The Prep Times We‟re just over half-way through this academic year and it‟s wonderful to see how much progress the children have made since September. This term‟s issue of The Prep Times illustrates not only the breadth of activities our pupils have been enjoying, but also some notable achievements in music, theatre, netball, athletics… and even conkers! I would also like to draw your attention to the article from our Parents‟ Association and to thank the PA for all their work to help enhance the life of our School community. As the second half-of-term gets underway, there is much to look forward to and the children have returned to School with great enthusiasm. On behalf of Prep, I would like to wish the Senior pupils and staff involved in the forthcoming production of Les Misérables all the very best. It runs from 11th to 15th March in Bushell Hall. There are still tickets available for the Tuesday and Wednesday performances, but they‟re selling fast! By the end of this term, I will have completed my first year in post as Head of Prep and I would like to extend a big thank you to all pupils, parents, staff and governors for their warmth and support over the last year.
Talented Tasmin Talented young violinist Tasmin Lee is celebrating after winning a place with the National Children‟s Orchestra. Tasmin, Year 5, was selected to join the prestigious orchestra‟s training programme following auditions at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Having taken up the violin five years ago, she is also a popular member of the Prep‟s 50-piece orchestra As part of the National Children‟s Orchestra, Tasmin will attend regular practices and training courses in the North of England to help develop her skills. She will also get to play in concerts alongside some of the most talented young musicians in the UK. Tasmin, who is trained in the Suzuki method of violin playing, said: “I was really excited to be picked. I was a bit nervous about the auditions, but selected a couple of pieces by Bohm and Vivaldi and played my best. I was really pleased with how it went and then, when I got the email to say I had got through, it was a brilliant feeling. I‟ve got lots of really good friends in the Prep Orchestra and the best bit is just enjoying playing music together. It has been a stepup to the National Orchestra, but I like the challenge and am pushing myself to be the best I can.”
March 2014 Issue 3
Inside this issue 999 Emergency!
P2
Little School Goes East
P3
Paradise Island
P4
BPS Record Breakers
P5
Prep Pupil in Peter Pan
P6
What a Netball Season P7 Parents‟ Association
P8
Holiday Activity Course dates
P9
Reception Assessment P10 day Dates for your diary
P11
Wishing you all a happy and successful run-up to the end of term.
Prep Disco
H. FitzHerbert Head of Prep
Thank you to the Parents‟ Association for the wonderful Prep Disco which took place a week before half-term. Denise Durband, Chair of the PA, commented, “Once again we had a fantastic turnout for the disco. It‟s always great fun watching the children let their hair down and enjoy themselves.” Many thanks to all who attended.
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Outdoor Play Brightens Our Day Toddler children investigated the School grounds in disguise, during some lovely sunny weather
Look what Thomas Huxley found! Oh no it‟s a Gruffalo!
You would never recognise Poppy Young and Bethany Kennedy behind their masks
Time to relax and read a story about the „Gruffalo‟
999 Emergency!
Pre-Prep children have been participating in role play as part of their topic of „People who help us‟. Nurse Kendrick visited Pre-Prep to talk about her work at the hospital and she also came to Ethan‟s attention with his poorly leg. The Community Police Officers stopped at Pre-Prep to check everyone was on their best behaviour. They made special notes in their note books.
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Little School Goes East Mr Smith found this to be an excellent start to his working day. He commented: “I wish we could start every day this way.”
Mrs Winn and the children starting the day with Tai-Chi
To bring in the Year of the Horse, Year 1 celebrated Chinese New Year in style with a special China Day. It all began in Old School House with some Tai-Chi to exercise bodies and minds in preparation for the day ahead. In the afternoon, dressed to impress in a variety of wonderful Chinese costumes, the children enjoyed writing their names in Chinese, learning to speak some Mandarin and even being invited to visit „Mrs Winn‟s Chinese Restaurant‟ for a delicious banquet.
Reception pupils galloped into the Year of the Horse with enthusiasm and flair – characteristics shared by those born in this year. The New Year celebrations have included making movable dragons and Chinese lanterns and using language to recreate experiences in a role play restaurant. The week of festivities culminated in dragon dancing to the beat of the drum, in front of family and friends.
Reception children and staff would like to wish everyone „Happy Chinese New Year.‟
“My favourite food was the Kumkuat!” Ruby, 1S
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Paradise Island After looking at the Isle of Struay, the island where the Katie Morag stories are based, and having investigated the features of an island, Year 2 pupils were given the challenge of creating an island of their very own. There were certain criteria: there had to be a shop, some sort of transport around the island and a school. The children had half a term to complete the project at home and then they brought their wonderful islands to School for all to see. Well done to everyone for their brilliant creations.
Lucas, 2H, said, “I made my island all by myself. I really loved making it. My favourite part was creating the church.”
