Norton Hill Primary

As Black History Month draws to a close, we have reflected back on some of the incredible work we have produced as a school. We are proud of how our children recognise some of our main curriculum drivers: Diversity and Respect.

Last week we celebrated Space Week!
The children were fascinated with learning facts about our solar system, and asking questions about how science and technology are used to explore outerspace. 🪐🌔💫

We are proud to announce our recent Ofsted outcomes.
The Quality of Education: Outstanding
Behaviour and Attitudes: Outstanding
Personal Development: Outstanding
Leadership and Management: Outstanding
Early Years Provision: Outstanding

Here are some of our favourite comments from inspectors during our feedback.

⭐️"This is a a school where everyone thrives, the quality of education pupils receive is exceptional!"
⭐️”This school creates curious, independent thinkers with a thirst for learning."
⭐️"There are no limits to what pupils can achieve at this school."
⭐️ "This is a creative and innovative forward thinking school, the understanding of the children is exceptional and well beyond their age."
⭐️"This is a school where everyone can flourish, teamwork is everywhere."
⭐️”If the children at Norton Hill Primary are our future-then we are excited!"

Parents and Carers of Midsomer Norton and surrounding villages, if your child is starting school in September 2024 and you are looking for a new and exciting adventure together-then Norton Hill Primary is for you! We will be welcoming up to 60 children for this academic year.
If you are wondering about schools and not quite sure how this has come around so quickly then come and chat with us. On reflection, we look back and it seems only months ago that our children were born, but somehow you have made it through to this stage in their lives. You are at present navigating the world of Nursery and here you are, about to be a school parent!
We are seeking children to be part of our next adventures, If you fancy being bombarded with new information that your child has learned each and every day- then please get in touch with us on [email protected]
We also have a pre-school class on site which helps transition children between nursery and school. We believe that the best way to find out about a school is to visit on a "typical day" and see the children discovering the day. This also gives you the time to ask questions as we want you to have all of the information you need to make the best decision for your little one. For further information on school tours, please hit the link below.
Let the next new chapter begin.....
https://forms.gle/9Quhu8v5xdB8jvn19

It is that time of year again! We would like to welcome parents, carers, children and our local community, to the Norton Hill Primary Annual Scarecrow Hunt. There will be lots to see and lots to eat! Everybody welcome.

At Norton Hill Primary we have been enjoying the fabulous weather! We concluded our Wellbeing Week with a nature walk in our ‘Growing Minds’ session. We discussed how being outside can improve our mood and the importance of physical exercise. We even investigated the surroundings around us with a Walking Bingo challenge!

‘Education begins the moment we see children as innately wise and capable beings’

Norton Hill Primary staff team would like to say a big "thank you" to our fabulous children and their families for their continued support this year. We wish you all a 'sunny summer' and hope you enjoy your time together. Thank you again for choosing to be part of the Norton Hill Primary Family!

Music week - over and out!

Wow! What an amazing end to such a fabulous week!

The final day of music week did not disappoint with a Singing Assembly and performance ran by the Music Department from Downside School. We listened to virtuosic vocal and trumpet solos, as well as a few Barbershop Quartet numbers. We were able to join in with a gospel mash-up of 'Oh When the Saints', 'I Want to Sing' and 'Swing-Low'. We were able to sing these pieces all at the same time!

Some of our budding pCornet players had a Master Class session with a Downside Trumpet player, focussing on technique and ebrochure. One of our pCorneters left the session saying 'I am a musician now!'

This week has been a fabulous opportunity for Norton Hill Primary, so thank you to all of our guests for such an amazing week!

We would also like to say a huge thank you to Miss Roberts, who has gone above and beyond this week to offer amazing experiences for the children. 🎶

Music Week - Thursday's Highlights:

- We began the day with a whole school assembly focussing on the genre of Popular Music. The highlight of this session was a performance of 'Dance Monkey' by Singing Club. They were super confident and showcased the performance techniques that we have been practicing throughout the year.

