Nothampton High School
Junior News

Junior News 27 September 2019

Dear Parents,

This week has been packed full of events and learning moments, many of which are shared regularly on our Twitter feed (@NHSJuniorSchool). If you are not following us on Twitter, now is the perfect opportunity to do so!

This morning Year 5 expertly led our first charity fundraising event of the year for Macmillan Cancer Support; our coffee morning was bustling with sugar-fuelled conversation! Thank you all so much for your support and contributions towards such a worthwhile cause. The accompanying mufti day has seen the school awash with bright colours, the perfect antidote to a rather gloomy meteorological week.

In assemblies this week we have been learning about the life of Albert Einstein, singing uplifting autumnal songs and reflecting on the social and political influence of Greta Thunberg. We were also lucky enough to have our secondary school language experts lead an assembly to celebrate European Day of Languages; we learnt some basic greetings, the origins of some common words and discussed the benefits of multilingualism in a global world. This assembly was a another great example of one of the many benefits of sharing a 2-18 school site.

In classrooms this week I have learnt about Achilles and the Trojan War, reproduction of African violet plants and how to write the number 3. It has been wonderful to see the breadth of learning experiences that the girls are exposed to across a single week.

This week we began our weekly cycle of staff development sessions at Northampton High Junior School. In our Early Years team we have been looking at areas of provision and how we can best give our youngest learners continuous access to play-based learning, alongside resources that can be accessed independently. In our Reception to Year 6 teams, we have been looking at writing opportunities and how we can support each individual girl by setting small, achievable next steps for development. High-quality professional discussions such as these are so crucial in educational settings.

Finally, a reminder that we have parents consultation evenings coming up soon, letters regarding which are going out tonight.

Have a lovely weekend,
Chris

Chris Bailey
Head of Junior School

Achievements

Each week in assembly, girls are invited to share their achievements in activities outside of school. They are listed below for this week:

LAMDA
Hania S – grade 1 distinction

Tennis
Lucy N – won tournament

Swimming
Sherain K – 1000m
Emily M – 50m butterfly bronze medal

Karate
Chanan S – brown and red stripe

Charity Bike Ride
Florence L – 5 miles for Cynthia Spencer Hospice

Triathalon
Matilda B – medal for completing

Horse Riding
Ellie H – 1st in jumping

Assemblies

4N – Wednesday 2 October
3N – Wednesday 16 October
6H – Wednesday 6 November
2N – Wednesday 13 November
5H – Wednesday 20 November
5N – Wednesday 27 November
1N – Wednesday 4 December

Digital Leaders

Our new team of Digital Leaders have started their training this week. We’re looking forward to seeing what they will be doing to improve awareness of Online Safety in Junior School once their training is complete.

Dates for Diary

Wednesday 9 October – Reception Parents’ Evening, 4pm-7pm

Wednesday 9 October – Junior School Parents’ Evening, 6pm – 8.30pm

Thursday 10 October – Junior School Parents’ Evening, 4pm – 6pm

Wednesday 16 October – Year 5 Hobbies Morning 9am – 11am

Friday 18 October – Year 3 to Year 6 Billionaire Boy trip

Clubs

Wednesday 9 October – Debating Club is cancelled

Charity

Year 5 would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported our charity event this morning.

To everyone who baked, everyone who decorated, everyone who bought and everyone who ate, thank you so much for making our Macmillan Coffee Morning an amazing success! So far we have raised a fabulous £470.64.

Nursery Kipper Room and Elmer Room

Kipper Room:

The Kipper girls are growing in confidence and independence, as they continue to explore their new environment. We are encouraging them to self access toys and activities that nurture their interests as we continue to learn and nurture their individual interests. Anne has chosen to spend lots of time in the water tray this week. Each day she has explored the water in a different way. On one occasion she was engaged in painting her hands and then washing them, following this she painted the plastic fish and washed then clean. Towards the end of the week she spent time accessing the boats and adding them to the water as she sang “Row, row, row your boat”.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • Next week the girls will be given the opportunity to explore a variety of fruits and vegetables as part of our Harvest Festival.

Elmer Room:

Our highlight this week has been our ‘all about me’ display. I drew around Yana for a body shape and all the girls were engaged in decorating and labelling her. They have made lots of comments on her uniform. Yana said “it’s got a dress”, Lily said “she has no shoes”. Emily said “it’s like Yana”.
We have a little jingle, ‘let’s talk about today, let’s talk about today, e, i, e, i let’s talk about today’. Then we get together and talk about the day, date, weather, how they are feeling and what extra activity we are doing that day.  The girls have been singing this jingle independently within their play.

