Latest News

Yr R Finkley Down Farm Trip

Tue 20 May 2025

Today the sun brightly shone down on Finkley Down Farm as Year R embarked upon their very first school trip! Highlights of the day included a goat race, learning how to safely feed the animals as well as a chance to groom Bobby the miniature pony. The children were so gentle and respectful around the animals, especially during an opportunity to handle some very young rabbits. During a walk around the owl enclosure, our children could be heard explaining the difference between nocturnal and diurnal animals to the keepers, making their teachers very proud. Thank you to all of our volunteers who made our day so special and well done to all our incredible Year Rs - a day to remember!

The Great Fire of London Class Workshops

Thu 15 May 2025

Today all of our Year 1 children enjoyed an interactive workshop all about The Great Fire of London. To extend and enhance their historical understanding of this significant event in British History, every child had the opportunity to take on a role in costume and act out the events of that fateful time in 1666. Without exception, the children enthusiastically took on the roles of key figures including: The King, Samuel Pepys and of course the baker as well as the merchants and townsfolk of the area. The children re-enacted putting out the fire by working co-operatively in a chain to pass buckets of water from the River Thames to save their homes. From the children’s engagement and feedback, it is crystal clear they gained so much from this hands-on experience, they really enjoyed themselves and many shone as budding actors of the future!

VE Day Celebrations

Thu 08 May 2025

The children and staff had a wonderful day commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day with everyone proudly wearing red, white and blue. The day began with an assembly about the importance of VE Day, followed by themed activities. Year 2 School Council representatives attended the commemorative service in Yateley where they laid a wreath which had a very special addition to it - earlier in the week, members of our art club worked hard to design the inside of the wreath which is now on display at the war memorial for all to see. It was a very special service and local dignitaries including Ishbel Thomson and David Simpson from the Royal British Legion and Alex Baker MP took time to speak to our children about the importance of the day. Back at school, at 12pm, we observed the two-minute silence to honour those who served during World War II and following that, the celebrations continued with a wonderful whole school picnic which brought everyone together to give a taste of what communities did 80 years ago. The day's events and activities culminated in an uplifting and very special parade involving every child and member of staff. It was an amazing sight watching our children wave their Union Jack flags and sing songs from this era, with our Year 2 children impressing us all with their waltzing! With many family members in attendance, there was a real community spirit and the event ended with the powerful and moving message: "We will remember them." It was a very memorable day for the children and special thanks must go to Mrs Fennell and Mrs Wilson who organised the day as well as Linda and her team in the kitchen for providing the picnics with Union Jack added

touches!

Certainly a memorable day!

Year 1 and Year 2 Cricket Taster Sessions

Fri 02 May 2025

Over the last week, all of our KS1 children have taken part in an exciting cricket taster session with Laura and Jez from Yateley Girls Cricket Club. It was great to get out onto the field and enjoy the glorious weather whilst having fun with possibly a new sport for many of the children. The children practised various skills including aiming at a target, using a cricket bat correctly as well as throwing and catching skills. The children also enjoyed working together in a team and cheering each other on; fun was had by all! It would be great to hear if some children are inspired and would like to take on this amazing sport.

Year 2 Ball Skills Sporting Event

Thu 24 Apr 2025

Yesterday afternoon ten enthusiastic, eager and excited Year 2 children arrived at Calthorpe Park Secondary School to participate in a round robin style ball-skills event. This included six different activities focussing on throwing, catching and dribbling skills using a ball. A firm favourite was ‘Catch the Ball’ where the children had to catch the ball thrown through a hoop. WIS children decided to make the game more challenging by stepping back with the hoop to create a longer distance!

It was a fantastic event and the children absolutely loved participating in this extended curriculum opportunity. Their behaviour was exemplary, and we were so proud of them all.

