Junior News 08 October 2021

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

The European Day of Languages, held on 26 September annually, has always been a highlight of the year in the Languages Faculty, but this year in a post-Brexit and pandemic context, it had a particular flavour. For the first time in two years, students from different year groups were able to celebrate the occasion together. Throughout the week students from Junior School to Sixth Form took part in linguistic and cultural activities, ranging from karaoke to scavenger hunts.

When we asked pupils why they thought learning languages was important for them, the most common answer was that they are fun. And fun there was during the week too; the energy and enthusiasm around languages were fantastic. However, while the enjoyment of our students is paramount, let’s reflect on the other benefits of studying languages in today’s Britain and why they have such a special place in our curriculum at school.

The Language Trends Survey published by the British Council paints a bleak picture for language learning in the UK, going as far as talking about ‘a language crisis’ in relation to the number of students choosing to study the subjects at GCSE. While about half of our European neighbours can speak at least two additional languages, the British Council states that only one in three people is able to communicate in another tongue in the UK. This poses a range of challenges and puts us at a disadvantage both economically and in international terms at a time when the UK needs to find its new place outside of Europe. Learning languages is not just about making transactions easier when abroad, it has a pivotal role to play in developing intercultural awareness and skills, which can then offer the opportunity for varied international experiences.

Read more here

Miss Orvoen
Head of Languages Faculty

Achievements

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

Congratulations to Eve in Year 2 and Amelia in Year 6, for being selected for this week’s Heads Commendations award! Congratulations girls!

Messages for parents

Climbing equipment –
Please note that the climbing frames in the Junior School playgrounds should not be used by children before or after school. The school’s risk assessment only allows use of the equipment after appropriate safety checks have been carried out and under the supervision of school staff.

Parents Evening –
During Parents Evening, a member of the Languages Faculty will be available to answer questions about the French curriculum with parents in the Community Room at the following times: on Wednesday 13 October from 6pm – 7pm and Thursday 14 October from 4pm – 5pm.

Clubs information –
All after school teacher-led clubs will not be running on the 13 and 14 October due to Parents’ Evenings. On Wednesday 13 October these are: Junior Art Club, Book Club, Current Affairs. External Gymnastics will also be cancelled on Thursday 14 October.

Should you have any queries about clubs or any general questions for us, please contact junioradmin@nhs.gdst.net in the first instance, and we will make sure that we respond to you with the information you need.

Sparkle Party –
The deadline to request an invitation to the Sparkle Party, for Years 1 to 6, is Thursday 14 October.  Please bring in your money and permission slip to the Junior School office.

The Sparkle Party for girls in Nursery, Pre School and Reception will take place within their afternoon on Friday 5 November, and students can bring a sparkly dress/party dress to change into for the afternoon. They will be decorating a cupcake and dancing in the hall.

Please note that all cupcakes, and decorations for the cupcakes, will be provided by the school.

Dates for your Diary –

Just as a reminder, the GAP Club phone number is 07816 751456; please do keep this number handy, so that you have direct access to the GAP team should you need it.

Class Assemblies

We are pleased to welcome back parents and grandparents to our Wednesday Class Assemblies, 8.35am-8.55am. Refreshments will be served in the Community Room from 8.15am.

We do hope you will be able to join us.

U11 Hockey vs Broughton Manor, Wednesday 6 October

This Wednesday we were delighted to field three hockey teams to play against Broughton Manor. As this was the first game of the season and we wanted to give every pupil in Year 6 the opportunity to participate in a match this season, the teams were mixed and given the fun titles of: Team Sausage, Team Chips and Team Beans. Each team Captain has written a match report which you can read below:

On Wednesday, we had a hockey match which was amazing. Firstly, I liked the names of the team’s which were sausages, chips, and beans. I was in beans. Then we started to play the match, and I got to play in centre midfield. It was hard, there was lots and lots of running and tackling. Unfortunately, we didn’t score any goals but if was lots of fun, and at the end I got awarded Player of the Match!  Esme S

