Friday 8th September
Happy Friday!
Welcome to the first blog of the new academic year. It has been wonderful to see our children back in school this week and despite the unprecedented heat for this time of year, they have settled well into the routines and expectations of their new year groups. We have loved hearing about their many summer adventures - beaches in Wales have been very popular! Thank you to all parents and carers who have ensured that their children have returned to school ready to learn with the correct uniform - if you are struggling with any items of uniform please speak to us as we have lots of preloved items available (we also accept donations of unwanted uniform).
If your child has been in school, and on time, since Wednesday then they will have started the year with great attendance and we will be working with our families to ensure this continues. Strong attendance at school is absolutely essential for every child and we want all of our children to have expected attendance as a minimum.
Although the children returned on Wednesday, the staff have been in school since Monday. On Monday we had the first of two INSET days to start the year. Our first INSET day was dedicated to TeamTeach training involving all teachers and teaching assistants - this training supports our high expectations of behaviour for all our children. On the Tuesday, we met together as a whole staff team and I started the morning off with a welcome address talking about the power of words and how this related to our core purpose of being here for each and every child. There was a great buzz as all staff came together and discussed the positive influence we have on the children in our care. Miss Walters then took the lead with our annual safeguarding training, reminding all staff of our policies, procedures and the importance of safeguarding within the context of education. The afternoon of the second day was time given to each year group to prepare for the children - although, most of the hard work had already been done as staff had been in school over the holidays.
Despite having two INSET days, we couldn’t fit in all of the training we needed. So on Thursday and Friday of this week we have also completed our First Aid training. We have completed this in small groups with all staff supporting to cover their colleagues whilst they are in training. The children have taken a great interest in the training - often stopping at the hall door to ask what is happening as their much loved adults have been lying on the floor in the recovery position, bringing about some concern; or sitting on a chair with their hand in a bandage!
The return to school has seen some very hot weather! The children and staff have coped really well, with some classrooms being warmer than others. This is not helped by safety mechanisms on our windows which only open so far. We do have air conditioning in nursery and reception, but the other classrooms rely on fresh air blowing through. One year five class even took themselves, along with their tables, outside to learn under the trees today - it was lovely and cool! Our favourite way to cool down is to eat something cold, so Mrs Carpenter and Mrs Bird were dispatched to the shop at lunchtime to clear the freezers of ice lollies! A little treat that was enjoyed by all. According to the predicted forecast, it will be much cooler next week and it won’t be long before we are moaning we are cold! Please do continue to ensure your child comes to school dressed appropriately for the weather conditions.
We really do value the relationship between home and school and we want you to feel involved in your child’s education. Your child will have come home today with a newsletter that is specific to their year group, these newsletters detail the curriculum for the coming term as well as other important information. Please speak to your child’s teacher if you haven’t received a copy - child post isn’t always reliable.
On Wednesday, we did start the year with an assembly. The children came into the hall beautifully and it was one of my many proud headteacher moments. We used this time together to remind everyone of the importance of being ‘ready, respectful and safe’, and the importance of being kind, always. We have seen some lovely acts of kindness this week - understandably, some children were more nervous than others about returning to school and there was much support being offered between friends. Well done children of Olive Hill!
We are looking forward to our first full week of the academic year, but in the meantime we wish you all an awesome weekend. Please remember that we are here to answer any queries you may have, no matter how small. We will always endeavour to be available on the playground at the beginning and end of each day - no matter what the weather!