Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News - 6th March 2015
Mar 6, 2015
6 March 2015
Dear Parents
Thank you Year 5 for your assembly this morning on World Book Day and the importance of reading. It was really interesting to hear why each of you enjoy reading. I was also impressed by the fact that if we read for twenty minutes a night, then that would be 3,600 minutes a year which is 1,800,000 words. It is amazing how your knowledge, vocabulary, writing and comprehension skills improve when you read this much every day. Your assembly was a very fitting end to a very busy week in which we celebrated literature. Thank you Mrs Hewins for arranging this Assembly; I hope it inspires you all to pick up your books and read.
Open Day
Thank you to everyone for their support on Open Day. It was a lovely day in which we celebrated all the work the children have been doing throughout the year. I enjoyed having a look around myself and I was staggered by the standard of work and also by the progress the children have made since the beginning of the academic year. I know many current parents took the time to share in their child’s success as well as looking at what lies in store for next year. We also had the highest amount of prospective parents visiting Highfield which bodes very well for the future of the school, with numbers continuing to increase.
World Book Day
What a brilliant day! We had such a range of characters this year, from Fantastic Mr Fox to The Cat in the Hat, to Gandalf to Miss Trunchbull, to name but a few! There were splendid costumes on display. The children really enjoyed talking about their favourite authors and trying to guess other children’s characters. Thank you to Mrs Haythornthwaite for organising the week and helping to encourage the children to read. I expect to be busy over the next few weeks giving out Reading Awards.
Junior Mastermind (by Ali 6H)
On 5th March, Highfield had their annual World Book Day and very own Junior Mastermind. From September, Year 6 had the task of reading five books chosen by Mrs Haythornthwaite for the Junior Mastermind. Round one is a written exam, thirty questions. Seven contestants made it through to round two-an aural exam-quick fire questions against the clock; two were knocked out to leave the five going into the final. The finalists were Tom D, Harry, Harvey, Isaac and me. I was drawn to go first, it was very nerve racking; one and a half minutes to answer nineteen questions. The first round of the final was based on ‘The Phoenix and the Carpet’, a book we read over half term. Harry scored best in the first round with fifteen points and no passes. Harry also won the second round, based on the books we had been reading since September, and went on to win the competition by one point. Tom D came second and Isaac third. The crowd watched with fascination and intent. Well done to all the boys who made it into the final and special congratulations to Harry.
Helena Pielichaty -Author Visits Highfield (by Harry 6H)
On Wednesday 4th March, we had a spectacular visit from the exceptional author Helena Pielichaty. Helena has written over 30 children’s books; the first published in 1998. Helena has a great bubbly personality, it shone through during the interview Ismaeel and I had with her for the Year 6 Gazette. She gave two workshop sessions during her visit – the first with Years 3 and 4 and the second with Years 5 and 6. I thoroughly enjoyed her visit and it was a pleasure meeting her personally. Thank you Helena for hosting a wonderful day!
Rugby vs AKS
Nineteen boys travelled to AKS to play two matches on Wednesday. The B team game was very exciting with lots of open running and tries. Highfield got off to a slow start and poor organisation in defence led to a number of tries being scored against us. However, as the game progressed,
Highfield started to move the ball away from contact to our strong runners. Highfield definitely had the better of the second half with some incisive breaks from Alex and Archie. The final score was 9 tries to 6 to AKS. Archie was awarded Man of the Match for his attacking performance. The A team also got off to a slow start against a very strong AKS side which had a lot of experienced players. As the game progressed, we managed to gain good possession from the rucks which allowed our backs to put pressure on AKS. In the second half, Highfield started to get the upper hand in defence and some good runs from Ali and Jake set us up for another close finish. The forwards then started to take the game to the opposition and Kieran broke away from a maul to score the winning try for the second time this season. The final score was 6 tries to 5. This was AKS’s first loss of the season and I would like to commend them on their performance in a game that could have gone either way. I would also like to thank Mr Briers for his very considerate refereeing and allowing us two tries even though we ran over the dead ball line. This excellent performance sets us up for our final match against Rossall next week when all the boys from Years 5 and 6 will be playing.
Netball v Harris by Amy (Netball Captain)
On Wednesday, the A and B teams played Harris. A few players were injured but they were very brave and carried on. We drew 4-4 (A team); the B team tried their best and the final score was very close, finishing 3-2 to Harris. Our organisation has really improved this term and we are starting to know our role and whose job it is to take side lines and back lines thanks to Mrs Parsons. Well done girls!
Year 4 Football
The Year 4 boys travelled to Windermere last Thursday. It proved to be a very enjoyable experience, despite the bitterly cold wind, due to the warm welcome from our hosts. The first half saw us produce a solid defensive performance with Noah and Thomas providing our main attacking outlets and we went into half time drawing 1-1. We conceded early in the second half and underwent a spell of considerable pressure. During this period, the boys stuck together and worked hard for each other. With very little time left in the game, we mounted a late counter-attack from a throw-in in the opposition's half. We managed to deliver the ball into the back post for Noah to pounce and roof the shot for the equaliser. A big thank you to the parents who braved the conditions!
HPPTA
Mothers' Day Shop - if you haven't already brought in £5 per gift for your child(ren) to buy a Mothers' Day gift, please do so ASAP in a named, sealed envelope.
Vice chair position - Amy Troner is standing down as vice chair after many years of hard work. Thank you for all your time and effort Amy. If there is anyone interested in the vice chair position please leave a message for Claire Jones in the school office.
World Book Day outfits - if you no longer need outfits/costumes we would be very happy to have them for us to sell in 2016. Please leave them in labelled bag in the school office. Many thanks
Merit Awards
RB: Aadi RF: Rohan 1D: Alex 2M: Joshua 2W Olivia
3H: Eva 3M: Faatimah 4D: Clare 4M: Thomas 5H: The Whole Class 6H: Ismaeel
Monitor of the week: Archie
Thought for the Week
Whether the book is old or new, when you open it and read that first line, a whole new exciting world unfolds. Taken from Year 5 assembly
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
