Bablake Welcomes Sky Blue Legends for Children in Need
Simba DIARY DATES JANUARY 2015 Tuesday 6th SPRING TERM BEGINS
Friday 16th BPP Year 2 extended visit 9 - 11 Saturday 24th Open Morning 10 - 12 Wednesday 28th U10 Hockey Tournament at Tudor Hall 8.30 - 1.30 Friday 30th Year 2 Familiarisation Visit 1.15 - 3.15 Saturday 31st Coventry School Girls Cross Country at Keresley Grange
Bablake Junior School pupils were thrilled to welcome a team of Coventry City Legends to the school for Children in Need. The Legends played a football match against the Bablake Under 11 boys – a game that resulted in a thrilling 5-5 draw. The Sky Blue Legends looked a formidable outfit with David Busst sweeping at the back, Andy Blair between the posts and Brian “Harry” Roberts marauding around the middle of the park. Bablake teachers Stuart Norman, Ed Benfield and Fred Bogyor were
thrilled to play alongside such a formidable trio. With Sky Blue Sam leading the support, the Legends started well but somehow Andy Blair in goal lost his bearings on several occasions. The penalty that earned the boys the draw saw the Legend’s keeper taking out Bablake’s star striker as he skipped passed the static defence. Coventry City’s current players Aaron Phillips and Jordan Willis were here to support the event, but were saving themselves for City’s clash with Notts County the
following weekend. Hundreds of Junior and Senior School pupils lined the pitch and the game was played in a frenzied atmosphere, however the fortune of the result saw smiles all round. Bablake raised almost one thousand pounds for Children in Need! The pupils brought in cakes to sell as well to help the fundraising effort. This was a fantastic event that inspired people across the generations to help Pudsey and those who have less than us. The Legends were exactly that!
FEBRUARY Saturday 7th Entrance Exam 9 - 12 Friday 13th Informal Concert 4.15 HALF TERM HOLIDAY Monday 16th to Friday 20th February Wednesday 25th Year 5 & 6 Mums and Daughters Evening 4.30 Thursday 26th U9A & B Netball Tournament at Bilton Grange 2pm MARCH Wednesday 18th Year 5 Community Rugby Day U11 Football Tournament at The Croft 3.00 Saturday 21st Coventry Schools Cross Country Relays at Keresley Grange Wednesday 25th U11 Netball Tournament at Rugby School Friday 28th Informal Concert 4.15 APRIL Wednesday 1st TERMS ENDS 3.40
BABLAKE JUNIOR SCHOOL AUTUMN 2014
A Christmas Thought from Mr Price
Some fifty years ago, back in the sixties, the hippie movement encouraged young people to, “Tune in and drop out.” This probably led to many a lost weekend. I hear also that today in France legislation is being proposed that stops there being any obligation for workers to check emails etc outside of office hours and particularly at home. We worry about our children’s ‘screen time’, but what about ours? At Christmas we are all blessed with family opportunities and the possibility of putting our working lives to the back of our minds for a few days. Yet we can be distracted by our ‘devices’ and therefore the quality of our family interaction can be compromised. I suspect there is much research to be done into the effects of ‘screen time’ on parenting. Perhaps we should adapt the old hippie motto for our lives this Christmas; maybe we should make a conscious effort to, “Tune out and drop in,” and really focus on those closest to us over the festive period. With very best wishes for a relaxing and happy Christmas, from everyone here at Bablake.
Harvest Festival Collection for Charity Over 67 bags full of produce were donated by Bablake Junior School parents and children to help local needy people and Coventry Foodbank. The donations were divided into parcels for delivery and what remained was collected by the Foodbank. A fabulous effort everyone!
Year 5 are Victorians for the Day at Holdenby House To support our History topic on The Victorians, Year 5 visited Holdenby House where they experienced life as a Victorian servant. The children quickly adapted to their roles and revelled in their jobs - cleaning, polishing, tidying, baking, doing the laundry and even emptying chamber pots! A huge thank you goes out to Mrs Sexton and Mr Badham (aka Lady Annally) for their assistance on this fantastic trip.
