Headmaster's Welcome

Headmaster's Weekly News, Friday 3rd May, 2019

May 3, 2019

3 May 2019

Dear Parents

4D Topic Assembly
Thank you 4D for delivering an excellent work assembly this morning about what you have been studying in class. The first subject was the digestive system. You had learnt how food moves and is broken down in the body. The cross sections of teeth in your exercise books were very detailed, showing the nerves and the roots. I also enjoyed listening to your persuasive writing in which you advertised hover boards and hover bikes. You certainly came up with some catchy slogans: ‘Hover some fun into your life!’; ‘Fun in the sun with Hover Hype!’ The last subject that you talked about was Art and your study of Magritte’s optical illusion paintings which inspired you to sketch your own versions before sculpting a 3D image on a tile. This term you will be taking the work further, creating a 3D diorama sculpture. I think it is fascinating that you learn about different artists before using their style in your own work. The work in your books and in the classroom is very impressive and certainly shows how you have been inspired by the artists you have covered. Thank you 4D and Mr Drake for an excellent assembly and I look forward to seeing more of your work this term.

Reception Visit Smithills Farm
On Friday, Reception went on a class trip to Smithills Open Farm in Bolton. We were greeted by our guide, Danny, who showed us how to feed goats and we soon had the new baby kids eating out of our hands. We also met a very fluffy eagle owlet and his mother and we were lucky enough to see the size of their outstretched wings. Danny showed us how to carefully stroke its feathers. We then enjoyed a very bumpy tractor ride to feed the donkeys. One of the highlights of the day was bottle feeding the lambs who were very strong and very forceful! We held little yellow chicks, guinea pigs and rabbits before meeting a 2-week-old donkey and stroking the soft wool of an alpaca named Twirl. After lunch we all had a ride on a donkey before Farmer Carl showed us how the milking parlour works. He told us what happens to the milk once it is collected and we were amazed at how much milk is collected each day. Before we came home, we called in at the reptile house where we learned about the lights that keep the animals warm and touched the scaly skin of an iguana. We had a fantastic day despite the rainy weather and it really brought our classroom learning to life. Mrs Hewertson

Out and About with Victorian Villains!
Final rehearsals were underway this week for the Year 3 and Year 5 Victorian Villainy performance which takes place on Thursday 9th May at 6pm. I watched the children in rehearsal working on their positioning, posture and the delivery of their words. I was impressed by their stage presence and composure and I am looking forward to seeing them use their public speaking and drama skills in the full performance next week along with the beautiful group and solo singing. Tickets are available from the school office. I look forward to seeing you there.

Museum of Creation Exhibition
Later this term we will be holding a Museum of Creation Exhibition for children from Years
1-6. Children can carry out their own research at home and produce a painting, model, collage, mask, poster or newspaper article on an era of history or a specific topic in history. If your child is interested, please return the slip on the letter that went home this week, by Tuesday 7th May.

Rounders v Sedbergh by Abigail
On Wednesday 1st May, all Year 5 and 6 girls played their first Rounders match against Sedbergh. The first team played really well but unfortunately lost by 6 rounders. They stumped over half of Sedbergh’s team. One of the Sedbergh players fortunately missed the ball and Olivia quickly picked it up and threw an accurate throw to Eva who responded quickly and stumped her out. The second team also lost. Natasha superbly stumped a total of four Sedbergh players. Isabelle (who played 4th base) caught a hard throw and stumped one of the other team’s players out. Highfield’s third team lost by 4 1/2 rounders despite some excellent play from Aamina, who bowled some excellent balls and Aishah who caught some superb catches. All the teams played exceptionally well. Well done girls!

Cricket v SMH by Zain
After what seemed a long journey, we arrived at SMH (Stonyhurst) looking forward to our first cricket match of the season. We lost the toss and they decided to bowl so we were batting first. Omar and I batted first and gave the team a solid start. Some very good hitting from Yawar and Aditya led us to a decent score. Finally, the strongest part of our game, our bowling: Aditya opened and did exceptionally well, in fact everyone bowled well and Josh D, as wicket keeper, stopped some very wide balls. In the end, we lost by a few runs but for our first cricket match we did well. Hopefully, we will win our next games. Thank you Mr Duke for organising the match and for taking us there.

In the Kwik cricket game the boys fielded and bowled well and manged to restrict the opposition to a low score. Although the boys showed confidence when batting, the shot selection did not allow them to capitalise on any short or wide balls. Even though they fell short of SMH with their final total, they showed a lot of promise for future matches.

Ramadan
Ramadan is expected to start over the Bank Holiday weekend. If any of the older children within the school are planning to fast, on any of the days, please could you inform us in writing so we are aware of this and can offer them the appropriate support where needed.

Fasting During Examination and Test Periods
Fasting and staying up late for prayers may affect concentration and academic performance. For students who are taking examinations I would respectfully remind families that Islam does give allowances for pupils to break a fast, and make it up later, if they feel fasting may jeopardise their performance.

Merit Awards
RB: Alfie RH: James 1D: Scarlett 1W: Ahmed 2E: Naina
3J: Luca 3M: Thomas P 4D: Evie 4S: Ariana 5M: Brooke 6H: Holly 6P: Aditya
Monitor of the week: Asiyah High 5 Award: Omer

Thought for the Week
For Year 6 as they prepare for the beginning of their NCTs:
You don’t want to look back and know that you could have done better. Anon

Yours sincerely

J M Duke
Headmaster