Last weekend, we had a team of lower school gymnasts representing Whitehill at the Zonal Finals of the national schools’ trampolining competition. A huge thank you to the parents who made this possible and travelled to Cardiff with their children. Given the age of this year’s team, I have no doubt this will not be the last time they compete together in this annual competition. Well done to Lara, Yael (Year 4s), Emmeline and Emily (Year 3s).
My assembly on Monday followed a slightly different theme from my usual Monday assemblies (or ‘Monday Moans’ as some pupils named them). I have decided that I would take the remaining Mondays and read to the pupils one of the first novels I shared with one of my early classes – I Am David by Anne Holm. Given the rate at which we covered the first chapter today, I should just about be able to finish it before July.
I had an hour to spare on Monday afternoon and so gave Mr Mills Junior a hand to assemble a couple of props purchased for this year’s Year 6 production. I am slightly concerned at this stage with the number of zeros after the pound sign, before the show has even been announced, but Mr Mills Junior has assured me it will be worth it! Given the secrecy behind the production at present, I am unable to elaborate further other than to say I have seen how they could be used again within this calendar year. I am very excited!
Sophie (Year 4) received a Headteacher’s Award for her artwork at the beginning of the week. I was impressed with the perspective used in her sketching. Another individual recipient was Katie (Year 6) for her work in maths.
Phase were back in on Monday afternoon to work with our Year 6 pupils. They visit having received their sponsorship from us just before Christmas and were exceptionally grateful for the support we were able to offer them.
We had a couple of netball matches after school on Monday against St Andrew’s. Both games were very competitive, and our opponents certainly used their height advantage in one of the games. Well done to the players and thank you to the parents who put up with the cold weather to cheer the pupils on.
The JLT meeting on Tuesday morning was as productive as ever. By productive I mean that the team all have their jobs which they take very seriously. Arthur located the biscuits with ruthless efficiency; Thomas mentioned Lego in every other sentence; Indi came up with a riddle for me to solve and Lillian planned to go and visit every class. Seriously, they do work very hard and we made great progress on the plans for our time capsule (as well as eating the biscuits Arthur found).
I had the pleasure of joining Voyager Class on Tuesday afternoon for a geography lesson on OS maps and contour lines. I ended up working with Ivy, Alfie, Molly F, Zoe and Seb and was impressed with how quickly they picked up the new skills being taught and the way they worked together as a group. They thoroughly deserved the generous number of house points I may have awarded them!
I don’t usually reference our weekly staff meetings in these blogs but this week’s was planning for the STEM week taking place in the week before the Easter break. Mr Denney will be writing out to you in the coming weeks to share more information and requesting some support.
On Wednesday afternoon, we had pupils taking part in a dodgeball festival at Knights Templar School. There was a great deal of enthusiasm prior to departure and the feedback after the event was that the pupils had a great time and, as always, represented the school perfectly.
I referenced the Year 6 production earlier and I am excited by a meeting I had on Wednesday. Thanks to some amazing support from one of our parents, we are going to be significantly increasing the audio capacity of the school hall moving forward. This will improve the quality of class assemblies, Friends’ Association events and most certainly productions. More about this moving forward but we can’t wait!
My hot chocolate supply is reducing quickly. I am trying to get through the final few Year 3s who need to have ‘Biscuits with the Boss’ whilst at the same time, entertaining pupils from other years who have either forgotten they had it in Year 3 or just fancy another opportunity to have a drink, biscuit and a chat. Year 5 pupils are particularly convincing. I do enjoy catching up with the pupils and so as long as I have the supplies, I will make the most of the remaining breaktimes that I have before I leave. I wonder if it is something that will be on the job description of my replacement? If the pupils have anything to say about it, it will.
I supervised another drum practice for Alex (Year 6) this week whilst he was at our after-school club. On this occasion, Indi (Year 6) came along too and played her harmonica. It was an interesting ‘jamming’ session.
We had two teams competing in the sportshall athletics heats after school on Thursday. These are always fiercely competitive and extremely nerve-wracking – especially for the staff – as there is no way of knowing how you are doing until the results are announced at the end of the competition. Well done to all who took park as it was another very successful evening with the girls’ team finishing third and the boys’ team finishing first, progressing through to the district finals.
Our Achievers’ Assembly on Friday morning saw Water win the House Cup and Kahlo win Class of the Week.
We also celebrated several swimming achievements including Eve (Year 4) and Eva (Year 3). Well done also to Emily O (Year 3) for her achievements with Hitchin Belles football team.
Our music this week was provided by Ambar (Year 5) who played the piano for us and then Orla (Year 6) who sang.
Looking forward again, we have pupils out at the county cross country finals tomorrow and wish everyone competing all the very best. I am sorry that I am not able to be there but look forward to hearing how they get on. I am hoping my trusty Sky Sports reporter will keep me updated.
Also on the sports front next week is a girls’ football fixture against William Ransom (rearranged from this week’s weather-affected matches). We have a boys’ netball fixture against St Andrew’s at home on Wednesday afternoon whilst we have some lower school pupils taking part in a speed-stacking competition at Knights Templar School. The week concludes with a netball festival at St Francis College on Friday.
Before I finish this week, I would like to share with you a link to Mr Wells’s fundraising page as he embarks upon a mammoth 100km running challenge, raising money for Great Ormond Street. Many of you will be aware of Mr Wells’s extended paternity leave following the birth of his daughter Roxy. His fundraising is his way of highlighting the incredible work the team at GOSH did to save his daughter’s life following her birth. I am sure we can help him hit his target and beyond and show our support. Thank you in advance on behalf of Mr and Mrs Wells, and of course, their daughter Roxy.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Best wishes,
Steve Mills
Headteacher
