Gallery
Nursery have achieved the My Smile Award for teeth cleaning at school and learning how to look after their teeth.
Mrs A. Rogers the new CEO of the Diocese of St Albans Multi Academy Trust that our school is a part of visited school to deliver Collective Worship to the whole school this week. Other members of the Central Team also attended which was nice. They were all made to feel very welcome by the children and staff. Hopefully, they will come back again.
That moment when you’ve completed SATs week and get to let it rain SAT papers before playing hungry hippos to tidy it all up. Well done to our Year 6s. You’ve shown great effort, resilience and perseverance in the preparation and completion of the tests. We are all very proud of each and every single one of you.
Our topic in Nursery is Sunshine and Sunflowers. We have been growing sunflowers and planting vegetable seeds outside. We followed instructions to sow cress seeds and are counting how many days they take to grow. We have looked at and compared seeds in different fruits. We are learning the words seed, soil, water, grow, stem, leaf, flower, plant and season.
Gardening club have been busy clearing the ground ready for the planting season. We have sown lots of seeds including adding some more wild flower seeds to our reflection area. Our rhubarb has grown well and we tried rhubarb and custard one week before we started gardening.
Thomas Whitehead CE Academy took part in National Science Week 2024. Rita the science boffin showed the children how exciting science is and the children were engaged in the workshops and asked lots of scientific questions. Across the week, all classes from Nursery to Year 6 had extra science enquiry time where they carried out lots of practical experiments and researched various topics to find out the answers. We showcased our work in the hall at the end of the week.
Abbi, the local dental nurse, came into year 4 to talk about Oral Hygiene. We looked at how to brush teeth, how to keep our teeth and gums healthy and what can damage them. It was a great session and the children really liked pretending they had no teeth.
The children in year 4 made healthy snacks using recipes and adapting them to suit their own tastes.
During our Charlie and the Chocolate week we made boats and tested their materials in our chocolate river.
In year 4 the children studied Holi and took part in a colour paint fight to see how Hindus celebrate.
Year 5 and 6 travelled to the Resorts World Arena to perform in the Young Voices concert.
The Foodbank have sent the following letter to say Thank You to everyone who donated to the Harvest. Your donations were very generous and showed the care for our local community that we all have. Thank you all.
A brilliant afternoon of Futsal today from the Year 5/6 girls team. Four wins saw the girls through to the final, which we sadly lost. A valiant effort with so much skill and heart on show. The team included 3 girls new to football and Futsal as we look to give as many children as possible opportunities to represent the school proudly. Great effort to finish 2nd place girls, after we qualified the week before half term for the finals competition. More football to come over the next week with the conclusion of the league competition for both boys and girls.
Reception Class’s focus story for this term has been The Gingerbread Man. We have worked so hard on this story, we even made our own gingerbread men. Imagine the shock we got when we discovered that our gingerbread men had run away! Luckily, after a little while they came back and we were able to enjoy them together at snack time.
Year 6 School visit to Imperial War Museum Duxford
Year 4 had a Viking Day. During the afternoon the children and their families took part in many activities, including cooking Viking recipes, clay coins, painting and designing shields, Viking boat games and crafts.
NURSERY CLASS I have been exploring Autumn. We went for an Autumn Walk and made Autumn pictures. We weaved outside with Autumn colours and sweetcorn leaves. We have been exploring pumpkins; we wondered where they grew and what the seeds felt like. We talked about their colour, size and weight, the slimy and gooey seeds and making soup and pumpkin pie. The children have been very engaged and curious.
Year 4 Archeological Work
Alternative Sports Day Nursery Class
Alternative Sports Day was enjoyed by all with everyone having a good day.
Sports Day July 2023 was a resounding success with the children enjoying the day. It was lovely to see so many families on the day.
Gardening Club has been busy, weeding the raised beds and planting!
Rememberance Garden. Here is the start of Thomas Whitehead’s Reflection Garden. Some before, during and after photos to share with you. We still have things we would like to do in the area but it’s a big project and will continue to grow over the years. What a wonderful job they did - thank you to all the staff and children in the RE leaders group that contributed their time today. A great team effort! We cannot wait to see how it grows and flourishes over the next few years
Nursery Class Coronation Celebration Photos
The children in our RE group led collective worship today for the whole school. The value was all about hope and how we should never judge a book by its cover. The children retold the story of David and how he became a wonderful King that God had chosen.
Nursery Class reading bedtime stories as part of our "hook" for our Talk for Writing story, The Squeaky Story where the children could not sleep as there was too much noise. Some of the children have been drawing their own story maps and making beds.
