Friday 27th October
Happy Friday!
We have reached the end of the first half term of the academic year - well done all! It has been a long, and very busy half term with lots of learning, laughter and sharing of stories. Parents, you should have received an end of half term letter via ParentMail this evening with various bits of information. If you are not receiving any communication via ParentMail, please speak to the office staff on our return from the half term break.
This morning in assembly we discussed what it meant to lead a good life, and the children’s responses were fantastic. They spoke about what made them happy, and it was clear that spending time with family and friends was top of the list. They also talked about how helping others helps them to lead a good life; being determined and reaching goals; working hard; finding a job that they love; being able to talk about their worries and lots more. We were all super impressed, as nobody talked about the materials things we have in life. They were so good, we didn’t need to share the video about how to live a good life as they already knew. Well done children of Olive Hill - you make us proud every day!
Year four arrived at school this morning dressed in green and blue as part of their water themed day. A huge thank you to South Staffs Water who delivered an excellent workshop as part of the day. The children have all gone home with a new window decoration that will support them to understand the water cycle.
On Thursday, our year one children boarded our minibus for a tour of the local area courtesy of Weston’s Tours (otherwise known as Mr Weston, our fabulous site manager). The children had a great time looking at the local architecture as part of their themed learning.
This week we have hosted lots of trainee teachers. As part of the Stour Vale professional learning offer, Mrs Higgins facilitated a phonics session and this involved lots of adults being in our classrooms to observe teaching and learning in phonics. Everyone was very impressed, and it made Mr Holder very proud (for those of you who don’t know, Mr Holder used to be our assistant headteacher but he now leads on teacher development for the Central Team of our MAT). We have also hosted secondary trainee teachers today, they were visiting to observe the difference between primary and secondary, one commented on the lovely relationships that we build with the children but said they wouldn’t be able to cope with the noise on the playground!
That is it from me for this half term. Thank you to everyone for your continued support - staff, parents and children, you are all amazing. All of the staff at Olive Hill wish our community a lovely half term break and we look forward to seeing you on Monday 6th November.