|
|
Junior News – 06 May 2022 |
News from Head of Junior School |
|
New beginnings evoke a mixture of emotions in us all. Ahead of starting at Northampton High School as your Head of Junior School I experienced the predicted emotions of excitement, anticipation and apprehension and these intensified as time passed towards Monday morning. A new team. A new set of processes. A new routine. A new adventure. A new set of opportunities and risks. I was reminded of a poem by Christine Evangelou ‘Blessing for peace’ and the last stanza in particular; Awaken your spirit to adventure; Ten days in and I am indeed feeling at home in my new rhythm. I feel at peace that being an official part of the Northampton High School family is as comfortable, positive and motivating as I had hoped it would be. Thank you for welcoming me with such warmth and enthusiasm as this has been a large contributing factor to my enjoyable and successful first two weeks. Your children are a true delight and, along with the amazing Junior School staff team, I’m looking forward to our term of opportunities, experiences and development together. Moving forward, I will use this section of our newsletter to give you an insight into my week and share with you moments with your daughters to celebrate. Over this first fortnight in role I have spent focused time meeting each of the children, spending time in their lessons with them and interacting at social times too. As you can imagine, the conversations over the lunch table and whilst playing on the playground have been truly insightful and entertaining. I have enjoyed experiencing ballet lessons, working alongside children to solve maths problems, a hunt for dragons around the building, hearing children read and singing assembly to name just a few of my favourite moments. A truly eclectic mixture of learning opportunities are offered and embraced by your children each day at Northampton High School and I am looking forward to extending and broadening these opportunities even further. I wish you all a lovely weekend. Miss Hair |
Adaptations to the newsletter |
|
You’ll notice a few adaptations to our newsletters over the coming weeks. This is to ensure that this regular communication offers you content of the highest quality, is of the most interest to you, and serves as a concise document for you to digest. Your thoughts on this are most welcome so please do share your views with me so that I can consider and incorporate. Miss Hair |
Calendar update |
|
We have been reviewing how we celebrate our students and their accomplishments and had planned to host a Celebration Day in the summer. The proposed date for this was Saturday 18 June 2022; we requested that families ‘saved the date’. Regrettably, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel this date. We will continue celebrating students’ achievements in school this term and will review our Awards event in the new academic year. Mrs Wilmot |
Cultures Day – Friday 17 June |
|
We are currently planning to host a Cultures Day event to deepen our school community’s engagement with and understanding of culture, thereby adding to an ongoing conversation that forms part of the Inclusivity Undivided agenda. We are coordinating a range of themed lessons in the morning and a number of activities, workshops and speakers for the afternoon. If we have any parents or friends of the school who would be willing to run a workshop, deliver an activity or give a talk about any aspect of Cultures, we would be delighted to hear from you. These sessions will take place in the afternoon of Friday 17 June, between 1pm and 3.30pm. We are looking forward to celebrating the cultures of our students and staff community, with the aim of everyone being able to contribute, learn, have fun, and feel included. Should you be able to support us on this day, or should you wish to discuss this event further, please contact Mrs Carr, Deputy Director of Sixth Form, at j.carr@nhs.gdst.net. Mrs Wilmot |
Junior School Swimming Galas |
|
We would like to invite you and other family members to watch the Annual Junior School Swimming Galas for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, where all our girls will showcase their swimming expertise. The full list of dates and times for each gala is shown below. The Swimming Galas will be a competitive inter-house gala, with a mixture of the traditional stroke races such as front crawl and back crawl and some High School traditions such as the octopus float race. At the end of the gala, points will be totalled and the winning house for each year will be announced. Additionally, all the points earnt by each house will be added together to see who will be crowned the Junior School Swimming Gala Champions! However, this will be announced later as all galas will need to be completed. Girls will need a swimming costume, swimming hat, two towels (one for poolside and one for after the gala) and a drink in a sports drinks bottle; goggles are optional. Upon arrival at the Sports Complex, parents are invited to use the code 1234 to enter the building and make their way upstairs to the viewing gallery, where you will get a great view of your daughter swimming and be able to cheer her on! After each gala teas will be served in the pavilion with squash available for the girls once they are ready. Times below include teas after the gala. Dates and times: Year 3 Friday 20 May 1.15 -3.00pm arrival from 1.00pm Year 4 Friday 20 May 1.15 – 3.00pm arrival from 1.00pm Year 5 Monday 23 May – 10.30-11.45am – arrival from 10:15am Year 6 Monday 23 May – 10.30-11.45am – arrival from 10:15am Please note that next half term there will be opportunities to see the Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 girls swim. Miss Fraser |
News from our classrooms: Nursery & Pre School |
|
|
|
