Lymington Junior School
Learning Joy Success
The Headteacher's Blog
Mr T’s Weekly Review
Monday 22nd July to Tuesday 23rd July
The focus of the 2 days this week was on celebrating the year and looking ahead. For our year 6 children that meant their wonderful Leavers’ Party on Monday (which they have been busy funding raising for all year) and their lovely Leavers’ assembly on Tuesday morning. Thank you to the Friends of the School for generously funding the children’s leavers’ gifts: very appreciated as always!
I would like to take this opportunity to say a final ‘thank you’ to the children in all year groups for their amazing attitude; commitment; hard work and resilience this year…and over the past 4 years in the case of the children in Year 6!
Thank you also to the children’s parents for everything you do to support and encourage your children to greatness.
And finally, thank you to our amazing staff team for everything they do to provide the children with so many varied experiences and challenges throughout the year.
The school simply wouldn’t be the place it is without you all.
Good luck to our Year 6 children in the next stage of their adventure. The staff and I look forward to welcoming everyone else back on Tuesday 3rd September 2024.
I hope everyone has a fabulous summer holiday!
Monday 15th July to Friday 19th July
This week started and ended with showcases of the children’s wonderful achievements this year. On Monday, the children’s end of year reports were emailed out families. This was the first year this we were able to do this using our relatively new Management Information System (Arbor) which helped to streamline the process massively. Thank you to Mrs Tombleson and Mrs Solly in the office for all their hard work in recent months embedding this system for us!
The week ended with our annual book showcase after school where family members are invited in to see (and take home) the children’s books for the year and discuss reports with class teachers if they would like to. There’s an old saying, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”. At LJS that should be, “the proof of how much learning the children do, is how hard it is to carry their books home”. Not as catchy, but anyone who has tried it would agree it’s equally true!
Between those whole school events were our amazing Year 6 leavers’ performances. The productions at LJS are always a huge part of the year group calendar and a real highlight of each term for me; the was no exception. The children were absolutely amazing. Wonderful acting, dancing, amazing singing…and the ‘cracker jokes’ were right up my street. Bravo!!
HUGE congratulations go to the children for their amazing achievements this year which have been captured so well by the staff that work with them within their reports. Whether it be making lots of new friends; making great progress in learning and/or attending school as often as possible the children have achieved great things this year and I hope they are extremely proud of themselves for doing so!
A MASSIVE thank you also goes to our amazing staff team for all the planning, preparation, marking, encouragement, support and challenge that goes into helping the children achieve these wonderful things.
Also, a BIG thank you to you, the children’s families, for the support and encouragement you give to the children (and school) on a daily basis. Great teamwork all round!
Monday 8th July to Friday 12th July
Despite Monday’s INSET meaning that the week was only 4 days long, it didn’t stop our wonderful children and staff packing it full of great experiences as always! This week was all about preparing for new adventures in September.
Tuesday saw all of the children in the pyramid experiencing what school life will be like for them in September in their new classrooms/schools and with their new teachers. There was a great buzz around the school as we welcomed our new Year 3 children for their first full morning at LJS. The children in all year groups took part in fun activities, many of which were specifically designed to help them get to know their new teachers and vice versa.
Our Year 6 children also got to spend a great day as Year 7 in Priestlands. Whilst it will be really sad for us to see the children move on, it was great to hear them speak so enthusiastically about their day when they returned to us on Wednesday. Well done everybody!
Monday 17th June to Friday 21st June
The week got off to a great start. It was absolutely brilliant to see so many of you at our Father’s Day assembly on Monday; what a great way to start the week! Thank you to everyone that was able to come in and join the celebration of the importance of positive male role models in our children’s lives. It was lovely to hear directly from the children themselves why what you do is valued so highly by them. Thank you for everything you do! A particularly big thank you to those Dads that ‘volunteered’ to be part of the quiz. It was very generous of you to ‘let’ the children win too..!
It was lovely to welcome the Year 2 children over again on Tuesday to learn computing in our fabulous IT suite. This is another part of the Infant children’s transition process with us which continues in various ways over the next few weeks and is designed to help them settle into life at LJS as quickly as possible in September: something our current Year 3 did amazingly well last year! Thank you to the amazing staff teams at both the Infants and here at the Juniors for all the time, thought and effort that goes into achieving this!
It was also another great week for sport at LJS with our Year 5/6 cricketeers doing a great job at a cricket festival on Monday. As always, they represented the school brilliantly. We then had the fun of Lower School sports afternoon on Wednesday followed by Upper School sports afternoon on Thursday. Thank you to all the family members that attended these events. It’s great for the children to have such a large crowd of loved ones cheering them on. Thank you also to Miss Wyeth and the staff team for organising the afternoons and helping them run so smoothly for the children. As always great teamwork all round!
