Our staff have been busily planning and preparing inspiring lessons for their new classes and discovering the characteristics and learning styles of their girls.
Year 1 are thriving on the challenges presented by starting new National Curriculum subjects and, at the other end of the scale, Year 6 are learning to be fantastic role models for the younger girls. They have now been given their leadership positions for the year and we will find out in the weeks to come what these entail.
As you will see in the ‘News from the Classrooms’ this week everyone has been focusing on Place Value in Maths lessons. It is lovely to see how they progress from counting backwards from 10 and working out one more and one less in Year 1 to reading, writing and calculating using numbers up to 10 million in Year 6.
Clubs started this week and the girls have had fun choosing from a wide variety of activities to keep their bodies and brains busy before school, at lunchtimes and after school. On Thursday morning, Atomic Tom treated us to a thrilling fire display in assembly where he showed us how the Great Fire of London would have started from a small spark igniting particles of flour in the air. His club takes place on a Monday after school if your daughter is interested in fun science experiments.
This week has also seen the first trip of the year when Year 1 & 2 ventured to the Oxford Story Museum. It sounded like they had a wonderful adventure. Next week Year 3 & 6 travel to Birmingham to Think Tank to broaden their science and computing skills. Year 5 then embark on the first residential of the year to Grafham Water, where they may need to be 10% braver and show their resilience and teamwork. Let’s hope the weather is kind to them.
It is hard to believe that the girls have only been back two and half weeks as they have already achieved so much academically and socially. We look forward to seeing their continued progress throughout the term.
Mrs Dadge
Junior School Assistant Head (Academic)
Nursery and Preschool
In Nursery this week we have been focusing on settling the girls into the gentle routine of Nursery.
We have focussed on the mathematical language of big and small by reading the story ‘Titch’.
At Forest School we have been making potions with natural objects and water which engaged us all, as well as exploring our lovely outside environment freely.
We used the Junior School astroturf for PE and the children enjoyed the freedom of the space and explored the movements of hoops and balls.
This week in Preschool we have continued to create our own self-portraits using various painting media and the finished masterpieces are proudly hung on our display in the classroom.
Our book of the week has been ‘The Little White Rabbit’ who imagines what life would be like if he were different only to discover he is perfect the way he is. This is something we have been exploring with the girls by celebrating their achievements and interests.
At Forest School the girls have been exploring the mud kitchen, making pies, potions and various other concoctions. They have also been on a bug hunt and found lots of crawly and slimy mini beasts.
The painting table has been popular as the girls have explored some messy bubble painting pictures, by listening and following instructions of how to create these pictures. The girls have also been creative in other ways by making models with the wooden blocks.
The girls have enjoyed the Phonics game this week which was about the outdoor environmental sounds, where they had to listen to and identify the sound. We have also participated in lots of action songs throughout the week.
Reception
This week Reception have been using the story of ‘Leaf Man’ to support their learning. They made a giant leaf man whilst at Forest School as well as ‘Wanted’ posters to help find where he may have gone! The girls then created their own leaf characters to give Leaf Man a friend.
Year 1 Maths Focus
Year 1 are working hard through their place value within 10 unit. They began with sorting, counting and representing objects; they are learning to recognise numbers as words, can count backwards from ten and have been introduced to one more/one less.
They are loving recording their learning in their own White Rose workbooks and are enjoying trying hard to form all their numbers correctly.
Year 2 Maths Focus
Place Value has been the Maths focus in Year 2. We have been exploring ‘tens’ and ‘ones’ in a variety of representations, using different mathematical equipment such as Base Ten and numicon. We have found out that 2-digit numbers can be partitioned into tens and ones in different ways (for example: 47 = 40 + 7, 30 + 17, 20 + 27) and we have enjoyed talking about the patterns we have noticed.
We have been working on writing numbers to 100 as both numerals and words and have made great progress in understanding the difference between numbers that sound similar, such as ‘thirteen’ and ‘thirty’.
Great work girls!
Year 3 Maths Focus
We have been working on understanding the value of the digits in numbers up to 1000. Using base 10 equipment and place value counters is helping us with this and we are learning to draw diagrams as well.
We have also looked at number lines and some of them were quite tricky!
Year 4 Maths Focus
Year 4 have been working diligently on their place value of numbers up to 10,000! Each lesson has been filled with enthusiasm, creativity, and lots of fun! Utilising counters, they’ve explored flexible partitioning of numbers, making connections that will support their future learning.
The girls also tackled adding and subtracting multiples of 10, 100, and 1000, showcasing their impressive skills! To add a bit of friendly competition, we organised relay Maths teams to create sequences of numbers honing their teamwork as well as their mathematical abilities. Additionally, while working independently they calculated missing intervals on number lines.
I have been impressed with their determination and progress in Maths lessons. Keep it up, Year 4!
Year 5 Maths Focus
Just like all the other year groups, Year 5 have started the academic year with a Place Value unit, which is useful in cementing key skills that the girls will need going forward.
They have worked hard and are getting better at reading and writing numbers up to a million, and have quickly realised that number lines at this level are really quite tricky.
All in all though, big numbers are best when they have a practical purpose. So, the girls are really, really looking forward to their Maths lesson next Friday when they get to count (hopefully) hundreds of pounds after their (hopefully) successful Macmillan cake sale. Please do your bit to make our Maths marvellous – give us your money before school next Friday! We will count it accurately and then send it off to do something amazing!
