Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News, Friday 27th May, 2022
May 27, 2022
27th May 2022
Dear Parents
The Tempest
The skies were stormy over Highfield last Thursday evening as The Tempest hit our stage. Years 3 and 5 brought Shakespeare’s famous play to life with their musical production of The Tempest. Incorporating Physical Theatre in their performance, Year 5 used their voices and their bodies to recreate the tempest. As the boat they had formed split apart, and they threw themselves across the stage, we could practically feel the wind and rain in our faces! The acting was fantastic with Years 3 and 5 making Shakespearean English appear effortless to perform. For many of the children it was their first performance in front of a live audience for over two years. Our Year 3s had all learnt extracts from The Tempest off by heart and as they climbed onto the stage, in full Shakespearean dress, and stood beside their fellow actor, they oozed confidence and self-belief. It was hard to believe we were watching children of just seven and eight years old!
The standard of acting, stage presence, understanding of the script and ability to project their voice was quite incredible. The children worked very well together as a team, taking responsibility for their scene changes and stage setting, which really added to the overall impact of the performance. There was a wonderful collection of memorable tunes which were sung beautifully as a whole cast as well as in small groups. The songs reflected the changing mood of the play and the children really injected thought and feeling into their musical performances. Congratulations to all the performers and thank you to our Directors, Mrs Duke and Miss Macklam and to Mr Drake for sound and lighting.
Jubilee Picnic and Celebration
Yesterday, the school celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Flags and bunting adorned the school and there was a sea of red, white and blue flowing around the corridors as the children walked between classes. The children took part in a wide range of activities throughout the day: Royal crown making, Jubilee acrostic poems, designing your own royal stamp and Jubilee story writing, to name a few. The school also worked on a whole school collage which was displayed at the end of the day. The school came together at lunchtime for their Jubilee picnic: flying flags, wearing crowns, listening to Jubilee music and watching a video of the Queen’s Coronation as it played in the background. Thank you to Mr Drake, Mrs Wilson and Year 5 who planned the event as part of their PSHEE lessons. Mr Drake will be sending out a half-term project via Parentmail for the children to design and make their own crowns that represent who they are, e.g. a crown that has tennis balls instead of diamonds and jewels etc.
Reception trip to Farmer Ted’s
Last Thursday, the Reception children visited Farmer Ted's Farm. The children were very excited as they experienced their very first school trip. During the visit, they groomed ponies and were able to handle and pet guinea pigs. The children were really brave in the minibeast show, holding a snake, a giant cockroach and a stick insect. Shaun the Sheep made a special appearance and the children danced and clapped their hands, and we even had a group photograph with him! A fun and busy day was had by all and there were some sleepy heads on the coach on the way back home. Well done, Reception, a fantastic first trip! Mrs Bennett
Manor Adventure
A large group of Year 5 and 6 children will be travelling to Manor Adventure in Shropshire this weekend to take part in an Outdoor Adventurous Activity programme, including high wire walking and canoeing. I look forward to keeping you up to date on Facebook as reports and photographs come in over the weekend. Have fun!
Infant Sports’ Morning
Congratulations to all our amazing competitors on Wednesday morning who competed in the Infant Sports’ Morning. The children have been practising since Easter and were very excited to show their athletic ability in jumping, throwing and running. The level of effort, camaraderie and enjoyment was wonderful to see with everyone really enjoying their events. The field events took place first inside before we moved outside for the running events and medals. It was very competitive with all teams scoring points towards a team total. The top three teams were, Sandringham, Windsor and Buckingham. Thank you to Mrs Parsons and Mrs Botton for organising this fun-filled event.
ISA Athletics
Over thirty children travelled to the Manchester Regional Centre to take part in the Independent Schools’ Association Northern Athletics Meeting. The children acquitted themselves beautifully, showing amazing determination and resilience throughout the day. A number of children, as individuals and as relay teams, reached the finals: Samira 2nd(60m), 3rd (long jump); Aibhlin 1st (150m and 75m); Naina 1st (rounders ball); Taylor 3rd (shot); Lyla 3rd (long jump); James 3rd (long jump) and the under 11s girls’ relay team (Aibhlin, Naina, Lyla and Hannah) came 2nd. Aibhlin, Naina and Samira will all go on to Nationals to compete for the North. Congratulations to all our athletes on a very successful afternoon.
Preston Schools’ Cross Country
Congratulations to Diya, Lyla, Aibhlin, Frank, James and Zaidan who took part in the Preston Schools’ Cross Country last week. Aibhlin came second after a very impressive run and our girls’ team came 2nd overall. The boys put in a great performance too and came 3rd. An excellent performance for Highfield out of 18 schools.
Cricket v Westholme
Our Year 6 cricket team travelled to Westholme last week to play a softball game with normal batting rules, which meant that if you were out that was the end of your innings. This put quite a lot of pressure on the batsmen but both teams rose to the challenge. Highfield managed to restrict Westholme to a total below a hundred with an excellent bowling performance. This was backed up with very solid batting with Moin retiring 25 not out and Frank scoring 20 not out. Ably supported by the rest of the team, they secured a comfortable win. Well done to the boys and thank you to Mrs Botton for taking them to Westholme.
Year 4 Rounders v St. Mary’s Hall
Well done to all the Year 4 girls who travelled to SMH for their first ever rounders match. The excitement on the minibus was lovely to hear and the girls were happily singing songs the whole way there. The girls were split into two teams so they got the maximum amount of pitch time. The games were run as training/coaching matches which was great as the girls were able to learn and improve with each innings. The matches were played with great spirit and a good display of batting, bowling and movement around the pitch. The girls will now work on improving their fielding by learning techniques like the long barrier. Well done, Year 4, and thank you to our super hosts at SMH. Mrs Parsons
Merit Awards 20.5.22
RB: Abdallah 1W: Yusuf 2E: Lana
Year 3: Whole Year Group 4H: Ariana 4M: Imogen 5D: The Whole Class 6P: Yusuf
Merit Awards 27.5.22
RB: Ela 1W: Nissi 2E: Aidan
3J: Brodie 3M: Adam 4H: Drew 4M: Anoushka 5D: Heba Noor 6P: Evie
I hope you all enjoy the half-term and the Jubilee celebrations. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday 13th June.
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