Monday 10th June to Friday 14th June
This week saw the very of the statutory assessment period for the children (and staff) in Year 6. Having been selected by the Local Authority for our 4-yearly writing moderation visit at the end of SATs week, the moderators arrived on Wednesday to double check the staff’s judgements. I am very pleased and proud to report that the moderators were incredibly complimentary of both the children’s writing and the accuracy of the staff’s judgements. The year team celebrated with a much deserved ice cream on Friday courtesy of Vision for education. Well done everyone!
We were also very lucky to be able to provide 20 children with an all-expenses paid trip to Marwell zoo this week courtesy of the generosity of Lymington Rotary Club. In order to be as fair as possible, the children were selected at random to take part and the lucky individuals selected had a great day. Thank you very much to Mr Burton and the Year 3 TA team for supervising the children on the day and, of course, to Lymington Rotary Club for organising and paying for it all. Hopefully we’ll be given the opportunity to go again in the future..!
Finally, it was lovely to welcome our new Year 3 children into the school on Friday afternoon for our annual ‘treasure hunt’ with the current Year 3 children. This always marks an important part of our annual calendar as it is an important part of the ‘getting to know you process’ for our prospective Year 3 children, while also being a rite of passage for our current Year 3 children as they prepare to be ‘old hands’ in Year 4 from September…and an amazing Year 4 they will be!
Mr T’s Weekly Review Monday 3rd June to Friday 7th June
As we enter the second half of the Summer term, we have officially entered the final straight of the 2023 – 2024 academic year.
We spent a lot of time as a school community last week reflecting on the concept of ‘real’ heroes: ordinary people who do extraordinary things. Our stimulus for this was, of course, the 80th anniversary of D-Day. We used assemblies to remind the children of the bravery of those amazing heroes and why we continue to commemorate their sacrifices to this day.
We also took the opportunity to encourage the children to make the most of that sacrifice by challenging themselves whenever possible to be the best versions of themselves they can. We agreed we would all continue to try to be heroic in our own way by doing things like not giving up when learning gets tough; being kind, caring and honest in school and generally doing what we can to make the school community as great to be a part of as possible. LJS will never forget!
In other news, this stage of the school year is always a cause for mixed-emotions. On the one hand, we have the excitement of all the fun events planned for this time of the year, particularly: the Year 6 leavers’ assembly/party/production; sports days; trips/visits etc and the excitement of even more new opportunities from September.
While on the other, we know that we only have another 7 weeks or so with our current Year 6 cohort who, as ever, will be greatly missed when they leave.
All of this, however, provides great motivation for the children and staff alike to make this half term as memorable as possible for everyone. I for one cannot wait..!
Mr T’s Weekly Review: Monday 20th May to Friday 27th May
I hope you all had a great half term.
The last week before half term can be seen by some as an opportunity to start winding down: not at LJS though. The opportunity for Learning, Joy and Success continued all the way to everyone’s well deserved break.
On Tuesday, Year 6 went on their trip to Steamer Point to walk the coast as part of their Geography unit. The children and staff had a great day, helped in no small part by the weather holding out for them. A particularly big ‘well done’ to whoever was in charge of organising that..!
Wednesday saw a visit from the international athlete Leon Greenwood who inspired the whole school with details of their journey to sporting success. I look forward to welcoming ex-students back to the school in future years to share their journeys and inspire future generations! A particularly BIG tank you to Miss Wyeth for organising this opportunity and also to our amazing families for raising £676.88 which will be spent by Miss Wyeth and our sports leaders on equipment for the children to play with at play and lunchtime.
It was the turn of the Year 3 children on Thursday to get stuck into their Roman Day. Thank you to everyone involved (children, staff and parents) for organising and wearing such great costumes to really help bring the day’s hands-on learning to life. Great work all round!
Finally, the whole week was ‘walk to school week’ where we encourage the children to reflect on the positive benefits of exercise in their lives. Once again, a HUGE thank you to families for their support with this.
Here’s to yet more great opportunities to come as we head towards the end of yet another academic year…
Mr T’s Weekly Review: Monday 13th May to Friday 17th May (SATs Week)
Question: Which two-word phrase can often spread fear and dread through Primary Schools around up and down the land..?
Answer: ‘SATs Week’
Everywhere that is, other than at LJS!
Last week was SATs week. I am really proud to report that the Year 6 children were, as always, superheroes! Despite, I’m sure, having the mixture of feelings that are usual during weeks like this; they all bravely cam into school with smiles on their faces and poured their best efforts into each and every test. I am incredibly proud of each and every one of them and hope that, more importantly, they are proud of themselves to. Legends one and all!
