We really hope that all of our families had an enjoyable Easter break and were able to spend some quality time together. It has been an absolute pleasure to welcome the children back into school this week. There has been such a purposeful atmosphere around the school and I had to give out a lot of bees in assembly this morning because the behaviour was simply fantastic! Classes work together to collect bees. When the whole class impresses an adult in school, they receive a bee and if they collect 20, they get an extra treat, such as some additional play time. Well done Team GH!
Massive 'THANK YOU' to Murphy
We would like to thank Cathal Nevin and Patrick Sweeney and their team from the company Murphy, www.murphygroup.com for the amazing work they have completed for us during the Easter Holiday. The company have donated their time and resources to build a sandpit on our KS1 playground. This means all children from Year 1 to Year 6 will be able to play in the sandpit each lunch time. (Nursery and Reception already have a sandpit on their playground).
The Murphy team also helped us by taking down a broken fence by the Year 2 and 3 building, taking down the rotten old gardening shed, laying concrete bases and putting up two sheds and a play hut.
They have helped us to create a quiet area on the KS2 playground by putting up a new quiet hut and digging a new planting bed that gardening club will help Mrs Elsey to plant up.
They created a small grass mound on KS1 playground for the children to play on. Once the grass has established on this mound and the grass seed has grown we know the children will enjoy playing and rolling on this mound.
We cannot thank the Murphy team enough for undertaking this project for our community.
Football Tournaments
Our Year 5 and 6 football teams have had a busy week with two tournaments to play in! Mrs Sproat, Mrs Harris and parent, Mrs Allgrove, went with the boys to an all day tournament on Wednesday and the boys impressed not just with their footballing skills but also in how they conducted themselves throughout the day. The Blue Team were in the competitive league and made it through to the Semi-finals. On Thursday after school, our Red team played in a Game On tournament and were really proud to share that they finished third. Super work boys – well done!
Punctuality
Thank you to all parents who ensure that their children are in school on time each day. I would like to remind you all that the school day starts promptly at 8:45am (8:30 am for Nursery) with classroom doors open from 8:40am. While we understand that on rare occasions, incidents may occur that cause lateness, we have a growing number of families who are late on most days. This causes disruption to the learning of the children in class and some children are very embarrassed about arriving late into class. Punctuality is a vital life skill. Please support your child’s learning by ensuring that they are on time for school.
Playground Resources
Thank you so much for the donations of play items you continue to leave in the donation box outside the school office. Thank you for the donation of plants that was left. Mrs Elsey and gardening club will be using these to plant up the new bed that has been created over the holiday. If you have any plants or know a company that can donate plants they cannot sell then please let us know.
We continue to be on the search for resources for our children to play with on the playground and appreciate all the contributions that continue to come in. Currently, we are particularly in need of pallets, scaffold boards and cable reels. If anyone knows any companies who may be able to donate any of these items to us, we would be extremely grateful.
Other Donations needed:
Sand pit toys- buckets, spades, sieves, diggers, etc.
Sun hats and caps(ready for playing outside in the hot weather)
Dressing up clothes. This could be dressing up outfits, wigs and hats. This could also include adult items that children might enjoy to make into a costume. Children have loved to use fake fur coats to dress up in and capes to wear.
Staff for September
We are absolutely delighted to share that we have three familiar adults joining our teaching team for the new academic year. Miss Barnes and Miss Friend have both been training with us this year and we are thrilled to now have appointed both of them to permanent teaching jobs from September. Joining them will be Mrs Toncheva, who currently teaches 4 Coral on a supply basis, but who will also be remaining with us as a permanent teacher. We are so excited that you are all staying with us at Galley Hill.
VE Day Celebrations
On Thursday 8th May, we will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day. On this day, children will have a class assembly where they learn about what VE Day is and why we celebrate it. Children will also be celebrating in their classrooms in the afternoon by taking part in VE Day activities. The children are invited to bring a change of clothes in the colours of red, white or blue to change in to if they wish and we are asking that each child bring in an item of food (biscuits etc.) to share with the class for their mini 'street party'. Please ensure that the food item is nut-free to cater for any allergies.
We are sure that the children will really enjoy learning about VE Day and have a fun afternoon!
Class Photos
Our class photos are taking place next Thursday, 1st April. If it is a PE day for your child's class (Diamond, Pearl, Coral, Topaz and Amethyst), then we do ask that they come to school wearing their uniform and bring their PE kit with them just for that day. Thank you.
