Bolton School Junior Boys' Weekly Newsletter - 9 Nov 2022

Bolton School Primary Division Junior Boys

Welcome back to all of our boys and their families. We hope you had a fantastic break and your boys are ready for another busy half term. We have already hit the ground running with a celebration assembly, a new ECA timetable, sports fixtures, an Eco Club presentation and poppies on sale, led by Y6 monitors.

Over the course of three, fun-filled days in half term, we took a group of Year 5 and Year 6 boys on a trip to York. We packed a lot of activities into a short space of time and visited a WW1 and WW2 museum, explored York Minster and its history, went on an eerie ghost walk, learning about the history of York and some of its unwanted occupants, learned about, tasted and made chocolate, took part in an archaeological dig, learning about different time periods and what artefacts tell us about the past, visited Jorvik Museum, went bowling…and won lots of prize tickets, visited The Forbidden Corner (and survived!) AND, most importantly, throughout the whole trip-, we had a great time! The boys were an absolute pleasure to take away and conducted themselves well in every activity they took part in…now the planning can begin for next academic year! The boys are looking forward to sharing their experiences with their parents next Friday in a special assembly. More reviews of the trip from the boys themselves can be found further in this newsletter.

We would encourage all parents to consider the safety of boys and not allow them to walk to Park Road on their own from either Senior Boys’ or Girls’ Divisions unaccompanied where possible.

As the early mornings and evenings begin to get darker as winter approaches, if you are dropping siblings on Dobson Road for the Senior Schools, please ensure that boys do not use the shortcut via the unlit ginnel which leads to Park Road. Boys should always walk to Park Road via Dobson Road and then Chorley New Road, where they will be safely crossed over the road by Barry, our lollipop man.

This Friday, we will have our Remembrance Day Assembly followed by a minute's silence in our playground (weather permitting). The commemoration very much ties in with learning across the school but specifically in Year 6, who have recently studied WW1. Members of Year 6 will lead a special assembly giving more insight into the reasons we remember the armistice and how the meaning of the event has grown. Please note that we will be selling poppies to the boys over the coming week. We ask boys to donate to the Poppy Appeal what they are able to give. Please note that if your son is a Cub or a Beaver (in school or in a separate group), they are invited to wear their uniform to school on Friday to mark the occasion.

On Friday 18th November, we will be supporting BBC Children in Need. Children should wear their uniforms but are invited to wear spotted Pudsey-themed accessories for the day. We will also organise in-school activities to raise awareness of the important causes supported by the charity which helps improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people around the UK. All donations gratefully received. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Finally, the schedule for after school activities for this half term can be found linked here and on Parent Portal. SK

contacting the School Office

Park Road, BOLTON, BL1 4RD. t: (01204) 434735

e: parkroad@boltonschool.org.uk www.boltonschool.org

The School Office is open from 8.15 am 4.15 pm during term time. Please note that any texts sent by the Office cannot be replied to.

Please direct all enquiries to parkroad@boltonschool.org and always include your son’s first name and surname, as well as his form. Please note that ParkRoadOffice email is no longer monitored.

If your son is going to be absent from School, whether he be off sick or attending dental, medical or any other appointment, please email parkroad@boltonschool.org so that the registers may be marked accordingly. Please use this email address for all day-to-day enquiries relating to school matters to ensure that your enquiry may be dealt with in a timely manner.

For all coach / transport enquiries: Logistics Co-ordinator: Mr B. Gould, t: (01204) 434711, e: bdmgould@boltonschool.org.uk

Friday 11th November

Remembrance Assembly & Minute’s Silence. 10.25am

U11 ABCD Football vs MTS (A), return 4.30pm approx. Water Polo, 4-5pm

After School Hockey, 4pm, collection from Leverhulme Pavilion, 5pm Fencing, 4-5pm

COLLECTION FROM BEECH HOUSE

Trip to Banksy Exhibition, Media City, return approx. 7.45pm

Saturday 12th November

AJIS Chess Tournament, 9-4pm

Monday 14th November

Bag2School Collection, 8am, Staff Car Park

AJIS U10 Rugby, MTS, 12 midday Judo, 4-5pm

Tuesday 15th November Chess, 4-5pm

Wednesday 16th November

English Masterclass, King’s Macc (MLB & 3 boys) (all day)

Development Swimming, 4-5pm (by invitation) (collection from Pool, 5pm)

Ski lessons for ski trip boys, Chill Factore (collection at 6.30pm from CF or 7pm from PR) Cubs, 6.30 7.45pm

November Geography Mission

World Cup Challenge!

Choose your favourite football player or team playing in the Qatar World Cup 2022.

Provide a fact-file about their country of origin, which gives an excellent insight into the country. You could include famous cities, their favourite foods, landmarks and tourist hotspots, holidays, physical features e.g. mountains, rivers and other famous people who were born in the country.

