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Junior News – 14 June 2024 |
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Performance has been a theme this week with Year 5 and 6 wowing audiences of family and friends on Thursday evening, and the whole Junior School on Wednesday. Congratulations to our Wind in the Willows cast for their brilliantly entertaining, high quality production! Embodying all of our five intellectual characteristics, the girls persevered in their Music lessons to learn the songs and soundtrack to the production; they have taken risks in their drama, speaking and listening skills to bring polish to the performance; have demonstrated independence by seizing responsibility for their roles and supporting those of others; collaborated and honed their dance and movement skills, all rounded off with their initiative-taking, problem-solving and displays of curiosity and tenacious commitment. We could not be prouder of our pupils, delivering a heart-warming production with good humour and flair. Our thanks to all staff and pupils who made this a triumphant team effort. Zara J (Year 6) kicked off the week with style thanks to her beautifully played piano piece ‘Vivace’, also introducing Monday’s assembly led by Dr Lee. Dr Lee’s assembly theme of talent has certainly been borne out this week! On Wednesday, Year 3 delighted families, classes and teachers with their Class Assembly based on this weekend’s Father’s Day. Heartfelt messages of love, affection and amusing anecdotes and memories of their dads were both fun and touching, bringing happy tears to many adults in the hall. Brilliantly planned, produced and performed, this Class Assembly will live long in our thoughts. Thank you, Year 3.
Sporting performance is not far from our minds as we look back on an action-packed Sports Day last Friday for Year 3 to Year 13, and congratulations are due to all pupils and staff for making this eagerly anticipated event into such an enjoyable and engaging success. We look forward to Nursery and Preschool’s Sports Afternoon this coming Tuesday (18 June), followed by Reception, Year 1 and Year 2’s Sports Day the following week (Wednesday 26 June). Coupled with sporting fixtures and festivals this week, performance and personal growth has been everywhere we have looked! We look forward to more performance next week with Year 2’s Class Assembly on Wednesday 19 June as well as the Senior School’s annual musical treat, Annie. We cannot wait! Finally for this week, thank you to our parents foryour support this term, and especially over the past week, with our event programme of Sports Day (Friday), Year 3 Class Assembly and Open Forest School, Wind in the Willows, and this morning’s Father’s Day breakfast. We are incredibly lucky to have such a supportive parental community, and we thank you for your continued support, engagement and enthusiasm in all we do. Have a super weekend when it comes, and looking forward to yet another action-packed week ahead. Mrs Amanda Wilmot |
Parent Notices |
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Sun cream and Sun hats: Now the weather is much improved, may we please ask that pupils wear sun cream to school and ensure they have sun hats with them in school every day. Wraparound Care: In Wraparound Care, we have reintroduced fruit as a snack as well as the biscuits currently available. Swap Shop: The Swap Shop is open every Friday afternoon from 2.45 – 3.45pm in the Junior School hall if you need to top up uniform items. Headphones: Please may we ask parents of girls from Year 1 to Year 6 to come to school every day with headphones. These can be the in-ear or over-ear type which are connected to the Chrome Books and the pupils’ laptops with an audio jack. Year 2 have a Computing module coming up which involves composing music, and these would be very helpful. Breakfast Club: A polite reminder that Breakfast Club starts at 7.30am each morning. We are unable to welcome pupils into school until our staffing is in place at 7.30am. Dates for the diary: Art Gallery viewings will be available in Junior School at the Arts Festival on Wednesday 26 June from 6.00-8pm and then on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 June from 3.30-4pm. Open Classrooms – There will not be Open Classrooms on Wednesday 10 July from 3.30-4pm, as previously communicated. Looking ahead to September, our Curriculum Information Evenings will take place in the week commencing 9 September. We will confirm dates shortly. Summer Term 2 – Please click here to view a list of the upcoming events, assemblies, trips, performances and fixtures next half term. |
A Summer of Sport 2024: Uniting the World and Inspiring the Young |
