|
|
Junior News 14 February 2020 |
|
Dear Parents, The half term holiday marks the half way point of a hugely successful year so far here at the Nursery and Junior School. Yesterday we were treated to a quite stunning performance of ‘Scheherazade’ by our fantastic girls in Year 5 and 6. The quality of acting, dance, singing, costumes and general stage craft was quite simply excellent, as every parent and staff member who I spoke to afterwards attested to. Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make the show a success; we are already excited about what next year’s performance might be as we continue to build on the culture of performing arts in the school. Today, the classrooms have been a sea of red as we raise awareness of this year’s school charity, ‘Medical Detection Dogs.’ Thank you for supporting this fundraiser; watch out for further charitable events later in the year. On Wednesday, specialist art teacher Mrs Beacroft visited us in assembly to talk about ‘snow’ themed images; we learnt about shading, colour, pattern and shape through the work of a diverse range of artists including Beatrix Potter and Claude Monet. Having such expertise on our school site and being able to deliver learning experiences such as this to the whole school community is just one of the features of our school that sets us apart. The whole school have been involved in learning activities this week linked to Safer Internet Day. The girls have come up with a whole range of ideas as to how they can stay safe online, and we will be discussing these further in our computing and PSHE sessions. The teaching staff have been busy writing school reports for the girls over the last few weeks, and they are accessible online from today. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them all and hearing all about their individual successes. There is so much to look forward to as we move into Spring, including our Easter disco and various residential trips; we can’t wait to see you all back after the holiday. Have a restful week, Chris Bailey |
Mobile Phones |
|
A polite reminder that your daughter should only be bringing a mobile phone into school if she is using the school bus, walking or cycling home alone. Mobile phones should be handed in to the school office at the beginning of the day and collected at the end of the day. If your daughter does bring in her mobile phone please collect and fill out the permissions form and hand it into the office.
|
Charity |
|
Medical Detection Dogs Thank you so much for all your kind donations for this worthy charity. So far we have collected approximately £262.00 which is amazing! This was raised by
|
Scheherazade photos |
|
Year 5 and 6 – Scheherazade photo orders You will be receiving an order form for the Scheherazade photos via Schoolcomms. If you would like to order photos please look at the link on the order form. Then order your photos using the order form, handing it into the office by Friday 28 February when these will be collected.
|
Achievements |
|
Each week in assembly, girls are invited to share their achievements in activities outside of school. They are listed below for this week: Gymnastics Swimming Dancing Tennis
|
Assemblies |
|
Class Assemblies are held in the Junior School Hall at 8.35am on Wednesdays. Parents are most welcome to enjoy refreshments from 8.00am in the Community Room. Here are the dates for the Spring Term: 5N – Wednesday 26 February 2N – Wednesday 4 March 3N – Wednesday 11 March Reception – Wednesday 18 March 1N – Wednesday 25 March
|
Dates for Diary |
|
w/c Monday 17 February – Half Term (with exception of Nursery which will be open as normal) Tuesday 25 February – Pre-School visit to Richmond Village 10.30am-11.45am Wednesday 26 February – Looking forward to Senior School event for Year 5 4.30pm-5.30pm Wednesday 26 – Friday 28 February – Year 3 and 4 Burwell Residential Monday 2 March – Nursery Stay and Play 8am-9.30am Wednesday 4 March – Joseph ‘Big Sing’ at the Derngate 6.30pm Thursday 5 March – Year 5 day trip to Bletchley Park Thursday 5 March – World Book Day Thursday 5 March – Open Evening 4.30pm-6.30pm Friday 6 March – Open Morning 9.30am-12pm Friday 6 March – International Women’s Day w/c Monday 9 March – Science Week Tuesday 17 March – Pre-school Richmond Village 10.30am-11.45am Wednesday 18 March – KS1 day trip to the National Space Centre Thursday 19 March – Music Composition Evening 7pm-9pm Thursday 26 March – Pre-school transition event to Reception Class 9am-10am Thursday 26 March – Easter Disco Reception to Year 6 4pm-5pm Tuesday 31 March – Sports Presentation Evening 6pm Wednesday 1 April – Whole School Photograph Wednesday 1 April – Parents’ Evening from 6.00pm Thursday 2 April – Parents’ Evening from 3.50pm Friday 3 April – End of Term Monday 20 April – INSET Day Tuesday 21 April – Start of Summer Term Friday 24 April – Day of Debating Tuesday 28 April – Pre-school Richmond Village 10.30am-11.45am Tuesday 28 April – Nursery Stay and Play 2pm-3.15pm Friday 1 May – Whole School Birthday Assembly Friday 1 May – Whole School Open Morning 8.30am-12pm Friday 8 May – VE Bank Holiday w/c Monday 11 May – Year 6 Osmington Bay Residential Looking ahead: Sports Day for KS2 and Senior School is Friday 5 June |
