Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News, Friday 3rd April, 2020
Apr 3, 2020
Dear Parents,
As we come to the end of an unprecedented fortnight in the life of Highfield Priory School, I feel that as a community we are stronger than ever. With staff, children and parents really working together to keep the ethos of Highfield alive wherever you are. The work that has been achieved by the children and the wonderfully supportive comments from our parents have brought us together as a united community which makes me very proud. Even though many of us are apart during this time, I feel we are keeping close and supporting each other through these difficult weeks. Well done, Highfield!
Key Workers
Thank you to our amazing key workers who are doing so much to care for us and keep the community running.
Merit Winners
Congratulations to all our Merit winners. I will be writing to you individually on your Blog.
Easter Holiday Projects
During the weekend, we will be releasing ideas for project work and holiday activities on your individual blogs. They are not compulsory but I am sure many of you will have fun completing them. Please share any work you have completed with your teachers after the holiday.
Below is just a brief summary of the fantastic work you have all been up to:
Nursery and Pre-School
Nursery and Pre-School have been decorating some beautiful rainbows which have been hung up on the railings. We miss all our friends and hope everyone is staying safe!
Reception
A big thank you for all the really positive comments and thank you to the parents who are supporting the children. It has been lovely to see photographs of the work and activities that have been done. I am glad you are having fun! One of my favourite activities of the week was the scavenger hunt in which the children used their senses to find things around the house. I even received a list from some children of things I could find in my house. The interaction has been excellent. Well done!
Merit winner: Abu Bakr
Mrs Bennett
Year 1
This week in Class 1D, we have been flying with Dumbo, having tea with the Queen, climbing the Eiffel Tower and sharing an ice cream with an alien! There have been imaginative and creative writing ideas from everyone. It has been a super week, filled with maximum effort, good thinking skills and fun activities. I am impressed and delighted with my children!
Merit winner: Lilia
Mrs Davidson
The children in 1W have worked very hard and engaged well with the online working. They have been keen to undertake the tasks and tell me all about how they have enjoyed them.
This week we have learnt lots of information about animals. In PHSE lessons, the children have been learning how to care for different pets. They then wrote about this with some of the children using their experience of looking after their own pets. They have also been learning about the different groups that animals are organised into. This week we have been learning about insects and birds. The children chose a favourite animal from one of these groups and made a fact file. Well done, 1W!
Merit winner: Ahmad
Mrs Wilson
Year 2
I have been so impressed by the work 2J have completed this week, both at home and in school. I have loved seeing their videos explaining why they enjoy certain books and the children have astounded me with the facts they found for their posters on Neil Armstrong, Tim Peake or Helen Sharman - I have learnt so much!! The enthusiastic comments I receive when we post a piece of work makes me smile every day. Well done 2J!
Merit winner: Esme
Mrs Jones
2E has been very busy this week! We have completed lots of fun Maths and English activities and we have made videos about the books we are reading. To continue our Science topic on plants, we are investigating the growing conditions for cress and we are growing a bean plant from a seed. We have enjoyed learning about some famous astronauts including the British astronauts Helen Sharman and Tim Peake as well as the world famous Neil Armstrong.
Merit winner: Reuben
Miss Eccles
Year 3
I am so proud of how the class has transitioned to online learning in such a short space of time. They were given very little notice, and a lot of information and worksheets, and yet every day most of them manage to ‘hand in’ their work and comment with ease. We have had a range of lessons over the past two weeks, but I was particularly delighted with their response during our ‘debate’ lesson where I made their comments public. We debated whether changing the school hours to 7am – 1:30pm would be a good idea (it was an overwhelming NO!). The pupils were engaged online and ideas were bouncing off each other. We later used these arguments in a persuasive letter. Keep up the great work 3M and keep aiming high!
Merit winner: Amelia
Mrs Morrice
Year 4
4D has been working exceptionally hard over the past 2 weeks and the children have produced brilliant pieces of work, both in their home learning books and online. They have continued their class reader, Varjak Paw, with a weekend read-along so they don’t miss out on what is going on in the story. The children have been able to say what they think will happen next and then find out if they were right in the following week’s instalment. In Science this week, Y4 watched a water cycle experiment where Mr Drake boiled muddy water to show how only water particles are evaporated and then condensed back into water again. He even drank the clean purified water to prove this and show each stage of the water cycle!
Merit winner: Evie
Mr Drake
It is difficult to think of a time when a class has impressed me as much as 4S has done over the last couple of weeks! The work has been outstanding from everyone and the commitment they have shown to being online and commenting back and forth has been excellent. They have been eager to engage, despite the unusual circumstances, and the snippets of information we have shared about how they are managing has been a joy. Absolute superstars one and all!
Merit winner: Jaya
Mr. Sheppeck
Year 5
I have been so impressed with 5H this week - they have transitioned to online teaching with ease and I have been very impressed with the work they have been producing. The writing they have done for English has been outstanding and I can tell they're all working hard at home: learning new things and having a lot of fun too! It's great that we can keep in touch online and I love seeing all the messages from the children - it was great that we could all make each other smile on April Fools' Day too!
Merit winner: Evie
Mrs Haythornthwaite
5M has been fully engaged in all the activities this week. They have communicated with independence and maturity and they have all produced some excellent work. I have been particularly impressed with the efforts that they have put into their topic work and we have enjoyed sharing this.
Merit winner: Sasha
Miss Macklam
Year 6
6P has got off to a flying start with their home learning and I have been really impressed with their efforts.The children have been very conscientious with their Maths and English and I have been very impressed with their topic work from garden sculptures, newspaper structures and scientific endeavours. I am so proud of all of them.
Merit winner: Theo
Mrs Prince
Physical Education
Well done to all the pupils who have taken part in the PE fitness circuits over the past two weeks, especially when you have got your parents involved too. It was great to see! It is so important to be fit and healthy. Healthy body = healthy brain!
Remember to keep active over the Easter holidays and get fresh air as much as possible.
Mrs Parsons and Mrs Botton
I hope you all have a good two week break. Keep busy, keep safe and please look after your family. I look forward to welcoming you all back to school on our first day back on Monday 20th April. Online lessons will begin at 9am. We have lots of exciting activities and surprises planned for next term!
Mr Jeremy Duke
Headmaster
Highfield Priory School
