2016-2017
TIMES TABLE LEEDS ROCK WRANGLE - 5TH JULY
The times table rock wrangle event in Leeds was a very tense event, however it was still a very fun for all competitors and teachers. Difficult brain teasers and games were played at Mathstock. Amazing poses were made at the photo shoot and many people put wigs on and held guitars to make them look like a real rock star or even a rock god!
Every competitor had times table starting from the 2 times tables where they had 1 minute to answer as many questions as they can and then were moved onto the 3 times tables and so on. The top 4 from each heat went through to a tense quarter final where they competed against seven others however, they were not in a small room anymore, they were in a large room being watched by a huge crowd.
The semi-final took place just like the quarter final and the top 4 people who got the most questions right up to 12 times 12 went through. These people were scoring things like 100 correct answers in 1 minute!
The grand final then took place with a total of 3 minutes given to answer as many questions as they could. Tension surrounded the room and different cheers could be heard. After the whole 3 minutes had passed the prizes were announced and the winner finally found out that they had won and could take the grand prize helicopter ride. The feeling must have been good for him as he got 402 correct. He was interviewed for the news and was known as the ultimate rock god of eternity! The helicopter had landed earlier the afternoon, so the winner and his team jumped on for an incredible journey!
By Jack, 6N
THE BIG WALK - 29TH JUNE
On the day of ‘The Big Walk’, a total of 23 schools got together at Batley market place to walk to Batley Bulldogs Stadium in memory of Jo Cox.
On the way, we all sang songs and danced to some music played by a man named Claudia. He played a harmonic tune on the drums. When we reached Batley Bulldogs, we got a snack and a drink while we waited for the events to start. When we had finished our snacks, we all got directed to a tall building where we started to do some activities. After the activities, Jo’s sister did a speech about her and what an amazing lady she was. When everyone had finished talking, we all sang a song that we had learnt for that day. As soon as we had finished singing the song, it was time to get our things and wait for the coach to come and take us back to school.
When we got back to school, we had a discussion about what we thought the day was all about. Despite all of the other good answers, the real reason behind that day was to show Jo Cox that we could all get together and spread the message of peace and unity across the world, just how she would have wanted it to be.
By Kayleigh, 6N
A DONATION FROM THE ROTARY CLUB OF BIRSTALL LUDDITES
Yesterday we had a surprise visit from Tony Smith from the Birstall Luddites who presented us with Dictionaries for Life from the Roatry Club. Windmill would like to thank them for their kind donation once again, these dictionaires will be well used and loved throughout the school.
RIGHTS RESPECTING ASSEMBLY - 21ST JUNE
On Wednesday 21st June, The Rights Respecting Group put together a Collective Worship for the whole school. The focus of the collective worship was to show what we already know and our plans for the future. We played a game show called '5 Gold Rings', the objective was to answer five questions about the UN convention of the rights of a child. If they were successful every child would receive an extra playtime. The school overcame the challenge and obtained the prize. We finished with a handwritten prayer from a Rights Respecting Representative.
By Toby, class 6A
THE GREAT GET TOGETHER - 16TH JUNE
On Friday 16th June, we held a Great Get Together at school in memory of Jo Cox. We could wear anything that made us happy. I wore a blue and white striped dress. The dress made me happy because it was a present from a member of my family.
First, we got together with Year 2 to get to know them better. We decorated some bunting using only the colour red , this was because Jo Cox wore a lot of red and it was her favourite colour. Then we went to the hall to practice singing with Songsational before performing this for our families outside at the balloon release.
Afterwards we enjoyed a picnic lunch with our families and got a free ice cream or ice lolly. My ice cream was SCRUMPTIOUS! We played games with our friends and with the parachute, our families could join in too!
Time for the best part of the day! The school's official Rock Choir concert! Everyone joined in singing and dancing, it was brilliant!
Everyone enjoyed Friday and felt it was an enormous success! We loved our Great Get Together.
By Aamnah, Year 4
Great Get Together Movie from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
Windmill CofE Primary School would like to thank everyone who helped make The Great Get Together possible. Thank you especially to Songsational and our local Rock Choir for giving up their time to perform, and to Value Cards & Party, Morley and Fox's Biscuits, Batley for their kind donations.
THE BIG SLEEPOVER - 9TH JUNE
Last Friday night, Year 5 had an entertaining time sleeping over at school! There were many activities to participate in such as football, sports games, a beauty salon, watching a film, singing around a camp fire and having a mouth watering barbecue. My favourite part of the spectacular night was the brilliant beauty salon where we could all get our nails painted, sing and dance to pop songs and take wacky selfies! All the teachers did an impeccable job to arrange the funfilled night. Year 5 had great fun!
