Latest News

Christmas Assembly - Last Day of Term

Fri 20 Dec 2019

Today we had out last assembly of this school term and this year!

We started off by celebrating the 6th and 7th birthdays up until the New Year.

Mrs Leeson then introduced us to the International School Council who showed us the three letters sent to us by our new sponsor students in India. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our friends at St Matthius in Pondicherry.

Then all the teachers told us who had won the Design a Christmas Jumper competition in their class. All of the teachers said how difficult it was to choose just one winner as everyone who entered had done such a fabulous job! Well done to everyone who won.

Next some of the staff had a bit of a surprise as they were asked to go on stage and help with the actions to the Twelve Days of Christmas.

To finish one of the children who had brought in a certificate for a piano recital came and joined Miss Hussey and played a piece from her recital. Well done! Incredible playing!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

Christmas Dinner Day

Wed 18 Dec 2019

Today was our 'Whole School Christmas Dinner day'. It was delicious! We all tucked into a traditional roast dinner with all the trimmings!

Thank you to the ladies in the kitchen for all your hard work to make us a fabulous Christmas Dinner

Christmas Jumper Day

Wed 18 Dec 2019

Thank you to everyone who sent in a donation for our annual Christmas Jumper Day. We have raised £250.00 for Save the Children. Well done everyone!

Year 1 Christmas Party!

Tue 17 Dec 2019

This afternoon, Year 1 had their exciting Christmas party!

After a great game of pass the parcel, the children enjoyed a festive-themed musical statues. With winners declared, the children had the opportunity to share their class dances with the rest of Year 1. These were dances that each class had practised in their PE lessons this term. What fantastic moves!!

Towards the end of our party, there was a faint jingle of bells heard! Who could it be?! That's right, Santa had heard about our amazing singing and could not resist coming along to check it out! After a few Christmas songs, he generously gave each class a present!

We all headed back to the classrooms for a festive feast and to open our class presents.

Can you remember what the important message from Santa was?

He told us to be in bed and asleep at a sensible time on Christmas Eve as he is very busy visiting all the houses around the world!

Well done children for your great behaviour during the afternoon!

Enjoy having a look at the photos below and seeing how much fun we had!

Year 2 Christmas Party

Mon 16 Dec 2019

This afternoon, Year 2 had their exciting Christmas party!

We played some party games like pass the parcel, musical statues and some team work games. Afterwards we enjoyed showing each class the Christmas dance we have been learning in PE this half term before having a surprise visit from Santa! He was very jolly and kindly gave out class presents. Santa loved joining in with some festive singing.

After all the excitement of meeting Santa, we went back to our classrooms and enjoyed a tasty treat with all our class friends.

We were very lucky because Santa came to visit us again in our classrooms to give us a very important message.

Can you remember what the important message was?

He told us to be in bed and asleep at a sensible time on Christmas Eve as he is very busy visiting all the houses around the world!

Well done children, great behaviour during the afternoon!

Enjoy having a look at the photos below and seeing how much fun we had!

Christmas Craft Afternoon

Fri 13 Dec 2019

What a wonderful afternoon we’ve have today making lots of different Christmas crafts.

Thank you to all the visitors who helped to make the beautiful decorations.

We hope you all had great time and you are in the Christmas spirit.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Year 1 Christingle at the Community Centre

Thu 12 Dec 2019

Year 1 pupils made all the teachers feel very proud with their wonderful singing at Westfield Community Centre today. They sang all the songs from their Christingle to the Westfield Age Concern group. As usual the ladies and gentlemen helped out with jingling the bells! David Roberts from the Community Centre thanked Westfield Infant School for their generous contribution raised during our Harvest Festival to help fund the Christmas Dinner. Well done Year 1! Amazing singing and exemplary behaviour!

Year 2 Theatre Trip

Wed 11 Dec 2019

This morning the Year 2 children had the exciting opportunity to go on a trip to the Warwick Arts Theatre in Coventry to see a show called 'Father Christmas!'

The children loved seeing Santa get ready to deliver all of the presents on Christmas Eve and joining in with some of the singing.

Can you remember the two pets that Santa had?

What was your favourite part of the play?

Well done to all of the Year 2 children for following the Golden Rules and being good ambassadors for Westfield Infant School.

Thank you to all the volunteers who supported the trip. Also a big thank you to WISA for funding the cost of the coaches so we were all able to go.