James, 2M, commented “My dad helped me make it out of papier-mâché. We used little sticks to put the animals on. I liked making the little shop.”
Skulls Year 3 children enjoyed looking at animal skulls as part of a lesson on animals and feeding. They discovered that herbivore animals have flat teeth for grinding plants, whilst carnivore animals have sharp, pointed teeth for ripping flesh. Omnivore animals have a mixture of flat teeth and pointed teeth.
Isobel, 3J, mentioned, “The dog‟s teeth were very sharp.”
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Totally Tudors On Friday 7th February, the Year 4s were transported back in time to the days of the Tudors. They took part in a Tudor workshop run by Mr Cope and spent the day learning all about Tudor toilets, pastimes and how life differed for the rich and poor. The children tried their hand at archery and even had the chance to become archaeologists. They also enjoyed putting on armour, dressing up and investigating why the Mary Rose sank. The grand finale of the day came when the children engaged in sword fighting, challenging each other to duels.
“The Tudors were poor writers. If they did write, they didn‟t use any punctuation and they didn‟t have spelling rules, so if the Tudors had spelling tests then everyone would get full marks!” said Aaliah, 4BC
“Poorer Tudor people visited the herbalist if they were ill while richer people went to the doctor. A common cure used by Tudor doctors for „bad blood‟ was to chop the patient‟s hand off to drain their blood. I know who I‟d rather visit!” commented Ben, 4R
BPS Record Breakers On Tuesday 4th February, a strong Birkenhead School athletics team travelled to Robin Park in Wigan for the annual AJIS Indoor Athletic Championships. Buoyed up by successes at the event over recent years, the team, containing two of Wirral‟s top athletes for their age group, travelled with high hopes of medals. Over 20 of the AJIS Schools were present, with a very high standard of competition across both track and field events. All of the Birkenhead School athletes competed tenaciously in their events and, in what were all hard -fought contests, the team managed to come away with a substantial medal haul. Three Prep athletes broke long-standing AJIS records in the process. Huge congratulations must go to Abi Saverimutto for her two gold medals and her sprint record, along with Megan Simpson and Emmeline Barry for collecting gold and breaking records in the U10 Javelin and U11 Vertical Jump, respectively.
A delighted Megan, 5B,
Emmeline, 6H, added,
said afterwards, “I was
“We had a fantastic day
thrilled to not only win
and were all so proud of
a medal, but also to
our achievements as a
break an AJIS record!”
team.”
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Prep Pupil in Peter Pan George Long, 6S, had a very busy Christmas as he appeared as a Lost Boy in the Pantomime at the Liverpool Empire. Ray Quinn starred as Peter Pan with his wife Emma Stephens playing Wendy. Louis Emerick played Captain Hook, Shaun Mason and Leanne Campbell stole the show as Mr Smee and Tiger-Lilly. George rehearsed after school for 3 weeks during November at a local dance studio, before moving to the Empire for a further week of technical and dress rehearsals. 20 shows followed from December 13th through to January 4th. George says he thoroughly enjoyed the experience playing Jib, and performing to full and very noisy houses twice a day, although it got very hot on stage under his Lost Boy hat. Mr FitzHerbert saw the show with his family and
George in blue, with his fellow lost boys
commented, “George seemed so at home on the
backstage before the final show
Conker Champion Crowned After some twelve weeks of competition involving over 130 participants and 135 matches, BPS finally crowned their conker champion for 2013/14. In a short final, due to the somewhat deteriorating condition of the finalist‟s conkers, Matthew Corran, 4BC, defeated Elizabeth Hyatt, 6H, to become the winner and be the proud owner of a „131er‟.
“I don‟t think I‟ll risk playing another match with this conker now – to keep its record intact,” explained a jubilant Matthew, “Or maybe I‟ll bring it back next year!”
stage - he wasn't „lost‟ at all!”
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What A Netball Season! The Under 11 Netball A and B teams have been training very hard all season and their effort has certainly paid off. As a result of excellent skills, a competitive spirit and good team work, led by their inspiring captain, Abi Saverimutto, both teams have had a wonderful season. With an amazing ten wins and just one draw, the score sheet speaks for itself. At the Birkenhead School Netball Tournament for Wirral Schools on 7th February, out of the 8 teams in the tournament, Birkenhead School „A‟ team won and the „B‟ team came second. The next big challenge will be the AJIS Tournament on 14th March.
Lexi, 6H, commented, “I am just so proud of our team. We work really well together and enjoy every minute.”