They have adjusted well to the new routine which encourages more independence and choice. The girls self serve their snack and pour their own water whilst the exploration area continues to be popular.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • Next week we will be talking about Harvest Festival.
See all photos

Nursery Pre-School

Highlights:

This week in Pre-School we have planted daffodils ready for the Spring, looked at the number 1, decorated a number 1 with glitter and had a go at recognising and writing it. We have been learning new songs about ourselves and exploring water colours. At Forest School we were foxes, decorating fox masks with leaves.
To make us more eco-friendly in Pre-School we are asking that you bring in a named water bottle that can be washed in the dishwasher so that we do not keep using recyclable cups and throwing them away. We will keep these in Pre-School.

What the girls have said:

“Peppa games.” Iman.
“I like car racing.” Joanne.
“Running around.” Rayna.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • Our sound of the week will be ‘s’.
  • Our number will be ‘2’.
  • We will be thinking about harvest through lots of different activities and Elmer Room will join with us to celebrate harvest on Wednesday.
  • On Thursday we will be watching a baby being bathed.
See all photos

 

Reception

Highlights:

This week we have been investigating the triangle shape, the colour red and the number 3. The girls have been making triangles in three different sizes, looking at the number 3 formation and mark-making in red paint and printing. We have been finding out about one of our senses – our nose for smelling. The girls enjoyed the ‘smelly pots’ and were remarkably accurate in deciding what each one was. They could also tell it was pizza for lunch before we reached the lunch hall, by the smell in the air!

We have been reading the story ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ and our role play is now the Bears’ cottage, encouraging some great story re-tells, often containing a twist. Our phonics this week have focused on the letter sounds m,a, s & d. Activities included writing in sand, using chalk and making dddd dough.

What the girls have said:

Emily said that she had “enjoyed ballet this week,” whilst Shanaya has been playing with Maya and Grace outside.
Grace said her favourite thing was “making the ‘dddd’ dough.”
Maya said “playing Goldilocks dressing up was so much fun.”

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • The number 4 formation, the colour pink and the square shape.
  • Phonic letter sounds and formation.
  • Name writing.
  • The sense of ‘taste’.
See all photos

Year 1

Highlights:

This week we have started to look at a new book in English, ‘Daisy Saves the Day’. The children have written predictions and taken part in role play about the main character. In Science this week, we had a fantastic learning experience which involved us being ‘senses detectives’ using our different senses to find clues to solve an exciting mystery. In Maths we have been looking at the greater than ‘>’, less than ‘<‘  and equals ‘=’ signs and what they mean. In Design Technology, we have been building furniture for our houses.

What the girls have said:

I liked doing different rolls in PE.” Avani.
“I liked painting the seaside.” Thea.
“Being a sense detective to find the teddy was really fun.” Kinara.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • English – we will continue to look at ‘Daisy Saves the Day’.
  • Maths – we will be looking at ordering numbers and the number line.
  • History – we will be finding out about the difference between the rich and poor in the Victorian times.
  • Art – we will continue to interpret the style of LS Lowry.
See all photos

Year 2

Highlights:

In Maths we have been exploring the language of greater than > , less than  < and equal = to. We have learned the mathematical signs for these too and have worked really hard solving different problems. In English we have started a new book called ‘Daisy Saves The Day.’ We made our own predictions about what we think might happen in the story and we have had a lot of fun showing off our acting skills in drama thinking about the characters and their emotions. We became Sense Detectives in Science and had to use our senses to solve the mystery of the lost bear! In DT we have added some decoration to our homes including wallpaper, mirrors and picture frames!

What the girls have said:

“I loved using our senses to find the answers to the clues.” Anna.
“I used Autumn leaf wallpaper to decorate my house.”  Cora.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • English – continuing the story, ‘Daisy Saves The Day.’
  • Maths – ordering numbers.
  • History – exploring the differences between rich and poor Victorians.
See all photos

Year 3

Highlights:

In Maths this week the girls have been improving their multiplication knowledge and using it in problem-solving tasks. In Humanities they sorted pictures of human and physical features and decided whether they came from the United Kingdom or India. We had some interesting discussions about many of the pictures that we thought could be from either country.

What the girls have said:

“I liked doing Maths this week and working on our times tables.” Sophie.
“I enjoyed my cornet lesson on Tuesday.” Tami.
“I enjoyed finding out more about India and sorting which country the pictures were from.” Aileen.
“I had fun writing my ‘Pigs Might Fly’ story in English.” Zoe.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • Maths – Doubling and halving odd and even numbers.
  • Forest School on Wednesday – don’t forget the clothes that you were asked to bring.
  • In English this week we will be writing conversations between ‘Sophie and the Big Friendly Giant’ using direct speech.
See all photos

Year 4

Highlights:

In Maths this week we have been working on adding and subtracting numbers with up to 4 digits. In English we have identified the features of an information text and learnt about how to make notes about a topic using non-fiction books. The girls have also enjoyed colour-mixing to create a landscape to reflect a particular mood.

