HESKETH HOUSE NEWSLETTER
8 MARCH 2024
A note from the Head…
What a busy and exciting week it has been in Hesketh House! Books and reading have featured very highly, with the visit of our annual Book Fair and of course World Book Day. Thank you to Year 4 who led a brilliant assembly on this theme too.
We were also interviewing this week for the new Deputy Head, who will work alongside Mrs Holt in her new role as Head of Junior Girls in September. It is always lovely to show visitors around school and talk to people about everything that is special about Hesketh House, but it was particularly pleasing to have so many high calibre applicants keen to join our amazing team. The girls also made a good impression, chatting to candidates over lunch or taking part in some of the lessons they taught. We will let you know about appointments and staffing for next year in due course.
We are aware that Ramadan is approaching and wish families the best at this important time of year. It is unusual for children of junior age to fast, however we know from experience that a few girls do like to try this on occasional days. If this is the case for your daughter, please inform us via an email to the office to let us know you have chosen for your daughter to fast. Girls who are fasting will still be expected to take part in all of the normal school activities, including PE.
Finally, please could I remind you that the online consent form in Parent Portal is due to be completed by Monday 11 March – could we ask you to do this with some urgency if you have not already done so. More information has been sent home by email.
Mrs C LaverickEPSCA Chess
Saturday 2 March
U9 Team U11 Team
Emmeline Firth Sophie Andrews
Aanika Ghosh Malaka Bakeer
Chloe Hughes Prakruti Padaki
Florence Kennedy Suriya Patel
Zakiyyah Patel Darcey Tomlinson
Rashmita Yerra
Very well done to all of the girls who took part in the EPSCA Chess Tournament last weekend. There were some challenging matches and the chess coach Mr Wilson was pleased with the progress in the girls’ skills over the course of the competition. Particular congratulations to the U11 team who have qualified for the National Semi-Finals in Nottingham, which will take place during the summer term.
Earthshot Competition
Deadline Sunday 3 March
Thank you very much to everyone who entered this competition –there were over 150 entries from Hesketh House girls which was amazing, well done! Obviously, it will take some time to judge, but we will let you know when we have ourwinners, and of course award their prizes.
Social Media – X
Please follow us @BSPDJnrGirls, @BSPDMFL and @BoltonSch.
Book Fair
HESKETH HOUSE NEWSLETTER
8 MARCH 2024
Tuesday 5 March – Thursday 7 March
There was once again excellent support ofour Book Fair and equally importantly, so many girls have enjoyed the thrill of choosing a new book. We do get commission on the sales as well, which provides funding for more books in the classrooms and library – an extra bonus!
Year 4 Visit the Bridgewater Hall
Wednesday 6 March
On Wednesday, Year 4 girls went to the ‘Cities Aroundthe World’ concert at the BridgewaterHall, featuring the Halle Orchestra. They enjoyed listening to pieces from Rome, Vienna, Beijing, Africa, London and India They also sang along enthusiastically to ‘A Certain Kind of Imagination’!
It was inspirational to see and hear the wonderful orchestra at close quarters, and great for some of our girls, who have already performed on stage at the Bridgewater Hall themselves.
World Book Day (WBD) 2024
Thursday 7 March
Completing class registers on Thursday proved difficult! Book characters, both fictional and true life, took over classrooms. Pupils enjoyed assuming character roles to celebrate World Book Day.
Year 4 pupils provided an assembly telling the tragic tale of The Story Stealer – where a world without the wonders of books was relayed, but there was a twist. Every child in the school was invited to finish the tale of The Story Stealer story, writing their ideas and conclusions on a speech bubble. We willuse these ideas tocreate a story tree display, to show the importance of being openminded, imaginative and creative.
In addition, to further promote a love of reading, pupils brought their favourite book into school to share with their peers on WBD; a true celebration of reading.
Celebratory Concert
Thursday 7 March
HESKETH HOUSE NEWSLETTER
8 MARCH 2024
All of the Music Festival award winners were invited to perform in this special concert, held in the ArtsCentre lastnight. It was a lovely event with some amazing musical talent on show, as well as plenty of joy and enthusiasm. Thank you very much to everyone who took part!
Parent Consultation Evenings
Tuesday 12 March – In-Person
Wednesday 13 March – Online
The booking system opened at the start ofthis week and will close at 1.00pm Saturday 9 March. Please dobook on withsomeurgency ifyou have notdone so already!
Patterdale Hall Information Evening
Thursday 14 March, 7.00pm, Arts
Centre
There will be an Information Evening on Thursday 14 March, when we will be giving pupils and parents more details about what to expect on this trip. We would particularly recommend that you attend if your child has not been to Patterdale Hall before. More information has been sent by email. Please also note the change of venue – we are now using the Arts Centre Main Hall.