We played our first match in a while against Broughton Manor. Each side had lots of encouragement from their classmates on the side-lines. Both teams played enthusiastically, however Northampton High had to play more defensively in their half. Despite well made tackles in defence, Broughton were rewarded with a 2-0 win.  Broughton gave Emily F the Player of the Match award. Everyone played well and we look forward to playing them again. Matilda B

The match was quite close because our opponents were very good. Romy hit two goals, with Lydia assisting the first. Florence was especially good in goal because every ball that could have been a goal she kicked away. It was a close call, but in the end we had scored 2 goals and the opponents nil. The Player of the Match was Romy as she scored dramatic goals. Emily S

The next game will be on Wednesday 3 November, and will be selecting an A and B team to play against Bedford Modern. Well done to all players!

Mrs Littlewood
Acting Director of Sport

Nursery - Kipper Room and Elmer Room

This week we have continued to explore our senses and how we use these around Nursery and at Forest School.

We have used the leaves, sticks, cones and other natural items that we collected last week at Forest School to explore how they look, feel and smell. The girls have then used the items to create some art work. “Crunchy,” Lara said as she picked up a leaf.

The girls have been interested in exploring the gardening area this week, scooping and transporting soil between containers and digging it in the ground.

The sand and water trays have been very popular this week and the girls have made cakes, sandcastles and porridge. “I’m making princess pancakes,” Elodie said.

The girls have also shown an interest in the changing weather outside. “The clouds are moving,” Danaya said as she looked out of the window.

On our walk to Forest School we continued with this theme observing the sights and sounds around us, looking at the changes starting to develop and the autumnal feel in the air.

Dates for your diary:

On Tuesday we will be celebrating The Early Years Harvest Festival with an assembly. This year we will be supporting the Food Banks across Northamptonshire and would happily receive donations of any tinned food.

Nursery - Pre School

This week we have continued with our theme of ‘ourselves’ with a focus on our homes. Our story, ‘A Squash and a Squeeze’, opened up a lot of talk about family pets and who else lives in the family home. Some girls built their houses in the craft area, while others used small construction equipment in Nursery to build their house, some even moved to large scale houses outside using the big blocks.

Maths games on the touch screen have been popular, including the matching pattern train and finding the correct number of cupcakes for teddy bear. While in French the girls have been learning the song ‘Deux Petite Piseaux’.

What the girls have said:

“I have so many things in my house it is a squash and a squeeze.” Penelope.
“I’m getting a dog very soon.” Sophia.
“I’ve got a cat.” Pearl.

Dates for your diary:

A quick reminder that it is show and tell on a Monday so please bring an item from home to share.

On Tuesday we will be celebrating The Early Years Harvest Festival with an assembly. This year we will be supporting the Food Banks across Northamptonshire and would happily receive donations of any tinned food.

Forest School reminder:

On Thursday parents are welcome to join us at Forest School, please dress for all weather conditions. If you could let us know as soon as possible if you would like to attend with your daughter, just so that we know how many parents to expect, that would be appreciated. Thank you.

Reception

This week we have been focussing some of our learning on the story ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’.

We have enjoyed many different story re-tells, using puppets and dressing up in the role play house to act out the story. We have made porridge and ate some for our snack pretending to be Goldilocks! When sequencing the pictures on ‘how to make porridge’, some lovely language was being developed along with some appropriate questions and answers.

Using our sense of touch, we touched and described how a selection of different objects felt and tried to decide which one would make a comfy bed for Goldilocks. One was too hard, one was too rough, one was too bumpy etc. We then had a feely box to describe how the object in the box felt without seeing it.

In Maths this week we have been looking at repeating patterns. If you have time you may like to see if your daughter can make some repeating patterns at home using Lego or other materials.

