Habs Weekly - Junior School - Friday 11 November

Head of Junior School’s Message

Mrs L Flynn

Twice a week, I have the delight of being joined in my office by pupils who have been selected for a Head Teacher Award by their teacher. These awards recognise when a pupil has demonstrated true ambition; completing a piece of work to an exceptional standard, making an outstanding contribution to their class, and pushing themselves to achieve and improve in an area of learning.

This term, just as any other, the breadth of reasons demonstrates the incredible range of opportunities on offer for pupils in the Junior School and the value placed on ambitious, courageous and curious learning. From detailed science investigations to oracy, outstanding maths to map work, persevering with a challenge to creativity in writing, exceptional artwork to knowledge of historical facts, I thoroughly enjoy my discussions with pupils from Rainbow to Year 6 when sharing their work with me and the pride they feel in doing so.

Earlier in the term, pupils were invited to enter a competition to design a front cover for the Head Teacher Award book. Having been inundated with entries, choosing a winner was incredibly difficult however the results are now in!

Winner:

Isabella’s

Runners up: Anabelle 1 Purple, Avni 2A, Athena 3A, Esha 4 Aleph, Sylvie 5 Aesc, Nikita 5 Aleph, Amber 6 Aesc, Amelia 6 Aesc.

Isabella 1 Purple

design incorporated all four of our values with well thought out images to represent them, the design also included the house animals and the cornflower which are so important to us here at Habs.

Remembrance Day

In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt down, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders’ fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch, be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders’ fields.

Major John McCrae, 1915

“When peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place.”

Queen Elizabeth II, wartime broadcast 1940

Looking ahead

Whole School

Gifts to staff GUIDANCE FOR PARENTS

Click here to read about guidance for parents regarding gifts for staff.

Easyfundraising registration

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Click here to read a letter from the Parents’ Guild regarding registration with Easyfundraising.

Car parking and safety

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Click here to read a letter regarding car parking and safety from our Chief Operating Officer, Mr Rob Dunn.

Rainbow, Y2, Y4 & Y6

Family Friday and Parent Talks

FOR RAINBOW AND YEARS 2, 4 AND 6

Classrooms will be open from 8am and you are welcome to pop in any time up until 8.30am, when we will revert to normal registration and lessons. Family Friday will take place in the classrooms; there will be opportunities to see the wider school with your child in the Spring and Summer Terms.

Please click here for further information.

Junior School

Christmas Disco

Date: Sunday 27 November 2022

Time: Rainbow to Year 2: 1pm to 2.30pm Year 3 to Year 6: 3.30pm to 5pm

Whole school Reminders

Lunch Menu WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER

Please click here to view our EYFS and KS1 menu.

Please click here to view our KS2 menu.

Wraparound Care INFORMATION

Information about our Wraparound Care provision can be found in the resources section on Firefly and in the Parent Handbook. Please use this link for quick booking access.

Snacks INFORMATION

Our snacks list remains the same as last year and as published in the Parent Handbook. Please note that we are a nut and sesame free school; it is imperative no food containing nuts or sesame seeds is brought on site. Student Voice will be surveying our whole community regarding snacks in the coming weeks, and any changes will be published accordingly.

Reminders

Class assemblies DATES

We are excited to invite Year 3 parents to their child’s class assembly.

3A will be delivering their class assembly on Monday 28 November at 8.45am to 9.15am in the Performance Space, to which parents and guardians are warmly invited. Please follow the signage towards the DT doors.

3 Alpha will be delivering their class assembly on Monday 5 December at 8.45am to 9.15am in the Lecture Theatre, to which parents and guardians are warmly invited. Please follow the signage towards the DT doors.

Y3 to 6

Carol Service drawing competition INFORMATION

We would like to invite all KS2 students to enter a competition to design a cover for the order of service for our carol concert.

If your child would like to enter, she should complete a drawing of any size, using pens, pencils, pastels or paint. There is no need to include any text. The theme of the drawing is ‘The Nativity.’

Entries should be named (on the back of the paper) and handed to Mrs Walsh by Monday 21 November.

Reminders

Y3 to 6

After School Clubs collection arrangements

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Please be reminded that the following changes have been put in place for collection arrangements for Years 3 to 6 after their clubs.

After their club has finished, at either 4.45pm or 5pm, all KS2 students will be brought to the Junior School playground by the member of staff running the Club, and will be dismissed from the playground. Pupils will not be dismissed to the car park, so parents will be required to come up to collect them.

If you child has a Club which takes place in the Boys School (Senior or Junior buildings) they will be taken by the member of staff to the Prep School Reception, and should be picked up in person from there.

If parents are running late, please contact the Junior School Reception.

