Woolley News

Autumn Terms
2006

Issue 11

Welcome to a new school year! We were very pleased with the result of our Ofsted and Church inspections which took place during the Autumn Terms. Both inspectors commented on the wide variety of activities that we undertake in order to enhance the interest in learning at Stretton Handley. Our news items certainly bear witness to this!

Harvest

Our Harvest Festival was held during our Ofsted inspection! We all contributed with hymns and prayers and we had a lovely display of fruit and vegetables generously donated by parents. This raised £186 for Children in Need and the School Fund.

Brass Lessons

Mr Andy Davy, introduced by the Derbyshire Music Partnership, gave a demo of brass instrument playing. As a result several more children are beginning to learn to play.

Lest we Forget

Brian Evans from the British Legion came to talk to us about the care given to ex-servicemen and women and the need for fund raising. we sold poppies at a school and raised £29.01

Pop Idol Comes to Chesterfield!

Sixteen of our top singers took to the stage in November and were certainly a great hit! They were part of a 200+ strong choir of local school children who delighted a packed "Winding Wheel" with a varied and entertaining programme. Musical treats included a rap, African and Israeli songs, a selection from "Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" and "Pop Idol". Children - you definitely had the X-Factor!

Getting in the Groove

In December our whole school joined Lemar, Joss Stone and over 1/4 million other children in "The Big Sing" - an attempt to smash the current Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous Sing-along. We gave a funky rendition of "Lean on Me" and added to the money raised nationally for 2 children's charities. Keep a look out for our official certificate from Guinness World Records!

Bravo à Tous!

From this year, all our children are being taught French as an extra-curricular activity. The approach to learning varies for each age group. The younger children enjoy learning through finger rhymes and action songs to develop their vocabulary, whilst the older children find the use of flashcards and songs most useful to introduce vocabulary. The children are making good progress and are enjoying their lessons with Madame Bradley.

Book Week

During November, we held our annual book week, which made enough money to buy £70 worth of books for school.

...all the better to eat you with!

Tangere arts group from Tansley made us all "sit up nice!" when they performed "Hood in the Wood" which told the story of Red Riding Hood. We were scared, excited, happy and enthralled from start to finish. A truly inspirational performance. ,

Collective Worship

James Coats and Michael Fentam (Uncle Michael) led our collective worship on several occasions. always inspiring and uplifting we enjoy the unique way they present stories from the Bible.

Romeo and Juliet

The Upper Junior children visited the theatre in Mansfield to see Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ( a version created by the company Shakespeare for Kidz). The production was very good and was enjoyed by everyone including the staff.

The Kurdish Garden

Years 2 and 3 went to Derby Dance centre to see a performance of "The Kurdish Garden". This was an enchanting and magical experience for everyone. The audience was led into a digitally created world of sounds and images. The story unfolded as dance and the movement altered the visual display. The virtual "garden" bloomed and the children took turns to explore it with the dancers from the Italian Theatre Company

Friends of School

A "Creative Memories" craft activity was run over two weeks and 8 children attended. They bought in photos of their memories (holidays, families etc) which they cut out and arranged under a flat glass picture frame. They added words & stickers etc to display them. The children paid for the cost of the frames, whilst the rest of the materials were provided by Julie Leonard who ran the course. She hopes to run another session in the coming year.
Friends of School were also very busy fundraising during the Autumn Terms. The amounts raised were as follows: Bags2School £84, Christmas Raffle £247, Calendars £252. Thank you for all your help and support.

Gym Club

From September, we made gym club available to all children from Year 2 upwards. the demand for places was so great that we have had to split Gym club, with Years 4, 5 & 6 attending in terms 2, 4 &6 and Years 2 & 3 in the alternate terms.The children attend regularly and enthusiastically and continue to work towards badges and develop gymnastic skills.

Jump Rope for Hearts

The school took delivery of a class skipping kit, as part of the British Heart Foundation Jump Rope For Heart sponsored skipping challenge. We will be arranging a Sponsored skip in the Summer to raise money for the BHF and school. The children will also have the opportunity to demonstrate their newly found skills.

Next Sven?

Barry Fullwood has successfully built a very good football team who played and won 2 matches against Wessington and Morton. We look forward to more similar encounters when football club restarts in Term 4

Shoe Box Appeal

78 shoe boxes were sent to children in countries suffering from the after effects of ware or disasters. Children gave their own toys or used their pocket money to buy gifts so that many more children could enjoy a happy Christmas with a box full of goodies!

Happy Christmas!

Christmas activities were much enjoyed as always! We had a lovely dinner and a party when Santa came and brought us all a present! Our nativity presentation was "The Good News". The Junior children sang beautifully and the Infants acted the parts of the characters with great conviction. We ended term with a Christingle service at St Mark's Church.