Headmaster's Welcome
Headmaster's News - 8th July 2016
Jul 8, 2016
8 July 2016
Dear Parents
Thank you Year 6 for a brilliant Leavers Assembly! You brought back so many amazing memories from your time at Highfield; it was lovely to hear you speak of the moments that have been special to you. You really made us laugh with your fantastic rendition of ‘Amarillo’ through the corridors and classrooms of Highfield! It was wonderful to celebrate the years with you, applaud your achievements and there were definitely a few tears shed and lumps in the throat! You are a wonderful class and this morning you provided us with another beautiful memory. I look forward to continuing to celebrate your success next week with your School Production and Speech Day.
Out and About
I watched a 4S lesson on Wednesday as they were being introduced to the difficult concept of ‘Probability’. The children were introduced to the topic by discussing the probability of events that they might know about or have some relevance to them. They discussed the probability of Leicester winning the Premiership before looking at a list on the board and giving their own probability on their white boards. Whiteboards were flying up all around the classroom to answer questions such as what is the probability of Andy Murray winning Wimbledon to what is the probability of it raining tomorrow. They were particularly tickled by what was the probability of Miss McShane turning purple, especially as she had just left the room! The children had gained a good grasp of the concept before they helped Mr. Sheppeck to draw a probability line. Henry said ‘Certain’ would be at one end and Evie said ‘Good Chance’ would be in the middle. Lilland explained that if we’re going to use numbers 0-1 than the numbers in between would be decimals. She then pointed out where 0.75 would be before the other numbers were added. The children then used the probability line to answer a number of questions about it. They began straight away, working out the answers and showing a really good understanding of the topic. This level of understanding should stand them in really good stead for the problem solving on the same topic on Friday. Thank you 4S and Mr Sheppeck for a very interesting lesson.
News from the Nursery
The children have been working hard this year growing vegetables and fruit. This week they started to harvest their crop and they have enjoyed eating their potatoes and peas with their lunch. The children brought, very proudly, to my office a sample of the crop. Well done Nursery it has been lovely to see and eat the benefits of all your hard work. Delicious!
Junior Sports Day
We did it! The Junior School embarked upon a red double decker bus and a new stage for our sports day: the UCLAN arena. The clouds did threaten in the latter part of the afternoon but the rain did not fall and there were even a few rays of sunshine falling upon our wonderful afternoon of athletics. The children really rose to the occasion with 100% effort in every activity. It was great to see a wide range of events on the track with many very exciting long distance and relay events. I also really enjoyed the traditional fun events like the sack race, tug of war and the very competitive mums’, dads’ and former pupils’ race! I would like to thank everyone who made such a special event possible, especially Miss McShane for organising the event twice, including a wet weather option! The final scores were 1st Pendle, 2nd Fylde, 3rd Bowland.
Rounders
Last week we had the ISA Rounders tournament at The Grange School. We were up against some strong schools such as Greenbank and The Grange. We had a brilliant day with some high scoring games, finishing 4th overall. The girls worked well together as a team and learned lots from the afternoon. Our final game of rounders this term was played on Wednesday against Terra Nova. The rain held off allowing us to play two innings. Terra Nova had some excellent fielding strategies and Highfield batted the best I have ever seen! Terra Nova won the match. Well done to Millie for making 3 catches in a row! Miss McShane
GB Hockey Visit
On Monday, Great Britain hockey star, Sally Walton, visited school to take training sessions with our Year 2 pupils and those children who have attended our hockey activity this year. She introduced herself to begin with including showing the children her bronze medal from the 2012 Olympics. She worked on a number of drills encouraging ball awareness and good stick control. She was supported by Ms Loffler-Thompson and Mr Hills who are both representatives of Fylde Hockey Club and who wanted to alert the children to the new developments at the club and their Junior sessions.
England Senior Tennis Player
On Thursday, Mrs McGrath (Ben’s grandma), who plays tennis for England Seniors, came to school and coached a number of sessions with our children. The children picked up a number of good tips about positioning and movement and progressed really well in the short period of time Mrs McGrath was with them. The fact that it is Wimbledon at the moment and many of the children have been talking about it made it even more special for them.
I would like to thank both our visitors this week who have made it a really fitting end to our celebration of sport this year. I know the children have been really inspired this year by all our visitors and our new facility and I look forward to watching their levels of enthusiasm and ability continue to improve next year as a result of this.
Bake-Off
Thank you to all those parents and children who made such an amazing array of cakes for Monday’s Bake-Off. The standard was very high and we thought that they all really deserved a prize for best taste and best decoration. We had a number of Olympic tracks, swimming pools, cricket pitches, Olympic circles and the Olympic flame; it was incredibly difficult to choose a winner (but we enjoyed trying!). In first place for taste was Jacob for Juniors and Diya S in Key Stage 1 and Reception. The best decorated cake went to Beth and Beatrice in Juniors and Aibhlin in Infants and Nursery. Thank you again to everyone who took part.
We raised over £340 for the school charities, Baby Beat and Derian House.
Deputy Nursery Manager
I am delighted to announce that Miss Kidd will be taking over as Deputy Manager in Nursery from September. Miss Kidd has over 9 years’ experience and has been at Highfield since 2013. Miss Kidd is excited about her new role and will provide continuity in the Nursery for the children and staff.
Miss McShane and her Bitesize Bootcamp!
Miss McShane will be finishing her maternity cover next week for Mrs Parsons. She is now setting up a company called ‘Bitesize Bootcamp for Kids’ which involves training sessions to keep children fit, involving a number of Gym Sessions, Tyre Flipping Circuits, Boxercise, Stamina and Sprint development and much more….! It will eventually lead to an obstacle course race involving lots of obstacles and mud! (similar to the Tough Mudder challenges that are run for adults throughout the country). This course will be run for children throughout the North West. She will be running a Boot Camp for Highfield pupils for children from Years 1- 6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week. The sessions will be £5 each or £8 for both sessions. There will be a total of twenty places in each session. If you are interested, please collect a letter from Miss McShane. To reserve a place, please return your letter with payment by Friday 15 July.
HPPTA Summer Fayre
Please join us this Sunday 1-4pm for the children's favourite PTA event of the year! Lots to see and do including teachers in the stocks, fairground swing ride and the great opportunity to sign up to organic fruit and veg deliveries through Riverford and help raise extra money for our school. Many thanks for your support. HPPTA
Monkhouse at the Summer Fayre
Monkhouse will be coming into school on Sunday for the Summer Fayre. They will be selling the winter uniform as well as the new games kit.
Merit Awards
RD: Diya RF: William 1D: Diya 1W: Jack 2M: Martha
3J: Darcey 3M: Eryk 4D: Elizabeth 4S: Eva 5H: Charlie 5M: Aqil Patel 6H: The Whole Class
Monitor of the Week: Rohan
Thought for the Week
If we all did the things we were capable of, we would literally astound ourselves. Thomas Edison.
Yours sincerely
J M Duke
Headmaster
