Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's Weekly News, Friday 22nd September, 2017
Sep 22, 2017
22 September 2017
Dear Parents
Out and About with Pre-School
Pre-School had a very busy morning on Wednesday. They visited Highfield Haven to collect items that were red, green and brown. The children really enjoyed exploring the Haven and looking at the wildlife and all the different colours. They managed to fill a basket right up to the top before they came back into school. They then used the leaves to create a picture from the dye in the leaves. This form of art is called Hapa Zome and is the Japanese art of creating pictures by hitting leaves with hammers. I watched Harriet and Sienna cover their leaves with a white sheet before using a hammer to extract the dye. The rest of the children watched intently with hands behind their backs and goggles on for safety. It was amazing to see their picture come to life as the dye created the exact print on the sheet. I then watched Eliza taking her time choosing a variety of leaves with different colours and shapes from the basket before she and Ayyub used the hammers successfully to create their pictures. Outside, the rest of the class were watching real tools in use as Mr Forrest cut up some pipe for them to play with. They were warned of the dangers of the saw and watched as the sharp edge cut through the pipe. Nathanael said the sharp bits were cutters and Arthur said they were like shark’s teeth. Miss Halstead then asked the children what they were going to use the pipes for. After a little bit of quiet contemplation, Abdullah said he was going to build a fire engine before they all raced off to start the construction. Eva chased after them saying they needed instructions! At this point Arthur turned to me and said he needed an instructions man. Time to beat a hasty retreat and leave them in the capable hands of Miss Halstead! It was a wonderful start to my Wednesday morning to witness so much enthusiasm, confidence, creativity and fun!
New Nursery and Pre-School Environment
The Nursery and Pre-School were decorated during the summer and a more natural learning environment has been created. Photographs of the new areas have recently been used by the Senior Early Years and Foundation Consultant in Lancashire to demonstrate excellent Early Years Practice at a meeting for Nursery Managers across Lancashire. These pictures have also been taken to their nurseries for training their staff.
Nursery News
Miss Kidd and all the Nursery staff would like to welcome all their new starters: Chad, Billy, Henry W, Fatimah Zahra, Sara Bibi, Brandon, Vivaan, Aaliyah and Aurora. They have all settled into Nursery really well and I witnessed many wonderful interactions between the children and staff on Thursday morning. So far this month, they have been looking at planets and space and have completed a brilliant display that goes right the way across the room with lots of planets and spaceships. They have also been on lots of nature walks in Highfield Haven, collecting leaves conkers and pine cones. This led to further discussion about animals and the children completing their own animal prints. There has certainly been lots to chat about and explore and I can’t wait to see what ignites their interest next in Nursery.
HPPTA News
Our PTA raised an incredible £8000 last year! Thank you to the PTA and the whole school community for all your effort and support throughout the year. The main focus for this year will be starting to replace and upgrade the school’s interactive whiteboards which were originally bought by the PTA over ten years ago. We are also looking to buy some more equipment for the playground and other resources for the school which we will let you know about once they have been confirmed. Thank you for your continued support.
Parents’ Questionnaire
Thank you to the parents who completed the questionnaire at the end of last term. Thank you for the extremely positive feedback which was very much appreciated at the end of another very successful year at Highfield. There were also a few good suggestions which have been discussed and in some cases will be explored further. We are planning to have an online survey later this academic year which we hope will achieve an even greater response. We will keep you informed.
Parents’ Evening
Appointment sheets have been put up in the dining room for the Reception-Year 5 Parents’ Evening which will be held on Thursday 28 September.
Netball v Harris by Zahara
On Thursday, all the Year 6 girls, who attend netball practice, played an away match against Harris. The A team played very well with some super defending and fought very hard for a 3-3 draw. The B team played a fantastic match with some very accurate passing and won 3-2. A super first match, well done to all the players.
Merit Awards
RD: Scarlett RJ: Raj 1W: Aibhlin 2D; Bethan 2E: Frank
3H: Neelesh 3M: Haaris 4S: Nandini 5D: William 5M: The Whole Class 6H: Hanin
6P: Grace
Monitor of the week: James
Thought for the Week
Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity.
Bo Bennett
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
