Junior News 11 October 2019

Dear Parents

It has been another busy week here at Northampton High Junior School. We have had a Maths trip to Oxford University, a trip to Piddington to immerse ourselves in Roman life, and a day celebrating Indian language, food and culture. Many of our Nursery parents also stayed for the morning on Wednesday to play alongside their daughters.

It has been lovely to see so many of you in school this week attending our parent consultation evenings. Thanks must go to our staff for preparing so diligently for the event, including our Senior School colleagues who supported by sharing curriculum information regarding Music, Physical Education and French. I hope you enjoyed browsing through your daughter’s books and hearing about her progress so far this year.

Over the past few assemblies we have been talking about role models. The recent athletic successes of Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson have been used to show examples of a growth mind-set and the results of perseverance. Talking of role models, within school we have now finalised our student leadership positions, covering many elements of school life ranging from digital safety to eco-awareness. Developing leadership capacity in our students is something Northampton High School takes seriously, and you will start to see the impact of these roles across the school.

Our whole school open day last Saturday was a huge success. It was lovely to be able to showcase our school to prospective students, and our Junior School tour guides did an excellent job. Feedback from tours was that the girls were knowledgeable, fun and engaging. We know that our students are the greatest advocates for the school.

Thank you for all your positive support so far this year. Enjoy the rainy weekend and we will see you next week for the final week of the half term.

Warm wishes
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
Chanan S

Gymnastics
Siena-Louise – gold ABC award

Tennis
Lydia M – 2nd green tournament

Taekwon-Do
Rebecca P – bronze medal for sparing

GDST Maths Conference medal for first team collaboration
Hania S
Isla H

Karting
Evie A – trophy for Cadet Novice of the Day

Swimming
Fatima A – 20m and 25m

Assemblies

Class Assemblies are held in the Junior School Hall at 8.35am on a Wednesday. Parents are most welcome to enjoy refreshments from 8.00am in the Community Room. Here are the dates for the Autumn Term:

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

Dates for Diary

AUTUMN TERM

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

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

Monday 21 October to Friday 1 November – HALF TERM

Monday 4 November – Year 1 and 2 Milton Keynes Museum trip

Wednesday 6 November to Friday 8 November – Year 5 residential trip

Monday 11 November to Thursday 14 November – Book Fair

Saturday 16 November – EYFS Family Fun Morning

Friday 22 November – Reception to Year 6 Flu immunisation (more details to follow)

Tuesday 3 December – 2-3pm Nursery Nativity

Wednesday 4 December – 2-3pm Reception and KS1 play

Tuesday 10 December – Nursery Stay and Play

Tuesday 10 December – 7pm KS2 Christmas Celebration

Friday 13 December – Christmas Jumper Day

Friday 13 December – Preschool and Reception theatre trip

Tuesday 17 December – Christmas Parties

Tuesday 17 December – 3.35pm TERM ENDS

Monday 6 January – INSET DAY

Tuesday 7 January – SPRING TERM STARTS

Looking ahead:  Sports Day for KS2 and Senior School is Friday 5 June – normally all day.

School Council

Introducing our new School Council representatives.

Year 3: Harriet and Ellie
Year 4: Phoebe and Lydia
Year 5: Elizabeth, Emily K, Bea and Anya
Year 6: Izzy, Poppy, Moriah and Caitlin

Sports

Hockey Under 11 A team v Quinton House A Team 
On Wednesday we played Quinton House and the score was 1 – 0 to us. We won! Beatrice scored an amazing reverse touch goal and very deservedly got Player of the Match, although everyone else did some super hockey. Frankie saved goals with the help of our trusty defenders Anna and Isla. It was a brilliant come back from last week. Super job Under 11 A’s! Keep up the great hockey!
Isla N

Hockey Under 11 B team v Quinton House B Team
In the first half it was an even game. But in the second half we got two goals thanks to Millie. (Almost three goals if it weren’t for the final whistle). Overall the B Team had won the game! After our mini celebration on the field we went inside for match tea! Match tea is when the two schools bond and talk to each other.
Vheneka

External Sports Achievement
Harriet has worked extremely hard to develop her hockey skills throughout the year, including during the summer holidays and we are extremely proud not only of her achievement, but more importantly her determination to improve her skills and also her ability to listen to and implement the advice she is given by her coaches.

