Welcome back! I hope you have all had a restful half term holiday and your children are ready to return to school as we have a busy half term ahead. We packed so much teaching and learning into the first part of this term and will build upon this on our return.
Here is what we have been up to at Holyhead and what’s to come!
Trips
The West Midlands Police Museum hosted our Year 6 children for a day of forensic fun and exploration of crime and punishment throughout Living History. They all behaved impeccably and fully engaged with every activity throughout the day.
Our Year 2 children become Trail Blasters for the day, at The Think Tank. They walked through time learning about how inventions shaped the future. The afternoon brought the opportunity for our children to become inventors in a STEM Lego workshop. Like our Year 6 pupils, they also modeled outstanding behaviour throughout the experience, working effectively with their peers.
Year 5 travelled to The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry. They applied the knowledge and skills they have gained during their Framed E3L theme and become artists for the day. The artworks that they produced were incredible and we display at school in our Art Gallery in The Hive.
Visitors
HEN
Years 2, 3 and 4 demonstrate they creative side and engaged in our HEN art workshop in which they created 3D lanterns. The final products will be on display in Birmingham, more exciting information to follow.
Black History
As a school we celebrated cultural diversity and the achievements of Black History throughout the month of October, but with so much to learn it will not be limited to one month. From our youngest children in EYFS to our eldest in Year 6 we all explored different aspects of Black History and applied it in the form of expressive art.
Police visit
Through our community cohesion project, we have been developing working relationships with local services. We all had the pleasure of meeting our local PSCO officers in our classrooms, with Year 6’s and Year 1’s E3L themes further enhanced by bespoke workshops. Their support is very much appreciated and essential in developing positive citizenship.
Class assemblies
Year 3 took on the challenge to be the first class to perform a class assembly, showcasing all that they have learnt during their Trail Blasters theme. The aspirations they have drawn from this theme made me very proud of them all, true Trail Blasters.
With great confidence Year 4 demonstrated the depth of knowledge they have gained throughout their E3L theme. They clearly articulated how our ears work and how sound travels. They even demonstrated how sound effects our created to enhance what we see on the big screen.
With had so much Excite, Explore and Excel to start this academic year, it’s time to begin this next half term with new books and themes to explore, see below for your child’s coverage:
| Nursery | Let’s Pretend | The Little lost Dragon by Wayne Anderson |
| Reception | Snap, Crackle and Pop
Exploring the local wildlife and environmental sounds |
Day Monkey Night Monkey by Lucy Waddell |
| Year 1 | Twist and Shout
Exploring percussion instruments and different musical genre. |
Super Tato by Sue Hendra |
| Year 2 | Worth Repeating
Exploring patterns that exist in nature. |
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywait |
| Year 3 | Prehistoric Planet
Exploring the pre-historic era from The Stone Age to The Iron Age. |
How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson |
| Year 4 | Merlin
Explore legend stories and investigating states of matter. |
Harry Potter – The Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling |
| Year 5 | Bloodhound
Explore the how the land speed record was set and investigating the cars which attempt the challenge. |
The Story of the Car by Giles Chapman |
| Year 6 | Iceberg Ahead
Exploring the events of the Titanic disaster and the geographical features of North America. |
Voices of the Titanic: A Titanic Book for kids by Mary Montero |
Promoting a love of reading at home and school
Reading is a vital skill to nurture and develop in all our children. The ability to read fluently and with understanding will unlock the whole curriculum and beyond. An ability to read alongside a love of reading will have a lifelong positive impact on your child. There are many ways in which we can promote this culture of reading both home and school, some of which are detailed below and will be explored during our early reading workshop this term. Hope to see many of you there.
- MAKE IT FUN – Enjoy reading together. Give characters funny voices and engage with the pictures. Make a game out of finding words that rhyme or start with the same sound.
- BE SEEN – Make sure you are seen reading. Keep books and magazines at easy reach.
- ASK QUESTIONS – Ask questions about the story as you read it e.g. What is the story about? Why do you think they made that choice? Was it a good choice? Why did that happen?
- GET OUT – Go to your public library regularly. Find the books you loved as a kid to read together.
