Head's Weekly News

Headmaster

03 Feb 2012

Dear Parents

Thank you 1F for your fascinating assembly this morning. I was very impressed by your level of reading and the incredible knowledge you now have on the subject of light and the moon. You certainly showed us what a long way we have come from when many people thought that the moon was made of cheese or that it was a light source that could be switched on and off! Thank you for teaching us so many interesting facts. Well done 1F.

Out and About
On Tuesday, I joined 4SD when they had a special visit from Mr Sam Huneidi who is a Neurosurgeon. He talked to the children about how the brain functions to operate every action in their body. Mr Huneidi asked Madeleine to demonstrate that even when we stand up with our eyes closed our brain helps us to maintain our balance and posture. He then asked the children why they think they have their senses. Uzair, Samuel and Harvey all shot their hands into the air and together explained how we use our senses to get information from around us for self preservation and survival. The children were then asked to stand up and hop on alternate legs. They enjoyed this activity and were soon out of breath. Mr Huneidi spoke to Ruby about how she felt and explained to her and the class that they were breathing heavily because their brain was telling their body that they needed more oxygen. The children were greatly interested in the talk and were full of questions at the end which demonstrated how much they had listened and understood. I would like to thank Mr Huneidi very much for coming in to school and for giving our children an insight into his profession and a detailed overview of how the brain works.

Chess v Bolton
Chess Match - Highfield v Bolton Boys’ Junior School ‘B’ Team
On Tuesday, a team of 15 players journeyed to Bolton Boys’ School; eager and ready to play their second fixture against them. Once the matches had started, and a tense silence descended over the room, our players dedicated themselves to the task at hand. After only 7 minutes, ‘Checkmate!’ could be heard from Board 2; Lewis (6P) won his game with a checkmate that was to prove the downfall for a number of our own players! The next 25 minutes saw defeats on Boards 4, 6, 9, 12 and 14 for Highfield (these five players had gained a good position for themselves but were so engrossed in their own tactics that they didn’t realise what their opponents were up to!).

Five minutes later, the score stood at 6 – 5 to Highfield with wins on Boards 1, 3, 8, 10 and 15. Samuel (5H), on Board 1, came from behind to surprise his opponent with a checkmate similar to Lewis’; Calvin (6P) played with great determination and eventually wore his opponent down; Oliver and Ollie (6P) both had good wins and a special mention must go to Jonathan (3S) who managed a very clever win in his first match for Highfield!

During the next ten minutes we managed a further win – Aryan (6P) on Board 7 - closely followed by two losses on Boards 11 and 13. The score was now 7 – 7 with just one match still in play. After the hour of allocated time, the match on Board 5 (Daniel 5H) was still not over – time to declare a winner based on points. Unfortunately, this went against us meaning that we narrowly lost the match 8 – 7.

Congratulations to all the members of the team; you are all certainly thinking more and moving less quickly! Well done! A big thank you to Mr Wood for driving us in the minibus (and making sure we were back at school in plenty of time). Mrs Haythornthwaite

Mrs Chester visits Reception on Wednesday
This afternoon Poppy’s mummy came in to school to talk about being a nurse. She told us that she used to work at night-time sometimes, and also what happens in hospital if you are sick and that we must wash our hands and dry them properly. She told us all about our bones and how, if they think we have broken one, nurses take x-rays. She also told us how the doctors fix them. We know that we need a skeleton to protect our important organs and to hold us up. We asked lots of interesting questions about things like vitamins and how our feet work. We were very happy that she came to talk to us. Reception

News from the Sport’s Field
Netball v Harris A/B
On a freezing cold January afternoon, the A and B netball teams played against Harris School at home. The A team played a fast and accurate game against determined opponents with the final result going in Highfield’s favour 6-1. Player of the match: Amy. The B team put up strong resistance to withstand a much improved Harris team with a draw at 2 all, a fair result. Player of the match: Alice. Well done to everyone who played!

ISA Cross Country
On Wednesday, we travelled to Beech House School to take part in the ISA Northern Cross Country Competition against over twenty schools and 120 runners. All Highfield runners tried very hard with the following runners being placed the highest for their age-group. Harry 32nd, Joshua 24th and Esme 15th. The under 11s team did particularly well, finishing 4th overall out of approximately 20 teams. Congratulations to everyone on a very successful afternoon.

Kane Donaghy’s interview with our cross-country runners:
On Wednesday 1st February, I interviewed some people about taking part in the cross country for the first time. I asked Jonathan and Morgan how they felt about doing their first cross country run. Morgan said that he felt a bit nervous but was looking forward to it.

Jonathan said that he was a bit nervous but also a little excited. I asked Emma and Ruby how they felt about participating on a new track. Emma said, ‘I am very nervous because I don’t know the track.’ Ruby said, ‘I feel excited by a new course but I feel a bit nervous.’

After the race I asked a few people how they felt physically. Harry Goodwin told me that he was exhausted but glad that there were refreshments at the end.

Thank you for all the people who gave me some answers to my questions.

Under 9 Netball v St. Pius X
The under 9 girls played in their first netball game of the year on Thursday. They had all made excellent progress since the start of the year and were demonstrating good movement and passing skills. The final score was 5 all with Anjini player of the match. Well done to all the girls who played: Lauren, Madeleine, Ayesha, Hannah, Emma, Lucy, Ruby, Anjini, Poppy.

Monkhouse
The shop in Preston is now shut for the time being. Orders may be placed via the website or by telephone. If you have any queries regarding orders please ring 0161 476 7201 or send an email to web@monkhouse.com. Monkhouse will be coming into school on Tuesday 28 February from 3.00pm until 5.00 pm and on Wednesday 21st March from 3.00 pm until 8.00 pm.

Year 4’s Production of Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations at Preston College Theatre
Tickets are now on sale! There will be two performances – which will be taking place in the new state of the art theatre at Preston College - on Thursday 23rd February. There will be a matinée performance which starts at 12.30pm and an evening performance at 6pm. Tickets are available for both performances from the office. There will be a charge of £3.50 per adult ticket which will admit entrance to both performances. Children are free. There are plenty of seats in the theatre and so everyone is welcome to come and support year four in this exciting new event and to see Preston College’s latest facility. Year three might be particularly interested in coming along – it could be you next!

Merits
6P: Shannen
5H: Lydia
5M: Elizabeth
4SD: Ayesha
3S: George
2W: Angi
1F: the whole class
1M: Tyler
RB: Nathaniel
RD: Soha

Word of the Week
Juniors: elegant
Year 6: coherently

Thought for the Week
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop 620BC - 564BC

Yours sincerely

J M Duke

Headmaster