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Junior News
Junior Newsletter 9 November 2018
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Dear Parents and girls
It was good to see everyone return to school this week, rested and refreshed after the extended break.
The first half of term ended with a spectacular Halloween Party, and a huge thanks must go to FoNHS for organising this. I know that plans are already afoot for a similar event later this term and we look forward to hearing more about that soon.
With Halloween out of the way, thoughts turned to the Gunpowder Plot, Remembrance Day and Diwali this week: Mrs Purvey-Tyrer spoke to the girls about the history of ‘Bonfire Night’ and also about her recent visit to the Somme, accompanied by Betty; Mrs Forsyth from the Senior School Mathematics Faculty gave a fascinating assembly on code breaking and the impact of the code-breakers in saving lives in the Second World War; and on Wednesday many of those celebrating the festival of lights came to school dressed in beautiful dresses, some bearing sweet and savoury treats, which were very much appreciated!
Year 5 girls had barely set foot in the door before they were packing for their residential trip to Grafham Water Centre, which took place from Wednesday to Friday this week. I had the pleasure of joining them on Thursday morning as they took part in cycling, archery, climbing, low ropes and crate-stacking activities, with an afternoon of sailing awaiting. Seeing their spirit of adventure and hearing tales of personal success and strength, it was very apparent that each girl was on a voyage of self-discovery.
With much research to back up our belief that outdoor education improves resilience, self-confidence, social skills, learning capacity and emotional wellbeing, I am proud of the emphasis that we place on this aspect of our girls’ development. Later this year, Years 3 and 4 will visit Beaumanor Hall, and Year 6 will travel to Osmington Bay for similar adventures to those of Year 5. Meanwhile, our younger girls will continue to reap the benefits of Forest School in our own wonderful grounds.
I would like to thank Mrs Shaw, Miss Brandon-Jones and Mrs Long for preparing the Year 5 girls for their adventures and for supporting and encouraging them through their time at Grafham. I wish them – and you – a happy and restful weekend.
Caroline Petryszak
Interim Head of Junior School
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Mrs Petryszak's availability
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Mrs Petryszak’s days on site will vary this half-term in order to align with school activities and events:
Week commencing:
12 November: Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday
19 November: Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday
26 November: Monday/Tuesday/Friday
3 December: Wednesday/Thursday/Friday
10 December Monday/Tuesday/Friday
She is, however, contactable on c.petryszak@nhs.gdst.net or via the school office on any day of the working week.
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Achievements
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Each week in Friday’s assembly, girls are invited to share their achievements in activities outside of school. They are listed below for this week:
Tennis
Frankie Beale came 2nd in tournament
Verity Smith came 3rd in tournament
Karate
Daisy May Sharp blue belt
Taekwondo
Eloise Kirkwood
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General messages
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We are very proud of the way that our Junior School students present themselves and questions of uniform seldom arise. There have, however, been one or two on the subject of hairstyles in recent weeks, and therefore it may be useful for you to see Northampton High School’s guidance on this:
- Hair longer than shoulder length should be tied back when required, for health and safety reasons including Science and PE.
- Hair should be styled neatly.
- Hair accessories should be simple and in keeping with the uniform.
- Unnatural hair colours, such as pink, green and purple, are unacceptable, as are dramatic differences, such as bright blond highlights in very dark hair.
As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch.
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Class Assemblies are held in the Junior School hall at 8.35 am on Wednesdays and parents are most welcome to enjoy refreshments from 8.00 am. Here are the dates for this term:
Year 2 – 14 November
Year 5N – 28 November
Year 5H – 5 December
Year 1 – 12 December
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Monday to Thursday 12-15 November: Book Fair
Friday 16 November: Children in Need – spotty mufti for £1
Saturday 17 November: Early Years Family Fun Morning 10am – 12pm
Friday 23 November: Flu vaccinations for Reception to Year 5
Friday 30 November: FoNHS Christmas Disco
Friday 30 November: Y5 & Y6 Multi Sport Weekend at Newcastle High School
Friday 7 December: 140th Birthday Gala Concert at Allsaints 7pm
Tuesday 11 December: Christmas Celebration 7pm
Friday 14 December: Christmas Jumper Day & Party Afternoon
End of term
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BOOK FAIR w/c Monday 12 November
Junior School Entrance Hall
8.00am – 8:15am before school Monday to Friday.
3:30pm – 4:30pm after school Monday – Thursday.
All year groups, all welcome.
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Children in Need 2018
Friday 16 November 2018
Come to school dressed in SPOTS (£1 donation)
Enter ‘Guess the number of Spots’ quiz (50p)
Enter ‘Where is Pudsey?’ quiz (50p)
Pudsey wristbands will be on sale in the Junior School office
Monday – Friday 3.30 pm – 4.30 pm
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Childnet Digital Leaders Programme
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Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6
Don’t forget the final deadline for applications to join the Childnet Digital Leaders Programme is Monday 12 November.
Mrs S Shaw
s.shaw@nhs.gdst.net
Digital Leaders Programme
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There are no teacher-led clubs on Wednesday 21 November due to a whole school staff meeting.
