Headmaster's Welcome

Headmaster's Weekly News, Friday 18th January, 2019

Jan 18, 2019

18 January 2019

 
Dear Parents

Springing into Action
All activities started this week and children also had their first House Meetings of the term on Wednesday. I visited each House Meeting to listen to their plan of action for the term ahead. It was lovely to see all the children in their Houses, from Year 1 to Year 6, discussing how, by working together, they could win house points. It really emphasised the family feeling within the school with the children looking after and supporting each other. Hannah was talking to Bowland about the term ahead and what events were coming up and also how they could all achieve more house points. This was the main area of focus as they are currently in third place. Come on Bowland! Eric and Aditya began by giving a motivational speech to Fylde about working together to do better. The also re-emphasised their motto: Friendly, Yearnful, Loyal, Determined and Excited. Beth, with the help of Olivia, had delivered a powerpoint presentation to Pendle also emphasising how to achieve more house points by working harder and having good manners. They also organised a few games and quizzes to bring the team together and generate team spirit. I think it is going to be another close competition this term with all the children working hard to win the trophy for their House.

Peter Pan at The Charter Theatre
This year, the Year 4 performance at the Charter Theatre is Peter Pan. Our Year 4 actors will perform the play, supported by dancers from throughout the school from Reception right the way through to Year 6. It is a fantastic opportunity for the children to appear on the big stage with a professional stage crew behind them. This is one of the highlights of the year and I know you will be in for a real treat, even if your child is not performing. Please do come along and support the actors, dancers and the school. Tickets are available now from The Charter Theatre Box Office.

Out and About with Year 4
I visited Year 4 this week as they were writing play scripts on the story of Mizilka. Abdullah and Isa explained that they had read an extract from the story in which a Sultan wanted knights to fight in his army. The knight in the story was too old and couldn’t send his son because he only had three daughters. Amritha and Nadia went on to explain that he decided to test his daughters to see if they were brave enough to fight. Lameesa’s group, made up of Ibraheem, Neelesh and herself, was engrossed in the story and they explained in their script how the old knight had cast a spell to create an enemy to test his daughters. Isabelle said that her group had really enjoyed discussing the story and that they had a clear idea of what they wanted to write before putting pen to paper. Aadi and Megan talked about the bear and the cobra that they had added to their script to test the bravery of Stanuta, Roxanda and Mizilka, the three daughters. Aadi said that Roxanda was scared of the bear and Megan said the eldest daughter was also frightened to fight the dragon but she was doing it for her father who was too old to fight for the Sultan. The last group was really focusing on the descriptive words they were using. Macaulay and Fatimah-Zahra were describing the daughters’ struggle with the bear. Reya said she approached the bear aggressively and Evie said she slashed and ducked which really helped to build up the stage directions around this trial. Later, I had a closer look at Diya, Anshi and Suleman’s script which guided the movements of each character, from the old knight stroking his beard to Stanuta speaking ‘breathlessly’. All the children really enjoyed the activity which linked with their own preparation for Peter Pan and following a script. Thank you 4D for a very enjoyable lesson.

Changing for Games and PE
There are still many children in the Juniors who are struggling to tie shoelaces and ties. Both Mrs Botton and I are encouraging the children to learn these vital skills. Please could this be supported at home as well. Many thanks. Mrs Parsons

Open Day: Sunday 17th March
Open Day is on Sunday 17th March this year. It is a very important day in the school calendar and a chance to celebrate the children’s work and extra-curricular activities. Everyone is welcome on the day. If you know of any families or work colleagues who would be interested in a tour of the school, please pass on the information. All Year 4, 5 and 6 pupils will be required on the day to help and to act as guides, so please keep this date free in the calendar. If you have any potential banner locations on the outside of your property or where you work, please could you contact the office. Your support is very much appreciated.

Student Council
Our student councillors for this term are:
1D Omer 1W: Wei Ann 2E: Hanna
3J: Moin 3M:Thomas P 4D: Udita 4S: Megan 5M: Hamza 6H: Asiyah 6P: Eva

Merit Awards
RB: The Whole Class RH: The Whole Class 1D: Samira 1W: Aidan 2E: Maryam
3J: Anoush 3M: Hollie 4D: Genevieve 4S: Nadia 5M: Ayesha 6H: Adam 6P: Aditya
Monitor of the week: Katie

Thought for the Week
Your positive action, combined with positive thinking, results in success. Shiv Khera

Yours sincerely

J M Duke
Headmaster