Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
SPRING TERM - NEWSLETTER NO. 3
Dear Parents Friday 14 February 2014
As we come to the end of another busy half term I would like to wish you all an enjoyable half term holiday. May I remind you that school resumes at the normal time on Monday 24 February.
Parental Survey -- Thank you for all the positive comments received about the number of exciting clubs and activities on offer this year and the revised Homework timetable. The next ‘issue’ for us to address from the survey is the fact that many of you want more opportunities to see what the girls get up to. To help with this we are now holding a Form Assembly for each Form over this term and next. Our first one by 3CC was a huge success and very much enjoyed by the parents and grandparents who were able to attend. The next ones are:
Tuesday 25 February for 5JC Tuesday 4 March 6HJ Thursday 6 March 4 JLB Tuesday 11 March 5APW Tuesday 18 March 6JS Tuesday 25 March 5LR Thursday 27 March 3GH Tuesday 31 March 6JB Thursday 28 April 4SS Thursday 9 June 4VS
Grade Cards – The girls have brought their Grade Cards home today. Our Grade Card levels of attainment are shown for the three core subjects, English, Maths and Science. This is a combination of the recent assessments results, class work and homework. In addition to the attainment grades, each girl will be graded for effort.
World Thinking Day
On Sunday 22 February members of Girl Guiding will be celebrating World Thinking Day. As part of national celebrations Rainbows, Brownies and Guides may wear their uniform to school on Monday 23 February. We will be having a special Assembly about Girl Guiding as Brownies are 100 years old in 2014.
World Book Day – Advance notice To celebrate World Book Day we would like the girls to come to school on Friday 7 March dressed as a character from one of their favourite books.
Easter Holiday Club – If you wish to your child to attend, please may we remind you that you need to book by Monday 5 March. Thank you.
JUNIOR DISCO – The girls had a great time at the Junior Disco, giving them a chance to dress up in their lovely disco gear. They enjoyed dancing to their requests that DJ Gavin played. They liked having a drink and treat, chatting in the “chill out” zone and had fun playing their favourite games of “Corners” and “Stand up-sit down Hockey and Netball.”
Y5 Drama Club – The girls showcased their work on Tuesday evening in an excellent production of 'Fiends Reunited'. Parents and friends were invited to the spookiest, freakiest, most bewitching reunion of Sleeping Beauty with her fairy tale friends. The girls enjoyed taking on the roles of fairy tale characters and developing their acting, dancing and musical skills. They also designed their own costumes and produced the posters and programmes for the musical. Don’t forget to look at the super photographs on the website.
YEAR 3 – 3CC thoroughly enjoyed performing their assembly in front of their parents last week. They were so good Mrs Cawthorne asked if they would repeat it again for the whole school in Monday's assembly. The theme of their assembly was Friends and Friendship and was explored through poetry, photos, videos and even a small drama.
YEAR 4 – The girls in Year 4 visited Wakefield Cathedral this week and took part in lots of exciting
musical activities. Bell-ringing was the first activity, although we used hand bells and not church bells! We learned lots about the grand piano and organ there, and some of the girls even played the Cathedral organ!
YEAR 5 – As part of our Space topic in science, Mr Clarkson helped 5JC to use the school i-pad to support their science topic on the solar system. They used an app called Pages to produce a poster illustrating how the seasons change. Visit to the Stardome at Q.E.G.S by Zoe Meredith.
As I stepped into the darkness of the Stardome, everything seemed like a different world, the world of space. We were shown all the star constellations like Orion the Hunter and given interesting facts about all of the planets in the solar system.
YEAR 6 – 6JB have been working on characters’ voices in their drama lessons. They have created a puppet show using the app “PuppetPals” on the mini ipads. They enjoyed evaluating how effective their different voices were for their different characters.
Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed a drama workshop lead by Miss L Druett. The children acted scenes from Macbeth and made their own witches’ spells. Macbeth was written in 1606 by William Shakespeare. As with most of his plays, Shakespeare got the story from somewhere else, a historian called Holinshed. He wanted to create a good story and Shakespeare wasn’t too interested in historical facts. He
turned Macbeth into a tragic villain, poisoned by ambition. The play is full of dramatic action, strong characters and memorable speeches. Macbeth remains one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays.
ICT – Girls in year 3 were excited to start their photography unit. They have been learning how to use the new digital cameras, compose their photographs thoughtfully and to manage their files.
To celebrate Safer Internet Day on the 11th February we launched a poster competition. The brief was to encompass the message 'Let's create a safer internet together'. The
standard of the entries was fantastic so well done to all the girls who entered the competition. Special congratulations go to the 12 year group winners and 2nd runner up Hannah Jessop 3GH, 1st runner up Zoe Meredith 5JC and overall winner Emily Crossley 4VH.
Litter picking! – The eco-committee decided to have a session picking up litter from the playground to raise awareness about not spoiling the environment by dropping rubbish. The girls were surprised with the amount collected- mostly plastic wrappers. Sainsbury’s Active Kids Vouchers If you shop at Sainsbury’s the scheme has started again, so please bring your vouchers in to school. Last year we collected over 29,000 vouchers and were able to buy extra equipment for sports, gardening and early morning / after school clubs. There are collection boxes in St John’s House and in Mulberry House reception. Thank you!
CHARITIES’ NEWS Sheffield Children’s Hospital – Simran Uppal is holding a cheque for £150 for Sheffield Children's Hospital where she received excellent treatment after her fall. The money was part of the donations from the Christmas concerts.
Dr Barnardo’s Mrs Warrant came to an assembly to say a big thank you for once again working together and raising over £1507.00 for Barnardo’s. She told the children that they should feel really proud of themselves for being able to make such a positive contribution to help change other children’s lives. This money will ensure that Barnardo’s is able to provide valuable support services to vulnerable children here in Yorkshire during these tough economic times.
Children's Choice - Year 5 chose Wednesday's lunch of hot dogs and pancakes with different toppings and it was extremely popular.
School Shop – 6JB were very good shopkeepers in an extremely busy shop. Stationery items including notebooks, sticky notes, highlighters and rubbers sold well. Juggling balls and kaleidoscopes were also popular. Thank you for all your support.
FRENCH – La Saint-Valentin Valentine’s Day, on 14 February, is celebrated in France as in this country! People send romantic cards and presents to each other. Here is a traditional French Valentine’s Day poem: Que l’on est si bien It’s so good to be together Le jour de la Saint-Valentin On Saint Valentine’s Day Près de notre bien-aimée With the one you love. Que l’on veut aimer. Don’t forget that if you are holidaying in France this half term, collect empty food wrappers, menus, bus tickets etc and bring them in to show Madam Roberts in your French lesson. Bonnes vacances! Recycle 4 Cash – the next collection has been arranged for Wednesday 26 February – this is a good opportunity for you to clear your drawers of any unwanted clothes, bedding and shoes etc over half term. These can be dropped off at school between 8.00 – 9.00 am.
Chess Challenge
Monday Challenge Leah Davies remains the leader with 14/15 points. Holly Toft is 2nd on 13/15 points. Meerub Iqbal, Olivia Millican and Holly Rusling are 3
rd with 11/15 points
Wednesday Challenge Alex Moll leads with 15/15 points. Alex needs only a draw to qualify for the Megafinal in May! Abigail Kumar is 2
nd with 12/15 points,
Lizzie Mackenzie is 3rd
with 11/15 points.
Thursday Challenge Teaghan Murphy has 12/12 points. Durga Sharma and Ananya Ganjam have 13/15 points each.
