Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News, Friday 13th October, 2023
Oct 13, 2023
13th October 2023
Dear Parents
Open Morning
Our Open Morning this year will be on Friday 10th November 9.30am -12.00pm. If you know any friends, work colleagues or neighbours who would like to come and see Highfield in action, and to celebrate the fantastic work and achievements of our children, please pass on the date. We are also looking for any suitable banner sites on main roads or junctions. Please could you also forward any Open Day Facebook posts to your mailing list. Thank you for your support and for helping Highfield to continue to build on its success.
Harvest Festival
Thank you to everyone who donated to the Harvest Festival last week. We received a huge amount of food that will be vital to, and greatly appreciated by, local charities and businesses. We also raised a massive £464.26 which will be donated to WaterAid. After performing their Harvest Festival Assembly, the pupils in 6H took some of our Harvest donations along to Bethany House – a local home for the elderly. They entertained the residents with their Harvest songs before spending some time chatting with the residents. The children’s enthusiasm spread to everyone there and we were all delighted when the residents joined us in our final song of the day. We were sad to say goodbye but so proud of our Year 6 children and the joy that they had so evidently brought to others.
Year 6H Assembly
Thank you very much to 6H who taught us all about where our food comes from and gave us a strong understanding of the entire process. It was a very interesting assembly which I know will make us think more about our food and lead to further discussions in lessons and at home. The confidence and command of the stage, demonstrated by the whole class, was very impressive. Thank you to Mrs Haythornthwaite and well done 6H!
Year 6P Assembly
Thank you to 6P for your powerful assembly showing us the importance of unity. It was wonderful to see the appreciation you have for everyone in the Highfield community and the ways in which they help you. Our school is made up of lots of different people, all working together to make school a magnificent place to be. It was lovely to hear all about the fantastic friendships you have made at Highfield, and, although we know you will continue to make more in the future, we hope that your friendships made here last a lifetime.
Grammar School Examinations
Congratulations to all the children who sat the Grammar School Examinations. You all did incredibly well, and we are very proud of you all.
U11 Girls Football Cup Match
Our U11 girls played their first match of the season on Wednesday against Ingol Primary. Highfield started off strongly with a great strike from the top of the box by Samira in the first 30 seconds of the game. Highfield continued to dominate and created many chances, however, in the final 3 minutes of the game, Ingol scored 2 goals to make the score 2-1. With defeat looking likely, the Highfield girls kept up the attacks and in the dying seconds of the game, Samira managed another beautiful strike which left the Ingol keeper stranded. 2-2 at full time meant a penalty shoot-out: a first for both teams. It was a nerve-wracking shootout with some great penalties and saves, however, Ingol came out victorious with the final score 2-1. Well done to all the Year 6 girls who played and thank you to the parents who came to support. Mrs Botton
Harold Slater Football
Last week, a small group of Year 5 and 6 boys competed in the first round of the Harold Slater Shield against Grange Primary School, Preston. It was really good to play an away fixture so close to Highfield on an all-weather pitch. The pitch was small, which meant defence, and taking any opportunities to score, was going to be crucial to our success. The boys’ positioning throughout the game was very good and they managed to clear the ball strongly away from our half throughout the game. The forwards were able to react quickly and pounce on any half chances with Drew scoring a volley and first touch goal in the first half to take Highfield two goals up at half time. In the second half, they continued to apply the pressure which led to two more goals from Drew and Adam. It was an excellent team performance and a great start to the competition.
Boys Football
Last week, a small group of Year 4 boys travelled to Grange School for the ISA U9 Football Tournament. They played brilliantly and faced some very talented teams, working their way to the Shield Finals! We came away as Runners-up with all players taking a fantastic silver medal home. Special mention must go to goal keepers Aidan and Sanketh who put on a great display of defence in goal. Well done to everyone involved – a superb show of teamwork and football skills!
ISA Regional Swimming Gala
Congratulations to all the children who competed in the ISA Gala yesterday. The children did incredibly well, competing in a Gala which witnessed 29 Senior and Junior Schools taking part from across the North of the country. The children managed to keep calm and do their best amongst the backdrop of a very big and noisy crowd. Mrs Parsons was very impressed with their composure and calmness under pressure. Our top three finishers were: Shomi (3rd), Anoushka (4th) and Scarlett (5th). Congratulations to Shomi who has qualified for the National races. Thank you to Mrs Parsons, Miss Bentley and all the parents who supported them on the day.
Scholastic Book Fair
It was wonderful to see the Scholastic Book Fair make a return to Highfield this year and so lovely to see the excitement from all the children who clearly have a passion for reading! I'd just like to say the biggest thank you to everyone who bought a book as we managed to raise £1,017.86 which means that the school commission will be an amazing £508.93. This means we can buy lots of books for our class libraries which all the children will enjoy!
Netball
Well done to all the Year 4 girls who played in their first Netball match of the year against Sedbergh Prep last Wednesday. It was lovely to see them playing with passion and representing Highfield in such a close match with end-to-end play and a final score of 4-4.
Years 5 and 6 also put on a performance to make us proud, with over 30 girls representing the school. In fixtures where the standard of Netball was very high, our girls won 2 of 4 matches against Sedbergh Prep. Well done to all the girls who played in these matches!
Halloween School Disco
The Halloween School Disco will take place after half term on Friday 10th November. A ParentMail containing full details will follow. A spooktacular excuse to wear those Halloween costumes again. Watch out for the posters advertising ticket sales coming soon!
Merit Awards 6.10.23
RB: Yasmine 1W: Kevin 2E: Abdallah 3D: Francis
4J: Amelie 5A: Adam 5M: Summer 6H: Whole Class
6P: Shreya
Merit Awards 13.10.23
RB: Tobias 1W: Amelia 2E: Ayesha 3D: Liyaana
4J: Megumi 5A: Arthur 5M: Shomi 6H: Shriya
6P: Whole Class
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
