Pinewood Head Teacher Retires

Cllr Andy Mann was pleased to be able to attend the leaving picnic of Mrs Hazel Boutel, the Head Teacher of Pinewood Primary School. Hazel has decided to take the opportunity to retire and spend more time with her family.

As a former pupil and now a school Governor Cllr Mann said “It was great to be at Pinewood School again, although the occasion was a sad one, as Hazel was leaving, it was also a happy one as the children and staff had put a lot of effort into making it a day to remember”.

The 200 plus children joined Mrs Boutel on the school fields, with games and food for all. Mrs Boutel’s time was celebrated by the release of nine balloons, one for each year that she was head teacher. The children then performed a song they had written for her.

Cllr Mann said “I would like to say a big thank you to Hazel for all she has done at Pinewood, she has truly moved the school on and helped put it back on the map again, I would like to wish her all the luck in the future”.

Pinewood Primary School sings at the Queens

Cllr Andrew Mann was pleased to be able to watch the children from Pinewoods at the recent Queens Theatre Summer Music Festival, the 30 plus children from the School choir put on a fantastic show by singing a spoonful of sugar and the candyman.

As a Governor and former pupil at Pinewood, it is always a pleasure to see the children perform; they were all a credit to the school, a lot of the children performing were in year six, so will be leaving the school in a month, I wish them all good luck at their new schools.

And as the children leave the school, sadly, so does the Head Teacher, Mrs Hazel Boutel. After almost 10 years in charge of the school she has decided to retire from teaching and spend more time with her family, in particular her first grandchild.

Cllr Mann has seen first hand some of the work that Hazel has done in promoting Pinewood Primary. As a school tucked away at the furthest point in the ward, surrounded by Havering Country Park it has often being the forgotten school of North Romford. However, Hazel has led an excellent team of staff who have done their best for the children and putting Pinewood firmly on the map for all to see, I thank her for all her work and wish her all the best in retirement.

Pinewood School visits the Town Hall

Over thirty five, year six pupils from Pinewood Primary school visited the Town Hall last week and met with school governor, Cllr Andrew Mann and Deputy Mayor of Havering, Cllr Pam Light.

The pupils spent an hour in the Town Hall, after travelling to and from the school by public transport (the 365 bus) and heard about the work that Cllr Mann does as a Councillor and the role of the Mayor of Havering.

The pupils, who all behaved fantastically and were a credit to the school, asked question after question, whilst sitting in the Town Hall Council Chamber. Some of the teaching staff even got the chance to try on some of the gowns, (see below).

As a school governor of Pinewood, Cllr Mann is linked to the year six pupils, which involves meeting with the children in their last year of primary school before they move onto senior school, many of the Pinewood pupils will attend Bower Park school, where Cllr Mann is also a Governor.

Cllr Mann said “As a former pupil of Pinewood Primary school myself it is always great working with the current children, we all had a great time in the Town Hall, with the children getting an insight into how local government works and seeing the Mayor and getting to ask questions, I very much look forward to seeing them back again”

Pinewood Primary Nativity

Pinewood Primary School Governor, Cllr Andrew Mann was in attendance at the school on Thursday for their annual Christmas presentation. He joined the hundred plus parents and visitors to watch not one but two shows, however before that the School Choir entertained the guests as they arrived and took their seats, with a fine selection of Christmas carols and songs.

First up was the infant school, with the traditional nativity story, we had Mary, Joseph, Angels, Kings, sheep and chickens !! As expected with the younger children, there is always one or two that will go “off message”, the most amusing had to be the scene when Baby Jesus was delivered to Mary by and Angel; she then passed him to Joseph, who promptly threw him into his cot head first.

Next up was the Upper School, with a truly moving story entitled “Miracle at Christmas” but this was no ordinary Christmas tale. It goes back some 90 years ago, to Christmas Day in a field in France.

The Children told a moving story of how two sides came together on a special day and put aside their differences for a few days and stopped fighting. In this special year, 90 years since the end of World War One, using narrators and songs, it was a wonderful story, which the children all seemed to understand.

Cllr Mann said “As a School Governor at Pinewood, I was extremely proud of the children that put together such a fantastic afternoon for their parents, family and guests; everyone should rightly feel proud of the children’s achievement”.

Pinewood Christmas Bazaar

I had the chance to attend The Pinewood School Christmas Bazaar yesterday and it was great to see so many people supporting the school by turning out to buy Christmas gifts for family and friends and to join in some of the fun, even Santa himself was in school giving out gifts to the children.

As a former pupil and now a Governor it is always good to be back in the school, there is something about being in a primary school that is different to when I am in Bower Park as a Governor. I am however, positive it is down to the small chairs, it always makes me laugh when you have to sit down and your knees come up above your head.

That said, I did not get much of a chance to sit down, the teachers and staff do such a wonderful job at Pinewood and often the school does not get much public praise for what it does, so hopefully this little plug for the school will go some way.