Following the Easter holiday the children have returned full of the joys of spring, sharing stories of visits from the Easter Bunny, and all of the adventures that they have been on over the holiday period. One child recalls her visit to the dinosaurs that visited Northampton town centre. We welcome back Miss Trevorrow, who has returned after maternity leave; the girls have made Miss Trevorrow very welcome, involving her in their play and teaching her their names and the routines of the day. Our focus this term is ‘Mini Beasts’, we have shared the stories ‘Bug Bear’ and ‘Beetle in the Bathroom’. We have experienced lots of messy play that the insects would like, this has included cake crumbs with pasta and baked beans mixed with peaches. Adding the bugs to the food and extending learning with details of which bugs like these types of food, such as flies and why we must not leave food out and the importance of washing our hands. In our song time, we have learned new songs about bugs; these include ‘The Ants Go Marching’ which incorporates counting. ‘Ten Little Butterflies Soaking up the Sun’ has also been popular. We are learning about grouping numbers – here the teachers show the numbers with different finger placements e.g. Mrs Mason showing 7 with 5 fingers on one hand and 2 on the other. The Nursery children found a spider in the corner of the room, some were initially scared, but we caught the spider in a clear bowl. They looked closely at it, counting its legs, and looking in wonder when the spider created a web to crawl out of the bowl. The children had their first Gymnastics lesson with Miss Jess, the new teacher. Miss Jess was very impressed with the skills the girls showed her. They followed her instructions to complete the stretches in the warm up, jumping off a block and doing a roly polys. We have taken part in Eid crafts, with finger painting and making lanterns. Some of the children showed the beautiful henna drawings on their hands, sharing their understanding of what the drawings were for. Sharing celebrations and the festivals that families take part in builds on their knowledge and understanding, sharing their own celebrations and experiences builds on communication skills and understanding of our communities. At home, when you are outside, look to see what bugs or evidence of bugs you can see, such as a spider’s web on the fence, a beetle under a log. Please send photos through ParentZone and your child can share the experience with their friends. Mrs Bing and the Nursery Team To view more photos please click here. |
Reception |
|
The class have been keen and enthusiastic upon returning from the Easter holidays. We had a special delivery of 5 tiny caterpillars to watch develop. They are growing rapidly and the girls are excitedly waiting the next change in their life cycle. Our Rainforest role play is encouraging new vocabulary and some ‘explorer adventures’. This week we have been writing a fact file about caterpillars, researching using non-fiction books to find out more. In Mathematics, we have been thinking about how the numbers 11-15 are represented, playing snakes and ladders and counting on from 10. We have thought about minibeasts with no legs and this week we have learnt about insects with 6 legs and named the parts of an insect. Thank you for providing snack and your continuing support with your daughters’ reading practice. Mrs Farrar & Mrs Shaw To view more photos please click here. |
Year 1 |
|
|
|
We came back from lunch on Monday shocked to see huge footprints across the floor, chairs knocked over and a clump of green fur. Mrs Purvey-Tyrer then read an eyewitness account from our classroom cleaners who had seen a Terrible Beast on Friday evening. It had green fur, long claws, sharp teeth, was very tall and clumsy and appeared to be extremely hungry. The class decided we needed to make some ‘Wanted’ posters so that we could try and find out more. We started by drawing a picture of what we thought the Beast might look like from the eye witness account and clues in the classroom. We then went on to write a question, exclamation and statement for our posters. There have been no more sightings but keep a look out … Mrs Purvey-Tyrer To view more photos please click here. |
Year 2 |
|
|
|
Over the last couple of weeks Year 2 have discovered that there have been some special visitors around the Junior School. They have had an exciting time hunting for dragons! In class, they have then written guides for visitors to help other people spot dragons. In their writing, the girls have tried hard to include different verbs and prepositions to explain the location of the dragons. Hopefully visitors will find them a useful resource. Mrs Dadge To view more photos please click here. |
Year 3 |
|
In English, we have started the study of our class text, ‘How to Live Forever’, by Colin Thompson. We explored the idea of immortality and we started with an in-depth discussion on the pros and cons of everlasting life. The girls carefully considered both sides of this argument and they came up with some very thoughtful ideas. In our writing we have been looking at different sentence types. Using our class text for inspiration and the idea of persuasion, the girls worked hard to write questions, statements and exclamation sentences to try and convince someone not to open a lost book. It was important to think about the structure as well as the language needed to create an effective sentence and, of course, not forgetting the key piece of punctuation to finish each sentence. Miss Scott-Evans To view more photos please click here. |
Year 4 |
|
In English this week we read about Howard Carter and wrote a character description. We looked at evidence in the text for clues then tried to use conjunctions when we were writing our sentences. Zara’s work displays some super multi-clause sentences. We also read about the objects Carter found in Tutankhamun’s tomb and worked on expanding these into noun phrases. We then wrote a diary entry in role as Howard Carter describing what we saw when we entered the tomb for the first time. Anna’s work shows great examples of expanded phrases. Mrs Shaw & Mrs Smith To view more photos please click here. |
Year 5 |
|
