Here at Athena we are working hard to get everything ready for your return next week. We have all been thinking of you over the summer break and hope that you have all enjoyed your time off... but that you're looking forward to coming back and seeing us again!

We want to give a big welcome to all our new pupils starting this year, and some new staff members as well. 

Although we won't see you in person until Thursday 10th September, there will be home learning on Google Classroom available from Thursday 3rd September, as this is when term technically starts! 

We look forward to seeing you next week and hope that you are looking forward to seeing us too!

In recent weeks, Athena School has been extremely lucky to house two young hedgehogs, who we have fondly named Sticklebrick and Velcro! Did you know that a baby hedgehog is known as a hoglet? How adorable is that?!

Wild Things Rescue, in Lincolnshire, specialises in the ethical rehabilitation of British wildlife. This means that they look after wild animals and nurse them back to health in order to be able to release them back into the wild. They are a charity, and require donations in order to carry out their important work. Charitable donations from the public go towards veterinary bills, proper food and appropriate housing. You can donate directly to their paypal, or you can even buy some beautiful wild animal prints from their online shop. Check out their website to find out more: wildthingsrescue.uk

They are currently fundraising to build a wildlife hospital in Lincolnshire! They currently have two large walk-in kennels, in order to house larger animals, such as birds of prey or geese. They also have two brand new incubators and smaller houses for littler animals, such as hedgehogs.

Our aim with Sticklebrick and Velcro was to get them to the optimum weight, so that they can be released into the wild, to live their happy, free lives with other hedgehogs. According to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, hedgehogs should weigh at least 500g before they can be released. 
We have been lucky enough to have these little guys for the past two weeks and have been helping in their rehabilitation journey.

Whenever pupils have handled the hedgehogs, they have handled them with care and safety, wearing the correct protective gear, including gloves and aprons. We have been extremely careful with them, as hedgehogs are quite timid creatures. They enjoy sleeping during the day and burrowing into the bedding we gave them - they like warm, dark spaces. Did you know hedgehogs are omnivores? This means that they eat plants and meat. We used special hedgehog food for them, to make sure they were eating enough.

We were very pleased to receive some positive feedback from Lucy, from Wild Things Rescue, and as our hoglets are now at the optimum weight for survival in the wild, they have been released back into the wild! We were very sad to see our little friends go, but are so happy and grateful to have had the opportunity to help them. It has been a great experience for us at Athena, and we hope that we will get the opportunity to do something like this again in the future!

Check out the photographs of our little buddies!

Who likes lemon meringue? Well, if you do, you've come to the right place! This week, Miss Eastmead has concocted a home made lemon meringue roulade! 'But Miss, what is a roulade?' I hear you cry. A roulade looks very similar to a Swiss roll, but the main difference is what they are made out of. Swiss rolls are made from cake mixture and have a very spongy texture, whereas a roulade can be made from pastry or meringue. Quite often, roulades are savoury dishes, often with meat fillings, but this one is sweet!

Check out the recipe below.

Lemon Meringue Roulade

This one is a little trickier to adapt for dietary requirements, such as vegans, but it is possible! The main ingredient in meringue is egg, and you can get egg replacements from supermarkets. This can be quite pricey, because they're very niche, so you might want to use mashed banana, apple sauce or ground chia seeds! Have a look here to find out how to use them: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/egg-substitutes#section4

Head over to Athena's New Online Learning Platform, Google Suite, following this link https://sites.google.com/athenaschool.org.uk/athena/home

Athena Education is now online, lucky us!! For all your online learning needs, your daily lessons and access to plenty of fun activities during Covid-19 lockdown, Google Suite is here. Google Suite is an innovative and great way to access learning online. Once you're on the website, simply click on your class teachers name at the top of the page (split into KS3 and KS4) or yours/your child's Key Stage on the Home Page to access everything you need. Teachers will regularly update the lesson information on there, split into Maths, English, Science, Computing, PE, Art, Geography, History, PSHE/Citizenship, and Religious Studies, so keep checking back to see what lessons and activities have been uploaded for the week. 

Enjoy!!

This week, Miss Eastmead has put together a recipe to make your own McDonalds Fakeaway, complete with your own printable takeaway packaging! Even though lockdown is beginning to ease, and some McDonalds are open again, we know that the queues are HUGE! So this way, you can make your own and not have to wait!

McDonalds Fakeaway

McDonalds template

As always, there are adaptations for those of you with any dietary requirements. Instead of real cheese, you can buy Violife sliced 'cheese' from all major supermarkets. Likewise, all major supermarkets offer meat-free alternatives to beef burgers and mince, so you can easily adapt this recipe to any of your needs. If you're not a fan of beef, make sure you check out Miss Eastmead's handy tips for alternative versions of the recipe, like a McChicken sandwich or chicken nuggets!

I'm Lovin' It!

Don't miss out!! David Attenboroughs Georgraphy lessons and now available to watch online and they're BRILLIANT!!

You'll recognise your new geography teacher from programmes like Planet Earth and Blue Planet! 

Children up and down the country will have the extraordinary opportunity to have their geography lesson taught by Sir David Attenborough as the 94-year-old hosts a special class on BBC Bitesize.  On Wednesday (17th June), in a first of two lessons this week, Sir David is urging children to take a closer look at the world around them with a nifty guide on how to explore the planet using technology.  The cherished presenter will then give another lesson on Thursday (June 18) before returning for a class on dinosaurs and fossils later this month (on June 30).  On Bitesize Daily Primary, five to seven-year olds will be given a whistle-stop tour of the seven continents and what makes them so unique.

On Bitesize Daily children can learn about the equator and  will be taught about the importance of maps to explore their surroundings. 

'‘I am delighted to be teaching children across the country about the things I am passionate about, I hope children will learn something new about animals, oceans and dinosaurs, and feel inspired by my BBC Bitesize lessons.’' Enthused Sir David.

The lessons will be available online for 10 weeks and you can access them by following this link to bbc bitesize https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize and scrolling down the page to the find the episodes which can watched on BBC I/Player

Enjoy!!

Here at Athena, we recognise it is Pride month, and we do usually hold our own Athena Rainbow day. However, in the present circumstances we have decided to postpone our celebratory day until all pupils and staff are together again. Please see our google classrooms for some fun activities in the meantime, or some crafty ideas below!

Huffington post has a great selection of Pride themed activities you can do! My favourite is the rainbow marble art... I might have to try that one myself!

Romper has some really cool family friendly activities to do for Pride, which is great if you're feeling crafty!

Pinterest is also a fabulous one to check out - just search for 'family Pride activities' and see what discoveries you can make!