I cannot believe we have already been back in school for three weeks! The children came back from Christmas looking smart and ready to learn and have settled straight back into normal routines.
I know there has been lots in the press about possible strike action in schools throughout dates in February and March. As it currently stands, school will be open as normal on the intended strike days. Please note that this situation could change if other teaching unions decide to re-ballot.
Our holiday dates for 23/24, including training days, were shared with you all last week through email but they can also be found here: https://greetlandacademy.org.uk/diary-news/
The training days have been allocated slightly differently to the way we have done it in the past so please make sure you do check the dates. As you will all be aware, we also have an additional day this year where school will be closed for the Coronation. This date is Monday 8th May, which has meant the Y6 SATs tests have all been pushed on by a day and will run from 9th to the 12th May.
Last week we had the team from Little Wandle, our phonics scheme, in school to assess us for Champion School Status. It was a rigorous process which involved talking to leaders and observing practice across the school. I am thrilled to announce that we were successful and this is just further confirmation that we are highly skilled in the teaching of early reading. This status will generate further income for the school which in turn can be spent on our children.
Before the holidays, I informed you all that both Miss Bailes and Miss Whiteley will be leaving us shortly to have babies. Mrs Ashton and Mrs Walker will be the class teachers for 4A from February half term. I am pleased to inform you that we have recruited an excellent teacher to join our team to cover release time across the school. Miss Robertshaw will start with us after the half term break and will teach children across the school. She has a wealth of experience and will be a welcome addition to the team. She will be in school on the 6th of February for her induction and will meet all the children then.
You may have seen on Facebook that Monday was deemed the most depressing day of the year. To brighten everyone’s spirits, we had a special visitor at both sites- Martha the huskie!We also treated all of our staff to hot chocolate and brownies as a small token of our appreciation for the fantastic job that they all do.
Our Year 1 children visited Ilkley Toy Museum this week and had the most amazing time. One child even said, ‘this is just the best day ever’. The museum staff commented on how polite and articulate our children were which has made me super proud.
We’ve started the new term off with more sporting success- our Y5/6 girls football team won all their games in the Adam Heslop Cup and will progress through to the next round. Mr O’Shea and Mr Bade were blown away with the girls and their impeccable behaviour. They certainly proved that ‘this girl can’!
Finally, we are currently looking for a new KS2 caretaker after Mr Ali left us for a job closer to his home. Please do share the advert with anyone you think may be interested:
https://greatheightstrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Caretaker-01.23-Advert-1.pdf
Wishing you all a lovely weekend (let’s hope it gets a bit warmer)!
Mrs Crowther