FIRST EDITION RELEASED!

Check out the first edition of the Primary Peek....

Teacher Profile - Mr G Watson

Mr G Watson

Primary Phase Leader 

What is your position in the Academy?
I am the Primary Phase leader, which means I make sure that everything that needs to be done on the primary site gets done.

What age do you think you will be when you retire?
I will be 65. It won’t be any sooner unless Mr Brown will let me.

What are your hobbies?
I really like watching football, going to quizzes, playing computer games and having fun.

What were your top three subjects when you were at school?
In primary school I really liked doing maths.
In secondary school I learnt about Classical Civilisations.
At college I liked history.

When did you start your career in this Academy?
I started this Academy in September 2001 when it was Top o’ th’ Brow Primary School.

Have you had any previous jobs?
Yes, I used to be a wholesale delivery driver and a newspaper packer. I had to get up really early in the morning, which is especially horrible in winter!

The Teacher Profile is brought to you each half term by Tomiwa. Watch out, next edition: Mrs Schofield

CLUBS, CLUBS, CLUBS!

Lunch times and after school has never been so busy! September was not only a new start for the Academy, but lots of clubs have started up again. 

Miss Cooper and Mrs Ford are running a dance club after school on a Monday night. Miss Cooper said, “I decided to do a dance club because I thought it would be nice for pupils to have an after school activity to join and lot’s of children had asked me to”. They do all kinds of different dances from street to hip hop, ballet to ballroom there’s something for everyone!

Mrs Tonge runs a puzzle club to develop children’s inquiry and thinking skills. Mrs Tonge said “I enjoy being able to work with children from all the Key Stage 2 classes”. When asked about the types of puzzles they do in the club she replied “Come and have a look for yourself”, (cheeky; but she has a point!). You should check it out; they have jigsaws, connect four, Jenga, the bedlam cube, draughts, dominoes, time puzzles, crosswords, snakes and ladders, interactive puzzles on the computer like Hexagon and loads more!! It’s on every Friday lunch time from 12.20 - 1.05pm. Everyone in Key Stage 2 is welcome you just come in and try to solve the puzzles on the carpet, computer or tables. See if you can beat Mrs Tonge at Jenga—apparently she is an expert!

Mr Hill and Mrs Potts run the media club which produces an Academy newspaper each half term. Rebekka, one of the reporters, thought of the name “Primary Peek” and Mr Hill designed the logo! The club is on every Wednesday from 3.20 to 4.20 in the ICT suite. Look out soon for the all new “Peek-Online”, a digital version of the Academy Newspaper with video reports - interested in getting involved? Speak to Mr Hill.

Mrs Tinsley is running a library club every Tuesday dinnertime in the Library, a chance to sit and have a quiet read, change your book, or take part in the literacy activities with Mrs Tinsley.

The applications were made for the new School Council members and elections have been held. Do you know who your school council member is? They have a council meeting every Tuesday during assembly time in Year 5 - if you have any comments about the Academy or want your voice heard then let your class representative know.

By Jade and Ellie-Louise.

CLIMB-TASTIC EQUIPMENT

Over the Summer holidays, early years and foundation stage had an extreme makeover: Academy Edition! 

Not only did they all have a classroom swap and get loads of brand new furniture, they got a mega structure built right outside the new doorway in the extension!

The climbing frame will help the younger children in the Academy to develop their climbing and balancing skills and practice jumping and exploring. They will have to be risk-takers if they want to get across that bridge in the middle though!

We interviewed Mrs Ford, who was very excited about the new equipment. She said “We are really lucky to have such outstanding equipment in our outdoor play area, the children love it so much.”

By Charlotte and Saffron.

WHAT AN ABUNDANT HARVEST

The week of October 12th was all about celebrating the harvest. We collected tins of food, fresh fruit and vegetables and learnt all about the harvest and why it is such an important time of year for many people. 

Each class collected as much food as they could and packaged it all up for giving out to the elderly people in our local community.

The harvest celebration assembly, held on Wednesday 14th October, was the biggest and best we have ever had. We would like to thank everyone who donated towards the harvest for being so kind and caring. Each class performed a song, poem or play about the harvest. 

The children in early years foundation stage told us about their Autumn Walk and impressed us with their ICT skills. Year 1 performed a really good acrostic poem which spelled out HARVEST. Year 2 had been tasting different fruits all week and told us which was their favourite. Year 3 had made up a poem for every letter of the alphabet, from A is for Apple—juicy and sweet right through to Z.

Year 4 performed the “Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley grow” song, and Year 5 sang “Food glorious Food”, and told us some facts about the history of the Harvest celebration. Year 6 sang a song about sowing seeds and digging the land.

To finish the wonderful celebration off, Reverend Sue Forrest-Redfearn, talked to us about seeds and how all good living things come from seeds - even you and me! Let’s hope that next year’s harvest will be just as good, we can collect even more food and help more people. 

Matthew, Ashleigh and Keren report.

GREAT START FOR ACADEMY

September saw the start of the first term as Bolton St Catherine’s Academy and there have been many changes.


We have a new uniform, which makes us look really smart. We have brand new carpets on the corridors too. Some of us have the chance to meet new teachers like Mr Leese, PE teacher from the Secondary site and Mr Roberts (or Herr Roberts to us!) teaches us German.

Some teachers have had a change of classrooms and some have got new classrooms and they look lovely. In Mr Hill’s class, they have plants on the tables; which year 5 must remember to water every day!

The whole Academy building has been painted cream and every door painted blue, with posh signs on.

Most children have been given new opportunities like learning German with Mr Roberts or brass with Mr Broomhead. Watch out for the all new My Space, which is now opposite the parent room in the main entrance.

We now have a shorter dinner time, 55 minutes instead of 60, but we still have enough time to go to clubs. Every Tuesday we finish at 3.00pm giving teachers time to have meetings.

We have many clubs to join such as ‘media club’, ‘dance club’, ‘puzzle club’ and ‘football club’. Check on the board outside the hall for times and Jade and Ellie’s article on page 2 for more details.

by Rebekka and Tegan