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’.
Nursery has had a fantastic start to 2022. Our first Forest School session of the year embraced all that winter has to offer in Highfield Haven. We made bird feeders with raisins and pinecones, mixed herbs in the mud kitchen, participated in some collaborative woodwork and also developed our gross motor skills with large mud painting. To top our Forest School session off, we enjoyed hot chocolate that Miss Travis made for us on the fire pit.
Since the last newsletter, The Sunday Times published its Parent Power article which ranks schools throughout the country on their academic performance. This year, Highfield Priory School achieved its highest position on record: 5th= . Highfield Priory School has been in The Sunday Times Top Ten for the last four years. Below is our new Sunday Times Top Ten logo alongside our last three. Congratulations to the whole school community for being a member of one of the consistently highest performing Independent Preparatory Schools in the country.
Thank you, Year 6, for your assembly about Leaders this morning. You talked about your very important job within school as a role-model to the younger children as well as the range of other jobs that you do to help the school run smoothly. I have certainly been impressed by how responsibly you have undertaken these roles, supporting teachers and setting a really good example to the children. It was good to hear you describe your duties with confidence in front of a live audience, showing a real pride in your achievements. It was also lovely to hear you recite the story about the tiny caterpillar and the hard work he had to put in to achieve his potential. I was really interested to hear the professions that you aspire to be leaders in when you leave school. I am looking forward to hearing that you have achieved your goals and considerable potential in the future. Thank you Year 6 and Mrs Prince for arranging the assembly.
The children were very excited about the return of M and M Productions and their performance of ‘A Christmas Carol’. The children loved interacting with the actors, singing, dancing and answering questions. They were also impressed with the special effects as one of the actors seemed to appear from nowhere in a chair! The children were singing the songs, re-telling the jokes and recounting their favourite parts to each other throughout the day. Thank you to M and M Productions and to Mrs Jones for organising their visit.
I visited Year 1 on Monday. The class was focusing on Phonics and Phonemes. They were split into groups and I managed to catch up with the group that was working with Mrs Wilson. oa and er are the sounds for this week. The children have been working on these sounds each day and they have formed the basis of their spellings. The children were very keen to engage me in the lesson as soon as I sat down.
It was lovely to invite parents back into school for our first Class Assembly of the year. Speaking in public is a very valuable skill and one we place a lot of focus on at Highfield. Our Class Assemblies are just one of the opportunities in the year for our children to perform. The focus of the assembly was ‘Resilience’ which is a very important life-skill, not just at this present time but throughout our lives. The children started the Assembly by introducing the book ‘The Dot’ by Peter Reynolds which tells the story of Vashti who overcame her belief that she couldn’t draw. The class then spoke about how they had used this story to discuss the word ‘Resilience’ and what they individually found difficult.
I was very lucky on Wednesday morning to visit Pre-School in the woodland. Under the guidance of our Forest School leader, Miss Travis, the children were learning about the Autumn Equinox and how the animals in the woodland were starting to prepare for winter. Eva and Aaisha were creating bird feeders carefully putting bird seed in pinecones and I watched Ebrahim dash off to place his bird feeder carefully in the woodland. They were all very proud of their creations.
It was lovely to welcome all the children back to school last week and return to our normal routine. The children are very excited about the term ahead and there has been a real buzz around school as the children catch up on each other’s news and share their new experiences.
Well what a year we have had, Highfield! I am delighted to be able to stand in front of you all today and to celebrate our Year Six’s time at Highfield Priory School. There were times when we didn’t think we would be able to meet like this and we are still doing it in rather unusual circumstances but at least we are doing it! It is wonderful that technology can bring us together in this way so that no one is missing out. The Highfield community is stronger than ever and here today to say goodbye to our wonderful Class of 2021.
I am delighted to announce that three of our former pupils have been selected to lead their schools. Ali Ahmed was chosen as Captain of School for Bolton School, Tom Duke is Head of School at Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Aliyah Patel is Head Girl at Preston Girls’ Muslim School. What a fantastic achievement Highfeldians!
Isabel Street has recently received a place in the National Schools’ Symphony Orchestra. She began learning the oboe in Year 4 at Highfield.