By Holly, 5D
On Friday night we had a super school sleepover! Soon after we arrived, we went outside to have a BBQ with sizzling tasty burgers. Afterwards we played some games on the field and visited the beauty salon to have our nails painted. Next we sat around the cosy firepit and sang some silly songs. Finally, we put our camp beds up and watched the BFG and eventually went to sleep. We all enjoyed the evening and had a great time!
By Paige, 5DT
The Big Sleepover from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
MAH00681 from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
ROBIN WOOD 2017 - MAY 2017
Robin Wood, the Year 6 residential, was a great experience. The whole of Year 6 loved it. We did all sorts of activities that required team work. Both the children and the teachers had to use courage to complete the challenges, we participated in many events that conquered our fears. We let out our emotions on the giant swing by releasing a wild scream! Night Line was petrifying and the trapeze was an overwhelming experience for us all!
Overall, we had a great time and the memories we made will stay with us forever.
By Amirah and Will
RobinWood 2017 from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
BIBLE TIMES EXHIBITION - 19TH MAY
This morning Year 5 went to the best ever workshop yet. It was about all the mind blowing history of the Bible. After an interesting talk we got a quiz sheet which we had to answer using exhibitions and artefacts around us. We were complimented on our exceptional behaviour.
By Lewis, 5DT
A VISIT FROM TRACY BRABIN - 16TH MAY
Yesterday, Windmill Primary School were lucky enough to have a visit from Tracy Brabin. She shared her personal story about a career change from actor to MP in our whole school assembly. Our children were given the opportunity to ask her questions, one included if Tracy had ever thought about becoming Prime Minister!
DECORATE AN EGG WINNERS
Thank you to all the children who entered our egg competition this year, we had some truly eggcellent entries!
Our talented winners are:
Reception - Maisie, Macey-Leigh & Alex
Year 1 - Max, Dexter, Daisy & Jenson
Year 2 - Harry, Lola & Noah
Year 3 - Tye, Harry & Grace
Year 4 - Billy, Finlay & Saarah
Year 5 - Lewis, Kate & Jessica
Year 6 - Morgan, Eddy & Chloe
Decorate an egg 2017 from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND AT BGHS
"On the 30th March Year 4 and Year 5 were luckily enough to visit Batley Girls High School to watch a production. The girls performed Alice in Wonderland and we spotted some past students and familiar faces from Windmill. My cousin was in the play and was a penguin. IT WAS AMAZING!"
By Ellie, 5DT
RED NOSE DAY 2017
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated to Red Nose Day on Friday 24th March.
It was a fabulous day seeing everyone dressed in red and we are pleased to say we raised £499 for a wonderful cause - thank you!
Click on the photo below to hear our children sing the Red Nose Day song - they really enjoyed the dabbing!
Red Nosy Day Song 2017 from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
SING UP 2017
On the 24th March, the whole school participated in Sing Up 2017. Each year group helped to spread a little singing around the world by performing their own song.
Every year group was brilliant - have a listen to them sing by clicking on the year group photos below.
Reception sang 'A Little Bit Of Kindness In Your Day'
Reception Sing Up from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
Year 1 sang 'This Little Light Of Mine'
Year 1 Sing Up from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
Year 2 sang 'Those Magnificent Men'
Year 2 Sing Up from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
Year 3 sang 'Walk Like An (Ancient) Egyptian'
Year 3 SIng Up from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
Year 4 sang 'Best Day Of My Life'
Year 4 Sing Up from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
Year 5 sang 'Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner'
Year 5 Sing Up from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
Year 6 sang 'When I Grow Up'
Year 6 Sing Up from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
MUSICA BATLEY BIG SING 2017 - 15TH MARCH
On the 15th March, Windmill Choir formed part of a mass choir with 6 other local schools in the Batley Big Sing held at Batley Grammar School.
The children performed five joint items which included: Walking On Sunshine, True Colours, Naughty, Count On Me and We're All In This Together. Our choir performed Never Give Up and they did so confidently and with enthusiasm.
Well done to all the choir members, Miss Denvers and Mr Marshall, and thank you to parents for supporting us once again.
"The Batley Big Sing was amazing, all the schools did great. Our solo song 'Never Give Up' was better than I imagined. My favourite song was 'True Colours' which we performed with all the other schools. I think everybody really enjoyed it and so did I!'
By Lidia, class 4B
Have a look at the videos below to see our choir performing.
