Drums banged...bells jingled and a dragon roared on Friday afternoon as children from the nursery paraded along the corridors marking the Chinese holiday, which is traditionally celebrated at the turn of the Chinese calendar. Did you know that one in every six people in the world celebrate Chinese New Year? Customs vary in different parts of the world but everywhere the main idea is to remember family and wish everyone peace and prosperity in the coming year. The Chinese zodiac follows a twelve year cycle, each of the years being named after an animal. This year is the year of the horse.

Safer Internet Day Information for Parents

Safer Internet Day is celebrated across the globe on 11 February. Schools, companies, governments and wider are all getting involved to help encourage the safe, responsible and positive use of technology. For parents, Safer Internet Day is a great time to have a conversation with your child about staying safe online. Please follow this link for more information.

Year 1 - Parents' Assembly

Year One enjoyed sharing all they've been learning this term at their Parents' Assembly last Thursday. Acting, dancing and singing: All the children participated and entertained their proud parents. This half term, Literacy lessons have been centred around The Gigantic Turnip; which the children retold using some fantastic vocabulary and amazing acting! Parents were also treated to a lesson on healthy eating and the assembly concluded with the children demonstrating ribbon dancing they had learnt at their Chinese New Year workshop. Well done to all the children and to the staff in Year One and thank you to the parents for attending! 

Year 1 - Chinese New Year!

Year one thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Chinese New Year workshops this week. We were given our own ribbons and learnt a celebratory dance to some traditional chinese music. We also got the chance to learn a few new words in a chinese language.

Year 5 - Shine!

On Saturday morning 6 of our Year 5 children were invited to participate in the launch of The Shine Project at Bancroft's School. On arrival, refreshments of fruit, yoghurt and croissants were enjoyed by the children (along with Ms McKinnon, Miss Bull and Miss Watson) before being arranged into 'houses' via 'The sorting Hat' in true Harry Potter style. Three sixth formers led the groups of eager children and were assisted by our teachers, as they completed a treasure hunt around the school and its' grounds. Finding clues, letters and solving questions kept the excited groups occupied for over an hour, resulting in the need for a further refreshment break!
Refreshed and re-energised, the groups moved into the science labs, where they enjoyed making 'slime' (which they took home) and observed some explosive science experiments!
Despite being a busy morning, the children thoroughly enjoyed it and were extremely well behaved.
Well done to everyone who took part and a very big thank you to Mrs McKinnon, Miss Watson and Miss Bull for accompanying the children.

Year 2 - The Great Fire of London!

Year 2 loved their visit from Freshwater Theatre where they focused on 'The Great Fire of London'. They thoroughly enjoyed acting out different scenes from the time of the fire and thought about how the characters would have been feeling and what they would have done.

 

Hilldene vs Mead Primary

Hilldene's football team recorded their first win of the season with a decisive victory over Mead on Thursday evening.  With the scores at level pegging, Mead had a chance to level the scores deep into the second half; however, brilliant goalkeeping from Jayden and solid defending from the remainder of the team, ensured the score stayed at 2-1.  Perseverance, determination and a positive approach has enabled Hilldene's footballers to continue to improve their performances. Thank you to all the parents for their continued support and for providing transport to the match.

Year 4 Dig for Treasure!

On Tuesday afternoon, Year 4 had an incredibly exciting start to their new IPC topic,
'Treasure and Archaeology'. Like archaeologists they excavated their very own artefacts using tools and brushes. Having retrieved the 'treasure', they then discussed what they could find out about the age of the artefact, the owner, their age and their interests or hobbies.

Welcome Back!

Happy New Year and welcome back to all our pupils, parents, staff and governors! We hope you have settled back into the spring term, which promises to be full of exciting learning opportunities. For details of planned events and activities please see our
events calendar .