Junior News – 26 May 2023

As exam period descends onto Senior School, we are entering an exciting time for us all. Our Year 13 and Year 11 pupils are on study leave, and are proving to be excellent roles models for managing the challenges that examination periods present.

For our Junior pupils, experiencing external exams seems a distant milestone, but as we all know time seems to fly by faster than we can ever anticipate. It won’t be long before our current cohort are experiencing this for themselves, and it shouldn’t be underestimated how their experiences in Junior School influence their experiences and successes in GCSE’s and A Levels.

Whilst our pupils can find observing snippets of the end of year celebrations a little baffling, it is beneficial for them to be in proximity with our older students, who are role modelling the future at Northampton High School to our younger pupils.

I know our Year 11 and Year 13 pupils will be successful in this year’s examinations, and I look forward to marking and celebrating their results with you all.

We all know that ‘success’ is, and should be, marked in more ways than just examinations, and our pupils are walking examples of confident, independent girls who are set to have huge, positive impacts on the world.

Miss Hair
Head of Junior School

Dates for your Diary

Class Assemblies (8.35am unless specified):
14 June – Year 2
21 June – Year 1
05 July – Year 6 – End of Junior School Celebration event (8.45am)
05 July – Reception (3.00pm)

Other Trips:
23 June – Women’s Ashes (KS2)

Key Dates:
Year 3 to Year 6 – Sports Day, 9 June (all day)
Nursery to Year 6 – Summer Fayre, 7 July (3.30-5pm)
Reception to Year 6 – Open Classrooms, 12 July (3.30-4pm)
Reception to Year 6 – End of term, 14 July (11.45am)

Father’s Day Breakfast: Friday 16 June

KS2 Forest School sessions:
12 June – Year 5
19 June – Year 3 and Year 4
03 July – Year 6
10 July – Year 5

School Trips for this term:
EYFS – Teddy Bear’s Picnic
Year 1 and 2 – Warwick Castle
Year 3 – Aquarium
Year 4 – Lego Discovery Centre
Year 5 – Everdon

Junior School Sports Day Events

Junior School Sports Days this year will be held on the following dates:

Nursery, Preschool and Reception – 7 June, 9.00 to 10.00am, to be held in Junior School.
Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 – 6 July, 9.30 to 11.30am.
Year 3 to Year 6 – 9 June, all day event. Parents are welcome to bring a picnic lunch for themselves over lunchtime which they can eat with their daughters.

On arrival, please make your way to the Sports Field. All parents and families are welcome and we would love to see as many of you as possible cheering on your children.

We look forward to welcoming you for a day of sporting fun!

Upcoming Events and Notices

Holiday Club: If you wish your daughter to attend Holiday Club on any days from 30 May to 2 June, please could you book following this link. Thank you.

Swap Shop: Our next Swap Shop event will be held on Friday 30 June, 8.00am – 9.00am and 11.30am – 12.30pm in the Junior School Library.

Class Photos: We have our yearly Class Photographs booked in for Tuesday 6 June, the Tuesday we get back from half term. Please can we ask that your daughter is wearing her summer uniform ready for their photograph. Thank you.

News from our classrooms: Nursery and Preschool

Teddy Bears Picnic set the mood for a party theme in Nursery this week, which continued with dance moves being demonstrated in the garden during music and movement.

The recent birthdays the girls have celebrated have also encouraged a party vibe, with play involving making birthday cakes from very creative resources, and wrapping gifts with items being wrapped in pieces of material.

I hope the party vibe continues and you all have a lovely half term!

We started the week with a Teddy Bears Picnic and the girls got very engaged with the activities on offer. These ranged from creating their own bear ears, playing in the porridge oats, singing songs, playing a range of games on the field and creating teddies using playdough. They also made their own sandwiches and biscuits as part of their picnic. The morning was a huge success, with lots of smiles all round!

“I liked making and eating the biscuits.” – Danaya W

“Playing games with my teddy.” – Phoebe

“Taking my teddy in the field.” – Aurora

Assessing their own risks has been a running theme through Preschool this week. The girls have climbed trees, created obstacle courses and used their own initiative to keep safe in the sun.

Wishing everyone a happy half term!

News from our classrooms: Reception

The week began with joining Preschool for a Teddy Bear’s Picnic. The girls and their teddies enjoyed several activities and a picnic lunch!

This week saw us release our Painted Lady butterflies to find their own homes. The class have enjoyed watching the changes from caterpillar to butterfly, and although we were a little sad to see them go, we decided that they would be better in their natural habitat.

In Maths this week we have been continuing with subtraction, using the signs in sums and finding the answer.

It has been lovely to see the mini projects about a rainforest animal that the girls have completed for their prep. We have heard about a variety of animals through many lovely pictures and pieces of writing. It was a great opportunity to develop speaking and listening skills as each girl presented their project to the rest of the class. The week has finished with a big hunt at Forest School, along with some pond dipping.

Have a lovely half term holiday and enjoy the weather!

Year 1 Computing Focus

Year 1 have been learning about spreadsheets this week using Purple Mash. We have learnt the terms cell, column and row, and have been inputting data and creating simple calculations to find totals of amounts.

We have also been working on our control when using the mouse pad in order to ‘drag and drop’ items into a different section of a spreadsheet. We have helped and supported our classmates when practising this tricky new skill.