BBS Never Give Up from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
BBS True Colours from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
BBS We're All In This Together (High School Musical) from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
JUST JOSHING - KS2 ANTI BULLYING PRODUCTION - 14TH MARCH 2017
"During Tuesday morning, Finehorse Productions performed a play about bullying. It gave the children a powerful message to recognise and prevent bullying. I was honoured to be chosen to participate on stage. All my classmates stated that my contributions to the performance was their favourite part. As I do the Drama after school club, it boosted my confidence and gave me the skills to take centre stage successfully."
By Jack, class 5DT
WORLD BOOK DAY - 2ND MARCH 2017
It was so lovely to see all the children and staff dress up for World Book Day on Thursday 2nd March.
The children had an amazing day participating in lots of different activities. They enjoyed playing Quidditch in PE, sharing stories with other classes, some children from Year 6 participated in the World Book Day Quiz at Huddersfield Town Hall and we even had a visit from the Mayor of Kirklees!
A big thank you to parents for all their hard work and support with making their children look fantastic, and also to the ones who came in to share a story with the children.
Our winners for the best dressed characters:
Reception Winner - Maisie as Gangster Granny (RM)
KS1 Winner - Oliver as an actual stick insect from a non-fiction book (2W)
Lower KS2 Winner - Jack as Boy in a Dress (4B)
Upper KS2 Winner - Jack as Chimney Sweep (5DT)
Take a look at the video below to see what fun we had and hear the children sing "Naughty" from Matilda.
World Book Day 2017 from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
TANZANIA FEBRUARY 2017
In February 2017 a group of colleagues representing schools from the Diocese of Leeds travelled to the Mara region of Tanzania as guests of the Diocese of Mara in order to learn from local people and share experiences with our own communities back in England. Mrs Thompson was chosen to go and represent Windmill CofE Primary School.
Click here to read about their incredible journey on their Tanzania blog.
Tanzania 2017 from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
NSPCC NUMBER DAY 2017 - 3RD FEBRUARY 2017
Today saw all the children and staff wearing rock star outfits in KS2 and number outfits in KS1, everyone made a donation to the NSPCC.
KS2 held a TT Rock Stars Times Table competition in which children had to compete in 2 rounds of multiplication and division questions to get to the final. Izzy in year 4, Kate and Aliyah in year 6 were the three finalists.
Here are a few words from our winner Kate.
"I was so nervous; because I was participating in a Times Table competition this morning. I confidently strutted into the hall with The Eye of The Tiger blaring out along with my fellow competitors. You could cut the tension with a knife! I made it through the first round 6x8… I made it through the semi-final 3x4… I was through to the final! I could win this! 64÷8… My mind was working furiously. I cried “Eight!” I’d done it, I was the Windmill C of E Primary School TT Rock Star Hero and all that hard work had paid off."
NSPCC Number Day from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
YOUNG VOICES 2017 - 1ST FEBRUARY
On Wednesday 1st February, 39 children from Year 5 went to Manchester Arena to join the largest school choir in the world.
"Yesterday I had the most exciting day ever because we went to Young Voices! We went on a coach to Manchester Arena. There were 8599 kids there! It was very noisy because all the children were screaming when the singers, the dancers and musicians came on stage. We had a rehearsal and then a performance when the parents came. The atmosphere was electric. All the staff's ears are still ringing this morning!"
Rosie, 5DT
Young Voices from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
KS1 BAKING CLUB - 31ST JANUARY 2017
"On Tuesday I go to Baking Club with Mrs Widdop and Miss Fisher. I really enjoy this and so far we have baked flap jack, shortbread, fairy cakes and I'm looking forward to baking scones this week. My favourite bit is mixing!"
By Noah, Year 2
A VISIT FROM THE MAYOR - 30TH JANUARY
"Yesterday, the Mayor and Mayoress of Kirklees came to visit our school. We were shown a wooden mace which was used in the olden days to protect the Mayor from getting robbed of his gold. The mayor's bodyguard put on special gloves so that the gold didn't come off the gold mace. I was lucky enough to be chosen to dress as a mini Mayor. They were really kind because they let me have a beautiful badge. Then the Mayor answered lots of questions from the children. I had a wonderful time."
By Kyla, Year 4
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
What a busy week we've had leading up to our Christmas break - Reception and Year 3 have performed wonderful Christmas productions, the whole school enjoyed a trip to Cleckheaton Town Hall for the annual Pantomime, Year 6 went back to the forties for a WW2 party, Kirklees Musica Staff Orchestra treated us to a fantastic recital, our lovely church services led by our Collective Worship Council, we all dressed festive to support Christmas Jumper Day and got very full after a superb Christmas dinner!