World Earth Day 2025

Tue 22 Apr 2025

Today we celebrated World Earth Day 2025 and in true Westfields style the staff and children threw themselves into the various activities that had been planned for this important extended curriculum opportunity. Starting with a whole school assembly to explore this years theme ‘Our Power, Our Planet’, discussions were had about renewable energy sources, recycling and the small changes we can all make to make a big difference! Each class then held their own debates and wrote their own pledges about what they wanted to do in their classrooms to make a difference. This afternoon was a hive of

eco-friendly activity as Year R explored hydropower (water power) in our outdoors areas. Year 1 were immersed in testing wind power with their wind spinners, whilst Year 2 explored the benefits of bio fuel and the importance of responsible recycling. Each class also spent some time planting bulbs or vegetables with Mrs Green; we are all keeping our green fingers crossed that the fruits of their labour will hopefully be seen over the coming weeks! Thank you also to all of the children and parents who supported our World Earth Day Easter Challenge. It has been wonderful to see and hear about so many adventures and activities that have taken place. As mentioned on the letter certificates and prizes will be awarded shortly to those who took part.

Year R Duckling Update and Fond Farewell

Fri 28 Mar 2025

It has been another exciting week in Year R with our resident ducklings. Having spent the weekend at Mrs Wilson’s house they returned to school on Monday and we couldn’t believe how much they’d grown! Each class has enjoyed time with them in their classrooms, stroking them, watching them eating and drinking and even having a bath. They have grown so much and would have normally gone back to the farm at the end of this week however, luckily for us Mrs Green (AKA Mother Goose!) has adopted all five of them adding to her growing chicken and duck family. This means that we will have regular updates and photos and maybe even a visit from one when it’s all grown up.

KS1 Yateley Girls Cricket Assembly

Tue 25 Mar 2025

This afternoon our KS1 children were presented with an exciting assembly! Rachel from Yateley Cricket Club came in to visit us and spoke to the children about this amazing sport. She explained how to play cricket and demonstrated using equipment including: stumps, a bat and a special ball. Some children even participated in a fun warm-up game and we all cheered them on! We are looking forward to our cricket taster sessions next half-term and practising various skills, including working together as a team.

Year R Welcome some new friends...

Fri 21 Mar 2025

Year R have had the most eggciting week, with their very special delivery from Incredible Eggs!

On Monday morning five duck eggs were delivered in their

incubator. We were told that we would have to wait until Wednesday or

Thursday to meet our ducklings however, we could not believe it when the first duckling started pipping almost straight away. This was quickly followed by a further two eggs cracking! Overnight on Wednesday our fourth duckling hatched and at 8.00am on Thursday, the final duckling was welcomed into their family. They have all been added to the brooding box and are having plenty of snuggly cuddles! We are very excited for them to grow and look forward to having the opportunity to stroke them and greet them properly next week! The children have been able to see the miracle of a new life being born and it has been a rather magical experience to share with them.

We cannot wait to see how our new fluffy friends change over the next few days!

Science Week

Fri 14 Mar 2025

We have had a fantastic time this week taking part in British Science Week. We started by finding out what makes a super scientist in a special assembly. We then spent some of our learning time designing a poster around the theme of “Change and Adapt” for a competition.

On Tuesday, we all enjoyed our Science Federation Afternoon where each of our classes worked with a class from the Juniors on an activity. Year R worked with Year 5 to create their own animal to survive in a specific environment. The Year 1s worked with Year 4 children to explore “Amazing Animal Adaptations”, completing a matching activity and researching their own animals. Year 2 went over to the Junior School to investigate how coins have changed over time using magnets; they certainly had great fun

discovering things around the classroom that were magnetic too!

During the rest of the week, the children have been given various opportunities to explore a variety of activities around the theme of “Change and Adapt”, including a Mystery Baby Photo Quiz where children had to be detectives to try and work out which adults that work in our school are pictured as babies.

The whole Federation was also challenged to create a human graph,

investigating the average height of a child in their class and then creating a life-sized cut out to demonstrate how children at Westfields Federation grow from Year R to Year 6.

It has been a super Science Week and we hope it has inspired some scientists of the future!