HWA Blog - 21.11.25
Happy Friday to all.
It’s been another great week of learning and adventure here at Hollinwood Academy. Despite the recent cold snap and change in weather, our children have embraced the outdoors, continuing to enjoy Forest School and outdoor learning experiences.
In the classroom, our Year 10 and Year 11 students have been working hard to prepare for their mock exams. Their positive attitudes and determination have been inspiring. During my visits to several classrooms this week, I was delighted to see how eager the children were to share their work. They are proud of their achievement and so am I.
On Thursday, we carried out a fire drill. I was very impressed with how quickly and calmly the children and young people evacuated the building. They were fabulous and out in no time. Well done and thank you to everyone involved.
Looking ahead, next week we will continue with mock exams for Key Stage 4, while our primary children will be busy rehearsing for this year’s Christmas show. I hope you can join us for what promises to be a wonderful celebration, I am really looking forward to it.
Super Learning Day
On Wednesday, our school celebrated Advent with a thoughtful and reflective focus. Each class explored the meaning of Advent, learning about its themes of hope, peace, joy, and love, and discussing why this season is so important to Christians as they prepare for the celebration of Christmas. Through stories, activities, and shared reflections, pupils discovered how Advent helps Christians get ready for the birth of Jesus, and they enjoyed taking time to think about what the season means to them today.
With great pleasure I would like to share with families a short paragraph written by Louie.
"I believe that candles are lit on an evergreen wreath to represent hope, peace, joy, and love in Jesus’ eternal life. This is evidenced by the species of plant that candles are lit upon: Evergreen. Ever comes from the word eternal and green is the colour that represents life ergo, eternal life. Supporting this evidence, Jesus Christ is the symbol of eternal life, and the candles represent the hope, peace, joy, and love in that eternal life. Therefore, I believe that candles are lit upon an evergreen wreath to represent Jesus’ eternal life and the ongoing candlelight of hope, peace, joy, and love within."
SLD - Advent
Now let’s see what has been happening in the classrooms.
Starting with Miss Mathew’s class…
"It has been a wonderfully busy and exciting few weeks in Year 6 Thrive Class. From creative writing and scientific exploration to developing our wellbeing and online safety skills, the children have truly thrown themselves into every activity with enthusiasm and maturity. Here’s a look at what we’ve been learning:
English – Talk4Writing: The Graveyard Book
Our new Talk4Writing unit is inspired by The Graveyard Book, and the children have been fully immersed in its mysterious atmosphere.
· Immersion & Hook: We began with an exciting hook to draw children into the world of the story, exploring characters, setting and mood through drama and discussion.
· Cold Write: Children completed a cold write to show what they already understood about suspense writing.
· Model Text: We then introduced our class model text.
· Picture Mapping: Children created brilliant picture maps to help them learn the text off by heart—an important Talk4Writing strategy.
· Toolkit: Together, we identified the key features needed to create suspense, such as show-not-tell language, precise vocabulary and short, dramatic sentences.
· Vocabulary Work: We carried out targeted vocabulary sessions to help children understand and apply ambitious words from the model text.
· Reading VIPERS: Through VIPERS, we have strengthened retrieval and inference skills while connecting our reading to our science learning about electricity and energy.
Maths – Fabulous Fractions
Year 6 have been working incredibly hard during our fraction’s unit. We have covered:
· Recognising and generating equivalent fractions
· Simplifying fractions
· Placing equivalent fractions on a number line
· Converting improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa
· Comparing fractions using denominators and numerators
· Ordering fractions
· Adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator
· Adding any two fractions, even with different denominators
The children have persevered brilliantly through some challenging concepts. well done Year 6.
Science – Electricity
Our electricity topic has been a real highlight. Children have:
· Constructed complete and incomplete circuits
· Drawn series circuits using scientific symbols
· Explored how electricity powers everyday life
· Investigated conductors, insulators and how energy travels
Their teamwork during practical investigations has been fantastic!
Geography – Energy Around the World
Linking closely to science, our geography work has focused on understanding where our energy comes from and why energy is important.
We have also explored:
· Renewable and non-renewable energy sources
· How different countries produce and use energy
· The importance of sustainability for the future
Computing – Online Safety
This term, we learned how to stay safe when using technology. Our lessons have included:
· Life online and how our actions have consequences
· Keeping information private
· Sharing online and understanding what is safe and appropriate
· How to make positive, respectful choices in digital spaces
PSHE – Wellbeing & Personal Growth
In Thrive and PSHE, Year 6 have demonstrated thoughtful reflection and maturity.
Lesson 1: “What Can I Be?”
We learned to:
· Recognise personal strengths, skills and achievements
· Celebrate individuality
· Understand how these contribute to self-worth
Lesson 2: Relaxation & Mindfulness
We focused on mental health and ways to support wellbeing, including:
· The importance of sleep
· Exercise and time outdoors
· Hobbies and clubs
· Helping others
· Staying connected with friends and family
These sessions have been calming, thoughtful and empowering for the whole class.
