Well done and thank you to our wonderful Year 6 Christmas Choir who sang beautifully to bring Christmas cheer to everyone at the dementia cafe. It was a magical atmosphere and lovely to hear many of the audience join in with old favourite carols and Christmas songs. We hope to have stirred up some happy Christmas memories and are grateful for the warm welcome we received.

We were pleased to be able to hold two Open Days for parents with children due to start Nursery or Reception in September 2023. 

The Open Days were on Monday 14th November at 9:15 and Wednesday 16th November at 1:30.

We also had six visit sessions which parents could book to come and see our Reception or Nursery classes in action.

More details are on our website here.  https://www.hillsideavenue.org/open-days-2023/

It was great to have a big turnout for each of these events, and thank you to everyone who attended for sharing in an experience of our school.

We had a wonderful Harvest Assembly this week. A large range of foods were donated by families to support the Norwich Foodbank. Children sang a range of harvest songs and we shared thoughts about food being stored for the winter, tithe barns of old and how we are sharing something of what we have to help others, a little bit like tithes of the past. Fr James shared a message for harvest about seeds that grow into fruits in our lives - joy, peace and love - with a range of exotic fruits as a reminder of the wonderful variety and richness of foods we can be thankful for.

With the sad news of the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, we have been reflecting on her life and reign. Our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences are with the Royal Family at this time. 

All children focussed on learning about LIV village in Durban, South Africa, to end the school year.

We learned some African music and percussion, and (especially with the exceptionally warm weather) experienced how music is used in Africa to bring people together for celebration, singing and dancing out in the open air.

Children also learned about where Durban is, what the climate, wildlife and culture is like and how LIV village was formed and its purpose in providing homes, foster families and education for needy children, in order to give them a bright future.

We wrote letters and shared about our school with the children in LIV school too.

You can watch our music performances here, which we shared via video with the children at LIV:

www.hillsideavenue.org/liv-village-week-2022/

Our Y4 children took part in two days of activities and an overnight stay in school this week. They had a brilliant time - tackling new challenges including archery, non-contact boxing, and circus skills along with drumming workshops, art activities, PE and maths challenges. There has been a really special feel to these two days, especially when taking part in games and activities at dusk out on the school field. 

Overnight, the children settled down in tents in the halls while Fr James popped in to read a bedtime story. By morning the children were really proud of their achievement of staying away from home with their school friends. 

An early breakfast in the morning light followed by more activities to finish the experience. 

Here is some feedback from the children:

"It was good, fun and enjoyable!"

"We slept quite well and I liked how we got to sleep with our friends in the tents"

"It was a great experience and it has set me up to go to Hautbois next year."

"I'd love to do it all again!"

Our Year 6 children (and staff) were very excited for their Residential visit. There were incredible outdoor experiences, challenges and opportunities throughout the week. 

Each day, photos and updates were updated on this news feed, with further pictures and information in the gallery here:

https://www.hillsideavenue.org/year-6-residential-2022/

Updates were late in the evening, after the children are settled in the dorms for the night and staff have chance to access the internet.

Well done everyone - staff and children  - for making it an excellent week.

Children learned the self-discipline, coordination and control of karate in a special week of sessions this week. It was great to see confidence building as children concentrated on learning the skills and trying out a range of moves. 

The show goes on! Children had a wonderful experience taking part in Christmas plays even though last-minute changes due to the pandemic meant performing to camera rather than the audiences we had hoped to host. The enjoyment on children's faces was clear as they dressed up and performed, singing and dancing together. Nursery took part in the traditional Nativity story, with some extra animals of their choice! Reception children told the tale of a bossy king and queen for whom the wonder of Christmas brought joy and happiness. Year 1 and Year 2 were full of enthusiasm to sing and dance their way to Bethlehem!

Parents loved seeing the finished video recordings of the performances, and with over 2000 views we reached a much wider audience this year than we would have with in-person shows. Happy Christmas everyone!

All of KS2 featured in a wonderful show of Peter Pan. Performed as two productions, every child form Y3 to Y6 had a part to play, whether in the on-stage cast or in the supporting choirs. The children demonstrated excellent acting skills, confidence and enjoyment throughout - they all learned their parts, lines and songs brilliantly and it was easy to imagine we were in the West End not in our school hall!

Very well done to everyone, and particular thanks to the staff for running the Peter Pan after-school and lunchtime club to prepare and rehearse, and for the live music throughout.