I have known our school adviser for a while now and it was nice to see her again on Tuesday. We talk about all sorts of things-the things that are to do with school improvement, data, statistics and everything else that fit into a meeting between a Headteacher and a Local Authority adviser. Five little knocks sounded at my office door (which isn’t usually closed) and five eager little boys strolled in. I could not have planned their conversation better. The Year 1 boys had come in to show me their letter writing skills. Interestingly enough, the letters were attached to underpants and these were dangling from treasury tags. When I pointed to a comma that the first little boy had used within his writing, he told us that he used this so he didn’t have to keep repeating the word ‘and’ and he looked quite surprised that I didn’t know this myself. Another little boy read his letter to us and I spotted a typical spelling misconception. I pointed to the word ‘t-igh-m’ and discussed the grapheme he had correctly used for the sound but it was a tricky spelling. I was immediately corrected by the third little boy, who told me that it wasn’t tricky because it was ‘just a split digraph’ and they know lots of them! The same little one told us that he didn’t like reading and then a conversation began about how they are reading ‘Chapter books’ and not ‘small’ stories. Now, all of this was still going on as our school adviser sat and listened in delight. I could have chatted to these Year One boys all day long about such interesting facts; I sometimes forget that they know far more than I did when I was their age. With sparkly stickers, they were happy and left the room. Wow!

It is fast approaching that busy, exciting time of year once again, and this is being reflected around school. The coming weeks are the most exciting time to be a teacher; being around children at Christmas keeps the magic alive! The Key Stage 2 children in the St Francis Choir have been busy preparing for the Advent Service on the 4th December at St. Anthony’s Church. They have had a day of singing rehearsals with Mrs Davies and myself. Singing isn’t one of the things I would necessarily choose to do, especially when in the company of our very own Katherine Jenkins (Mrs Davies), but we had a great day with the children, who listened and performed so well. The travelling nativities are now doing their rounds; please use them with your children and return them to school the following day for the other children to use. Mrs Kerr has been very creative with Reception Class, linking in learning about 2D shapes, to making Christmas trees – the children have done a great job!

Firstly, thank you to all the well-wishes given to school for Miss. Deakin in her recovery from surgery. She is recovering well at home, and we all wish her a speedy recovery. I am in contact with her each day, giving her updates and making sure she stays off her e-mails – which isn’t easy!

HILL CHAPEL WW1 EXHIBITION: 19TH -20TH OCTOBER 2018

WE REMEMBER

Dear all,

The children in the school choir and band have been learning some new repertoire for a very special concert as part of a WW1 exhibition and dedication of remembrance in church. The concert starts at 2.00pm on Friday 19th October. This is a super celebration which also involves our Year 4 children, showing their project work and poems. The Year 4 children are also working towards a completely separate event, which takes place with our Longridge Cluster of school on 11th November at The Guild Hall.

It is with great sadness, that I sit and write these words. A much-loved former pupil, Timmy Hindle, sadly passed away last week, aged just thirteen. Timmy is fondly remembered by everyone at St Francis’ and the news weighs heavy on our hearts. Timmy was a quiet, kind and thoughtful boy, who had a wonderful, dry sense of humour. He loved the outdoors and was well-liked by both staff and his peers. A small memorial garden will be created at school and will be named in his memory. All the staff and pupils at St Francis’ send their thoughts, love and condolences to Timmy’s family and friends.