HWA Blog - 24.10.25
It has been another incredible week at HWA, rounding off a successful half term for teaching and learning. Despite the challenges brought on by flu season which has unfortunately affected several staff members our children and young people continued to show resilience.
All children and young people have adapted brilliantly to the changes in staffing and external cover, continuing to engage positively with their learning and school life.
We’re hopeful that the next half term will bring better health for all and even more opportunities to thrive. Thank you to our dedicated staff, supportive families, and of course, our wonderful students for making this half term a good one.
Now lets see what is happening across school...
Birds and beyond…
Science lead, Miss Natalia, led a whole-school assembly all about birds and their impact on the environment. Everyone learnt how birds help nature and how we can protect them in simple ways. But what made the assembly extra special was her very special guest Sienna, aged 5. Sienna has been fascinated by birds since she was a baby, and she proudly brought along her little handbag filled with part of her bird collection and her favourite bird’s encyclopaedia. With confidence, she helped present birds from A to Z, looking at photos and naming each one. The whole school was amazed by Sienna’s knowledge and enthusiasm, and it was a beautiful reminder that curiosity and passion for science can start at any age.
Sienna Bird - Assembly
On Wednesday afternoon, we enjoyed our Halloween Celebration, the Student Council thought this would be a fun way to fundraise in preparation for the year ahead.
We had a sweet treat stall for the secondary children and sold out within 10 minutes. The secondary students have requested more activities for them to get involved in, just like primary, so they are taking this back to the student council in the hope the next event will include more opportunity to engage in fun activities.
The Primary children enjoyed an afternoon disco with Halloween crafts and colouring, games, dancing, karaoke, face painting and plenty of sweet treats. A huge thank you to all involved.
Halloween Celebrations
Now let’s see what has been happening in the classrooms...
Starting with Mrs Whalley’s class…
"In Outdoor Education, students are learning how to stay safe in different places. They are practising road safety, like crossing the road carefully, and water safety, such as staying safe near rivers, lakes, or pools. They are also learning how to look after themselves and others when they are outside. This helps them feel more confident and safer in the environment.
In English, we are reading The Women In Black. The students have shared different opinions about the book and how the main character presents herself. It’s great to see them expressing their own thoughts and ideas during class discussions.
In Music, the students are creating an app of their choice and adding their own sound effects using instruments like the guitar, drums, or piano. They are using these sounds to change the mood and effect of the storyline in their app.
Art lessons have focused on human form and the students have applied varied tone to drawings of an eye, nose and mouth. We have some excellent artists in 9DWY.
In PE, we are learning to play basketball. We are working on building our teamwork and improving our movement and coordination skills.
In Food, we are learning about different types of bread from around the world. The students are making their own bread by following clear, step-by-step instructions. They are working independently, which helps build their confidence and life skills. We are also exploring the science behind bread-making, learning how the dough rises and how yeast makes bubbles to help the bread grow. The students have enjoyed seeing their dough change shape and texture, and they are proud of what they have made. The excitement when they receive their baked goods is a joy to see, and some are particularly tasty.
Our students in 9DWY always enjoy taking part in decorating our classroom door to match each term’s theme. This term, the theme is Halloween, and the students have been very creative and hands-on with the decorations. They have taken the lead in drawing and designing the Halloween door themselves, showing great teamwork and imagination."
DWY - 24.10.25
And now to Mrs Quinn’s class...
"What a fun and busy week we have had in engage 1.
During our sensory story lessons, we have been reading ‘my super senses’ poem, the children have had lots of fun exploring the different sensory props, banging on the drums, popping the bubbles and of course tasting chocolate. We then went on to investigate sensory trays linking to our poem, we had fun catching stars, driving cars and putting together our face jigsaw.
In our communication lessons this week the children used a communication board on TDsnap to request items to make their own Halloween biscuit. They had lots of fun choosing and tasting the different items.
As part of our curiosity, cause and effect lessons this week we have been getting into the Halloween spirt with our spooky activities. The children have enjoyed getting creative making creepy spiders with playdough, painting and printing pumpkins and bats, exploring Halloween tuff trays and mark making on pumpkins."
JQN - 24.10.25
In Miss Datta’s class...
