Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News - 13th November 2015
Nov 13, 2015
13 November 2015
Dear Parents
4D Assembly
Thank you 4D for your assembly about Diwali this morning which is being celebrated this week by Hindus. I was very impressed by your confident and eloquent performance and your understanding of the festival. It was very interesting to hear about the Hindu customs and I really enjoyed watching the play about Rama and Sita. Thank you Mr Drake for organising the assembly and Happy Diwali!
Out and About
I visited our Baby Nursery on Wednesday and was surprised by how peaceful it was. All the children were playing and interacting with each other. It was lovely to see how quickly they were at ease with me and happy to interact, despite how out of place I must have looked at 6ft 2, in a suit and sitting on their cushions! Annabelle was enjoying showing me how she could put a yellow ring on her head and then letting it fall off. She then wanted me to do it which gave her a big smile! Nathan wanted me to roll a ball and shaker backwards and forwards with him before we then changed to a blue car. He gave me a lovely big smile every time I pushed the car towards him. Henry was playing with the pots and pans and then filling up a box with lots of objects before putting the lid on. Maeve was looking at a book with Mrs Hayhurst, pointing at and touching each picture. Sienna then wanted me to build a tower with her. We used lots of different objects. She loved knocking it down and then finding even noisier objects which we could knock over together. It was lovely to see how relaxed the children were with the staff, me and each other. It is amazing to witness just how many skills they are learning on a daily basis, especially in their interactions with each other. I could have happily stayed with them all day and I was disappointed that I was going to miss out on their afternoon Autumnal walk. I returned the following day and was delighted to be remembered by Sienna who brightened my day with a smile and a wave.
Halloween Disco
Thank you to all those parents who helped out at the Halloween Disco on Friday night. The children had a great evening, enjoying all the games and dancing. We also had a number of very scary costumes!
The Diwali Festival of Lights
Thank you to the mothers of Reya and Aadi who visited Year 1 this week to explain how people celebrate the festival of light. The children really enjoyed the time you spent with them.
Year 2 Fire Talk by Arjun and Lucas
On Monday afternoon two firemen came to School. We learned about smoke alarms. We watched a DVD. We learned not to go back in the house. We learned to feel the handle with the back of your hand. We learned to crawl under the smoke because smoke rises. We learned if there is an emergency to call 999. We learned that on the phone they ask you several questions. They ask you your name, your address and they ask you if you want the ambulance, firefighters or police. They told us to make a fire plan with our parents.
It certainly sounds like you learned a lot and from reading your recounts you certainly have remembered a lot of important facts!
Facebook: Keep Up-to-Date With Events
We have a very busy weekend ahead with the ISA Awards on Friday night and the ISA Northern Schools Swimming Gala on the Saturday. Highfield has been shortlisted for the Independent Schools Association Junior School Award for Excellence and Innovation in Provision. On Saturday, our swimmers are competing for a place in the Northern Squad at the Olympic Pool later on in the year. Good luck to all our swimmers who are competing in the Northern Gala on Saturday.
We will keep you updated over the weekend on the school’s Facebook page. The link is on the front page of the website and you do not need to be a user of Facebook to click onto our pages. We update our pages throughout the week so that you can see what the children have been up to. It is also really good for grandparents and relatives to keep in touch and celebrate the success of our wonderful children at Highfield.
Oakhill Netball
This week all three of our teams played against Oakhill. We came away from the matches with 2 wins and a draw. The afternoon began with the green team; after taking a few minutes to settle into the game, they began to communicate well and pass the ball calmly across the court. With great determination and tighter marking in the second half, they came from behind to secure an overall win.
The blue team really stood out this week, showing how they are working together as a team and what a noticeable improvement they have made so far this year. With some fantastic interceptions and never giving up, despite the final score, everyone came off the pitch smiling. They were discussing what they needed to do to improve in the next game, which was lovely to hear!
Last, but certainly not least on court was the pink team. In Netball Club, the girls have been experimenting with different centre passes and it was great to see them being used in a game situation. A highlight of the match had to be the variety of fantastic shots going into the net throughout the game!
Well done to all teams! Miss McShane
Oakhill Football
Fourteen boys travelled to Oakhill on Wednesday to play football. The boys equipped themselves very well in blustery and damp conditions. Although they came second in both games, they never gave up and remained a threat in attack right up to the whistle. They need to mark more closely and focus on their passing skills in our match next week against Westholme.
Chess Match
The Chess Team played their first match of the season this week against Bolton Boys Junior School. There was some excellent play – particularly from our experienced players on Boards 1 to 9. They really remained focused and very few pieces were lost in the first twenty minutes of play. This was the first chess match for four of our players: Kairavi (6H), Hannah (6H), Eryk (3M) and Aditya (3J). They all gained valuable points for the team with Eryk winning his match and the others drawing theirs.
The final result was a win to Highfield by 9.5 to 5.5. An excellent start to the season and some very impressive play – well done everyone! Mrs Haythornthwaite
Term Dates
The Term Dates for next year are available now to view on the website.
Children in Need
Thank you to everyone for supporting Children in Need, we raised £226.
Merit Awards
RD: Diya RF: Ayman 1D: Evie 1F: Genevieve 2M: Hiba
3J: Zain 3M: Jaison 4D: the whole class 4S: Lilland 5H: Abigail 5M: Millie 6H: Ben
Thought for the Week
Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength but perseverance. Samuel Johnson
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
