Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News, Friday 23rd February, 2024
Feb 23, 2024
2nd February 2024
Dear Parents
Half Term Welcome Back
What an incredibly busy first week back we have had here at Highfield, and an even busier fortnight ahead! With 4 sports fixtures, a tournament, 2 swimming galas, house meetings, a Celebration Assembly and World Book Day Mastermind Final, we really do have something for everyone at Highfield to enjoy!
Fire Visit
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service visited our Year 2 class before half term to talk about fire safety and the importance of having a fire plan at home. They spoke about the dangers of playing with matches and lighters, and they taught the children what to do if their clothes catch fire. Joey was very excited to demonstrate the stop, drop and roll technique! We discussed what to do if we hear the smoke alarm in our house at night, and Fireman Dave showed us how to use the back of our hands on the door handle to check if there is a fire on the other side. He even showed us how to put pillows or cushions at the bottom of the door to stop smoke getting in. The children listened carefully as they explained the importance of getting outside safely and calling 999 or shouting from a window if we find ourselves trapped upstairs. After the talk, we went outside to look at the fire engine and the firefighters showed us where all the equipment lives. A huge thank you to the LFRS from all of Year 2!
Musical Assembly
Today was our second Musical Assembly of the year, with a range of instruments and a variety of musical styles. Many of the children have performed in previous assemblies, however, for some, this was the start of their musical journey and their very first public performance. We had breath-taking performances with flutes, mesmerising melodies on piano, bold pieces played with brass and Rockstar's on guitar! Well done to all the musicians who gave polished performances to the rest of the school. It was a lovely end to our first week back at Highfield!
Y1 Trip
Yesterday, 1W visited Manchester Airport. From the moment they set off, the minibus was filled with excitement and giggles! As they neared the airport, shouts of ‘look! A plane!’ burst out of the minibus and could be heard for miles! The children climbed the mountain of steps into their classroom for the day, which was inside a real plane. They learnt all about the jobs people do in an airport from pilots and air traffic controllers to police and security staff. They dressed up as pilots and even got to sit in the cockpit, pretending to fly the plane to different destinations: Australia, Africa and Dubai to name a few! The children were amazed by the Concorde which they got to see and learn about. Despite the rain, they had lots of fun watching the planes land and were lucky enough to see the biggest plane in the world land…it was extremely loud! They had a fabulous day and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Chinese New Year
We celebrated Chinese New Year before half term with a wonderful selection of Chinese food and themed activities throughout the day. Our Reception class made a breath-taking Chinese dragon which they paraded throughout the entire school! We continued our celebrations this week with a visit from Confucius Institute from Lancaster University spending time with every class throughout the day, teaching us how to greet each other in Chinese. We also learnt about Chinese New Year and how it is celebrated. 2024 is the year of the Dragon and the children loved discovering the characteristics of someone born in the year of the Dragon. A big thank you to everyone who made our celebration of Chinese New Year so special, especially the staff from Lancaster University!
Open Day
As our Open Day is now only 3 weeks away, on Sunday 17th March, we are advertising in full force! You may see our banners around Preston from next week. If anyone is able to support this by putting up a banner or by sharing leaflets within your community, please contact the School Office. Year 5 and 6 children will be needed to provide tours on the day, and Year 4 children will be demonstrating some of the lessons and activities that take place during the school week. The children always enjoy this experience and take away valuable skills which strongly support their work in HPSED. If you know anyone who would be interested in joining our community, please pass on the date. If they cannot make this date, they are welcome to contact the School Office and book a tour on a weekday. As always, thank you for your ongoing support.
Raising a child in the digital age
We are delighted to confirm we have booked a ‘Raising a child in the digital age’ course with ISA for everyone in the Highfield community. It will take place on Wednesday 28th February between 7.30pm and 9pm via Zoom. Digital parenting is one of the most challenging aspects of raising children today. This dynamic webinar will share a range of actionable tips and strategies parent’s can use to ensure their children grow to become good digital citizens, critical consumers and stay emotionally and digitally resilient. Further information on how to access this course will be sent next week.
Sports News
Netball Tournament
Well done to our Netball teams who travelled to Sedbergh for their annual tournament. It was a great afternoon with lots of Netball played. Our A team won all of their matches convincingly, showing some excellent skills and teamwork, while the B team showed how much progress they’d made this term by playing some super Netball. They won 1, drew 1 and narrowly lost by 1 goal in their final match. Well done to all of our girls and thank you to all the parents who made the journey to support them.
Hockey Tournament
Despite the torrential rain that welcomed us on our arrival at SMH, our girls played some outstanding Hockey (once the weather had improved!). We saw some amazing saves from Penny in goal, supported by strong defensive performances from Scarlett and Daisy. Samira, Lily, Grace and Ariana made some superb tackles in midfield to break up play, allowing Esme to run forward, showing some wonderful attacking play. What an amazing team performance with everyone working together, resulting in a 3rd place finish (narrowly missing out on 2nd by just 1 point!).
Chess V OLSE
On Tuesday, over twenty players from Years 3-6 travelled to Our Ladies and St Edwards to play their first competitive chess match of the year. It was a great opportunity for the children to try out their skills against another school. The room descended into silence as the children focused on the task in hand: planning their moves, working out a strategy to win the game and trying to second guess what their opponent was thinking. The children were learning and developing so many skills which can be adapted for use and progress in other areas of their lives. Many children got the opportunity to play three games against different opponents and they all received a certificate for taking part. I would like to thank our chess coach, Mr. Greenwood, for organising the fixture and we hope to have a rematch in the Summer Term. The children are now honing their skills for the National Delaney Chess Challenge which will give them the opportunity to progress onto Regional and National tournaments.
ISA Cross Country
Well done to the Highfield Cross Country Team who travelled to Scarisbrick Hall for the ISA Cross Country Championships earlier in the week. The children walked the course beforehand and supported each other to ensure they were all ready to run the best race they could. We used as much duct tape as possible to keep our trainers on and fight the mud! Despite our best efforts, we lost some trainers, with Amelie running 100m+ in just socks! The Year 3 boys gained some impressive top 50 places, which was even more impressive as, for some of them, this was their first cross country event at ISA level. Our top 3 finishers were Amelie 8th, Henry 33rd and Isabella 36th. Well done to everyone for showing grit, determination and resilience. You made us very proud.
Merit Awards 09.02.24
RB: Vainavi 1W: Whole Class 2E: Eugene 3D: Rayyan
4J: Isabella 5A: Jaythan 5M: Brodie 6H: Toby
6P: Haniyah
Merit Awards 23.02.24
RB: Eloise 1W: Annabelle 2E: Dharini 3D: Declan
4J: Zayn 5A: Tom 5M: Yusef 6H: Scarlett
6P: Sisley
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
