HWA Blog - 19.9.25
What a fantastic week we have had. It has been great to see lots of learning and adventure across school. Our new outdoor classroom is up and running and the children have been so excited to explore.
On Friday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dr Kershaw’s Hospice into our school for the official launch of their new book, 'Hudson Meets Hartley.' Hollinwood Academy became involved in this project three years ago in collaboration with our Student Council lead by Miss Tootill, and it has been a wonderful journey of creativity and compassion.
The book tells a heartfelt story that illustrates the importance of friendship, particularly in supporting children and families who are navigating the difficult experience of grief.
At Dr Kershaw’s, specialists provide end-of-life care to patients across Oldham, and this book beautifully reflects their dedication to this important work.
We are delighted to announce that ‘Hudson Meets Hartley’ is available for purchase online. Not only will this story resonate with young readers, but it also supports a local charity that does vital work in our community. I encourage you to consider buying a copy, as it is a lovely way to engage our children with themes of empathy and resilience.
For more information and to purchase the book, please follow the link provided here: Hudson meets Hartley Book - Dr Kershaw’s Hospice
Dr Kershaw's
Miss Callan reports on this Week’s adventures in the Outdoor Classroom.
"What a fantastic week it’s been in our Outdoor Classroom. We've begun delivering short Forest School sessions to children across the school, and it’s been an absolute joy. I’ve loved meeting all the different classes and spending time outdoors, teaching new skills and sharing new knowledge. Watching the children’s curiosity and imagination come to life in this natural setting has been truly inspiring.
This week, the children learned our new ‘base camp’ rules, which we’ll continue to reinforce over the coming weeks. Our learning was centred around the story A Busy Day for Birds. The children had great fun hunting for toy birds hidden around the area, identifying them, and recalling the birds’ movements and sounds from the story.
As we continue exploring the theme of garden birds, we’ll be looking at bird nests, building our own, and even making bird feeders. Each session ends with a lovely moment of community—gathering at base camp to enjoy a drink and a biscuit together.
There are so many exciting adventures planned for the year ahead, so stay tuned! I can’t wait to continue this journey with the children and watch them grow and thrive in the great outdoors."
Outdoor Classroom - 19.9.25
Now let’s see what has been happening in the classrooms.
Starting with Miss Tootill’s class…
"In this term’s blog I wanted to take a moment to share with you the fabulous start that Class LTO has had this term. Mrs Jahanara and I are thrilled to have welcomed eight wonderful children into our classroom, and we have already embarked on learning about exciting topics across various subjects.
In English, we are utilising our Talk for Writing scheme to delve into descriptive writing inspired by our book, 'The Wild Robot'. The students have been busy creating their own robot characters, and we have started exploring the toolkit that enhances our writing skills. It's been delightful to witness their creativity flourish.
In Maths, we have revisited Place Value, where the children have developed their understanding of recognising and partitioning numbers up to 10,000. Their enthusiasm for numbers is truly inspiring, and we are eager to see how they continue to grow in this area.
Our PSHRE sessions are equally engaging, focusing on the importance of relationships and the vital role that friendships play in our daily lives. This week, we are exploring the question, 'How can I be a good friend?', encouraging our pupils to reflect on qualities that strengthen bonds with their peers.
Both Mrs Jahanara and I are delighted about working alongside our children and look forward to creating new learning experiences and cherished memories together."
LTO - 19.9.25
And now to Miss Gordon’s class.
"AGN have had a great few weeks being back at school. We have started our Year 10 options and have all really enjoyed working in our new classes and studying for our new GCSE programmes. We also have a new student in our class and we have really enjoyed making him feel welcome whilst he settles into Hollinwood Academy and AGN.
This half term in Outdoor Education we have been learning about how to be safe by using the countryside code, and how to be safe in water.
In Geography we have be learning about flooding and its effects on people and land.
In science we have been looking at electricity and how circuits and resistance work, we have just done an experiment to understand resistance.
In Food Technology we learnt how to portion a whole chicken, separating chicken legs, wings, and the chicken breasts.
In P.E we have been working on our handball skills.
In English we are studying narrative and descriptive writing and have done some really fun descriptive tasks using colours and our senses.
In Maths we have been doing algebra including factorisation and expanding brackets.
AGN are having a great time being Year 10s and are excited to keep learning new things."
Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA We are Creative STARs
Mrs Lerigo’s and Mrs Sutcliffe's STAR of the Week is Finley Jones for a fantastic first full week in Reception and showing great engagement in his learning.
Mrs Lerigo’s and Mrs Sutcliffe's HWA We Are Caring goes to Cree Swift for great transitions into school and within school this week.
Mrs Quinn’s STAR of the Week is Ethan for increased participation across a range of activities. It's been good to see Ethan getting involved, trying new things, and embracing his learning.
Mrs Quinn’s HWA We Are Caring goes to Teddy for wowing us all with his incredible tidying skills. Teddy has been on a mission to keep everything spotless and beautifully organised.
Miss Boothroyd’s STAR of the Week is Romy for her fantastic attitude to her learning this week.
Miss Boothroyd’s HWA We Are Caring goes to Ethan for looking after his friends this week.
Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s STAR of the Week is Zachary for his hard work in all his lessons this week.
Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s HWA We Are Caring goes to Alfie for holding the door open for his friends.
Mrs Matthews’ STAR of the Week is Thomas for making lots of effort in all lessons and volunteering many good contributions.
Mrs Matthews’ HWA We Are Caring goes to Jaxon for being kind towards his peers.
Miss Gittens’ STAR of the week is Louis for great engagement with Maths lessons.
Miss Gittens’ HWA We Are Caring goes to is Oscar for showing kindness towards others in the playground.
Mrs Bailey’s STAR of the Week is Roma - For excellent work in communication this week.
Mrs Bailey’s HWA We Are Caring goes to Jack - For building positive relationships with new adults.
Miss Pietraszewska’ s HWA We Are Caring goes to Benjamin, for sharing his favourite toys with his classmates. Well done, Benjamin.
Miss Pietraszewska’ s STAR of the Week goes to Maximus, for trying food at school for the first time. Well done, Maximus
Miss Oakley’s STAR of the Week is Kai- Completing all his work independently and using amazing adjectives to describe the BFG.
Miss Oakley’s HWA We Are Caring goes to Harrison for always having the biggest smile in the class and asking and answering lots of questions.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the Week is Teddy W for doing really well on his spellings this week.
Mr Corrigan’s HWA We Are Caring goes to Kian, Teddy B & Albi-Lee for being proud of their friends.
Mr Corrigan’s WOW moment goes to Jack for a wonderful week.
Miss Hulme’s STAR of the Week is Ariella for all her hard work in English and her super independent writing.
Miss Hulme’s HWA We Are Caring goes to Korey for showing and kindly sharing his conquers with his friends.
Miss Tootill’s STAR of the Week goes to Cleo for having a fantastic first week in her new school.
Miss Tootill’s HWA We are Caring goes to Matthew for being caring towards others
Miss Davies’ STAR of the Week is Euan for excellent engagement during writing tasks this week.
STARS of the Week (19.9.25)
Well done to everyone.
Have a well deserved weekend everyone.
Miss Gordon