How to submit your World Cup fact-file: Upload it to the Showbie Whole School / Geography Competitions / November folder by 4pm on Wednesday 30th November!

THERE WILL BE PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS! WHO CAN CREATE THE MOST INTERESTING AND GEOGRAPHICAL WORLD CUP FACT-FILE?

GOOD LUCK ! LJG

Congratulations to the winners of the of the September competition, Avi Waghray and Ethan Brandon and to the five winners of the October competition : Jacob Caswell, Leo Morris, Yahya Seedat, Bear Roberts and Harlan Moore.

Well done to all those who took part, as well as all of the winners. KEW

Sickness Rules

Inevitably, as well as cases of COVID-19, there will also be traditional winter illnesses in the coming months in school.

Please could we remind you that the NHS advice is to keep your son away from School for 48 hours after he has finished being ill (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/norovirus/). This period of time always seems long, but it is vital to avoid illness spreading in the School community. It is especially important as we have a number of staff and boys in School with medical conditions which leave their immune system compromised.

Your son will probably find the easiest way to keep up with what is happening in lessons during such a recovery period will be by Showbie and e-mail communication with his teachers. That only applies when he has recovered, but is still in his 48 hours of ‘quarantine’.

Lost Property

All unnamed lost property left at the end of last half term was recycled locally. All named items were returned to their owners.

It is essential that all children’s belongings are named so that lost property can be returned easily.

Unnamed clothes, bags etc which are found around school are placed in the lost property bin in the cloakroom area. Named items are returned to classes. Every half term we will empty out the lost property bin, displaying items on the small yard –giving parents a chance to claim back their items. Any unclaimed items left at the end of each half term are recycled locally. CDH

Recycled Art Project

We have an exciting new project planned, to spice up the interior design of the Dining Room and get the boys at Park Road recycling more plastic.

We are hoping to recreate the Bolton School crest out of recycled bottle tops, to sit above the hot plates in the dinning room. Please could you collect as many bottle tops as possible, wash them and bring them in to school when you have a bag full. These can be any size or colour, and any that aren’t used will be sent away to be recycled after we have finished the project. When you are ready to send a batch of bottle tops in, please ask your son to give them to Mr Winstanley.

Eco Committee News

Before half term, Mrs Lowe and the Gardening Group were considering safety in our Quiet Area. Teaching the boys how to use tools appropriately has been very much a forethought. We have specific rules to ensure the safety of all when using them.

After use, the tools are wiped clean to keep them in good condition and are then stored safely. This week, we unanimously decided to rake up the fallen leaves so that any trip hazards could be exposed. The group considered how the huge pile of leaves would be a great home for small animals and insects.

We shall use our magnifying glasses soon to see if we can find any new inhabitants. SL

The Eco-Committee conducted an assembly yesterday to tell the whole school the filthy facts about litter.

We have started the term off well with only a few pieces of litter found in the playground. We reminded the boys to make sure that they do their part in keeping us litter free.

Most of the litter seems to be from snacks brought in from home. It would be useful if snacks could be sent in a Tupperware box instead of in their wrappers. SL

We started by discussing what we think “psychogeography ” means and who would be interested in joining this club. Next week, we will set off outdoors, following the mantra of writer, John Muir (although I can confirm we will only be heading out for lunchtime!), “I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” JM

A great first meeting of the Park Road Psychogeography Group took place earlier this week.

Psychogeography Group

Achievements

Congratulations to Jude Thomas, in 3B, who recently featured on Channel 5 in “Cooking with the Gills” TV series.

You can view it on my5tv Cooking with the Gills Episode 5, https://www.channel5.com/show/cooking-with-the-gills/season-1/jamaican-patties

Well done to Rohan Chitre in 5B, who scored two goals in his first match for Bolton Hockey Club Badgers (U16). Fantastic, well done !

Well done to Jacob Caswell in 5A who took his Grade 1 Trinity College piano exam over half term and achieved a Pass with Merit.

Congratulations to Teddy Daly (in 6A) whose cricket team won their league on Sunday. Well done, Teddy a great achievement!

Very well done to all the boys in Mr Minta’s Year 5 English group who did some fantastic reading over half term with many boys reading every day. Special mention goes to Aaron Khan who was so engrossed in his book that at any spare minute on his holiday you could find him squeezing in an extra page! Hopefully Aaron will share his suggestions on this gripping read with the rest of the class. JM

Black History Month

The beginnings of the Black History Month Quilt displaying the boys’ research about influential Black people from sport to activists using a range of resources are starting to come in. Well done to the following boys for handing in their work completed over half term : Hugo Turnbull, Harlan Moore, Chris Fern and Max Simpson. MLB

Arrangements for Severe Adverse Weather

With winter approaching, we are writing to inform you of the School’s severe weather arrangements; the letter is linked here. This document contains key information which you may need to act on now in preparation for any disruption caused by severe weather.

