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Dear Parents and Carers

It is already the end of this half term. Time has flown since Christmas but not without a huge amount going on in school, some of which is illustrated in these pages.

The weather continues to keep us guessing but in between the gales the extension to our apiary, bee teaching area and observation room is progressing well. By the spring we will be able to watch the bees through a glass wall and the Bee Team will be working with them from the comfort and safety of a ‘bee-proof’ building.

On a related topic, I have asked other headteachers to work together to combat climate change where we can. This has resulted in a commitment to organise a ‘Climate Conference’ for our children in Kendal, where all schools will be invited to bring pupil delegates to discuss how we should address issues such as plastic bottle use etc. Obviously, children in Heron Hill will be heavily involved in this and I am sure will come up with lots of ideas and solutions to present to the headteachers. I will keep you posted.

After the holiday, you will receive a questionnaire which we will use to inform a revision of the School Travel Plan. In the light of our children’s interest in climate change, you could use this as an opportunity to review how you travel to and from school.

Peter Hicks

www.heronhill.cumbria.sch.uk

admin@heronhill.cumbria.sch.uk

@heronhillschool

HERON HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER NO. 7

14th FEBRUARY 2020

Dates for your Diary

Friday 14th February Half term holiday begins, 3.15 pm

The Hive wrap around care provision will be open each day of the holiday

Monday 24th February Return to school

Wednesday 26th February The Choir participates in ‘The Big Sing’

Thursday 27th February Fairtrade Big Brew, 3.15 pm-4.30 pm

Friday 28th February Termly reports to parents

Thursday 5th March World Book Day family morning. We would like pupils to dress up as

favourite books or book characters. We would also like them to bring in their favourite book (please make sure their name is in it)

Thursday 5th March Parent Consultation Meetings, 3.30 pm-6.30 pm

Tuesday 10th March Parent Consultation Meetings, 3.30 pm-6.00 pm

Friday 13th March Sports Relief Day

Saturday 14th March Rotary Swimathon

Friday 27th March End of term, 2.00 pm

Tuesday 14th April Return to school

Unsafe App

We have become increasingly concerned about ’TikTok’, the popular app. We have heard of instances where children have been encouraged to undertake increasingly dangerous dares in order to gain likes. Please check what your child is accessing through their smart phone/tablet and who they are in contact with through it. Under Tiktok’s terms and conditions no one under 13 years of age should be using it, so our pupils should not have access to it.

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Moving On Up Project

Year 1 and Year 6 pupils have been involved with a dance and art project since November, which culminated in a performance and art show on Friday 7th February. The children have loved working with Dance Attik teacher Lucy Everett and Nicki Smith the artist.

Potatoes!

A group of our gardeners have been to a potato planting workshop and have planted up a growbag for each class; they have brought them back to school and each class now has the task of nurturing their potato plants during the next few months. In May, the grow bags will be taken to Country Fest to be judged. Following this, your children will harvest their crop and make marvellous potato based food.

So if you have secret potato growing tips, passed down through the generations, please pass them onto the next generation and help your child’s class to have the best crop in the school.

Friends of Heron Hill

Thank you to everyone who supported our recent uniform sale. We raised £128 for FOHH and it was lovely to chat to so many of you too. Looking ahead, we have a disco scheduled for Friday 20th March and another Bags2School collection; bags will be distributed before the Easter holidays then collected on Wednesday 29th April, perfect for anyone doing a spot of spring cleaning! We are in the process of setting up a 100 Club which is like a monthly lottery where you can win an amount of money each month. We will send out details once this has been set up. Future ideas include a family quiz night and a parent social. The sponsored walk and summer fair are being revamped.

We are always looking for volunteers, even if it is just for an hour or two at one of the events. If you can help please send an email to FOHHchair@gmail.com. Also please keep an eye on our Facebook page for up to date information. Katherine Haley, Chair

Nursery World

Royal British Legion

Our pupils’ enthusiasm for snap bands and other poppy-related items means that Heron Hill School was a top collector in November’s Poppy Appeal and we raised £554.11.

We made jam tarts for our

nursery rhyme theme We played outside after

Jack Frost had been

We went to the music room

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High Intensity Training

Year 3 and 4 are having a little break from the daily run until the summer term and instead are taking on a daily HIT challenge. The children are enjoying hopping, jumping, squats and running on the spot.

We have been impressed that all children have participated with enthusiasm, shown good stamina and finished with a smile on their face.

The Hive

The Hive will be open each day of the half term holiday. If you need to contact the Hive after school closes on Friday, either to amend your holiday club booking or request a session, please telephone 07543 879364 between 7.15 am and 6.00 pm Monday to Friday (the mobile will only be switched on during these times and days). There is limited availability at some sessions and our Wednesday morning session is now full, so we do need to be notified in advance of new bookings so that we can confirm whether we can accept your booking.

Appeal for Equipment

If you have any toys or games that are no longer in use at home but are in good condition, please could you donate them to the Hive wrap around care? They are particularly looking for an updated copy of ‘Game of Life’ (complete with rules), anything to do with strategizing such as battle games, a complete version of Cluedo, any Harry Potter games, loom bands or loom band kits or any hama beads/boards.

