Headmistress’ Newsletter Update

Week Commencing 22nd June 2020

Dear Parents,

At the end of a very busy and successful year, I would like to thank the children for their hard work and achievements. I would also like to thank the staff for their dedication and commitment to excellence, as well as parents for your continued support of the School. In traditional Winterfold fashion, the last week has been incredibly busy, with children taking part in activities both online, and in School. Our Year 8 Leavers’ Programme continued this week, with the children taking part in some very exciting activities including a bush crafting-style Bear Grylls session with expert, Anna. Mr Mitchell also attempted to teach the children how to tie a bow-tie on Zoom – no easy task!

The programme culminated in a wonderful end-of-year virtual Leavers’ meal for pupils to reminisce and celebrate their time at School. David and Sue Aldred, former Deputy Head Pastoral and Year 3 teacher, were among special guests invited to celebrate with the children in a very fitting end to their time at Winterfold.

Our virtual Sports Day was a huge success. Pupils, parents and staff pulled out all the stops, with competitors taking part in eight different events at home. The children even made bunting, certificates and rosettes to give out as prizes within family groups. This was a great success for all involved, and the evidence of just how much fun (and competitive spirit) was had can be seen on our website page, Facebook feed and Twitter. https://www.winterfoldhouse.co.uk/news/sports-day/. Please note that there will not be any pre-season training for rugby or hockey during the holidays due to the Covid 19 situation.

Our Year 6 pupils have been working on being the Government, and were tasked with the safe reopening of shops/cinemas/campsites. Some fantastic and mature presentations were given. One group even had an unexpected American visitor!

Our Year 5 pupils came together to make a very touching video to say thank you and ‘farewell’ to their Form Tutors, Mme Farrell and Mr Shaw. You can see the video HERE. The Year 7 pupils did the same for their Form Tutors, Mr Brinkley & Mr Dieppe. Click HERE to view it.

Year 4 have been studying and recreating, in a digital format, the art of Henri Rousseau, and have also been looking at the properties of 3D shapes in Maths. Here some of them are, holding up their 3D shapes built from nets. Well done Year 4.

It is with mixed emotions that we have to say goodbye to a very popular and talented member of staff. Mr Heatley has inspired all of the pupils that he has taught over the past five years that he has been at Winterfold. He has the rare ability to relate to and get the best out of everyone with his infectious enthusiasm and knowledge of sports. He has been a genuine role model for children at Winterfold, and has encouraged our teams to play sport in the right way; with sportsmanship, competitiveness and humility. The Sports Department will miss him hugely and the whole school will miss his ready smile and ability to get along with everyone he meets. The mixed emotions also come in the form of some pride in that the reason Mr Heatley is leaving is so that he can finish his

teaching degree and begin his teaching career, which we have no doubt will be a very successful one. All at Winterfold would like to say a huge thank you for everything he has done and send our best wishes for his future as a teacher. He will be always be welcome at Winterfold as part of our Winterfold Family.

Earlier this term Year 3, including Miss Jones and Miss Howarth, participated in the Toilet Roll Challenge and created a video that was superbly edited by Robert S in Year 6. The parents suggested that a donation should be made to the NHS by way of thank you, directing our donations to The Children's Hospital Charity that supports Sheffield Children's Hospital, who have been caring for children suffering with Covid-19 and other illnesses to create capacity in other hospitals for adult patients. Through her employer, one of the parents was also able to access match funding. In total, the parents, children and teachers raised £350 + gift aid. An amazing team effort, Year 3!

We have now reached the end of another successful year in Key Stage 1. Although it has been a rather unusual end to the school year for Year 2, they have relished their Zoom sessions this week. Form times have included Show and Tell, ‘Next Steps’ talk and a Pack Quiz. The culmination of the week was a meet and greet with the Year 3 teachers followed by our Year 2 Celebration Assembly with children and parents alike.

All of the Year 2 staff have been extremely proud by the maturity and positivity that all the children have shown in their final days of Pre-Prep. As part of this final week, both Year 1 and 2 have been rewarded for their tremendous efforts this school year with certificates.

The Year 2 children have maintained their work ethic during this final week, and have completed tasks including Poetry in English and addition by partitioning in Maths. The topic theme allowed the children the opportunity to explore transport through the ages. All of the children were surprised by the fact that the first person to drive a car was a lady! In Year 1, the children have been learning about plants. They have identified, described and compared plants native to the UK. They have become familiar with lots of different plants including wild plants, garden plants and trees. The children explored the school grounds, spotting and naming different plants and trees. They then used water colours to paint them and they created some beautiful plant artwork. Today, they enjoyed their last P.E. session with their teddies, working up an appetite for their teddy-bear picnic. Early Years have had an enjoyable, albeit rather different final week in School. The weather has been glorious and it has certainly contributed to making School a special place to be. We have all been using the time to enjoy outdoor stories and creative activities. Playtimes have given children the opportunity to use their imagination and play lots of traditional games like Duck, Duck, Goose and Hide and Seek. The highlight of the children’s week has of course been the Teddy Bear’s Picnic, when children were allowed to bring in their favourite Teddy from home and, of course, PB Bear joined in the fun.

In our Woodhouse Nursery, the children in the Baby Unit have enjoyed painting using their fingers for their theme On the Beach. They have been out for some lovely sunny walks whilst the weather has been so good, and have enjoyed the sensory room observing the lights and playing in the ball pit. Elsewhere in the Woodhouse, the children have been enjoying the world of Zoo animals, and have created a lovely display using all their fantastic art work. They have been outside playing on the bikes and cars and using the tuff trays for lots of sensory play. I hope you all have a wonderful Summer break, and I look forward to seeing you all in September. Denise Toms Headmistress

Christmas Term resumes on Monday 7th September 2020