Pondicherry News - Mrs MacLauchlans Visit

Sun 08 Dec 2019

Message from Mrs MacLauchlan
Dear Members of the Westfield Community
Many of you contributed to the collection at the end of the summer term 2019 to raise funds in order to make improvements to St Mathias Primary School and Nursery, Pondicherry India.
I have recently returned from a trip to India with Mrs Maryann Fox (a former Governor) and wanted to take this opportunity to once again thank you for your generosity and to update you on how the funds have been used.
The photographs will hopefully give you a clear idea of what a lot of improvements have been made thanks to your generous donations. Whilst we were there some of the developments were being completed and it was wonderful to be able to see the joy on the faces of the children when they saw the new equipment and resources.
Below is a brief outline of the developments you have supported:
Fire Safety System
Several schools, including Westfield Infant School raised a substantial amount of money to fund the building of an extra classroom at St Mathias Primary School. During a visit in February 2019 I was able to see the new classroom. However, the Inspectors had given the school an ultimatum of having a Fire Safety System installed. If this was not completed within 6 months the classroom would have been closed.
I am delighted to tell you that the work has been carried out and although not an exciting photographic opportunity we can all feel satisfied that the class of children in that room are safe and that the whole school now has a Fire Safety System that will meet the legal health and safety requirement for years to come.
New Classroom Furniture
When I was there in February the children were using plastic tables and chairs. The position was not good for sitting properly and for doing beautiful handwriting. Thanks to your support the plastic tables and chairs have been replaced with wooden benches and tables the same as the children in all the other classrooms have been provided with over the years. The class teacher was very keen to point out that she has also had a new table! The children were very proud of the new classroom and the furniture. They explained to me that they wanted to keep it clean and tidy and are all taking their shoes off before going into the classroom.
Play Equipment
Over the years Westfield Infant School has supported several improvement projects. One of these was the fantastic new surface in the playground. Before this was provided the children were playing and eating their lunch on sandy, rough ground that flooded in the rain and was very dusty in dry weather.
Whilst Mrs Fox and I were there a double swing, rope swing and see -saw were being installed into the playground. In fact, Mrs Fox took over the management of the installation and was soon putting the workers right on the required height of the see- saw and the position of the swings! Meanwhile I was reflecting on the health and safety differences as the children played in the area whilst the work was taking place. We also noted the limited tools and equipment they had for the job and the fact that the female worker was digging the holes in the ground by hand. The children were VERY excited about this development and thanks to your generosity I am sure children attending the Primary School for many years to come will have great fun using the new playground equipment.
Nursery
The Primary School now accepts 3 and 4-year-old pupils and before starting at St Mathias Primary School there is also a nursery for 2- and 3-year olds. The Nursery does not receive any Government funding and is dependent on charity donations and contributions parents make if they can afford to contribute. Whilst we were there 4 out of the 20 pupils on roll were orphans and the rest mainly come from families who have very little money. Many of them live on the street in temporary shelters. Funding is therefore limited and the nursery has very little equipment.
Mrs Fox and I went shopping with Sister Rose in the Auto and we were able to buy a variety of resources. The next day we were able to see the children’s faces as they saw the new equipment. It was very special for me personally to be able to spend time with these children and to help them develop more confidence in playing on the new equipment. Some of the children had come to nursery that morning feeling sad and hungry. By the end of the session we saw some wonderful smiles! These children were without doubt the most difficult to say goodbye to.
I have left Christmas treats with Sister Rose of bubbles and chocolates for all the Nursery children so they will at least have something to take away with them at the end of term.
Rahmqvist Donations
Finally, I would like to share with you the resources kindly provided by Lloyd from Rahmqvist. The children at Westfield Infant School have an abundance of exciting art and craft resources, lovely pencil crayons and a lot of other exciting art and design materials. Thankfully Mrs Fox and I had a generous luggage allowance and managed with not many clothes during the trip! We were therefore able to take the resources Lloyd from Rahmqvist provided and of course a lot of chocolates for Sister Rose to share with the children and her colleagues.
The children were very excited by the new resources and we left them with the Year 1 teacher who is renowned for being organised and looking after school equipment! Thank you, Lloyd and everyone at Rahmqvist!
When it was time to leave St Mathias and the beautiful smiling faces of the children who had made us feel so welcome, we were all feeling very emotional. Sister Rose will be leaving the school in May 2020 and is currently waiting to hear what her next ‘retirement’ post will be. I know that both St Mathias Primary School and Nursery, as Westfield Infant School is will always be in my thoughts and prayers. However, life moves on and it has been a privilege to have been linked with St Mathias over the past decade and to have developed a positive working relationship with staff. We agreed we have learnt a lot from each other and I will never forget the happy and easily pleased children I met during my visits.
Thank you to all of you who have supported the developments at St Mathias over the years and especially the collection made in the summer of 2019. You may not realise the difference you have helped to make. I hope this brief account and the photographs will give you a taste of what has been achieved.
I would like to conclude by wishing you all a Very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year
Jill MacLauchlan