Any students not collected from the playground within five minutes of the finish time of a club will return to the Junior School reception. They will then attend after school care at Habs Boys’ Prep, which is chargeable. On these occasions, parents will be telephoned so they are aware that collection will be from the Boys Prep school. A member of the Junior School reception team will also ring ahead to the Boys’ Prep School so they know to expect the child.

Collection arrangements for sports fixtures remain the same, and will be communicated through fixture letters.

Reminders

Odd Socks Day

MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER

Every November schools throughout the United Kingdom take part in Anti Bullying Week. This is an opportunity to spotlight bullying and consider the steps we can take together to stop it.

Anti-Bullying Week 2022 will be taking place from Monday 14 to Friday 18 November, with the theme ‘Reach Out’. Bullying affects millions of lives and can leave us feeling hopeless. But if we challenge it, we can change it. And it starts by reaching out. Our vision is for all children to grow up in supportive communities safe from bullying and harm.

We want to spread a positive message that it’s always possible to reach out and ask for help if you’re worried about bullying and celebrate what makes us all unique. Odd Socks Day is an opportunity to have fun, be yourself and spread awareness of the core values Anti-Bullying Week promotes. We are all unique and that should be viewed as a wonderful thing and never be a reason for someone to be bullied.

In school, we will be helping the children to identify, prevent and respond to negative and harmful behaviour. We will continue to teach pupils about dangers online and how they can keep themselves safe.

We will also be celebrating our individual differences and to support this, we invite all children, staff and parents to wear odd socks on Monday 14 November.

Flu vaccinations

MONDAY 21 NOVEMBER

Vaccination UK are coming into school on Monday 21 November offering flu vaccinations to all pupils in the Junior School. Please click here for further information and to provide consent. If you have any queries, the contact number for the Immunisation Team is: 01462 427008.

All consent should be submitted by 3.45pm on Friday 18 November. Any parent or guardian who wishes to decline the vaccine still needs to complete the electronic form indicating this.

Reminders

Clare Balding, CBE visit

MONDAY 21 NOVEMBER

We are very excited to announce that the Junior School will be hosting a visit from Clare Balding, CBE on Monday 21 November 2022.

Writer, broadcaster, animal lover and sports fan, Clare is also the best-selling, award-winning author of numerous books and children’s novels and an ardent campaigner for better coverage of women’s sport.

During the visit Clare will talk about her passion for books, animals and sport, and share her experiences of being a writer. You can read more about Clare and her books on her website Clare Balding Books. Clare will also conduct a book signing whilst she is with us. The titles available are:

• The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance : £6.40 (RRP £7.99)

• The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop : £5.60 (RRP £6.99)

• The Racehorse Who Disappeared : £5.60 (RRP £6.99)

• Fall Off, Get Back On, Keep Going: 10 ways to be at the top of your game : £8 (RRP £9.99)

If you already have any of Clare’s books and you would like her to sign them, please bring them in on the morning of the visit and leave them with the class teacher. Ensure the books are clearly labelled with your child’s name and class.

We are very much looking forward to hosting Clare, and hope that the pupils will have a very enjoyable day.

Reminders

House Poetry

One of the school’s key areas of focus is to develop pupils’ mastery of oracy and the spoken word. Later this term, we will be holding our first poetry forum at the Junior School. We would like to invite all pupils to have a go at learning one poem. This is an opportunity for the pupils to have some fun as well as challenging themselves at the same time!

Pupils are at liberty to choose any published poem, but we ask that it takes a maximum of two minutes to perform. Click this link for some suggestions.

During half term, pupils are being asked to learn their chosen poem off by heart. Please can you listen to your child performing their poem and encourage them to bring it to life, making it their own.

As part of St Catherine’s Day, on Friday 25 November, the pupils will be split into their House families and will have an opportunity to perform their poems to each other. House captains and leaders will then choose one pupil from each house to perform their poem in front of the Junior School as part of the celebrations.

We are sure that this will be a very exciting and enriching learning experience for everyone. Good luck and have fun!

Autumn 2 Curriculum documents

A new half term brings exciting new learning across the whole of the Junior School and we look forward to everything in store in the second half of the Autumn term. The curriculum overviews for Years 1 to 6, linked below, outline the topics that will be covered in class when we return after the holidays.

Learning in Rainbow will continue to be led by the children’s interests and key events.

Year 1 Year 3 Year 5

Year 2 Year 4 Year 6

Reminders

Year 2 Great Fire of London workshop

THURSDAY 17 NOVEMBER

On Thursday 17 November, Year 2 will be taking part in a Great Fire of London workshop, to enhance their enjoyment and understanding of the topic.

The workshop will take place at school, within the normal school day. It will be delivered by an external company who specialise in providing practical, hands-on living history workshops for primary schools. Using a combination of practical activities, role-play and drama, the pupils will learn about the past by experiencing it first-hand.