Bee News

There was much excitement last week as work commenced on our Bee Hide project, which is generously funded by grants from the Frieda Scott Trust, Lake District Foundation and also a generous donation by Friends of Heron Hill.

Mr Halliwell, father of one of our Year 3 pupils, has been commissioned to build a purpose-built Bee Hide, which will allow all our children to view and experience the bees up close, but in the safety of a bee-proof building. The apiary is also being enlarged to make it accessible for all, which is wonderful news, not only for school, but it means our 'expert beekeeping children' in school, can continue their work in educating other schools and community groups who visit. We will keep you up to date with progress.

We are also creating two 'teaching bee beds', accessible raised planting beds, which will showcase and teach the children which plants we should all have in our gardens, tubs and window boxes to attract pollinators. We are hoping to create a lavender hedge area, so if anyone can donate a lavender plant we would love to hear from you! Thank you all again for your support and interest,

Jacqui Cottam and Karen Harper (centre in photograph, beside Mr Halliwell, right)

Mufti Day for Australian Animals

The collection for animals injured in the Australian bushfires raised the sum of £435. This has been sent to WWF’s ‘Koala Protector’ fund.

Year 1 Victorian Experience Day

What an enriching experience our Year 1 children had. Cleanliness checks, old toys and so many Victorian artefacts; the children were enthralled and entertained by our historian visitor.

Is this your bike?

This bike has been safely locked in our bike parking area for several months! Do you know who it belongs to? Please let us know or, if it is yours, please take it home.

Sports Reports

Sedbergh District Cross Country Trials, 20th January

On a slightly chilly afternoon, 22 children ran in 6 races over the afternoon. We saw some fantastic running by everyone, with some exceeding their own expectations. They coped well with a vicious hill start. Well done to all, we are very proud of you. Here are our results:

Year 4 Girls (98 runners): 14th Freya, 45th Evelyn. Freya qualifies for County Finals

Year 4 Boys (116 runners): 10th Ellis, 16th Ollie , 67th Ned. Ellis and Ollie qualify for County Finals

Year 5 Girls (71 runners): 5th Isla, 29th Isabelle, 47th Lois, 48th Charlotte, 50th Darcy. Isla qualifies for County Finals

Year 5 Boys (79 runners): 3rd James, 9th Fraser, 10th Harry, 15th Edward, 42nd Syrus. James, Fraser, Harry and Edward qualify for County Finals

Year 6 Girls (81 runners): 5th Elissa, 44th Jolie, 52nd Olivia. Elissa qualifies for County Finals

Year 6 Boys (99 runners): 5th Will, 20th Callum, 41st Lachlan, 45th Ben P. Will

and Callum qualify for County Finals Janette Foster

Year 6 Girls Football Festival, 23rd

January

A group of Year 6 girls took part in a friendly tournament at Vicarage Park School. They played brilliantly as a team, winning 2 games out of 3 and narrowly missing out on the final to St Mark’s who had a slight goal difference advantage. Olivia was particularly strong in defence, but also managed to score once from the half way line and once from a corner. Jolie and Elissa showed particularly quick footwork in midfield and attack. A great afternoon was had by all. Emma Patrick

Year 3/Year 4 Sports Hall Athletics, 31st January

A group of 12 children took part in an afternoon of fun athletic events at Kendal Leisure Centre. The children enjoyed trying out new activities and showed off their amazing running in the team relays. Well done everyone. Carly Dodd-Hemingway

Cumbria Cross Country Finals, Penrith, 12th February

It was a beautiful, but very cold and windy afternoon for running on a very exciting course at Hunter Hall, which included long hill climbs, steep descents, a large water feature, stone walls to leap across and a rushing stream to cross 3 times. Everyone ran so well and they had excellent results in their races. Our Year 5 boys’ team came first in their race and Will, Elissa, James and Harry finished so well, they will now represent Cumbria in the National Cross Country Finals in Leicester on 21st March. Janette Foster

Year 5/Year 6 Sports Hall Athletics Competition, 13th February

We had some amazing results from the speed bounce, chest push and standing long jump. They then went on to compete in relay races. Everyone ran amazingly well but a special mention to Reuben, Leon, Phoebe, Elissa, Ben P and James L - I think the boys team broke a record with the speed they ran their relay! We finished in 4th place, well done to everyone! Carly Dodd-Hemingway

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Governor Insight - John Haley

As Governor with the responsibility for Premises and Health and Safety, I eagerly awaited the result of a recent audit inspection carried out at the school by the Corporate Health and Safety Team from Cumbria County Council. Along with Mrs Lehane, I was disappointed with our score of 99%, but only because the area we were marked down in (manual handling training) was incorrectly overlooked, so really it was closer to 100%!

The excellent standards are credit to Mrs Lehane and Mrs Quilliam who ensure the school’s health and safety systems are continually upheld, updated and closely monitored. The audit observed ‘a good standard of written safety management coupled with good health and safety practices’ in all of the 39 sections that were inspected including security, fire, first aid and safeguarding.

There will always be room for improvement in the ever-changing built environment but I am sure you will agree it is comforting to know that our children and the staff spend time in a school with a very high standard of health and safety.