When you don’t have many actual appointments or meetings in your diary, it does mean I can spend a bit more time visiting classes and chatting to pupils about the work they are doing. It also means that teachers are able to send me pupils who have earned headteacher’s awards. Monday and Wednesday this week were certainly these kinds of days which was a real bonus.
Sam J (Year 4) was the first recipient this week for some work he had been doing in art. Described by Mrs Davies as being a ‘little bit bonkers’, he had really thought about the task and interpreted it in such a creative way. His award was very much deserved.
Mayan Class were particularly impressive on Tuesday afternoon as they transformed their class into a series of caves and then, working in groups, drew their own ‘cave paintings’ telling stories through a series of pictures. I was very careful when I visited as the chalks and pastels were everywhere (as I am sure some of the parents found out that evening) but am glad I did. One group came and showed me their finished work at the end of the day, and it was so creative. Lots of house points and stickers were handed out that afternoon.
We are very lucky at Whitehill to have a staff team who give up time to run clubs and extra-curricular activities for our pupils. Lunchtimes are a logistical nightmare with pupils coming and going trying to work out when to eat their lunch in between practising for the O2 choir and trying out for the athletics team, for example. Somehow, they manage it.
I visited one club on Monday after school to see how the pupils doing Recycled Fashion were getting on. There were some very clever designs, and I look forward to seeing them start to construct their outfits, ready for the competition at St Chris School in a few weeks.
Another visit I made this week was to Year 5s PE lesson to see some gymnastics being taught. This followed on from seeing Year 4 do gymnastics earlier in the week. Both lessons produced some wonderful partner work where the focus was on partner work and precision within balances. Whenever I see pupils doing gym, my days spent watching my daughter do ballet come back to me and I spend myself reminding the pupils to point their toes. Good toes… naught toes… good toes… naughty toes… I am pleased to report that the pupils showed wonderful toes (on the whole).
Superstar gymnast Freddie G (Year 5) and his partner Brooke did some lovely work and made great use of a-symmetry in one of their balances on the apparatus. In Year 4, Amelie and Luna caught my eye.
I do like to see Shakespeare on our curriculum and so when I had several Year 6s pay me a visit with work they have been completing linked to Macbeth, it was very pleasing indeed. Lily, Stanley C and Ethan have all received Headteacher’s Awards for their writing this week. Ethan’s diary entry was particularly powerful.
Students from Hitchin Girls’ School have been in a couple of times this week to continue their sports leaders training. I popped out to see pupils in Year 4 and Year 5 take part in a range of activities including volleyball and cricket. It is always nice to see former Whitehill pupils return to lead sessions they would have once been part of themselves. Some of them even say hello!
On Tuesday we had a headteacher from a school in Nottingham visit to see Whitehill in action, following a recommendation from another Nottingham school leader. Mrs Maddison and I spent the first part of the day chatting about Whitehill’s ethos which of course aligned closely with her school. We also chatted about theatre as we also shared that passion but in order to visit the classes, I needed to minimise this part of the conversation.
I was really proud with all that we saw, and the pupils were so engaged with their learning. The class reps who stood up and welcomed our guest into their classrooms were enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. Later that evening, when Mrs Maddison had got home, I received a lovely email from her thanking us for the day and also paying compliment to the pupils.
“Thank you so much for today, you were both utterly inspiring and your school is outstanding. Please pass on my thanks to your staff and children for letting come and visit. They clearly have a wonderful love of learning and love for the school created by you and your staff.”
This week has also seen two pupils cash in their advent draw prizes. Josh (Year 6) brought four of his friends along at break on Wednesday for hot chocolate and biscuits and on Thursday, Sophie (Year 6) chose to have her class non-uniform day. I think there are still a few more tokens to be cashed in, including extra break time for Voyager Class.
Hot chocolate was on the agenda again on Friday when I had six more Year 3s visit for Biscuits with the Boss. Note to self… buy more biscuits! Amongst topics of conversation this week were possible clubs to run, with Eloise providing a wonderful list and explanation as to what each might look like. Hudson spoke about how he enjoys the additional challenge he gets in lessons since joining Whitehill and Ted thought outside the box and wondered what it might be like to be a Year 6 doing Year 6 work. Would it be like he feels now as a Year 3 doing Year 3 work? That was a very profound conversation.
Achievers’ Assembly was fun again. The regular awards were handed out to Fire who won the House Cup; Aztec who won the Wombles and to Orville who picked up Class of the week.
Music was provided by Jasmine (Year 6) and Molly (Year 4) who both played the piano for us. Both played beautifully and received Headteacher’s Awards. Jasmine also received a booking to play in the final assembly of the year in July!
Looking ahead to next week, I can see that sports fixtures get underway again with two days of indoor athletics heats. I have seen the pupils practising at lunchtimes and they have looked good. At the end of the week, we also have the next round of the ESFA national schools’ football competition. It will be the first outing for the team since before Christmas and I know they will be ready for the challenge.
I also have a holder in my diary for hot chocolate with Thomas B (Year 5) who assures me he never got to have Biscuits with the Boss when he was in Year 3. It is time to do something about that.
It has been a very productive week, and the school feels purposeful!
Have a great weekend!
Best wishes,
Steve Mills
Headteacher
