Headmaster's Welcome

Headmaster's Weekly News, Friday 6th July, 2018

Jul 6, 2018

6 July 2018

Dear Parents

Reception Assembly
Thank you Reception for your wonderful assembly today about teamwork. I really enjoyed the beginning where you each introduced yourself to the school and told us what you like doing. We all loved hearing the story about the animals on the farm and how they all learned to work together to help Farmer Duck look after the farm. The costumes were fantastic! You acted with such confidence for children of just 4 and 5 years old. Well done! Thank you to Mrs Diston, Mrs Bennett, Mrs Jones and Mrs Lockwood for organising this assembly.

Class List for 2018/2019
RJ will move to 1W with Mrs Wilson
RD will move to 1D with Mrs Davidson
1W will move to 2E with Ms Eccles
2D will move to 3M with Mrs Hill/Mrs Heyworth until Mrs Morrice returns from Maternity Leave in October.
2E will move to 3J with Mrs Jones
3H will move to 4S with Mr Sheppeck
3M will move to 4D with Mr Drake
4S will move to 5M with Miss Macklam
5M will move to 6P with Mrs Prince
5D will move to 6H with Mrs Haythornthwaite (Mrs Duke will be responsible for the class on Fridays).
The children will have the opportunity to meet their new teacher on Move-Up Day next Friday.

Pre-School Sports Day
Friday was our last Sports Day of the year. Our Pre-School children really shone in a wide array of events, ranging from the javelin through to the relay races. The children were completely absorbed in each activity, giving it 100% effort with big smiles on their faces and giving each other plenty of encouragement. The final team relays, which involved an obstacle race, egg and spoon race and the sprint, really brought all their skills together as they competed as a team to win the relay. The final race of the day, and hotly anticipated by all, was the dads’ and mums’ egg and spoon race. The children loved this and cheered their parents on wildly from the side line! It was a wonderful end to the week and a fabulous finale to our Sports Days for another year. Thank you to all the staff involved, especially Mrs Botton, and the PTA for providing the ice lollies.

Out and About with HPSED Mock Examinations
I watched a few of the Year 6 and Year 3 Mock HPSED Examinations this week. In Year Three, the discipline for this term is: Speaking to Instruct. Rohan was teaching Hasan to make a paper helicopter. He clearly gave instructions to Hasan on how to cut and fold each section of the paper. Mrs Duke reminded him to make sure that he gave Hasan precise instructions on the exact amount he had to cut or fold and to praise him for his achievement at each stage. The final demonstration of the helicopter worked really well, much to Hasan and the audience’s delight. Rohan was also able to show his pupil how to make slight modifications to make the paper spin in the other direction.
Hasan then taught Megan how to count to ten in Arabic. He had the numbers and words written out clearly on pieces of paper which he showed to Megan before asking her to copy his pronunciation clearly. He praised her and Mrs Duke asked him to do just a few numbers at a time before Megan repeated them. Both pupils completed successful mocks and, with a few refinements and plenty of practice, they should do very well next week.
I then watched Bebe and Danya delivering their ‘I have a dream’ speeches. Their discipline for this term is: Speaking to Persuade. They have created a speech in the style of Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream speech’ in which they demand a better world. They both talked about bullying. Danya spoke passionately about cyber-bullying and body-shaming while Bebe spoke about its effect on confidence and the way it can cause depression and anxiety. They both delivered their message with real strength and conviction and they certainly moved me.
It was lovely to see Year 3 ending their first year of HSPED and Year 6 completing their final year of the subject. Their confidence, self-control and delivery were all excellent and I know that our Year Sixes will go on to their next school knowing that they have the ability to speak confidently in front of an audience for a variety of different purposes. I look forward to watching our Year 3s develop these skills and I look forward to hearing about how our Year Sixes use these skills in the future.

News from our Nursery
This week, we have enjoyed collecting and painting pine cones in The Highfield Haven to develop the children’s hand/eye co-ordination and fine motor skills. We have also been measuring outdoors - comparing the size of collected twigs -and we went on an exciting Scavenger Hunt and then painted the items we collected.
It has been lovely watching the children exploring the outdoors and seeing their delight when they find something interesting to show to the other children and staff. Miss Elstone

School Survey
We have decided to reopen the survey for this weekend to try to increase the response-rate. We currently have 64 responses from a total of 137 families within school with only a few responses from some year groups. We use the survey to evaluate our current practice, to make changes where needed and to protect areas that you feel are important. For this to be effective, we do need responses from the majority of parents. The survey is anonymous and does not take long to complete. Please take the time to fill in the survey online. Thank you for your support.

Bake-Off
Wow! What a feast of cakes! It was lovely to see the children and parents carrying their amazing creations in on Monday; all very proud of what they had achieved. The theme of ‘The Movies’ had really caught your imagination. The designs ranged from boxes of popcorn, to scenes from movies like ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ to Director’s boards. The attention to detail was excellent and you all deserved a prize. The final winners, after much deliberation, were:
Juniors
1st prize for taste Grace and Sara
1st prize for decoration Sienna
Early Years and Infants
1st prize for taste Leo
1st prize for decoration Aibhlin and Arthur
Thank you to everyone who took part. We raised an amazing total of £308.30 for our school charities this year, Derian House and Make A Wish.

Year Six Leavers’ Party
I would like to wish our Year 6 pupils a wonderful night tonight as they celebrate their time at Highfield at their Leavers’ Party at the Preston Marriott.

Summer Fayre
The Summer Fayre takes place this Sunday, starting at 1pm. There will be a wide range of activities for the whole family, including a climbing wall, a traditional hook-a-duck, a variety of food stalls and a half-price Scholastic Book stall. Monkhouses will also be attending. I look forward to seeing you all there.

Date for next week: 11 July Reception Curriculum Evening 6pm

Merit Awards
RD: The Whole Class RJ: The Whole Class 1W: Lola 2D: The Whole Class 2E: The Whole Class
3H: Ibraheem 3M: Sasha 4S: Inas 5D: Hannah 5M: Kavya 6H: Ahmed 6P: Madeleine
Monitor of the week: Grace T

Thought for the Week
Cooking and baking is both physical and mental therapy. Mary Berry

Yours sincerely

J M Duke
Headmaster