Year 1

This week in our PSHE (Jigsaw Jack) lesson we have been thinking about consequences. We talked about the choices we make and the consequences they have. We thought about how doing something kind would make the other person feel and how we might feel if we had to face the consequences of other types of actions.

Our new role play area ‘Astrid’s house’ has been popular with the girls enjoying trying on Astrid’s space helmet and reading information books about space.

Another busy week!

What the girls have said:

“I liked going to Forest School because we got to play in the mud kitchen and we found a leaf with eggs on it.” Isabel.
“I liked doing comprehension and spelling in Mrs Dadge’s phonics group.” Amari.

Looking ahead to next week:

Number bonds within 10 and writing statements and predictions.

Year 2

This week I have been incredibly proud of all my class for the way they presented their Class Assembly. They all spoke very clearly and remembered everything they had to do. I am now very excited about casting the Christmas play, which will be next half term.

A big tick for the speaking and listening part of our English curriculum!

In Maths, we have continued to work on addition and subtraction and focused on using number bond facts to ten to help us add tens numbers.

During Science, we discussed diurnal and nocturnal animals and how nocturnal animals have adapted to the dark.

What the girls have said:

“I liked doing our assembly and I was proud that everyone was watching.” Isabella.
“I liked doing Art where we had to mix colours. I enjoyed making rainbow ones.” Caoimhe.

Looking ahead to next week:

Maths – adding and subtracting 2-digit and 1-digit numbers crossing ten.
English – joining our handwriting and looking at different conjunctions to join sentences.
Science – reviewing our light and dark topic and making fact files for nocturnal animals.

Year 3

This week in Maths we started work on addition and subtraction. So far we have looked at adding 1-digit numbers to 3-digit numbers, crossing 10. The girls have worked carefully solving lots of different calculations.

In English, we have been exploring imperative verbs and prepositions in the context of instruction writing. We have been looking at the features of these texts and even followed a set of instructions ourselves to ensure we carefully crafted a woolly mammoth.

In Science we investigated different soil types and their permeability. Some of the results we collected didn’t quite match the theory we’d learned, but we discussed reasons as to why that may have been.

In Art we have been drawing woolly mammoths which have resulted in some fantastic pieces of artwork!

What the girls have said:

“We liked Art because we got to draw a woolly mammoth.” Holly and Kinara.
“We liked Science and timing the time water took.” Leah, Lucy and Amber.
“I enjoyed English because I liked learning the new story.” Eloise C.

Looking ahead to next week:

English – instruction writing.
Maths – addition and subtraction.
Art – Iron Age art.

Year 4

In Maths we have been adding numbers, with and without exchanging, using counters and the formal written method.

In English we investigated homophones, and looked at the features of a playscript.

In Science we learnt about why we need switches to break a circuit, and created our own circuits with switches.

What the girls have said:

“I really enjoyed playing on Blooket and practising my 4 times tables. It is an online Maths game where you can steal gold from other players.” Cordelia.
“I enjoyed going to Forest School. My favourite part was when we built our own den and tested if it was waterproof by Miss Page pouring water on us. Miss Page really enjoyed doing this!” Poppy.
“I really enjoyed the activities at Forest school. I loved making the pulley system for our little bear.” Sakinah.
“I loved playing Blooket and practising my four times tables.” Eva.

Looking ahead to next week:

English – Introducing our new text Tar Beach, looking at character description and speech punctuation.
Maths – Continuing addition with one or more exchanges followed by subtraction with and without exchanges.
Science – Summarising our learning for our electricity topic.

Dates for your diary:

Wednesday 13 October and Thursday 14 October – Parents’ Evening. Your appointment time is in your daughter’s planner and may be slightly different from the original time you booked so do please check.

Tuesday 2 November – our trip to Hazard Alley. Girls will need to be in their PE kit (this is the first Tuesday back after half term). All girls need to bring a small rucksack to carry their lunch, including those who are having a school packed lunch. Thank you.