- Each class experienced an African Drumming workshop, looking at rhythm and pulse. Each class explored the correct technique when playing a Djembe and we were all able to sing and play at the same time! Some groups experimented with texture by reducing the amount of parts playing.

- The highlight of our day was 'The Pix' visiting us from Norton Hill Secondary School! The rock band played the whole school a full set of groovy tunes that we couldn't help but clap and dance along to. The band gave us demonstrations of their instruments and even let some of us try their microphone! Thank you to Norton Hill Secondary School Music Department and to 'The Pix' for a wonderful afternoon!

Music Week - Wednesday's Highlights:

- This morning we focussed on exploring different genres of music. We began with Miss Roberts performing three movements from Finzi's Five Bagatelles on her Clarinet. We discussed how the different movements made us feel and how the tempo and the dynamics changed. We then moved on to looking at jazz, with a performance from Miss Young and Miss Roberts of the jazz standard 'Watermelon Man'. This turned into a whole school performance including singing and unpitched percussion.

- Some of Norton Hill Primary's experienced singers were able to attend a master class with a member of Wells Cathedral Choir where they learnt the traditional piece 'Turtle Dove'. The children were coached in how to make their singing portray different emotions within the piece and to consider the lyrics that they are singing.

- Year 1 focussed on creating graphic scores (visual representations of music). They thought about dynamics and pitch and how they could represent these elements of music visually.

- Year 1 and Year 2 attended workshops ran by the Director of Music at Prior Park College. They discussed African music as well as singing technique. Year 1 and Year 2 also attended workshops with a Member of Wells Cathedral Choir, discussing life as a singer and how Christians can worship through music. Some children were even able to try chorister cassocks on!

- Our school day ended with a whole school Singing Assembly joint led by the Director of Music at Prior Park College and the Member of Wells Cathedral Choir. After a performance from the musicians of a movement from Bach's Christmas Oratorio ('Bereite dich Zion'), a movement from Handel's Messiah ('Thou Art Gone Up On High') and the piece 'All of Me' for solo piano by Jon Schmidt, we focussed on a traditional Kenyan song. This culminated in a full school performance of the piece.

- Music Club carried on the musical fun by using mutes in their pCornets to experiment with the sounds. They were able to use their knowledge from yesterday's 'Introduction to Brass' session to successfully select the mute they wanted in order to create their desired timbral quality.

Thank you to today's marvellous guests - everyone here at Norton Hill Primary is looking forward to tomorrow!

Music Week - Monday's Highlights:

- Year 2 began their recorder project and learnt the note 'B'. They focussed on their technique and ensuring that they were producing the sound correctly. We began our first song called 'B' funky.

- Year 2 and Reception both enjoyed workshops with a Senior Lecturer at Bath Spa University, focussing on rhythm and pulse. Reception perfected identifying and repeating the pulse. Year 2 were able to experiment with texture and off-beats. All the children tried a range of new unpitched percussion instruments, with one of the favourites being the bongos!

- Singing Club had their first rehearsal back after half term. They have started to focus on a new folk song, utilising all of the singing technique they have developed throughout the term.

What a successful day of music making and we can't wait for tomorrow!

This week Year 2 have immersed themselves into their text for the term by staging a trial: Little Red Riding Hood VS The Big Bad Wolf! We have spent the week preparing our arguments and we delivered them today in our very own Norton Hill Primary Courtroom. The trial didn't go without surprises, with last minute evidence being revealed! Both sides had very compelling arguments, with the wolf claiming Little Red Riding Hood's Grandma fell into their mouth, so the trial has been left unresolved! 👩‍⚖️ (side note: the children made their own props-yes we know their phonetic spelling is different but our motto is “having a go is never wrong!”

Please join us for our Summer Bounce on Friday 7th July! ☀️🍦

Orchestra Club have recently been learning a new instrument! They have been exploring different embouchures and comparing how playing a woodwind instrument differs from playing a brass instrument. 🎼

"Extra! Extra! Read all about it!"