Rugby Report 2014
Rugby fixtures this term have come thick and fast with 44 rugby matches being played. The Under 11 teams have improved beyond recognition over the term and the A team had fantastic wins against Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (Wakefield), Bedford Prep School and Eversfield. The B team also had great victories against King Henry VIII and Warwick School. Well done to all Year 6 boys who played this term. The Under 10 team have found the going tough with many new players in both the A and B teams. The A team had great victories against Crackley Hall and Eversfield, whilst the B team can be proud of their efforts against generally very strong opposition. The Under 9 squad has been most impressive this year with some superb talent coming through. The A team have played 11 games, winning 8, drawing 1 and losing only 2. The highlight of the season definitely came at Warwick School where they beat the hosts’ A team in a thrilling match. The B team were also strong and their highlight was a comprehensive victory against King Henry VIII. The Under 8s have been full of enthusiasm all term and have shown they are capable of playing good fast rugby. The experience they have gained will undoubtedly stand them in good stead for next year. The stats for each team are shown below and ifWon you would like to see more information all our sports teams please visit Team Played Drawn Lost Points For on Points Against Points Difference bablakesport.com. Under 11 A Team
12
3
1
8
134
303
-169
Under 11 B Team
5
2
0
3
58
84
-26
Under 10 A Team
5
2
0
3
70
160
-90
Under 10 B Team
3
0
1
2
80
85
-5
Under 9 A Team
11
8
1
2
180
90
90
Under 9 B Team
3
1
1
1
80
65
15
Under 8 A Team
3
1
1
1
145
150
-5
Under 8 B Team
2
1
1
0
75
45
30
Bollywood comes to Bablake
Bablake Junior girls have been honing their Bollywood routines to help celebrate Diwali. Krina Mistry from the Senior School has been a fine tutor and the girls are looking forward to performing in Assembly. They certainly look the part!
Under 9 Rugby Winners!
The Under 9 rugby team played exceptionally well to win the Croft Rugby Tournament. Beating the hosts, Bromsgrove and King Henry’s along the way this was a great achievement. Laurence Crossley was named Man of the Tournament. Mr Benfield
Netball Report 2014
Musical Instruments look Splendid!
This term has seen a promising start to the season for all Bablake teams. To date, as a result of great team work and commitment to practice, the U11A team remain unbeaten in their age group; winning 12 and drawing 2 of their matches. The team have achieved victories of 15-4, 12-1, 15-1, 11-0, 14-3 & 21-2 and have amassed 140 goals for, with only 38 against. The U11B team have done well, winning 6 and drawing 1 of their 10 matches. They recorded some fine victories: 9-1 vs Kingsley, 21-3 vs Bromsgrove and a brilliant 5-4 victory against Bablake U12B. The U11C team enjoyed their match and despite a 1-5 defeat they remain positive and eager for more fixtures next term. The U10A team have played well and have won 6 of their 8 games. They reached the semi final of the U10 Solihull Tournament, and defeated Edgbaston 4-1 to reach the final against Croft. The final was a very competitive game with both teams displaying fine skills. At the final whistle, Bablake were very unfortunate to lose 1-3 .The U10B have won 4 of 6 games. They achieved a fine 12-1 defeat of Bromsgrove and 3-2 defeat of KHPS. The U9A team has gained in confidence and understand the importance of basic skills and teamwork. Despite losing their first 3 matches they have since won 2 and drawn 1 of their next 3. After a fine 3-2 defeat of Croft and a 2-2 draw against KHPS, the A team achieved a brilliant 9-0 victory over Crackley. This new found confidence should inspire them next term. The U9B team have won 3 of their 4 matches. After close 1-0 victories over Bilton Grange and Eversfield, the team scored a fantastic 11 goals in their defeat of The Croft. Thank you to all Bablake parents & spectators for your enthusiastic support of our netball teams. Hopefully our winning ways will continue next term! Mrs Reed and Mrs Dodd
On Monday 13th October Year 4 made their musical instruments in DT. We had already spent the previous week with our partners planning what we were going to do and collecting ‘junk’. This also followed on from our new Science topic of Sound. We spent most of the day making our instruments look beautiful and sound amazing. Finally, we looked at other instruments, and evaluated our own work.
Rainforest Projects Creep and Crawl with Life www.bablakesport.com For all fixtures, results and team sheets please visit our new sports website.
