A Summer of Fun and Learning at Clifton!

Clifton pupils had the opportunity to get ready for the new term, meet their new teachers and having some fun at Summer transition schools, funded by the Balsall Heath Extended Schools Cluster.

Pupils going into Year 1 and Year 3 were invited to attend the sessions designed to make their transition into the new Key Stage smoother. This included getting a head start on their topics for September, meeting their new teachers and refreshing their Literacy and Numeracy skills.

Between August 2nd and 5th pupils new to Year 1 had a great time creating a non-fiction book for their classmates on their IPC topic of ‘Jobs’ with Miss. Singleton, Mrs. Jabeen and Miss Hitchcock. We enjoyed a visit to the new school building site to meet the builders, interviewing a local librarian at Balsall Heath Library and studying the life of fire-fighters, gardeners, hospital staff and the postal service. We hope everyone in Year 1 will use the book to help them in September.

Also during this week, there was a Sports Summer School run by Will Seabrook from Sport for Life. Twenty pupils enjoyed a week of sporting activities including golf, hockey, multi-skills and cricket. It was great to see pupils channeling their energy in such a positive way and learning new skills, all in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. Miss. Hitchcock said afterwards how the summer school had ‘strengthened the relationship between staff and children and that children had learnt the names of jobs.’ A morning round of golf!

A week later twenty five pupils new to Year 3 came in to prepare for life in the Juniors by studying topics linked to the Science and IPC curriculum. They produced some superb artwork for their Pictures, painting and photographs displays and worked really hard to name the human body organs. This will give pupils a head start in September. It was great for the children to work with their new teachers and look after the whole school by watering plants, weeding and tidying up. Mrs. Sheldon, Mrs. Awan, Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Allen had a great time and commented on how the week ‘helped them get to know the children better’ in time for the new school year.

Subhan in class 3S said how much he ‘enjoyed looking at the building site’ and while Ameera in 3A stated that she ‘liked reading in Balsall Heath Library.’ Haleemah said that she now ‘knows how to use oil pastels’ when ‘drawing the pictures of the circus for the Library Art competition. Year 1 pupils visit the Library

Year 3 girls harvest the vegetables from the Nursery garden

Overall, it was great to see the school being used during the summer holidays, with so many children learning together ready for the new school year. Clifton Primary School would like to thanks the Balsall Heath Extended Schools Cluster for funding the summer schools and Sport for Life for running the sports school through the ‘My Choice scheme.’

Year 3 boys get digging for potatoes