Monday morning was full waterproof, poncho and umbrella weather as I stood on the playground first thing, meeting and greeting the pupils for the start of another week. It was similar attire for the majority of the pupils too (except the poncho) although there are still those hardy few who rock up in a polo shirt. I say ‘hardy,’ you may well choose an alternative adjective!
Fortunately, the weather did improve enough that we didn’t have to call it as a wet break or wet lunch. Pupils could get outside and enjoy the fresh air and staff could get a few moments peace between sessions. No one likes a wet break.
Year 3 came away from their timetable on Tuesday morning so that they could do a little bit of work on the Christmas play. Yes, I did use the ‘C’ word halfway through October. It is always great fun and it’s always a lovely thing to watch when we actually get there. Watch out Year 3 parents, you will be humming six rounds of Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas louder and louder, before you know it. (Actually, those songs probably aren’t in the play but as I don’t know what the play is yet, I picked these two at random!)
After break, the Year 3s gathered their packed lunches and headed off into town for a local geography walk. Mr Denney tracked the walk so we could see where they had been and by all accounts it was a successful morning’s work.
There was some incredible science on display on Tuesday afternoon with the Year 5s as they investigated levers and forces. ‘How many pupils does it take to lift Mr Lord?’ was an interesting experiment to test and by using physics, the answer of ‘one Autumn’ was there for all to see.
I was slightly late in on Wednesday morning, as I had a meeting offsite but did make it in time to see some of the PE lesson for Year 4s being led by the Sports Leaders from Hitchin Girls’ School. A whole range of sports being taught in small groups and as I would expect, the pupils listening carefully and responding appropriately to support the students during their first visit.
We had a different group of Sports Leaders visit on Thursday and this time they worked with the Year 3s.
Wednesday was a day of ‘Zooms’ again but they were productive and also successful in terms of me staying awake. Good job really as they were one on one meetings. No hiding behind a dodgy connection this time.
In between my meetings, I did go and see some learning taking place and was impressed with some of the artwork in both Year 6 classes. Several worthy of a Headteacher’s award. I spent some time in Year 5 whilst the two groups carried on with their clarinet and flute tuition. I also went outside to see the Year 5s during their PE lesson. I have no idea what the game was they were engaged purposefully in, but it looked like great fun.
Following the success of the tag rugby festivals the other week, Miss Gooderham gave the opportunity for some other Upper School pupils to have a go this week when she accepted the offer from Purwell School for a few ‘friendly’ matches. I wasn’t able to get there myself, but I received positive feedback when I spoke to Miss Gooderham later in the day.
After school on Thursday, I headed over to Cambridge for a meeting with colleagues from the NAHT – my professional association – which continued on Friday, meaning I wasn’t in school today. Not wanting to miss out, I asked for feedback from our Achievers’ Assembly which was led by Mrs Burniston.
The headline news was that Water finally won the House Cup! Go Water! Aztec won the Wombles and Voyager won Class of the Week. We also celebrated Amelie (Year 4) who, along with her family, completed a sponsored walk in London and raised over £650 for GOSH. Music was provided by Nevaeh (Year 5) and Charlotte (Year 4).
Even though my meetings are still going on, I did find a few minutes to get my blog published on time. It does mean, however, that I am not going to be able to get back to school in time to see any of the football match against Purwell.
Mrs Granger visited Costco for me this week to purchase some essential supplies. The pile of biscuits pictured below can only mean one thing. Biscuits with the Boss is back! Over the coming weeks, Year 3s will get an invite to spend a breaktime with me to chat about how they have started, and of course have a couple of biscuits and some hot chocolate. These gatherings are always very enlightening.
Looking ahead to the final week of Autumn one, the Year 3s are carrying out their ‘Big Dig’ which means for most of the week I stare out of my window in anticipation that they may discover some buried treasure worth millions.
We have the local MP, Alistair Strathern, visiting on Monday morning and he will spend some time chatting with the pupils. We have our open afternoon starting at 2.30pm, details of which were in my recent update.
There is football on Tuesday against William Ransom (at home) whilst the first of two nights of consultation evenings takes place. Have you booked your appointments?
We are hosting a KS1 sports festival on Wednesday afternoon which will be run by our Sports Leaders and all being well, they will head up to Highbury on Friday to deliver something similar to our future Whitehill pupils.
We have a team in the Year 6 maths challenge on Thursday afternoon and then after school we have a netball match against Ickleford, again at home.
The end of next week marks the start of the first half term break of the academic year. Much needed, I would say, but we have a busy time getting there.
Have a great weekend!
Best wishes,
Steve Mills
Headteacher
