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• Times Tables Rock Stars Day

  Fri 18 Oct 2019 Mrs Michelle Bates

  A fantastic day in school today ...wigs, tutus, blow up guitars, glasses and more! A truly wonderful way to enjoy maths, overcome obstacles and believe in yourself. EVERYONE looked fantastic. Thank you so much for your support. 

   

  We had a great assembly in the afternoon to share all the winners from Times Tables Rock Stars and we also said cheerio to Captain Chris, who we will miss dearly. We wish him lots of love and luck for the future as he puts his hands to play centres. 

   

  Have a great half term everyone and we look forward to seeing you all back on Monday 4th November 2019.

   

  Warm regards,

   

  Mrs Michelle Bates 

  

• Head Teacher's Blog

  Thu 17 Oct 2019 Mrs Michelle Bates

  17^th October 2019

   

  (Before the excitement of our Times Tables Rock Stars Day tomorrow)

   

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

   

  Sophia – Orange 1 – For independently writing her very own diary entry about the book ‘Wild’. She confidently wrote in the first person and used the correct punctuation.

   

  A super busy week in school this week (to end the half term). I have spent the week walking around school and popping into lessons to look at the children’s ‘Discover’ books and monitor attitudes and behaviours to learning. I am very pleased with the results and proud of the children and staff. We continue to aim high and look for improvements all the time.

   

  One of the developments we are making across school is to the Curriculum of Greasley. We are teaching sessions that build on knowledge and skills and are providing the children with the 'cultural capital' for the next stages of their educational journey (and life). The curriculum across school currently feels lively and exciting. Children are engaged in material and the lessons ultimately lead to an authentic outcome.

   

  I saw a great example of this, this afternoon, when our year 2 children taught their parents about the Great Fire of London in their parental engagement show. This used their knowledge of a recent workshop to provide readings, songs and actions to show their learning. I saw the fire erupt and spread, the houses burnt down and the devastating effect that this had  on London all those years ago. Thank you, year 2!

   

  Also, thanks to all of the year 5 parents who came to view the work on show within the classrooms at the end of the day. The children enjoyed getting their work ready and showing off what they can do.

   

  Wednesday morning was also fabulous as the reception opened up their doors for a ‘Book and Butty’ morning. The children shared their stories to the adults, whilst they enjoyed Stephie’s bacon and sausage butties. What a treat and a great way to enjoy reading. One of our governors, Richard Wood, was part of the event and he thoroughly enjoyed the reading climate and incorporation of the butties. Thank you to everyone who became involved and enjoyed the event. This was an event that was highly successful and we will be considering whether we roll this out across school. Watch this space…

   

  On to sport…

   

  On Wednesday, Mrs Parnell took a team of year 5/6 children to the cross country event at Hall Park Academy. This is always a great event and this is what she had to say about it…

   

  “I was lucky enough to support the Greasley Cross Country Runners this Wednesday for the year 5/6 Cross Country at Hall Park. 

  From first light on Wednesday morning, the weather was doing everything to stand in our way. However, in true Cross Country style, nothing could prevent it from going ahead and a very excited team of runners made their way to Hall Park to compete. 

   

  After a brief warm up, the Year 5 girls were the first to run and I have to say at this point they had the worst of the rain. Did this stop them? Absolutely not! Then, the year 5 boys ran, followed by the Year 6 teams. There were some individual brilliant performances but perhaps what struck me most was how much all the team were there to cheer on each other 100%.

   

  Congratulations to everyone who went"

   

  On top of this, our new football team won their first match against Holly Hill this evening. The game ended as 2-2, which led to extra time, penalties and they eventually won on sudden-death penalties. We are very proud of the team. Thank you to everyone who took part and the footballers who took part in the trials. Also, a big thanks to Mr Leyshon on his management of the football team and the staff and parents, who spectated. 

   

  This afternoon, Mr Leyshon also hosted our first assembly to congratulate the children who had achieved their first red bookworm on the Rainbow Readers journey. All of the children, who have read 25 times so far this half term, were acknowledged and thanked. Ollie Hubbard won the personalised bookmark - well done, Ollie! Thank you for your support with this at home. Reading is so important and we are very grateful for your co-operation in this new initiative in school.

   

  This week we welcome a new teaching assistant to the team. Mrs Drabble is going to be working in reception and if you see her then please take time to say hello.

   

  Remember that tomorrow is our Times Tables Rock Stars day…I can’t wait to rock my wig and accessories!

   

  Thanks for all of your support this half term. Its been busy, hard-working, fun and enjoyable!

   

  Warm regards,

   

  Michelle Bates

  Head Teacher

• Head Teacher's Blog

  Fri 11 Oct 2019 Mrs Michelle Bates

  Week Ending 11^th October 2019

   

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

   

  Jack and Hattie - Orange 1 - For wonderful writing about the Wild Child's emotions at different points in the story. They both confidently wrote in the first person. 