We also took part in a fantastic Michael Rosen Live Lesson, where the children were captivated by his energetic performance and hilarious food-themed rhymes. Laughter filled the classroom as children joined in and explored the fun side of poetry.
To finish the week, BBC Children in Need Day was a wonderful success. We began with a thoughtful class assembly, followed by a comprehension activity to help children understand what the charity supports and why fundraising is so important. The children enjoyed themed wordsearches, calming mindfulness tasks, and even completed some colourful maths calculations to end the day on a bright, creative note.
A Fantastic Term of Learning so far
Year 6 Thrive Class have worked incredibly hard across all subjects, showing resilience, creativity and curiosity. We are very proud of everything they have achieved so far and are excited for the learning still to come."
HMS - 21.11.25
And now to Miss Smith’s class
"We have been having lots of fun in 10JSH this week enjoying lots of practical hands on learning.
As the Christmas season draws near, we’ve taken the time during the Super Learning morning to explore the significance of Advent to Christians. Advent is a time of preparation, reflection, and anticipation leading up to Christmas and the birth of Jesus. Through this study, we’ve discussed the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love that are central to the season.
Our favourite activity during this study was creating our very own Advent wreaths. The wreaths are traditionally made of four candles, each representing one of the four weeks of Advent, each representing one of the four key themes of the Christian season. We enjoyed some fresh air whilst searching for materials to use on the wreaths, before getting creative and making our own versions.
In science, we’ve recently concluded our unit on firework safety. We have learned about the science behind fireworks and why safety is so important. Fireworks are beautiful to watch, but they can also be dangerous if not handled correctly. We researched the risks and safety precautions associated with fireworks and even worked hard to create our own firework safety presentations. We included important tips, such as never handling fireworks once they’ve been lit, ensuring they’re set off in a safe, open space, and keeping pets indoors. We have also learned how to wire a plug which we all enjoyed.
During one of our favourite lessons, we enjoyed a trip to Tesco where we had the opportunity to choose our own products and learn about budgeting, decision-making. This trip was a great hands-on experience in learning how to make informed decisions while shopping - a great opportunity to practice our math skills in the real world!
We have even made our own chicken nuggets in Food class, although I am sure they were mostly eaten before they had a chance to make it home.
In Maths we are working hard to learn about equations and inequalities. These are fundamental concepts that help us understand how numbers and variables interact in mathematical relationships. We’ve learned how to solve simple and more complex equations and inequalities, a skill that will set us up well for the remainder of our time in key stage 4. The class have really worked hard on gaining their skills around this difficult area of Maths and I am very proud of how well they are working, showing great resilience."
JSH - 21.11.25
Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA We are Creative STARs
Mrs Quinn’s STAR of the Week is Teddy taking part in breakfast club all week. You are a morning super star.
Mrs Quinn’s HWA We Are Inspiring goes to Freddy - Engaging beautifully in all tasks and sitting well during morning/afternoon routine. You are a great example to your friends.
Miss Boothroyd’s STAR of the Week is Effy for a fantastic week at School
Miss Boothroyd’s HWA We Are Inspiring goes to Louie for being intendent with his schoolwork.
Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s STAR of the Week is Alfie for his super listening and learning this week.
Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s inspiring star goes to Zachary for being inspiring when using sign language practising our nativity songs.
Mrs Matthews’ STAR of the Week is Jaxon for showing lots of resilience this week and for his contributions in English.
Mrs Matthews’ We Are Inspiring STAR goes to Henry R for Contributing answers to every discussion and being willing to give it a try even when not 100% sure.
Mrs Bailey’s STAR of the Week is Jack for coping with some changes to routine.
Miss Pietraszewska’ s HWA We Are Inspiring goes to Ivy, for Engaging in English lessons, answering questions related to the story, and role-playing some of the scenes. Well done.
Miss Pietraszewska’ s STAR of the Week goes to Nevaeh, for her beautiful singing of the numbers up to 100 in maths.
Miss Oakley’s STAR of the Week is Lyla for showing Miss Gordon she can do her 3 times tables.
Miss Oakley’s HWA We Are Inspiring goes to Kai for being keen to show off his work and show how proud he was.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the Week is Teddy W for using his words with peers when he has been upset.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the Week is Hope for coping really well with the fire alarm.
Mr Corrigan’s WOW moments go to Teddy B for being proud of his friends.
Miss Hulme’s STAR of the Week is Korey for trying super hard with his spellings this week and trying to spell words independently.
Miss Hulme’s HWA We Are Inspiring goes to Gabriel for being super brave by drinking his medicine.
Miss Tootill’s STAR of the Week goes to Simisola for trying her best in the end of unit assessments.
Miss Tootill’s HWA We are Inspiring goes to Cole for trusting others to help and inspiring peers to share emotions.
Miss Gitten’s STAR of the Week goes to Stanley for excellent maths work.
Miss Gitten’s HWA We are Inspiring goes to Kai for kindly offering the cereal to a friend before pouring his own this morning.
STARS of the Week (21.11.25)
Well done to everyone.
Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Gordon.
