Junior News 25 March 2022

Welcoming Emily Hair

We have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Miss Emily Hair, our new Head of Junior School, ever since she was appointed to the role before Christmas.

She joins us properly immediately after the Easter break, with some informal visits prior to then. During the first few weeks, I know you will have many opportunities to meet Miss Hair over informal refreshments or on the school gate.

In the meantime, Miss Hair has kindly written this introduction to herself:

This week's student achievements

Evie – achieved a 3rd flag in sparring in karate

Isabel – achieved a white and red belt in karate

Emily – awarded a star award in gymnastics

Eve – awarded a star award in gymnastics

Grace B – achieved a First Aid Scouts Badge

Annie – achieved a yellow in karate

Holly – awarded a Level 6 in gymnastics

Evette – achieved a yellow belt in karate

Luisa – awarded a Level 4 in gymnastics

Hester – awarded a Level 4 in gymnastics

Yilin – awarded a Level 7 in gymnastics

Zara – awarded a Level 3 in gymnastics

Lily – awarded a Level 6 in gymnastics

Diya – awarded a Level 6 in gymnastics

Sakinah – awarded a Level 2 in gymnastics

Varnikha – awarded a Level 4 in gymnastics

Eliza – achieved a yellow belt in Taekwon-Do

Maya – awarded a Level 1 in gymnastics

Jessica – awarded a Level 1 in gymnastics

Zoe – awarded a Level 1 in gymnastics

Lucy – achieved a purple belt in karate

Lucy – knocked a second off the times of her 25 freestyle, 25 butterfly, 25 breaststroke and 25 backstroke

Darcy – won a sliver medal for her classical ballet solo

Playground Stars

We have been enjoying the warm sunny weather this week with a variety of games and activities.

Football is still very popular with Year 3 who are enjoying running around and having fun. They also organised themselves into houses using the games equipment.

Poppy – put out the cones to make sure everyone knows where the ball games are being played.

Holly, Eloise C, Thea, Diya, Kinara and Lucy – helped tidy other peoples’ games away and made sure everything was put in the shed.

Eloise C – made sure the shed doors were fastened safely so that they did not get in the way.

Hester and Annabelle – drew pictures to cheer their friend up.

Cristina and Kinara – thank you for the book recommendation of The Tamarind and The Star of Ishtar.

Artemisia, Poppy and Maya – enjoyed ‘olden days cooking’.

If there are any Year 6 girls who would like to help on the Key Stage 1 playground after the Easter holidays, please let Mrs Long know the days you are free.

Year 6 Re:Store Charity Allotment Fayre

The Year 6 Allotment Fayre came to life after much hard work and creative thinking from our amazing Year 6 pupils and it was heart-warming to see them interacting so warmly with our visitors from Nursery to Year 7.

Stalls included Mystery fruit and Vegetable, Veg Heads, Fruit and Veg Raffle, Hook-a-Duck, Bric-a-Brac, Guess the Name of the Teddy, Potato Hoopla, Plant-a-Seed and Cabbage Bowling.

The spirit of giving in our school continues to thrive and we would like to thank each and everyone of you for helping us to raise nearly £600 to support those less fortunate than ourselves in our local community.

Special thanks also go to our Finance and Admin Teams for their help to make this event so successful.

The monies raised will pay for the rent of the allotments used by Re:Store as well as much needed tools and seeds. To view more photos, please click here. 

Mrs Fordham
Year 6 Class Teacher

Junior Sports

Bedford Modern Netball Tournament: The Year 4 team played in the Bedford Modern Netball Tournament on Friday 18 March. The girls put in a fantastic performance against high quality opposition, displaying excellent progress that they have made this season.

The team started slowly with two losses in their first two matches. The first, versus Milton Keynes Prep and the second versus The Grove School. However, they rallied and turned this around in their final 5 matches by beating Bedford Greenacre Independent School, Broughton Manor and Bedford Modern Schools B Team, drawing with Wellingborough and being narrowly defeated (1-0!) by a strong Bedford Modern School A team.

We are very pleased with their performance as the girls took 4th place. Congratulations to Louisa, Annabelle, Poppy and Angelie who were all selected by opposing teams as Player of the Match.

