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Junior News – 26 January 2024 |
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The bookends to this week in Junior School have been musical in their nature, and as such have offered collaborative, uplifting opportunities that sandwiched the rest of week. Opening each week with singing assemblies is a tradition I fiercely champion. Mr Nathan’s (Head of Music) skills and passion elevate our weekly experience to be a valuable learning opportunity in music theory, as well as being reassuringly conducted. We are beautifully accompanied on the grand piano by Mr Campling, and the girls deeply benefit from the experience and skills these two staff members offer us. Singing holds a plethora of benefits for primary-aged children, transcending the simple joy of making music. From cognitive development to emotional wellbeing, the act of singing contributes significantly to a child’s holistic growth. Our Junior School choir is growing in numbers and at its largest for several years. I am not surprised so many of the children are choosing to spend a lunchtime together singing. I have been impressed by how quickly their confidence has developed with two part singing. I am looking forward to their performance at our Mothers Day afternoon tea event. Yesterday, our Young Voices singing group joined 5500 other children at Birmingham Arena to perform in a concert they have been practising for since September. The atmosphere was electric and the endorphin levels of performing with such a large group carried the girls home on the coach and made the late night worth it. Observing the smiles of the girls and the enjoyment lighting their eyes, as they made memories that will last a lifetime, made the late night for staff worth it too! We have a growing number of girls who choose to have singing lessons at school and celebrating their journeys of progress is a true pleasure. Their solos in assemblies, scholars concerts and performances are a delight and I personally am excited to see their progress as the year continues. If we are to embrace that singing offers primary-aged children a multitude of benefits that extend beyond the realm of music, I am pleased that every week we are able to offer these benefits to our pupils. Experiencing alongside them their growing appreciation of music, celebrating their development of musical skills and facilitating experiences that offer them emotional and mental support is a privilege, and this week in particular was a heightened privilege indeed. Not being one for News Years Resolutions as such, I did however promise myself that 2024 will be the year I join a local singing group so I can embrace the benefits I see for the children and have experienced myself at earlier stages of my life. With January flying by I better start looking in to this! Miss Hair |
Artemis House Party |
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Next Tuesday, Artemis will be having a House Party at lunchtime to celebrate winning the House Competition, with the most House points gained last term. A special lunch hosted by the Artemis House Captains will be enjoyed by all girls who are in Artemis from Year 1 to Year 6. The girls will also be enjoying karaoke style singing with some of the Disney songs from PG rated films. Please do let us know if this is something you’d prefer for your daughter not to partake in. The counters have been reset with the race now well underway to see who wins this term! |
News from our classrooms: Nursery and Preschool |
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Thunderstorms and high winds are meant to impact children’s behaviour, and our room has looked like a storm has blown through it on a number of occasions this week! We have lots of transporters – children who like to take resources from one place to another, which has definitely increased this week – not sure if this has anything to do with the wind! Forest School was relocated to the hill outside the Junior School playground, and to make the most of the weather, we made kites which we decorated with our bark rubbing attempts. Cooking this week challenged our manipulative skills, and our story this week challenged our listening skills too, as it is a longer story than we usually have. |
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In Preschool, we have been looking at measure and size by focusing on ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’. The children have been fully engrossed in acting out the story, both in our puppet theatre and on a larger scale in our outside area. We have had porridge oats in our role play area, which the girls mixed with water and fed to the bears. In Phonics, we have listened to the story of Goldilocks and have been looking at the sound and letter for ‘a’. The girls have embraced their swimming lessons and the learning the whole experience brings, most of all, we have celebrated the girls’ increasing independence when getting changed for Swimming. |
Reception |
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This week we have been thinking of our own ideas for a new story, based on the ‘Three Little Pigs’. Firstly, we had to decide which animal to choose and which villain, and then we had to decide which materials we would like to build our house from. We had some very imaginative ideas! In our Phonics, we have learnt the sounds ‘ee’ ‘ai’ and ‘igh’. Our material focus this week has been fabric, and we enjoyed using different fabrics to make a collage number. Using the numbers 6, 7 & 8, we have consolidated 1 more and 1 less and used the ten frame to look at the number pattern. At Forest School, we made bird feeders to hang from the trees and tried to identify any birds that we saw. |
Year 1 Computing Focus |
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Year 1 have been learning about pictograms. We have been understanding how to conduct a survey to collect data, and then represent this data in a chart using pictures. This is a demanding task, but of course our Year 1’s rose to the challenge! |
Year 2 Computing Focus |
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Year 2 have made great improvements in their computing skills. They have been looking at sorting data and how it can be arranged on the screen. This week, we looked at questioning and identifying people from just asking yes and no questions. It has shown the girls that when we write programme instructions we must be clear and write step by step procedures, which will help them with our next tasks. |
Year 3 Computing Focus |
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Year 3 have been practising their typing skills this term by using 2Type in Purple Mash. We have studied their posture when using the computer and looked at which fingers they should use for each key. The girls have then played games to try to improve their knowledge of the keyboard and typing speed. |