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I said it last year, and I will say it again…. I love Sports Day! Huge thanks, as always, must go to our dedicated sports faculty, and in particular to Mrs Littlewood who is the brains behind the operation for the Sports Day itself. I love Sports Day because of what it represents. A coming together of our community as a whole, pupils, teachers and parents all celebrating, all having fun and all getting stuck in. I love the House system that represents family, and encourages pupils to take part as a cog in a bigger machine, recognising that they play an important role no matter what they are doing. And I love seeing the looks on their faces when they support each other, congratulating their peers on their successes and commiserating with them when things don’t go quite to plan. My personal challenge this year was adding up the scores on the results desk. All I will say is thank goodness that my companion was a mathematician, and I’ll move swiftly on! Following the fantastic success of our Sports Day last week, I was inspired to have a look at what is coming up for us over the summer in relation to sports. We are lucky that pupils at the High School value sport and are very enthusiastic about getting involved, trying new things and developing their competitive spirit. Whilst many sporting opportunities tail off a little during the summer holidays, many others are just getting started and this year in particular is a rather exciting one! The summer of 2024 promises to be an exhilarating season for sports enthusiasts around the globe. From the iconic Wimbledon Championships in the UK to the highly anticipated Olympic Games in Paris, the season will be filled with thrilling competitions, record-breaking performances, and unforgettable moments. Special mention here to all those pupils who broke school or personal records last Friday! What an achievement for you all! So let’s have a look at what is coming up over the months ahead of us: 2024 Olympic Games – Paris Wimbledon Championships This year, our NHS tennis players and fans will surely be eagerly watching to see if Katie Boulter, the British number one, will take to the courts again to challenge her international counterparts. Or perhaps we will see the return of last year’s wild cards, Harriet Dart or Jodie Burrage. We have certainly had our own success with Tennis over the last 12 months, with our senior school team winning the overall GDST Tennis Trophy last season. This was a huge achievement as the competition was strong, but out of the family of schools, none could match Northampton High School! UEFA Euro 2024 Of course, we will have to wait a little longer for the Women’s tournament, taking place in 2025, but the qualifying matches kick off (pardon the pun!) this summer. I know our girls are eager to see if the Lionesses can retain their title from 2022 as the defending champions. Will they bring football home once more? To read the full blog entry, please click here. Miss Kneen |
Wind in the Willows Production: Photos |
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Thank you again for coming to support Year 5 and 6 pupils in their Wind in the Willows production yesterday evening. We are grateful to Jane Ellis for photographing the girls in their dress rehearsal. Please find the link to the photo gallery here where you will be able to purchase photos.
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Sports Days |
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Sports Days are one of the highlights of the summer term. We are pleased to confirm the dates for Junior School are as follows: Nursery and Preschool Tuesday 18 June, 1.30-2.30pm – Refreshments will be served. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 Wednesday 26 June, 9.30-11.30am – Refreshments will be served. |
Toy Swap and Mufti Day |
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Our Junior School Council are delighted to have organised a Toy Swap for Friday 21 June. This fabulous initiative is an affordable and sustainable opportunity to enjoy a range of toys, giving new life to those that are no longer toys of choice at home. We look forward to gratefully receiving donations from Monday 17 June. Junior School Council |
Annie Production |
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We are delighted to invite you to this year’s musical production of Annie on Friday 21 June! As always, we are thrilled to be hosting our much loved family-friendly production this term, and would love the pleasure of your company at this special event. Our cast and crew are working exceptionally hard and it promises to be a night to remember! Tickets are available to purchase here and we look forward to welcoming as many guests as possible! Creative Arts Faculty |
News from our classrooms: Nursery and Preschool |
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In Nursery we started the week with our class photos in the hall which was a new experience for some, watching with intrigue as the lights flashed! We took a walk in the school grounds for our Forest School session and had the opportunity to run free on the school field. Our story of the week was ‘There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed The Sea” and we brought the story to life by using different props that really gripped the girls’ attention. In our Cooking session we independently mashed avocado which we spread on to our toast to enjoy for our snack. We also extended our risk taking skills by exploring the big school playground. |
