During assembly this morning we missed Miss Hussey as we needed to sing the Birthday Song. Mrs MacLauchlan had a go at playing the piano but it was not a brilliant performance!

Mrs Dakin and Mrs Parkes shared information about their trip to India.The children were amazed at the time it took Mrs Dakin, Mrs Parkes and Brumas to fly to Dubai (8hours) and then on to Chennai (4hours). On arrival they visited the Rock House the St. Mathias Hostel for girls and we all got to see some of the flood damage not only to the floor but also to the girls’ clothes. We learnt that the girls had to wash their clothes and bedding through before drying them out. They showed us some amazing photographs. 

Our Connecting Classroom projects this year have focused on developing Health and Well-being so our two teachers had the task of sharing and teaching some of the lessons and games we do at Westfield. By the looks of the photographs the children and Mrs D and Mrs P had a great time playing Circle Time concentration games, playing with the parachute, balls, skipping ropes and elastics! These were all resources that Mrs Dakin and Mrs Parkes took with to India! We watched a brilliant video evidence of them giggling and playing some of our favourite parachute games. It was overwhelming to see where these games were being played though because it was on the brand new playground – the one that we helped to fund! This has made a REAL difference the children’s school life and health because the ground is no longer dusty in the wind and heat nor boggy and sludgy during the monsoon season. Westfield Infant School helped to raise money for the improved playground surface and it has made such a difference to the lives of the pupils.

It was great to hear and see how Mrs D and Mrs P introduced the 150 whiteboards and pens to Sister Rose’s school. We thought it was quite funny that the children there thought that Mrs Dakin was ‘magic’ as she rubbed her writing off the whiteboard.  Our teachers were once again able to show the teachers in Pondicherry how to use these whiteboards in phonics and this was supported with more sound cards that were given to them.

It was very clear that the children in the Nursery loved the new toys and stories that were bought for them and read. They certainly had fun with Brumas and even tried his hat on! Mrs Parkes explained how different learning is for the children in India but explained that they all work very hard. We had a look at their handwriting – can you remember what language it was written in?

Obviously we are very proud of our teachers and the skills that they put into practice whilst in India, particularly their ICT skill! The laptops from a couple of years were still there in the computer suite however the teachers had found it a bit tricky to carry on with the Education City software that Mrs Guest and Miss Hamilton had kick-started for them last year. Teachers and their pupils were able to work alongside our staff again to play some phonic games to support the pronunciation of some of the alternative sounds that we have in English (like g in magic and c in circle).

Mrs Parkes loved telling us about how careful they both had to be whilst crossing the road because of the many cows, tut-tut cars and masses of people around. Although it was very busy and noisy, it is definitely something that they will both remember. She made us laugh when she told us that one cow very nearly followed her into a beautiful shop full of saris. Can you remember why they cow couldn’t get in? To remind us of what the dress was like for special occasions 
they bought three girls outfits and 3 boy outfits which were modeled by two representatives from each year group. We will definitely be sharing them around our year groups and will look forward to Golden Time all the more now. Thank you!

Mrs Dakin presented gifts that had been sent by Sister Rose to Mrs MacLauchlan, Andrew Child’s and Phil Nevett. Many teaching staff were also given shawls and sparkly scarves.

The School Council then presented a cheque for £650.00 to Mr Phil Nevett. This money was raised as the result of our Christmas Performances and will be used to further improve the facilities at St Mathias School. Mr Andrew Childs also joined us for the assembly and he explained to everyone that over the past 5 years the donations from Westfield Infant School has made a tremendous difference to the lives of the children. Mr Childs lives in India for part of the year and he is able to visit St Mathias Schools and see first hand the improvements we have been able to help to make.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Christmas Plays and made donations. Look out for further details about how the money will be spent.