Dear Parents and Carers,

We arrive at the end of another very busy week here at De Havilland with a lot to share with you!

Firstly, I am not sure I could start anywhere other than giving a huge shout out to our talented Year 5 children who this week wowed the school community with their spectacular puppet shows. After months of hard work and creativity, they brought their handmade puppets to life, performing a delightful story filled with humour, heart, and imagination. The children impressed everyone with their expressive voices, clever storytelling, and artistic craftsmanship. It was wonderful to see their confidence shine on, above and behind the stage! After Thursday afternoon's show, I had the pleasure of being shown around the set by Skyla and Anne in Sycamore Class and it was wonderful to see the pride they had taken in the show and everything which went with it. A huge well done to all the children for their dedication and creativity, and a special thank you to the teachers and families who supported them. In particular, I would like to thank our friends at the Young People's Puppet Theatre who work tirelessly for our children to facilitate this project each year. 

This week I have been fortunate enough to spend a large proportion of my time in classrooms across the school and it has been wonderful to see some of the excellent learning taking place. In Year Four, the children were learning about states of matter and were sharing with me what they had learnt about solids, liquids and gases, making reference to the water cycle and some of the key vocabulary which goes along with it. A big thank you to Pear class for sharing some of their learning with me. Additionally, in Year Three I had the pleasure of reading an excellent persuasive piece of writing by Ethan in Holly Class.  Ethan wrote at length about the impact deforestation was having on chameleons and included some excellent persuasive techniques as well as a range of vocabulary to make the writing really engaging for the reader. So if anyone has any complaint letters they need a hand with, Ethan is your man!

On Tuesday, we had a trust-led school review which was carried out by our primary directors, Mr. Wanford and De Hav's very own Mrs. King, as well as the the trust's Director of Inclusion, Ms. Crute-Mussell. They spent the day observing lessons, looking at learning and speaking to the children. Our school's many strengths were on display once again and I would like to publicly thank our fantastic staff team who have worked so hard this term to maintain our high standards for a range of visitors. The highlight of my day was undoubtedly spending time with some Year Six children talking about their World War Two learning: in particular, Chihamdi in Willow class who shared his view on politicians and the lengths they will go to in order to gain power!

I wish you all a very pleasant weekend and hope the sunshine stays with us a little longer.

Mr. Bostock