News

Emmanuel Church Summer Festival

Woodfield Choir - June 2008

A choir of children from Years 1 and 2 took part in the annual Summer Festival at Emmanuel Church, Wylde Green, on Friday 22nd June.

The newly formed choir were well received by the enthusiastic local audience as they sang songs and played instruments. Charlotte Robinson, aged 6, gave a delightful solo performance of “Silver Lining”.  Father Crane was generous with his thanks and kind words.

Well done Woodfield Choir.

           

 

Alice in Wonderland - May 2008

Reception rehearsed and performed their own version of the classic Lewis Carroll story, Alice in Wonderland.

The whole production was in rhyme and incorporated narrators, marching playing cards, an indignant queen and her courtiers, a Cheshire cat who told the time, a rude tea party, a very relaxed caterpillar, dancing flamingos playing croquet and saluting trumpeters.

The performance was outstanding and all who watched it said how wonderful Alice and the White Rabbit performed.

The scene was complimented by a back drop designed by a reception pupil, \arjun \harnal who received recognition at the concert with applause.

All pupils arose to the challenge

Well done all who were involved. We have budding actors awaiting the limelight at Woodfield

Highclare School 75th Birthday Poem
Performed by Woodfield J2 pupils
14th September 2007

 

Today we’re here to celebrate a day in 1932

When Highclare College opened it doors

And the first pupils wandered through.

Marjorie Baker then was Head

There were just 24 pupils,

Some girls and some boys, so it’s said.

In ’39 the war broke out

A very frightening time, no doubt.

Down to the cellars the whole School was sent

Whilst bombs were dropping and the sirens went.

In ’74 Christine Hanson came

And soon the new uniform came to fame.

In 1995 the Abbey was bought

Where all the older girls are taught.

Then Mrs Jude became Head here

And liked it so much, she comes back every year.

Mrs Viles came on board in 2003

And is determined to lead us to victory.

So we stand here now, linked to the past,

Surrounded by tradition, making memories that will last.

 

Vive la France - Feb 08

Reception children at Highclare Woodfield are making excellent progress with their French lessons which began last term.  Their activities have been many and varied, from singing French songs in their concert, to dressing up in and naming French clothes.

This week has seen them plotting the half-term holiday journey made by Mrs Lawson and Charlie, their classroom bear!

Formerly a lunchtime club, French is now well embedded into the culture and curriculum at Woodfield.  All children from Reception to Year 2 receive weekly French lessons which are taught orally and using the interactive whiteboard.

Madam Lawson, Woodfield French Teacher commented “it has been exciting to watch the children make so much progress in such a short time.  The four and five year olds have particularly enjoyed the songs and activities.  It has been a very successful initiative.”

 

“Bling and Buy” - November 2007

Staff and children at Highclare Woodfield enjoyed their very own ‘Bling and Buy” sale.  It was a fundraising event organised by the Year 2 children to raise funds for ‘Young Carers’.  Children were asked to bring to school their unwanted items such as books or toys.  J2 children made posters to advertise the event in their PSHE lessons and organised the toys and books ready for a special Bling and Buy Sale in the school gym on Wednesday 31st October.

All the staff and children at Woodfield visited and purchased items from the stalls which were manned by Year 2 children.  A total in excess of £200 was raised and will be donated to our chosen charity this term, Young Carers.

          

football club tournament

Wednesday 9th May was the date for this year's Woodfield and St Paul's football tournament. Children from after school football clubs on both sites excitedly took part in a tournament of football matches at St Paul's. Year six boys were excellent officials, referreeing the games with skill and competance. The pitches may have been dampened by the rain but not so the spirit of all the 5 - 7 year olds that took part. it was a wonderful afternoon of sportsmanship!

Well done children!

Well deserved medals were awarded in merit assembly by Football Coach, Mr Day.

           

 

Emmanuel Church Summer Festival - Woodfield Choir

 

A choir of children from Years 1 and 2 took part in the annual Summer Festival at Emmanuel Church, Wylde Green, on Friday 22nd June.

The newly formed choir were well received by the enthusiastic local audience as they sang songs and played instruments.  Charlotte Robinson, aged 6, gave a delightful solo performance of “Silver Lining”.  Father Crane was generous with his thanks and kind words.

