Happy Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all the staff and pupils at Silverhill. 

See you in 2015!

Year 2 trip to the Theatre

Christingle Assesmbly

You know it's nearly Christmas when.... #7

Our Year 2 pupils light their Christingles and we remember and reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Around the World

You know it's nearly Christmas when.... #6

Key Stage 2 pull off several wonderful festive performances! With a very small window of time to learn a range of songs from around the world, performances from every class, the choir, Mrs Towles' hand bells, violins and wonderful acting from Scarlett, Ciara, Connor and our snowman Jack. Well done everyone! 

Year 1 Trip to the Theatre

On Tuesday 16th December all of our Year 1 pupils traveled to Derby Guidhall theatre to watch a production of Naughty Megan and the Christmas Elves and all had a wonderful time!

The Snowman

On Friday 12th December all of our Key Stage 2 pupils traveled by coach to the Derby Riverside where they watched a live, professional orchestra playing the original score along to the film shown on a large screen. Pupils were introduced to each of the instruments in the orchestra and given special performances of the Nutcracker. 

Intu Christmas Choir Competition

You know it's nearly Christmas when.... #5

Our school choir made it to the finals of the Intu School choir competition again and on Thursday 11th December they performed their 3 songs; Walking In the Air, Reindeer on the Roof and Lullaby. They showed a crowd and the judges their best performance, taking second place and £100 prize. Well done choir - we think you're the best!

Foundation Stage Nativity

You know it's nearly Christmas when.... #4

There is never a dry eye in the hall when our youngest pupils perform their nativity. This year FS2 performed for Key Stage 1 then a hall packed full of parents. With everyone remembering their lines and cues and some beautiful singing all the children did a beautiful job. Well done everyone!

Kurling

On Wednesday, 10th December Nightingales class walked to Mackworth Sports Centre to join other local schools for a Kurling Festival. Nobody in the class had tried Kurling before, although we had seen it on the television during the Winter Olympics. Needless to say we were not on ice! However great fun was had by all and we all came away with a new skill. Many thanks to Charlotte's dad and Holly's grandpa for joining us and throwing themselves into the activity so enthusiastically. Mrs Martin

Key Stage 1 nativity

You know it's nearly Christmas when.... #3 

It must be Christmas when our Year 1 and 2 pupils dress as shepherds, angels and aliens (yes aliens!) to perform our annual nativity. Performing once to Key Stage 2 and then twice to a hall packed full of parents, they did a wonderful job with their splendid singing and awesome acting. Well done to all the children and the teachers for such a wonderful show. Special mention to Mrs Winfield for writing such a clever play!

Mickleover Methodist visits

On Wednesday 26^th November Robins and Wrens went for a long walk all the way to Mickleover Methodist Church. We listened to the story of Christmas, and sang a song all about the party Jesus might have for his birthday! Then we decorated Christmas cards and made a Nativity story wheel. The children were very sensible during our walk there and back, and remembered everything we had learnt in Road Safety Week. 

'Yesterday we went to visit Mickleover Methodist Church. We watched videos and talked about Jesus' life. Jesus was born in a stable on Christmas day on the 25th December many years ago. When he was a man he went on a boat and when there was a storm he stopped the storm. He died on the cross. We listened to a story about 3 trees then made 3 trees to remind us about 3 parts of Jesus' life. Christians believe that Jesus is very special because Jesus sacrificed himself for us. My favorite activity  was making the trees because it was sticky' by Callum Tait Year 3

Gym Competition

Fantastic performances from our Year 5 and 6 gym squad at the Derby City SSP inter schools gym competition on 4th December. Awarded team gold and individual silvers for Anna and Isabel and individual gold for India the girls certainly did a wonderful job! Well done Mrs Brundish and the team.

PTFA Christmas Fair

Please support our school PTFA by coming along for some festive fun at the Christmas Fair, this Friday 3-4.30pm. Refreshments, stalls, cake competition, raffle, entertainment and of course, the main man himself Santa!

Intu Choir Competition

You know it's nearly Christmas when.... #2

The school choir began their annual quest to retain the title of Derby's best school choir in the Intu Derby competition. The children sang beautifully and Mrs Nash was immensely proud of them all!

Samaritan's Purse shoebox appeal

We know it's nearly Christmas when.... #1 Mrs Orgil makes her annual request on behalf of the Samaritans's Purse shoebox appeal. Many, many thanks to children and families who kindly put together a shoebox full of gifts for children in a third world country. You kindness will bring an enormous amount of happiness to a young child. The boxes have been collected, packed into the boot by our fantastic School Council, and are now on their way to bring a big smile to a young child at Christmas. Thank you. Click here if you would like to understand more about this wonderful gift.