Celebrations for the King's Coronation
Children in YEAR 5 worked hard this week learning how to convert improper fractions into Mixed numbers and vice versa. They made playing cards as a group and then played with them. A fun and enjoyable Maths lesson!
This week Reception and Nursery Classes sang Easter songs for the residents at Rosalyn House. It was a very cheerful morning and the children sang beautifully.
Nursery Class enjoying the chicks that have now hatched.
That moment when you go out for a PE trip, and return with an extra passenger on the coach............a trophy! The Year 3/4 boys tag rugby team were brilliant this afternoon, playing 5 games in the group round, winning 4 and drawing 1, before beating Ardley Hill in the final to finish 1st out of 12 teams, and ending the day as Champions. The whole Thomas Whitehead family are proud of you boys.
Bishop Richard visited the school today, to meet the children and staff. Bishop Richard helped to deliver the service in Church. The children asked him what it was like to be a bishop and asked quesions about the Reflection Garden. They all enjoyed the visit.
Tag Rugby Competition. A brilliant afternoon of Tag Rugby for the Year 5/6 girls. For a few this was their first time representing TWA at a sporting event, and our two teams performed absolutely amazingly, in very cold conditions. Our Team A and Team B both came 2nd in their respective pools and this meant a match in the Semi Final between Thomas Whitehead A and Thomas Whitehead B. A winning try in the final seconds brought a victory for TWA B team but a massive congratulations to both teams, finishing 3rd and 4th out of 10 teams, only finishing behind The Vale's two teams. Incredibly proud of each and every one of you girls. Rugby stars in the making.
WORLD BOOK DAY 3RD MARCH 2023. The whole school celebrated World Book Day with children and staff dresssing up in characters from
Nursery Class have been learning about weighing and measuring. We have been talking about heavy, light and using balance scales. we were human balance scales too.
Science Museum School Trip. Last Friday, Year 3 and Year 4 visited the National Science Museum in London. It was an incredible day exploring the amazing, interactive exhibitions. We also took part in a brilliant show, learning lots about forces, with live experiments and demonstrations including rockets and flying frogs. The children were inquisitive, perfectly well-behaved and showed brilliant values throughout the very busy day. For some children this was their first trip on a coach, and for many this was their first trip to London, so we took in some sights on the visit as well, such as Wembley Stadium and the Royal Albert Hall. A wonderful day had by all.
Children in year 5 went shopping in Morrisons to purchase vegetables that are in season that they then cut, grated and tasted, in preparation to make a healthy vegetable soup in a few weeks time. The children did their own shopping too!
Ash Wednesday at All Saints Church February 2023. The children went to church to learn all about Ash Wednesday on 22nd February. They enjoyed the service and some children even went to be blessed, with the ashes drawn on their foreheads in a cross. Thank you to Father Diego and Stef for a lovely morning service.
Science Museum School Trip Year 3 & Year 4, February 2023. Children in year 3 had a great visit to the science museum. They attended a work shop about forces which links to our topic of magnets and forces this term.
Girl's Football and Boy's Football end of season game. A disappointing but valiant end to the football season for both the boys and girls football teams. The girls put on their best performance of the season against a very strong The Vale team. We suffered defeat in the Quarter Final but the girls were so proud of their growth this season. The future is definitely bright for this team. The boys ended the season with 4 wins from 5, as sadly they suffered a cruel defeat to Lancott in their Quarter Final. The boys were by far the better team, had more chances, but did not get what they richly deserved. Whilst this was a great shame, I cannot fault them for their terrific season. Over 20 boys have played in the various matches this season, including many Year 4s and a couple Year 3s, who always more than hold their own against Year 6s. This team also has a very bright the future is very bright ahead. Thank you to all boys and girls who have played for the school's football teams this year. We are all very proud of you.
Year 3 and Year 4 Dodgeball Tournament. Another outstanding performance from the Year 3/4s today, this time from boys team. The boys narrowly lost in the final versus The Vale A, after defeating The Vale B in the semi finals. In the end we came 2nd out of 14 teams. A brilliant display of athleticism, teamwork, values...and ofcourse dodging.
This week in Nursery Class we have really been enjoying stories in. Some of the children have been writing their own story map about our class story "Stuck in the Mud."
Year 3 & Year 4 Girls Dodgeball. A huge well done to our Year 3/4 girls's Dodgeball team who competed at Dunstable Leisure Centre last Friday against other schools. The girls showed brilliant attitude, skill and energy all afternoon, losing just one game all afternoon. The girls finished a brilliant 4th place out of 15 teams. Great performance girls, well done!
