Merry Christmas...

At the end of another year we have finished with many lovely Christmas events that we hoped you shared with family and friends. Our last day of term has started with a whole school rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas and finished with a very calm and reflective Christingle Service from our Year 2 pupils. May we wish you all a restful break, a Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year. We look forward to seeing you in 2018.

12 Days of Christmas and more...

If you're sat with a new phone or tablet over the festive period why not take a few moments to visit our Twitter feed or You Tube account where you see see lots more of what happens here at Silverhill in video form. In the exciting build up to Christmas the children have all been involved in lots of sports, singing and performing, snippets of which can be seen on these social media channels.

FS2 Theatre trip

On Monday 18th December our 60 youngest pupils traveled to the Derby Theatre to watch the fantastic performance of the Gingerbread Man.A classic tale full of music, story telling and lots of interactive fun - the children had a wonderful time.

All Saints service

On Monday 18th December over 350 walked the short, but rather slippy distance to All Saints Church for a lovely Christmas service. Thank you to the school choir and our Year 6 readers who kept each of the three services running smoothly and also to the parents and adults who joined the three groups during the walk. It was beautiful setting to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Key Stage 2 Christmas

Well done to all the children and staff in Key Stage 2 for entertaining a hall full of parents over two afternoons for their Christmas performances. A range of festive poems and songs kept everyone thoroughly entertained and certainly got everyone into the festive spirit!

Thank you to all our families and friends who have donated so generously to this years chosen charity The British Heart Foundation. We are hoping to reach £1000 by the end of the academic year and we're sure once all the money is counted by the BHF team we will be well on the way.

Key Stage 1 Nativity

Well done to all the pupils in Year 1 and 2 for their acting and singing in our Key Stage 1 nativity. Performing a dress rehearsal to the rest of the school before two packed out shows for parents the children and teachers did a great job. Well done everyone!

School Council

We are in the process of setting up a new SMART School Council which will allow all pupils to have a voice in school about decisions which affect them. We would be grateful if you could click on the link and complete the survey. This will help us to tailor our School Council to our school needs as viewed by pupils, parents, staff and governors. Thank you for your time and support.

Author visits Year 5

Over the last half of term, Year 5 have been focusing their English work on the book, Boy In The Tower, by Polly Ho-Yen. They have written discussion texts, information leaflets and poems and then wrote to the author, Polly, inviting her to visit us at Silverhill. 

Much to our delight, Polly replied to all of our letters and accepted her invitation to visit us!  Travelling all the way from Bristol, Polly delivered an inspirational talk about her books to all of the Year 5 children and then spent time in the Barn Owls and Snowy Owls, sharing some of her secrets to writing! 

Polly commented on how well-mannered the Year 5 children are and was extremely impressed with all of the work the children have done over the last half-term, using her very own book. Mrs McBride and Mrs Orgill were particularly star-struck by her visit. What an inspiration! There may be a few more books to add to our Santa list after today! 

Greek Day in Year 4

Nightingales and Kingfishers enjoyed their Greek Day on 6th December.  Children and parents did an amazing job with outfits and all the children looked fantastic.  We had a great time making models of mythological creatures, trying Greek food, creating mosaics and learning to write some letters using the Greek alphabet. Fun was had by all.

FS2 Nativity

You know it's nearly Christmas when we all settle into the hall in our festive Christmas jumpers to watch our youngest pupils perform their wonderful Christmas Nativity. Well done to all the children who performed so magnificently in front of such a big audience. With two performances for parents to come we hope they bring their tissues!

FS2 visit church

Robins visited Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Friday 1st December. We learned more about the Christian Christmas story and had chance to look around a church.

Santa came to School!

Wow! We were so lucky on Friday 1st December when Father Christmas came to visit us. Making a lovely home for the day in Hansel and Gretal's den children spent some time with Santa. Thak you to the PTFA for making this visit happen!

Year 5/6 Competition

What a fabulous morning we had at the Derby City SSP gym competition this morning. Our incredible gymnasts performed superbly and were such a credit to the school with their team spirit and exemplary behaviour. Team B finished in Bronze position and Team A finished in Silver Place! Aasia also received an individual bronze! Mr Turner and Mrs Brundish were so proud of you all. Thanks to all the parents who took the time to take the gymnasts to the competition.

