On Friday 15th January, we welcomed a very exciting visitor into school – Jenny McLachlan – incredible author of ‘Land of Roar’, ‘Return to Roar’ and ‘Dead Detectives’! Jenny shared her inspirations from childhood with us and some very funny stories of her imagination running wild when playing in the attic. The children were fascinated with how she was able to create fantasy settings and whole other worlds, her development of plot and characters. Jenny then shared some of her incredible illustration skills with us too and taught us how to draw a character from her book – Stink, The Fairy! Jenny even signed these for us too!
Some of us had our hands bitten by a real dragon (a puppet of course) which hatched while Jenny was with us! How exciting! The children absolutely loved their visit from Jenny and felt inspired to create fantasy worlds and creative stories of their own.

Some of our year 6 children visited Healing Secondary School to attend a careers fair. The children really enjoyed speaking to local colleges, universities and other professionals. The children learnt all about the different paths they could take once they leave school, inspiring them with what they could be!

Year 6 had a great trip to the Holocaust Centre. We looked at life through the perspective of a Jewish family during Hitler’s reign and WW2. The children enjoyed looking at the traditional living room of a Jewish family. We followed the life of Leo – a 10-year-old Jewish boy living through World War 2. The children delved deeper into the changes to Jewish lives including Jewish children at school. The children even had an opportunity to interview a World War 2 survivor.

The children were moved when visiting the Jewish memorial – they were able to rest a stone on the memorial pile, remembering the Jewish children that were killed during World War 2.

The staff praised the children for their insightful questions and respectful attitudes.

Our careers day was a fantastic event! We had visitors in school from a range of careers – this was a great opportunity to ask questions and find out more about what jobs there are. The children were very intrigued to find out what ‘a day in the life’ looks like in each job! The children finished the day feeling inspired about their future prospects and excited about what they had learnt.

Year 3 had a fabulous day on Careers Day! We thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of our special visitors in the hall and were able to ask these specialists lots of fabulous questions about their jobs such as what they enjoyed about their job and how they got their job. We enjoyed finding out about our teachers and their career paths. We also were able to research a range of different jobs that were related to some of our favourite subjects at school. It was inspiring to find out about the enormous range of careers that are available that people have!

Year 4 enjoyed their sessions during careers day. We came up with some brilliant questions to ask our visitors and really enjoyed experiencing a wide range of job roles. Once we had finished in the hall, we had some interesting discussions about qualifications and what you need to do to be qualified for certain job roles. We enjoyed watching some ‘day in the life’ videos. We got to see a day in the life of a doctor, a footballer, a vet and many more! We had some great debates about which jobs are more demanding time wise, and which jobs may be easier than others.

Year 5 have asked some fantastic questions to the visitors who came in and it has inspired them with all the potential future careers they could have. The pupils have then researched different jobs and created a PowerPoint all about their future dream jobs and what skills they need and the career path to take to achieve this. They have then used this knowledge to make a future career path mind map.

Year 6 focused on our career options and future paths. We first discussed our dream jobs and the jobs we could see ourselves in while looking at our skills and qualities too. We researched a range of different roles in which would suit these qualities or talents. The children researched the career paths needed, training required and how long the training requirements would be, where in which they could achieve these qualifications whether it be college, university or through apprenticeships. The children then took part in some mock interviews where in which we discussed other qualities such as time management, punctuality and team work.

On Monday 9th October, we travelled away to Woodlands Primary for our first league game in the new Harbour Learning Trust Football League. We had a 20 minute girls match and a 20 minute boys match.

Girls Match: Woodlands Primary 1 v 0 William Barcroft

Total heartbreak for the girls in this game. They played some good football and had a few chances to win the game. Ava played remarkably well up top beating defenders and having a few shots at goal. Anne did exceptionally well in defence: stopping attackers and clearing the ball well. Miley worked hard in midfield and had a shot that was saved by the keeper. The girls went in at half time 0-0. In the second half the Woodland’s number 7 turned up the tempo and played magnificently, definitely the girl of the match across both teams. In the final minute a shot just beat Brooke in goal and Woodlands took the lead. A close contest overall and the girls were unlucky not to walk away with something.

Boys Match: Woodlands Primary 0 v 0 William Barcroft

A good start in the league and a vital 2 points earned. The boys played well and had a few efforts. Freddie did well and had a few attempts missed and one that hit the post. In the 4th minute, a penalty was awarded to William Barcroft and the resulting penalty was saved by the goalkeeper. The boys continued to battle. The two teams went in at the break level. George, our goalkeeper, was man of the match with his second half performance. He made 4 vital saves and kept the score level. A decent performance with plenty to build on.

Thank you to Mr Bowden at Woodlands for hosting us, it was a great contest and we absolutely loved going to your school. Well done to everyone who played, you all played brilliantly.