House Cross Country House cross country 2014 was run in brutal conditions but it did not dampen spirits with all the children showing extra grit and determination to do the best they could for their respective houses. The rain and the mud proved extremely challenging but Mr Benfield and Mrs Reed were extremely proud of all the runners for giving it their best. Well done! Results 1st Churchill 2nd Eliot 3rd Nelson Year 3 Girls: 1st Krista Bennett (Nelson), 2nd Kyra Turnock (Eliot), 3rd Daisy Bell (Eliot) Year 3 Boys: Alex Dodd (Nelson), Aaron Hundal (Eliot), Krish Bodalia (Nelson) Year 4 Girls: Imogen Pemble (Eliot), Sofie Clark (Churchill), Charlotte Tomlins (Eliot) Year 4 Boys: Ray Thomas-Devanny (Eliot), Laurence Crossley (Nelson), Giacomo MacGibbon (Eliot) Year 5 Girls: Evie Carroll (Churchill), Esha Sahota (Churchill), Alena Mann-Basra (Nelson)
Year 5 Boys: Adam Tyas (Nelson), Connor Jones (Churchill), Charlie Crinigan (Churchill) Year 6 Girls: Aarushi Khurana (Eliot), Grace Cox (Eliot), Maria Savage (Churchill) Year 6 Boys: Matthew Hart (Churchill), Patrick Heffernan (Churchill), Asad Ssemwogerere (Nelson)
Biran Deol (4L)
Bez Akinkoye (4L)
Kern Dhillon (4F)
Good Vibrations in Year 4
Danger - Fire! On Tuesday 7th October 2014, the Fire Brigade visited Year 4. We learnt about ensuring that we had a smoke detector fitted on each floor of our homes. Then we learnt that checking them regularly was vital, so that they could alert us to the danger of a fire.
Call 0800 3895525 for more information on these ‘life savers’. We also found out what to do if there is a fire. Most importantly we learnt to STOP, DROP and ROLL, as Bez and Seb demonstrated. Our final discovery was how very serious Blue Watch thought hoax calls were. Miss Love
Pupils “Wow the Judges” at Speech and Drama Festival
Bablake Boys Race to Victory!
Bablake Junior’s Squad
Pupils at Bablake Junior School secured first place finishes in no less than ten categories at the recent Coventry Festival of Speech and Drama. Mrs Knibb was delighted: “Coventry Speech and Drama festival is firmly established as an annual event at Bablake Junior School. The performances we see from the children are inspiring. All pupils are invited to take part in a variety of performance classes including verse, poetry, prose and sight reading. They have just a few weeks to bring their chosen piece to life. To present yourself well and to speak in a clear and
confident manner is an important life skill. Being brave enough to step out onto the stage, in front of a judge and audience, is reason to celebrate in itself! We were immensely impressed by everyone’s courage, control and self-expression. Our ten category winners really wowed the judges with their unique interpretation, clarity and lively style of delivery: Maya Senghera, Bertie Hancock, Imogen Harmston, Imogen Pemble, Henry Chislett, Priya Fensome, Joseph Robson, Lily Harmston, Rhea Cherrington and Suwetha Bhavanandan. This was Bablake Junior’s most successful year in the festival so far.”
Virtuoso Performances and Choral Delight The Music Department has been very busy. In our concert at half term we were treated to performances by musical groups as well as soloists Daniel Wale, playing the violin most impressively, and Harry Scott-Burt giving a virtuoso performance of Saint Saens ‘Allegro Passionata’ on the cello. Harry who was also celebrating his call up to the National Children’s Orchestra. Recent weeks have been full of rehearsals, concerts and performances. The choirs sang beautifully at the Christmas fayre. In the Pre-Prep we have seen two wonderful nativities; ‘The Whoopsie Daisy Angel’ and ‘Children of the World’. Mr Cooper’s ‘fun-filled’ informal concert, with staff participation, promises thrills as does the Year 3/4 Christmas Nativity ‘Tinsel and Tea-towels’! The Carol Service at Coventry Cathedral sees the Junior Choir perform and we are once again blessed by another visit from the donkey! The choir will also be performing at Walsgrave Hospital to help raise money for the UHCW charity appeal and visiting several retirement homes.