Choir open Derby Live ice rink

The school choir was working on overtime this weekend when they performed at the Derby Live official opening of the ice rink. At the end of half an hour of beautiful festive singing the children were all rewarded with a free hour skate on the ice. We look forward to hearing the children sing again in the Intu Derby school choir competition next week.

Cyclo Cross Race

Congratulations to our six Year 6 pupils who, on the 25th November, came third in the Derby City SSP Cyclo Cross race at Darley Park. Mrs Brundish was blown away by the team spirit and determination shown by Izabel, Jack, Connagh, James, Ellie and Rachel. Well done - we're very proud!

Teddy Bear Hospital

On Thursday November 20^th, Robins and Wrens in Foundation Stage enjoyed a visit from the Teddy Bear’s Hospital. We all brought our poorly bears into school and learnt about what we can do to make them (and ourselves!) healthy. We practised putting plasters on, found out about bones and x-rays, thought about how to choose healthy foods and showed how exercise is good for us. We had lots of fun, and by the end of the morning all of our bears were better!

Children in Need

On Friday 14^thSilverhill Primary again supported Children in Need by paying 50p to wear our slippers and pyjamas for the day. All the children, teachers and even the kitchen staff looked warm and snug in a range of nightwear, from dressing gowns to onesies and so far have raised a fantastic £370 for a great cause. Well done everyone!

Table Tennis

Well done to all the year 5 and 6 pupils who took part in the Derby City SSP table tennis competition. Great fun was had by all and super sportsmanship shown by everyone!

Remembrance

It was a great honour and privilege to welcome so many parents, friends and members of our local community to Silverhill for our Service of Remembrance on the centenary anniversary of Armistice Day. The attendance of members of the British Legion as well as past and present serving members of the armed services added great authenticity and relevance to the children. We were also incredibly grateful Ian Tooley who played the trumpet which was extremely poignant.

While serving tea and biscuits in the school hall our Year 6 pupils presented displays of their wonderful World War 1 topic work they have produced this term; family trees, trenches, artwork, letters and poetry, to our visitors.

The service itself gave a chance to remember the acts of great devotion, courage, loyalty, kindness and bravery that took place on a daily basis not only during WW1 but in all the subsequent wars and conflicts since then. As we watched our poppies blowing in the wind, listened to poetry and individual experiences and remembered the 888,246 men in WW1 who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for our country, we prayed and thought of the soldiers, airmen and sailors from all the wars from all countries who shall grow not old as we that are left grow old, age shall not weary them. 

As the service was outside it was often very difficult for the children to hear but all of our pupils showed the greatest respect and honoured the memory of the dead with reverence. 

Remembrance Service

You are welcome to join us for our Remembrance Service from 9.30am by our poppy field when we will be joined by some members of the British Legion and some retired military personnel.

The school hall will be open from for complimentary drinks and a biscuit and to view the 

amazing work of our Year 6 pupils who have created the most realistic models of WW1 trenches as 

well as researching their family trees which include information about relatives who served in 

WW1.

Year 5 visit Harry Potter Studios

On the early hours of Thursday the 6th November, 60 children and 13 teachers arrived at school before the sun had risen, ready and raring to go on our trip to Warner Brothers Studios in London. The day was filled with excitement, fun, learning and lots and lots of road works, and is most definitely a trip we will all remember for many years to come!

'The best part about either day was when Katie and Emily pushed open these huge, oak doors to reveal the Great Hall set behind! It was the actual set that was used in the movies. Amazing!'

'In the first section we got to go around all the sets and see all the tricks in filming. For example, the really long hallways are made by an awesome camera trick called 'Forced Perspective'. My favourite set however was Dumbledore's Office, as there was so many different things to look at.'

'I absolutely loved Diagon Alley. We got to stand outside our favourite shops and look through the windows to see all the props and sets. We could even see where the wand shop was set on fire by the special effects people!'

'My most memorable moment was when we got to ride the broomstick and car through the London streets.... It was magic. (Not really - we were just learning how a green screen worked!)'

'We actually got to walk up to the door of the houses on Privet Drive and knock on them. Did you know they are only half built? I had never realised till we saw them!'

'The most amazing part of the day was seeing the Hogwarts Castle... It was enormous even though it was only a model... When they filmed the scenes they moved the camera around over the top to make it look full sized. In the winter they even sprinkle snow on with a sieve for that wintery feel. I was amazed when I saw it.'

All of the children were impeccably behaved and excellent representatives of a Silverhill primary school. Well done Year 5!

Year 6 visit Denstone College

Last week all our year 6 pupils were invited to Denstone College to be a part of their cadet accademy for a World War experience. After a delicious dinner in the beautiful college dining hall, the children tried their skills at marching in formation, putting up tents, wearing the cadet uniform and trench coat, holding a genuine (but unloaded!) rifle and even sampling some ration pack food!

    

Open Morning

Saturday 8th November 10am - 12noon

For the chance to look round the school for new and prospective parents.

