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Junior News – 21 October 2022 |
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The end of the first half term of this academic year has arrived. The girls are now very settled in to their classes and I have been particularly happy with their achievements and progress, both academically and socially, this half term. New friendships have been formed, existing friendships have grown and strengthened. As a Junior School community we sit comfortably with the embedded routines of this academic year and within this framework we are exploiting the opportunities to develop and improve in all areas. A theme of this half term that is a firm highlight of mine is welcoming our parents into school on so many occasions. For the girls, it brings them pride and boosts their confidence to experience this act of support that makes it blatant to them that important adults in their lives value their achievements and educational journey. We’ve enjoyed Class Assemblies, Parents Evenings, our first Open Classroom event and introduction to the year meetings alongside open morning, EYFS stay and play and our Macmillan coffee morning. Every opportunity has been well received and valuable in our sense of community strengthening and our parents knowledge and understanding of their daughter’s educational experience with us deepening. Next half term’s schedule continues to provide more opportunities and I’m particularly looking forward to ending the term with our Junior School Christmas Celebration event in which all children from Year 1 to 6 will be performing for our families to enjoy. We have enjoyed celebrating Diwali in Junior School this week with Year 3 visiting the Hindu temple in Wellingborough, Mrs Shah helping me to wear a sari for the morning, girls dressed in their ethnic dress and a whole school assembly on this topic. I wish you all a wonderful half term break during which I hope you have time to relax and enjoy time together as a family. Miss Hair |
November and December in Junior School |
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Junior School pupils at Northampton High visit Tilia Homes’ Landimore Park |
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Northampton High has collaborated with Tilia Homes on an exciting time capsule project to show future generations what living in Northampton was like in 2022! Earlier this term, pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 were given the challenge of creating posters, expressing their favourite things about living in Northampton and the surrounding areas. From spending time in local parks and kayaking in nearby rivers, to visiting independent cafes and attending cake sales, the students wrote all about the special memories they have in the places they live. Tilia Homes selected the winning entries, which were full of detail and colour and contained some fantastic drawings of the pupils’ favourite parts of Northampton. On Friday 14 October, the selected winners were invited to Landimore Park to help bury the time capsule and visit the development. The location of the capsule will be marked with a personalised plaque to commemorate the occasion, with the girls receiving an extended invitation to bring family and friends to view their contribution to the site. At Northampton High School, we are enthusiastic about joining in on community affairs and collaborating with local developers, as a way of welcoming newcomers into the area that we already know and love. Our Junior School pupils loved being involved in this project and they are excited at the prospect of the time capsule being excavated and explored in 70 years’ time! Miss Price |
Mr Evans and Mrs Dadge celebrate 30 years at Northampton High! |
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During this term, two members of staff are celebrating 30 years of working at Northampton High School! On Thursday afternoon, we marked one of these milestones with a slice of cake and stories from years gone by. A huge thank you to Mr Evans, our site supervisor, for everything he continues to do at Northampton High! We also congratulate Mrs Dadge for her 30 years of excellent service, and we look forward to celebrating this in due course! Miss Price |
Uniform |
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When we return on Monday 7 November all girls will need to be in their Winter uniform. Once the girls transfer to their Winter uniform they will need to remember that we pack white socks away until it’s time for their Summer uniform again and instead the girls need to wear navy socks or tights. |
Tea Towels |
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As many of you saw at Parents Evening an example tea towel was available for viewing and then an iPad had the booking form available for you. Since these events we have then also sent home, via School Post, the link to the booking form. Over 1/3 of the School have already completed the form with over 100 tea towels being requested. Thank you for your support so far. The school tea towel will feature each child from Nursery to Year 6 and will be a creative keepsake as well as a popular Christmas gift. They are £7 each. Please complete this form by 14 November so that I can order them in time for a pre-Christmas arrival. |
Times Table Rockstars |
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From Year 2 to Year 6 practising the speed and accuracy of recalling times table facts is a crucial part of our prep expectations. The faster a child becomes fluent with recalling these facts the more confident they will become as mathematicians. The transition to being able to recall all times table facts up to 12×12 at a fast speed takes a lot of practice and therefore time at home on this is imperative. As you know, this academic year we have introduced TTRockstars as an online platform for our girls to practise these skills. The children who are making the fastest progress are those who are practising regularly – little and often! There is a direct correlation between those girls who are practising the most at home and those who are making the most progress in this area of Maths. With two weeks at home stretching ahead of us all, it is the perfect opportunity to practise as much as possible and then the girls can return to school feeling more confident to take on their friends in the battle of the TTRockstars. Teachers will be celebrating the girls’ efforts that they will see over the half term break when we return to school – the online tool allows them to see the amount of minutes, types of activities engaged with and results for speed and accuracy. Some competitive family battles may also be something you can fit in over the break! |
Secret Present Workshop |
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The first of our Christmas events is our Secret Present Workshop on Thursday 1 December. This is a first for Northampton High and we know it is going to be a popular one! Parents are able to book through Parent Pay and can pay £10 per adult gift that they’d like their child to choose. The children will then come into the secret present room to choose their gifts for their chosen family members or special adults in their lives. These gifts will then be wrapped and have a gift tag placed on them for the children to then bring home and gift at Christmas time. Lots of families have already booked their places for this event but if you have not yet, and would like to, please do so as soon as possible to assist the elves with their preparations! |