Year 4 Computing Focus |
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Formatting cells on Google Sheets has been the objective for Year 4. The girls enjoyed changing the font and size of letters including making them bold, followed by changing the colours of different cells. To their surprise, a pixel image was created. |
Year 5 Computing Focus |
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This week, Year 5 have been using their devices a lot. We are preparing for our Hobbies Morning (next Wednesday) and have so much to do; writing speeches, Google Slides presentations for assembly and producing fabulous individual display boards for the classroom. We are really looking forward to welcoming our parents and all the girls from other classes. |
Year 6 Computing Focus |
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We have begun a new unit of work to create our own text-based adventure games based on traditional tales and well known stories. After playing ‘Adventure in the Woods’ (starring Little Red Riding Hood!), we used 2Connect to map out the action for our own games. We are excited about starting work on them! |
News from Outside of the classroom: Sport Fixture News |
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U10 & U11A Netball v Quinton, Wednesday 17 January When we started our match, the U10A team were very confident and I scored our first goal. Each quarter was 8 minutes long and unfortunately, in the second quarter, Quinton House scored four goals and the score was 4-1 to Quinton. In the third quarter, no one scored and it then all came down to the last quarter. Everyone was doing amazing, we were communicating well, using really good footwork and taking risks. Although Quinton were winning, we did not let that stop us and the tables really turned. Eloise C, our amazing vice captain, scored three goals in a row to make the score even. Shortly after, Olivia H scored a goal to make the score 5-4 to us. Time was running out and there was only a minute left when Eloise C scored a breath taking goal and made the score 4-6 to Northampton High School. Eloise C also got chosen Player of the Match and we chose the Quinton player who played Goalkeeper during the ending half for her determination, perseverance, risk taking and great collaboration with all of her teammates. Avani A. The U11A team went to Quinton House School on Wednesday the 17 January to play a netball match. Despite it being one of the coldest days of the year, the team played really well with a great 11-0 win. The team made some great progress with their shooting. As a team we need to work on marking, improving accuracy of our passing and talking our time. Well done to Luisa who was awarded Player of the Match. It was a really good start to the season. Annabelle R U9A & U9B Netball v Quinton – Friday 19 January On Friday 19 January, the Year 4 A and B teams travelled to Quinton House School to begin this this year’s netball campaign. The girls were playing England Netball’s ‘Bee Netball’ which is a variation of the game where the team rotates positions each quarter to ensure the players experience a number of different roles per game. This suited our teams, who have been focusing on their core skills such as passing and catching and are beginning to use them successfully when playing full court games. The B team played first and demonstrated excellent team work, they enjoyed the majority of the possession and managed to convert a goal towards the end of the match, eventually winning 1-0. Player of the Match was selected by the Quinton team, well done Rhoda J! The A team played next and were equally successful at bringing the ball down the court and scored a whopping 7 goals. Well done to Olivia T who was the matches top scorer and to Grace B who was named as Player of the Match by Quinton. Well done to each and every player who demonstrated excellent attitude and hard work – an afternoon enjoyed by all. |
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County Cross Country – West Glebe Park, Corby – Saturday 20 January Well done to Avani A, Luisa P and Zara J who ran for the South Northants team in Corby on Saturday! It was a very cold morning and the course was a mix of hard frost and slippy sections. Despite the harsh conditions all three ran well. For the U13’s Zara J came 32nd and Luisa P 34th. For the U11’s Avani A finished a very respectable 35th. All three should be so proud of their achievements, in races with 70 of the best runners in the county. U11A and U10A Netball v Winchester House – Wednesday 24 January The U11A netball team had a match on Wednesday 24 January against Winchester House, it was a very close game with a final score of 6-5 to Winchester House. Congratulations to Angelie B who was awarded Player of the Match. For our next match we need to work on court-order, passing in front of a player and marking tightly on a player. We are looking forward to our next match. Annabelle R. The U11B’s match went really well and the overall score was 3-5 to Winchester House. Overall, we all had a great time playing as our first match of the season. We had no struggle getting down the court with loads of great passes. I was chosen as Player of the Match. Lily C. As Captain and Vice we thought the U10A team did really well during the match, even though we didn’t win. Our whole team was very determined and didn’t give up even though it was windy and extremely cold. We were up against a very good team, Winchester House, and the score was 7-1 to them. We, as a team, gave the Player of the Match to their great Goal Shooter, as you could see that she was trying her best during the whole game. Overall, the A team played really well, and showed lots of perseverance, risk taking, and determination throughout the match. Eloise C and Annabel P. The U10B team played against Winchester House School. Winchester House were really good and they played well. When they were passing the ball they were passing it really fast. The score was 10-0 to Winchester House. Our team had fun playing this match and even though we lost it wasn’t a big deal for us, we are proud no matter what! Amber K |
Weekly Awards |
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Star Learners of the Week: External Achievements: |
Birthdays This Week |
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This week, we wish a very Happy Birthday to the following members of our Junior School family: Asmi S and Erin C |
Pauline Quirke Academy |
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Term Dates |
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Northampton High School |
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