Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News, Friday 11th February, 2022
Feb 11, 2022
11th February 2022
Dear Parents
Years 2 and 3 are visited by Lancashire Fire and Rescue
Last Monday afternoon, the children in Years 2 and 3 were visited by two firemen from Lancashire Fire and Rescue service. The firemen showed the children how to test their smoke alarms at home and also discussed what to do if there was a fire at their house. The children practised crawling along the floor, pretending they were keeping low from the smoke and escaping their house. Tom in 3M helped to demonstrate what to do if his clothes were on fire following the ‘STOP, DROP, ROLL’ technique and all the children learnt how to make a fire plan in their home. It was a very instructive and enjoyable afternoon. Thank you Lancashire Fire and Rescue from Years 2 and 3!
2E Assembly
Last Friday, 2E led the Assembly which was focused on their topic work on London. They shared the work they have been covering, across many curriculum subjects this term, with the whole school and their parents. I think we certainly all improved our knowledge of our capital city! In Geography, we learned about the Human and Physical Features of the River Thames, like it is 346km long and is now one of the cleanest rivers in Europe. 2E talked in depth and with interest about The Great Fire of London and the Tower of London and they showed us dramatic pictures that they had painted in Art. The children had certainly learned a lot of facts and we could see that they had really enjoyed the topic by the way they shared the information with their audience. Thank you Year 2, and Miss Eccles, for arranging this assembly.
Open Day
We have two Open Day events later this term:
Thursday 10th March - Nursery Open Day, visitors will need to pre-book.
Sunday 20th March - School and Nursery, no booking necessary.
This is our first opportunity, in the last two years, to showcase and celebrate our children’s fantastic work and achievements. Please pass on the dates to any friends, family and colleagues who may interested in attending these events. We will be publishing adverts on our social media over the next couple of weeks as well. Please could you share these with your contacts. Thank you for your support.
News from our Nursery
Our Forest School is now in full swing! We have loved the opportunity to cook on the fire with the guidance of Miss Travis. We have enjoyed making toast, delicious marshmallows and caramelised apples. Nursery and Rising 3s are now participating in the RSPB Bronze School Wild Challenge Award, so over the next few months we will be completing a variety of tasks at Forest School which will both help and enhance our experience in nature.
We have also been developing a variety of physical skills in our dance lessons with Miss Burns. They have been practising skipping, hopping, running, galloping and stopping skills this term.
There have been a variety of themes running through Nursery in the past few weeks. We have been focusing on patterns and shapes, Chinese New Year, fine motor skills and we have also set up a Highfield Hairdressing Salon!
As our children are becoming more confident with Makaton, we are now having a weekly focus on new signs. This week’s theme is animals which the children have loved and are now confidently using the signs in their play. Next week’s focus will be different colours.
World Book Day
We will be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March with our Junior Mastermind Final which is an annual event for our Year 6 children. All children may come into school dressed as their favourite literary character (no football/rugby kits or weapons please).
Junior Mastermind Final
After two rounds of very tough questions, the following five children have made it through to this year's final: James, Lily, Yusuf, Jaya and Manavi. Congratulations and good luck!
The Wizard of Oz
Highfield Priory’s performance of The Wizard of Oz is getting closer and the children had a full day of rehearsals today. I am really looking forward to seeing children from all the year groups performing together at the Landmark Theatre. The excitement is building and we could really see the play taking shape today. Keep learning your lines and practising your dances over the half-term break.
ISA Northern Cross Country
14 children travelled to Scarisbrick Hall on Monday to take part in the Northern Cross-Country Championship against schools from across the north of the country. There were four races in total with over 150 competitors in some races. We walked the course to begin with which was a mixture of parkland and woodland. It was a testing course, very slippery underfoot and extremely boggy with ditches and roots to negotiate! All the children acquitted themselves really well, enjoying the challenge and returning with smiles on their faces. Several children slipped and lost shoes but they picked themselves up, sometimes with the help of their teammates. I was very proud of all the children who enjoyed their day out and were not fazed by the challenging conditions and mishaps along the way. Highfield’s three highest placed performers were: Aibhlin, 18th ; Aamir, 39th; Frank 42nd.
ISA Northern Netball Championships
Nine girls travelled to Hulme Hall School for the ISA Netball Tournament. The girls played against some very talented pupils. Our Highfield girls won matches against Loreto and Bridgewater and they drew with Abbotsford. The shooters, in particular, did a great job shooting into a 10 foot high post and using a size 5 netball. The girls adapted to the conditions of the tournament brilliantly, with some girls playing out of position due to illness in the team. Well done, everyone! Mrs Parsons
Sedbergh Netball Tournament by Manavi, Sophie, Evie and Taylor
We set off to go to our match at Sedbergh at 11 o’clock. We split up into two teams: maroon and blue. We played many matches; the maroon team played 5 matches and the blue team played 7 matches. We all enjoyed the tournament and enjoyed competing against a variety of schools and learning from their different techniques.
Sedbergh Netball Tournament by Hiba and Jaya
On Wednesday, our party of Y5 and Y6 travelled to Sedbergh for a netball tournament. We began by eating our lunch and then heading to the sports hall where we were split into two teams: the A team and B team. There were seven members in each team. In the matches both teams played, there were some superb passes and shots. At the end of the day, we were all proud of how we had played and deeply enjoyed the tournament. Plus, we drank a delicious cup of hot chocolate, ate cheese and beef pasties and to finish off, a syrupy flapjack. Delicious. Thank you Sedbergh School.
Under 11s Boys’ Rugby against AKS
All the boys in Year 5 and 6 travelled to AKS to play rugby on Wednesday. The boys were very excited as it was their first contact match of the term. All the boys acquitted themselves very well and showed improved understanding and technique the longer they played. The Year 6 game was particularly close with Highfield scoring a number of really good tries towards the end of the game. We now look forward to building on this experience in a series of matches after half-term.
Hockey v AKS by Diya
At first we played AKS B team which was a successful win for Highfield: 4-1. Next we played the A team which was a much harder match. The final score was a wonderful draw 1-1. Great play, Highfield!
End of the School Day
Please could all children be supervised closely at the end of the school day. It is busy with traffic and pedestrians and our Juniors are still in their lessons. Please keep your children close, safe, quiet and away from vehicles. Thank you for your support.
Merit Awards 4.2.22
RB: Isabella 1W: Dhyaan 2E: The Whole Class
3J: Presley 3M: Haya 4H: Scarlet 4M: Anoushka 5D: Aibhlin 6P: Muhammad
Merit Awards 11.2.22
RB: Sofia 1W: Rayyan 2E: Aadam
3J: Muhamma 3M: Ahmad 4H: Monty 4M: Rajdeep 5D: Heba Noor 6P: Thomas
I would like to wish everyone a good half-term break and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday 21st February.
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