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for all your support this term and we look forward to seeing you all in 2017.
Christmas 2016 from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
KIRKLEES MUSICA STAFF ORCHESTRA - 15TH DECEMBER
"Today we watched the Musica Staff Orchestra. Uptown Funk was my favourite piece of music. I was lucky enough to conduct the whole orchestra using the baton and whilst wearing a santa outfit! It filled the whole school hall with wonderful music which made me feel exhilarated."
By Harrison, Year 4
CHRISTMAS FAYRE - 1ST DECEMBER 2016
Thank you to everyone who supported our Christmas Faye, we made a total of £1124.60 and had lots of festive fun!
Thank you everyone!
Christmas Fayre 2016 from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
AFTER SCHOOL DANCE CLUB - 22ND NOVEMBER
Our Tuesday Dance Club are looking forward to performing to their parents/carers next week, here is a sneak preview for you......
Dance Club from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
ANTI-BULLYING WEEK - 14-18TH NOVEMBER
Following an anti-bullying workshop that focused on dealing with peer pressure, Year 3 and Year 5 worked together to create scenarios that involved this type of bullying. They used strategies and vocabulary learned from the workshop to deal with the situation during role play. The children who were being pressured to do or say something they didn’t want to do were then challenged to find a different scenario where their response would be appropriate. To their surprise, their strategies for dealing with peer pressure worked in all situations! The workshop and follow-up work were a valuable learning experience for the children as it has equipped them with the tools to not only identify peer pressure, but to deal with it too!
Class 4B wrote and performed a poem together for anti-bullying week, watch it below.
4B Anti-Bullying Poem from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD - 17TH NOVEMBER
"This morning the Collective Worship Council and the School Council helped to box up 60 shoe-box presents and send them off to Africa. This will provide children with everyday essentials that we take for granted and also gifts they will enjoy and love playing with. We hope all the children will love their gifts and enjoy playing and using them."
By Noah, Year 6
Thank you to everyone who donated items to this appeal and to the parents who came to help pack our shoe boxes this morning.
REMEMBRANCE DAY 11TH NOVEMBER
Last week at school we have remembered the brave soldiers who fought for their country. In class we have shared the story of Sadako's Cranes, made poppies, cranes, cards and pictures to commemorate remembrance week.
Our Year 6 children led a Remembrance Service outside by the reflection tree. The service involved the children singing 'The Remembrance Song' and the recital of the poem 'In Flanders Fields', followed by our Head Boy and Head Girl laying our poppy wreath by the reflection tree.
The School Council also represented the school at the Armistice Day Act of Remembrance at Birstall Library on the 11th November.
"Today is the 11th of November, Remembrance Day. On this day the whole nation stops to remember the people and animals who fought in the war. Year 6 led a service which involved reciting the poem 'In Flanders Fields' followed by 'The Song Of Remembrance' and prayer. I had the opportunity to listen to my friends WW2 stories about their relatives. When I laid the poppy wreath I felt extremely proud. All of those who participated were very respectful."
By Kayleigh, Head Girl Y6
"I made my poppy out of Lego - red, green and black bricks. We made it for Poppy Day to remember the soldiers."
By Ben, Y1
"We read Sadako's Cranes. It is a story about a little girl called Sadako who was 2 years old when a bomb was dropped in Hiroshima near her home. She got poorly when she was older because of the atom bomb and started to fold paper cranes. She was told that if she folded 1000 paper cranes, then her wish would come true. Sadako only managed to fold 644 cranes before she died so her friends completed the 1,000 for her, this is now a tradition in Japan."
By Chloe, Y5
THE WIZARD OF OZ - 7TH NOVEMBER
This morning the whole school were treated to a performance of The Wizard of Oz from M&M Theatrical Productions. We followed Dorothy and her friends down the yellow brick road, through corn fields and munchkin lands to defeat the wicked witch of the west.
"Today I was lucky enough to go and see The Wizard of Oz. I liked it when all the characters sang "Got this feeling!" It was funny when the puppet bumped his head. I made a guest appearance on stage when I was asked to oil the tin man. I felt very important when I was asked to look after the oil can!"
By Eve, 3W
The Wizard of Oz from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
BIRSTALL FESTIVAL OF MUSIC 2016 - 18TH OCTOBER
Our school choir took part in the 2016 Birstall Festival of Music at St Peter's Church along with three other local schools.
It was a fantastic evening and the choir were a credit to our school and their families.