Year 6 make 'The Journey'

On Wednesday 29th November our Year 6 visited The Holocaust Center to see 'The Journey', in support of their current topic - World War 2. The interactive museum took the children into the life of a Jewish child living in Berlin at the start of the war and proved to be a very thought provoking and enjoyable day. The children learnt a great deal of historical facts balanced with exploring sensitive feelings.The children behaved impeccably, used some fantastic vocabulary in posing some brilliant questions and showed incredible empathy and understanding. What a fantastic day!

Year 5/6 SSP Girls football tournament

Congratulations to our incredible Year 5 and 6 girls football team but their brilliant performance at the SSP football festival on Thursday 23rd Nov. They started with a 7-0 win against Dale followed by a 1-1 draw against a talented Chellaston side. Next we played St James’ and won 2-0 then finished with a 3-0 win against Portway. Player of the festival goes to Ayla who certainly had her shooting boots on! She scored so many goals that Mrs Brundish lost count!

Cyclo Cross Silver!

A huge well done to our Cyclo Cross team in their first competition of the year. They collected points throughout the afternoon in several different races throughout the afternoon including a girls race, a boys race, a mixed race and a relay to finish. The team were amazing and finished in Silver position. Our next Cyclo meet will be in March.

SSP American Football

Thank you to all the Year 5 children who took part in The American football festival with Derby city SSP. The pupils practiced lots of new skills and were impeccably behaved as usual. Thank you to the parents who battled the traffic to get to Moorways for a 4 o'clock start. Your support is very much appreciated. 

Governor Awards

Congratulations to all the children who have had their fabulous writing displayed on Mrs Nash's awesome writers wall so far this year. Special congratulations to to our first four winners of the Governors Writing award, Isacc, Freya, Iqra and Kameron who were presented with a certificate from Mrs Hunter, Chair of Governors in assembly, chosen because  they showed a real improvement in the quality of their writing and real work towards the standard for their Key Stage during the first half term.

American and Table Tennis in Year 5

On Thursday 9th November a mixed group of Year 5 boys and girls took part in a table tennis competition against other local schools, at Derby Moor. We competed against lots of other schools winning a fair share of them and loosing a few too! Out of 9 schools, we came 5th overall - lots of Silverhill 'SPIRIT' was shown by everyone. well done Barn Owls and Snowy Owls.

Native American Day

On Thursday 16th November, as a part of our topic on America, Year 5's held their own 'Native American Day'. Everyone dressed up in Native American outfits and we spent the day doing a variety of themed activities. We made head dresses, tepees, name cards and totem poles.

Mrs Minifie

Junior Leadership Team

The brand new JLT (Junior Leadership Team) were appointed last week and presented with their badges. These children have been chosen by their teachers as having a particular passion or aptitude for their subject and will work as support for the staff subject co-ordinators as well as a liaison between children and teachers for their designated subject. Well done to you all!

English	Sofia
Maths	Ben
Science	Mason
History	Josh
Geography	Rahul
Art	Archie
Music	Callum T
MFL	Baptiste
RE	Callum B
D&T	Malieka
PSHE	Georgia

Year 1 visit Pickford's House

On Tuesday 14^th November Year 1 visited Pickford’s House. We are currently learning about old houses and we went to discover more information about this topic. We were able to find out lots of information and look at lots of different objects. We have particularly enjoyed learning about the role of a chamber pot!

Remembrance

This morning Silverhill Primary paid their respects to the fallen during our Remembrance Service. Lead by Mrs Nash and our Year 6 pupils the school welcomed parents and families to join us at our service in the playground, next to our outdoor classroom and spectacular poppy waterfall. Year 6 read some examples of their letters from the trenches, sang songs from war and their fantastic trenches were on display. The choir lead the school to sing 'Keep the Homefires' and a minute of silence was perfectly respected by all.

Year 1 welcome Winnie the Witch

This week our Year 1 children enjoyed working with their special visitor 'Winnie the Witch' who came in to see if we could help her to make some Slime Soup for Wilbur the Cat! The children tried the soup - some of them thought that it tasted lovely- others were not so keen!

