I feel like I have not been in school very much this week as I have had to attend a lot of meetings and I have accompanied the children on a few visits so I have to admit that I could hardly believe the week had passed and half- term is here – let us hope that next week does not go as quickly when we are actually on holiday.

One of the important events that I had to do this week was interview for the Year 4 position and I am glad to announce that we were able to appoint. When all the paperwork and safeguarding checks have been completed I will announce who the successful candidate is.

The Oakmere mini marathon was held this morning and it was the first one that I did not go to as I had to attend some training. However, all went smoothly and some of our children did very well. Two boys in Year 4 finished 2^nd and 5th in their event and three boys in Year 5 finished 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th in their race. I would like to thank all the staff who attended the event for their efforts in ensuring that the event ran smoothly.

All that is left for me to do now is to hope you have a good half term holiday and I look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday, 2^nd June. I must remind the Year 6 to have lots of sleep during the holiday because when they come back they are going to Kingswood for the week and they will need lots of energy for all the activities they will be involved in.

Life always appears more pleasant when the sun is shining and we have been experiencing that the last couple of days in school - let us hope that it lasts until the half term break which starts next Friday. We were fortunate that the sun shone for the ‘Le Gros’ netball tournament on Wednesday night. All the girls who took part did the school proud and I am pleased to say that our one of our teams managed to get through to the semi-finals but were beaten by the eventual winners of the tournament who were Cuffley. I would like to thank Georgina Parkinson for all her hard work throughout the year in preparing the girls for the tournament and all their matches.

There is another sporting event this afternoon when some of Year 3 and 4 children take part in a football tournament at Cranborne School. All the children are very excited about it and I will let you know how they do next week. Mr Mills is the one who has prepared them for this event but in his absence I am accompanying the children to the tournament which is why I am writing this blog a little earlier than usual. Everything will be back to normal next week when Mr Mills returns to school on Tuesday.

Some of you will have noticed that we have had some workmen in school this week. This is because they have been installing a new piece of playground equipment. It is a tyre park and I know the children are going to enjoy playing on it. We did not have to pay for the equipment or the installation as we managed to obtain a lottery grant which covered all the costs – good news indeed!

You may also have noticed that we have a new sign outside the school to discourage people parking on the yellow zig-zag lines. I know that the majority of people do not do this and that most people are concerned about the safety of the children but it gets constantly brought to my attention that there are a few persistent people who think they do not have to follow the signs. As I have said many times before I do not want something to happen to one of the children before people start taking notice of the road signs.

This morning we were presented with a real treat when the reception children did their class assembly. It was based on ‘The Enormous Turnip’ and it was a delight to watch. As well as the children I would like to thank Miss Jaeger, Mrs Beadle, Mrs Aldridge and Mrs Pittson for all their hard work in putting on the assembly – it was much appreciated by all who watched it.

We have just one more week before we break up for the half - term holiday. I know the Year 6 will be feeling a lot happier now they have the SATs examinations behind them and Kingswood to look forward to when they return after the holiday. Next week I hope to see a lot of you when we have our half-termly ‘Open Afternoon’ which gives parents the opportunity to look at their children’s books. Please remember that it has only been a short half term so the children may not have completed as much work as they normally do  - in particular Year 6 who have been preparing for SATs tests.

Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you all next week.

 

Even though the sunny weather has deserted us this week at least it was sunny for the Bank Holiday which made the long weekend even more enjoyable.

The big news for us in Little Heath this week is the arrival of Mr Mills’ baby. Jessica May Mills arrived on Saturday morning at 9.45am weighing in at a healthy seven pounds, eleven and a half ounces.  Both mother and baby are doing well and Mr Mills is on paternity leave, hopefully being very helpful to his wife at home. He will be returning the week before half term and in the meantime PE sessions are being covered by the class teacher and/or teaching assistants.

Next week it is SATs week in school which a lot of Year 6 children tend to worry about but then find that it was nowhere near as bad as they were expecting. However it is not all about exams next week as the netball team has the ‘Le Gros’  netball tournament to look forward to. It is held at Mount Grace School on Wednesday evening straight after school and if you have some free time I am sure the teams would appreciate your support.

The PTA have also organised an Egg Drop competition for after school on Friday night. Details about the event were sent out yesterday and I know it will be an enjoyable event   for both children and adults and a great way to start the weekend.

Let us hope that the fine weather returns for this weekend (although the forecast is not good) and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday.

I did say in my blog last week that it was going to be a busy week in school and it certainly has been – on the plus side I also said that it would mean that the week would pass very quickly and that has happened too.  I can hardly believe that it is Friday again. If all the weeks pass as quickly as this one it will be the summer holidays before we know it.

I have seen quite a few mums (and a couple of dads) walking around looking a little more glamorous and relaxed than usual. This is because the PTA held an indulgence evening last night and some parents treated themselves to a variety of beauty treatments and massages. All those who attended the evening said what an enjoyable event it was and I would like to thank the PTA for all their hard work in organising it – especially Amanda Garey who co-ordinated the whole event. An impressive £578 was raised. With all the fundraising that is happening in school the outdoor classroom will soon be a reality.

All the lunchtime and after school clubs started again this week which the children always love. The long awaited ‘Mills’ baby has still not arrived although there are signs that it is on its way which is why he has been absent today. We will inform you as soon as we know exactly what is happening and we will let you know as soon as possible if his after school clubs are running. I know this situation is inconvenient but I am sure that you will all understand given the circumstances.

We have a bank holiday coming up so we all have a long weekend to look forward to which is always nice. As I have a course I have to attend on Tuesday I will not be back into school until Wednesday (I am not taking an extra- long weekend) so if anyone needs to see me they will have to wait until then. I will be at the Brookmans Park May Day Event on Saturday as some of our children our performing a maypole dance at 2.30pm so if you have some free time do pop up to watch them as it is a lovely event.

If I do not see you on Saturday I hope you all enjoy the extended weekend. Let us hope that the sun shines and everyone returns feeling refreshed and invigorated on Tuesday, 6^th May.