Friday 26th May
Headteacher's Update
Our Year 4 pupils have had a wonderful few days learning and living at the Stubbington Study Centre. If you have not had a chance to catch up with a blog updates from the Centre - please read them here.
We are excited that The Schools of Woolton Hill will be further improved to enable our children to access inspiring outdoor grounds and places to have happy and safe playtimes.
At the junior school, the front of school with be re-landscaped with a sensory garden and seating area, the ball wall will be replaced with high level wooden fencing and a new table tennis table will be installed. This will dramatically update the look of the school and provide great places to play. The children have been a key part of the decision-making processes and the majority of children wanted more quiet spaces to sit, talk and reflect as well as more table tennis!
At the infant school, we will have an extension made to our existing trim trail. The children were keen for "more places to climb" so this will be a climbing wall section. The garden area towards the end of the trim trail will also be upgraded with a low-level lookout den among the planting. Our infant children also wanted a football area which has already been created with a 'pop up' pitch for lunchtimes.
If any parents can donate any grasses or hardwearing plants for the area it would be much appreciated. Please speak to Debbie West in the school office.
We look forward to seeing these areas take shape over the coming months and to our children enjoying them from the autumn term.
I would like to wish all of our families a lovely half term. I have my fingers crossed for lots of sunshine. School re-opens at 8.45am on Monday 5th June.
Outdoor Learning
An important part of our improvement plan is to develop the Federation's reputation for excellence in outdoor learning. Our magnificent grounds at the junior school are a wonderful resource and we are determined that children from both the Infants and Junior school will access them. After half term, children from St Thomas' will spend Friday afternoons at the Juniors, having their games lesson on the field and taking part in a session in our wonderful outdoor classroom.
This week the children have enjoyed spending some time exploring and have lessons in our new outdoor camp area. Some of you may remember reading about the plans to develop the area in last year's newsletters. With huge thanks to the amazing efforts of parent and student helpers during the initial ground clearance days last year, and the extra on going help from Green Tips, Mr Tooze and Mrs Chang we have finally completed phase 1 of our development plans.
Later this Summer we hope to complete phase two of the design where we will see the remaining forest area cleared and zones marked out where the children will be able to complete various outdoor learning activities. Phase three of the plan will be complete in the Autumn term where we will be developing the pond area.
If you would like to visit the area or would like to offer anytime/equipment to help us complete our work, then please feel free to speak to a member of staff.
Open Days
We’re delighted to share dates for this years Open Days. If you have children looking to start in September 2024 then this is your opportunity to look around both schools and to learn how we can help your child to “Let their light shine”.
Follow this link to register.
Parent Workshop on 'Managing your Child's Behaviour at Home - open to ALL parents.
We would like to invite parents to sign up for our new Parent Workshop which will take place on Tuesday 20th June, 6pm to 8pm at Woolton Hill Junior School.
This will be run by Zoe and Sebastian from the Primary Behaviour Service who have a wealth of experience and understanding of behaviour both in school and at home. We have worked with them extensively in school and now it is time to share their expertise with parents too.
Although the workshop will be held at the Junior School, it is open to all parents from across the Federation. It will be invaluable for all parents to come and learn more about behaviour, setting boundaries at home, understanding why children 'meltdown' and how to help, finding ways to reduce screen time without arguments, finding things that work to help family life run calmly at home.
Tea and coffee will be available from 5:45pm and the event starts at 6pm. Parents should contact school if they would like to attend but are unable to find childcare as we may be able to support.
Book your place here:
This is not just a workshop for parents struggling with behaviour at home but for all parents to come and learn more, find new approaches, understand why behaviours are seen and ask questions!
Year 5/6 Production
Upper KS2 will be proudly presenting a retelling of the Legend of Robin Hood - Hoodwinked!
Robin Hood is back in town, along with Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Friar Tuck and Richard the Lionheart. Will he succeed in his plight to free the nation from the tyranny of the wicked Sheriff? Will King Richard return from the Crusades in time? And, will Maid Marian get her man?
A swashbuckling modern adaptation of the traditional Robin Hood story, Hoodwinked will have your audience 'booing', 'hissing' and 'cheering' with gusto.
Year 5/6 parents will soon be able to book tickets for the shows at 2pm and 5pm on Tuesday 12th July - save the date.
PE Days
PE days for the final half-term of this academic year are as follows:
Hazel: Thursday (swimming) and Friday
Rowan: Thursday (swimming) and Friday
Ash: Monday and Wednesday
Beech: Monday and Wednesday
Oak: Monday and Tuesday
Sports Day
This year our Federation Sports day will be held on Friday 7th July at the Junior School. The school gates will be open at 9.20am and the whole family is welcome to come along and show their support. A family picnic will take place at lunch and afterwards children are free to leave school with their family. Further details will be available closer to the event.
Please remember to show consideration for our neighbours when parking for this event or preferably please walk into school that day.
Term Dates & INSETs
Our next INSET day is Friday 16th June 2023.
Please follow this link to view our term dates and INSET days for 2023/24.
WoolFest 2023
There has been lots of exciting news recently from the Friends of Woolton Hill Junior School regarding this year's WoolFest.
To find out about the WoolFest Poster Competition winner click here.
To register to attend WoolFest click below:
Governor Vacancies
Have you ever thought about becoming a school governor? We have vacancies on our Governing Body for both parents and members of the community. Click here to find out more.
Sports Events
Quad Kids Children from all year groups took part in the Quad Kids event at Park House School in Saturday 13th May. The children were fabulous and worked hard in the cold grey weather competing in 4 events (sprint, longer run, throw and jump). They worked hard throughout the day and did a great job representing WHJS. A very big thank you to Mrs Bowden for giving up her Saturday to support the team at this event.
Yr5/6 Football We were delighted to host 7-aside football matches with schools from across the cluster attending. The WHJS team played matches against St Martin's, Ecchinswell & Sydmonton and Burghclere and drew 2 and lost 1. Goals were scored by Jamie and Jimmy and Jimmy and Henry took turns to play in goal and made some great saves. Thank you to the Clere school for supporting this event by providing year 10 students to referee the matches, we are looking forward to hosting more of these events in the future.
Star Awards
The following children received Star Awards this week! They should all be really proud, well done!
19th May: Max A, Sofiia P, Ellis C, James M, Harriet O'M, Xander B, Nell W, Maddison S, Tillie C, Nicholas M, Brody C and Seb L.
26th May: Scarlett M, Oliver J, Harper D, Rose He, Torin H, Tillie H, Beth I, Caden H, Daniel B, Jemima R, Nell W and Henry A.
Six Strands Awards
Self-Regulation
19th May: Addie F, Niamh J, Beth I, Ria K and Hollie M
26th May: Freddy G, Ashley M, Grace G and Harvey W
Hot Chocolate
19th May: Noah L, Bertie J, Caden H, Millie T and Joshua W-G
26th May: Joel H, James M, Nel M, Jack W-G and Jimmy P
The campfire looks great! Just need a starry night and fire to complete the look! And smores!