   

  This week, the following children have received positive praise from myself:

   

  Jack (Indigo 2), Ruby and Joshua (Blue 2) and Destiny (Blue 1) for being able to clearly and confidently articulate our Rainbow Values to visitors.

   

  Current attendance results are as follows:

   

  1^st place goes to Blue 1 and Indigo 2 for 100% attendance.

  2^nd place goes to Red 2 for 99.6% attendance.

   

  On Monday and Tuesday, the year 2 children were engrossed in their learning based around the Great Fire of London. They experienced a mock fire drill with myself, whereby we discussed the lack of safety procedures many years ago and how that varies in schools and buildings today. They also experienced the drama workshop, which was just brilliant! They dressed in clothes that would have been worn during 1666 and did some fantastic role-play based on the Great Fire of London. Their learning is all leading to authentic outcomes and we look forward to the end goals.

   

  During the week, I have walked parents around school who are deciding on school places for 2020, candidates for new roles and had a visitor from the local authority. The school has felt calm, hard-working and respectful, and I have been very proud of the teachers and the children.

   

  A polite reminder…Can I please ask that we think again about parking on the streets surrounding school during school drop-off and pick-up times. I have had emails and calls from local residents and they have asked again that people park, drive and use their vehicles safely. The safety of the children is paramount. Thanks in advance.

   

  Today, we said goodbye to Miss Atamaniuk for a while as she starts her maternity leave a week early. We wish her all the love and luck as she embarks on motherhood and we can’t wait to hear the news of a boy or girl (?) and the special name...I'm guessing a girl! 

   

  Have a great weekend everyone.

   

  Warm regards,

   

  Michelle Bates

  Head Teacher

• Head Teacher's Blog

  Thu 03 Oct 2019 Mrs Bates

  Week Ending 4^th October 2019

   

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

   

  Jack – Indigo 2 – For showing a huge amount of enthusiasm and resilience in his learning and being a great team player in maths.

   

  Ava – Orange 1 – For her fantastic attitude to learning. She has an active mind and chose to practise her maths and writing during child initiated learning time.

   

  Seren and Layla– Orange 1 – For fantastic independent work in maths. They were both able to write their own addition sums and number sentences using a part-part-whole mat.

   

  Lindon - Violet 1 - For being focused and resilient within a maths lesson and coming up with new strategies to approach maths problem solving and to support learning.

   

  Denny and Ella-Mae – Orange 2 – For super independent work in maths. They were both able to write their own addition sums and number sentences for the first time. 

   

  Current attendance results are as follows:

   

  1^st place goes to Blue 2 for 100% attendance.

  2^nd place goes to Indigo 2 and yellow 1 for 99.29% attendance.

  3^rd place goes to Orange 1 for 98.75% attendance.

   

  Another super week in school, where children are engrossed in their history topics and learning about events from the past. As a result, a parent has been in touch this week with links to local history at Codnor Castle. All of the events at the site are free and the children have the opportunity to try things on and have a go at archery for just a small donation. This term, the whole school have a history-based topic, as part of the curriculum, and this is a perfect opportunity that locals, parents and carers may not be aware of. Please see attached details – just be aware that some activities are weather dependant.

   

  A letter will be going out very soon, but I wanted to inform you that on the last day of term, we will be hosting a ‘Times Table Rock Stars Day’, whereby we will be focusing on times tables and how important they are for maths and as an important life skill. There will be many exciting activities during the day and of course, children will be able to dress up as a Rock Star or their favourite Rock Star character. We DO NOT expect children to buy expensive outfits and the more home made the better! It is just about raising the profile of times tables and having some fun with a maths-related themed day.

   

  On the last day of term, we will also be saying good-bye to Chris Buck (our site manager) and Miss Atamaniuk (for a while!). Chris, as most of you will know, is a fabulous children’s entertainer and many of you will have seen him at Fun Timez Mascotz parties and events. Chris and Janine have decided to extend their business and have bought two play centres. Chris has been a big personality within the school for a number of years and we know that filling his big boots is going to be hard. Good luck, Chris, and a huge well done! We wish him all the luck and he will be greatly missed.

   

  As for Miss Atamaniuk, many of you will have noticed that she is going to be a mummy and she embarks on her maternity leave at the end of the half term. Her baby is due in mid-October and she has stayed at school for as long as she can. I look forward to updating you with a name and weight in the near future. She will be joining us again before the end of the summer term and we wish her all the luck as she enters into motherhood.

   

  Have a great weekend everyone!

   

  Warm regards,

   

  Michelle Bates

  Head Teacher