U11 Netball: A Team – The A team played against MK Prep which proved to be a very tough match. Despite this they really worked hard, Mollie was excellent in defence and Tendo received Player of the Match.

Learning a great deal, the team put this into practice against Wellingborough and were successful in matching the opposition goal for goal in the first half. Wellingborough pulled away in the second half and won the match, but the High school can be very proud of their achievements. Player of the Match went to Mollie.

U11 Netball: B Team – A fantastic afternoon of netball for the Under 11B team!  The first game was against strong opposition, MK Prep. Although they didn’t win, the team began to pass the ball more accurately down the court and into the shooting circle. Player of the Match was Emily S.

The second game against Wellingborough was a much closer affair! The girls moved into space more effectively and scored several times winning 7-4. Player of the Match this time was Amelia N.

Supporting your daughter in Maths

We are pleased to provide a recording of last week’s parent webinar designed for parents of Year 6 pupils, ‘Supporting your daughter in Maths’.

Here is a link to the recording, with the slides also available here.

Mrs Wilmot
Director of Marketing and Admissions

Meet Mrs Giordano

This week, we are delighted to welcome a new member of staff to the Northampton High School family. Mrs Sarah Giordano has joined us as our new Family Support Worker Assistant, and we are excited to welcome her to the school.

Sarah has penned a piece to introduce herself, which you can read below. I’m sure you will all join us in giving Sarah a big Northampton High welcome!

What is your background / experience?

I completed my BSc in Psychology from the University of Liverpool

and went on to gain my MSc in Occupational Psychology from The University of Nottingham. I spent the next 10 years working as an Occupational Psychology Consultant for SHL focusing on the selection and development of individuals in the workplace, where I gained Chartered Psychologist status. I began using wellbeing practices more with organisations and, after having my own children, I decided to specialise in wellbeing and mindfulness practices. For the past 4 years I have been working with children and adults, helping individuals to manage stress, reduce anxiety and boost a positive mindset.

What are you most looking forward to about working at the High School?

I am most looking forward to getting to know the students and staff and be part of the Wellbeing Team, providing integrated care to support students. I am excited to be part of the long term development of the students in order to help them understand more about themselves and to reach their full potential.

What can students expect in terms of working with you?

When I am working with students, they can expect a warm welcome with a smile, whilst learning practical wellbeing strategies that they can continue to use as they grow into adulthood. They will learn ways to feel calm, positive, resilient, with enhanced confidence that they can achieve their goals with effort and self-belief. I will work with the wider academic and wellbeing team to design sessions focused on helping students with particular needs. I will provide group sessions across the Junior and Senior School and some 1:1 sessions, where required.

And finally, what is a fun fact about you?

I am a mother of 2 daughters and you’ll often find me in a corner of my garden at home writing poetry, my favourite way to unwind.

Mrs Giordano
Family Support Worker Assistant

Red Nose Day mufti raises £600

Last Friday, we were delighted to hold our annual Red Nose Day mufti day, to help raise vital funds for those in need. We are delighted to report that, at time of writing, your generosity has helped us to raise a whopping £597!

Thank you so much for your continued support. If you would still like to donate, you can find our Just Giving page here.

Mrs Langhorn
Assistant Head (Staff Development and Wellbeing)

Notes for parents

Whole School Photograph: On Wednesday 27 April we will be having our whole school photograph taken. Junior School pupils will need to wear winter uniform on that day.

Sun Protection: Please can we remind parents to apply all day sun cream to your daughter before school if sunny weather is forecast.

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/family members to our Wednesday Class Assemblies at 8.35am until 8.55am. Refreshments will be served in the Community Room from 8.15am. We do hope you will be able to join us.

Wednesday 30 March – Reception

Nursery - Kipper Room and Elmer Room

This week we have been focusing on our mummies and what they mean to us. The girls have created their own unique Mother’s Day cards with flowers as a starting point.

We have also been practising a song to share with our mummies. The girls have learnt the song very quickly and some beautiful words have been sung.

