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Junior News – 1 March 2024 |
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As we waved goodbye to our Year 3 and 4 pupils on Monday for their 2 night residential trip to Burwell House, I reflected on the value these trips have in developing self confidence. The trip, of course, offered lots of exciting activities for the children to enjoy and learn from, but the learning runs much deeper than the set itinerary. When debriefing with the staff on their return, they shared examples of how individual pupils have shown growth in certain skills over the 3 day period. From looking after their property, to clearing the tables after dinner and from stripping their beds independently to taking more risks with their learning. As tired staff members at the end of residential trips it’s always encouraging to discuss and celebrate these examples. The children used the opportunity to strengthen existing friendships through shared experiences and learning together in a different context. The staff also noted social connections between different pairs and groups form and deepen. It’s typical for our residential trips to be punctuated throughout by giggling and this week’s trip to Burwell House was no exception. In fact, if we were to judge the success of a trip on the amount of laughter the ‘giggle-o-meter’ reading suggests this trip was a roaring success! We now turn our attentions to the upcoming Year 6 residential in May where the children have 4 nights, 5 days away at Osmington Bay. I am part of the staff team facilitating this trip and I’m particularly looking forward to supporting these pupils with their skills development in a context outside of school. Will they get me conquering a dislike for heights and abseiling down the climbing wall? We shall see! I’m sure our Year 3s and 4s will sleep well this weekend – I know their accompanying staff will! Mrs Thompson |
Whole School Open Morning - Friday 8 March |
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We look forward to welcoming so many lovely families to our upcoming Whole School Open Morning on Friday 8 March. The event promises to be a superb showcase of life at Northampton High School. If you would like to come along, please do feel most welcome, and should you have family, friends, or neighbours keen to visit us, please encourage them to book their place here and join us! Mr Nash |
Year 6 pupil accepts invitation to Buckingham Palace! |
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This week, Northampton High School has enjoyed celebrating Angelie (Year 6) for her fabulous entry in BBC’s 500 Words competition, which led to her once-in-a-lifetime visit to Buckingham Palace! Entering the largest children’s story writing competition in the UK, Angelie received news that her submission ‘Nira and the Sphinx Adventures’ had placed in the top 50 of over 100,000 entries. The BBC contest encourages children to write a story they would love to read themselves, and naturally, Angelie constructed a powerful narrative about girls in coding. In a beautifully written piece, Angelie combined her interest in computer science with her knowledge of the wider world and the perception of women in society. Her story follows the protagonist, Nira, an 11 year old coding-enthusiast who feels isolated and ignored as the only girl in her coding club. After Nira simulates Ada Lovelace, history’s first computer programmer back to life, the 19th century mathematician discovers that Charles Babbage has been credited for her work. The characters – nearly 200 years apart in age – connect over their struggles to be recognised in a male-dominated field. The striking entry, conveying an impressive understanding of gender inequality and feminism across the centuries, won Angelie a sought-after invitation to Buckingham Palace for the 500 Words final. During her visit to the palace, Angelie was ‘buzzing with enthusiasm’ and shared her delight to be amongst the other finalists. Angelie met a number of famous faces at the event, including Queen Camilla, who can be found standing beside her in the picture! The final took place on Wednesday 28 February and was filmed for a special 500 Words programme with The One Show, which will broadcast on Thursday 7 March to mark World Book Day 2024. We are looking forward to watching the programme next week with the hope of spotting Angelie on our TV screens! Miss Price |
World Book Day - Thursday 7 March |
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For World Book Day on Thursday 7 March, all children are being asked to bring their favourite book into school with them. We are also holding our popular second hand book sale during the day – thank you for the donations that have already been made. If you have any unwanted children’s books at home please do drop them off at the donation station in the Junior School entrance before next Thursday. For your child to partake in the book sale, please pay the £2.50 charge on their ParentPay account before the end of the day on Wednesday 6 March. This will allow them to attend the sale and choose books to bring home and enjoy. |
Parents Coffee Morning |
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I enjoyed meeting with the group of parents who attended this half term’s parent coffee morning. We discussed extra curricular clubs for the summer term and also the summer fayre. It was insightful, and if any parents who were unable to attend would like to share their views on either of these topics please do reach out to me. Mrs Thompson |
IAPS - iart Competition |
