HWA Blog - 20.10.2023
I cannot believe we are at October half term already but it has been so nice seeing all the children and young people settled, happy and working hard.
Each half term, I give out a number of Head Teacher’s Awards to worthy children and young people who have been nominated by the staffing teams. I am incredibly proud of the students who have received certificates this half term…
Well done and keep up the hard work next half term everyone!!
This week, I have to mention our wonderful Reception children as they have successfully completed their first half term in school. It has been an absolute joy to see them engage in their learning and make great strides in their educational journey.
I am so impressed with how our reception class have embraced the challenges and opportunities presented to them. They have shown immense curiosity and enthusiasm in exploring new topics and developing their understanding of the world around them. I am also thrilled to see the friendships that have been formed as they explore their classroom together. Keep working hard.
This week, some of our secondary students attended the Diana Award Anti Bully Ambassadors programme. They we true ambassadors for the school as their conduct and participation was impeccable and we are extremely proud of them.
The Diana Award is for outstanding young people who selflessly are creating and sustaining positive change in memory of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Our students are supporting the Anti- Bullying programme aiming to engage more young people, parents and teachers to change the attitudes, behaviour and culture of bullying by building skills and confidence to address different situations, both online and offline.
Thank you to Mrs Harrington, Miss Rashid, Ms Henson and Mrs Gold for supporting and motivating our students.
This half term we are celebrating excellent attendance across school. Good school attendance shows future employers that a young person is reliable, more likely to achieve well and play a positive role in their community. Research suggests that children and young people who attend school regularly could also be at less risk of getting involved in antisocial behaviour or crime. Below is a table showing how your percentage attendance equates to the amount of school time missed.
Children who frequently miss school, fall behind in their work which affects their future prospects.
Every half term we are celebrating 95% – 100% attendance by presenting children and young people with certificates to acknowledge excellent attendance. Well done to all who received a certificate this half term. Some were so close and I am sure you will receive a certificate next half term. Make it your mission to attend school regularly. You can do it!
Let’s see what some of the classes have been doing starting with Miss Matthew’s class…
“This term year 6 HMS have been learning about the events of World war 2. The children have learned about the key events, The Battle of Britain, The Blitz, Evacuation, rationing and the roles of women.
In ICT the children have also learned about The Enigma Code and how Alan Turing’s team were integral to the ending of the war.
Our class read this term has been ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ which has helped the children to consolidate this learning and begin to empathise with how this time impacted on the lives of so many.
In Science this term, the children have been learning about classification and living things. They particularly enjoyed conducting an experiment to find out which conditions mould was more likely to grow in.”
Now to Mrs Whalley’s form…
“7 DWY have made a great start to the term. They have had regular visits to Oldham Town Centre for outdoor ed where they have focused on road safety. Their focus and maturity whilst taking them out of school was excellent.
In food tech students have been learning about food hygiene and have been awarded lots of reward points for their effort and engagement. In science, students have enjoyed learning about cells and using the microscopes. Our anti bullying ambassador has been on a day’s training course in preparation for the Diana Award. Students are very pleased as they have all passed their E safety test.”
Now to Mr Akhtar’s form…
“The form has had a great first half term back at Hollinwood they have settled into their new timetable quickly.
This half term the form has been busy creating and learning new topics, starting with English they have been learning all about Gothic storytelling, setting atmospheric scenes and creating monsters and ghouls, the class are definitely in the mood for the upcoming spooky season.
Maths has been a mixture of topics including, ratio and scale, multiplicative change, currently the class are learning how to multiply and divide fractions.
Science this term has been about developing their scientific enquiries, asking scientific questions, planning investigations, collecting and analysing data and looking for patterns, and evaluating their work. The class have had great fun building electrical circuits, turning on light bulbs and making sounds with buzzers.
The form really enjoys computing and have this term been learning about computer networks, how data is sent via protocols and packets and how services are provided over the internet.
The form has been very creative in Art, looking at the artist Burgerman a New York based artist who turns doodles into mini characters. The aim of this term is to create a wallpaper of their own creations from their doodles. We can’t wait to see their finished creations. The form has also been creative in Music making their own dance compilations, following a simple drum pattern, the tunes sound amazing and we have a few budding Ibiza DJs in the form, watch out Pete Tong!
Most of the class have earned their food hygiene certification this term in cooking, they have made a chocolate cake in a mug also they created their own smoothies, following these up with a food analysis, looking at the five senses to assess the food they had created.
The form has been going over safety during outdoor education, visiting Oldham town centre to refresh road safety and what dangers they could encounter within a busy town centre. The class also took a visit to Castleshaw reservoir to learn about the dangers of open water and how to get in contact with the emergency services. They have all done really well and Mr Heap has been very impressed with how sensible the class have been whilst out and about.
During History and Geography lessons the form have been learning about king Henry VIII and the hydrological system.
Two of the class Sofia and Oliver have been out to Alexandra Park café this week with social club and the intervention team Mrs Kulczycki and Miss Sharples to conclude the end of the six-week intervention to help them make some new friends in school and open up in conversations.
Our anti-bullying ambassador Zachary went with Mrs Harrington and the rest of the anti-bullying ambassadors to take part in the Diana Award. Zachary came back with lots of knowledge to pass on to the form.
Zachary was also the forms Hollinwood star of the week for great teamwork in sports and a head teachers award for always being a caring friend within the form class, Zachary always tries to uphold the Hollinwood Academies values especially showing we care. Well done, Zachary.”
Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA Caring STARs…
Mrs Lerigo’s STAR of the week is Albi for the most amazing independent work in maths – you have blown us away!
Mrs Lerigo’s HWA Caring STAR is Jack for excellent work with his emotions and reacting to someone showing signs of upset.
Miss Bramley’s STAR of the week is Abdul for trying really hard in Maths.
Miss Bramley’s HWA Caring STAR is Eliora for always being a kind and caring friend with people in her class and in Miss Emma’s Class.
Miss Pietraszewska’s STAR of the week is Roma, for communicating her needs and wants verbally, well done!
Miss Pietraszewska’s HWA Caring STAR is Freddie for role-playing ‘The Three Little Pigs’ with his friends outside! Well done!
Mrs Quinn’s STAR of the week is Kai for managing longer periods in the classroom this week!
Mrs Quinn’s HWA Caring STAR is William for sitting for longer periods in class using the timer.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the week is Simisola for coping really well with change this week.
Mr Corrigan’s HWA Caring star is Lewis for being a caring partner on Outdoor Ed.
Mr Corrigan’s WOW moments go to Lewis and Maya. Well done!
Miss Boothroyd and Miss McDonald’s STAR of the week is Loki for using strategies that I have learnt to calm down after becoming upset or angry.
Miss Boothroyd and Miss McDonald’s HWA Caring STAR is Jason for being a good friend when I was hurt, being forgiving, and understanding to my friends.
Miss Matthew’s STAR of the week is Lucas for showing excellent focus in English!
Miss Matthew’s HWA Caring STAR is Renico for creating a sign to put on the toilet door to let people know it was broken!
Miss Tootill’s STAR of the week is Billy for settling into his new school making new friends.
Miss Tootill’s HWA Caring STAR is Connor for having a positive attitudes and welcoming a new student into our class.
Well done to our secondary Hollinwood Academy STARs this week:
We finish for October half term today and school reopens on Monday 30th October. I hope you have a lovely break spending time with family and friends and I have a busy week planned with my girls.
Mrs Millard