What the girls have said:

“I liked painting my picture of the mountains because it inspired me. I used different shades of blue but at one point I accidentally put too much black on the brush.” Vivienne.
“I liked painting the monochrome hills because it was fun mixing the paints.” Ellie.
“I enjoyed practising for our assembly next week because I like doing the poem with the class.” Mollie.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • English – We will be using our research skills to make notes about different aspects of life in Roman times.
  • Maths – We will be working on doubling and multiplying numbers.
  • Wednesday afternoon – We are looking forward to our visit to Forest School with Year 3.
See all photos

Year 5

Highlights:

This week in Maths we practiced rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000 and on Friday we used our addition skills to count all the money from the Macmillan Coffee Morning. In English we began to rewrite chapter one of the Iron Man from a different point of view. In Geography we had fabulous discussions about the issue of climate change and enjoyed playing Battleships and Cruisers to help understand grid references on maps. In Science we learned about asexual reproduction in plants and set up an experiment to try and reproduce an African Violet… just from a leaf!

What the girls have said:

“In Enrichment we did fun activities about languages. We learnt how to say hello in five different ways and listened to songs in different languages.” Sima.
“I liked Science because we did a leaf experiment. We got a leaf and put it into a cup of water with cling film on top to see if we can make baby leaves.” Florence.
“I liked the battleships in Geography because it was fun and was still based on the lesson so we were learning map skills.” Isla.
“I really enjoyed making double chocolate cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes and cookies for our charity event on Friday. I liked decorating the cakes and I hope that we make a lot of money on Friday.” Eloise.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • English – We will be editing and improving our Iron Man writing.
  • Maths – Adding and subtracting whole numbers with more than four digits.
  • Science – We will be writing up our African Violet investigation and discussing the conditions for seed germination.
  • Geography – Researching the impact of climate change.

Date for the Diary:
Hobbies Morning Wednesday 16 October 9 – 11am

See all photos

Year 6

Year 6 Newsletter – Week 3 Singing in the Rain.

Well it happened. We boasted about sunshine last week in our newsletter and now it has gone. But while your morning school run might end up being a bit soggy, our Year 6s are getting on with business like an un-prorogued Parliament! Below are loads of their reflections on the subjects they have been covering this week. Our sports fixtures have also started, so check out the post-match analysis from the team captains at the bottom.

Special notices:

Unfortunately the Year 6H Class Assembly slot on 9 October has been rescheduled but don’t worry, instead Mr Loveday will be launching the 6H Assembly “with a bang” on 6 November.

We also recommend you keep your eyes open for a special Harry Potter themed Textile and Food Tech taster workshop on the Open Day, Saturday 5th October. Pumpkin felt wands and edible Golden Snitches and much much more. Warner Bros. Studios might end up taking us to court for copyright violations but it will be worth it for the fun. Workshop sessions will be at 10.30 – 11.30 and 11.40 – 12.40, more details are being sent out with letters.
Thank you so much for your time and have a lovely weekend,

Karen Fordham and James Loveday

See all photos

‘This week in PE we have really enjoyed handball – it is great fun and helps to improve our throwing and catching skills. The match we played was really exciting.’
‘In English we had to write an opening to a mystery story with no help from the teacher – it was a real challenge but we jumped into the pit and climbed out using the things we knew already – we all got there in the end!’
“We are suspicious of our malicious teachers for being very ambitious and giving us these atrocious spellings of words ending in –tious and –cious”
“In Science we learnt about invertebrates and vertebrates. We also did classifications using sweets and go-to keys. I hope we don’t have to dissect anything!!!”
‘Oil pastel trees in Enrichment proved a challenge that we all completed in the end using the different techniques that we had learnt – some of us were really surprised at the great results we achieved!’
“In Art we did a mood board for our pillow. We have all chosen different themes: Miserable Monsters, Cool Cats, Gorgeous Geometrics, Unique Unicorns.”
“In Art/Textiles we have been creating mood boards for the pillows we are going to make. Reversible sequin hearts, pink purple blue unicorns, pink leopard print with white outline. Hopefully these turn out well for some of us are quite anxious for this.”
“Our Maths investigations continue, we are creating the Ideal Chair Design. Problem-solving in Maths this week has helped us to become more logical and systematic in our approach – we really enjoyed the challenge of designing our own school chair using careful measuring skills and averages to find the most practical dimensions.”

Special thanks to Charlotte and Lucy for the time they made to write up these reports. I hope, like me, you hummed the A-Team theme tune while reading.

GAP Club

Highlights:

We decided to delay exploring clay for a couple of weeks and instead followed the girls interest in designing princess dresses. The girls have used lots of different media to create four princess dresses for display and designed tiaras.

What the girls have said:

“I like doing the dress and the vets.” Holly G-S Year 1.
“I enjoyed creating and making stuff.” Rithika Year 4.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

  • The girls will be helping to plant flowers and bulbs in the pots outside GAP Club and creating fairies and fairy doors.
See all photos

Term Dates

Northampton High School
Newport Pagnell Road, Hardingstone Northampton NN4 6UU
T: 01604 765765 nhsadmin@nhs.Gdst.Net