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We are proud members of IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools) and we will be taking part in their annual art competition. We are allowed to enter one entry for each age group; Year 1 and 2, Year 3 and 4, Year 5 and 6. We would like to welcome all of our wonderful artists to create an entry which will then be celebrated and judged internally to select the finalists for submission to IAPS. Pupils are to complete their entries at home and pass their artwork to the school office by 22 April. All submissions must in some way relate to the theme for this year’s competition, which is ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’, a translation of the Olympic motto to celebrate this summer’s games. ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’ has been chosen as the theme because it could resonate with your pupils on different levels. It might lead to artistic inspiration directly related to the Olympic Games but the words could also mean something to our pupils linked to their lives, family or personal experience. Guidance on entries:
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Thompson. We are excited to see the children’s creations. All entries will be displayed in the summer term at our annual Junior School art exhibition. |
World Challenge Easter Movie Evening |
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Our World Challenge group of students are arranging an Easter movie night to fundraise for their trip. The team will be showing ‘Hop’, which follows a young rabbit who would rather drum in a band than succeed his father as the Easter Bunny. Please be aware that this film has a PG rating, so please consider whether you feel this is suitable for your daughter before booking. All Junior School pupils from Reception to Year 6 are invited to attend and you should have received an email from the team earlier this week. A snack bag is available to purchase alongside a ticket, which includes a |
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Pip smoothie, popcorn and a cookie, or alternatively you can just book a ticket. If you would like your daughter to attend, please click here. Ticket bookings will close on Thursday 21 March. Please identify any dietary requirements on the webpage if a snack bag is being purchased. The team are showcasing the movie in the Junior Hall and it will finish in time for the late bus at 5pm. Collection will be from the Junior School Reception or alternatively your daughter can attend Wraparound Care. |
Sports Team Photos |
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Sports team photos for our KS2 children who have represented the school teams will have their photos taken on 21 March. The pupils need to be in their full sports kit on this day please, and the photos for the Junior School teams are scheduled for the afternoon. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Saunders-Wall or Mrs Thompson. |
Dance Festival - Tuesday 26 March |
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All children (Reception to Year 6) are performing in our Dance Festival on Tuesday 26 March. You will have received emails about how to book your tickets to watch this performance, and you should have also received an email regarding costume requirements. If you have not yet booked your tickets please do so through this link. We look forward to seeing you there! |
After School Clubs |
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Please be aware the only clubs that will run on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 March are paid for, externally led clubs. Thank you for your cooperation. |
News from our classrooms: Nursery and Preschool |
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In Nursery, we started the week by making our way towards Forest School and as the puddles were so exciting we decided to stay nearby and explore. There was lots of jumping and splashing! The ‘baby’ role play has continued around the classroom and babies are dressed, undressed, washed and laid down to sleep. In the creative area, the girls were given daffodils to draw and, as expected for their age, there was an array of interpretations. For Cooking, the girls practised their chopping skills with salad items and made a pasta salad. Some were already skilled at holding the salad items still with one hand whilst they cut with the other, and some needed demonstrations and support. In Phonics, we introduced the letter boxes a, b and c. These were very popular so we added some extra resources that also began with these letters. For Singing, we introduced scarves which the whole group engaged with and we had lots of smiles, suggesting it was a popular activity. |
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This week in Preschool we have been looking at, and exploring, mini beasts. The girls have had the opportunity to play with and look at toy mini beasts in soil using magnifying glasses and have built houses with natural resources. We have played a game of mini beast bingo in small groups focusing on taking turns to chose a card and learning the names of each mini beast. We have also read stories about the adventures of various bugs and looked at the initial sounds they begin with. We have painted and drawn our own representations of them too. In PE, we have role played being various bugs, moving round the room in different ways. Outside, the girls have been playing football, climbing on the wooden blocks and riding round on the bikes. |
Reception |
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The highlight of the week had to be Reception’s first class assembly. Although there were some nerves for speaking in front of an audience, the class rose to the challenge and were rightly proud of themselves for their achievement. It is lovely to see how the class have come together and how they are gaining in confidence. The class have been writing their holiday news, learning new phonic sounds ‘ear’ and ‘air’ and practising handwriting. |
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In Maths, we have been investigating the numbers 9 and 10 with a variety of activities. We have started to look and think about the signs of spring and are hoping for some better weather! |
Year 1 PSHE Focus |
