One of my favourite social media comments, along with one from the past that was “Why is there a Roman Soldier walking down Town Street?”

The answer is simple; the banana belonged to Farsley Westroyd and, in our usual style, we were having a bit of fun on Friday! We had a lot of bananas, minions and bees, with the directive being to wear something yellow. For this joyful privilege, the children donated to Young Minds, which is a really, really great charity that supports schools to help children to manage their mental health. Something personally, I am incredibly passionate about. There has never been a more important time to focus upon our children’s emotional wellbeing and putting the support in to help them right from a young age. Life is hard, with everyday challenges and with constant additional pressures that can impact upon how our children feel. And let’s face it, life throws lots of cannonballs at us sometimes, out of the blue! But, it is the status quo, and we can’t wrap our children in cotton wool, we have to prepare them with the tools to identify how they are feeling and how to help themselves and access support from others when needed. So, a cause well fund raised for and a big thank-you!

As someone who does and doesn’t like the limelight, I momentarily stepped out of my comfort zone this week, when we were visited by the Positive Teacher Company. Our teachers had recommended the school, because of how much we promote staff well-being and the very important work-life balance. It fits our ethos, we work hard, and we play hard, meaning we have to work efficiently. So, a few volunteers were filmed and interviewed and are going to be the faces of the company.  It was a new fun experience, although Mr Clough did call me eccentric on film, which he assures me is because I love sheep and that it was a totally positive compliment!

At Westroyd, we grab all the opportunities we can for our children. Life is for living! So on Friday we had a visit from the British Diving Talent Spotting team. Both professional divers themselves, having represented the UK, met with the children in Y2/Y3 and talked about their inspiring careers. There was then a physical session with the children and I have to say a large number were selected to go for further trials! Could we have the next Tom Daly on our hands?

Finally, thank you to all of you who joined us in what is becoming a Westroyd tradition, visiting the church in the community to celebrate and say thank you for all the food we have. The children picked the songs, the children managed the music, the children led the performance. My role was minimal, as it should be – all about the children instead. I had two car loads, for the Pudsey Foodbank. Emilia and Lucas from the school council were very helpful carriers and Abby, Aisla and Lexi sorted it all out for me first.

Two weeks to go until half-term. Lots to do and lots of bugs about! We are having a big roast dinner in our house tonight. A medic once told me a hearty meal scares the bugs away. So, fingers crossed!