What a wonderful half term we have had so far. As Christmas fast approaches and we work our way through Advent, we remind ourselves what a wonderful time of year this is. It feels like the Reception children have always been here and I am sure you will enjoy watching them perform with such confidence in the Nativity ‘Born in a Barn.’School is looking wonderful. I am attaching pictures of displays and general school areas. The decorating was certainly worthwhile and we look forward to having our Willow dome re-threaded.The children in the school choir and band have been rehearsing today and I found it amazing to watch some of our Reception children there too. The older children look after the younger children so well with so much care and kindness. I sometimes can’t believe how mature some of the children are-especially the Year 6 children who are preparing for such wonderful (yet challenging) things towards the end of the year.

In our school hall, Ellie from Year 5 has drawn up a rota to remind the class of their reading duties with the Reception children. The Year 5 buddy system is working so well and the Reception children are delighted whenever their buddies come to visit. The children enjoyed a Diwali celebration together two weeks ago, where the children made food and Diva lamps. The classroom looked spectacular and great fun was had by all.

It has been a busy week in school. I realised that no matter how much you plan something carefully, things can still go wrong. I was fully prepared to take the school choir to the CAFOD Advent Service at Our Lady’s High School. The children and I were so looking forward to it yet a phone call came yesterday asking where we were the previous evening. It was one of those moments where for a few minutes you are in disbelief. The children had been to the rehearsal a couple of weeks ago at the school and we had sent our backing track to the school. When I got to the root of it all, a ‘change of Advent Service date’ email from another school had been sent and  had been written in the diary. I can only apologise for this inconvenience to parents of children in the choir.  The children will have many opportunities to perform for you at our Advent Service, Carols around the Tree and school fair.

On a positive note, I was on the Radio on Thursday promoting our school…I hope that is how it came across. I haven’t had an interview over the phone before and it was strange to think that people were listening to me but I couldn’t see anyone. Not until the children from the classrooms (who had been listening) came to my office and brought with them a huge buzz of excitement! CityBeat FM are going to be working closely with the children in the near future. I will tell you more when I clarify details with the radio station.

Please don’t forget about Christmas Jumper Day next Friday-I have my elf jumper ready! It will be a lovely day in which to have fun as we raise money for charity.

I thank you all for welcoming me to your school. You are a pleasure to work alongside. I will keep adding information to this new website over the next couple of days. Thank you for your patience.We are now tweeting and the school has a facebook page. Join us on Twitter and get sharing! We are still working hard to promote the school at every opportunity. Open Afternoon was a joy and the children who came loved the music workshop. Thank you to the school choir and instrumentalists who played for the parents. Our Head Boy-Harry, Head Girl-Beth, Deputy Head Boy-Lewis and Deputy Head Girl-Ilyda were great representatives of our school as they took parents on yet another school tour.

Have a lovely weekend!