Patrick gets a great start! Over 40 schools and 370 runners took part in the Coventry Schools Boys’ Cross Country at Keresley Grange in late November. The day dawned damp, soggy and foggy and the excitement at Keresley was palpable; everyone was enthused for one of the most challenging and inspiring events in the city’s junior sporting calendar. This was the largest number of schools and boys the event had ever attracted. The A Competition saw the Bablake Team of Matthew Hart, Patrick Heffernan, Archie Burdett, Adam Tyas and Ewan Collar securing the runners up position. This was a tremendous effort allround. The B Team race had also attracted great numbers and over 170 boys set off with much pace at the sound of the hooter. Our own Archie Badham was sensational in winning the race and led home the Bablake quartet
Adam leads the way! of Giacomo MacGibbon, Laurence Crossley and Ben Rigden. Bablake showed great strength in depth to take the main B Team prize. Many of our runners in the B Team race were younger boys from Years 3, 4 and 5. The Bablake coach Kate Price was delighted with her boys’ performances but also reserved special praise for everyone who had competed in this tough race: “One day a great champion might emerge from today’s race and follow in the footsteps of those Olympians, like Dave Long, who also started their racing career at Keresley Grange. Well done to all of the coaches and parents for bringing so many boys to the event. This is a great test of character and everyone showed tremendous grit and determination.” Given the talent on display her dream seems possible.
Superheroes and Princesses take over Bablake Pre Prep
Year 5 visit Coombe Abbey Country Park
A fantastic effort made by all at Bablake Pre Prep to support Children in Need on Friday 14th November . The outfits were colourful and enthusiastic teaching staff dressed up as Wonderwomen, Superwomen and even Batman and Robin! A total of £131.87 was raised by the Pre Prep, many thanks for your generous donations.
Year 1 Zoolab Visit
Exploring Light and Dark
Year 5 went to Coombe Abbey Country Park to investigate rivers. Our field work was carried out on Smite Brook where we observed various features including erosion, deposition and meanders. We also
investigated how clean the river is by pond dipping and identifying all the different creatures living in the water. Fun was had by all and we now can confidently confirm the water is very clean!
Maths Challenge Success at Bablake Junior School In Science we have been learning about animals within a variety of habitats and from a variety of countries. Emma from Zoolab visited Year 1 to share an assortment of animals that can be kept as pets. The children were able to hold, touch and look at the animals whilst learning how to care for them. After the visit, the children wrote thank you letters expressing how much they had enjoyed the visit. “My favourite animal was the snake.” James Cox 1S “My favourite animal was the guinea pig. I learnt that if his whiskers can fit through a gap, then he can.” Aniah Agbelusi 1R
Reception children have been exploring Light and Dark. Our shadow pictures on the “Guess Who?” display are keeping everyone guessing.....
Wonderful Wildlife Year 2 have had a busy start to the school year with lots of exciting learning about our wonderful wildlife. After getting up close and personal with a variety of nocturnal and exotic animals from our Zoolab visit, the children decided they wanted to try and encourage more wildlife into the PrePrep outdoor learning
environment.The children rolled up their sleeves and set to work planting up the flower beds and building a minibeast mansion to house the local creepy crawlies. They had so much fun and have thoroughly enjoyed their role as Wildlife Warriors.
Twenty five Year 6 pupils at Bablake Junior School recently took the Primary Maths Challenge alongside children from across the country. The Challenge is made up of a series of twenty five tough questions. Mr Norman, Bablake’s Year 6 teacher, was keen to mention that he managed to get all twenty five correct, although one of them did take him fifteen minutes! The
pupils have forty five minutes to complete the Test. Five Bablake pupils managed to attain the coveted gold certificates. Depending upon the national standards they should all be taking part in the Primary Maths Challenge Finals with a few hundred of the best young mathematicians from across Britain. We wish them well!
Year 3 Instructions with a Twist....
Year 3 Recipes with a Twist.... A Recipe for a Magnificent Mum
A Recipe for a Perfect Sister
How to make a Sugar Rock Crystal
Ingredients: 3 jars of fun, 100g of loyalty, a jar full off confidence, 600g grams off smiles, 2 trucks of love, 200 grams of impeccableness, 6 jars of sportiness
Ingredients: A drink of fun, a litre of smiles, a can full off honesty, a carton of patience, a jarr of happiness, a pinch of kindness, salt, sugar
Have you made sugar cubes before? If you have I am going to show you how to make something else. A sugar rock crystal!!
