Friday 21st May

Happy Friday!

What is with this weather! Several times this week we have found ourselves in torrential conditions just as the end of the day arrives. This time last year I was able to enjoy my garden and I was writing blogs about what the staff had been planting. It has been reported that the weather should improve during June.

At Olive Hill we want our children to have memorable learning experiences and that often involves some creative thinking from the staff. Our year five children have been learning about different countries, through Formula 1 racing. Today, the children were given the opportunity to race their own cars, well, remote control cars. The children all gathered in our large hall and each team were assigned a different car that they needed to race around a circuit. I could hear the shouts, screams and laughter from my office - they were having so much fun! Over the coming weeks, we are hoping that the weather will improve so they can take their cars outside and race them around increasingly complicated circuits.

Following the easing of some restrictions, lots of our reception children have told me that they are going to the cinema this weekend with their families. I am very jealous as they are going to see Peter Rabbit 2, I loved the first film and hope I get to see the second one soon. I am sure there will be spoilers come Monday. Children across the school have been eager to share their experiences this week, especially those that have involved seeing family members they have not seen for a long time.

At Olive Hill, we are all very much hoping that September sees a more settled start to the academic year. We are currently evaluating all of the changes we have made due to pandemic and making decisions about what we will keep as part of our new normal. For example, the children wearing PE kits to school rather than getting changed during the school day - this has had lots of advantages, including increased curriculum time and fewer clothes mysteriously disappearing! Please can we remind all parents and carers that on their PE days children should wear trainers, plain jogging bottoms, a plain white T-Shirt and their school jumper.

As well as enjoyable conversations about visiting the cinema, I also had a lovely discussion with a group of our older children around their family origins. It was fantastic to see how they identified with different countries and the pride they had in their heritage. All the staff at Olive Hill enjoy learning about our children’s interests on a daily basis - the pets they have, the books they read, their family members, days out, nights in, likes, dislikes, worries, celebrations etc. It is important that our children feel they have voice and that they can talk to us.

I hope that you all have a good weekend.

Stay safe.