Running Club
There is a new running club on Tuesdays:
Year 4: 3.45 pm – 4.30 pm
Year 5 & 6: 3.45 pm – 4.45 pm
Dance Taster
There are a few spaces left in the Dance Taster Sessions on Monday 12 November:
Reception, Year 1 & Year 2: 3.30 pm – 4.15 pm
Year 3, 4 & 5: 4.15 pm – 5.00 pm
Monday 19 November:
Year 6: 3.30 pm – 4.15 pm
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Betty’s first school photograph
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Half Term Art Workshop and Saturday morning Art Classes at Northampton High School, Wake Wing Art Room.
Saturday 10 and 17 November 9.30 am – 11.30 am – £30 for both days
Suitable for 7 – 13 year olds
For details about any of the workshops and to book a place contact Emma at artworkshopswithemma@gmail.com /07570772334
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Our week
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Elmer Room
This week, we have been busy celebrating Diwali. We have coloured pictures, made Rangoli patterns, danced and found out information about Diwali on the interactive whiteboard. We also made patterns at Forest School using red, yellow and orange finds in a circle shape and painted firework pictures.
Next week we will be thinking about the colours blue and green, the numbers three and four and the square shape.
Kipper Room
In Kipper Room this week, the girls have enjoyed creating sparkle wands, watching fireworks and creating a group firework picture using the paint syringes. We have also been playing with the parachute, waving it up and down, quickly and slowly. The girls participated well in Music: they time-danced to the music using a variety of props and joining in with their favourite nursery rhymes.
General Information
In Nursery, we love to find out about lots of different things, if you have a special custom or celebration that you celebrate as a family eg, Eid, Hanukkah etc. we would like to share them with you and the girls, enhancing our learning about different cultures. Please let Mrs Waters know and she will add them to our planning throughout the year.
Please make sure that you return any Nursery spare clothes that you have as we are running short.
Friday 16 November Children in Need, wear spotty clothes £1 donation.
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This week, to start our topic about Light and Dark, we have been learning about the festival Diwali and fireworks. On Wednesday we had a ‘Diwali Day’ and the activities included making Rangoli patterns, clay divas, dressing up and dancing.
Our number was 7, shape oval and colour orange. We have looked at the solid cylinder shape and made rockets out of a cylinder. Practical maths activities have been to use ‘more’ and ‘fewer’ than a given number. Letter sounds have been r, h, l and j (which involved making jjj jelly).
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Just before the holiday, Year 1 had a visit from Mrs Hodkins-Tate, Head of Science in the Senior School. She led an intriguing science investigation involving a puppy and a puddle. The girls explored how best to mop up such a puddle and investigated which was the most absorbent material for the job. All girls in year one showed great scientific exploration, asked important questions and I was really pleased with their problem solving and team working skills. What a great group of scientists we have among us!
Finally, well done to all the girls who learnt a poem as part of their half term holiday PREP. We had a lovely recital with Year 2, and this week we have continued along this theme by listening to and analysing different types of weather related poetry. We are beginning to speak aloud very clearly and audibly.
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We have had a busy first week back in Year 2. We have started a new project in DT looking at moving pictures, we have ventured down to Forest School with Mrs Waters, we are looking at seasonal changes and weather in our science lessons, we have completed lots of Maths work, we’ve been to the new library AND we are practising for our class assembly next week!
“I have enjoyed swimming, visiting the new library and going to forest school this week!” Sophie
“I have enjoyed working with 3 digit numbers in maths this week.” Avleen
“I have loved practising for our assembly and I am excited for the real thing!” Harriet
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“I liked the car investigation in science, looking at the best surface for a race car to travel quickly along.” Emily
“I enjoyed doing the Rangoli patterns and learning about Diwali in Humanities.” Diandra
The girls have all been given their parts for the play in December and will shortly have a note put in their planners about any clothes or props they may need for their costume.
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“My highlight of the week was in PE when we got free time. We did skipping and tennis.” Sienna
“I liked Maths when we were measuring capacity.” Anya
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Year 5 have been in Grafham this week; lots of news to follow!
Save the date: Hobbies Morning 22 November. Come in and hear your daughter speak about her hobby or interest and visit her stand. More details to follow.
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This week has been a very productive week for Year 6. We have had our first Drama lesson of the year, we visited Forest School as part of our Science lesson, learnt about Ancient Greek warfare and some of us have visited Dr Stringer for a tea party.
“This week I have enjoyed working on the battle scene for my mythical creature writing. It doesn’t end well for the creature!” Lola
“I have loved the challenge of applying divisibility rules to large numbers!” Arna
“Until this week I hadn’t realised how much the Ancient Greeks loved to fight. I particularly enjoyed learning about the Battle of Marathon where Pheidippides ran for 2 days straight to warn the troops of an attack and then fought in the battle!” Charlotte
“Dr Stringer’s Tea Party was a highlight for some of the girls in Year 6 – I particularly enjoyed the biscuits and talking with Dr Stringer!” Imogen
“Drama with Mrs Care was great fun this week- we made machines using our bodies and worked on sketches taken from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!” Gemma
“Science was fascinating this week. We got to dissect owl pellets and find the remains of mice and chicks, as well as discovering a newt, a frog, slugs shield bugs and many more interesting living organisms!” Ella
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The girls in GAP Club have been busy exploring Bonfire Night, Diwali and Remembrance Day activities this week.
Two girls have shared their highlight of the week:
” Diyas.” Avani in Reception.
“Making the Diya candles.” Asmi Year 1.
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Northampton High School
Newport Pagnell Road, Hardingstone Northampton NN4 6UU
T: 01604 765765 nhsadmin@nhs.Gdst.Net
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