MUSIC - Vocal Workshop with Rachel Cooper On Monday afternoon Rachel Cooper, mezzo soprano, visited us to conduct a vocal workshop with the Under 11 Choir. Rachel worked on a number of the songs that the girls are preparing for the forthcoming music festivals and concerts, culminating in an informal performance to some parents. Anna Chew (6JS) wrote that the afternoon “was so inspiring
especially when she sang the song from the Italian opera…we were so startled by the amazing sound” and that she gave lots of “tips and different ways on how to pronounce our words while singing”. Details about Rachel’s performing career can been seen on the website.
Yorkshire Youth Choir Once again we are delighted that one of our pupils has gained a place in the Yorkshire Youth Choir. Many congratulations go to Leah Wolff Smethurst, and we look forward to hearing about all the various courses and workshops she will be involved in over the year.
Come and be a Chorister at Wakefield Cathedral Open to boys and girls aged 8-13 Tour the Cathedral Learn new music Play the Cathedral organ Giant games Sing Evensong with the Cathedral Choir Saturday 1 March – 10.30am till 4.30pm For further info contact Tom Moore 01924 373923 – [email protected] www.wakefieldcathedral.org.uk
SPORT – Dance Evening The annual Dance Evening will be held at the Elizabeth Theatre, QEGS on Monday 7 April and Tuesday 8 April, starting at 7.00 pm. This is an opportunity for girls from both the Junior and Senior schools to perform any routine that they have choreographed during school lessons, at home or at a Dance Club outside school. Auditions for the Dance Evening for girls in Year 6 will held during the afternoon on Wednesday 19 March. Girls in Year 5 are invited to perform in front of their peers at a Dance Showcase which will take place during lesson time on Tuesday 11 March. Rehearsals for the Dance Evening will take place at the Elizabeth Theatre on Thursday 3 April, 4.00 to 6.30 pm and on Friday 4 April, 1.00 to 4.00 pm. Any girl who is successful at the auditions will be required to attend both rehearsals and both performances. COMING SOON Tuesday 4 March- Under 11 Cross Country at Worksop College. Start time to be confirmed Thursday 6 March – Under 11 IAPS Netball, North and Midlands round at Uppingham School, Rutland Friday 7 March – Under 10 Hockey against Bradford Grammar School at WGHS Games Field. Start time to be confirmed. Thanks – a huge thank you to all the parents who stand on the side lines in all sorts of weather. The girls appreciate the cheering and I am very grateful for your support especially when I can not get to every match.
Parents’ Netball Club – for anyone who would be interested there will be a Parents’ Netball Club starting in Hartley Pavilion on a Thursday evening after half term. More information to follow shortly.
Best wishes
Headmistress
Stop press………Great news ... the Under 11 Choir came home triumphant from the Mrs Sunderland Music
Festival yesterday, gaining Distinction in both their classes and winning the Sacred and Hymns, Luke Settle
Trophy and coming second in their other class. More detail to follow in the next newsletter.
DATES TO NOTE - A list of dates for your diary can be found on our website www.wgsf.org.uk. I would, however, like to draw your attention to the following forthcoming events during this half term.
Saturday 15 March – Harrogate Music Festival U9 choir at 9.30am,
U11 Choir at 6pm. Monday 24 February – Start of Term Thursday 27 February – Junior Department Parents’ Evening Wednesday 12 – Friday 14 – Year 4 residential visit to Malham Wednesday 19 March – School Shop Thursday 20 – Friday 21 March – Year 3 residential visit to York Thursday 20 March – Year 6 Parents’’ Information Evening re
residential to Blencathra
FOSJH BLOG Thank you to everyone who supported the Disco on Friday. The girls had a great time.
The Foundation Ladies Lunch tickets are selling fast so if you are interested please don’t leave it much longer and be disappointed.
Please use half term to sort your wardrobes – Greenhill Recycling are collecting on Wednesday 26 February.
Tickets are also on sale for the FOSJH Ball – 17 May 2014 again, support has been brilliant so far, please don’t be disappointed – book your tickets now.
Thank you Debbie Wilson (Chair) & Jo Sykes (Secretary)
