Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to the last seven weeks of the school year. I hope you all had a lovely half-term break and were able to enjoy the sunny weather. There is still plenty to do this term and quite a few fun activities on the horizon. For the Y6s it is their last half of a term at HB and we really hope they have a fun, productive time as we lead up to their departure to pastures new.
Appointment of new CEO for TEAM MAT
Dear All,
It is my delight and privilege to tell you that late this afternoon, Thursday 4th of June, the interview panel agreed unanimously to offer the appointment of substantive CEO for TEAM Multi-academy Trust to Daniel Polak. The panel consisted of three trustees and two external advisors. This followed internal and external advertising, a rigorous shortlisting process and a very long day with a multitude of tasks which included lesson observation and feedback, pupil voice, written and data tasks, a presentation and a formal interview. Feedback was received from a range of stakeholders during the day including staff representatives and pupils from two school councils.
We wish Daniel every success in his new role. The trustees are excited to work with him, moving forward, to continue the positive impact of the academy on the lives of the children in North and Mid Devon.
Kind regards
Sue
Chair of Trustees, TEAM Multi-academy Trust.
“I am delighted and humbled to take on this position. I could not imagine a better place in the world to lead schools or a better group of people to lead with. We should feel optimistic about the future of our family of schools and I feel privileged to be a part of this.”
Daniel Polak
Acting CEO
Welcome!
It has been delightful to be able to welcome Robyn into Year One this week. I know that you have already made some good friends and I'm glad that you have been made to feel at home by everyone in the class. It will be lovely to have Robyn's younger sister, Suzy, in nursery too. A very warm welcome to you both - I hope you will have fun and learn lots at HB.
HB in the news
It was lovely to read the story in the Gazette about our recent Ofsted this week. If you have not seen it, I have included a link here so that you can have a read:
https://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/news/let-your-light-shine-north-devon-school-praised-by-inspectors-8653902
Many thanks to Mrs Sampson in the TEAM central office for putting the press release together. Being the school that we are really is a massive team effort.
Okehampton Castle visit.
What a great day out Class Two had on the last Friday of half term at Okehampton Castle. As well as finding out so much about Norman castles and the way people lived in a castle, the children were also able to spot plenty of wildlife around the site. They also spent some time sketching what they saw. Griff said, 'I enjoyed going in the Great Hall and the chapel. We saw lots of crumbled down bits and a big stone had fallen from the ceiling.' 'I liked looking at the keep,' said Louis and Olivia R really enjoyed, 'walking up all the steps to the keep and looking down on the rest of the castle.'
Bude residential
Here are a few quotes from those Y6s who went: 'Body boarding was fun because the waves were really large and we were carried in a long way onto the beach.' Evelyn. Caving was the best part as you could slide into a ball pit. The 'caves' were small, tight tunnels under the floorboards of the building we were staying in.' Esmay. I also enjoyed the body boarding the best. The waves were epic!' Emilia. 'I liked the Fancy Dress Night. I went as a cow girl ... All of the girls had planned to go as this and we looked awesome!' Kaitlyn. 'Mountain boarding was great because I had never done it before, but I managed to master it ... until I fell off and had to have a lift back to the centre with Miss Trofa and Mr Norton!' Freddie R. 'I like caving - it was just great fun.' Elsie. 'I enjoyed caving because we had to work our way through many different locations. I met up with friends from football too.' Daniel. Freddie and I already knew how to kayak and we were able to complete the tasks on the canal quickly.' Isaac. I enjoyed mountain boarding as it was entertaining going down the grassy slope.' Freddie M.
Reading
Please, please do push on with the reading over the next seven weeks and through the summer holidays. There has been some stunning progress by children across all year groups this year and I firmly believe that the more you read, the better you will become at reading and the more enjoyment you will take from it. I have to say that Evelyn in Class Four really exemplifies this: she reads whenever she has a spare moment in class and shows a real passion for books. At the other end of the school, the seven Reception children have absolutely smashed the start of their reading journeys. They have been fantastic in phonics and are all about half a term ahead of where we would expect them to be ... A few even further on than that! They too clearly are developing a love for books and reading. Here are their favourite books and stories at the moment (poor Jack has had a sore throat, so we will catch up with him next week):
Rory - "I like the buzzy bee story. It has loads of bees in. I like bees because they make pollen"
Harry - "I like Little Fox and Daddy Fox, because they play in the flowers and play hide and seek"
Henry - "I like Thomas the Tank Engine - the let's go one, because it goes very fast like sonic"
Rowan - "My favourite book is George the Giant, because George helps all of the animals that he meets"
Finn - "My favourite book is Room on the Broom. I like it because it's got flaps and stuff. I like reading it to my daddy"
Marnie- "My favourite story is the Twits, because there are loads of chapters and lots of funny things"
Marvellous Multiplication
Many congratulations to the Y4 children who all made such a great fist of their Multiplication Tables Check (SAT) this week. The amount of work that they have all put in has been wonderful to see and it has certainly paid dividends as all eleven of them attained a score of more than 20 out of 25. Well done Lily, Mason, Imogen, Madeleine, Ezra, Sonny, Grace, Amelia, Zoe, Evie and Aubrey - you have all done super-well. Now keep rehearsing this knowledge as it will serve you well in Class Four!
Board Games Club
Please note that Board Games will no longer run after school on a Tuesday. Instead, we will be running this as a lunchtime club from now on. Any children in KS1 or KS2 are welcome to come to this club and to bring in a game that they would like to play with their friends. Board Games Club will run on Friday Lunch times from next week.
Weather
I know it's June, but the weather is shaping up to be pretty terrible, so please make sure that your child has a coat in school for walking between sites and for playtimes.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Rob Norton
Head of School
.jpg)