Well done Woodfield Choir.

             

 

Anti Bullying Workshop

On May 9th, Woodfield played host to Abbey pupils who came along to take part in an exciting ‘Anti Bullying’ Workshop.  They were joined by pupils from Year 1 and Year 2 at Woodfield.

The Workshop was presented by Firehorse Productions.

It was an entertaining venture and promoted a positive message that everyone has the right to come to school and feel happy and safe.

It served to reinforce our Woodfield school rules, the first and most important being:-

“Be kind and thoughtful to others at all times”

 

Woodfield Yoga Bugs!

‘Yoga Bugs’ aims to spark children’s imagination and physical well being through the realms of fantasy and adventure.  Using Yoga Bugs, children learn traditional Hatha Yoga postures through observation and carefully worded encouragement.

The three-year-old children at Woodfield’s Kindergarten experienced their first Yoga Bugs session today; by all accounts it was a fun filled adventure!

Mrs Jackson, from Kindergarten, gave us this report!

Thursday 17th May 2007

Kindergarten tried Yoga Bugs for the first time this afternoon.  For our first session we practised ten of the Yoga Bugs positions.  The first position we did was ‘the telephone’, where we were sitting cross-legged and we answered the telephone by lifting one foot to our ear!  Most of us could actually get our foot way past our ear and round the back of our head, unlike the teachers!  We did ten of the positions and proved we were much more flexible than the adults.  The session was accompanied by much laughing and falling about.  To finish, we lay on our backs and relaxed by listening to some soothing classical music.  In fact we were so relaxed that six of us fell asleep, no not the adults, the children!  We enjoyed it so much that we are going to try it again.  Next time we will incorporate our position into a Yoga Bugs story called ‘The Magic Garden.’

 

Woodfield Fundraising - Fashion for a good cause! - April - 2007

Harvey Nichols joined forces with Highclare School on Tuesday 17th April to raise cash for Whizz-Kidz, a national charity that provides customised mobility equipment for youngsters.

Children from Highclare were fashion models for the evening, confidently striding along the catwalk, along with adult models from Adage Agency.

Whizz-Kidz is Woodfield’s chosen charity this year and the fashion show was the latest fundraising event to take place and more events are planned this term.

Our thanks go to everyone at Harvey Nichols for making the successful evening so enjoyable for Highclare’s parents and friends.  With their help we have been able to add £3,000 to our fundraising!

 

Roald Dahl Day

At Highclare Woodfield we celebrated Roald Dahl day on September 13th.  It would have been the famous author’s 90th birthday.  The highlight of our activities was letting our teachers sample Year 2’s “Marvellous Medicine.”  They invented their own recipe and produced an amazing concoction.  Mrs Clarke, J2S teacher, said that the medicine made her feel wonderful!

 

Charlie bear

his is the story of a rather extraordinary bear.  This is Charlie Bear.  And what makes him so special?  Well, read on and find out…

Charlie lives in Sutton Coldfield and shares his adventurous life with dozens of children at Highclare School’s Woodfield site.  He is dearly loved and cared for by all who know him, and vice versa, for Charlie Bear is quite a remarkable character.  Not only is he arguably the best travelled and most cosmopolitan bear in the borough, he is also an important part of the children’s learning and development.  Lin Jude, Head of Woodfield, explains how Charlie has helped hundreds of children make considerable progress, and how he shall continue in his mission for years to come.

‘I first brought Charlie into the school some ten years ago as a class mascot and companion, and he has become an integral part of the children’s lives ever since’ says Lin, who has more than 20 years’ experience of teaching at Woodfield.  ‘Small children relate to Charlie as they can use him as a third party conduit to express their views and recount stories of their activities and feelings.’  ‘Self-expression can often prove difficult for youngsters, who, either for reasons of shyness or self-consciousness, are reticent to speak publicly and in detail to a class of peers or grown-ups.  By using Charlie and involving him in their exploits, the children can transfer from the first person singular (I) to the third person, making them feel much more free and at ease in expressing themselves and articulating their thoughts. ‘