Festive Wreath Workshops - Adults Only |
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Have you booked your spaces for this workshop yet? We have arranged for an excellent florist (Bouquet Chic) to deliver Wreath Making Workshops for any interested parents and members of the community. Why not book a place to enjoy making a festive creation with friendly people and a supportive and talented instructor? Spaces are £65 per person which includes everything you’ll need to make a fantastic, impressive wreath and refreshments during the workshop. These events are on Tuesday 6 December 5.30 to 7pm or Wednesday 7 December 12.15 to 1.45pm. To book please contact the school office junioradmin@nhs.gdst.net. |
News from our extracurricular offer: GAP Club |
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We have had a very productive half term transforming our room and role play. We said goodbye to Summer and welcomed Autumn by creating a new seasonal display. The girls worked together to collage a tree and used water colours to make colourful leaves. We transformed paper cups and plates into squirrels and a family of hedgehogs, and used coffee filters and tissue paper to make stained glass leaves and autumn trees for the windows. Our thoughts turned to the home corner and the girls decided they would like to create a restaurant in there. The girls made detailed menus and have enjoyed serving their customers. We hope to develop this more next half term. |
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We have explored various methods of painting using brushes, spoons, forks, conkers and salt to name a few. The girls helped to measure and mix play dough ready to be cooked. They then enjoyed exploring and creating with it afterwards. To brighten our pots outside the girls used dolly pegs to make fairies and lolly pop sticks and some sparkle to make fairy doors. We ended the half term celebrating Diwali. The GAP Club Team |
News from outside of our classrooms: Nature Wildlife and Gardening Club |
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Last week in Nature, Wildlife and Gardening Club we checked on our bulbs and seeds that we planted and sowed the week before. We found out that one of our plants had already started sprouting! We also made sure that our seeds and bulbs had plenty of water to absorb and drink. We are extremely excited to watch our lovely plants grow over the next few weeks! We also picked lots of scrumptious and juicy apples and pears out in the hedge from our amazing fruit trees. Some of us decorated posters to give away our fruit for free and the others did arts and crafts and decorated some acorns! If you want to join this club speak to Mrs Peto in the Senior School – Maya R Year 5N In Gardening Club this week it was raining so we had to go over to Junior Science. We made bug hotels and planted seeds in yoghurt pots – Cordelia B Year 5N |
The Big Wild Walk/Hedgehog Walk |
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The Wildlife Trust are organising the ‘Big Wild Walk’ over half term week, 24-30 October, with the aim of walking 30km over the week to represent the goal of reclaiming 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030; there is a shorter ‘Hedgehog Walk’ for little ones of 3km, representing the distance a hedgehog walks in one night searching for food. Anyone can take part – individuals, families or teams – via this link. The NHS Junior School Wildlife, Nature and Gardening club have created a page for our team here: you are most welcome to join us and enjoy the benefits of being outside in nature (and of course some exercise!) The Wildlife Trusts: The Wildlife Trusts’ Big Wild Walk 2022 (enthuse.com) NB; Sponsorship is entirely optional. The Wildlife Trusts: The Wildlife Trusts’ Big Wild Walk 2022 (enthuse.com) There are many other activities available through the Wildlife Trust BCN locally (at Summer Leys or Rushden Lakes within Northants) or online, with leaf and fungi spotting, building hedgehog hotels and ‘spooky’ Halloween crafts. Have a lovely half term everyone! Mrs Peto |
Awards for this week |
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Star Learners of the week – Marine, Penelope J, Aurelia M, Iman, Rhoda, Annie T, Avani, Holly G-S, Hester, Cora, Harriet S, Tami, Avleen S, Risara, Jessica W Swimmer of the week – Lillian P, Each week girls are invited to share their achievements in activities outside of school. They are listed below for this week: Georgina P – awarded the Gymnast of the Term Medal |
Rehome Pudsey Bear for Children in Need! |
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With Children In Need around the corner, we are excited to help raise money for this wonderful cause. This year, as part of our fundraising efforts, we have a special guest in school who we would like to rehome! Pudsey Bear, pictured above helping Dr Lee with her work this week, is looking for a new home – and that could be with you! By clicking this link you can help our fundraising cause by donating the sum of £2 for a raffle ticket, and if your number is pulled out on the 18 November Pudsey will be yours! We love doing what we can to support this wonderful cause. Together we can help support children and young people across the UK to rebuild their lives. Thank you for your continued support – and good luck if you choose to enter! Mr Nash |
Junior School Taster Events - Saturday 12 November |
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Christmas at Northampton High: Save the Dates! |
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Raise Her Up: The lowdown on breasts |
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For Breast Cancer Awareness month, we are delighted to bring you a special edition of the Raise Her Up podcast. Series 2 continues with the brilliant Dr Liz O’Riordan, a former breast surgeon who has herself had and recovered from breast cancer, who gives us the lowdown on breasts. She talks us through what’s normal and healthy, and what to expect from breasts at various times of our lives and cycles. She’ll also share her insights into the cultural side of breasts, taking in identity, women’s’ relationships with their bodies, and how breasts are treated in our society and media. To listen to this brilliant edition, please click here, or download from wherever you get your podcasts. Mr Nash |
Community Sessions |
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Halloween Safety |
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Please find above some helpful information regarding keeping safe this Halloween. To read the document in full, please click here. Mrs Dunkley |
Medical Advice |
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Need advice on what to do if your child is unwell? The NHS Healthier Together website has practical advice on dealing with childhood illnesses and advises parents and carers when they should seek help. For more information, please click here. Mrs Dunkley |
Term Dates |
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Northampton High School |
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