportunities, enrichment activities, special events and celebrations. While we are only just beginning our new school year, dare I say it, the countdown to our festive Christmas activities has already started.

Thank you to all of our families for your continued support and partnership. Together, we can make this another successful and rewarding year for every child and young person at Holllinwood Academy.

Here's to a fantastic year ahead.

Let’s see what has been happening in the classroom.

In Mrs Sutcliffe and Mrs Lerigo class….

We have loved meeting all the new reception children this week and getting to know all about them and their families. Miss Callan, Miss Emma, Miss Lindsey and Miss Kim have been so impressed with how well they have adapted to new faces, new environments and new routines in their very first week at school.

The children have enjoyed playing in our lovely new classroom, sitting and listening for bucket time and using amazing communication for our choosing group times too. They have all done some fabulous learning drawing themselves, making handprints and sticking their photos of their features onto their faces.

Some of the children enjoyed their first trip on the bus for our outdoor education sessions and the others have had PE with Mr Ben in the hall too. It’s been a very busy week and I am sure we will all sleep well this weekend. But we can’t wait for another week of fun next week when our morning children swap to afternoons and our afternoon children find out all about our mornings. Thank you so much to all the lovely parents who have been so friendly and helpful and made a big impact on their children’s first week at school.

ELO CSU 11.9.26

In Mrs Young’s class…..

What a fantastic week it has been in our Nurture Class. The children have done an excellent job settling back into learning mode and have shown a really positive attitude towards their lessons. Their hard work, resilience, and enthusiasm have been wonderful to see.

This week in English, we launched our exciting new scheme of work, ‘Cirque du Freak’. The pupils immediately engaged with the story and thoroughly enjoyed a prediction activity where they used their inference skills to deduce what the book might be about from clues and images. It was fantastic to hear their creative ideas and thoughtful reasoning as they shared their predictions with the class.

We have had some brilliant class discussions during guided reading. The pupils explored the pros and cons of Roman Britain, showing great maturity as they debated different viewpoints and supported their opinions with evidence. Their contributions demonstrated excellent listening and speaking skills.

In Geography, we have been learning about some of the biggest rivers in the world. The children have shown great curiosity and have enjoyed discovering fascinating facts about these incredible natural features.

Our History topic, London Through Time, is well underway. The class has been exploring how London has changed across different historical periods and is beginning to understand how the city developed into the vibrant capital we know today.

In Maths, we have been working on ratio. The pupils have tackled some challenging concepts with determination and are going to focus on building their confidence in using ratios to solve problems.

In Science, we began our new topic on Atomic Structure. Some pupils were initially anxious about starting a new and challenging topic, but they showed excellent perseverance and independence. Using their learning resources effectively, they successfully completed a range of tasks, including identifying atomic number and atomic mass. It was wonderful to see their confidence grow throughout the lessons as they realised they could tackle complex scientific ideas with success.

I am incredibly proud of the class this week. Their behaviour and effort have been impeccable. They have demonstrated kindness, respect, and a willingness to work hard in every lesson. The positive atmosphere in the classroom has made learning enjoyable for everyone.

We are off to a brilliant start this term, and I am looking forward to seeing how much progress the children continue to make in the coming weeks. Keep up the amazing work, everyone.

11.9.26 OYG Summary

Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA We are We are inspiring STARs

Mrs Whitworth’s STAR of the week is all my class star of the week for having an amazing first week back.

Mrs Whitworth’s HWA We are inspiring goes to all my class star of the week for having an amazing first week back.

Mrs Bailey’s HWA We are inspiring goes to Kyren and Safa - For a fabulous first week of their Hollinwood Academy journey. We are so proud of you both

Mrs Bailey’s STAR of the Week is Rose, Alfie, Leo and Blaire - For an amazing first week in their new class

Mrs Lerigo’s and Mrs Sutcliffe's STAR of the Week is

Mrs Lerigo’s and Mrs Sutcliffe's HWA We are inspiring goes to

Mrs Thompson’s STAR of the Week is Cree Swift for super writing about tigers.

Mrs Thompson’s STAR of the Week goes to Harris Yaqoob for inspiring us all the get stuck in and give things a try.

Miss Boothroyd’s STAR of the Week goes to Nico for having an amazing and positive first week back.

Miss Boothroyd’s HWA We are inspiring goes to Romy for helping her friends when they needed it.

Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s STAR of the Week is Roman - for a wonderful first week back and settling back into school well.

Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s we are inspiring star goes to Winter for being caring and helping her friends clean up after an activity.

Miss Lloyd’s STAR of the Week is Libby Crossfield for having a great start to the year.

Miss Lloyd’s We are inspiring STAR goes to Kai Bull for being so excited and involved with his learning in our first week.

Miss Pietraszewska’ s HWA We are inspiring goes to Benjamin for having a wonderful first week of Year 2. You came ready and settled into the new academic year. Well done.

Miss Pietraszewska’ s STAR of the Week goes to Florence for having an amazing first week at Hollinwood Academy, you are a star.

Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the Week is Teddy for a wonderful first week

Mr Corrigan’s WOW moment

Mr Corrigan’s congratulates Jack, Albi-Lee & Abu-Bakr for being proud of their friends.

Mr Corrigan’s We are inspiring goes to Kian for being a great friend and coping really well with change this week.

Miss Hulme’s STAR of the Week is the whole class for a fabulous first week back in school.

Miss Hulme’s HWA We are inspiring goes to the whole class for a fabulous first week back in school.

Miss Charnock’s STAR of the Week goes to

MissCharenock’s HWA We are inspiring goes to

Mrs Boylan’s STAR of the Week goes to George is our Star of the Week for giving excellent contributions in every lesson.

Mrs Boylan’s HWA We are inspiring goes to Harrison is our Inspiring HWA Star of the week for persevering when lessons have felt difficult and always having a try.

Miss Davies’s STAR of the Week is Maleek is my star for excellent engagement this week.

Miss Oakley’s STAR of the Week is all of COY- for a fantastic first week back to school.

Miss Oakley’s HWA We are inspiring goes to all of COY- for a fantastic first week back to school.