Week Ending 15^th December 2017

This week, the following children have received a Head Teacher’s Award:

James – EYFS – for outstanding effort in phonics

Jack – EYFS – for amazing effort with his independent writing

WILF will be visiting class 13 for 100% attendance.

Jessica will be visiting class 12 for 99.2% attendance.

The group in 3^rd place, with 98.2% attendance, goes to class 11

Diary of the week:

Well, what a super Christmassy week. Monday started with the dress rehearsal for the Early Years and Key stage one and two production of ‘The Christmas Tree Nativity’. Over the last few weeks, I have tried to stay away from rehearsals to keep the ‘real thing’ a surprise…and it most certainly was. From the very start, I was engrossed and the children made me smile (and tearful) throughout. During a performance, I would normally make notes of my favourite parts, special moments, favourite songs and highlights from the show; I honestly gave up on every single performance, as I just couldn’t decide. The performances were showcased by our 4-7 year olds and they were ALL truly amazing. The magic of Christmas really was shared whilst also sharing the true meaning of Christmas. I loved every single minute of it. The children had lots of lines to learn and many songs to sing and they all made us very proud. I would like to thank all the teachers, teaching assistants, volunteers and parents for helping the show be a huge success. A special thanks also goes to Miss Atamaniuk for putting it all together and assuring that everything ran smoothly. Photos to follow and be sent home by next Friday!

Tuesday morning was also fantastic as an assembly, led by Mrs Fox, showcased the recorders and talent of children playing their brass instruments. The ensemble was a range of Christmas carols and again got us in the true swing of Christmas. Thank you so much to everyone who took part and to Mrs Fox for teaching the children so well over the past few months. Once again, it was also fabulous to see so many parents in school.

Thursday morning, was another super event, and a great link with the community, as school waved off our Year 6 children to go and sing to the elderly at the Giltbrook Care Home. We were honored to receive the phone call and be invited to sing. Miss Busby, Miss Marvin and the rest of the adults in the year 6 team had a great time singing to the people at the home. I was also lucky enough to be able to visit after the concert, and I witnessed the children singing beautifully; they really showed the residents and the staff what singing can really be like at Greasley Beauvale primary. Jake, from class 13, was very proud to be singing and he said, “I love how the elderly are singing along with us”. Another proud moment for the school, and further links being developed all the time. I thank the staff at the Giltbrook Care Home for inviting us, the children for singing and the staff for taking the children and allowing this great opportunity to happen. Watching the elderly sing, dance and pinch the children’s sweets was truly heart-warming and made our day.

Today was also a day where we ran another parental engagement event. This time, Early Years opened their doors for their ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ with parents and younger siblings. This event linked with the children’s topic on Bears and they were very excited to show what they had been learning about. It was amazing to see the children welcome their parents into school and to discuss their learning. I saw an array of amazing activities and it was so lovely to see parents reading 'Bear' related books with their children, making sandwiches together, eating teddy bear shaped biscuits and crisps, colouring in and doing art and crafts activities. The atmosphere was wonderful and a great way to end a very busy week. I even gave out two Head Teacher's Award stickers to mummies for remembering their teddy bears 

Throughout the week, I have also had two meetings with different companies regarding the playground provision. During 2018, we are hoping to improve the outdoor provision on both KS1 and KS2 playgrounds and I look forward to informing you of exciting projects in the near future. Some of the funds towards the provisions in school, will be funded by the Greasley Hub (PTA) and because of their hard work, and dedication this term, they have already raised almost £2600 for school funds. I am so grateful to them and again, I look forward to what they will be able to fund and gain in the new year. Good work, Ladies and thank you very much.

Thank you also to all parents who have completed the vision consultation that I sent out a few weeks ago. We have had a great return and I look forward to analysing the results and using your comments to inform our new vision for September 2018. A very exciting prospect!

Obviously, this week has been very cold and the school playground has felt very icy for the majority of the week. Thank you for getting your children to school safely and calmly and for your patience as we changed the arrangements for the school plays this week; we obviously had to adap to the conditions. We hope that next week will be milder and safer. As a result, keep safe and warm this weekend and see you all soon.

Warm regards,

Mrs Bates

Head Teacher