Young Voices 12th January 2023. Year 5 and 6 made the teachers and parents so proud at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham by performing songs and dances, as a massive children's choir of over 6000 pupils from over 150 schools. The children had the opportunity to perform alongside stars such as Urban Strides, Beat Box Collective and Heather Small. We had a very long day and the children were brilliantly behaved and represented our school with pride. We all loved the Young Voices Concert and can't wait to do it again next year!
The children in year 5 made frozen poses to show the historical story of the Shang Dynasty and the traditions of their culture. They took part in a morning workshop, working in groups to show what they had previously learnt in class and added all the new facts they had learnt about ancient China.
Some of the year 5 children took part in collective worship today, to retell the story of feeding the 5000. It was lovely to see the children so confident.
Well done to both Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 Athletics Teams who represented the school wonderfully earlier this week. Thirty two children competed against hundreds of children from other schools in a very challenging event which included throwing, jumping, triple jump, obstacle and hurdle races, and both short sprints and longer distance runs. The Year 5/6 team came 9th out of 12 teams, with a special mention for the boys for winning the final race, the team sprint, helped by a quite exceptional final lap from Caden. The Year 3/4 team finished 5th out of 13 teams, with a very competitive team. A special mention goes to Lazaya, who only joined our school on Monday and blew everyone away with his performance. As always, thank you to all the children all of whom represented Thomas Whitehead so skillfully and honorably. We are so proud of you!
Gardening club finished the year by making a wreath for the birds and then having a bonfire and hot chocolate.
Some of the year 5 children took part in collective worship today, to retell the story of feeding the 5000. It was lovely to see the children so confident.
Today the children in year 5 and 6 had a safety talk from, a local PCSO. She spoke to the children about how to stay safe when they are out and about, online and walking to and from school. They asked some very good questions and we look forward to having her visit us again.
As part of Year 3's D & T project this term, children made ratatouille in class. They talked about why it was a healthy dish, and would food groups went into it. Children sampled the ratatouille once it was finished. They will now take the skills that they learnt in this lesson to design a taco filling.
Gardening Club enjoyed planting hedges around the school grounds this week.
In Nursery we have been talking about fireworks, thinking about colours and sounds. We continued our Autumn topic by making vegetable soup.
Nursery have been learning how to look after our teeth this week. We were lucky to have a visit from a dental nurse to show us how to clean our teeth and talk about going to the dentist. The children enjoyed the session, practicing on a dinosaur!
Harvest Festival October 2022. The familes of children in the school made some very generous donations for Harvest Festival. The collection will be donated to the local Foodbank.
Reception Class had a visit from a nurse as part of Curriculum Enrichment Day. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience as you can see from the pictures.
Spanish Day Monday 17th October. Year 5 children learnt how to introduce themselves, including their likes and dislikes in Spanish. They also played snap and memory to learn numbers to 10. The children tried different Spanish foods and listened to Spanish Flamenco music. They liked the Chorizo, Serrano ham and the Spanish Satsumas. The Manchego Cheese was liked and disliked equally as it was a very strong cheese, and the Olives sat in a bowl, sad and unloved by all! Children in Year 3 learnt how to greet people in Spanish. They also learnt about Spain and the different countries that speak Spanish. They took part in a food tasting session where they tasted olives, sweet peppers, chorizo, tortilla and Spanish cheese..
Whole School French Day 12th July 2022
Children from Upper Key Stage 2 had the opportunity, this week, to visit Stadium MK to watch the Women's Euro 2022 competition. Year 6 wahed Spain beat Finland 4-1 and Year 5 saw Denmark beat Finland 1-0. The children were in awe of their experience, having an amazing time!
Year 3 trip to Houghton Hall Park July 2022
Houghton Regis Carnival was held on 9th July. Thomas Whitehead won an award for Most Original Entry in the Houghton Regis Carnival Procession, which everyone is very proud of. The day was a resounding sucess and the children loved being part of it!
We have been celebrating carnival ready for the Houghton Regis Carnival this weekend. We made carnival floats using small world, made masks and costumes and danced to carnival music outside.
Year 5 & Year 6 Whipsnade Zoo Trip July 2022
Mercury Class visited Rosalyn House, in Houghton Regis to sing to the residents. The children had a fantastic time, sang beautifully and behaved impeccably. They sang a selection of songs and played instruments. The residents loved it and we were so proud of the children, that they have been asked to go again. Hopefully, this is the start of lovely relationship between our children and some of the older members of our community.
On Wednesday 16th June, double paralympian Sean Rose visited school with his assistant Chloe, to deliver a PE session to all year groups in the school. Sean and Chloe both remarked on how impressed they were with the warm welcome and response they received from staff and children in the school. They reported that the children asked lots of questions and were a pleasure to work with. The children thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and were excited by meeting such an inspirational person. A fabulous day!