The dates of our visits are as follows:
Year 3 Tuesday 7 May – Wednesday 8 May
Year 4 Monday 13 May – Wednesday 15 May
Year 5 Wednesday 15 May – Friday 17 May
Year 6 Monday 22 April – Friday 26 April
All pupils are expected to take part in these trips, and we are now in the final planning stages for our visits. Please could we remind you to complete the consent form onParentPortal byMonday 11March at the latest. The Consent to Administer Medicine forms can also be found in the Parent Portal.
Comic Relief
Friday 15 March
In support of Comic Relief, we will be letting the girls wear their own clothes – with as much red as possible! Please make sure clothing is warm and suitable for a busy day in school. We suggest that the girls give a donation of £2 towards this worthy cause, which will be collected on the day.
Year 3 Author Talk – Lauren Child
Thursday 21 March
Year 3 girls have been invited to attend a talk by Author Lauren Child, on the morning of Thursday 21 March. Hardback copies of her newest release ‘Clarice Bean: Smile’ will be available for purchase on the day, which Lauren is happy tosign. The girls need to bring £12 in a named envelope with them to the talk if they wish to buy the book. More information has been given to the girls, a copy of the flyer can be found here
Year 6 – Bolton Children’s Fiction Award
Friday 22 March
Year 6 girls will be involved in the Book Awards Ceremony during the morning on this date. If the girls would like to purchase any of the books by nominated authors these can be pre-ordered. A form has been given out to the girls, a copy is here.
HESKETH HOUSE NEWSLETTER
8 MARCH 2024
Books may be available for purchase on the day, however are guaranteed for those who pre-order by Monday 11 March Lily Bailey will be attending and will be able tosign any copies of her books that are purchased.
Year 6 Bikeability
6F Monday 13, Tuesday 14 May
6G Wednesday 15, Thursday 16 May
Year 6 girls will have the opportunity to take part in Bolton Council’s Bikeability programme early in the summer term. More information has been sent home, a copy of the letter can be found here and the consent form is here. Consent forms should be returned to school by the end of this term, Wednesday 27 March, if you wish your daughter to take part.
Lunch Menu
The lunch menu for next week can be found here
Plant Sale
Deadline 31 March
Orders should be placed before the end of March and plants will be available for collection from Saturday 11 May. View the plants in the A-Z Guide linked here Orders can be placed using the form linked here or by e-mail bsbdpa@gmail.com Feel free to pass on details to all of your friends and family. There are full instructions included within the order form but if you have any questions then please email Amanda Valentine at bsbdpa@gmail.com.
Kidzone Easter Holiday Club
The programme of activities and booking information can be found here.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Tuesday 12 March
Wednesday 13 March
Thursday 14 March
AJIS Music Festival
Y6 Bolton Swimming Competition
Parent Consultations (1/2) In-Person
Y5, Y6 Young Shakespeare – am
Parent Consultations (2/2) Online
Y3 Trip to Brockholes
Y5 AJIS Netball
Patterdale Hall Meeting 7.00pm
Friday 15 March Comic Relief Red Nose Day
Tuesday 19 March
Wednesday 20 March
Thursday 21 March
Friday 22 March
Saturday 23 March
Y6 AJIS Netball
Y6 ESSA Swimming Heats – Everton
Y6 Hockey Competition
Dance Festival (Dance Club)
Y5 Viking Visitor
Y3 Author Talk – Lauren Child
Y5 Architecture Workshop
Y6 GM Lacrosse Tournament
Y6 Book Awards Celebration
Y6 AJIS Quiz
Monday 25 March House Day
Tuesday 26 March
Y3, Y4 Easter Bingo – 1pm
House Netball – pm
Wednesday 27 March Y5, Y6 Easter Bingo – 1pm END OF TERM
Tuesday 16 April
Thursday 18 April
Monday 22 April
Wednesday 24 April
Tuesday 30 April
Wednesday 1 May
Thursday 2 May
Monday 6 May
SUMMER TERM BEGINS
PD Open Evening 4.30pm – 6.30pm
Y6 Trip to Patterdale Hall
Returning Friday 26 April
Y5 Taster Morning in Senior School
Y6 ESB Examinations
Class and Group Photographs
Y5, Y6 AJIS Cross Country TBC
Y6 Trip to Stockport Air Raid Shelters
BANK HOLIDAY
Summer Term 2024
Start of Term – Tuesday 16 April
Bank Holiday – Monday 6 May
Half Term – Monday 27 May to Friday 31 May
End of Term – Friday 5 July