Friday 26th May
Happy Friday!
We have come to the end of another busy half term here at Olive Hill. This week has been lovely, with the sun shining most days. The children have been very eager to tell us about their plans for the half term break - lots of late nights, lots of late mornings, a number of swimming pools in back gardens, trips to the beach, trips to London, trips to Croatia and Disneyland; the list is endless!
We are very proud to be a founding member of the Stour Vale Academy Trust, and there is lots that goes on within the Trust that impacts on the quality of education we provide for our children at Olive Hill. There are lots of different jobs in the Central Team that support the member schools to function efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the children. Miss Murphy has been the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) for Stour Vale since the beginning, and today was her last day with the Trust as she is retiring. Miss Murphy is very special to Olive Hill, as prior to the appointment of the wonderful Mrs Williams, we did not have a school business manager so Miss Murphy was our support. Thank you Miss Murphy for all that you’ve done for the children of Olive Hill and across our Trust. Enjoy every second of your retirement.
Strong financial management of a school is imperative to its success, and with budgets very tight for the coming academic years that financial management has never been more important. The senior leadership team, including Mrs Williams, work tirelessly to ensure value for money when educating the children. We would love to have more money in our budget, but we make the most of what we have. Both Miss Lee and Mrs Carpenter are very good at making sure we pay the best price for materials and services. You should hear Miss Lee on the phone!
As well as teaching and learning, and strong financial management, it is also imperative that our building and premises are kept in a good state of repair. This week, we had a health and safety audit. The auditor very thoroughly inspected every part of our school. Mr Weston keeps our school looking beautiful, and Mrs Williams is ensuring that all of our policies and procedures are in place. Along with our health and safety audit, we have other regular inspections including a fire risk assessment, a tree survey, legionella testing and a glazing survey. At Olive Hill it is an expectation that everyone keeps themselves and each other safe - that was the focus of our assembly this morning and the children were impressive with their answers. They were very clear about why the floors needed to be kept clear, so if you have any untidy children’s bedrooms at home you may want to use the safety aspect as a reason for them to keep them clean!
There is much that goes on behind the scenes to allow us to deliver a high standard of education for the children. This high standard of education is evident in the children’s outcomes and it is always wonderful to walk the school and observe the children’s learning in action. Year six are now rehearsing for their end of year production, and they have been continuing with their own projects. This involves sharing their learning about earthquakes and volcanoes in a scrapbook, their creative presentation is impressive. Year two have been making clay people in the style of artist LS Lowry, today they were busy painting them and we are looking forward to seeing the finished outcome. Reception to year six enjoyed their enrichment session today and it was great to see the relationships between our younger and older children.
You should have received our end of term letter via ParentMail today. It is important that you keep your contact details updated with the school office.
Wishing everyone a lovely half term break.
See you on Monday 5th June.