Week Ending 8th September 2017
Diary of the week:
Well, I can’t believe I am writing my first blog for the first week back already. The days have just flown by and the children and staff have ALL made an excellent start.
Seeing you all in the playground over the last three days has been great and many conversations have already taken place about your fabulous summer holidays, links between home and school and ways in which we can support or improve. It feels a very positive and welcoming start to my first week of headship and I cannot wait for these partnerships to continue to grow throughout the year.
I thank you all for making your children look so smart and being ready for learning for their first week in school. I have not had to talk to one child about not wearing the correct uniform or not having the correct attitude to learning. What a great start!
INSET day for the staff was on Tuesday and TEAM GB were on top form and ready and raring to go. We talked about the term ahead and how we plan to move forward, ways in which to engage the children and the development of reading across the curriculum. All classrooms look amazing and school has a VERY positive feel.
Wednesday was the first day for the children…and WOW what a day! It started with everyone settling in and I visited every classroom to see beaming smiles, lots of bronzed faces, enthusiasm for learning and courteous and respectful manners. It was amazing to see so many new faces in Early Years and the way they have settled in has been impeccable. During the morning, we then took some of our older year groups to see the Tour of Britain cycle race and that was truly amazing. Being amongst the community, cheering on cyclists from across Britain was truly wonderful and we waved those TEAM GB coloured flags with pride as they flew past us at speed. The children were exceptionally well-behaved and I was so proud to be leading such a successful event with such a wonderful bunch of children, staff and parents and carers. I would like to thank the adults, who supported us with this event, as we couldn’t have done it without their support. Thank you.
Throughout the week, the whole school have been using the book, ‘The Colour of Home’ to focus their learning on. This remarkably moving book follows a young boy, Hassan, through his first few days at school in the United States after he and his family were forced to flee Somalia. He deeply misses the colourful landscape of his former home in Africa. But with the help of his parents, an understanding teacher, and a school art project, Hassan finds that by painting a picture of his old home and sharing his story, his homesickness and the trauma of leaving a war-torn country are lessened. The children have loved the story and also challenged some of the ideas within the book. Our art day on Friday also demonstrated their understanding of the story and the issues within the plot. I look forward to seeing some of the display work around school when they are complete.
All in all, it has been a fabulous first three days back in school and I am very positive about the future of Greasley Beauvale Primary School. I am also very proud to be leading such a team!
Have a great weekend…we may even get a little bit of sunshine. Take care,
Michelle Bates
Head Teacher