Easter Disco |
|
|
Clubs |
|
The following clubs have been cancelled:
|
Sports |
|
MATCH REPORT On Wednesday 12 February the Under 11A team played a tournament at Winchester House. Our scores were; 1-0 to Swanbourne, 6-0 to Milton Keynes Prep, 5-2 to Winchester House and 4-0 to Akley Wood. I am very proud of our teamwork. We definitely got better throughout the matches. Thank you to Mrs Littlewood and Miss James for coaching and supporting. |
|
|
|
|
Parent Forum, 6 February 2020 |
|
|
|
Many thanks to all who attended the Parent Forum on Thursday 6 February. The subject for this meeting was ‘communication’ and the discussions fell under three broad categories. These were: 1) reporting and pupil progress feedback 2) marketing, messaging and operational parent communications, and 3) catering and estates. The full minutes and action points can be found here: Parent Forum February 2020. The next meeting will take place early next term. If you would like to propose any items for discussion, please get in touch. |
Nursery Kipper Room and Elmer Room |
|
Kipper Room: In Kipper this week we have been exploring lots of sensory play, including sticky pasta, which the girls initially used their hands to feel. We then explored other resources which they added to the tray to extend the activity. With the pasta play there was lots of excited conversation, with the pasta looking like worms. Then it was made into cakes with discussions about how it changed texture when they transported it to the water tray and mixed it all together. While outside, we introduced ‘boundary’ games such as encouraging the girls to run ahead slightly and then stop at a tree, or at a specific landmark within the playground. Voice of the child: Elmer Room: Our theme of senses has been really well received by all the girls. They have engaged enthusiastically and you can see that our display table always looks well-used. We finished this theme by looking at ‘vision,’ and we made some sensory glitter bottles (watching the glitter settle is very calming). We have used our eyes to help us with activities such as cutting and matching games. There was no Forest School this week, so we went for a walk in the school grounds, marched up and down the hill, then went on the slide in the big playground. Next week is half term, so for those of you who are not here have a nice break; for those of us that are here we are looking forward to exploring dinosaurs. |
|
|
|
|
Nursery Pre-School |
|
Highlights: This week we have been thinking about the ‘sense’ taste, the girls were blindfolded and had to try to guess what they were tasting. It was decided that the biscuit and orange were yummy but the lemon was “urgh”, although two girls did eat it. On Monday we made ‘flappy fish’ which we ‘fanned’ to make them move along the ‘floor’, all part of learning about the ‘f’ sound. We have also made ‘faces,’ placing on different ‘features’ and completed dot-to-dots, recognising numbers to 10 and 20. What the girls have enjoyed: “Playing with the dolls house.” Senuli. Looking ahead to after half term:
|
|
|
|
|
Reception |
|
Highlights: This week the girls have continued on from the story ‘Kipper’s Party’, by finding out what is needed to make real cakes and how to follow instructions. To link with our Maths learning on doubles, each cake had to show a double amount of smarties! Our materials learning has finished with ‘metal’. The girls have also investigated which objects would stick to a magnet, concluding that it had to be something made of metal. They enjoyed using metal detectors to look for treasure in the sand. We have also looked at a selection of toys from a long time ago. The girls enjoyed trying them out and finding out what materials they were made from. It has been a lovely end to the half term, thanks to our ‘charity mufti’ and ‘red heart’ activities. What the girls have said: “I liked playing with the old toys.” Rhoda. |
|
|
|
|
Year 1 |
|