I’d also like to say a HUGE ‘thank you’ to our equally amazing staff team for everything they did to encourage and support the children last week. Whether it be the Year 6 staff members who have worked so hard to prepare and inspire the children all year or the staff from every year group that helped make breakfast; administer the tests and/or let the children know they were there for them with a smile and encouraging word.
BIG thanks also to the children’s families for encouraging and supporting them at home in the run up to last week and each and every day since joining us in Year 3. It takes their whole support team to give the children the best possible platform to spring from.
Great work everyone!
Mr T’s Weekly Review: Monday 29th April to Friday 3rd May
Last week started off with one of the highlights of the school year, class photos. It was lovely as always to see so many super-smart people looking great after spending that little extra time in front of the mirror before school…and that was just the staff! 😊
You should have received information on how to purchase class photographs if you would like to. If not, please don’t hesitate to speak to Bev in the office.
The rest of the week was as busy and successful as always. I love the summer term for many reasons, most of them being linked to the weather. One such reason is the amount of sport that is available for the children to take part in and, once again, our teams did an amazing job!
Congratulations this week goes to our athletes. Children from Years 3 and 4 took part in Cross Country running on Tuesday and children from Years 5 and 6 took part in various athletics events on Wednesday. Both groups did incredibly well and represented the school brilliantly. Well done everyone!
Thank you once again for your patience with our assessment launch in Arbor last week. We’re really hoping that once we get any teething problems ironed out – and we’re able to help everyone understand what the information means (future parents’ evenings will be great for this) – that it will be a really useful way for you to keep up to date with the progress your child is making in school.
Finally, I hope you all had a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend!
Mr T’s Weekly Review: Monday 22nd April to Friday 26th April
Last week was another great week in the life of LJS!
The week started off with local visits for the children in the Upper School. Year 5 visited Lymington Library and Year 6 visited St Barbe’s museum to learn about how seaside Holidays have changed over the years. I was really proud to hear that staff received lots of compliments about the children’s attitude, enthusiasm and behaviour at the library/museum and also on the journey to/from school. Well done everyone!
Not to be out done by our amazing Upper School Hockey players’ achievements the week before, it was the turn of the Lower School children on Wednesday. Once again the children played really well; worked incredibly hard as a team and had great fun whilst also finishing unbeaten (1 draw and 3 wins) to claim second place overall. Brilliant achievements all round!
Finally, the week was rounded off by an amazing class assembly from the children of 5C who confidently showcased the wonderful variety of subjects they have learnt about so far this academic year. Well done everyone: great work!
Mr T’s Weekly Review: 15th to 19th April
The children settled back into school really well last week following the Easter Holiday which, as usual, was brilliant to see. I’m super proud of them and the staff team for creating an environment which is so easy to come back to; even after two weeks of fun. Great work all round!
Our assembly theme last week was Online safety. We talk to the children lots about this throughout the year in a range of ways during assemblies; Computing/PSHE sessions and/or when related incidents occur. It is one of the biggest, and fastest moving, challenges that we want and need to help the children learn strategies for in order to keep themselves safe in all the related ways. Should you ever require additional information linked to Online Safety (or anything else related to the children’s wellbeing for that matter) please don’t hesitate to contact Mrs Rose either on the gate each morning or via the School Office.
Last week was also a great week for LJS Sport. HUGE congratulations go to our lower school Hockey players and Golfers. Both teams did exceptionally well as usual with the Hockey team coming 3rd! They won lots of their games; represented the school brilliantly as always and had great fun while doing so. Exactly what our school is all about. Well done everyone involved!
Finally for this week, a HUGE thank you to the Friends of the School for securing grant funding to enable the building of our lovely new bike/scooter shelter! It’s great to see it already being used by so many families. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s just to the right of the building as you look towards the school office. A lovely resource for us to use for many years to come. Thank you all involved!
Here’s to more learning; joy; success and (hopefully) dry weather to come next week…!
Mr T’s Weekly Review: 25th to 28th March 2024
Welcome back! The staff and I hope that you all had a lovely Easter Holiday and that your plans weren’t spoilt by the weather. Fingers crossed the sun comes out, and stays out, now we are in the summer term…!!
I always find that it’s with mixed emotions that I enter the summer term. On the one hand, excitement for what’s to come but on the other conscious that we’ll soon be saying goodbye to our current Year 6 group. Here’s to a great 14 weeks or so before we have to face that though..!
Now to round up last term: The final week saw our amazing Year 4/5 production. This year’s theme was the ‘Greatest Showman’ and the children really did put on a great show! The singing was, as usual, absolutely amazing but the thing that always impresses me most is the way that 128 children can work so seamlessly well with each other. This of course comes down to the awesome teamwork between the children but also with the amazing staff teams involved. Huge thanks to each and every one of them. Brilliant entertainment!
