HWA Blog - 25.4.25
Welcome back to the summer term and what a short, busy and exciting week we have had at Hollinwood Academy.
It was lovely to welcome all the children, young people and staff back to school and it was fantastic to welcome new students to Hollinwood Academy, who have settled into their new school extremely well.
This week, myself and the senior leadership team have been shortlisting for the Deputy Head of School for behaviour and safeguarding and the Primary Assistant Head for curriculum. We had an overwhelming number of candidates apply for the posts and it took us all day to read the application forms and shortlist to the final candidates. We are interviewing six candidates next week for the Deputy Head of School and five candidates for the Primary Assistant Head. The field is extremely strong and we have a number of tasks, presentations and interviews with staff, children and young people to help us select the successful candidates. These are two inspiring senior leadership posts for Hollinwood Academy and I am hopeful that we will find the most suitable candidates for the posts. We will be interviewing all next week and as soon as I can update, we will let families know.
As we approach the summer term, this also means we head into the exam and assessment months. Our primary children have their Key Stage 1 SATs starting next week and the Key Stage 2 SATs are Monday 12th May - Thursday 15th May. Our GCSE exams start for our secondary students on Tuesday 13th May and finish on Tuesday 17th June while the Year 1 phonics test and Year 4 multiplication checks are the beginning of June. It is a busy, demanding and hard term, but we will also make sure that our children and young people are fully supported and we also have a number of planned activities for them to enjoy as they progress throughout the term.
Let’s see what some of the classes have been doing, starting with Miss Hobson’s form…
"It’s the first week back after Easter break and despite it being short due to the bank holiday, it has still been extremely busy and productive.
Firstly, during RSE we looked at the importance of our online presence and how this can impact us in terms of career opportunities and what impression we make on people. The students were tasked with identifying what would be the most helpful and least helpful regarding a student making a social media account for the purposes of making a good impression to a chosen University.
During History we moved into a new topic centred around World War Two- specifically The Holocaust and the Jewish persecution. We introduced the topic by discussing what antisemitism was and its prevalence historically going back over two thousand years- before looking in detail at its presence in nazi ideology.
Geography focused on coastal environments, specifically waves, how they are formed and types of waves that create beaches and coastlines.
In Food Technology the students moved onto pastry making and were thrilled to be doing a practical where they baked their own mini quiche which tasted delicious!
Spanish tied in nicely with World Earth Day as students were discussing environmental problems and how that affects the world globally- climate change and beyond.
Computing involved photography- getting used to DSLR cameras which the students enjoy due to the creative and practical element.
In the physical subjects, students continued developing their skills in sports such as badminton with last term being cricket and during Outdoor Education, students went on a trip to the park for a walk after the Easter holidays. This term will be doing cycling on the school grounds and in the community.
Now for the core subjects…
During Maths, students learnt constructions and geometrical reasoning-drawing triangles with compasses, rulers, and protractors as well as an end of block assessment for the topic Deduction. Next week they will be moving on to rotation and translation.
English moved onto the next topic for this term- dystopian fiction, learning about utopian and dystopian societies. For example, The Hunger Games being a Dystopian society and The chronicles of Narnia being a Utopian society, a stark contrast.
Finally, during science students began revising for the end of KS3 content. The assessment tests for Biology, Chemistry, Physics before they start the GCSE content which students are mindful of and are demonstrating a mature attitude towards.
To finish, here is a brief highlight of the classes' recent achievements…
Oliver was kindly invited by Manchester City football club for his amazing Premier League trophy replica. Not only that, but he also featured in their social media post on the ‘City in the Community’ page where his visit was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people around the World.
Daniel represented the class and the school after being successful in the HWA tournaments at the Oldham inter chess tournament. They came in 5th and had an amazing day.
Sofia is currently taking part in Friendship group, an intervention run by the specialist intervention team in school to encourage students to get chatty and make friends in different year groups.
Finally, students Victoria, Oliver, Daniel, Sam were invited by Mrs Mayers to take part on an ICT trip. The students were tasked with creating an App using A.I. Artificial intelligence and were triumph- delivering a presentation to the entire hub.
I am incredibly proud of 9NHN and their continuous hard work and dedication to their studies, going above and beyond, evident through their achievements. Well done, 9NHN! "
9NHN (25.4.25)
Now to Miss Bouttell’s form…
"During form, this week 11MBL students have been discussing what they have done over the Easter period. Students discussed going abroad, seeing family, doing Easter activities and spending time with friends. Throughout the students have shown good social and communication skills, by listening to and contributing to conversations, as well as answering questions appropriately between themselves.
In English, this week 11MBL have been working on exam practise skills, ready for their upcoming GCSE’s. Each student was given a past paper to work through, answering questions on one known and one unseen text. The students worked independently and asked questions to clarify their understanding.
During Science, the students focus has been on Greenhouse gases. We first discussed what Greenhouse gases are and how they trap heat, contributing to the Earth's warming, a process known as the Greenhouse effect. Students then discussed how, although they are essential for maintaining a habitable climate, human activities have increased their concentration, leading to climate change.
