I am certainly feeling “that was the week that was” because I do not know where it went. That is probably because I spent Tuesday at the O2 with the choir taking part in the ‘Young Voices’ concert. It was a fantastic event and both the children who took part and the parents who watched it thought it was amazing. The children in the choir were also a great credit to the school with how they behaved and conducted themselves. Some of them are taking part in a second concert at the Wembley Arena in March and if the experience is half as good as the O2 event they are in for a great treat!

Speaking of great experiences I realise that I forgot to mention in my blog last week the Year 3 Assembly. It was all about the ‘Stone Age’ which is a topic they have been covering in history and the children presented it brilliantly. I was amazed at the number of lines some of the children had learned - especially as some of the words were really difficult to pronounce. As well as thanking the children I would also like to thank Mrs Costi and Mrs Clarke for all the hard work they put in to make the assembly possible. They were also thrilled by all the positive comments that they got back from parents.

Yesterday the children In Year 2 and above watched a play called ‘Sticks and Stones’ and it was all about ‘anti-bullying’. As I said last week luckily we do not have too many incidences of unacceptable behaviour in the school but it is always good to reinforce the message about what is acceptable and what you should do if you feel you are being bullied. Something that I would like to reinforce is that I get a number of parents who come to see me because their children have told them about something that has happened at school when they get home. Whilst the parents are quite correct in reporting the incident to the school it would be far better if the child could report it as soon as it happens because it makes it far easier to investigate something at the time it has just happened. If everyone could talk to their children to reinforce this point I would appreciate it.

I find it hard to believe that it is February next week and it is almost half- term – before we know it we will be breaking up for the summer holidays! Let us hope we see some sun this weekend and I will see you all again on Monday.

As I explained in my blog last week I had to be out of school quite a bit this week because of courses and meetings so it actually feels quite nice to be sat at my desk working. Next week looks just as busy so again I will be missing from the gate in the morning on a couple of occasions although I will actually be in the school building more than this week.

 The choir are now getting very excited because they are performing at the O2 next week as part of a ‘Young Voices’ concert. I am also very excited as I am going to the concert although I think I am more nervous than the choir about the singing. They have been practising for months and have worked very hard to get ready for the concert and I know they will represent the school well. I would like to thank Miss Kenwell and Mrs Robinson for all the work they done in preparing the choir for the concert.

As well as the O2 concert next week we have other exciting things going on in school. We have a theatre company visiting us and they are going to perform a play  about anti–bullying to Year 2 and above. We are fortunate in this school that we do not have too many incidents of unacceptable or bullying behaviour but it is always good to reinforce the message that it is unacceptable and ensure that the children do know what to do if it happens.

I hope you all have a good weekend. Apparently we are getting the wet weather back which is a real shame because I have enjoyed the frosty weather even though it has been a shock getting used to the cold.

There was great excitement in school this week as the first flurry of snow appeared. I think all the children were hoping that there was going to be enough snow so they could have snowball fights and hopefully a ‘Snow Day’ at home but thankfully that did not happen and we managed a complete week in school. Even if more snow does appear, I hope we will not have to miss any days at school but may I just remind you that if we do need to close the school for any reason we will inform you by text at soon as we know that we have to close. This is not a decision I take lightly and I always try to keep the school open.

As we are in the middle of winter we have had some of the children suffering from seasonal colds and viruses and I know that that is not always pleasant for them. However, may I remind you that children are not allowed to bring any medication into school with them, including cough sweets and lozenges. If you would like the children to receive any medication during the day then you need to come and give it to them yourselves. We are only allowed to administer medications in schools for chronic conditions and if we need to do that the correct paperwork has to be completed beforehand.

Next week is a very busy week in school for me and I have a lot of meetings to attend outside of school so if you do not see me around I am still working - I am not having a sneaky day at home so I do not have to come out in the cold. If I am not around and there is an issue you need to discuss with me remember that you can always talk to my deputy Mrs Zegallo or make an appointment to see me at another time.

 

 

I hope that you all had a good Christmas and 2016 has started well for you. I know that coming back to work after a holiday is always a little challenging but I think it is always more difficult after the Christmas holidays because they are always so busy  and it can actually be more relaxing to return to work. I had a lovely holiday but I was ready to return to my normal routine even though it is difficult getting up in the dark again.

The children, as usual, have settled back into school very quickly and there is a nice ‘buzz’ around the school. I am sure all the children will feel even happier next week as all the school clubs start up again - let us hope that the weather is kind so that we do not have to cancel any. Apparently it is going to get colder which will be a change as it has been so mild recently but I do think anything will be better than all the  rain we have been getting. When it is dark and wet all the time it can be quite depressing.

Some good news that I would like to spread is about some of our staff and pupils who were the focus of a feature in a magazine. For the last few years Mrs Wells and Mrs Onley have run a ‘Cross Stitch Club’ in school which has proved very popular with the children and they have produced some amazing pieces. News of their work spread to a magazine called ‘The World of Cross Stitch’ and they have published an article about them in their magazine which I have put up on the front door if you would like to see it. I know that every week the staff and pupils do great things in the school but it is nice to have their work acknowledged by an outside agency.

Have a good weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning when hopefully we will all have got used to getting up early again.