Summer Newsletter 2
Dear Parents & Carers
Another busy week comes to an end.
If you’ve not had a chance to read our Ofsted report please follow the link below
https://www.woodlandsschoolformby.co.uk/ofsted-reports/
We had a visit from Paul Semple (National Trust) to follow up on his assembly on World Earth Day & how we need to be taking care of our planet by using our resources sensibly & reusing & recycling where possible. Paul came along to see how our school councillors had decided to tackle the challenge he set: to collect as many items as possible that would otherwise be thrown in the bin when really it can be reused & to use this collection to design a mural. They marked the outline of a tree on the playground & then supervised each class as they created apiece of transient art using cardboard, tin cans, plastic bottles, etc. It looked brilliant! Check the photos on our website
https://www.woodlandsschoolformby.co.uk/stream/news/full/1/-//
This week we’ve also had a couple of our football teams in action. On Tuesday, our Y3&4 team travelled to Trinity St. Peter’s; a commanding performance saw them win 8-0. In the mix zone afterwards, Mr Grant said he was as equally pleased with the clean sheet as he was with 8 goals. As the former manager of St. Mirren & Aberdeen, Sir Alex Ferguson, once said, “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.” Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be able to watch our Y5&6 team take on our local rivals St. Luke’s. Think Celtic v Rangers, Boca Juniors v River Plate or Fenerbahce v Galatasaray. This is the one that means more. I have not enjoyed watching a Woodlands match so much for a long time. It had it all. Crunching tackles, silky skills & goal line clearances. The whole of Woodlands match day squad were magnificent: Wood (captain) organised his side throughout & stepped in with some van Dijk-esque interceptions; Patel reminded me of a young Denis Irwin, winning the ball back in his own half & driving forward down the flanks; Szabo, Lewis & Jameson were dynamos in midfield, constantly breaking up St. Luke’s attacks & launching breakaways; Holden never let the St. Luke’s defence settle on the ball & was unlucky not to score herself with a delicate lob which drifted agonisingly past the post; Hansen tormented their defence throughout – they couldn’t deal with his trickery - every ball into the box caused panic amongst the defenders; Natasingham was a colossus in defence, I lost count of the number of times he snuffed out dangerous moves from the opposition – this was surely his best performance in the blue of Woodlands; Griffiths came off the bench at halftime to score the only goal of the game with a sublime finish from a delightful cross by Jameson (a TAA special) – if Salah had scored this, the pundits on Match of the Day would have been raving about it for weeks. However, the Player of the Match award could only be awarded to one person – Sutton in the Woodlands’ goal. What a performance! St. Luke’s threw everything at him but could not get the ball into the back of the net. Point-blank stops, goal-line blocks, diving bravely through a maelstrom of boots to secure the ball in his grasp – Sutton was unbeatable. I’m sure it’s game that will long in the memory of those who were fortunate enough to watch it.
Dates for your diary
I mentioned in last week’s newsletter that we are looking forward to holding a range of events towards the end of the summer term; here is a heads up on the dates:
Saturday 2nd July Woodlands Summer Fair [afternoon]
Thursday 7th July KS2 (Y3-Y6) Sports Day [morning]
Tuesday 12th July Y2 End of the Year show [morning]
Wednesday 13th July Reception Sports Day [morning]
Thursday 14th July KS1 (Y1&2) Sports Day [morning]
Friday 15th July Y6 Leavers’ Disco [no parents]
Monday 18th July WOODfest II Y6 Leavers show on the school field [afternoon]
We will send more details of these events nearer the time.
This week’s ‘nudges’ to help you start conversations about your children’s learning are as follows…
Nursery
What minibeasts can you find in the garden or park?
{Understanding the World}
Reception [Red & Blue]
Can you explain how you planted your broad bean seed & what it will need to grow?
{Understanding the World}
Y1&2 [Green, Yellow & Purple]
What is a hijab & why do some people choose to wear them?
{English topic: ‘The Proudest Blue’ Ibtihaj Muhammad & SK Ali}
Y3&4 [3A, 3/4M & 4G]
Can you explain how the city of London has developed since it first became the capital of England?
{Geography topic: ‘London & the South East’}
Y5&6 [5D, 5/6P & 6R]
Teach someone the basic moves to the Charleston!
{PE topic ‘Dance’}
This week our attendance is 96.8%; so close to the 97% we’re after. Well done to Purple Class (97.3%), 3G (97.0%), 5D (98.6%) & 5/6P (98.7%) for breaking the 97% mark.
We had 4 classes who had no late marks this week: Yellow Class, 3/4M, 5/6P & 6R. we’ve 19 late marks across the whole school. 18 late marks ‘before the register closed’ – that’s before 9.20am & 1 late mark ‘after the register has closed’, that’s after 9.20am.
We’ve been asked to share the following information by Greg Pennington (Cricket Development Officer at the Lancashire Cricket Foundation). It looks like a great opportunity for your children to try cricket. who knows, you may discover you’ve got the next Heather Knight or Ben Stokes in your family! The sessions at Formby start on 9th May, though there are other events at Hightown & Ainsdale – just follow the links below to find out more details
All Stars Cricket- 5-8 year olds - https://www.ecb.co.uk/play/all-stars
All Stars Cricket provides a fantastic first experience for all children aged 5-8 years old where they’re guaranteed 8 weeks of jam-packed fun, activity and skills development. The programme is designed to introduce children to the sport, teaching them new skills, helping them make new friends and have a great time doing so. Every child that registers will receive a backpack full of goodies.
Dynamos - 8-11 year olds - https://www.ecb.co.uk/play/dynamoscricket
Dynamos Cricket to encourage boys and girls aged 8-11 to have fun and fall in love with cricket. Your child will receive a personalised New Balance Dynamos Shirt and 8 sessions including countdown games of cricket.
The Woodlands Calendar Elves have gleefully asked me to clarify when our next 2 INSET days are. They are on Friday 27th May & Monday 6th June. The children will not be in school on these days.
Enjoy the long weekend – don’t forget school’s not open on Monday!
KD Williams
Headteacher
Last word
Yesterday, I washed the car with my son.
He said, “Dad, can’t you use a sponge like everyone else?”