During PE 11MBL have begun the new focus of rounders. Students have been encouraged to work in pairs to practise throwing and catching between themselves first, before working on new skills for a game.
For Duke of Edinburgh the students have been for a walk around Castleshaw. While outdoor we discussed the countryside code and our upcoming Duke of Edinburgh silver award trip. The students were told about the trip and the preparation we will be doing over the next few weeks, such as cooking and tent building.
In Geography students have been looking at questions on maps, in preparation for their GCSE’s. Mrs Bottery, geography teacher, used her visualiser equipment to show the maps on the board and talk the students through the steps they need to take to work out the answers. Using this equipment has enabled the students to have a visual guide and a clearer understanding, so they now feel more confident with this. "
11MBL (25.4.25)
Now to Mr Leeson’s PE sessions…
"This week we have started some new topics/sports in PE. EYFS and Key Stage 1 have been focusing on our fundamental skills. We have done this by demonstrating our agility, balance, coordination and fine and gross motor skills. We have been doing this by taking part in a variety of circuits with support and attempting to progress on to completing the circuits without support. We have also been developing our catching skills by catching different sized balls from small distances.
Key stage 2, year 8 and year 10 have started our new topic which is cricket. This week we focused on fielding, we were able to use the long and short barrier to stop the ball and then progress on to throwing the ball at a target. We were able to play fun, competitive games whilst doing this which provided lots of excitement and competitiveness.
Year 7 have started their new topic of hockey, for many of our students this is a new topic which has made it exciting and challenging. This week we focused on handling the stick and being able to dribble with control and to be able to change direction.
Badminton is this terms topic for year 9, again, this is a new topic for many of our students. Although it is challenging, students have worked really well and shown a lot of resilience in our lessons. We have been focusing on how to hold the racket and being able to serve with control.
Finally, our year 11 students have been playing rounders. We have been focusing on fielding and how to catch the ball from different heights by using the correct technique.
Students have engaged really well in PE and have had a positive attitude to learning. We have motivated each other exceptionally well and pushed each other to achieve their best during lessons. "
BLN (25.4.25)
Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA We are Passionate STARs...
Mrs Lerigo’s STAR of the week is Romy for super drawing and pencil skills this week, we are amazed at your progress in this area.
Mrs Lerigo’s HWA We are Passionate STAR is Madilyn for being so creative with her flower petal mandala task.
Miss Boothroyd’s STAR of the week is Louie for an amazing first week back. Louie has settled right back into school and his engagement within lessons has been fantastic!
Miss Boothroyd’s HWA We are Passionate STAR is Sienna for her wonderful Mandala suncatcher!
Mrs Sutcliffe’s STAR of the week is Kian for doing a great job wearing his glasses in class this week.
Miss Sutcliffe’s HWA We are Passionate STAR is Teddy being so passionate about his learning this week and asking for more lessons!
Miss Oakley’s STAR of the week is Simon for a great week back into school and comforting his friends when they are upset. Thank you for being a good friend.
Miss Oakley’s HWA We are Passionate STAR is Abdul for coming back to school happy and smiley. Thank you for always being so good in school!
Miss Bailey’s STAR of the week is William for a fantastic transition back to school. We’re so proud of you!
Miss Bailey’s HWA We are Passionate STAR is Jack for engaging in class activities with enthusiasm and completing some fabulous independent mark making.
Miss Pietraszewska’s STAR of the week is Freddie for engaging in activities with a smile. Well done, Freddie!
Miss Pietraszewska’s HWA We are Passionate STAR is Alfie for using his TD snap to support his communication without prompt. Well done!
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the week is Stanley for fantastic listening this week.
Mr Corrigan’s HWA We are Passionate star is Faiha for working extremely hard this week.
Mr Corrigan’s WOW moments go to Simisola, Kai and Louis. Well done.
Miss Gittins’ HWA We are Passionate STAR is Lewis for fantastic contributions in phonics this week.
Miss Gittins’ Super Speller is Hadley. Well done!
Miss Matthew’s STARs of the week are 6HMS for settling back into school so well!
Miss Matthew’s HWA We are Passionate STAR is Bobby for being a responsible member of the class.
STARS of the Week (25.4.25)
Scientists of the week is Libby from Miss Oakley’s class.
Next week, we have our first Parents’ Evening session for our primary, year 7 and year 8 families that will be held at school, face to face, on Thursday 1st May from 3:20pm – 6:50pm and you will have the opportunity to speak to your child’s teacher at primary and subject teachers at secondary. The following week on Tuesday 6th May we have our second Parents’ Evening session for our primary, year 9 and year 10 families that will be held at school, face to face, from 3:20pm – 6:50pm. Please make sure you have booked your appointments via Arbor. If you need any support, contact Courtney or Jennifer via email on:
or
jennifer.cook@newbridgegroup.org
I hope the sun keeps shining and you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Millard