Charlotte has also been selected for the Under 13’s hockey and we would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the Sports Department at Northampton High School who encourage all of the girls to be the best that they can and also give up so much of their time to ferry the girls to and from matches, organise tours etc.

Nursery Kipper Room and Elmer Room

Kipper Room:

During Music time this week the girls were introduced to new Autumn songs. The girls all demonstrated good listening skills and joined in with the actions. We have also been listening to opera in the classrooms. This inspired some expressive dancing from Anne, while the others pretended to sing using appropriate props as microphones. In the exploration area we have been investigating the inside of a pumpkin. We discovered seeds and lots of stringy orange mess. Lily said “Urgh” when she discovered this and enjoyed carrying it around to show some of her friends.

Elmer Room:

We have enjoyed various Autumn activities in Elmer this week but I think the highlight was on route to Forest School which Jasmine summed up nicely saying “jumping in muddy puddles”. While at Forest School we collected lots of Autumn items which we later made into wonderful pictures. “Autumn leaves,” said Yana.
We also opened a pumpkin to see what was inside, during which Emily said “look at my shadow!” Well done for noticing that Emily.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

• We will continue to explore Autumn and the changes happening around us.

Nursery Pre-School

Highlights:

This week we have been looking at the letter ‘a,’ making ants and printing with apples. We also tried baby food. It was decided that it was soft because babies do not have any teeth. We have also been talking about keeping our teeth healthy and printing with Autumn leaves.

What the girls have enjoyed:

“I like playing, doing puzzles.” Senuli.
“I like being outside.” Siena Louise.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

• Sound of the week ‘m’ and the number ‘4’.
• Moving in different ways using different types of equipment.
• Using jugs and water to find out about capacity.
• Drawing our family tree.

Reception

Highlights:

This week we have been investigating the pentagon shape, the colour blue and the number 5. The girls have been experimenting mixing different shades of blue to paint their five fingers on one hand! They have practised the number 5 formation and sorted shapes according to how many sides they have and made ‘pentagon palaces’.
We have been finding out about one of our senses – our fingers for feeling. The girls experienced different objects in a feely box and had to use describing words about how it felt, without saying what it was.
Our phonics this week has focused on the letter sounds ‘g’, ‘o’, ‘c’ and ‘k’. Activities included, writing ‘g’ in gloop, ‘o’ in orange paint and making ‘k’ kites.
A highlight of the week was having a class visit from Betty and finding out all about how to look after her and how to stroke her properly.

What the girls have said:

“I enjoyed making a gate because it starts with ‘g’.” Isabella.
“I liked making a kite and the letter ‘k’ because it’s for my name.” Keziah.
“The best thing was the feely box, it was fun.” Rhoda.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

• The number 6 formation, the colour purple and the hexagon shape.
• Phonic letter sounds and formation.
• Counting.
• The sense ‘listening’.

Year 1

Highlights:

This week in English, we have nearly finished ‘Daisy Saves the Day’. We have been working really hard to plan and then write a persuasive letter from Daisy that included a reason, persuasion and a question. In Science we have been starting to look at the different animals groups and have tried to sort lots of different types of animals by their features. In History, we have looked at Florence Nightingale and some of the amazing work she did during the Victorian time.

What the girls have said:

“I liked going swimming this week because I got to practise swimming on my own.” Amelia .

“I liked going to Computing and practising typing by playing the different games.” Holly H.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

• Science- we will be looking at what animals eat and their scientific names.
• Maths – we will be continuing to look at different aspects of addition.
• History – we will be finding out about Mary Seacole.

Year 2

Highlights:

In Maths we have worked on addition and subtraction and some of us explored using the inverse operation to check our answers. We played some games at the end of the week too to help us put our skills into practise. In English we have taken on the role of Daisy and have written a letter to Mrs Simms, our housekeeper, in an attempt to persuade her to let us see the coronation of the new King following the decease of Queen Victoria. In Science we have been categorising animals and in Forest School we have been identifying leaves and creating leaf rubbings.

What the girls have said:

“I liked writing letters in English.” Sakinah.
“I’ve loved Forest School.” Fatima.
“I enjoyed playing the adding games in Maths.” Jemima.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

• English – poetry writing.
• Maths – addition and subtraction.
• DT – Halloween themed decorations.

