Interesting Times!

Wednesday, 21 February 2007

I went to a fantastic school today...

I started my day early at Castleton Primary School. I arrived at the school at 7.45 to find the place buzzing and a brilliant team getting ready for breakfast at what must be the biggest breakfast club in Leeds. It's sponsored by Gregg's who are brilliant and in the summer it has up to 130 children! Today it had about 80 but what struck me was how calm, civilised and organised it was... just imagine doing breakfast for 80!

The school is led by Judith Norfolk and it is an amazing place... Judith showed me round and I met her talented team and her wonderful children. The learning environment is wonderful, the pace and purpose is great and the children are fantastic. The thing about Castleton Primary School is that they are doing everything... Wake and Shake, the arts, fantastic ICT, Healthy Schools, nurture groups, transition work with Wortley and West Leeds, parenting work and so much more... and there is a Children's Centre on the way. They are also achieving brilliant outcomes!

The little things that make brilliant were evident wherever you looked at Castleton Primary School...

strong and passionate distributed leadership;
clear, shared vision, values and beliefs driving the work of the school;
confident, creative and passionate use of appropriate strategies and approaches to raise standards;
high shared expectations of children and the whole learning team;
strong, dynamic and wonderful relationships;
inspiring teaching within a nurturing culture;
individual tracking and focused interventions;
high parental engagement and involvement.

So what did I take away from my visit today... this is an outstanding little school with talented, brilliant, gorgeous and wonderful colleagues releasing a very special Castleton magic.

Chris

P.S. You can visit the Castleton Primary School website at http://www.castleton.leeds.sch.uk/. they also have a brilliant blog at http://castleton.blogspot.com/

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Brilliant Quotes!

“I must accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition.”
Margaret Lee Runbeck

“Happiness is not in our circumstances but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.”
John B. Sheerin

“Most true happiness comes from one's inner life, from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline.”
William L Shirer

“The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: If you pursue happiness you'll never find it.”
C.P. Snow

“Doubly rich is the man still boyish enough to play, laugh and sing as he carries and emanates sunshine along a friendly road.”
Charles R. Wiers

"Faith is not a shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions."
Paul Tournier

"Convictions are the mainsprings of action, the driving powers of life. What a man lives are his convictions."
Francis C. Kelley

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger; but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can."
Sydney Smith

"It is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray"
Charles R. Swindoll

"Things never go so well that one should have no fear; and never so ill that one should have no hope"
Turkish proverb

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself"
Chinese proverb

"Don't bother to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
William Faulkner

"In times of change, learners will inherit the earth,while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists"
Eric Hoffer

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
John Lennon

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
Robert F. Kennedy

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way."
Abraham Lincoln

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is nothing in life so difficult that it cannot be overcome. This faith can move mountains. It can change people. It can change the world."
Norman Vincent Peale

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away."
Anonymous

"Patience and perseverence have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and woman to win them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson