Posted on: July 9th 2018
It is hard to believe a whole year has passed since I wrote my last end of year blog; the time has really flown. There is a tangible energy as we approach the last week of term with the older children preparing to celebrate the year’s successes at Awards Day, the children in Nursery preparing for their celebration and everyone getting ready to make the transition to their new classes and, for Form 6, to their new senior schools.
Saturday 30th June was our annual Summer Fayre and it was busier than ever. The wonderful weather certainly helped and the hard work of the Friends of Norfolk House and class reps made the event a great success. Thank you to all the parents and teachers that helped set up, run and clear away on the day. Our biggest Form 6 group to date worked in three separate companies as part of the Young Enterprise project and showed great innovation and professionalism in the products and games they made for the day. I know they all made a healthy profit and we are all looking forward to finding out the exact figures. The companies will have the choice of what to do with the profits - either donate it to Cancer Research UK or back to the School Council to provide equipment for the playground. Overall, it was a really successful event and I’m sure it raised a significant amount of money for Friends of Norfolk House that will go back into the school to enhance the pupil experience.
Last week was our annual Early Years Picnic and Races and again the weather did not let us down. It was a lovely event with all the children taking part in traditional races such as running, egg and spoon and the sack race. The children all enjoyed themselves and the races focused on taking part rather than winning. On the other hand, the parent races were highly competitive and we needed to run multiple heats (five for the dads!) to ensure everyone could join in. We ended the morning with a presentation where the children all received a medal for their efforts, followed by a picnic under the trees. Thank you to Miss Patten for organising and leading such an enjoyable and inclusive event. Thank you to the staff for helping out on the day and the parents for coming along to support.
This year, as part of our School Development Plan, we have seen many new successful initiatives introduced such as our online reporting; an improved reporting cycle; parent workshops; a new Sports Day format; rugby, cricket and athletics fixtures; a new sports uniform; new after school clubs and additional music events to name a few. Putting all this in place and making it a success takes a huge amount of extra time and hard work and I would like to thank all the staff for their involvement in continually striving to improve the experience we provide for children at Norfolk House.
Finally, although it is certainly a happy time of year and we are all looking forward to the summer holiday; it is also the time that we have to say goodbye to the oldest children in our school, many of whom have been with us since Reception. The children in Form 6 have worked incredibly hard during their time at Norfolk House and have secured places at excellent senior schools. It has been wonderful to see them grow and mature into the caring, intelligent and ambitious young people they are today. Form 6, I would like to wish you all the best in your next school and want you to know that you will always be part of Norfolk House. I know you will go on to do great things and hope you will return to tell us all about your new experiences.
All the staff would like to wish all families a safe and enjoyable summer holiday. If you are returning in September, we look forward to welcoming you back. If you are leaving us we wish you all the best for the future.
