An Awesome West House Week!
We’ve had a busy first week back after half-term and we though we’d share some of the highlights.
House of Lords
We were delighted to be invited to the House of Lords this week to celebrate our partnership with the Children’s Book Project. We believe that contributing to and sharing with the local community isn’t an afterthought: it’s part of our DNA. We have been working with the Children’s Book Project for over a year now and would like to thank all our West House families for their continued support of this project.
Day of the Dead
Mrs Parker held a special Day of the Dead workshop where pupils learnt about this popular Spanish celebration where the dead are honoured, remembered and celebrated. We learned that the skulls are called calacas in Spanish and we watched a little bit of Coco to learn about the culture behind Day of the Dead and some Spanish vocabulary.
Sorting Ceremony
A very special moment in Thursday’s assembly came with the presentation of the Westie teddy bears to our Reception boys, marking a successful start to the academic year. This is a cherished tradition, and it’s always a joy to see our youngest boys so excited and eager to become part of the school community. The teddy bears are more than just a token gift—they are also part of a ceremonial ‘sorting’ where each boy is introduced to his House. This year, the Reception boys were assigned to their Houses—Spartans, Trojans, or Persians—with each teddy proudly displaying the ribbon of their new House. For our school community, this event is much like the Sorting Hat ceremony at Hogwarts, symbolising the beginning of a new journey and marking the boys’ entry into the spirited tradition.
The House system is an integral part of school life at West House. It plays a significant role in fostering a healthy sense of competition, teamwork, and community spirit. It encourages our pupils to strive for personal excellence while also understanding the importance of working together towards common goals. It is always a pleasure to see the boys embracing their Houses with such enthusiasm and brings back extremely fond memories of my time here as a boy.
History Sleuths
This week Year 6 boys have been learning about primary and secondary sources.
The boys study historical documents from the 20th century to learn about the life of a soldier in WW1. This is always a memorable lesson and we know of quite a few old boys, who still talk about what they learned from Mr. Price, during this lesson, almost 10 years later!
Design Technology
Year 5 have been putting their DT skills into practice this week. They’ve designed their own soft toys and then the difficult part. They had to make them. It was remarkable how close their finished designs were to their original drawings!
