HWA Blog - 08.12.2023
On Monday evening I held our first Governor’s meeting of the academic year and it was lovely to see everyone and equally welcome Clare John, CEO of NB MAT) to our meeting where she made valuable contributions and challenges.
During the meeting, the Governors received an update from myself regarding the school, numbers, building estates document, progress, standards and attainment and approved the Pupil Premium report. The governors reviewed the progress and achievements of the school over the past term and we also discussed the outcomes of external accreditations at EYFS, KS1, KS2 and KS4. This review is crucial in ensuring that we maintain our high standards and continue to provide the best possible education for our children and young people. We then reviewed the school development plan and the progress made this term including the analysis of our safeguarding audits, attendance and pastoral aspects of our school’s provision. Mrs Tushingham also gave an update on the year-to-date position on finance, including the 3-year budget plan and also discussed and agreed a number of policies.
I always look forward to our Governor’s meetings as it gives me the opportunity to celebrate our achievements and highlight any areas of development with the continuous challenge from our Governors so that myself and the senior leadership team are constantly striving for the best for our children and young people.
This meeting was Andrew Hill’s, parent Governor, last meeting as he has stepped down from his role due to work commitments. Andrew has supported us as a school for the past 2 years and he has been a great asset to the governor’s structure and meetings. Andrew has been a huge support to us, the school and the wider community and we will really miss him. However, I am pleased to announce that we have a new parent governor who will be joining us in January 2024 and I am sure will be a great addition to the governing body. I am looking forward to introducing our new parent governor to the team, children, young people and families at Hollinwood so that we can all work together.
Let’s see what some of the classes have been doing starting with Miss Meadow’s class…
“We have been having lots of Christmassy fun this week. We would like to share what has been happening in our lessons with you this week and our progress in our communication and the app TD Snap.
Since September, we have been learning to confidently choose from 2-4 symbols and exchanging them with an adult. Our learning experience is immersive, exposing students to various lessons such as Maths, Phonics, and Art. We’ve also embraced the Christmas theme, incorporating communication activities to contribute to the school’s Artsmark journey, fostering creativity and expression.
In maths, our focus this week centered on repeating patterns and shapes. We engaged in activities like creating repeated baubles, printing with shapes, and making flour rockets during our attention autism sessions, making learning not just educational but also incredibly fun.
In Phonics, the spotlight was on sounds and expanding vocabulary. This week, we explored the sound ‘j’ by making jam sandwiches, and the students absolutely loved it.
Art class has been a hub of creativity as we crafted reindeers and hand penguins using communication boards from TD Snap and iPads to enhance our learning experience.
We’ve dedicated significant effort to accepting new toys and learning the corresponding symbols to request them. Additionally, we had the pleasure of meeting our new class teacher this week, who will take over from Miss Meadows in January. The introduction was a hit, and everyone is eagerly anticipating more enjoyable learning moments come January. We are very proud of how hard all our students are working and are excited to see how they progress.”
LMS Pics
Now to Miss Bouttell’s form…
“During Science 10MBL have started the topic of Biology. The students have worked with each other to complete a practical of testing foods. Together, they discussed the practical lessons and outlined the importance of how and why we need to be safe while carrying out the experiment. The students worked well in small groups.
During English the students have been focusing on Romeo and Juliet. They have been practicing answering questions on this subject, working independently, while describing different language techniques used by the author. The students have also been to see the play Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, this has really helped secure the student’s understanding and knowledge of the play.
During Maths the focus has been on simultaneous equations. Some students have confidently answered questions out loud to the class, some have asked for help and guidance when needed and others have helped each other when the questions have seemed difficult.
During MFL (Modern Foreign Languages – Spanish) the focus has been on school activities and achievements. Together the students have been reading, listening to and writing in Spanish, while also translating this into English. The students have made notes in their ‘vocab’ books, so they can look back over these to secure their understanding of Spanish.
During Geography the focus has been on Urban change and social inequality within Manchester. The students have been looking at maps identifying deprivation within Manchester, then writing about this using geographical language.
Overall each student has had a positive attitude to learning this week, they have engaged in lessons, answering and asking relevant questions for each subject to secure their understanding. They have also shown great support to each other during lessons and unstructured times. Well done 10MBL!”
Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA Caring STARs…
Mrs Lerigo’s STAR of the week is Albi for improved behaviour at lunch time eating his food.
Mrs Lerigo’s HWA Inspiring STAR is Teddy B for excellent writing and engagement in all subjects.
Miss Bramley’s STAR of the week is Libby for some fantastic letter writing and Eliora for being an inspiration to the whole class with her lovely manners and always setting a good example.
Miss Pietraszewska’s STAR of the week is Alfie for doing a fantastic job by making the right choices, reflecting on his behaviour and trying his best to improve. We are so proud of you Alfie!
Miss Pietraszewska’s HWA Inspiring STAR is Roman for great engagement.
Mrs Quinn’s STAR of the week is Kai for fantastic singing during all our Christmas song rehearsals.
Mrs Quinn’s HWA Inspiring STAR is William for sustaining motivation during his maths work this week.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the week is Mysha great engagement with the Christmas Alphabet song
Mr Corrigan’s HWA Inspiring star is Faiha for being a great role model in the Christmas show rehearsals.
Mr Corrigan’s WOW moments go to Lewis, Simsola, Faiha and Louis. Well done!
Miss Boothroyd and Miss McDonald’s STAR of the week is Jason for using his words when feeling angry and upset.
Miss Boothroyd and Miss McDonald’s HWA Inspiring STAR is Blair for using her best singing voice in rehearsal and trying her best.
Miss Hulme’s STAR of the week is Derry for always following our class rules.
Miss Hulme’s HWA Inspiring STAR is Brooke for creating her own fabulous story in English.
Miss Matthew’s STAR of the week is Rafael for continue contributions in class, super Maths and English work, a lovely polite demeanour.
Miss Matthew’s HWA Inspiring STAR is Gerard for always raising his hand in class, amazing manners and some excellent contributions in class this week.
Miss Tootill’s STAR of the week is Connor for working hard in all his lessons and being a kind friend.
Miss Tootill’s HWA Inspiring STAR is Dylan for trying his best in all his lessons and pushing himself in all areas.
Don’t forget, there are a number of key events taking place next week:
- Pastoral and Year 11 academic Parents’ Evening – Tuesday 12th December
- Primary Christmas Show – Thursday 14th December at 9:30am
- Christmas Jumper Day, Christmas Dinner and Christmas Markets – Wednesday 20th December
- Autumn Term Reports – week beginning 18th December
- School closes for the Christmas break – Friday 22nd December
- School reopens for the new term – Monday 8th January 2024
In preparation for these events, I can confirm that the corridors are filled with glitter, Christmas songs are being rehearsed and beautifully decorated Christmas doors have appeared across the school. We are certainly getting into the Christmas spirit.
This weekend we are taking my girls and our parents to watch the grand opening of the Rumpelstiltskin pantomime at the Millgate Arts Centre in Delph. It’s always a tradition of ours to watch the opening show and we thoroughly enjoy the performance while supporting our local community. I hope you have a wonderful weekend too.
Mrs Millard
