Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News, Friday 28th January, 2022
Jan 28, 2022
28 January 2022
Dear Parents
4M Assembly
4M delivered our first Class Assembly of the term last week on the theme of Friendship. They talked about the importance of friendship and what aspects were important to them. It made me think about our community at Highfield and how I see examples every day of children in each age group looking out for one another and being incredibly caring and kind. I see this in the morning when I open the gates at 8am and the children bound into school, full of enthusiasm with big smiles for each other, saying hello and sharing news. 4M told a story about two friends who worked on a farm and kept sharing their grain. Both farmers were caring and thinking about each other without being asked. I also enjoyed 4M’s acrostic poems which showed a real understanding of the true meaning of friendship. There are two poems for you to enjoy below. Thank you 4M for sharing your thoughts with us and thank you Miss Macklam for arranging the assembly. I would like to finish with the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson which were used by 4M to end their Assembly: ‘The only way to have a friend is to be one’.
Friends by Reuben
F is for fun and funny and always there
R is for reliable and they always care
I is for interconnection always be connected
E is for encourage and always give hope
N is for not naughty just be well-behaved
D is for dependable on every single day
S is for sensible in every single way
Friends by Haniyah
F is for fun and the happy times you share
R is for reliable to show how much you care
I is for incredible because you are talented and skilled
E is for entertaining because you are funny and it makes me thrilled
N is for neighbourly and kind for meaning
D is for defending to protect when needing
S is for super because I always depend on you and you depend on me
Chess Club
Chess Club is up and running again this term. It is lovely to see so many children from Year 3 upwards coming to learn the game with their peers. There is great camaraderie between the players as they help each other with the rules and tactics. I have been particularly impressed by the Years 3s who are determined to improve and learn the game. The result is not important and does not faze the players. They realise that by working with each other they improve as players. This week, we started to move away from taking as many pieces as possible to looking for the best strategy to get a checkmate. The children’s problem-solving ability and strategic planning is developing in front of my eyes. I am looking forward to watching the children’s continued progress over the course of the year.
If you are in Year 3 or above and are interested in coming along to Chess Club, please see Mr Duke.
Netball at SMH by Jaya
On 26th January, some of the Highfield girls from Years 5 and 6 went to SMH. We were up against several different teams from SMH and then Oakhill. The first match was lost against SMH’s A team but Highfield won the rest of the games. There were 4 matches in total. Everyone put in lots of effort and we were delighted to receive KitKats and a refreshing drink afterwards. It was a great festival. Well done to everyone who took part!
Science with Year 3
Our pupils in Year 3 have been working on a new science topic over the past few weeks: Light and Dark. We have discussed the definition of a light source and we were able to come up with many examples such as, light bulbs, torches, candles and computer screens. We were surprised to find out that the moon is not actually a light source but just reflects the light from the sun. We talked about day and night and how these are linked to the Earth’s rotation which takes 24 hours. We also discussed how the Earth goes around the sun, taking 365 (and a quarter!) days to be exact. As we were struggling to visualise all of this movement, we took the lesson outside. Dylan had to act as the sun and he stayed in position. Ahmad played the role of the Earth and not only rotated around the sun but did so whilst spinning himself round too! Adam had the role of the moon, rotating around the Earth. It created a wonderfully frantic choreography, which the children haven’t forgotten since, or stopped laughing about!
World Book Day Junior Mastermind (Round 1)
The first round of our annual Mastermind competition will take place next week for our Year 6 children. They were given a list of five books to read at the beginning of the school year and will be answering questions based on them. Good luck, Year 6!
Congratulations to all our Year 6 children who have finished their Secondary School examinations and interviews, and good luck to all those who still have examinations to come. You are nearly there!
Merit Awards 21.1.22
RB: Dharini 1W: Brandon 2E: Ali
3J: Sharman 3M: Adam 4H: Shriya 4M: The Whole Class 5D: Pranav 6P: Leo
Merit Awards 28.1.22
RB: Arthur 1W: Emily 2E: Mohamad
3J: Summer 3M: Isla 4H: Toby 4M: Melissa 5D: Gulsher 6P: Eliza
Online Working
If a child is not well with Covid-19 or any other illness work will not be provided. We want children to fully recover so they can return to school when they are ready to resume their studies.
If a child has tested positive for Covid 19 but has no other symptoms, work will be sent home on the first day and we will aim to have them live on Teams on the second day.
Current Self-Isolation Guidelines
Examples of when to end self-isolation if you have had COVID-19 symptoms or have received a positive COVID-19 test result:
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