As part of the day, children are invited to come into school dressed in costume as a Stuart child. Suggested costume ideas can be found here. Costumes really help the children to immerse themselves in the fun of the day, but they do not need to be expensive or elaborate.

The cost of the workshop will be approximately £14.25. Please refer to the Evolve invite you received, to make payment and to give consent to your child to take part in this activity.

4 Aleph: Class assembly will take place on Monday 21 November, 8.45am to 9.15am, in the Performance Space; attending parents please enter via the DT doors.

Y6 Reminders

Year 6 Remembrance Day

SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER

On Remembrance Sunday we will be taking part in the Radlett Remembrance Parade. This is a wonderful opportunity for Year 6 pupils from both the Junior and Prep schools to march alongside other people in the community, in remembrance of the service and sacrifice of all those that have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life. Together the two schools will lay a wreath at the Radlett memorial.

Year 6 parents - if your child is able to join us to represent the school at the parade, please complete the consent form sent via Evolve.

Participating pupils will need to wear full winter uniform; school coats are permitted but hats and scarves may not be worn. Your child should also wear a poppy.

Pupils should meet staff at 10.10am on Sunday 13 November outside Radlett Library, from where they will march to the war memorial, for a 10.45am start. Collection of pupils will be from outside of Radlett Library at the end of the service.

Year 6 Parental Information Evening Dr Aric Sigman

TUESDAY 15 NOVEMBER

Please click here to read a letter regarding a Parental Information Evening with Dr Aric Sigman on Tuesday 15 November at 7pm.

Year 6 Mini Police Assembly to parents and pupils

WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER

As part of our PSHE curriculum, Year 6 pupils have been involved in the Hertfordshire Police Force’s Mini Police Programme. This programme aims to help young people establish an interest and understanding in policing and community safety. Each week the programme involves discussing and finding out about different aspects of the role of the police force and emergency services.

In celebration of the pupils completing and passing the Mini Police programme, we would like to invite Year 6 parents to an assembly taking place on Wednesday 16 November, at 9.45am, where the Year 6 pupils will present some of what they have learned to the rest of the Junior School community.

We very much hope you will be able to join us.

Tooled Up

Following on from Mrs Flynn’s message about the Head Teacher Awards, it seems appropriate to share Tooled Up ideas celebrating children’s successes, and to look for ways in which we can provide aspiration as they aim high and are ambitious.

You may like to look at this CV for childen which provides a format for children to reflect on and celebrate the things they have achieved which they are proud of. Here is a list of children’s books which feature inspirational girls and women, which may provide inspiration and aspiration for your child. Alternatively, you might like to listen to this podcast where Kathy Weston and Ger Graus OBE discuss aspiration. One takeaway from this particularly aligns with our messages about values:

Stop asking children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Instead, ask, “Who do you want to be?” and start with values and principles.

Cornflower Assembly

Friday 4 November

Friday afternoon assemblies are always a time of joy and celebration in the Junior School. Our weekly Cornflower Assembly celebrates individuals who have particularly demonstrated ways in which they have embodied our school values: Courage, Curiosity, Community and Ambition. Without fail, the pupils in our school community celebrate the successes of their peers, as well as take time to reflect on the ways in which they have, themselves, taken risks, wondered why, supported others and aimed high. We cherish our Cornflower Assemblies, and hope that you enjoy celebrating weekly with us too.

Ambition

Sadie (Rainbow Blue) Avni (Rainbow Red) Bea (1 Purple)

Sofia (1 Purple)

Ryeona (2A) Neeva (2A) Maya (2 Alpha)

Elsa (3 Alpha) Willow (5 Aesc) Maiya (5 Aleph) Summer (5 Aleph) Amelia (6 Aesc) Ellie (6 Aleph)

Community

Alaina (1 Orange) Radhika (3A) Sophie (3 Alpha)

Aliyah (4 Aleph) Stella (4 Aleph)

Courage Curiosity

Ahanaa (Rainbow Blue) Sienna (4 Aesc)

Nyah (Rainbow Red) Iona (1 Green) Neya (2 Alpha)

Alex (4 Aesc) Aradhya (5 Aesc) Sienna (6 Aleph)

Cornflower Assembly

Friday 4 November

Here are some other celebrations in last week’s Cornflower Assembly. Vrinda (4 Aleph) completed a dance exam, Level 1 Classical Indian Dance: Kathak and was awarded a distinction! She said it was very difficult, but she is proud of her accomplishments.

Gia (6 Aesc) won ‘The Inspiring Young Person’ in the National Children and Young People’s Awards 2022!

Gia said: "I was so excited when I found out that I had been nominated for this prestigious award. As the nominees for my category was being announced, I felt very proud of myself for getting that far. When I heard my name called out as the winner and I was ecstatic. I collected my award and later my pictures were taken; I felt a little bit like a celebrity! I also felt heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped me reach that point including my parents, my teachers and my school."