Also, did you know you can follow Silverhill Primary School on Twitter? Follow @silverhillprim and find out more about Silverhill Primary School PTFA on Facebook!

Local footballing mascots

It seems Matthew, Dylan and Jack from year 5 had a great time at the recent FA Cup match at Mickleover Sports when they were all mascots and ball boys. Unfortunately the team lost to a late goal and missed out on a replay, but the boys really enjoyed their afternoon.

The boys all play for the Mickleover Sports under 10's teams.

Good luck in future games boys!

Don't forget if you would like to share something you have done or achieved either in or out of school, just drop Mrs Mitchell an email to kim.mitchell@silverhill.derby.sch.uk with a photograph and some information and you could also appear on our school blog!

Tubs 4 Tablets....

PLEASE ...Start collecting Tubs4Tablets tokens now! 

This autumn Flora and Stork, in partnership with Tesco, are running an amazing scheme called Tubs4Tablets. The scheme aims to help our school bring cutting edge technology into the classroom by giving us the opportunity to collect tokens from special tubs of Flora and Stork on sale at Tesco through early October and exchange them for FREE touch screen tablets!

Help us make our campaign a success! We need to collect as many tokens as possible, these can be found on promotional 500g tubs of Flora Original, Light and Buttery and Stork. Hand us your tokens… Just 50 tokens will get our school one brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0” Wi-Fi 8GB tablet so help us to claim as many as we can.

Spread the word! Remember, if friends, neighbours, work colleagues and family can help too we could collect even more tokens to exchange for tablets. There’s no limit to the amount of FREE tablets we can claim for the school! 

Harvest....

On Friday 3rd October we held a very enjoyable Harvest Festival Assembly and the staff from the Padley Centre were very grateful for the food and toiletries they collected from us, it's a good job they had a big van! Many thanks for all your generous donations. 

Connagh - future golf star...

Many congratulations to Connagh who this summer took part in the Derbyshire Futures Golf Tour. Having played in the Under-10s category last year, this year he played in the Under-14s category at eight courses around Derbyshire. He was then invited to play in the final at Broughton Heath on September 27th, where he played 18 full-length holes for a score of 112! After the final Connagh was presented with a trophy for Most Improved Player! Fantastic achievement Connagh - well done!

Yamaha

On Wednesday 1st October all of Key Stage 2 were treated to a very noisy afternoon when Yamaha Music School came into school. With some expert rhythm and very loud singing the children certainly got into the 'groove'!

Video to follow....

Macmillan Coffee Morning (Well, afternoon tea....)

Many, many thanks to everyone who kindly donated cakes and biscuits for our Macmillan Coffee Morning, which was more of an afternoon tea really! From 3pm on Friday 26th September the hall became a busy cafe whilst our helpful year 6's helped with sales. After selling on any left over cakes to the pupils on Monday morning our final total raised was a fantastic £326! Thank you everyone for supporting this worthy cause.

Your Country Needs You!

On Tuesday 23rd September Key Stage 2 enjoyed a highly entertaining performance by the Quantum Theatre, 'Your Country Needs You'. As we study the significance of World War I in it's centenary year, the production was full of learning opportunities through drama and song. The children watch with interest, joined in with the singing and asked some brilliant questions at the end of the show!

History Enrichment

On Friday 19th September school was awash with little kings and queens as pupils across Key Stage 1 and 2 spent the day learning about our great British monarchy! Tracing as far back as Alfred the Great in 871 right up to our present Queen Elizabeth II children created giant masterpieces which will be displayed in the school hall!

India does it again!

Many congratulations to India who recently competed in the East Staffs Gymnastics Annual Club Competition and won the Level 3/4 group. India won gold on beam, bars and vault, silver on floor and took first place overall. She also got a trophy for the club's 'highest beam score'! Fantastic!

Balanceablility

On 17th September 2014, Robins' class took part in the Balanceability Challenge. We had great fun and although some of us were a bit wobbly to start with, We soon got the hang of it and were zooming about happily. A few of the Robins were so good at balancing that they had a go at riding a 2 wheeled bike without stabilizers for the very first time!

Mrs Turner

Learning Ambassadors

Congratulations to Jack and WIlliam who have been become our 'Learning Ambassadors'. The boys have really impressed us  by demonstrating some really important learning qualities; reliable, helpful, enthusiastic, considerate, sensible. By wearing our learning ambassador plain green tie, they both represent positive role models for the other children. Congratulations Jack and William!

International Schools Award

We are delighted to announce that Silverhill has been awarded with our third International School Award for an outstanding Global Curriculum. The assessor wrote: “This is an absolutely outstanding Impact Evaluation in every respect and a credit to your school. Your outline displays an understanding and appreciation of the importance of international learning as an integral part of the curriculum and school ethos….The work you have done so far and plan to do in the future all clearly point to your passion for and commitment to introducing and maintaining excellent practice right across the curriculum.”