Snowly Owls visit Toyota

Snowy Owl Class recently went on a visit to Toyota Manufacturing. We had an action-packed day which included a variety of fun and exciting activities. Firstly, we had a guided tour via a scale model of the factory and then watched a car manufacturing video. We learned about the Toyota Family story and how the company was first set up.  Next, we were put to the test by creating our own production line of Lego cars.  Each team was set targets and worked together to see if they could improve on their production time. We were introduced to ‘Kaizen’, which is the Toyota work method and means work smarter and not harder. The Snowy Owls also learned about Japanese culture, traditions and foods. In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to have a go at a range of challenges which helped with our co-ordination, time management and manufacturing skills. The day finished with a prize giving for the winners of our car design challenge and we all received a fun goody bag. Thank you to Toyota Manufacturing for a fantastic day!

Fire and Light Enrichment

On Friday 3rd November the whole school took part in a wide range of activities to celebrate Diwali and also to consider the events of  the Gunpowder plot in 1605. Wearing the most colourful outfits we could find and making the most of our fantastic outdoor learning spaces, many classes visited the fire pit to read, listen to stories, dance around the fire or simply to watch and listen to the flames. Classes welcomed many visitors who share their Indian cooking or talked about their faith and their traditional dance and costume while other classes debated the events of 1605. This rich and varied Learning Adventure was then shared in a wonderful assembly on Monday morning.

Level 1 and Level 2 Bikeability

Many congratulations to all our pupils who passed their cycling proficiency over the recent weeks. Our Year 5 pupils have all achieved their Level 1 certificate and badge, spending a full day learning their basic cycling skills while our Year 6 pupils spent four afternoons learning how to ride safely on the roads for their Level 2 certificate and badge. Well done to all who took part - 100% pass rate!

Dualathlon fun

Well done to all the children who took part in the duathlon competition.
Such brilliant performances individually and as a team in the relays.
We came an excellent 3rd place overall, Mr Turner is very proud of you all. Well done!!

Poppy Making

As part of preparing for our Remembrance Service on Friday 10th November the PTFA today host a Poppy Making Café in readiness for our own ‘Poppy Waterfall’. Many thanks to all the parents and families who gave some of their time to help make to beautiful poppies. All Parents and families are more than welcome to attend our Service which we are hoping to hold outside on the playground. Details will follow next week.

Year 6 visit Denstone

On Wednesday 1st November our latest Year 6 recruits returned to Denstone College to experience their cadet accademy for a cadet experience. After a delicious dinner in the beautiful college dining hall, the children tried their skills at marching in formation, wearing the cadet uniform, holding a genuine (but unloaded!) rifle and even sampling some ration pack food!

Cyclo cross taster

Many thanks to Cycle Derby for coming into school on Thursday 19th October for a Cyclo Cross taster day with Year 5 and 6. It was great to see so many of our pupils trying out a new sport, despite the wet and muddy conditions and hopefully a few of you may now take up cycling out of school. Mr Turner was on hand to keep a close eye on how you were all doing as we now have the difficult job of choosing just 6 of you to represent our school at the cycling competitions throughout the year. For any pupils interested in taking up cycling out of school, please contact Cycle Derby or Derby Mercury cycling club to get involved. 

Year 5 trip to Magna

On Tuesday the 17^th October, as part of our Science Week on ‘Materials and their Properties’, Year 5 visited ‘Magna Science Adventure Centre’ in Sheffield. It was an amazing building set in the former Templeborough Steelworks.

The children were able to explore and discover within 4, interactive platforms – Air, Fire, Earth and Water. Throughout the day they experienced hands-on activities, explored exhibitions and engaged in a Solid, Liquid or Gas workshop.

The day concluded with time outside on the Sci-Tek - a large hi-tech playground. 

Cross Country

Well done to all the children who took part in the Cross Country Relays on Wed 18th October. The children have been working very hard with Mr Turner in PE lessons to prepare for the competition and it certainly paid off. The Year 3 / 4 girls team were the first to cross the line in their race, though sadly we only had 3 runners for the 4 person team and therefore could not be awarded the gold place officially by the SSP. A special mention for Emily who ran 2 of the 4 legs superbly. The Year 3 / 4 boys came an outstanding 2nd place showing grit and determination as well as wonderful team spirit. The Year 5 / 6 girls came a brilliant 5th place overall and the 5 / 6 boys team came 4th! Such brilliant performances from each and every one of you. Mrs Brundish and Mr Turner are so proud of you all. 