Charlie Bear is quite unlike the average bear.  He holds a passport, has seen all five continents (he’s climbed trees with koalas), goes skiing, canoeing, and has numerous foster families.  Children take him on holiday or away for the weekend then make entries in his diary, thus assisting in bringing on writing skills.  That’s not all though.  Charlie is always there to lend a helping paw to anyone that needs it.  ‘Very young children can sometimes feel anxious when coming to school for the first time,’ says Mrs Jude.  ‘We’re able to redirect that anxiety by giving the child the responsibility of cheering up Charlie who, for whatever reason, might be ‘in need of love and cuddles today’.  In this way, the child refocuses on the bear, and is very quickly empowered to perform a supporting role to someone (some-bear) in greater need than

 

WINTER ARRIVED AT WOODFIELD

Winter arrived finally at Woodfield and the Reception class children decided to make the most of it.  Dressed in winter coats, wellington boots and warm hats and gloves, they went out into the school grounds and made their very own snowmen.

"It's like walking on a cloud" said Dylan, venturing into the fresh snow.

"It was the most fantastic day of my life" said Mollie.

For many children it was the first snowman they had actually made!

Staff enjoyed it too !

 

Beech Hill Grange Nursing Home

Last Tuesday afternoon, children from J2 visited Beech Hill Grange Nursing Home.  They took along Harvest baskets, flowers, cakes and paintings done by the children.  The residents thoroughly enjoyed the visit and were delighted to receive their gifts.  They are looking forward to a return visit in December when J2 will be singing carols and festive songs for them.

 

A visit from 'organic Mum'

Year 2 at Highclare Woodfield were visited in September by the “Organic Mum”, Becky Coleman, as part of their science work on Health and Growth.  She brought many different fruits and vegetables for the children to look at and sample, including some exotic produce never tried before.  Becky was impressed by their knowledge and enthusiasm.  Some children even tried tasting raw onion and purple broccoli!  The most popular fruits proved to be the kiwi and watermelon, as well as banana and English apple. 

Everyone enjoyed the visit and were keen to encourage their parents to be more adventurous with their shopping!

 

BRMB comes to Highclare School

Great Excitement was the order of the day at the Infant Department of Highclare School on Monday when Elliot Webb and his assistant Caroline joined in the annual Nativity Concert given by the children. Elliot came to Highclare after staff rang in to the radio station and invited him to join their production in response to his announcement in his show that he wanted to participate in a Xmas play.

He and Caroline took the cameo roles of Mr & Mrs Christmas when the Year 2 children performed this year’s play about Santa’s magic boots.

Elliott did admit that he and Caroline did not perform their roles anything like as well as Ben Bedwood and Julia Bagshaw , but they had not had nearly so much practice.

‘We have loved having the local Radio into school and this was just a great morning of fun for the children. They have practised very hard for their play and it is lovely to see them all enjoying it so much” said Mrs Jude, Head of Highclare Woodfield.  

 

Beech Hill Grange Nursing Home

Last Tuesday afternoon, children from J2 visited Beech Hill Grange Nursing Home.  They took along Harvest baskets, flowers, cakes and paintings done by the children.  The residents thoroughly enjoyed the visit and were delighted to receive their gifts.  They are looking forward to a return visit in December when J2 will be singing carols and festive songs for them.

Harvest at Woodfield

Three pupils from year 2 are going to deliver harvest gifts to the residents of Beech Hill Grange Nursing Home as a result of their harvest assembly last week.

This continues their regular visits to the nursing home which they have made over the last year.

 

Birmingham Children’s Hospital – Thank You

The children at Highclare Woodfield really live up to their school aim of being thoughtful and kind to others.   This term has seen them joining together with their parents and families to do a sponsored walk in Sutton Park. 

This was instigated by the parents of Mollie-Blu Bedwood, who were so delighted with the treatment their daughter received at The Birmingham Children’s Hospital that they decided to raise some money to say thank you.  The sponsored walk was also open to Woodfield Staff and as always they took up the challenge and joined the children, not only in walking, but raising sponsorship money from family and friends.  Altogether the walk raised £2,000 and the children proudly presented their cheque at an assembly this week. 

Mrs Jude, Head of Highclare Woodfield said “ This is a great example of parents, staff and pupils all working together to benefit our local community.”