In other news…Year 3 enjoyed an exciting trip to Hillier gardens. This was linked to the work they had been doing in Art. Despite the rain, the children and staff had an amazing day and represented the school brilliantly. Well done Team Year 3!
The final week ended with what is always a personal highlight for me, the termly Rocksteady concert. A HUGE ‘well done’ to our RockStars of the future for the time and effort that has gone into learning their instruments/song words in order to entertain us all so brilliantly. A wonderful way to end the last week of term!
Mr T’s Weekly Review: 18th to 22nd March
As we continue to race towards the Easter Holiday, we have reached the final weekly review this side of the summer term…but don’t worry, I will update everyone regarding this week’s events when we come back on Monday 15th April.
As usual, last week was another eventful one at LJS. A MASSIVE ‘well done’ first of all to the Year 5/6 Netballers who took part in the pyramid sports competition on Wednesday. I’m reliably informed that the children played really well as a team; had lots of fun and represented the school wonderfully well: exactly what the event is about. Well done everyone!
Year 6 had a visit from the PCSO on Friday as part of their Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) programme. The PCSOs looked at various ways of avoiding and combatting anti-social behaviour in the community. As always, the children were a credit to themselves and the school, engaging in the sessions with enthusiasm and great maturity. The staff and I were very proud of them all!
Finally, you’ve probably noticed some building work currently going on near the staff car park. I am delighted to report that the Friends of the school have managed to secure funding from the local authority for a new bike and scooter shelter. Not only will this provide a valuable resource for any and all site users wishing to travel to/from the site in these ways, it also hasn’t cost us a penny to build. Great result all round: HUGE thanks to the Friends of our School for arranging it!
I hope you all have a great Easter Holiday. Fingers crossed the sun comes out for us all..!
Mr T’s Weekly Review: 11th to 15th March 2024
I can’t believe we’ve reached the start of our last full week of the Spring Term…time is running away with us as always!
We had another jampacked week in school last week. In addition to all the great in-class learning, Year 6 and Year 4 visited the library. It was great for the children to experience the facilities and resources that our community is very fortunate to benefit from. If you haven’t been for a while, we would highly recommend calling in at some point…
Congratulations to our Year 3 and 4 Netballers who did really well at Priestlands on Wednesday. On top of representing themselves and the school brilliantly with their positive play and teamwork, 'team 2' came back with a medal for finishing 2nd place. Great achievements all round!
Friday saw us raise money for Red Nose Day. It was wonderful to see the school so colourful and, on top of that, our community raised £226.00 for an amazing cause. I spoke with the children during assembly about the good that the money does. On behalf of the people who benefit, thank you!
Finally, a BIG thank you to everyone who came to see our Mother’s Day assemblies on Tuesday. As last year, they were really popular and it was great to see so many of you there! Thank you once again for your patience – we had aimed to do them on Friday 8th March but there were just so many things going on that we couldn’t fit everything in – and also flexibility: sadly, the hall just isn’t big enough to do one for everyone.
Here’s looking forward to another great week…!
Mr T’s Weekly Review: 4th to 8th March 2024
Hello everyone and welcome to a new weekly, feature. The children, staff and I want to share with you the amazing things that happen at LJS during term time, as soon after they happen as possible…and what a week to start us off!
Our theme for the week was inspirational women. This was to tie in with International Women’s day on Friday and Mother’s Day yesterday. The highlights of our inspirational week included:
Sport events: Well done to all the children that took part in the Indoor Athletics competition for Years 3 to 6 at Priestlands on Wednesday. They ran, jumped and threw with skill and enthusiasm; representing the school brilliantly in the process. Great work everyone!
World Book Day: Thursday saw what for many of us is our annual highlight: World Book Day. The children and staff dressed up as book characters; enjoyed stories and swapped books. I absolutely adore the fun, colour and excitement that the day brings to the school. Fun and inspirational: a perfect combination!
Our wonderful week culminated on International Women’s Day itself with a ‘fantastic Friday’.
School Council trip to London: Our brilliant School Council went on their annual trip to London. This amazing day saw the children travel to/from the capital by train and tour the Houses of Parliament as usual. This year’s ‘special extra’ was a tour round Westminster Abbey. It was a truly inspirational day and even made the 6am start bearable..!
Girls’ Football World Record: Meanwhile, back at base the rest of the children took part in a National record attempt to have as many girls as possible playing football at the same time. At LJS, all the children (boys and girls) got involved and we were able to contribute 98 girls towards the official record attempt. Fingers crossed as many other schools as possible took part too..!
I would like to say a particularly BIG thank you to all the children, parents and staff for their input last week. Whether it was with costumes; getting to trains on time; encouragement or, most importantly, getting involved with the fun: these amazing opportunities couldn’t
happen without it!