All the staff work exceptionally hard to ensure our pupils develop into responsible global citizens and this award recognises the positive impact the curriculum is having in achieving our vision. I would particularly like to thank Mrs Orgill who leads the Global Curriculum in school for all her hard work in planning activities and collating and evaluating evidence over the year. Additionally I would like to thank our Educational Development Team – Mrs Brundish, Mrs Winfield, Mrs Goodchild, Mrs Martin, Mrs Minifie and Mrs Gratton who meet regularly to plan activities to support our extended curriculum and enhance the global education in school. Well done Silverhill!

School Council

Congratulations to Tyrell and Jake who have been voted as School Council President and Vice President respectively, and also to James and Tilly who take on the roles of treasurer and secretary. The staff are looking forward to working with them leading the school council in helping give our pupils a voice in the running and improving of our school.

Congratulations Mrs Winfield!

Many congratulations to Miss Vincent in becoming Mrs Winfield! On 2nd August the Year 2 team watched Miss Vincent tie the knot in a beautiful ceremony before being joined later in the evening by lots of Silverhill staff who helped celebrate and dance the night away (including a few Take 10 routines!)

Our new house captains

Congratulations to all the Year 6 pupils chosen to represent their House Teams this year.The children confidently gave some magnificent speeches and once the votes came in the results are as follows...

Diamond

Team Captains

Kaycey and Tyrell

Vice Captains

Sienna and Archie

 Emerald

Team Captains

Anna and Geoge

Vice Captain

Esther and Sahil

 Ruby

Team Captains

Scarlett and Tommy

Vice Captains

Tanisha and Connor

 Amethyst

Team Captains

Ciara, Jamie and Ben 

Vice Captain

Aysha

Another new school year starts!

Welcome to the new school year 2014!

We hope you have had a lovely break and ready for the adventure to begin!

We wish a warm welcome to all our new starters, from our youngest new pupils in school to new members of staff.

Come back soon to find out more and to read all the latest news from Silverhill!

James' Exciting Navy Trip!

Navy-mad James wrote to the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, to ask if he could attend the naming ceremony of the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in Scotland. Unfortunately all the tickets for the event had gone, so Admiral Zambellas arranged for a personal tour of Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless in Portsmouth instead. James was taken to every part of the ship including the hangar, bridge and flight deck. He also enjoyed a glass of squash in the wardroom with officers and climbed into the captain’s chair on the bridge. Such an exciting day - well done James! Click here to see the full story.

Farewell Year 6!

At the end of another very busy year at Silverhill we say so long and farewell to our brilliant Year 6 pupils who now move on to pastures new. After working exceptionally hard and achieving brilliant SAT's results the whole school lined the playground to clap the children out towards their parents. Well done Year 6 - you made us very proud, good bye and good luck to you all! Have a wonderful summer everyone!

Good luck Miss Ralph and Miss Vincent!

Lots of goodbye and good luck wishes from the end of term! We wish Miss Ralph a wonderful time as she sets off on her travels around the world. We hope she has an amazing time and remembers to send us a postcard! Good luck to Miss Vincent on her wedding day; we hope the sun shines for you and you enjoy every happiness in your married life as Mrs Winfield!

Prize Giving 2014

Congratulations to all our fantastic award winners this year. A lovely assembly attended by all pupils, staff and parents, saw Adam, Milly, Izzy, Kaylah, Ben, Malieka, Eloise, Kian, Nina, Matthew, George, Liyba, Michael and Layla collect awards for their effort, progress or attitude to their school work. For our Year 6 pupils, Molly was awarded the trophy for creative writing, the award for creativity was awarded to Leon, whilst Kieron received the Shield for effort and Alex was awarded the trophy for most improvement over the year. Year 6 awards were also presented to Arvin for art, Charlie for citizenship, Ben for music, Jessica for sports girl and Harris for sports boy. The award for English was given to Netra and the award for Maths was given to Hannah. Finally, Mrs Nash presented this year's Headteacher Award to Niamh. Many, many congratulations to all our winners. We are very proud of you all!

Aladdin' Trouble

Many congratulations to our Year 6 for their wonderful leavers production of 'Aladdin' Trouble'. Awesome acting and superb singing kept pupils, staff. parents and grand parents thoroughly entertained during three performances. Well done everyone! (And if anyone has a recording of the final 3 songs please do let me have a copy and I can add them on!)

Year 3 trip to Trentham

On Wednesday 9th July, Year 3 went on a trip to Trentham Monkey Forest which links in with their summer term topic on the  rainforest. The children all had a super time learning about the Barbary Marcaques and seeing them up close, sometimes only metres away. Who do you think this chap looks like?