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In Preschool we have been exploring different modes of transport. We have talked about the vehicles we have been on, such as cars, buses and planes. We have explored a different vehicle book each day, with submarines being very popular. The girls have used various construction materials to make vehicles both outside and inside. They have showed their collaborative skills by working together to role play, making a boat outside. Inside we have been rolling cars down ramps and seeing the paint tracks they left on the paper. We have been looking at road signs, talking about the ones we have seen before and what we think they might mean. We even made our own signs for the garden. The train track has also been outside and with adults’ help the girls created a lovely track that went around the grass carpet. |
News from our classrooms: Reception |
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This week we have been painting beautiful pictures of sunflowers. We investigated different techniques to achieve the pattern and texture, with some fantastic results. In Maths we have re-visited shapes, particularly turning and flipping them to make pictures. In our Topic we have been thinking about our homes and addresses, what number house we live in and the road name. Please help your daughter to learn this, as it is important in an emergency. We have also been learning about the different types of houses that we may see and we decided we would all like to live on a ‘House Boat’ as you can go anywhere! The week ended with a special Forest School session with party food, bubbles and games. |
Year 1 Art/DT Focus |
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Year 1 have been exploring the work of Paul Klee and looking in depth at his painting ‘Castle and Sun’. We have noticed the colours, shapes and lines he used. We have used both our imagination and memory to draw and collage buildings in the style of Paul Klee and are very proud of our pictures, even though they are not yet finished. |
Year 2 Art/DT Focus |
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Year 2 have thoroughly enjoyed their art inspired by dragons. After sketching scales and painting eyes, they practised using different tools to create a dragon skin texture with clay. They then created dragon eyes using clay and the finished result was very effective! |
Year 3 Art/DT Focus |
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The girls have completed their planning prep by creating a mood and inspiration board for their own shoe designs. Over the coming weeks the girls will add accessories to their shoes to create their final designs. We cannot wait to see them! |
Year 4 Art/DT Focus |
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The girls developed their skills over several weeks before sketching their own sunflower and tried to use curved lines and shading to give a 3D effect. Watercolours were then mixed carefully adding yellows, greens and browns to the final piece. |
Year 5 Art/DT Focus |
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This week Year 5 started a new unit in Art, with a seaside theme. The girls sometimes find sketching really tricky, so we decided to start with something simple and draw some shells. We looked at a picture and then learned how to draw them. The results were fantastic, and the girls were really proud of themselves. |
Year 6 Art/DT Focus |
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After studying the work of Georgia O’Keeffe, the girls sketched some examples of her flowers and chose one as inspiration for a large painting using acrylics. They worked hard to ‘zoom in’ on the main features, mixing colours carefully and using delicate brush strokes to add extra detail. |
Sports Day - 7 June 2024 |
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A fantastic day was had by all of the girls in Years 3-6 for the school’s Sports Day. We were very fortunate that the weather was so kind and blue skies greeted parents and girls. The first event for the Junior School was the eagerly anticipated 600m with the fastest two runners from each of the Houses competing against one another. Avani (Year 5) and Zara (Year 6) ran fast from the start and Luisa (Year 6) certainly challenged Zara. However, they held onto their leads and both Avani and Zara won. The morning then saw the fun races take place, with eggs raced on spoons, sacks jumped in and obstacles overcome. It certainly was a great spectacle to see everyone having such great fun and cheering each other along. The second competitive race was the House Sprints. Some were so close that the judges had to consult VAR; the gap between 1st and 2nd were literally millimeters. House Sprints Results: Year 3 Olivia, Year 4 Rhoda, Year 5 Eloise, Year 6 Luisa . Prior to Sports Day the girls took part in a range of field events with Year 3 and Year 4 also competing in the 600m. Winners for these events were: 600m: Olivia (Year 3) – 2 minutes 48 seconds, Rhoda (Year 4) – 2 minutes 56 seconds |
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What a better way to close the morning than with the parent races and what a turn out we had! This year must have seen the most mums and dads at the start line for the Egg and Spoon, 30m Dash and 50m Sprints. Notable performances must go to Mrs Josan and Mr Taylor (Olivia’s father) for the Egg and Spoon and Mrs Russell, Mr Price and Mr Taylor (Aurelia’s father) for the Sprints. Both the staff and girls really appreciate how the parents got into the spirit of the event. It is such a fantastic way to show the girls participation values by leading by example. The afternoon saw a new addition to the day with Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 showcasing their High Jump, Long Jump and Throws to their parents as well as accruing points for the House Competition. By the close of the day the House winners for each year group were: Year 3 – Hestia, Year 4 – Artemis, Year 5 – Artemis, Year 6 – Selene The points tallied from all the year groups at Sports Day gave Artemis the final overall victory. |