Year 5

Grafham Water Highlights:

Year 5 have had an amazing time on their residential. As I write, the girls are all fast asleep after another packed day of activities and are looking forward to their final day tomorrow. Every single one of them has exceeded expectations and has challenged themselves to take risks and try new things.

Mrs Duck, Mrs Bing and I have had a wonderful couple of days and couldn’t be prouder of the way in which they have joyfully thrown themselves into activities… sometimes literally!

We do hope that you will be able to come to our Class Assembly next Wednesday (13 October) when we will be showing some photos and sharing our favourite moments.

Year 6

Another week has flown by in Year 6 and everyone’s brains have had a full workout. From long multiplication in Maths, investigating the concept of interdependence in Science to researching the harsh life lived by the Ancient Spartans, everyone has had to remain on their toes!

It therefore seems impossible that we also managed a trip to the allotments to find out more about how we can help the wider community through the amazing Northampton Charity, Re:Store, who support vulnerable people in the Northampton borough. The sun shone and an amazing time was had by all.

Pupil comments:

“I really enjoyed the allotment trip because I loved helping out with all the plots and having fun outdoors. My favourite activity was planting broad beans.” Amelia.
“I enjoyed the hockey match because it has been a really long time since I have played a match. The best bits of the match were when we worked really well as a team and we were passing accurately.” Rithika.
“Science Club has been great fun so far and I have really enjoyed the chance to carry out fun experiments with my friends. My favourite activity so far was making the fizzing lava lamps!” Florence.
“The trip to the allotments was filled with lots of fun activities including planting rosemary, mending paths, harvesting vegetables for the Food Bank and planting garlic, onions and broad beans. It was an amazing morning – the sun was shining and it was great to know we were helping the wider community.” Emily.
“I enjoyed the trip to the allotments and my favourite part was harvesting all the foods and putting them into food boxes. Also, I loved putting wood chips into the wheelbarrow and mending paths.” Evelyn.

Next week we look forward to learning the formal method for long division in Maths, debating whether life was better in Athens or Sparta – visiting the wild area to explore the area from the eyes of the creatures that live there, as well as investigating the diet of owls through the investigation of their pellets!

GAP Club

This week the girls have created Autumn leaves and Origami creatures and had fun playing Twister. The younger girls have made bracelets and used paint sticks and water colours to paint with.

What the girls have said:

“I enjoyed playing Twister.“ Tendo – Year 6
“Playing with the dolls house.“ Grace – Reception.
“Dressing up.“ Emily – Reception.

If you need to contact GAP Club after 4.30pm please call the Gap Club mobile on 07816 751456.

Raise Her Up - Episode 3 out now!

Kevin Stannard features on BBC Radio 4's 'Bringing Up Britain'

We were delighted to hear a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Bringing Up Britain’ at the end of September, as the GDST’s Director of Innovation & Learning Kevin Stannard was a guest on the show.

Kevin took part in the episode titled ‘Single Sex Education – is it right for my child?’, which first aired on the 29 September, and discussed the many benefits of single sex education amongst other topics. To listen to the debate on single sex vs mixed education for yourself, please click here.

Mrs Wilmot
Director of Marketing & Admissions

Upcoming Events

Kings Camp - October Half Term

We’re delighted to be hosting Kings Camps activity camps again this half-term!

Kings will be returning this October following a fantastic summer; getting children active, having fun and learning together. With Multi Active, Teen Active and Rookie Academy offering age appropriate games and activities for 5-17 year olds, Kings Camps is the place to be to keep your child active this half-term. With flexible cover between 8.15am-5.45pm, Monday 23 – Friday 27 October, it’s the perfect holiday cover.

Due to group restrictions by age, places for 5 year olds are very limited, please call Kings Camps Membership Team on 0114 2632160 for the most up-to-date availability.

Mr Nash 
Marketing & Communications Officer

Term Dates 21/22

Term Dates 22/23

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