Moustashed five raising funds for Movember

Headteacher Mr Conway and other male members of staff at Southwater Junior Academy (Mr.Whetton, Mr.Beavis, Mr.Showell, Mr.Dudeney) have all decided to support the Movember campaign and will be growing (or attempting to grow) a moustache. The Movember Foundation aims to increase awareness and understanding of the health issues men face and to develop greater confidence in men to take action when they do not feel physically or mentally well.

Staff at Southwater Junior Academy are taking part in Movember

The Moustached Five will be seeking sponsorship through donations via the Just Giving site www.justgiving.com/TheMoustached5 or by donations into the academy office.

At the end of the month all the names of the children who have made a donation will be put into a hat and they will be given the opportunity to shave off Mr Conway’s moustache, live in front of the whole school!

l The pupils (and staff) of Southwater Junior Academy were lucky to be visited by not one, but two famous children’s authors – Jeremy Strong and Tom Palmer.

Jeremy Strong (author of the very funny ‘Laugh Your Socks Off’ range of books) and Tom Palmer (famous for his ‘Football’ themed stories) entertained the pupils with special readings and answered a plethora of questions about their stories, how they generated their ideas for their writings and explaining the work of an author.

Year 3 pupils really enjoyed Jeremy Strong’s funny books. One Year pupil, Georgie said “I felt scared because I was talking to a famous author but that changed when I met him. I was very excited and want to write lots of stories”.

Two Year 6 pupils thought Tom Palmer ‘very inspiring’. “It was a brilliant day and I want to read more of his books” said Issy and Alicia added “I want to write a book now!”

The visits generated great enthusiasm with children keen to return to their own reading and writing tasks – perhaps sparking an interest in a future budding young author or two!!

The pupils also had the added bonus of being able to meet each of the authors at the end of the school day with their parents, when they were able to have a book of their choice (written by the author, of course) signed.

Reports and photo contributed by Southwater Junior Academy.