U11 Netball Results 2013/2014 ‘A’ TEAM
Date
Opposing Team
Score
Result
20th Sept
The Grange
11-4
Won
14 Oct
Liverpool College
10-4
Won
Oct 8th Nov
Blackpool Tour KEQMS Thames Primary School King‟s Macclesfield
6-2 16-3 4-3
Won Won Won
16th Nov
King‟s Chester
13-2
Won
22 Nov
Bolton
8-8
Draw
17th Jan
Liverpool College
4-1
Won
Date
Opposing Team
Score
Result
20th Sept
The Grange
6-3
Won
14th Oct
Liverpool College
17-1
Won
8 Nov
King‟s Macclesfield
7-0
Won
16th Nov
King‟s Chester
8-0
Won
22 Nov
Bolton
4-3
Lost
17th Jan
Liverpool College
8-2
Won
th
nd
‘B’ TEAM
th
nd
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PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION Now that we are well and truly settled into the school year we thought it would be a good idea to introduce, or reintroduce you to The Parents‟ Association. We are a group of parents with children from a wide range of school years who meet on a regular basis. Our purpose is to enhance the School community by arranging social events for pupils and parents and using the funds raised to buy those little extras that are used across the entire school. From the table tennis table for Prep to unicycles for the Senior School, we aim to distribute funds fairly across all year groups and to support a wide range of interests. We appreciate the busy schedule parents have, but would encourage you to offer your support and help, even if it is for only the odd hour or two helping out at an event. New members with fresh ideas and enthusiasm are always welcome to attend our meetings or to contact us. If you would like to become more involved then please speak to your Parent Liaison representative or contact our Chair, Denise Durband on 07718 584575 or ddurband@btinternet.com or Secretary, Sally Gaskell on 07985 432136 or sallsgaskell@aol.com Below are details of some of the events we have planned for you to add to your diary. Please also check your emails or the school website on a regular basis. You can also “like” our Facebook page “Birkenhead School Parents‟ Association”.
Our termly disco for Years 3-6 at Bushell Hall from 6pm-8pm, tickets £4. Refreshments can be bought on the night, we serve a range of pick and mix sweets for 10p-20p, cordial for 10p and water free of charge.
Midsummer Madness – a summer fête to be held on School Campus on Sunday 22nd June 2014–further details will follow soon.
BLING (Birkenhead Ladies in a Group) A Ladies Pop Choir who meet every Wednesday 7.30pm (for 8pm start) to 9.00pm at The Pavilion, McAllester Field.
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HAC Dates for 2014 —–———————————
BRAND NEW
FOR 2014
—–——————————— Graphic Design 5 Day Water Sports Young Adventurer Master Chef
The Prep Times
EASTER 31st March-4th April 7th-11th April
MAY HALF-TERM 27th-30th May SUMMER 7th-11th July 14th-18th July 21st-25th July 28th July-1st August 4th-8th August 11th-15th August 18th-22nd August
OCTOBER HALF-TERM 20th-24th October
BOOK NOW!
27th-31st October
Childcare vouchers accepted Before and after care Lunch included
Book online www.birkenheadschool.co.uk/holiday-courses For a brochure or enquiries call 0151 651 3095 Email hac@birkenheadschool.co.uk
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Dates for your diary: Monday 3 March 2014 19:30 Parents' Association Meeting, Meeting Room Wednesday 5 March 2014 08:45 5B Form Assembly Thursday 6 March 2014 World Book Day Friday 7 March 2014 09:00 Parents' Association Ladies Fitness Class, McAllester Pavilion 09:15 Year 6 Visit to Liverpool Playhouse to see Private Peaceful Saturday 8 March 2014 10:00 Reception Entry for September 2014- Assessment Day, Little School Tuesday 11 March 2014 09:15 Year 1 visit to the Candle Factory and Ice Cream Farm 19:30 Drama Production: Les Misérables, Bushell Hall Wednesday 12 March 2014 Prep Art Exhibition 08:45 3B Form Assembly 19:30 Drama Production: Les Misérables, Bushell Hall Thursday 13 March 2014 09:15 Year 2 Visit to The Maritime Museum, Liverpool 19:30 Drama Production: Les Misérables, Bushell Hall Friday 14 March 2014 09:00 Parents' Association Ladies Fitness Class, McAllester Pavilion 19:30 Drama Production: Les Misérables, Bushell Hall Saturday 15 March 2014 19:30 Drama Production: Les Misérables, Bushell Hall Monday 17- Friday 21 March 2014 Scholastic Book Fair Wednesday 19 March 2014 08:45 3J Form Assembly Thursday 20 March 2014 Year 3 Celt & Roman Workshop Friday 21 March 2014 09:00 Parents' Association Ladies Fitness Class, McAllester Pavilion 19:30 Two Rivers Festival Concert: Kathryn Rudge and James Baillieu, Bushell Hall Tuesday 25 March 2014 09:30 Junior Prep Visit to RLPO Schools Concert at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool Wednesday 26 March 2014 08:45 3DT Form Assembly Friday 28 March 2014 09:00 Parents' Association Ladies‟ Fitness Class, McAllester Pavilion 15:40 Prep End of Term