Year 3

Highlights:

This week we have been looking at time facts in Maths and learning to use a calendar. We had a very exciting day on Wednesday when we immersed ourselves in Indian culture, dressing up in saris, tasting Indian food and acting out traditional Indian tales. We hope you saw our photographs on Twitter.

What the girls have said:

“I enjoyed India Day because I liked trying the food and spices.” Ellie.
“I enjoyed learning how to use calendars and finding out facts about the months in Maths.” Sophie.
“I enjoyed English where we made up our own dreams.” Harriet.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

• Maths – continuing with time, concentrating on telling the time and worded problems related to time.
• English – we will be writing reports about our India Day and presenting these in our Class Assembly.

We look forward to seeing you at our Class Assembly on Wednesday morning where we will be telling everyone about our India Day and showing photographs from the day.

Year 4

Highlights:

In Maths this week we have been using different methods for division and trying to apply our knowledge of multiplication tables. In English we have looked at the features of a recount and how paragraphs are sequenced. The girls also enjoyed their visit to Piddington Roman Villa Museum where they learnt about medicine, the army, writing and life in a villa in Roman times.

What the girls have said:

“I enjoyed the trip to Piddington because we got to see lots of Roman things and we tried on some Roman clothes.” Alice.
“I enjoyed doing Maths because it was challenging me with division.” Rianna.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

• English – we will be writing a recount about our trip to Piddington.
• Maths – work will focus on using practical equipment to measure length and converting units of measurement.
• Friday – we are looking forward to our trip to watch ‘Billionaire Boy’.

Year 5

Highlights:

This week in English we have been preparing for Hobbies Morning. In Maths we have continued working on written methods for addition and subtraction. In Science we discussed the results of our germination experiment and revised the life cycle of flowering plants.

What the girls have said:

“My highlight of the week was getting ready for Hobbies Morning because we got to make our posters.” Odelia.
“My favourite lesson was Science. We checked all our seeds to find out if they had grown into cress or mustard. We found out that the seeds germinated if they had water and warmth.” Daisy.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

• English – we will be learning how to give a presentation and how to make a speech in preparation for Hobbies Morning on Wednesday, along with spellings, grammar and comprehension.
• Maths – we will be revising written methods of short multiplication – vertical, partitioning and grid.
• Science – we are finishing off our ‘Living Things’ topic by looking at the ‘Life Cycles of Mammals’.

We look forward to seeing you at Hobbies Morning on Wednesday 16 October 9 am – 11 am.

Year 6

Hello everyone. It was lovely to catch up in person with so many parents this week. Thank you for your time and for sharing ideas on how best to support the students. We are proud to announce the awarding of the following leadership roles for Year 6.  Mr Bailey has already noted that we have a year group with an extremely strong sense of responsibility and we look forward to seeing the girls continue to grow in all aspects of leadership throughout the year.

– School Councillors, giving a guiding presence to the younger years on the council, will be Isabelle, Moriah, Poppy and Caitlin.
– Eco Council, working alongside the Senior School students to protect our environment, will be Lexie and Lydia.
– School Librarians, working to ensure that younger students learn to love books as much as they do, will be Niamh, Isabella, Shireen and Ammara.
– Digital Leaders, training us all how to be safer online and clever tricks with computers, will be Millie, Sherain, Himaya and Ahriana.
– School Magazine Editors, using their creativity to craft a termly magazine for us all to enjoy, will be Hania, Isla H, Alexi, Isla N, Lillybella, Chanan and Vheneka.

Just a reminder for next week; please could all girls bring in warm clothing, waterproofs and wellies for a Forest School session during Enrichment on Wednesday afternoon.

Thank you so much for your time and have a lovely weekend!
Karen Fordham and James Loveday

A selection of our student voices:
“On Wednesday we went to Oxford University for a GDST Maths conference. When we arrived we looked at an infinity pattern, it was really cool and interesting! We went into a lecture hall and listened to a teacher who talked about data and if the GDST were a village. Then the teachers went out of the room and we were put in groups with different schools and we made videos of data that was collected from the GDST Schools. Then we had lunch and went on a small tour. After that we did a Maths Quiz.”