Wheelbarrow Competition June 2022. Thomas Whitehead entered the Primary School's Wheelbarrow Competition organised by CBC. Last year we came second in a strong competition. This year, despite all our efforts, we did not win a prize. However, we were told the competition was stiff and the public found it hard to decide on a winner.We will try again next year.
The Queens Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. The school celebrated the Queens Platinum Jubilee by holding an event where families and members of the local community were asked to come and join us. Residents from Rosalyn House came and enjoyed some cake and watched the afternoon activities. The children had a fantastic time and with parents joining in. The feedback we received was amazing. A big thank you for the support of our famililes and the local town council who helped fund the event.
On Wednesday 18th May the Year 3/4 cricket teams performed with excellent skill, perseverance, enthusiasm and enjoyment against a host of other schools at Houghton Regis Cricket Club. The children competed in baking hot sunshine but loved every second of it, representing the school brilliantly. Thank you to Mrs Holland and Mrs Foster for their coaching and support throughout.
The Order of Service for the Mayor of Houghton Regis Civil Service at All Saints Church, Houghton Regis, April 2022
The Mayor of Houghton Regis Civil Service at All Saints Church April 2022. Children and their families attended the service. The Music Teacher from Thomas Whitehead CE Academy played the organ for the event.
The Mayor of Houghton Regis visited our school. The children were very excited to have special person in school.
Year 2 Science Lesson April 2022
St George's Day Celebrations
Art Day was organised to raise money for the Ukrainian War Effort
Year 5 & 6 Girls Tag Rugby Competition at Caddington Village School.
Free Tuck Shop. Children in Year 3 have opened a free tuck shop to provide children with healthy snacks at break time. The Tuck Shop will be run by children in Years 3 & 4 but is available for children in all year groups to access.
Year 5-6 Football Match against The Vale Academy. his afternoon Year 5/6 boys' football team played against The Vale. Despite being the better team on the day, with an impressive performance, we sadly suffered an unlucky 1-3 defeat with two very unfortunate goals against us. The boys have shown brilliant progress since our first game against The Vale earlier in the year. We even snuck a Year 3 child, Lucky, into our team, who really impressed on his debut. Top performance boys with brilliant values.
Morrisons, Houghton Regis, donated some books to our school. Thank you from all the children at Thomas Whitehead CE Academy
The Year 3/4 boys took part in a Tag Rugby competition against several other schools at Ardley Hill on Wednesday. This was the boys first competitive experience of the new sport, and lots of lessons and new skills were learnt. The boys scored some great tries and had lots of fun in the sun.
Year 3. To enrich the children's play times, we have provided them with a variety of resources to use. These have included reading books, play equipment, colouring and den building resources. The children have loved using them. They are developing their skills of collaboration and team building.
Year 5 Making Soup. A group of children went to Morrisons in Houghton Regis, to get the ingredients for the delicious soup that was made.
Nursery Chicks Mar 2022
The Year 5/6 girls competed at a Dodgeball Competition held at Houghton Regis Leisure Centre. The girls competed against other schools and came a very respectable 4th out of 9 teams including impressive victories against Kensworth, Tithe Farm and Ardley Hill. The girls showed brilliant skill, attitude and values all afternoon and represented the school honourably.
World Book Day March 2022
Year 3 Talk 4 Writing Lesson
Year 3 Celebrating World Book Day by playing Quidditch.
Year 3, Jupiter Class, NSPCC Maths Day. The children worked together to
Athletics Competition February 2022
The balance bikes have been serviced this week. Mercury Class enjoyed riding them, weaving in and out of cones.
Mercury Class have been learning about nocturnal animals. The children did some upside down writing in their bat cave.
Year 3 Art
Year 3 have been learning about Fibonacci style art and concentric circles. Here are some of their creations.
Venus Class (Reception) Enjoying Phonics lesson.
Year 5 RE Topic this Half Term.
The children in year 5 have been asking the question, 'What Would Jesus Do?' in their RE topic this half term. They retold the story of the Centurion's Servant. In learning this story, it gave them an insight into other people's viewpoints about Jesus and the miracles he performed. It also shows people that Jesus loved everyone, no matter what!
Year 5 RE
Venus Class (Reception) Enjoying PE
Children taking part in The Chill Project
Children supporting this months value of Responsibility by caring for the school grounds by litter picking.
Nursery have been learning about the Gruffalo.
Nursery have been learning about day and night
Year 3 Art and Design
Year 3 Decontamination Day Jan 2022
Nursery Children enjoying their day.
