What's happening at Withinfields?

Our new playground - Lots of staff volunteered one Saturday to mark out our playground and tidy up the playground area.  We then created zones to engage children more effectively at playtimes - loose parts, ball and target, four square, skipping, reading, creative, team games and football skills.  Everyone is enjoying playtimes much more now and the staff have been really impressed with the way that the older children are playing with the younger children and how well the children are sharing the equipment.

Reception visit to Central Library, Halifax - The Reception children visited our local library.  They were beautifully behaved getting on and off the bus, walking through the town centre and listening to stories in the library.  They all enjoyed choosing a book to borrow from the library.

Year 1 and 2 visit to St Anne's - The Year 1 and 2 children walked to our local church to meet Reverend Nigel Stimpson and to find out about what it means to belong to a faith or community as part of their learning in RE.  They learned lots of new vocabulary such as pulpit, font, altar, lectern and pews.

Marshalls donation - We were delighted to receive the playground equipment that Marshalls had donated the funds for.  We really appreciate this support from the biggest employer in our village.

Science Fair - As part of National Science week, we held a Science Fair with children completing projects in their own time to present at the Science Fair to a very interested audience.

PINS coffee morning - We are proud to be part of the PINS (Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools) project this year.  Many of our parents enjoyed a PINS coffee morning with representatives from Calderdale Family Voice, the National Autistic Society and ADHD West Yorkshire joining us.

World Book Day - We had lots of fun on World Book Day.  We dressed up as our favourite book characters:

We decorated potatoes as book characters:

We submitted photos of ourselves taking part in 'extreme reading':

Finally, we loved reading with our buddies!

Dance Performance - Our Dance club performed at Park Lane Academy with other primary schools from our partnership.  They had thoroughly enjoyed the Dance club which Miss Mitchell had run and that they had taken part in and were proud to display their talents in their amazing sequence.  

Ukulele Club - Our Ukulele club have been rehearsing all year and have progressed from learning to hold their ukulele to being ready for their first 'gig'.  They performed Katy Perry's Roar at a KS1 Endeavour assembly to rapturous applause and are now really looking forward to their next booking!

Reception visit to Beacon Hill - Our Reception children took a walk to Beacon Hill to practise their road safety skills and to view Halifax from above.  They enjoyed spotting different places and asking lots of questions.

Y6 Seasonal Pasta - Our Year 6 children have been designing and making seasonal pasta sauces.  They enjoyed learning the skills needed to prepare the ingredients and combining them to create their sauces.  

Slow the flow workshop - Our Year 3 children welcomed a visitor from the charitiable organisation 'Slow the Flow'.  Slow The Flow is a charity working to advance the education of the public in Natural Flood Management, Sustainable Drainage Systems and other renewable methods of managing the environment, including the exploration of alternative practices which safeguard the natural environment and its resources in a manner which best fits the specifics of a local geography.  The children enjoyed taking part in the workshop which enhanced their learning from their topic about rivers.

Ten Pin Bowling - Some of our Year 5 children took part in a Ten Pin Bowling competition at Electric Bowl in Halifax.  This is part of a series of events that make up a Panathlon.  They brought back lots of medals and a certificate and thoroughly enjoyed their morning!

Healthy Minds workshop in Y6 - The Year 6 children took part in a Healthy Minds workshop about Self-esteem.  They enjoyed working with the team that joined us and completing various tasks.

Visit from MP Kate Dearden - We welcomed our local MP to school on Friday, 10th January.  She looked around our school and was particularly impressed with the way that we support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and the way that we all care about each other.  She explained to the School Council how she was elected and likened it to the way that they had been elected.  She also talked to the School Council about her work and how she aims to make a difference for the people of Halifax as well as for the whole country.  The school councillors asked her some questions about herself and her work.

Stay and Play - Our Reception children, parents and carers enjoyed a fun filled afternoon in our beautiful wildlife area. Mrs Jordan read Stick Man whilst the children snuggled up with their grown ups, drinking hot chocolate. After the interactive story session, the children enjoyed a vocabulary hunt through the forest and made their own Stick Men. They even had a special visit from Santa! 

Remembrance Poppies - The Out of School Club children have been making poppies which we have taken to St Anne's to be displayed as part of their Remembrance displays.  They were delighted with them.

Early Years' Easter Stay and Play - The Nursery and Reception children were delighted to invite their adults into school for this event.  They spent time together decorating eggs, making Easter nests and baskets and creating Easter crowns.  They even had an Easter Egg hunt to win a chocolate egg!

Y5 Visit to Castle Hill, Huddersfield - The children and staff from Y5 went to visit Castle Hill in Huddersfield as part of their History and Geography curriculum.  They were amazed with the views and how far they could see and also learned about species of animals living in some interesting places within the environment!

Mothers' Day Breakfast - We had a record 165 people arrive for breakfast to celebrate Mothers' Day!  Lots of people passed their thanks on to the catering team, led by Mrs Welsh.  It is always a pleasure to get together at these events.

Year 6 Visit to the Piece Hall - Year 6 visited the Piece Hall as part of their local history topic.  Whilst there, they visited the Heritage Centre where they had the opportunity to try on clothes, research facts about the woollen industry and complete a fact-finding crossword.  Enroute to the Piece Hall, the children practised their geography skills by reading a map and by identifying physical and human features that they passed along the way.

Fathers' Day Breakfast - We served breakfast to lots of our dads, grandads, stepdads and other father figures around Fathers' Day.  It is always lovely to see the children enjoying some special time with their loved ones.

Theatre Company Visit  - The children enjoyed a visit from M&M Theatrical Productions in June who performed their version of Oliver Twist.  There was lots of music alongside the famous storyline and children from Nursery to Year 6 all loved the experience.

Poetry Slam - The Year 6 children worked with a poet called Rob Bradley who helped them all create poetry in groups around the theme of 'Green'.  All the children worked hard and were incredibly creative but one group had to be chosen to represent the school at the Calderdale Poetry Slam.  The winning group performed at The Victoria Theatre, Halifax on 22nd March along with lots of other schools.  The group were amazing and the staff and parents who attended were incredibly proud of them.

Poppy Cascade at Halifax Minster - Every class in school has created poppies for the poppy cascade at Halifax Minster.  We used a wide variety of media including bottle bottoms, bun cases and more traditional materials.  The school council visited the church to see the poppies in position.  We are very proud to be one of only two Halifax schools to provide poppies for this event.