"Harley wanted a Glinda’s wand, as seen in the musical Wicked, to go with his Halloween outfit. The class thought of creating one together. They found a stick during outdoor education, just perfect to be transformed to a wand. They blew up a balloon and put paper mâché on it. They went on a hunt to find some glitter and foil around the school and was soon helped by kind people. They decorated the spikes and carefully inserted them into the paper mâché and Bingo- the magical wand was created.
Harley was ‘super excited about the wand and would like to thank Miss Worrall’."
Harley
And finally, to Mr Ottaway for the highlights of outdoor education and PE.
All of our students have done really well during the first term back after the summer holidays. It’s been fantastic to see everyone working hard, showing great effort, and demonstrating positive attitudes across all lessons.
In PE, our Reception class have been focusing on their fundamental movement skills, developing their agility, balance, and coordination through a range of fun and engaging activities.
Years 6, 8, and 10 have been busy practising their handball skills, working on their throwing and shooting techniques while aiming at targets. They’ve also enjoyed plenty of competitive games of dodgeball, helping to improve their accuracy, teamwork, and reactions.
Meanwhile, Years 7 and 9 have been developing their basketball skills, concentrating on dribbling, passing, and shooting. It’s been great to see how their confidence and understanding of the game have improved throughout the term.
In Outdoor Education, all classes have reviewed and practised road safety and being safe in the community, taking part in visits to local parks and Oldham town centre. Students have also learned about water safety, with visits to the Castleshaw Reservoir, Uppermill, and Mossley Canal, where they explored how to stay safe near open water while enjoying the outdoors responsibly.
It’s been a brilliant and busy start to the school year well done, everyone I hope you all have a lovely and restful half term break.
Mr Ottaway
TOY - 24.10.25
To end the half term on a high, I had the pleasure of handing out Headteacher Awards today and I was joined by a very special guest: our very own Mr Hollinwood Academy Bear. The children were absolutely thrilled by Mr Bear’s surprise appearance and eagerly awaited the announcement of this term’s headteacher award.
It was lovely to see how excited they were, not just for themselves but for each other. Their genuine happiness and encouragement for their peers reflected the strong sense of community we’re building here at HWA.
I’m incredibly proud of every child who received an award today and of all those who continue to show kindness, effort, and resilience every day. Well done to all.
Headteacher Award - 24.10.25
Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA We are Creative STARs
Miss Boothroyd’s STAR of the Week is Effy for having a fantastic week and coping well with change.
Miss Boothroyd’s HWA We Are Caring goes to Louie for being a fantastic role model to his friends and always willing to help staff.
Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s STAR of the Week is All the children in EXPLORE3 for representing our class excellently at the Halloween disco on Wednesday. We are very proud of them.
Mrs Matthews’ STAR of the Week is Ruby for achieving 10/10 for 7/8 weeks of this half term.
Mrs Matthews’ STAR of the Week is Jaxon for his improved engagement and focus every day this week.
Mrs Matthews’ HWA We Are Caring goes to Loki for being a very thoughtful friend.
Mrs Bailey’s STAR of the Week is Jack, for amazing engagement in communication sessions this week making fizzy potions.
Miss Pietraszewska’ s HWA We Are Caring goes to the whole class for a wonderful first 8 weeks together! You have been amazing — we can’t wait for the months ahead together.
Miss Oakley’s STAR of the Week is Harry H- For his participation and engagement in his learning all week.
Miss Oakley’s HWA We Are Caring goes to Harry J- For always being the first person to say please and thank you.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the Week is Albi-Lee for doing really well in his spelling test.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the Week is William for doing extremely well with his eating this week.
Mr Corrigan’s WOW moments go to EVERYONE! For being proud of their friends.
Miss Hulme’s STAR of the Week is Tommy for trying some new foods this week.
Miss Tootill’s STAR of the Week goes to Ace for trying his best in PE.
Miss Tootill’s HWA We are Caring goes to Matthew for always working hard, especially in English.
Miss Gitten’s STAR of the Week goes to Oscar is our Star of the week for excellent story writing in English.
Miss Gitten’s HWA We are Caring goes to Faiha for being a kind friend on the playground.
STARS of the Week (24.10.25)
Well done to everyone.
Have a fantastic weekend.
Miss Gordon