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During our topic in PSHE, the children will be learning how to keep themselves healthy including learning how to have a healthy diet, making healthy choices, keeping themselves clean and understanding medicine and road safety. This week to start off this topic, children have learnt to compare healthy and unhealthy foods, which was introduced to the children using a game. We played a game to start the lesson, and the children moved to different sides of the room, depending on whether they believe various foods are healthy or not healthy. The children enjoyed this game and their understanding of healthy foods was great! |
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We also sang a song following the tune ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ which the children enjoyed as they love singing! We changed the words to ‘If you are healthy and you know it’ and the children engaged in actions they felt could show they were healthy. For example, they sang ‘If you’re healthy and you know it, eat an apple’ and they used the action of eating an apple to show this. At the end of the lesson, we made a class ‘healthy balance sum’ where the girls acted out different things that we need to do to be healthy. For example, we acted out eating, drinking, being active, sleeping and keeping clean. |
Year 2 PSHE Focus |
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Year 2 have been learning about the importance of making healthy choices. We have been helping ‘Jigsaw Jo’ by giving him advice about different scenarios, for example, when he doesn’t want to go to bed, or when he doesn’t want to eat the apple in his lunch. We thought of some fantastic advice and suggestions, for example, that apples contain vitamins which help to keep our bodies healthy. |
Year 3 and 4 PSHE Focus |
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Our Year 3 and 4 students have just returned from an incredible residential trip to Burwell House, and we couldn’t be prouder of their growth and independence over the past 3 days! They embarked on a range of exciting challenges, from problem solving with maps to tackling tough questions, all whilst working collaboratively. |
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The girls had an ‘eggtastic’ time earning eggs through team challenges which involved navigating a low rope course and mastering the art of balancing on a giant seesaw! Their ultimate team challenge – to designing and creating a carrier for an egg to withstand a daring drop from the second floor! It was an ‘eggs-traordinary’ experience and plenty of cracking fun for all involved! Witnessing their incredible teamwork and perseverance was truly inspiring, and we’re thrilled to see them grow and flourish through these unforgettable experiences. |
Year 5 PSHE Focus |
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The girls in Year 5 have a really good understanding of how to keep themselves healthy, but there have still been some surprises this week. We discussed the risks of smoking and answered some quiz questions relating to cigarettes and vapes. The girls thought about how tobacco affects the body, and how make an informed decision about whether or not to resist pressure to smoke when they get older. |
Year 6 PSHE Focus |
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Year 6 are excited to begin work on the GDST ‘We Are One’ project, with its focus on empowering young people to work together to bring about action on climate change and create a healthier world for us all. It is a truly crosscurricular event, as girls will be learning about the causes and effects of climate change in Humanities lessons, working in groups to create a short film in Computing lessons and building a campaign to encourage sustainable behaviour in others during their PSHE lessons. The first online mentoring session has left them buzzing with ideas and eager to get started! |
News from outside of the classroom: U8A and B Netball V Quinton House School Match Report |
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The U8A and B teams played against Quinton House School on Friday 16 February. This was the last fixture of the half term and both teams played really well. They really worked hard on their passing and moving into space as well as working as a team. It was a very competitive game and the girls should all be commended on how well they played, and were all given ‘Player of the Match’. The scores were: U8A drew 1-1 and U8B lost 0-1. |
News from outside of the classroom: Condover Hall Netball Trip |
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Good luck to the Year 6 girls travelling to Condover Hall, Shrewsbury today for a weekend netball tournament against 19 other GDST schools. We look forward to hearing all about the matches and outdoor adventurous activities the team will be taking part in over the weekend! |
What's on at Northampton High - Spring Term |
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Weekly Awards |
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Star Learners of the Week: Sophia F, Amber G, Kianna G, Betsy H, Molly J H, Ela O, Naavya P, Emily P, Phoebe R, Inayat S, Maia S, Robyn F-W, Jasmine I, Aleya L, Aurelia M, Orla D, Amariah S-A, Eloise C, Holly G-S, Maya A, Zara J External Achievements: Marine A – awarded a certificate and stickers for participating in an intensive Swimming course and achieved Top Hat’s Star of The Week |
Birthdays This Week |
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This week, we wish a very Happy Birthday to the following members of our Junior School family: Ahsees C and Amber G |
Saturday Athletics Course |
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Pauline Quirke Academy |
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Northants Authors Book Fair |
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Term Dates |
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Northampton High School |
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