As we move steadily through another busy and rewarding week, I would like to thank everyone for their continued support of our school community. It has been wonderful to see so many opportunities for learning, achievement and celebration across the school.
Huge congratulations go to our Inter-House Cross Country winners, Windrush! It was a truly fantastic first inter-house event of the year and a wonderful way to see our house teams come together in both competition and support of one another. A very special thank you must go to Mr Williams for organising and running the event so successfully.
On Monday, we held our first fire drill of the school year. I was incredibly proud of how calmly and sensibly the children responded, leaving the building promptly and making their way to their designated place of safety. I was particularly pleased with the evacuation time achieved and the way children and staff worked together as a team to ensure a safe and successful outcome.
We have continued to open our doors to prospective parents this week, hosting a further two Open Mornings, both of which were extremely well attended. There seemed to be a particularly strong interest in visiting classrooms and, during our stop in Year 6, some of the questions asked by visitors really got the children thinking deeply about their learning. Needless to say, our prospective parents were incredibly impressed by the thoughtful responses, confidence and articulation demonstrated by our pupils.
This week’s staff meeting focused on further strengthening our inclusive practices. Staff received additional professional development and spent time drilling deeply into the use of effective probing questions to extend children’s thinking. We also reflected on previous professional learning, including a range of adaptive teaching strategies that continue to support high-quality teaching and learning across the school.
On Thursday, we welcomed representatives from Glow Maths for their hybrid regional meet-up. It is always lovely to connect with colleagues from across the region and showcase the excellent work taking place at Warden Hill. A quick reminder to parents to take a look at your child’s Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs) if you have not already done so. These are an excellent way to support fluency and confidence in mathematics at home:
https://wardenhill.gloucs.sch.uk/curriculum/subjects/mathematics/kirfs/
Our Key Stage 2 children were delighted to welcome David Owen, an established author, on Wednesday. To say the children enjoyed his presentation would be an understatement. It was a real privilege to host David, particularly as we were selected as a school recognised for its strong reading culture. An added bonus was that this visit came at no cost to our pupils, and David has very kindly donated a selection of books for our class libraries. We are extremely grateful for his generosity and for providing such an inspiring experience for our children.
1B Class also enjoyed a wonderful visit to our local library yesterday. Mr Bailey was incredibly impressed with how sensibly the children walked to and from the library, and they were a real credit to our school throughout the visit. Whilst there, the children had the opportunity to explore the library, take part in a question-and-answer session with the librarian and learn more about how libraries work. Some children had even brought along their library cards and were able to borrow books to take home.
Many of the children were excited by the experience and keen to return with their families. If you have not yet signed your child up for a library card, this is a fantastic opportunity to do so. With one form of identification, you can create a library membership for your child, allowing them to borrow up to 20 books free of charge for up to three weeks at a time.
As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting a love of reading, all classes will visit the library at least once, and in many cases twice, over the course of the school year. We are fortunate to have such a valuable resource on our doorstep and look forward to continuing our partnership with the team there.
For more information about Hatherley Library, please visit:
https://gloslibraries.uk/library/hatherley-library
The visit was also a wonderful way to begin celebrating the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Today, I had the pleasure of accompanying our Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children to see Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt. There are already plenty of stories to tell, but I will save those for next week’s update!
If you are planning to visit the Cheltenham Literature Festival this weekend, do take a moment to explore some of the fantastic free events available for families:
https://www.visitcheltenham.com/event/cheltenham-literature-festival-free-events/339464301/
And, talking of freebies, if you are looking for ways to keep the children entertained whilst spending quality time together as a family, take a look at the updated Gloucester Rocks guide to free activities across Cheltenham and Gloucestershire. There are lots of ideas for days out, local events and family-friendly adventures that will not cost a penny:
https://www.gloucesterrocks.co.uk/things-to-do/free?pages=2
Combined with the fantastic free events available as part of the Cheltenham Literature Festival and the wealth of books available through our local libraries, there are plenty of opportunities to nurture a love of reading, learning and exploration this autumn.
That just leaves me to say, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find some time to enjoy the many opportunities that autumn in Cheltenham has to offer.