Horbury Bridge CE J&I Academy
Living by our Christian Values: Together in Faith, Hope and Love
February 11th 2022 : Newsletter 20
Headteacher appointment update
Today you will have received an email from the Governing Body informing you of the outcome of the recruitment process and the appointment of Mr Richard Tuddenham as Headteacher from Easter. Click here to view the letter
I met Mr Tuddenham when he first started his teaching career and at that time, was impressed, not only by his teaching skills but also the enthusiasm, care and commitment he showed: qualities I am confident he will also bring to his leadership at Horbury Bridge. We will be working together over the next half term to make sure that the handover at Easter is as smooth as possible.
The children were also very involved in the selection process: a group of them interviewed the candidates with questions thought of by each class. All the candidates led an assembly, had lunch with the children and visited classrooms. When I told the children the outcome in assembly this morning, their reaction showed that Mr Tuddenham is a very popular choice with them!
Morning drop off
From Monday morning, we will return to using the pedestrian gate from 8.45am instead of the driveway. Key Stage 1 and 2 children (Classes 1, 2 and 3) should still arrive between 8.45 and 8.55am and go straight into class for short morning tasks so that lessons are ready to start by 9.00am. Foundation Stage children should still wait with parents until the bell rings at 8.55am to line up and go into school with staff.
Whilst we were able to adapt health and safety procedures during the pandemic arrangements, as we return to 'normal', we ask that you do not bring dogs to wait on the school site (anywhere from the pedestrian gates) at hometime or in a morning.
Menu: Click the photo to see next week's menu
In case you missed it
Community News
Junior Bake Off
Love productions are looking for young budding bakers between 9-12 years old. Filming would take place from July 2022, but applications close on Sunday 13th March 2022. Interested bakers can apply online at - www.applyforjuniorbakeoff.co.uk
White Rose Forest Project
Sunday 13th February 10.30 am to 12.30am https://whiteroseforest.org/about/actionplan/
INSET Days
We will be closed for 2 INSET (staff training) days on Monday 25th and Tuesday 26 July. This means that school will close to children on Friday 22nd July.
Class News
Lower Nursery
This week Lower Nursery enjoyed making music. We enjoyed playing with musical instruments in class and then we had a play with the Boomwhackers. The children began tapping the Boomwhackers on the floor, then we tapped them high, tapped them low, tapped them loud and tapped them quiet. As you can imagine the children loved tapping them loud and they got very excited when they could make as much noise as they wanted.
Upper Nursery & Reception
It's been yet another busy week in Foundation Stage. Nursery enjoyed consolidating their learning about 2 part repeating patterns by making delicious fruit kebabs. The children selected the fruit that they wanted to use and carefully used their fingers to thread each piece onto their skewer. Rory explained "It keeps swapping. It goes blueberry, raspberry, blueberry, raspberry."
Reception have also been busy learning about maps and how they can help us to understand what things they might find in a certain place. In small groups, Reception studied a local map of Horbury Bridge and discussed what things they could see. Toby said "There's two long pieces of water", which he later found out were called a canal and river. They also identified roads, cafes and bus stops. Using our small construction materials, the children then made their own maps, based on the real map that they had been studying.
Class 1
In Class 1 we have been thinking about ways to stay mentally healthy as part of Mental Health Week. We have enjoyed lots of fresh air, exercise (including yoga) and meditation. Being creative is a brilliant way to help our mental health so we have been artists this week, creating emotion paintings. The children enjoyed exploring using oil pastels and noticing how the water colour reacted to it. Each child thought about the colour, patterns and symbols they could use to represent their chosen emotion. We also used photography as part of the artwork to demonstrate how, in life and art, people use their bodies to express feelings.
Class 2
This week, Class two have continued their artwork inspired by the work of Vincent Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'. They started by investigating how he created his pieces with different brushstrokes and layers of colour. They then tried to recreate this by looking very carefully at where certain features were in relation to each other.
The children then used and applied these techniques in creating their own arctic landscape in Van Gogh's style.
Class 3
This week Class 3 have been developing their practical science skills. After completing their own enquiries around bulb brightness last week, this week they collated their results and drew line graphs.
They then used all of their science learning from this half term to begin building electrical fair ground rides inspired by the book, 'Leon and the Place Between'. They have been planning and designing their creations during DT sessions and have worked collaboratively to make their designs come to light!
Achievements
Foundation Stage
Lower Nursery
Zoe: for growing in confidence when speaking to adults and your friends.
Upper Nursery
Elissa: for being a pleasure to have in our class. You are trying so hard to listen, contribute and show kindness to everyone.
Reception
Arthur Mu: for trying hard to improve your letter formation.
Class 1
Kiera: For showing perseverance and determination in all she does.
Nathan: For being a super role model this half term.
Class 2
Joshua: For persevering in art this week
Oliver S: For always having such enthusiasm for reading and making great predictions about our class text
Class 3
Mason: for using his growth mindset this week and having a positive attitude to his learning.
Charlie: for continuing to work hard in his writing and turning his hand to lots of different text types.
Important Dates
Diary Dates can be found below.
Term Dates can be found on our website https://www.horburybridgeacademy.co.uk/diarydates/