Head Teacher's Blog 20.05.24
19th May 2024
There was a lot going on last week; our Y6s took SATs in their stride, gave each one their best effort and I can happily report that as a group, they are now looking forward to all of the wonderful things planned to celebrate the end of their primary education. Many thanks to all of the staff who supported our children through the week and especially to Tina and Nicola who prepared a delicious breakfast each morning and brought it along to classrooms so they could see the children and give them a word or two of encouragement. It’s at times like this that ‘team Swansfield’ really does look after each and every member!
In further great news, a Y4 team headed to an NUF football tournament on Thursday afternoon and represented our school brilliantly. Here’s a quick update from Mr Rose:
Working together and showing fantastic communication skills on the pitch, the team won all three of their group games to progress to the semi-finals. After a close, pulsating encounter that finished 1-1 in normal time, the team were unlucky to be knocked out on penalties. Nevertheless, they picked themselves up for their final game to secure 3rd place overall. We were very proud of them all and particularly impressed with their sporting behaviour on and off the pitch - well done everyone!
Many thanks to all who came along on Thursday evening for our academisation consultation open meeting. With all of our main stakeholder groups represented, some really pertinent questions were asked and answered. At the end of the consultation period, a summary of these questions and answers will be circulated openly.
Let’s look forward to the week ahead:
Next week is Walk to School week and so we are encouraging all children to have an active journey to school. This could be by walking, scooting or cycling. We know that many of our families have to travel by car and so we’d encourage you to park in the Roxburgh Place or Greenwell Lane car parks and walk up to school. Any child who travels actively next week will receive a sticker in the classroom to add to their chart.
On Monday morning our Y6s head off to their residential. We know they are going to enjoy their action-packed camping experience with abseiling, archery, giant stand-up paddle boarding and orienteering all on the itinerary. They’ll return home on Wednesday afternoon with so many stories and happy memories to share. We’ll let you know that they have arrived safely and a reminder that if, for emergency reasons, you need to contact the residential team outside of school hours, please call the number that has been circulated.
On Monday afternoon, a Y4 girls team will be heading to the Newcastle United training ground to take part in a football tournament. We wish the team lots of luck and we look forward to bringing you news of how they get on next week.
We are looking forward to Plum Class assembly on Thursday afternoon. I have caught a few glimpses as they have been practising and I can tell you that there’s some super singing for us all to enjoy! Family and friends are welcome to join us at 14.30 in the school hall. Please come to the main entrance from 14.20.
The children have responded really well to our key message for play times - to have kind hands, feet and words. As a reward for the care that the children are showing each other, we have a few new additions for the children to enjoy. We have some lovely new tuff trays and toys on the little yard beside Tic Toc and these are proving very popular with our younger students. The school field now has a newly marked out football pitch and some fabulous new goal posts and we know that the children are going to love playing with these from tomorrow. We’re making a timetable to ensure that everyone gets a fair opportunity to play.
We have some stars of the week to tell you about. A huge well done goes to: Joshua Patten, James Green, Hannah Guthrie, Louisa Harris, Poppy McMullen, Connor-Roy Wright, Oliver Hames, Jack McGowan, Jack Boutell, Millie Jeffries, Theo Thomas and each and every one of our Y6s for showing such courage all through the week. In addition to this, the following children added a lego block to our kindness jar in the hall: Harrison Knox, Tristan White, Alise Rekun, Penny Tate, Alice Armstrong and Niamh Claxton. Thank you for thinking of others - we noticed your kindness. We are proud of you all!
With Walk to School week upcoming and an active week for our Y6 on residential, here’s the music for the week:
See you in the week,