The girls have been focusing on gaining their own independence through spreading their own toast, putting their coats on themselves, scraping their plates and putting them on the trolley after snack and lunchtimes and much more! Well done, we are very proud of the independent girls they are becoming.

Following on our theme ‘spring’ we have made the most of the beautiful weather and went on a walk within the school surroundings to look for some signs of growth.

We observed the buds on the trees and the bright daffodils. We spoke about the life cycle of a plant and the colours of the flowers and trees we could see.

To view more photos please click here

Nursery - Pre School

Spring is here! What a beautiful week it has been too! The girls have certainly been making the most of it, using the outside space at every opportunity.

Our story of the week has been ‘The Very Greedy Bee’ through which we have been learning about what bees need to eat and therefore how important the flowers still growing outside are. “The bees make honey!” announced Amelia.

We have watered the daffodils and plants in our garden as they have started to look thirsty, and we have been rewarded with a few flying visitors!

At Forest School, the girls created their own bubble blowers as there had been such interest in a re-discovered bubble wand in the garden the day before.

On Friday, it was wonderful to be joined by the Nursery and Reception classes, along with a lot of our mummies for the ‘Mothers Day Barn Dance’. We hoped it was enjoyed by all and that our mummies weren’t too tired out to enjoy their special day on Sunday.

To view more photos please click here

Reception

Please apply all day sun cream to your daughter before school if sunny weather is forecast.

This week we have started to think about rhyming words and to help us we have been reading the book ‘Oi Frog!’ by Kes Gray.

We have been continuing our shape work by printing with 3D shapes to find out about the faces on different shapes. We have also been making repeating patterns in lots of different ways.

Our phonics this week have been ‘ow’ – ‘blow the snow’ and ‘air’ – ‘that’s not fair!’

On Thursday morning we had a visit from Mr Hodgetts-Tate to talk to us about his job of being a Police Officer for our topic on ‘People who help us’. He had lots of interesting things to tell us and to show us.

A big highlight for the class were the handcuffs! The girls were able to ask questions and thought that it was great when Mrs Howell pretended to be a ‘baddie’ and had to be handcuffed. Many thanks to Mr Hodgetts-Tate for giving up his time to come to speak to us, it was much appreciated.

We have been thinking about our mummies this week and it was lovely to finish Friday with a Mother’s Day Barn Dance.

To view more photos please click here

Year 1

Thank you so much to parents and family members who were able to attend our class assembly on Wednesday.  The girls were so excited to present to you their learning about being healthy.

Our highlight on Thursday was making the pizzas we had designed in Design and Technology lessons. I do hope you enjoyed sampling and evaluating them!

It was lovely to enjoy Forest School in the sunshine and print on fabric using natural resources, a Japanese technique called hapa-zome, where leaves and flowers are ‘smashed’ into fabric and the dye transferred.

There is a buzz of excitement in the classroom today as the girls anticipate the Barn Dance after school. I can’t wait to see them in their outfits and hats.

A reminder that there will be no teacher-led clubs in the last week of term, but I look forward to welcoming you on Parents’ Evenings.

I hope you have a great weekend.

What the girls said:

“I am really excited for the Barn Dance – my mummy and daddy have sorted out the ‘splat the rat’ game”. Zara

“I am excited about Mother’s Day. It will be fun!” Amelia

Next week:

Maths – place value to 50 assessment then learning about length and height.

English – write our own version of the ‘Naughty Bus’ story.

To view more photos please click here

Year 2

This week we have been sequencing the ‘Tadpole’s Promise’ story and then writing our own version with a similar pattern. We have chosen a variety of animals to replace the tadpole and caterpillar, such as a chameleon and a fly, as well as a cat and a mouse.

In Maths, we have been finding half and a quarter of a shape or set of objects and we now know that the parts have to be equal.

In Science, we researched John McAdam who invented tarmacadam roads and looked at how his invention improved the safety and comfort of travelling on roads.

Next week:

Maths – continuing work on fractions, looking at thirds. Also, practising our 2 times table that we have been learning for PREP.

English – reading with understanding and finding answers in a text and looking back over the grammar and punctuation we have learnt so far.

Science – investigating which materials are waterproof.

