This week has certainly been a busy one for Year 6 pupils across the country and there was no exception here at Short Wood.  We are so proud of the attitude, resilience and positive energy our Year 6 pupils have displayed in the way they have approached their SATs tests. This is a busy time of year for staff as they prepare their end of year assessments but as we tell the children tests are a snapshot on the day they are taken. Staff are working hard currently to create individual, personalised reports - it is a pleasure to reflect on how our young learners have developed and celebrate their success. The reports will be shared towards the end of next term.

Keeping the class libraries stocked up is always a challenge - if you have any 'preloved' books which are in good condition we are always happy to receive donations. 

Early years have continued their outdoor adventures with Arthog this week - taking a walk into the woods to explore our local environments. They have really enjoyed finding out about the wildlife they have discovered.  We are so lucky to have the Arthog team as part of our team to support our staff team in providing such opportunities.

Earlier this term we held a meeting about the 'Respect yourself' resource that looks at all aspects of Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) and relationships and sex education.  Following that meeting we have taken the views and comments we received and  considered how the resource will be implemented.  There will be another meeting on Tuesday next week - 21st May - at 2.30pm and 5.00pm (you only need to attend one of the meetings) to share how we intend to use the resource next half term. 

We have 4 members of staff taking part in a European project next week which will take them to Sweden to visit schools and find out what we can learn from their approach to education.  These are great professional development opportunities and result in new and innovative ideas coming back to Short Wood.  Working with colleagues from abroad can really challenge our thinking, but also provides us with a great platform to share the work that happens at Short Wood. 

This week has been Mental Health Awareness week  nationally.  Maintaining a positive sense of health and well being has never been more important and at school we work hard to develop strategies for all of our Short Woodies to have in their toolkit.  Our recent Ofsted feedback highlighted this:

 'You have introduced successfully a mental health focus in your school. Pupils and children complete the ‘calm brain’ activities at least three times a day. During these times, pupils are equipped with mental health and mind-calming techniques that they can deploy independently. This helps them to refocus their minds after breaktime and lunchtime, for example. As a result, the school is a calm and very purposeful learning environment.' 

Please chat to your children about their experiences of calm brain and how it makes them feel.

Fresh air and exercise is a great way of supporting emotional health and well being - next week is walk to school week, we would really like to see as many families as possible walking to and from school.  It's a great opportunity to chat about the day and it reduces the amount of cars outside school - so we are saving the environment as well.

Well done to our Golden Leaf stars again this week - we are delighted with their achievements.  Have a great weekend.