Well, what a great and very busy week we have had!
The week actually started last Saturday because I had decided to paint the wire spools to create something interesting for the children.

In my wisdom, I somehow thought that it would be a good idea to make the Elf retreat at home in order to surprise the children on Monday. If any of you live with a 2 year old miniature schnauzer, you will know what a bad idea it actually was. Naughty is the only word I can describe her and naughty she was.

I had made the great mistake of spreading out in the living room and placing all the bits I would glue gun down once the spools were painted. I had taken a picture of where the pieces were and then I did it…I left the room.

The mischief caused by the naughty schnauzer was off the scale and the whole bottom tier of the retreat was ruined. One of the things I miss, since becoming a headteacher and not being in a classroom teaching, is making creations for the classrooms-magical, bespoke and something the children will love.
I do still enjoy doing this and I am now making two more magical small world lands for Nursery and Parlick Class. Thank you so much to parents, who have sent in small world items to use. I would buy the resources but I am very much supporting the need to recycle and reuse. Any unused things would be gratefully received.

I will just mention that the purpose of these spool lands is to generate imagination, oracy, connect the sides of the brain, develop vocabulary and promote amazing writing. I could go on but I think that is enough on small world matters.

I have spent the full day covered in mud, power washing and organising new outdoor areas. Never happy sitting still, if something needs doing, it just has to be done. There is absolutely no point in waiting when children’s learning could be enhanced even further.
The rill was a bit slimy and the stones surrounding it quite discoloured. I had forgotten how beautiful and interesting to look at the stones were. After a dreadful day of power washing, they are now gleaming and ready to explore. I wasn’t alone in this messy day. Mrs Luke had a power wash and Mr McGill was like the fifth member of the Ghostbusters with his…mud and muck, beware!

In September, I bought Reception Class bouncy hoppers to bounce over to the sound shouted out on the microphone or to see who could get to a certain word or number the quickest. The same red bouncy hoppers were still deflated because our football pump would not work.  Armed with breath, I blew them up by hand and took the opportunity for our specialist PE coach to teach the children how to use them.

This turned into a bouncy hopper relay. Wow, the children were skilled.

After power washing, I popped through the back door into nursery to get a staple gun and I was handed a book. One thing you never do with a child is ignore them the book they want you to read to them, no matter how busy you are. Promoting a love of reading starts from an early age and the magic of a book is priceless.

I was delighted to read the book, although muddy and wet, and the children seemed to be delighted too! The room had gone quiet and I hadn’t realised this but so much so that Mrs Jones took a picture…

School is looking great and the children make our day. We can’t wait until Beacon Class are back on Monday- a huge well done to the children for completing so much online work. I do look at Seesaw frequently and I love seeing the creativity and individuality of the children’s response to work set.

We have had a disaster with our website and everything under Kid’s Zone and other areas had disappeared. Mr Gilmour is putting everything back on soon so please do not worry if you can’t see the usual content. Our stories have disappeared and I had even been shown how to put Mr McGill’s stories under ‘story time’. They will be there again next week.

Mr Gilmour is now working on two websites, as our other beautiful and very unique other school, St.Mary’s, Claughton is also having a school video uploaded soon and is in website transition. I have to say that I will always feel blessed to be a part of smaller schools and the unique identity they have. St.Mary’s is set in such stunning surroundings with exceptional resources and a wonderful team who are wholeheartedly dedicated to being ‘ a small school with a big heart’. We can’t wait until we can work more closely together. The children are a joy, just like the children here. Even in the middle of this COVID crisis, we are lucky and we love coming to work every single day.

Please do send in selection boxes and squash for the local food bank. Any tins will also be gratefully received. Information has been sent on our recent newsletter. We are taking a small group of children in the minibus to see where the food is going to as a first hand experience. Adults will take the food boxes out of the minibus and drop them off on the doorstep to the food bank in our allocated time.  You can rely on us to ensure safety is paramount.

I wish you all a lovely weekend.