To view more photos please click here

Year 3

This week in Maths we have continued measuring and calculating perimeter. We have been converting units of measure and problem solving too.

In English, we have been studying a text in detail making inferences and predictions.

In Science, we have set up an experiment to investigate what plants need to grow which links nicely to this year’s Science Week theme of ‘growth’.

What the girls have said: 

“We have really enjoyed reading our class book.” – Eloise R and Holly

“I liked using string to try and work out perimeter.” – Leah

“We loved spending the day with Grace Webb making cars and testing them.” – Kinara, Lucy, Amber and Avani

Looking Ahead:

Maths – fractions

RE – Hindu Festivals

To view more photos please click here

Year 4

In Maths, we have continued to develop our understanding of decimals, moving onto hundredths.

In English, we really enjoyed reading about Odd and his adventures with the Norse Gods. Neil Gaiman’s storytelling is gripping and the illustrations are captivating. 

In Science, we learnt about the discovery of oxygen and investigated how long candles would take to go out in different sized jars, developing our understanding that a flame needs oxygen to burn.

In our second ceramics workshop we started decorating our lizards using clay tools. We are all very excited to see the finished products.

What the girls have said: 

“In Science this week I enjoyed timing how long the candles stayed lit. Candles need a lot of oxygen to stay alight.” Daneka

“I really enjoyed ceramics because I got to experiment with the clay and slip to create beautiful patterns.” Aurelia

“I have really enjoyed reading the ‘Odd and the Frost Giants’ book in English.” Eva

“I joined Eco Club; we went to Senior School and we discussed how we could make the canteen food more eco-friendly.” Sakinah

 Looking ahead to next week:

English – retelling the story of ‘Odd and the Frost Giants’ from a different perspective, relative clauses.

Maths – understanding hundredths on a place value grid, dividing 1 or 2 digits by 100.

Science – exploring Kelvin’s discovery of absolute zero.

Dates for your diary:

Forest School – Wednesday 30 March

To view more photos please click here

Year 5

It has been a gloriously sunny week, both in and out of the classroom.

We have enjoyed lots of Maths lessons and lots of practical lessons, including finding out about water resistance, secret Art lessons and, of course, making Viking pottage at Forest School.

What the girls have said:

“In Forest School we had a Viking theme and we made pottage, which was a very common Viking meal. We washed and chopped up vegetables that they would have used and then cooked them in a big iron pot on the fire. I really enjoyed the cooking and the eating!” Ellie.

“I really liked learning how to do paper quilling because it was really fun making lots of different shapes and the end result is really pretty… but don’t tell anyone because it’s a secret!” Shreya.

“We all enjoyed making boats from junk modelling materials on Thursday afternoon. We were making boats to show how water resistance works and trying to make them get from one side of the water tray to the other. We kept changing our models to make them better and faster and more streamlined. In my group, we found it very interesting that when we made a sail our boat went much faster.” Avleen.

Dates for your diary:

Tuesday 26 April (first day back) – Forest School (come in FS clothes and bring uniform to change into).

Wednesday 27 April – Whole School Photo.

To view more photos please click here

Year 6

Last Friday, we held the Allotment Fayre to raise money for a local charity called Re:Store and we dressed up as farmers or gardeners.

We really enjoyed creating our own stalls, selling our products and working with money. There were loads of different activities that people could do and these included: vegetable feely boxes where you had to put your hand in a box and guess the mysterious fruit or vegetable, guess the number of seeds in the jar to win a teddy, cabbage bowling, making a bird feeder, buying a spider plant, playing ‘Hook a Duck’ and guessing the name of the bear.

Everyone really enjoyed themselves and we made nearly £600!

What the girls have said: 

“My favourite part was arranging the stall and making it look attractive” Lottie.

“I loved the Allotment Fayre because everyone’s stall was different and there were lots of activities for everybody to have a go at. I really enjoyed trying to hook a duck at the ‘Hook a Duck’ stall – it was more difficult than it looked!” Evelyn.

“I liked helping the younger girls with giving the right amount of money to the stalls.” Ellie.

