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Headmaster's Welcome

Headmaster's Weekly News, Friday 15th February, 2019

Feb 15, 2019


15 February 2019

 

Dear Parents

It has been a very busy and successful half-term with much to celebrate and enjoy. Our Peter Pan performance at The Charter Theatre and our victorious girls’ Netball team are just a couple of examples of the success of this term. We will be continuing to add pictures to our Facebook pages over the half term break, so please have a look and enjoy sharing them with your children. I hope you all have a wonderful half term and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday 25th February.

Year 5 French Breakfast
Wednesday is one of the most eagerly anticipated days of the year for our Year 5 pupils: French Breakfast! It was being discussed as soon as the date appeared in the school calendar. The children bounced into school on Wednesday and immediately enjoyed the French Café atmosphere created by Madame Morrice (dressed in traditional French clothing, including a new beret!). French music was playing and the smell of freshly baked croissant, pains au chocolat and chocolat chaud filled the room. Each child took it in turns to go up and order their breakfast in French. Pronunciation was checked by Madame Morrice before they sat down to tuck into their delicious french breakfast. The children really enjoyed the experience and it was lovely for them to put their new vocabulary into practice. As the children left with full tummies and huge smiles, they all said “Merci beaucoup, Mme Morrice!”
Thank you Mme Morrice and Mrs Gilbert for organising this lovely occasion for the children.

Roman Day by Amber, James, Joshua, Hugo, Frank and Lily
On Tuesday, it was our Roman Day and we were very excited. We rushed through the doors and found Roman Gary dressed as a Centurion in charge of 80 soldiers. Our classroom was filled with lots of Roman armour and weapons.
Roman Gary taught us about the Roman Empire, the soldiers, the equipment and he explained that there were four main jobs that the army was in charge of: conquering, controlling, building and patrolling. Hayden was picked to be Mr Celt and was told he had a good field with fruits and vegetables growing in it. Then Roman Gary explained that the Romans would come and ask to take his land, would Hayden surrender or fight? Most of the Celts would have surrendered.
We learnt that Romans had straight roads, forts and slaves and one of their favourite weapons was the gladius, which is a short sword. Roman Gary asked for volunteers so Joseph and Hollie tried on some helmets and held a shield, they were very heavy. We asked some questions and then it was time for lunch. We had soup and bread for starters, then ham, chicken legs, potatoes, cheese and salad. We had honey cake for dessert and ate with our hands too!
In the afternoon, we did 4 activities: drawing roman artefacts, making a roman game, making a clay oil lamp and Gary took us outside to teach us how to use a shield and a spear. We learnt how to do a formation that builds a shield wall. I really enjoyed Roman Day, I thought it was amazing!

Open Day
Open Day is on Sunday 17th March from 11am-3pm. It is a great opportunity for parents to have a look at the work their children have been doing in class this year, as well as seeing the subjects they may be covering next year. It is also a celebration of all the achievements of the children this year and of the school’s position as the 7th top Independent Preparatory School in the country and the 1st in the North for our academic achievement. Everyone is welcome on the day so please pass on the date and times to friends, family and work colleagues. If you have a property, work or home, with a good location for a school banner, please could you contact the school office. Thank you for your support

The Junior WBD Mastermind Final 2019
Congratulations to this year’s finalists: Eryk, Aditya, Ayesha and Kavya. They will be answering questions in our Mastermind Final which takes place on World Book Day: Thursday 7th March.

News from the Nursery
Baby Nursery
There has been a big focus on the children's physical development this week as many of the babies are learning to either crawl or walk - reaching their physical development milestones to great excitement!
Toddler Nursery
Our toddlers have enjoyed a week of wildlife following on from one of their focus children - Eliza. They have also enjoyed role-playing, cleaning and developing early mathematic skills by singing number rhymes.
Nursery
We have had a very busy week with our ‘In the Moment’ planning. Following the children's interests ‘in the moment', we have enjoyed building dens in the Nursery, problem solving, making cheerio bird feeders and developing fine motor skills by threading the cereal and then placing the feeders on the trees in the woodlands. Dolls and doctors have been a big interest this week with a lot of role-play. One of our focus children -Liyaana- has enjoyed making the playdough for all the children, using mathematical development skills in quantity and measuring. Colours, shapes and numbers have also been a focus this week through messy play, literacy material and loose parts.

Alongside all this, all departments have enjoyed celebrating Valentine’s Day with a variety of activities: messy play with red ice hearts and angel delight; baking heart crispy cakes and independent creative activities. Mrs Elstone

Rugby v AKS
Twelve boys travelled to AKS on Wednesday to play in a mini tournament and take part in rugby activities. The boys really worked hard throughout the afternoon, especially in attack where their support play led to the creation of many chances. Although they lost a few of the games, their understanding and positioning really improved throughout the afternoon which led to an excellent draw in their last game. Confidence in the tackle will be our focus in the coming weeks in preparation for our next fixture. Well done to all the boys who travelled to AKS and thank you to AKS for their very warm welcome.

Under 10s and Under 11s Netball v SMH by Sasha P
On Wednesday 13 February, 23 girls played netball against SMH. We played three matches with all the girls playing at least one each. The first team made a very strong start to lead 5-0 and won by an excellent 8-1. The second team played strongly and drew 2-2. We lost the final match 2-1. We would like to say a big thank you to SMH, the parents who came to watch and to Mrs Parsons. Well done girls!

Rossall Invitation Hockey Tournament
On Wednesday afternoon, the U11 hockey team took part in the Rossall Hockey Tournament. The Highfield girls were one of 12 teams in the tournament and they were very excited to play some new teams from around the North West. Our girls got off to a great start against some experienced teams, managing to hold Kirkham to a 0-0 draw and Rossall to a 1-1 draw. Our captain, Eva, scored a fantastic goal from the top of the circle and GK Beth made some spectacular saves. The next three matches were tough against some well-organised teams and, despite some brilliant defending by the whole team, they lost the remaining matches. Overall, it was a great afternoon with great play by all the girls who finished 5th in their group. Thank you to Mr Tyrie and Mrs Hornby for helping to transport our girls to the tournament and for their fantastic support throughout.


Merit Awards
RB: Eliza RH: Shomi 1D: Scarlett 1W: Shreya 2E: Aarnav
3J: Diya 3M: James 4D: Hasan 4S: Amritha 5M: Lucie 6H: Eryk 6P: Yawar
Monitor of the week: Sophia

Thought for the Week
Resilience isn't a single skill. It's a variety of skills and coping mechanisms. To bounce back from bumps in the road as well as failures, you should focus on emphasising the positive. Jean Chatzky

Yours sincerely

 

J M Duke
Headmaster

Highfield Priory School

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