Two former pupils have also gained success in sport. Rachel Greenwood was selected to play for Oxford against Cambridge and Natalie Panagarry has been selected for the England Netball Squad and she captained Loughborough Lightning to their first Super League title at the weekend at the Copper Box Arena in London.
We travelled down to Shropshire on Bank Holiday Weekend for an action-packed weekend at Manor Adventure. We were the only school on site which really allowed the children the freedom to enjoy the space. It was an excellent experience for the children who were able to develop their teambuilding skills and try out some activities for the first time. They also showed determination and bravery in overcoming their fears on activities like the high ropes and abseiling. The children really rose to the challenge and took full advantage of every opportunity. A huge thank you to Mrs Jones for organising the trip and to Mrs Morrice, Ms Eccles and Miss Catherall for their support throughout the weekend.
It was lovely to see all the Juniors taking part in a competitive event on Wednesday with three separate year group Sports Days. The children really enjoyed the experience with lots of smiles, laughter and encouragement for each other. Every child tried their hardest with taking part and having fun being the main focus for the day. The children threw themselves into all the events; the traditional sack race and egg and spoon race caused the most excitement! All the children were awarded with medals and ice lollies for their achievements. I hope you enjoy watching the recording of the event and the photographs that we post on Facebook.
The school will be conducting booked tours on Sunday 23rd May from 9.30am until 12noon. These will be conducted by members of the Senior Management Team and our Nursery Managers. There will be no children or other staff on site. If you know of any parents who are interested in their child attending Highfield Priory School and Nursery, please could you encourage them to book a tour with the school office. Parent recommendations are by far the highest reason for a child attending Highfield Priory School or Nursery. Thank you for your continued support.
It was lovely to welcome all the children back to school last Monday. They were smartly dressed in their Summer uniform and filled with enthusiasm for the term ahead. They were also excited to learn that many of the summer events, that they missed out on last year, will be going ahead. Play rehearsals are in full swing, sports day practice is under way and Year 6 is preparing for the final round of Junior Mastermind.
The Easter Egg Raffle and excellent Music Assembly this week were the highlights of what has been a very busy and successful return to school. The teachers have been impressed by the children’s enthusiasm in class and the high standard of work they are achieving. I am very proud of all our pupils who have continued to show incredible resilience and character during the last year and who have continued to Aim High in all things.
I am looking forward to welcoming all the children back on Monday. It will be amazing to have all the children back in school again. Please could you remind your child that we will be continuing with all the measures that were in place before Christmas. I hope the children have plenty of rest during the weekend and are ready for the start of an exciting week in school on Monday.
The children have impressed me with their hard work and with the progress they have made across all subjects. We have witnessed some of their achievements of the last few weeks in assemblies, on our Facebook pages and in their lessons. I have enjoyed talking with them about their poems, creative writing, outstanding artwork, maths problems, and science. I would like to congratulate all the children on their achievements this term and for continuing to aim high in all things.
It has been another incredibly busy fortnight of online and in-school learning. I continue to be very impressed by the high standard of the children’s work and the enthusiasm demonstrated in each lesson. A big thank you to all the staff and parents for all your hard work and continued support. In the last newsletter, we read about what the children have been getting up to with their class teacher and in HPSED. This week, we find out what the children have been doing with specialist teachers in Music, French, PE, Art and ICT.
We went digital in Year 5 at the end of last term as we recorded the pupils reading their favourite pieces of creative writing. 🎙 🎚
After they had made the recordings, the class then created a QR code for each and then put these together with the narrator's picture, ready for them to be listened to at our Open Day.
The class loved being part of this process and learning how to make their work digital, and the parents really enjoyed listening to their children’s stories. 📖 Great work Year 5! 🙂 🙂Photos from Highfield Priory School's post ... See moreSee less
Class 6H enjoyed a trip to local retirement home Bethany House recently.
In preparation for the visit, the children had learnt some traditional songs, including songs from famous musicals. Once there, the children entertained the residents with a good old-fashioned sing song and even brought along song sheets so that everyone could join in! 🎤 🎼
The class had also made some Easter cards for all the people who live there which they handed out before sadly having to wave goodbye to all the ladies and gentlemen.
It is always so lovely to see our children forming such good friendships with the residents and it is great to see Highfield’s relationship with Bethany House going from strength to strength! 🙂 🙂Photos from Highfield Priory School's post ... See moreSee less
