Headteacher's Update 20th March

Dear Parents and Carers,

To all the mums in our community – I hope that your weekend last week was full of love and appreciation.

Here’s a snapshot of the many things that have been taking place across the school this week – it has certainly been another busy one!

The Year 5s have been getting super creative with music technology this term. They have been using Garage Band to compose their own music on the iPads and it's been amazing to see their confidence and musical skills develop. They have worked collaboratively to explore different musical genres and make decisions about how they would like their composition to sound by choosing different instruments and effects. It's been fantastic to see how varied the musical outcomes have been and the children have loved listening to each other's work. I had the pleasure of joining them for their session this Thursday and to say that they were engrossed in their learning is an understatement.

As a staff team, we recently took part in whole-school training focused on the use of AI within our school. Behind the scenes, we are working carefully to ensure that any use of this developing technology supports high-quality teaching and learning, while also maintaining strong safeguards for our children and staff.

Our Governors have already reviewed our draft AI policy, and once this work is finalised and the time is right, we look forward to sharing it with you and what this will mean for us as a school community.

After sharing my latest reads with the children in an assembly at the beginning of term, I received an overwhelming number of recommendations from children across all year groups. They have certainly been pushing me out of my comfort zone with genres – they know that my favourite type of book is historical fiction, especially stories based on real people, real places and real events.

Maggie in Year 4 recommended Murder Most Unladylike, which I absolutely loved. Whilst reading, I was certainly trying to solve the crime myself – unsuccessfully, I might add – but what a gloriously well-written book. Maggie has promised that I can borrow the next one in the series once she has finished it!

And my favourite recommendation so far… a book about Richard III and the mystery of his nephews in the Tower of London. The Secret of the Traitor is a real page-turner and a must-read for any other historical fiction lovers out there. Thank you, Rebecca in Year 6, for such a brilliant suggestion.

Children’s literature is just so rich, imaginative and full of adventure – proof that some of the very best stories are written with young readers in mind.

My next reads are: The Storm and the Sea Hawk by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (the author of my all-time favourite children’s book: The Island at the End of Everything) recommended to me by Amelia in Year 4 and The Last Firefox a book recommended to me by Theo in Year 5.

This is our Year of Reading… so keep those recommendations coming and, most importantly, keep reading!

The Year 4 show this week was a true spectacle - full of energy, buzz (no pun intended!) and real pizzazz. It was undoubtedly a highlight of the week. Every child embraced their role and performed superbly, speaking, acting and singing with confidence and sheer enjoyment.

A huge thank you to the Year 4 team for making it all happen, and to you as parents, for ensuring the children looked the part in their fabulous costumes.

It was yet another wonderful example of how oracy is woven throughout our curriculum.

And finally… have a wonderful weekend, whatever you have planned. I’m heading off to Somerset for a weekend away with family and friends. See you next week.

Warmest Wishes,

Mrs. Beccy Andrews