Highlights: It has been another busy week in Year 1. We have been working really hard in Maths, looking at the place value of each digit in a two digit number and practising our counting, forwards and backwards to 50. In English, we have looked at making singular words plural and how to add ‘s’ or ‘es’ onto the end of words. We have also looked at where capital letters need to go and the days of the week. In Science, we had great fun looking at reversible and irreversible changes, especially with making toast and melting chocolate. In Computing, we have thought about internet safety; we discussed why it is important to be safe online and listened to a great assembly all about what the internet is for and how we can use it safely. We also had the extra treat this week, being able to watch the fantastic Year 5 and 6 performance of Scheherazade. What the girls have said: “I enjoyed melting the chocolate in Science.” Amber. Looking ahead to after half term:
|
|
|
|
|
Year 2 |
|
Highlights: In Maths we have started work on shape exploring 2D shapes in detail, reminding ourselves of their names and examining some of their properties. We even did an investigation which definitely tested our levels of perseverance! In English we have been looking closely at apostrophes both for contraction and possession and we’ve written a Valentine’s Day poem explaining what love is and what it means to us. In Art we have produced some amazing pictures of the moon using pastels and various painting techniques. At Forest School we worked hard in teams to build a shelter. We were also treated to a showing of the Year 6 performance, ‘Scheherazade’. What the girls have said: “I loved shelter building at Forest School.” Maya. Looking ahead to after half term:
|
|
|
|
|
Year 3 |
|
Highlights: This week we have studied division in Maths, made sandwiches in DT and completed team-building tasks with Year 4 at Forest School. Year 3 all enjoyed watching the Year 5 and 6 Play, ‘Scheherazade’; it was brilliant! What the girls have said: “I enjoyed going to Forest School and doing team-building activities. I had great fun with Year 4 and they made me laugh.” Tami. Looking ahead to after half term: After half term we will be going to Burwell House on our residential. Please follow us on the Junior School Twitter account, @NHSJuniorSchool, where we will keep you updated with photos and information throughout the trip. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year 4 |
|
Highlights: In Maths this week we have identified parallel and perpendicular lines and different types of angle before using this knowledge to describe the properties of polygons. In English we have redrafted and written the final version of our stories set in an imaginary world. We have also enjoyed taking part in team-building activities with Year 3 at Forest School. What the girls have said: “My highlight of the week was in Art because I liked working on our collage of trees.” Diandra. Looking ahead to after half term: We are looking forward to our residential visit to Burwell House! Please follow us on the Junior School Twitter account, @NHSJuniorSchool, where we will keep you updated with photos and information throughout the trip. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year 5 |
|
Highlights: This week we have been busy rehearsing for our Scheherazade performance on Thursday. The girls have really impressed us with their behaviour and patience during the rehearsals. We also managed to squeeze in some more multiplication problem-solving, some spellings practice and some self-portraits inspired by Picasso. To view photos from Scheherazade, please click here Wishing you all a lovely half term break. What the girls have said: “I really enjoyed Enrichment this week because we painted Picasso pictures with watercolours. It was a self-portrait. We thought about Picasso’s original style and incorporated that into our own design.” Georgia. Looking ahead to after half term: IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year 6 |
|
Week 6 – Year 5 and 6 present Scheherazade! A fantastic end to the half term! Looking around an old and forgotten junk shop, a group of children discover a dust covered book entitled, “Tales of the Arabian Nights”. A mysterious old woman suddenly appears and begins to tell the tale of Scheherazade. The princess weaves a web of enticing tales over 1001 nights, freeing the sultan from an evil curse and saving the lives of many women. Our audience was enthralled by the magical stories: the hilarious ‘Tale of the Beggar’, the terrifying ‘Tale of Ali Baba’s Cave’, the unbelievable ‘Fisherman’s Tale’, and uplifting ‘Tale of the Prince and the Stone King’. Student Voices: To view photos from Scheherazade, please click here |
|
|
|
|
GAP Club |
|
Highlights: The girls have continued to make some fantastic creations this week using Hama Beads. We have also had various ‘heart-themed’ activities, including card-making and mobiles. What the girls have enjoyed: “Dragging people in the sleigh, because it is fun and I like doing the Hama Beads; it is all fun.” Amelia, Year 1. Looking ahead:
|
|
|
|
|
Term Dates |
|
|
|
|
Northampton High School |
|