“I really enjoyed the Allotment Fayre because it was great to see all the younger pupils enjoying all of the different stalls, winning prizes, planting seeds and having lots of fun!” Emily.

Next Week: 

Next week we particularly look forward to a virtual visit from BBP Law School who will be running a workshop entitled, ‘Women’s Right to Vote.’ Girls will also be given a kit list for Osmington Bay so they can start thinking about what they need to pack during the holidays.

Please could you complete the Water Safety form and Osmington Bay hoodie form this weekend. The Water Safety Form can be accessed via a link on the Osmington Bay Letter posted on 7 March.

We wish you all a good weekend!

To view more photos please click here

GAP Club

Moooranda and Hetty and Horace the Hobby Horses have joined our Gap Club farm.

We have used plastic plates to create horses for the display to join the sheep and cows. There was also a little surprise activity ready for Sunday.

What the girls have said: 

“Playing volleyball outside.” Avleen, Year 5

“Playing outside.” Ella, Reception

“Eating.” Tami, Year 5

To view more photos please click here

Parent Talks: Teens and Screens

The May event in our Parent Talks programme will take place on Monday 9 May at 6pm.

This event will have relevance for all parents and will feature Tanya Goodin on the subject of Teens and Screens.

Tanya is a trailblazing author, pioneering thinker and campaigner on digital wellbeing and tech ethics, and founder of the digital detox movement, Time to Log Off.

To book a place for the Teens and Screens event, please click here.

Mrs Wilmot
Director of Marketing & Admissions

Raise Her Up - Mother's Day Special!

For the Mother’s Day Special of #RaiseHerUp, we welcome the brilliant Katie Kirby: award-winning blogger, cartoonist, writer, and role model for harried mums everywhere.

Katie’s blog, Hurrah For Gin, very quickly found a large and loyal following of parents who identified with Katie’s honest yet warm observations of motherhood, as depicted in her unique and very funny cartoons. Katie has since published two Hurrah For Gin books, has well over 700k followers across her social media channels, and has recently published her first two children’s books. The Catastrophic Friendship Fails of Lottie Brooks is the second in the series which follows an 11 year old girl as she starts secondary school and encounters the challenges that go with it, from the trauma of bra-shopping, to the daily mortification of putting up with younger siblings.

Katie gives us her take on motherhood and reinventing yourself after children, and you can listen here or from wherever you get your podcasts.

Mrs Wilmot
Director of Marketing & Admissions

Inclusivity Bulletin: March

We are delighted to share with you the latest Northampton High School Inclusivity Bulletin.

The above graphic outlines what will be happening throughout this month, but to read more and to view the bulletin in full, please click here.

Mrs Wilmot
Director of Marketing & Admissions

Autism Awareness Coffee Morning

We are pleased to be hosting an event to support Autism Awareness later this term. On Friday 1 April from 9am until 10am, Lesley Lock from East Midlands Autism will be hosting a coffee morning exclusively for the parents of Northampton High School pupils. Parents will have the opportunity to meet with Lesley and hear about how the charity supports young people and their families.

Lesley has told us a little about what she does for this charity: “I run 3 autism family support hubs, which are open to children under 11 with or without an ASD diagnosis, and their parents/carers and siblings. These are located in Northampton, Leicester and Loughborough. As part of this service, I also chat to parents/carers about ASD and where to find support, how to manage behaviour they find difficult, how best to fill out benefits forms, and any other ASD related topic that comes up!

I also manage our Northamptonshire Children and Young People’s Service, which runs trips, holiday and youth clubs for ages 8-18 and who must have a diagnosis, as this is the criteria set by our funders. These are for the young people to attend without a parent carer, and my fabulous team and I do our best to make sure that the young people have a wonderful time when they are with us, and can access the same age appropriate activities that their neurotypical peers can. In the last year we have been paddleboarding and raft building, visited theme parks, LEGOLAND, and the Think Tank museum, taken part in a Laser Maze evening, and solved some escape rooms!”

If you would like to attend this event, please would you complete the form here.

We look forward to an informative and supportive event.

Mrs Beezley
Learning Enhancement Co-ordinator

Saturday Track Club

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