Tuesday 10th October

Basketball

On Tuesday 10th October, our year 3/4 basketball teams attended a development competition for basketball. We were placed into 3 groups, with the winners of each group being rewarded with medals. There were 9 competing schools altogether. We were in a group with Elliston Primary and Oasis Nunsthorpe Primary. The games were split into 2 halves with the boys competing the first half and the girls competing the second half.

Game 1: William Barcroft 6 v 2 Oasis Nunsthorpe Primary

First Half: The boys started well but found themselves 2 points behind after Nunsthorpe scored a basket. just before halftime, Archie scored a fantastic basket to level the game.

Second Half: The girls came out and battled well. They dominated the game and did well to put off Nunsthorpe by standing in front of their shots. Demi and Savannah both scored hoops to win the game for William Barcroft.

Game 2: William Barcroft 6 v 0 Elliston Primary B

First Half: The boys started well and definitely played better in this game than in their first game. Archie scored a basket early on to put us 2 points ahead. The boys did much better at blocking shots and making themselves as big as possible to put off the opposition.

Second Half: The girls started fantastically and managed to score 2 baskets in this game. Demi and Savannah again scored the baskets. The girls played much better this game as well. Their passing was better and they were wonderful to watch.

Overall, we came out winners of our group. The children were rewarded with winner medals and they thoroughly deserved them. Massive well done to everyone, you should be extremely proud of yourselves. Thank you to Grimsby Pheonix for hosting the event and supporting the children amazingly. Behaviour was fantastic from the children and you represented yourselves and the school perfectly.

Our Year 3/4 football team attended the SSP football tournament on Thursday 5th October with 11 competing schools. We were placed in a difficult group with Thrunscoe Primary, Signhills Primary, New Waltham and Enfield Primary. The other group consisted of Lisle Marsden, Middlethorpe, Elliston Primary, Springfield Primary, St Mary’s Primary and St Joseph’s Primary.

Game 1: New Waltham 1 v 0 William Barcroft

Our first game ended in defeat with the boys finding their feet in the competition and playing together competitively for the first time. The boys defended well and were unlucky with the goal. Alfie-George and Reagan were brilliant at the back. Ronnie had a shot at the end to try and level proceedings but it wasn’t to be.

Game 2: Signhills Primary 2 v 0 William Barcroft

William Barcroft fell to a defeat in our second game against the competition’s eventual winners. William Barcroft held their own in this game and Jaxen played brilliantly and had to come off due to a cut on his knee, which he took well. Signhills Primary were dominant in this game. The boys took this loss really well and didn’t let this affect their confidence.

Game 3: William Barcroft 1 v 0 Thrunscoe Primary

Thrunscoe started well and applied pressure from kickoff but William Barcroft defended well with a good save from Lennon. William Barcroft dominated the game from 2 minutes in. Ronnie scored the winning goal as he picked the ball up and shot outside of the box. The ball hit one of their defenders and beat the goalkeeper. Rory was unlucky not to score but did well supporting Ronnie up front. A vital 3 points collected.

Game 4: William Barcroft 0 v 0 Enfield

The boys were full of confidence and dominated the game throughout. The boys were unlucky not to come away with all 3 points. Enfield defended well and nearly took all three points but Lennon made a great double save to earn William Barcroft 2 points.

William Barcroft earned a play off spot for 5th/6th place. William Barcroft finished 3rd in their group and had to play Middlethorpe Primary. The boys did amazingly well in their group.

Play-off Game 5: William Barcroft 0 v 3 Middlethorpe

The boys played well but it wasn’t meant to be for William Barcroft. Middlethorpe took their chances well and William Barcroft did have a chance of their own but it was saved by the goalkeeper.A massive well done to all the boys who played. The behaviour once again was impeccable and they represented themselves and the school perfectly. Thank you to all the parents, who came to support, your support is much appreciated. William Barcoft finished 6th out of 11 schools and improved on last year’s position.

Year 4 had an amazing time at Claxby Grange farm. What a  day of learning about farm life, getting hands on with the crops and meeting the wildlife. We had a wonderful opportunity to experience the beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds and climb aboard a combine harvester and tractor. We were made so welcome by Farmer Andrew and Verity! We have lots of children now aspiring to be future farmers.

Year 4 D.T. week was a great success. The children have used all their electrical systems knowledge to create a Themed Steady hand game. We researched a variety of games that use an electrical component, created a detailed, accurate design explaining choices and what we need to do to be successful. Making the game encouraged lots of team work, collaboration, problem solving and perseverance.

Since January, our pupils have been offered the chance to attend a boxfit after school club on a Monday with an excellent coach called Carmen from BeGreat Fitness. This has benefited the children massively because they have improved their confidence and fitness. BeGreat Fitness have enjoyed working with our pupils and will be back again in the Summer Term to do a multisport club. They are amazing at what they do and primarily focus on the mental wellbeing of the pupils as well as the sporting aspect. We hope your child decides to take this up in the Summer Term as it is always great to welcome quality external providers into our school to work with our children doing sport. Thank you to everyone who attended the club, Carmen has enjoyed working with every single one of you!