Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News - 18th September 2015
Sep 18, 2015
18 September 2015
Dear Parents
The school focus for this half term is Unity and a key factor in that is how we treat each other. This message has been reinforced in circle time and in assemblies. The children have been really working hard on their manners and general courtesy to each other throughout the day and there has certainly already been an improvement. If this message could be supported from home, it would be greatly appreciated.
Out and About
On Wednesday, I visited 2M who were just starting a Science lesson. Alaia was asked to remind the class about what they had been discussing in Science last week. She said they were looking at getting healthy and why animals and humans needed to eat. Mr Murray then asked the children to discuss this question. The children were off straight away at their tables, discussing the question in depth. They had certainly remembered a lot from last week’s lesson. Mr Murray asked for their feedback. Martha said, ‘To keep you strong’; Arjun then said that, ‘All food is not good for you, like sweets’; Evie supported this by saying, ‘They have lots of sugar’; Muhammad added, ‘Food gives you energy’. They then discussed what the word ‘healthy’ meant. Lucas, Nandini and Alaia discussed healthy foods and agreed that fizzy drinks were not healthy. The children were asked how a healthy lifestyle would make you feel: they all gave a definite thumbs-up! Each child took it in turns to read from quite a complex passage about a healthy lifestyle; they all read very clearly and confidently. The children were then asked about the importance of physical activity. Steven said, ‘I run about at home.’ Brooke said , ‘I play stuck-in-the-mud with my friends,’ and Inas added, ‘I ride my bike.’ The next activity was a quiz about making the right food choices. The children whizzed through the questions, demonstrating a very good understanding of the topic. Finally they had to go around the class, completing their first tally chart, asking each other, from a long list, what their favourite food was. I wonder if they made a healthy choice? It certainly made them think! I left the room as the activity got underway wondering how the lesson would impact the choices they would make today at lunch!
Driving
A number of parents have raised concerns about the speed at which cars are driving on site, especially at the start of the day. Please could I remind all parents that the speed limit is 10mph and to pay special attention to the pedestrian crossing at the top of the drive and when manoeuvring in the car park. Thank you for your support.
New Parents’ Coffee Morning
It was lovely to meet all our new families at the coffee morning today and to welcome you to the Highfield family. Thank you to all the representatives from school who were present, including the PTA and Governors. The numbers in school continue to grow and we have certainly had an excellent start to the year. Following our curriculum evenings, we now have excited parents, as well as children, about all the activities and events that are coming up throughout the year.
The Highfield AIM HIGH Sunflower Competition
Last year’s Reception children all planted a sunflower seed and watched it grow into a plant over the following weeks. In July each child took a plant to nurture at home. They were asked to bring in a photograph of their plant and a measurement of how tall it had grown when they returned, as Year 1s, in September.
The results: ‘Tallest Sunflower’ prize goes jointly to Ariana whose sunflower grew to a staggering 267cm and Sam whose sunflower was too tall for his Daddy to measure!
A special prize went to Hasan whose sunflower plant grew 8 flowers.
Well done to Lameesa, Rohan, Abdullah and Evie for taking part, they all received a special certificate.
Football vs Harris
The senior footballers made a very enthusiastic start to the season with a fixture at Harris. The A team produced a great deal of positive attacking play with some fantastic combinations being worked through midfield during the match. I was expecting us to be more disjointed but I was delighted with the endeavour to play a good style of football. The upshot of this was a plethora of glorious chances created and some finished with powerful, precise shooting. The team won 3-1. The B team played with a commendable level of spirit and motivation in their 2-0 defeat. As an old school defender some of the tough challenges brought a smile to my face. This was a solid foundation for us to build on with lots more work to come. Mr Turner
HPPTA News
Thank you to all of those who attended our AGM last Friday.
Our team for this academic year will continue as:
Claire Jones – Chair,
Fehmina Dassu, with support from Pam Kay- Vice Chair
Samina Ali, with support from Dimal Patel – Secretary,
Danni Littlefair - Treasurer, until December 2015
We are looking for a new member to the team to take over from Danni as Treasurer from January 2016. Please contact us via our Facebook page (Highfield Priory PTA) or leave a note for Claire Jones in the School Office if this might be of interest to you.
We are also aware that the bulk of our team is made up of Year 4 parents and we would like to encourage as many parents from across the school to join the team. Having input from each year group keeps our ideas fresh and new members are integral to the success of HPPTA. We really value your input. Claire and Samina will continue their roles until July 2016. We are now looking for other parents to take over these roles from September 2016. Please contact us asap if you would like to take a lead position in HPPTA.
Please find below the planned events/activities for HPPTA until December 2015. If you would like to be involved in any of these, please sign up on the list on the PTA cupboard door. We really do need as much help as possible.
*Bags to School Wed 14 October
*Mufti Day Fri 16 October
*Personalised Christmas/Celebration Cards, to be ready after October half term
*Halloween Disco Fri 6 November
*Christmas Decorations go up Tues 1 December
*Christmas party day/Fayre Fri 11 December
*Nativity refreshments Tues 15 December 6pm / Wed 16 December 2.15pm
*Christmas decorations come down Fri 18th Dec
We also have an exciting event, just for parents, coming in the New Year. We'll keep you posted!
Merit Awards
RD: Haya RF: Muhammad 1D: Diya 1W: Haaris 2M: Martha
3J: Sasha 3M: Abdullah 4D: Madeleine 4S: Alexandra 5H: Aditya 5M: Aqil 6H: Alexander
Monitor of the week: Hassan
Thought for the Week
We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