Equipment: Knife, spoon, grater, chopping board, jug, whisk, sift, grill, bowl, pan, baking tin, scale
Equipment: Mixing bowl, teaspoon, a jar of jam, a pinch off salt, a can of love, a box of encouragement.
Step-by-step instructions 1. First chop up the sportiness then put it in the bowl. 2. Next get the 3 jars of fun to start with but be careful, or else it will get a little bit crazy. Also keep the jars. 3. Now get the can of confidence but you need to heat it for five minutes to make it work well. 4. While it is heating grate the trucks of love. 5. After that get the impeccableness and make sure when you pour it in it is sloppy so that it can mix properly. If it is not sloppy, leave it for about two to three minutes. 6. When it spreads, get the loyalty and sprinkle it in the bowl. 7. Finally, get a teaspoon of smiles but don’t touch it with your hand or else it will explode!
Step-by-step instructions 1. First get a mixing bowl and put a pinch of salt and sugar in. Sprinkle some jokes into it and pour some melted chocolate then whisk it all together until there are no bumps. 2. Weigh 150g of butter and gently pour some milk and whisk slowly. If it goes sticky you have not done it right. 3. Now sprinkle some encouragement in it and bung it in the oven. Leave it in the oven for ten or twenty minutes (no more than that!). If you hear it singing it is definitely ready. 4. Take it out of the oven now you are ready to give it to your super, fabulous, brilliant and magnificent sister.
How to serve Serve it with a cake, but not a chocolate cake, and make mum watch Atlantis with her choir friends, music and champagne! Olusola Olomolaiye (3P)
How to serve Put the TV on and some music and lay it on your sister’s desk.
You will need: A small bowl of white granulated sugar, 1 wooden spoon, a saucepan, a stove, a kettle, water. Method: 1. First boil the water in the kettle for about five minutes. 2. Secondly heat the saucepan on a low flame on the stove. 3. Next pour the boiling hot water into the saucepan cautiously. 4. Then add the white granulated sugar to the hot water. 5. After that get the wooden spoon and mix the sugar and water together until the sugar is melted. 6. When the sugar has completely melted in the water, put the mixture into the jam jar. 7. Leave the jam jar for two to four hours. 8. Enjoy looking at your crystal when it has hardened because it will help you in rock formation in Science. Safety tip: When you are pouring the mixture into the jam jar use an adult to help because the saucepan will be extremely hot! Harshadha Kiran (3F)
Year 6 Poetry Year 6 have been studying poetry and in particular writing from different perspectives. These are excerpts of poems about the Titanic disaster written from different points of view.
A Sinking Heart ! Carnivorously, the ship crunched and clawed at the sea below. The sea wormed over the edges of the ship, people could see its bitter wrath! Curiously, icebergs smirked at the fate they were about to behold. Mother and father reassured me - this ship could shatter as many diamonds as I had fingers and toes!
Aaron Hundal (3P)
Year 3 Instructions with a Twist.... How to wash a car You will need: A hose, a sponge, a car, water, bucket, soap, a toothbrush Method 1. First, put the soap into the bucket of water and soak the sponge in it. 2. Wait for the sponge to soak up the water for three seconds, then take it out. 3. Start washing the car thoroughly and carefully, start with the windows. 4. Next wash in any order, use a toothbrush to clean the small spaces. 5. Finally, wash the bubbles off with a hose. Tip: Use car wax to make it more shiny. Finley Heath (3F)
Oscar Sanders 6HD Titanic
The Disaster
I finally caught a glimpse of a tiny isolated figure. It glared at me as I headed it’s way, I steered myself gently to one side.
As if from nowhere the iceberg struck, like a dagger piercing through a heart. Castastrophically destroying this priceless work of art. Despair and horror travelled throughout the passengers as they frantically tried to depart. Who would believe that disaster would strike this so called unsinkable vessel tonight?
Curiously, it seemed to move closer, my engine began working faster. The plan was to stay away but I had no control of myself.
Celestine Took 6HD
Amy Burton-Hands 6HD