Year 2 Computing Focus

Year 2 have been using ‘2Sequence’ in Purple Mash to compose their own tunes using the different instruments available on the programme.

They have then altered the pace of their tune to see what speed sounds best. Fortunately, the girls all wear headphones, otherwise it would be a very noisy lesson!

Year 3 Computing Focus

Year 3 have been working hard to create a Google Slides presentation all about life in Year 3, to be able to present to parents as part of open afternoon this week.

Year 4 Computing Focus

This half term, Year 4 have been enjoying using Purple Mash animations. They have drawn their own stop go animations, as well as using Lego.

The children have loved this unit of work and have produced some excellent animations!

Year 5 Computing Focus

This half term, Year 5 have been using Google Classroom to undertake a mini-project entitled ‘The Maya Civilisation’.

Pupils have spent time developing good research skills and learning how to format text and images effectively.

Year 6 Computing Focus

Year 6 have been working hard on their ‘We Are One Climate Change’ project.

We have been using technology to work collaboratively in our groups to think of initiatives to help the environment, and have started to explore and use video creation apps to produce an inspirational video to motivate others to be kind to the environment.

News from outside of our classrooms: No Mow May

As we near the end of ‘No Mow May’, Junior School pupils and staff have been enjoying the abundance of flowers that have appeared around the playgrounds.

Girls in Years 3 and 4 have counted the number of flowers in a square metre, with totals ranging from 34 to 243. At least 12 different species have been spotted so far, providing valuable nectar for insects.

If you joined in at home, you will also have helped your garden wildlife!

News from outside of our classrooms: BPP Streetlaw - Women's Right to Vote

Year 6 were delighted to invite BPP Law into their classroom on Thursday for a fascinating insight into the difficult journey faced by women in their quest for suffrage.

This helped the girls to fully understand the importance of having the right to vote, and how important it is for them to continue to challenge inequality in all areas and be the game changers of the future.

News from outside of our classrooms: Wizard of Oz Creative Arts Day

On Tuesday, we welcomed Year 5 into the Senior School Food and Textiles departments for a Wizard of Oz themed skills day; linked to our musical production this year.

This was a wonderful opportunity to integrate the girls into Senior School classrooms and meet some new teachers. Although the skills demonstrated were mostly Food and Textiles based, there were links to Science and Maths too.

In Food, the girls made yellow brick road blondies using custard creams. Following a demonstration, they started making their blondies. This included the technique of browning butter which gave the blondies a deeper, richer and slightly nutty flavour.

The outcomes were successful, and everyone had a wonderful time baking together.

In Textiles, we worked on a ‘design and make project’ creating ‘Emerald City accessories’ which will be worn on stage as part of the costumes in our production of Wizard of Oz later this term.

The girls learnt needle felting and hand stitching techniques together with some maths skills.

Miss Knight & Miss Lycett
Creative Arts Department

Awards for this week

Amelia C-L – awarded a Rainbow Promise, achieved a 5m Swimming certificate and awarded a Water Skills certificate
Pearl P – achieved a Hot Air Balloon Ride certificate
Georgina P – achieved a Pluto award in Gymnastics
Ella K – achieved a Pluto award in Gymnastics
Isabelle L – achieved Gymnast of the Term and achieved a Pluto award
Grace R – achieved a Pluto award in Gymnastics
Siéna-Louise DB – awarded second place in Drama for her group acting, achieved second place for her set poem and first place for her own choice poem at the Northampton Drama Festival
Ellie A – has moved up to Green Ball full court tennis and took part in her first Brownie camp out
Grace B – asked to play Danny from Matilda
Isabella B – awarded Football Player of the match
Eve C – achieved a Mercury award in Gymnastics
Eliza A – achieved a Mercury award in Gymnastics
Lily C – achieved a Saturn and Mercury award in Gymnastics
Anna H – moved up to Sliver in Swimming Club
Maya R – achieved 1st place for Poetry and awarded 1st place for Dialogue with a Friend at the Northampton Drama Festival
Maya J, Risara S, Harriet S and Zoe S – completed a Triathlon and raised £700 for charity

Birthdays This Week

This week, we wish a very Happy Birthday to the following members of our Junior School family:

Zara B

Father's Day Breakfast

Why choose a ‘made for girls’ education? – Wednesday 7 June

We are delighted to be hosting a special ‘In conversation with’ event, in which our experts will explore how a girls-only education can transform your daughter’s life. Drawing on landmark national research in The Girls’ Futures Report, our experts Dr May Lee, Head, and Dr Kevin Stannard, GDST’s Director of Innovation and Learning, will explore:

How girls are feeling at this moment in time. What do they need from education and the wider world?
The differences a girls-first ecosystem can make for confidence, careers and skills.
Myths and misapprehensions surrounding girls’ education.
Helping girls’ thrive at key stages: Junior School, Senior School and Sixth Form.

The event commences at 6.00pm with a drinks reception, followed by the ‘In Conversation’ event at 6.30pm. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and explore these vital topics with our experts.

We do hope you will be able to join us for what promises to be an invaluable discussion with pioneering experts in girls’ education.

Please click here to book your free tickets today.

Mr Nash
Marketing & Communications Manager