“We really enjoyed visiting Oxford University on Wednesday. The Mathematics Institute was amazing – we walked up their Escher inspired staircase and across a beautifully paved courtyard which was decorated in a pattern that never repeats itself. It was great to work with girls from 23 other GDST schools and the activity really made us think about the importance data will play in our lives in the future and how it can help us to save our planet.”

“On Wednesday all of us were in one class so we did rotational problem-solving where you sit at one table and solve a challenge and once you solved it you would go onto a different table. It was soooooooooo fun!!!!!”

“In English we have used our 5 senses to write detailed descriptions of our mythical creatures. We cannot wait to write about the battle between our creature and Greek hero next week!”

“In Humanities we have been looking at the Ancient Greeks. This week we did our first “Spin it to win it” quiz. A ‘spin it to win it’ sheet is a sheet with fun questions facing different directions. At the end we played Hangman with our key words for Ancient Greeks”.

“During Enrichment we really enjoyed working on extracts from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – it was great to be given the opportunity to be really creative!”

“We are learning about expanded noun phrases, we are going to make a story of our own. In Prep we designed mythical creatures”. When asked to describe their designs; “My creature was half lion and mermaid”, “My mythical creature was a cheetah and a robot, it was called the Deadly Trident” and “My mythical creature was a mess!”

“Lexie, Chanan and Indi’s highlight of the week was Science. We went outside and were looking at different plants. We examined and picked leaves for our homework. If we could invent a tree, we would have a money tree!”

“During our Maths Investigation we really enjoyed exploring magic triangles, domino patterns and matchstick squares – at first the problems looked really easy but we soon discovered they were not. By the end of the lesson it was a good feeling to realise that we had jumped into The Learning Pit and managed to climb out the other side through discussion and great teamwork.”

“In Drama we have been recreating some scenes from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. We have also been trying to make our own chocolate machine. My group was making chocolate flavoured gum!”

“In Science we have been looking at the importance of photosynthesis and how it is connected to our survival and the survival of our planet. We really enjoyed finding a variety of leaves in the school grounds and thinking about how they are adapted to ensure that they can effectively make their own energy and survive in all types of weather.”

GAP Club

Highlights:

On Monday and Tuesday, the girls continued to create fairies using dolly pegs. Some of the fairies stayed at GAP Club to live in the flower pots and some went to live around the autumnal tree. During the rest of the week the girls made fairy puppets and used them to create little shows in the puppet theatre. They also used water colours to paint autumnal leaves.

What the girls have enjoyed:

“I’ve enjoyed making fairies with the wooden pegs.” Ellie, Year 3.
“I liked making fairies.” Isabella, Reception.
“I really liked playing outside with the little ones, kicking the ball.” Fern Year 5.

Looking ahead to some of next week’s learning:

• The girls will be creating fairy gardens and continuing with autumnal crafts.

Parent Forum

On 27 September 2019 we hosted our inaugural Parent Forum meeting and were delighted to welcome parents of girls from Reception to Sixth Form.

The focus of this meeting was pastoral and Mrs O’Doherty, our Deputy Head (Pastoral Care and Guidance), presented on two themes:

1. Girls on Board – an initiative which helps girls, their parents and their teachers to understand the complexities and dynamics of girl friendships. The winner of an ISA Award for Innovation and Excellence 2016 and Shortlisted for the TES Wellbeing Initiative of the Year 2019, it is suitable for use with girls from 8 to 18, has been used in the senior School for a year, with great success, and is about to be introduced in Years 5 and 6. Mrs O’Doherty  showed an introductory video and a conversation ensued, with questions including how to take some of the lessons learned here in dealing with friendship issues of younger students.

2. Our new mobile phone policy, the rationale behind it and its impact. Although this is specific to Senior School and Sixth Form, the subsequent discussion included the use of technology in school and at home across all ages (including adults!).

We plan to hold a second meeting next half term with the date to be published shortly and to which all are welcome. If you would like to table a question or a theme for discussion please contact me at c.petryszak@nhs.gdst.net.

Caroline Petryszak
Acting Head

FoNHS

There will be a short meeting to discuss the accounts and the future of FoNHS. This will take place in the Senior School at 10.30 am on Tuesday 5 November and all are welcome.

Please contact Mrs Dee Brown at d.brown@nhs.gdst.net if you would like to attend.

October Half Term Swimming Lessons

Term Dates

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