Please click on the audio links below to hear the choir sing 'The Eye Of The Tiger' and 'Across The Fields' which they performed on the night.
"On Tuesday night I was feeling happy and a bit nervous. It was singing as part of the school choir at St Peter's Church. My favourite song was 'The Eye Of The Tiger' because it is energetic! We got a large applause!"
By Jacob, 4B
A VISIT FROM ROBIN JARVIS - 18TH OCTOBER
On Tuesday Years 5 and 6 went into the hall to meet author Robin Jarvis and talk about his latest book 'The Power of Dark'. He told us that he wrote in his spare room. Robin Jarvis explained that minificus meant 'really awesome' and he showed us a model skull that he had made by himself. I bought the book and it is really exciting. My favourite part so far is when a boy named Verne pushes a button on a gold disk and discovers that, whilst holding it, he can fly in the air.
By Luke, Year 5
DIWALI WORKSHOP - 20TH OCTOBER
Today we learnt about Diwali, it is the Hindu festival of lights celebrated every year. Spencer, Oli, Abi, Freddie and I got our faces painted and we had to dress up in Hindu clothes to get into character.
By Haseeb, Year 4
I really enjoyed the assembly about Diwali and loved being the Hindu elephant God Ganesh. My favourite fact was that Ganseh rode on the back of a giant rat.
By Noah, Year 6
I was a demon king, Isaac was a monkey, Olive was a golden reindeer and Binyaamin was a prince! We all had to have a battle!
Isabelle, Year 1
On the 20th October 4B went into an assembly. It was all about Hinduism. We sat on four mats and the man told us all about the story of Rhama and Sita. Miss Barker chose 5 children to be Rhama, Sita, Rhama's brother, the monkey king and the demon king. They got dressed up and the story began! By the end of the story we all clapped. I enjoyed the story, my favourite part was seeing Keiron dressed up as a monkey, that was funny. This was a Festival of Light story, so after that we had our faces painted. It was one of the best stories ever told in my entire life.
Lidia, Year 4
WINDMILL CATERING TEAM NOMINATED FOR "PRIMARY TEAM OF THE YEAR"
The Windmill CE Primary school kitchen staff have been nominated for "Primary Team of the Year" and enjoyed afternoon tea at Batley Town Hall on the 18th October as recognition of their wonderful service!
Thanks for feeding us all so well ladies.
STORYTELLER WORKSHOP 5 & 6TH OCTOBER
Chip the storyteller came to our school to explore how to introduce a story with the words 'Once Upon a Time'. I sat on the story telling chair and looked into as many eyes as I could. This meant that I was pulling the children into my story. It was Black History Awareness week so the story we were told was based in Africa. The most exciting part was when we were given chocolate as part of the story.
By Faye, 5DT
First we went into the hall and Chip told us a story called 'The God of the Sea'. Mrs Hartley played a very grumpy boy and had a whip, she had to say "whip do your duty" and then it started to whip and she had to run away! Binyaamin had a magic bag and he had to say "magic bag do your duty" and then it was filled with chocolate!
In the afternoon Chip came into 2P to tell us another story, Miss Preston played the part of a naughty lion. We had to tie her up but she escaped and we all shouted "She's escaped!"
By Freddie & Beth, 2P
A DONATION FROM LV - 3RD OCTOBER
After LV kindly donated £500 to the London Residential trip last year, we decided to ask them for the money again. This time it was for books to go in our school library. We, Head Boy and Head Girl were taken to a book warehouse in Manchester to spend the £500 we were donated. They bought lots of books for the children to enjoy in school and out of school. Everyone can't wait to read them. Thank you LV for your generous donation for the second year running.
By Noah, Head Boy & Kayleigh, Head Girl
MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING - 30TH SEPTEMBER
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported our Macmillan Coffee Morning on Friday 30th September.
It was a fabulous morning filled with fun, laughter and lots of cakes! We are pleased to say we raised £810.23 for a wonderful charity - thank you!
Coffee Morning from Windmill C of E Primary on Vimeo.
VISION & VALUES EVENING
On Monday September 26th 2016, parents, Governors, children and staff met together with our Kirklees Learning Partner, David Ravenhill and Rev Gill Johnson to discuss the values we wish to see and encourage in our children. It was a great evening, full of debate and discussion about what each 'Windmill' child should have in their metaphorical back-pack when they leave our school at the end of KS2. We will use the discussion and decisions made during the evening to work with our School Council and reshape our current vision statement, created by the temporary Governing body before the school opened.
The values we agreed on were:
Compassion
Faith
Equality
Courage
Respect
Forgiveness