Norton Hill Primary school 'stand out' as STEM educators

Norton Hill Primary School are looking to expand their team! We are seeking a fun, committed and experienced HLTA/Cover Lead to help us deliver our dynamic curriculum. We are a small, friendly team in a growing primary school. If you are interested or require further information then please see our job advert on e-teach.

We had such a brilliant time celebrating Vocabulary Day last week. The children enjoyed participating in a whole school parade and spent the day discussing their words with each other through a range of activities. Thank you to all of our parents/carers for supporting this day- the children amazed the staff with their ambitious vocabulary!

In DT, Year 1 have been designing and making puppets. They began by joining fabrics together using pins, staples and glue. Then they designed their puppet and carefully cut out a template. After that, they used their joining skills to attach the two faces of their puppet. Finally, they decorated their puppet to match their design, and evaluated the ease of joining fabrics using certain tools. 🧷🪡🧵

The children in Reception have been studying sculptures in Art. They have enjoyed manipulating clay to create their own animals.

Our very smiley cheerleaders of the day at NHPS ✨ followed by pictures of our cheerleaders performing their partner arabesques 💎 working so hard! Ready for Poms next week 😍

Pets As Therapy 🐾

Year 1 have been learning about Hong Kong in Geography. They can identify the human and physical features of Hong Kong compared to Midsomer Norton and recall the 7 continents and 5 oceans. The children were also visited by the University of Bath Hong Kong Society and learned what it's like to live in Hong Kong, as well as some Cantonese phrases. They asked lots of questions and explained their designs of Hong Kong's 'Victoria Harbour' to our visitors. 🌏

In Reception, we have been enjoying our new topic, Tradtional Tales. The children have enjoyed retelling stories through provision, writing their own stories and designing houses for The Three Little Pigs!

Please book a space for our school tour on the following link:
https://forms.gle/1ftAuxWRiZ5nEHHC7

Looking for a Nursery provision for your child from September 2023? Curiosity Corner has limited spaces available for children aged 2 years 8 months to five.
We are holding tours on Monday 7th November. Book your place by clicking here: https://forms.gle/S77DFUaDfpbd8EEQ9

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone at our community event today!

Two in a row for us here at NHP. Congratulations to Miss Young, thank you for all that you do for us here at school, we agree- you are an AWESOME teacher.

Norton Hill teacher wins 'awesome teacher award' thanks to Kip McGrath | mnrjournal.co.uk Last week, Kip McGrath Midsomer Norton, presented the winner of its Awesome Teacher competition with her prize.

Last week we celebrated 'Space Week' as a school! Our youngest pupils in Curiosity Corner enjoyed constructing rockets using different resources, representing space through art and listening to a real astronaut speak about what space is really like. Bumblebees and Caterpillars drew inspiration from their focus text 'Beegu' and wrote their favourite part of the story. They also enjoyed exploring what space is like through technology, and even had a mysterious UFO landing outside their classrooms which led to interesting predictions and questions. Our Year 1 children built spaceships and shuttles, explored space literature in their classrooms and represented the different phases of the moon. Our Year 2 pupils worked collaboratively to explain how the characters felt from the space story, 'The Way Back Home' by Oliver Jeffers, and used their addition and subtraction skills to work out UFO maths problems! 🚀🛸

Community Invitation to our Annual Scarecrow Hunt!
Everybody welcome

https://forms.gle/5ynQZXzZBGAz67Vc6

Our Year 1 pupils have been learning some fairly challenging concepts in Maths this week! The children have been identifying ordinal numbers and comparing numbers and groups of objects using the comparison symbols. They have also been recalling their part-whole knowledge from last year to represent number bonds within 10 and write the matching number sentence. Well done Year 1!

Dolphin Class have been observing how microhabitats can differ from regular habitats. They used their DT skills to design a microhabitat suitable for a woodlouse, then followed this design to construct it using everyday materials outside.

We've been impressed that they have been performing scientific tests, whilst also showing our school values of 'Teamwork' and 'Enthusiam'. Well done Year 2!