Year 5 have just started a new book, ‘Kaspar Prince of Cats,’ written by Michael Morpurgo. It is set at The Savoy Hotel in the early 20th century and gives me lots of opportunities to read in different accents, which the girls are finding very amusing. After the emotional roller-coaster we experienced in the first two chapters last week, the girls have settled down to write a character analysis of Kaspar, using words with the -ous suffix, and a letter from Johnny, a 14-year old bellboy, to Lizziebeth, a young visiting American girl. Miss Brandon-Jones To view more photos please click here. |
Year 6 |
|
Year 6 have shown great maturity in their analysis of the classic poem ‘Night Mail’ by W.H. Auden. ‘Night Mail’ is a powerful depiction of a steam train carrying the mail from London to Scotland through rural and urban landscapes at night. In particular, the girls enjoyed the challenge of identifying poetic devices and discussing their impact on the reader. In the words of the great poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge: ‘Poetry is the best words in their best order’. Mrs Fordham & Miss Taylor To view more photos please click here. |
News from outside the classroom: PE |
|
Year 5 and 6 House Netball: A fantastic afternoon to round off an eventful term with House Netball for the Year 5 and 6s. Despite having reduced numbers, the Houses played so well and demonstrated great spirit and teamwork. Fantastic goals were scored and the final results are: 1st place Artemis, 2nd place Hestia, 3rd place Demeter, 4th place Selene. Well done everyone! |
|
|
|
Tennis Tournament Triangular: The school took two teams to the tournament last Friday, which was organised by Dallington Tennis Coaches at Spratton School. Mollie M represented the Junior School and played with Aiyven M from Year 8. The teams exerted a dominance throughout and both ended up into the final competing against one another. Mollie must be commended for rising to the challenge and showing maturity and coping with the competition pressure. A fantastic afternoon’s tennis. IAPS Qualifying Football Tournament: The U11 Football team travelled to Bromley School on Thursday to take part in the IAPS Qualifying Football Tournament. We faced off against tough opposition, but held our own with some fantastic play. Our game against St Piran’s saw us display some solid defending, with great skills by Maya and Ellie keeping the score line at 0-0 until the last minute, when St Piran’s scored the winning goal. Games against Colfe’s, Chigwell and Brentwood followed, and despite some fantastic play, gusto and determination, we unfortunately fell to defeat against these tough opponents. We qualified for the Shield competition and played Caterham, narrowly losing 1-0. The final game of the tournament gave us the first win against St Mary’s, with Zoe scoring first followed by Emily. Well done to all the girls who played in very hot conditions. Mrs Littlewood |
News from our extracurricular offer: GAP Club |
|
|
|
It has been lovely to see everyone in Gap Club after our Easter break. We have said goodbye to our role play farm and begun creating our very own cafe. We are now serving afternoon tea in preparation for the Queen’s Jubilee. We have freshened up our plant pots and painted pebbles to brighten up our outside area. We have used watercolours to paint beautiful butterflies, made bumble bee masks and butterflies with pegs. It has also been lovely to spend more time outside as the weather starts to improve. Mrs Howell and the GAP Club Team To view more photos please click here. |
Ballet / Dance Classes |
|
We are delighted our Dance classes have resumed in the School with many new disciplines on offer to the girls, for example Musical Theatre, Modern, Tap and Ballet. The joy in the room was infectious with some outstanding voices in Musical Theatre and, of course, very cool moves in Modern and Tap. The girls navigated the lunchtime club expertly, whilst also managing some time to eat and play with their friends. A fabulous start to the term! There are some places available so please contact me if you would like your child to participate, no experience is necessary, all are very welcome. s.jones@nhs.gdst.net or 07711 320341. Mrs Sinead Jones |
Awards for this week |
|
Each week in our assembly, girls are invited to share their achievements in activities outside of school. They are listed below for this week: Aurelia M – awarded a Silver Badge in Rainbows. Caoimhe – awarded 1,2 and 3 Trampolining Badge. Eve – can now balance on one leg in ice skating. Isabella – achieved a Kings Camp Star Award and an Easter Badge in Rainbows. Grace B – awarded a Water Skills Level 4 and was a runner up in a Tennis Competition. Artemisia – awarded a Dance Medal, a Cub Scouts Making Badge, a Water Skills Level 3 Badge and a Premiere Etoile Ski Badge. Amelia – walked up Scafell Pike. Florence – Completed her investiture into the Scouts this week. A big thank you to this week’s Playground Stars, Lottie and Rithika, for tidying up the shed after the toys and games were put away. |
Birthdays for this week |
|
This week we wish a very happy Birthday to the following members of our Junior School family: Mrs Dadge and Preesha. We have also celebrated a very special birthday this week. Our school birthday was on 2nd May and this year the school had its 144th birthday. We celebrated with cupcakes for everyone and our youngest pupil and Head Girl cut the school birthday cake along with other students who have their birthday.
|
Upcoming events and key dates |
|
Monday 9 May – singing assembly in memory of Mr Bailey Uniform Swap Shop – open every Friday 3.15-3.45pm Junior School Swimming Gala Year 3 Friday 20 May 1.15 -3.00pm arrival from 1.00pm Year 4 Friday 20 May 1.15 – 3.00pm arrival from 1.00pm Year 5 Monday 23 May – 10.30-11.45am arrival from 10:15am Year 6 Monday 23 May – 10.30-11.45am arrival from 10:15am Please note that next half term there will be opportunities to see the Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 girls swim. Class assemblies for this term – 8.35-8.50am (refreshments from 8.20am):
|
Term Dates |
|
|
|
Northampton High School |
|
