They have been amazing! We wish them every success in the future. Thank you, Year 6.

Sometimes we live through very exciting times without even knowing that we are part of the history that the future generations will talk about. The summer of 2018 will be talked about in years to come for many reasons; Britain were lucky enough to be part of an extended heat wave, our English football team performed brilliantly in the World Cup and got to a higher stage in the competition than they had for a very long time. And in between these momentous events, our pupils are experiencing their own milestones. Whether it is completing their first year at school, buying their first merit reward item or even preparing to leave their primary school, memories have been made alongside these momentous occasions. For me, it is 20 years since I was offered a job at a large primary school in Grantham called Huntingtower Road and I think it's an anniversary that I’ll remember for a long time!

This week, our Key Stage 2 assessments were returned to us by the Government. I have to say, it was a very exciting time logging onto the Government website on Tuesday morning at 7.30am. I can report that we are immensely proud of our Year 6 pupils’ achievements. They have performed brilliantly and by their actions, they have thanked all of the staff who have worked with them across the years. They will now move on to their secondary schools with some impressive supportive information, demonstrating what amazing learners they are.

We are now approaching our final week of school and it promises to be a busy one. With our Year 6s performing on Tuesday and Wednesday,  our final shared assembly on Thursday with our Endeavour Assembly followed by the Year 6 Leavers’ Disco hosted by the Friends of Huntingtower  in the evening, we’re looking forward to the Celebration Barbecue on Friday lunch time. We hope you can join us. For more information, please see the posts in your Parent Hub app.

What a stunning week this has been. Not only glorious weather every day but the opportunity for pupils to get out and about in our spacious outdoor areas. There have been lots of Daily Miles walked or run as well as investigation of the environment for science. Races Day, whilst a hot one was very successful and if you were able to join us, I hope that you enjoyed yourselves. The children demonstrated great sportsmanship too! The children have worked hard to prepare for their athletic events and many thanks go to Mrs Duxbury-Mead, Mrs Dilloway and Mr Doughty for their coaching support and Mr Moore and Mr Wallace for their organisation for the day. With all of the excitement of the World Cup, we are feeling very sporty and so can’t wait for Team Sports on the morning of Friday, 13^th July. This is normally the time when we have Celebration Assembly so for that week only, we will hold this assembly on Thursday, 12^th July at 9.10 am.

What better way to finish a fantastic week than to have our Friends of Huntingtower Summer Fayre? If you haven’t returned your raffle tickets, its not too late to bring them on the day (before 12pm). There are lots of stalls, games and refreshment and hope that you can find the time to join us. All proceeds go to the academy.

Primary education is all about gaining experience. During the time that our children are at Huntingtower, they learn to read, write, calculate and problem-solve. Our pupils work hard and should be applauded for their hard work. If this was all that we teach, it would be a very narrow curriculum. We ensure that across the year, the children have the opportunity to widen their knowledge and skills in a range of subjects and we think very carefully to ensure that their experiences don't just enhance their learning but also provide the foundations for them becoming future citizens of society. This week has been an example of this with several trips taking place including the Year 6 residential trip to PGL. The staff who stayed with the pupils over the weekend were incredibly proud of the way in which our pupils handled challenges and new experiences - if you'd like to see more about PGL and the other events, please check out the video on Twitter, Facebook or here on our website.

June is always a busy month of the year and this June is proving to be the same. In little over a fortnight's time, the Friends of Huntingtower and staff will be holding the annual Summer Fayre on the Sports Field. Please see the flyer for more details and look out for their Raffle Tickets in your child's book bag. We hope you can join us on the day as there will be lots to do and join in with. All proceeds will go to the Friends of Huntingtower who continue to support us. This year alone, they have donated books to the academy as well as buy the Y6 leavers' hoodies. There is a non-uniform day next Friday in anticipation of the event - KS2 pupils have been asked to bring in summer toys such as balls and outdoor games and KS1/EYs have been asked to bring in sweets or chocolate for the Tombola. We would like to thank you in advance for your continued support.

When asked the name of our school, often people just say ‘Huntingtower’. Huntingtower has a rich history now spanning back over 100 years. For those of us who are lucky enough to work here, we more often say ‘Huntingtower Community Primary’ as we are not only proud to be part of Huntingtower, we’re proud to be part of the community it serves. We work hard to support our pupils in their journey to become citizens of the future and this has been demonstrated most recently in our Year 5 and 6 classes taking on the challenge of the potholes! They have researched and written letters to send to the council as they are seriously concerned with the state of our roads. We will let you know if we have a response!

We are also pleased to announce that our community is about to get bigger. From 1^st June, Huntingtower Community Primary with be part of the Priory Federation of Academies Trust. We will be the third to join in the Southern Hub, joining with Priory Ruskin and Priory Belvoir although there are more primary and secondary schools located in Lincoln. We look forward to working with the other academies, bringing new experiences and ideas to our school in the future. In terms of our day to day running, very little will change but working with other good and outstanding schools unlocks a wealth of possibilities for the future. We wish you a happy half term holiday and look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday, 4^th June 2018.