Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News - 1st May 2015
May 1, 2015
1 May 2015
Dear Parents
French Assembly
Thank you to Mrs Morrice and to everyone who performed in the French Assembly. It was 4 years ago that we decided to introduce French to all years from as young as our Pre-School and you could certainly see the benefits of that today. The depth of vocabulary from parts of the body to animals, through to the weather, was very impressive. It was also good to see the children in Year 5 saying what food they like and ordering it in French. The Year 6 recited long paragraphs in French in which they described each other. The assembly really showed how their language skills have come together in Year 6 and the progress they all make each year. The Assembly also told us about the culture and geography of France. This really gives their lessons and vocabulary some perspective. All the children once again demonstrated their confidence when speaking in public - even in a different language! Mrs Hewins
A Letter to the Trenches
At the time of writing this newsletter I have not seen the performance (I am at a Headmaster’s Conference in Manchester). I am driving back tonight to watch it and I look forward to writing about it in next week’s newsletter. Pictures will be published on our social media pages and there will also be a DVD of the production available to purchase. We have had Steve Spall (photographer) in to take pictures during the dress rehearsal and for the final performance so we will publish these photographs as soon as we are able.
Out and About with Year 2 Maths
I popped in to watch a Year 2 Maths lesson on Wednesday and after the children had finished their break time snack and milk, they went to sit in front of the whiteboard to listen to Mrs Wilson’s introduction. Mrs Wilson asked the children to give her an example of a one digit number; all the children’s hands went up and Eryk answered saying that 1,2,3 and 4 are all one digit numbers. Aditi then explained that two digit numbers have two numbers and Abdullah added that they have tens and units. The children were then asked to add a two digit number to a one digit number: 26+9. Emma said that you must keep 26 in your head before counting on nine. Abigail then correctly answered the sum of 26+9 by saying, ‘35’ confidently. The children were then asked about multiples of ten, Jaison responded by going through the ten times table to show that he knew the meaning of a multiple of ten. The class then figured out different ways of adding a multiple of ten to another number. Hannah said to add 23 to 40 you must put 23 in your head and then count on four tens. The children were then given a task to work in pairs to set a sum adding two digits to one digit for their partner. They were off straight away! There was lots of discussion as the children quickly got on with the task in hand. The camaraderie, and eagerness to solve the problem in hand as a partnership, was lovely to see across the classroom. I watched Adam read out the numbers very clearly to Asiyah before they swapped over the roles. The sums were soon set and the children were working them out. Everyone was engaged and keen to solve the sums and demonstrate what they knew. I left the classroom safe in the knowledge that when this task appears when I am on duty in the homework room, this class will be expecting full marks!
Staff News
Mrs Sanderson has accepted a post at AKS as their new Bursar. We will be advertising for a replacement Bursar in the coming weeks. I would like to congratulate Mrs Sanderson on her new position and thank her for her 15 years of dedicated service to Highfield.
Sainsbury’s Active Kids Vouchers 2015
This scheme finishes on Tuesday 5 May. Any vouchers must be placed in the box by
Friday 8 May so that they can be counted. Many thanks. Mrs Parsons.
Cricket v AKS
After very heavy showers in the morning, we were all surprised to receive a call on Wednesday saying that the sun was out in Lytham and the match was on! Twenty boys from Year 6 played in a hard ball game and a Kwik cricket game against AKS. The A team bowled first and started well, with accurate bowling, especially in the opening overs from Ali and George, which restricted the batsmen to only a few runs. However, our bowling was often a little short and the more experienced batsmen from AKS took advantage and dispatched their balls to the boundary. They finally scored 86 off 15 overs. All our batsmen looked confident at the wicket, batting straight and taking quick singles and keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Kieran and Ali put on a particularly strong partnership, however, we came up short on 49 runs. The boys must make sure that they punish the poor balls in the next game. The B team approached the game with lots of enthusiasm and energy, bowling and fielding well in their first game. Archie was the pick of the bowlers with a particularly good spell. The boys also batted well, scoring runs freely with some particularly good strikes from Jake. The boys eventually won comfortably by a margin of twenty runs. It was great to get the game completed, considering the weather conditions in the morning, and we now look forward to our next game.
Jewellery Reminder
Children should not wear jewellery at school. If children wish to have their ears pierced, please arrange it for the holidays so that there is no need to wear studs at school. Please keep the ears covered with plasters if it runs into school time.
HPPTA news
A big thank you to the Reception parents and other last minute helpers who served refreshments at 'A Letter to the Trenches'.
Family bingo - Friday 12 June 6-7.30pm in the sports hall. We hope many families will come and enjoy the evening. Tickets will be on sale soon.
If anyone would like to donate new toys as prizes for the evening they would be very much appreciated. We are also asking if any parents would be happy to make a cake for us to sell at the event (no nuts please). Many thanks.
Merit Awards
RB: Lola RF: Hasan 1D: Inas 2M: Zainab 2W: Olivia
3H and 3M: The Whole Year Group 4D: Jemima 4M: Malaika 5H: The Whole Class 6H: Tom N
Monitors of the week: Tom D and Harry
I have been so impressed by all our performers this week. They showed no fear of making a mistake and grabbed every opportunity with great delight and eagerness. Well done! You have inspired my thought for the week.
Thought for the Week
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. Elbert Hubbard
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