U11A and U11B Cricket v Broughton Manor - 5 June 2024 |
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Well done to both teams that played against Broughton Manor and congratulations to the the U11A’s who won their match by 50 runs. Both teams started off with a total of 200 and the final results were Broughton Manor – 247 and Northampton High – 297. Special mention goes to Luisa for a huge improvement in her bowling and getting many dot balls (balls where no runs are scored by the batter). Great job to Hester, Lily, Zara, and Asmi for hitting some great shots through the gaps in the field which scored valuable boundaries. Well done also to Amelie for getting those sneaky singles which made a real difference in the end. Congratulations to Hester for getting Player of the Match for batting and to Zara for bowling and fielding. Overall, the U11A team showed great skill and power in this match. As Captain, I am looking forward to the GDST Tournament on Tuesday and what we might achieve. Angelie |
U11 Tennis and Cricket Rally - 11 June 2024 |
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The U11 Tennis team took part in a round robin tournament with 8 other schools. It was a completely different format for the girls to play and proved to be a fast paced, exciting tournament with lots of tennis played. There was 1 point for every rally won and a time limit of 8 minutes for singles, and then doubles. It was a tough day with the team competing against some strong players. Well done to Lily and Diya in Year 6, Avani in Year 5 (playing a year up) and Grace B in Year 4 (playing two years up). Final result – 7th in the GDST. |
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Congratulations to everyone who played in the Cricket Tournament. The U11A’s stayed positive and showed great team spirit, supporting every boundary, wicket and run with great enthusiasm. There were 19 teams playing and we placed 13th. We played 5 games, winning 3 of the 5, we beat Putney, Sydenham and Nottingham with great results in all games. I would like to give a special mention to Amelie’s wicket maiden against Putney and to Hester for scoring the first six of the tournament. Our other games were against Notting Hill, Ealing and Bromley and another well done goes to Asmi for really improving her bowling. This Cricket Tournament was a really helpful opportunity to see which elements we are excelling in, and what we could improve to make us even stronger. Whilst we were playing Sydenham, it started raining but despite the change in weather everyone stayed on their toes. Congratulations Zara for taking a crucial catch that really turned the match. I was really pleased to see the team’s maximum effort put into this tournament. Overall I was really impressed with how the team played in this tournament and I am really excited to see what happens in our next game. Angelie |
News from outside of the classroom: Year 2 and Year 4 Legoland Discovery Centre Trip |
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Our Year 2 and Year 4 students had a blast at Legoland Discovery Centre! From battling trolls and spiders to flying with wizards, they immersed themselves in the magical world of miniature Lego! Year 2 students showed off their creativity in a ‘Get up and Dance’ workshop, while Year 4 built racing cars with sails – talk about engineering skills! Lots of energy was burnt off in the soft play area, and there was plenty of Lego building with friends before everyone enjoyed a splashing good time at the 4D cinema (yes, we got soaked!). Well done to all the girls for their excellent manners and behaviour – they truly shone bright! |
Weekly Awards |
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Star Learners of the Week: Molly J H, Naavya P, Inayat S, Maia S, Annabel W, Anne A, Evie I, Grace A, Elouise S, Annie T, Diya B, Lily C, Alishba F, Victoria F L, Annabelle R External Achievements: Zara B – completed her Taekwondo graduation earning her a yellow belt with green stripe |
Birthdays This Week |
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This week, we wish a very Happy Birthday to the following members of our Junior School family: Rayna N, Isabella B, Isabelle L, Inayat S and Luisa P |
Save the Date: Creative Arts Festival |
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Save the Date: Speech Day |
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Sunrisers Academy |
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Northampton High School Swim Clubs |
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Brixworth Cricket Club |
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Girls@Saints |
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Saints Cricket Club |
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Pauline Quirke Academy |
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Term Dates |
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Northampton High School |
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