Greater Manchester Fire Service Visit

Last week, Year 6 visited the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Safety Centre in Bury, where we were taught key messages about fire, water and road safety; what to do in an emergency; and the dangers and consequences of anti-social behaviour, including deliberate fire setting. 

We were sorted into ‘watches’ and learnt how to ‘parade’ before trying on first fighter’s uniform! We listened to emergency calls and hoax calls, learnt how to perform CPR and put someone in the recovery position, identify hazards in the home, and what to do in a case of a fire at home.

Remembrance Day Event

This morning, Year 6 joined the Friends of Blackley Forest for their annual Remembrance Day Event in the top meadow. The children shared poems that they had written based on events in WW1, the sacrifices that soldiers make, and hopes for a peaceful future, with members of the local community. We listened to The Last Post, played on the bugle as it traditionally would have been, and observed a 2 minute silence that started and ended with cannons in the distance.

Word Wizard!

Year 5 have been working really hard this year using Reading Plus and we have our first official Word Wizard! Congratulations to Rayyan for being the first person to read 50,000 words – WOW! What an achievement! We wonder who the next Word Wizard will be…

We’re not rude, we’re R.U.D.E!

Year 5 and 6 had a brilliant, interactive workshop with Dean Coady OBE from the Safeguarding Education Team. He talked to us about about each aspect of R.U.D.E: Respect, Understanding, Dangers (from the street) and Equality, and what is acceptable and in keeping with our community and school values.

Dean shared some of his own experiences of living in Manchester and travelling the world, and brought the session to life with photographs of him spending Christmas in South America and becoming a Masai Warrior in Kenya, and showing us currency from around the world and his medals from his time as a soldier and police officer. We talked about cultural acceptance, how we celebrate our diverse community, and how British Values are really Human Values.

It was a very inspiring morning and we hope Dean can come back and visit us again soon, with even more of his amazing stories!

Maths Competition!

On Wednesday, Bowker Vale hosted a maths competition for children in our local cluster. Children from St Anne’s RC Primary School, Abbott Community Primary School, Unity Community Primary School and St Clare’s Primary School joined us to take part in four rounds of maths challenges that really got our brains working hard. All the children showed amazing collaboration skills, resilience and determination, and had so much fun! Congratulations to the winners: Abbott Legends! We can’t wait for the next one!