Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News - 13th February 2015
Feb 13, 2015
13 February 2015
Dear Parents
6H Assembly
Thank you Year 6 for your assembly which retold the story of David and Goliath this morning. The audience really enjoyed the play and the noise level from the singing and chanting really woke everybody up! We could hear every word clearly and your expressive performance really conveyed the message of your story. Thank you Mrs Haythornthwaite for organising the assembly. I know that our Year 6 will continue to set an example to the rest of the school and show the strength and courage to deal with any difficult problems they come across.
Lancashire Chess Championships
Last Saturday saw a number of Highfield pupils attending this county competition and all having some success in their matches throughout a very long day. Congratulations to Ben (5H) who is now the Lancashire U10 champion, Ivan (3M) who came 2nd in the U8 age group and Dev (5H) who was 3rd in the U10s.
World Book Day – Thursday 5th March
The day will begin with our annual World Book Day Junior Mastermind Final; the Year 6 children have been busy reading the five set books and have undergone two gruelling rounds of questions in order to gain a place in this final. Congratulations to our five finalists: Ali, Harry, Harvey, Isaac and Tom D.
It would be great to see everyone dressed as their favourite characters from literature on the day! Thank you, in advance, to all the parents, grandparents and family friends for your support with costumes – the children always look fantastic!
Mrs Haythornthwaite
Author Visit
Children’s author, Helena Pielichaty, will be visiting Highfield on Wednesday 4th March. She has prepared an assembly for children from Year 1 to Year 6 and will run workshop sessions for the KS2 children.
Mrs Jones Returns
Mrs Jones will be returning from maternity leave after half-term on Monday and Tuesday. She will be working with small groups in Key Stage 2 with special focus on our Year 6 class.
Out and About with RF
I visited Reception F on Thursday who were just returning from PE. It was amazing to see how much progress they have made in so many areas since the start of the year. They changed themselves very quickly and looked as smart as they looked at the beginning of the day (which is no small feat!). Talia was one of the first changed and said, ‘I’m changed Mrs Wilson!’ and disappeared to put her bag on her peg. They then settled down to their snack. It was lovely to watch the range of conversations that were going on with each other and with the adults. Emily announced to the rest of the girls that she thought their fruit had been eaten by a giant because it had nearly all gone! This was followed by a fit of giggles after they realised I was watching. Oliver, after talking me through his snacks, then put away all the ‘sit upons’ without being asked before all the children got busy. Jack worked on his maths with Mrs Wilson, adding two numbers with the help of cubes and a number line; Sam was reading a book with Miss Metcalf, sounding out each word carefully before proceeding onto the next page; Genevieve was building a spaceship alongside Haaris, Timothy and Rohan who were making speedboats and cars. Ariana and Sara were also working well, piecing a jigsaw together with ease. Hasan showed me his amazing house made out of lots of different coloured bricks. The level of communication and confidence in each other’s company created a very warm environment. I left the room eager to return again soon.
ISA Cross Country Beech House
The Under 11 and Under 12 boys took part in the North Area ISA Cross-Country Championships on Wednesday. All the runners did very well on a testing course which involved a long uphill run in to the finish. There were in excess of 100 runners from schools all over the North. The top three finishers for Highfield in the Under 12s were Jake 11th, Isaac 12th and Tom D 33rd. In the Under 11s, Alex G came 11th, Harry 26th and Alexander 52nd. Congratulations to all the runners who took part.
Rugby at SMH
A group of twenty three boys travelled to St. Mary’s Hall, Stonyhurst, to train and play seven-a-side rugby. Mr Walter, Head of Sport and Physical Education at St. Mary’s Hall, coached the boys for thirty minutes at the start of the session on the 7-a-side elements of the game. The boys adapted to the game quickly, listening carefully and copying the techniques in each drill. The boys then played three games against Stonyhurst. They acquitted themselves very well, tackling hard and thinking about their positions on the pitch. The experience of the opposition eventually won through on the day, however, the Highfield boys certainly learnt a lot for their next fixture against Rossall after half-term. Thank you to Mr Walter and the other staff at Stonyhurst for their hospitality. The hot showers and the sausage, chips and beans were once again very popular after a hard, cold session on the rugby pitch!
Open Day
Open Day is on Sunday 1st March. On this day we celebrate the achievements of the children and their work will be on display throughout the school. Please come and see your child’s work as well as what is in store for them in future years. We still need pupils to conduct tours, especially from Years 4, 5 and 6. So if you have not managed to return the letter yet, please do hand it in after half-term. Thank you.
HPPTA
The next meeting will be held in the dining room on Thursday 26th February at 8.30am.
Merit Awards
RB: Lameesa RF: Sam 1D: Khadija 2M: Renée 2W: Aditi
3H: Zain 3M: Bebe 4D: Amelia 4M: Abigail 5H: Kenny 6H: Ian
Monitor of the Week: Ismaeel
Thought for the Week
I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it. Rosalia de Castro
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