Harvest

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed for our Harvest Assembly. Our special assembly was joined this morning by Rev. Perter from Derby Church and also representatives from The Hope Centre in Derby where all the donations will be delivered, helping individuals and families in Derby who need help and support. The assembly was also treated to a beautiful Autumn song by our Reception pupils from Robins and Wrens classes - well done children!

Cross Country Championships

A huge well done to all the Key Stage 2 children who took part in the Cross Country Championships on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Turner and Mrs Brundish were so proud of the effort that each and every one of you gave. A big thanks to all the parents who came along despite the horrendous weather to help cheer on the team. Bring on the Cross Country relays next week and let’s hope for slightly better weather! 

Girls football

Our Year 5 / 6 girls football did superbly at their first competition of the year on Thursday 5th October. They won four matches, drew 2 and lost 2. A highlight of the competition was a 4-0 win against Allenton and a 3-0 win against Cavendish Close. It was really pleasing to see our more experienced academy girls helping some of the girls who have never played competitively before. Thanks to all the parents who came along to support the team. 
Mrs Brundish

Future Olympic star Kian

We are very proud of Kian in Year 4 for achieving 2nd place in his recent national ice skating comp. Such a talented young man - well done Kian!

Football and Basketball tournament

Coming soon

Football tournament

On Thursday 28th September we took a group of Year 5 and 6 pupils to take part in the mixed football tournament at Derby County Training ground.

We had a fantastic afternoon at our first Inter event of the year. Some fantastic teamwork from everyone. Special mention to Evan who was playing superbly until a very nasty bump to the head ended his competition. We exited to Oakwood, the eventual winners, at the quarter final stage. 

Mr Burley and Mrs Brundish

House Captains

Congratulations to all the Year 6 pupils chosen by the Year 5 and 6 staff and their peers to represent the House Teams this year. The children will soon deliver their welcome speeches and we look forward to seeing them being fantastic role models around school.

For Emerald

Team Eagles

Chloe and Ben

Team Hawks

Zoe and Lewis

For Ruby

Team Eagles

Sofia and Joshua

Team Hawks

Aasia and Billy

For Amythst

Team Eagles

Louisa and Karum

Team Hawks

Emily and Isaac

For Diamond 

Team Eagles

Nykera and Callum

Team Hawks

Kara and Charlie

Summer Reading

Many congratulations to our summer reading challenge winners who all received their prizes today. We hope Tom, Elodie, Emily, Harriet, Freya, James, Evelyn, Alex, Maisie, Evan and Tess enjoy reading their new books as much as they enjoyed their reading over the summer. Well done to every one who took part and remember to keep reading.

Welcome back

Welcome to the new school year 2017 - 18!

We hope you have had a lovely break and ready for the next 'Learning Adventure' to begin!

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

Remember you can find out all about what happens in school by following us on Twitter and joining your child's class on Class Dojo as well as all the updates here on the school blog! 

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

Megazone for Year 6

The end of term always means a day at Megazone for our Year 6 leavers so on Monday 24th July all 58 pupils headed off for a day of lazerquest and fun in the courts. Enjoying a delicious lunch of chicken nuggets, pizza and chips and a whole lot of running around, a great day was had by all! A fantastic treat for the end of Primary School!

Prize Giving 2017

Congratulations to all our fantastic award winners this year. A lovely assembly attended by all pupils, staff and parents, saw Oliver, Tom, Ethan, Victoria, Oliver, Chloie, Milly, Edie, Molly, Cavan, Charles and Karum collect awards for their effort, progress or attitude to their school work. For our Year 6 pupils, Carl was awarded the trophy for creative writing, the award for Spirit was awarded to Bella, whilst Reece received the Shield for effort and Josh was awarded the trophy for most improvement. Year 6 awards were also presented to Freddie for art, Eloise for citizenship, Shammar for athletic performance, Charlotte for sports girl and James for sports boy. The award for English was given to Holly and the award for Maths was given to Seb. Finally, Mrs Nash presented this year's Headteacher Award to Elliot. Many, many congratulations to all our winners. We are very proud of you all!

Attendance rewards

During our prize giving assembly we were delighted to present Freya and Mohammed with their brand new bikes, kindly donated by Halfords, Derby. Freya and Mohammed we the lucky pupils whose names were drawn from our attendance raffle where every pupil who achieved 100% attendance over a half term had their name put into the draw.