Our First Year 2022-2023
When we opened our doors on the 5th of September to Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 we had just 38 children in school on that first day, today at the time of writing this we have 122 children in school! The growth of our school has far exceeded our expectations and I expect the school to continue to grow quickly over the coming years. Looking ahead to next year, we will be welcoming well over 100 new children and their families as well as 8 new members of staff.
We have worked hard so that our school community has had access to all key school events, and these have brought moments of immense pride. Standing and seeing our children lead events such as our Welcome Ceremony, Advent Service, Stations of the Cross, Nativities, Sports Day and most recently Mass have been incredibly special.
This year has also brought about some challenges notably with major leak we suffered that destroyed our Reception and KS1 (Key Stage 1) classrooms. The way that the children, staff, and families adapted to this was amazing and at no point was the learning offer impacted by this.
In our final Gospel assembly, the children were also reflecting on our school year and used the parable of the growing seed which explored what a seed needs to grow well. I asked the children why they thought our school had grown well this year. The children’s responses were amazing: -
‘The teachers and adults have been so welcoming’ – Year 2 child.
‘Because we can say prayers together’ – Year 4 child.
‘All of the children have been so kind and caring to each other especially when a new child has joined’ – Year 2 child.
I would like to say a huge thank you to our staff and families for their support throughout this year. This year has been my proudest year as a Headteacher, and I am so excited to see what the next year at St John Henry Newman Catholic Primary School will bring.
SEPTEMBER 2022
JULY 2023
