Headmaster's Welcome

Headmaster's Weekly News, Friday 13th April, 2018

Apr 13, 2018

13 April 2018

Dear Parents

Welcome to the Summer Term!

It was lovely to see all the children back in school looking refreshed and raring to go for the busy term ahead. Although it has been overcast and a little cold, it hasn’t dampened spirits with the children taking full advantage of their breaks playing a range of games; summer sports are underway and many of the classes are going outside to explore the grounds.

Out and About in the School Grounds

3M has been outside exploring the grounds this week. As part of their topics on Plants, the class went outside to look at the stems, leaves and flowers of a range of plants. They also picked a few weeds to take a closer look at the roots. This hands on experience really sparked the children’s interest: Jack divided his stem to show the other children how the water was being absorbed by it; Ariana asked why daffodil leaves were as tall as the stem; Sam followed this by telling others to look at how the daffodils are standing so straight. It was a fantastic introduction to the topic which will lead on to an experiment next week looking at how carnations absorb different coloured water which may or may not change the colour of the petals.

Pre-School also visited Highfield Haven this week with Mrs Diston. They were looking at the pine trees and collecting pine cones and needles. They felt the bark’s texture and Mrs Diston explained how this helps us to identify the tree. Mrs Diston also called it The Wishing Tree as they looked up through the amazing branches and walked around the tree making wishes. The children had a variety of words on golden tickets like ‘sticky’ and ‘smooth’. They used these tickets to collect related items from the Haven to place into baskets which they carried back to class for examination. Next week they will be drawing pine trees with the pine cones and making scented water with the pine needles. It was lovely to see and hear the children exploring the woodlands from my office. It really felt like Spring was in the air! I hope the weather continues to improve to allow many more outdoor trips this term.

Staff News

Mrs Feeney has been appointed as Class Assistant and has taken over from Miss Blackburn who left to take up a post as a Class Teacher. Mr Eaves has also started this week as Assistant Caretaker and takes over from Mr Barbosa. I would like to welcome both members of staff to Highfield. I would also like to thank Miss Blackburn and Mr Barbosa and wish them good luck in their new ventures.

Student Council

The student councillors for this term are: 1W: Naina 2D: Muhammad 2E: Luca
3H: Amritha 3M: Sasha 4S: Tia 5D: Archie 5M: Joshua D 6H: Alexandra and Sophie
6P: Apala and Faatimah

NSPCC

Earlier in the Academic year the NSPCC visited school to talk to the children about the importance of keeping safe. They constantly update their website and I have attached a website link that will take you directly to an advice page for parents which focuses on the use of the internet, mobile phones and computer games.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/
Under 11s Netball v Oakhill
On Wednesday, all the Year 6 girls who play Netball played an away match at Oakhill. It was our final match of the year. The A team did some amazing passing and defending and we played very well as a team, winning 6-3. The B team did some fabulous marking and shooting and won 6-1. The home team had some great players and tall defenders who gave us a good match. There were some great goals from both players of the matches, Grace T and Elizabeth. We were very happy to win our final netball match of the season!
I am very proud of our teams, we have played well all season, developing a great team spirit and always supporting and cheering on our friends. It has been a privilege to captain the netball team this year. Zahara 6H.

Merit Awards

RD: Daisy RJ: Aidan 1W: Lola 2D; Sophie 2E: Evie
3H: Anshi 3M: The Whole Class 4S: Evie 5D: Archie 5M: Sophia 6H: Zahara 6P: Ivan

Thought for the Week

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.
Anthony J D’Angelo

Yours sincerely

J M Duke
Headmaster