The key points are that information will be posted on the front page of the school website (www.boltonschool.org), usually by 7.00am, and we would be grateful if parents would use the website as the first port of call. You will also be sent an email, and news often first appears on Twitter @Philip_Britton/@sfboltonschool

Half Term Trip to York

“We went on a four hour journey and saw many beautiful rivers and mountains before we arrived at Eden Camp, where we found many tanks and war weapons. The Forbidden Corner was really scary. I would rate this trip 9/10!” - Tyler

“Eden Camp was the most interesting I loved the animatronics, showing how it would all have looked in WW1 and 2.” - Casper

“York Minster has lots of religious relics. I was astonished by how big it was!” - Ibrahim. “

“I really liked the York trip because you were with your friends in a room for two whole nights!” - George

“The ghost walk was amazing, all the stories were real, or so the guide said! They were interesting and a little bit spooky!” - Bradan

“My favourite part of the trip was the chocolate factory, where we learnt how chocolate is made and I learnt that 100% dark chocolate is horrible but everything else was delicious and we even made our own chocolate pumpkins!” - Joshua

“I really liked York’s Chocolate Story because we got to try amazing chocolate from around 500 years ago. We saw talking paintings that told us about the chocolate they had made ! We also got to make chocolate lollies!” - Diyan

This December, pupils in Years 10 to 13 will present an adaptation of The Great Gatsby in the Boys' Division Great Hall. It is 100 years since F. Scott Fitzgerald's character, Jay Gatsby, threw his lavish parties and we will be marking the occasion with a cabaret style show.

Set in post-war Paris and Jazz Age New York, the show provides The Lost Generation context of the novel's genesis and tells the tragic story of Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, focussing upon his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth.

Nick Caraway, a Yale University graduate from the Midwest, is our guide through the show. Nick recounts the events of the fateful summer of 1922. The show runs from Wednesday 7th December to Saturday 10th December with a 7.30pm start each evening. The Great Hall will be transformed into the Roaring '20s. Guests are invited to dress to impress; era specific attire is encouraged.

Tickets are priced at £10 each and tables seat up to 10 guests. It is not necessary to fill a table; individual, small group and table bookings are all welcome. Please find further details here. To make a booking please go to Shopfront: As you make your booking, please use 'Gatsby' as the reference and include the date you wish to attend + number of tickets you wish to reserve in the reason for payment box.

If you have any questions about the processing of your booking, there is an enquiry button on the Shopfront page. Tickets should be collected on the door on the evening you come along to watch the show.

All other enquires should be directed to Miss Lord at nrl@boltonschool.org Show updates can be enjoyed via Twitter @_NaomiLord.

Senior School Joint Production 2022 : The Great Gatsby

Some of the boys who went on the trip to York share their experiences and thoughts below:

Parents’ Evenings

Parents’ Evenings will take place during the week of 21st November.

An email will be sent out to you this Friday (11th November) with details of how to book your online appointment.

The teachers’ availability is as follows:

Form

Teacher Evening Supplementary evening

3A Mr Grieve & Mr Price Wednesday 23rd November

3B Mrs Hough Wednesday 23rd November

4A Mrs Gould & Miss Ormerod Monday 21st November Tuesday 22nd November

4B Mr Livesley Tuesday 22nd November Thursday 24th November

5A Mr Hough Monday 21st November Wednesday 23rd November

5B Mr Winstanley Monday 21st November

5C Mr Minta Monday 21st November

6A Mr Porter Monday 21st November Wednesday 23rd November

6B Mrs Brisk Monday 21st November

6C Miss Fletcher Monday 21st November

Bag2School Collection

We are doing another Bag2School collection on Monday 14th November, so if you have had a clear out over half term, please fill the bag your son has been given and bring it to school next Monday, to drop off in the cordoned off area of the Staff Car Park. Bin bags of donations are also accepted.

Leaflets listing all the items that are accepted have also been sent home

DT Upcycling Project call for old wooden skateboards

If you have an old, wooden skateboard at home (broken or otherwise!), please bring it to the School Office, to be passed on to Mr Winstanley, who will be undertaking an up-cycling project this half term. AW

Christmas Pudding Orders

A polite reminder that the deadline for purchasing the whole School photograph is tomorrow, Thursday 10th November.

For ease of reference, purchases should be made via the website www.gillmanandsoame.co.uk

Before half term, we sent a small proof home with your son. By logging in to the website, you will be able to see a much larger version of the proof and be able to zoom in on the image.

To do so, visit www.gillmanandsoame.co.uk and use login 408514 and password is 592677.

It is coming up to that special time of the year again already !

If you would like to help raise funds for the GDPA, why not order a delicious luxury plum, sticky toffee or lemon pudding.

Please place your order on the link here. Order forms are downloadable on Parent Portal too.