Year 6 Maths Focus
Year 6 have been focusing on place value with numbers up to 10 million. We have been practising reading and writing the numbers, ordering and comparing and rounding.
We have worked on powers of 10, using a Gattegno chart to help us. Then we completed the unit looking at negative numbers and adding and subtracting them.
The girls are now finding it much easier to recognise these very large numbers. Also, we are all hoping we don’t see negative numbers on our thermometers too soon!
Junior Sport News
The excited Year 6’s travelled to Milton Keynes on Wednesday 18 September to face their first game of the season against Broughton Manor.
U11A Team: A fantastic game with lots of play for all involved. Everyone had the opportunity to play in an attacking, defending and central position and they all coped admirably well.
Despite multiple opportunities we didn’t manage to get the ball into the back of the goal and lost 2-0. Well done to all who played.
U11B Team: First game of the season for the U11B’s, first time playing together as a team and for some of them first time playing for Northampton High School!
An excellent start, communicating between themselves well and positioning themselves to make attacking moves up the pitch. Kinara and Hesali in particular worked collaboratively to get inside the D to make some attempts to score goals. Leah also made some excellent saves in goal.
Fun in the goal!
Year 1 and Year 2 Trip to the Story Museum
Year 1 and 2 had a fantastic trip to The Story Museum in Oxford. It was wonderful seeing the girls’ eyes light up as they excitedly explored the museum’s galleries, including the Whispering Wood, Enchanted Library and Treasure Chamber. Everyone engaged really well in our ‘Story Porridge’ workshop and lots of thoughtful questions were asked and imaginative and creative ideas shared.
Well done girls!
Year 3 Forest School Adventures
As Year 3 approached the forest on Wednesday, they spotted something enormous… was that a woolly mammoth? It seemed that not only had we walked down to Forest School, we had also travelled back in time to the Stone Age!
Luckily Mrs Cartlidge was on hand to show everyone how to use a flint lighter to create fire – very important for warmth and cooking, and to ward off predators! We also used natural materials: chalk, charcoal and elder berries to create paint. This was then used to produce our own cave-painting style works of art.
Very messy but also great fun.
Wraparound Care News
It has been lovely to see lots of new and familiar faces at Wraparound Care Club.
The girls have settled well into their new routines, particularly Year 3 who are now coming into the Study Room to complete their prep.
We have been enjoying the lovely weather and spending lots of time outside.
Some of the younger girls collaborated and showed perseverance to make an obstacle course. Others enjoyed playing football and tennis and we even managed to get a bean bag on the roof!
We have also created leaves using water colours and to put on garlands around the Busy Room.
Awards
Star Learners of the Week:
Phoebe R, Marine A, Inara F, Eloise A, Priyana T, Dia P, Maya P, Evie H and Thea S
Congratulations to the following girls who took their LAMDA exams:
Ella K – Solo Introductory Stage 2, Iasbelle L – Solo Introductory Stage 1, Grace R, Solo Introductory Stage 2, Sophia R-N – Solo Introductory Stage 2, Emily T – Acting Entry Solo, Zara B – Solo Introductory Stage 2, Rayna N – Solo Introductory Stage 2, Isabella B – Solo Introductory Stage 3, Mayura G – Solo Introductory Stage 3, Kinara B – Acting Entry Solo, Elizabeth F-W – Acting Entry Solo, Cristina S-R – Acting Entry Solo, Leah W – Acting Entry Solo
External Achievements:
Isabella B – achieved her Brownie Gold award for completing 50 badges in 2 years
Dia P – achieved her Explore Art award
Cricket Achievement
We would like to congratulate Olivia in Year 5 for her fantastic Sports Achievement.
Oliva’s Cricket team, Eversholt, recently won the Bedfordshire County Girls U11 Trophy for the 2024 summer season.
Congratulations to Olivia and her team!
Birthdays this week
We wish a very Happy Birthday to the following members of our Junior School family:
Siena-Louise D B and Electra C
Parent Notices
Junior School Parent Coffee Morning – Theme: Welcome back and looking at the year ahead– 25 September 8.15-9.00am
Year 3 and Year 6 trip to Think Tank – 26 September 9.00 – 3.30pm
Macmillan Coffee Morning (further details below) – 27 September 7.30 – 8.30am
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Cakes and biscuits will be just £1 each and in order to physically highlight the act of giving to charity, on this occasion we would like the girls to bring in cash for this event.
If you can help by making cakes (no nuts please) that would be BRILLIANT! Please bring them to the Junior School entrance hall on Thursday 26 September.
We look forward to seeing you at the Coffee Morning, buying lots of yummy cakes and raising lots of money for this fantastic charity!
High and Junior News Survey
Thank you so much to those of you who took the time to send us valuable feedback in regards to our weekly High and Junior News newsletters at the end of last term. This feedback has been gratefully received, and we have started to implement some of the suggestions into this ‘new look’ newsletter.
We will continue to monitor and update to ensure that these communications are as optimized as possible, so please do continue to send through your feedback using the Google Form found here.
Many thanks for your support.
Open Mornings
Preparations are in full swing for our upcoming school open events, which take place in October on Saturday 5 and Friday 11. These events promise to be fantastic showcases of life at Northampton High School, and will give our visiting families a real insight into what makes our school and its community so special.