Habs around the World ACE Focus

In Habs around the World the children learn and share knowledge about different cultures around the globe. The aim is to raise awareness of similarities and differences between the various countries and their cultures and to also enrich the children’s general knowledge and spark interest in various topics.

Every session focuses on a new country and pupils have the opportunity to take control of their learning and suggest new countries to learn about, linked to own family, places they have visited in the past or wish to visit in the future. Each week the children engage in a creative task linked to the country in the spotlight.

So far this year, we have looked at France, India, Germany and USA and have reproduced Monet’s garden at Giverny, painted diva lamps, solved wordsearches and created Halloween pumpkins.

Quote from the students:

“What I like about this club is we learn new things about different countries and do activities about them.” (Issra, 2A)

“I like learning about different countries and doing things about that country.” (Maya, 2Alpha)

Chess ACE Focus

For students currently taking part in chess as part of our ACE programme, Mr D’Costa, who runs chess in the Junior School along with Mr Eden, highlights three ways to enjoy chess at home:

• She Plays to Win project

• Primary Girls Online League

• Chesskid

Mr Eden explains these initiatives in this link.

Values in Action

The Junior School charity prefect team is comprised of six members: Dora, Demeera, Joy Asha, Sofia and Alma. This week has been a particularly busy one for them as they have been responsible for running the Poppy Appeal, in the playground at breaktimes.

They are proud of the contribution that they are making in school, both this week and more widely across the school year. Here are some reflections which they share about their role of responsibility:

• We enjoy helping others who need our help and support, who may be in need of day-to-day items that we can take for granted.

• It gives me opportunities to be involved in exciting projects and events and to help others outside of the Habs community.

• Being able to make a positive difference people in need who we may never meet is a great experience.

• We enjoy the fact that we can raise awareness of charities like the Royal British Legion and support them in practical ways, by collecting donations for poppies.

• We feel that is important that we are mindful of people who have served us in the past – we can now give something back to them through supporting the Poppy Appeal.

News stories

Junior and Prep Schools Remembrance Service

Together with the Boys' Prep School, pupils from Years 2 to 6 gathered in front of the school memorial for our Remembrance Service. It was a sombre and thought provoking occasion, where we listened to readings, information about the history of Remembrance, and a list of names of past pupils who died in the World Wars.

Many thanks to our Junior School representatives who took part and made it such a memorable service: Scarlett M, Hania D and Aanya S.

Year 5 and 6 Collaboration workshop

On the afternoon of Tuesday 8 November, Year 5 and 6 had the opportunity to work alongside the pupils at the Boys’ School, in a collaboration workshop. Read below what our pupils had to say:

“I worked with Stamos and Noah in the Architecture Workshop. I loved building the structures and found it fun and really amazing! At the end, we had a race through the tunnel we created to see who was the fastest. Rio won for the Girls’ School and was faster than Seth from the Boys’ School. I also played board games with Maximus, Amber, Georgia, Charlotte, Flo, Sylvie, Eva, Sophia and Kailash. It was fun!”

Qaya 5 Aleph

“Collaboration day with the Boys’ School was so much fun! One of the morning’s activities was to build triangular-based pyramids and octahedrons using bamboo sticks and rubber bands. These were eventually put together to create a massive tunnel that we could all run through. After a short break, we went to the Year 5 classrooms to play board games such as Guess Who, Cluedo and Twister . We had a great time and we were all sad to leave. It was the best collaboration day ever!”

Layla 5 Aesc

“The afternoon was packed with enjoyable activities, ranging from creating a long tunnel of bamboo sticks to playing exciting games, such as Duck, Duck Goose . We also engaged in an ice-breaker game of Getting to Know You Bingo , where we were all given to opportunity to learn more about each other! The afternoon workshop sessions allowed us to begin to form long-lasting friendship bonds with the Boys’ School pupils and, hopefully, this is the first of many more similar fun-packed meetups to come.”

Aishwarya Year 6

Year 5 Netball

On Monday 7 November, Year 5 pupils played a challenging netball match against Radlett Prep. The pupils played with grit and determination until the final whistle and displayed excellent courage throughout a tough fixture.

They defended valiantly, persevering to the end and valuable lessons were learnt by the whole team, ones that they can carry forward into future matches. Here are the players take aways from the game:

Florence: Learnt how to mark her opponent better and the importance of dodging into a space to receive the ball.

Tianlong: Plans on sticking with her attacker whilst defending.

Layla: Will try and space out a lot more and run quickly to catch the ball.

Charlotte: Will stick with her partner.

Isla: Learnt than if her player is double her height, she can still block her pass, by jumping to get the ball.