Habs Weekly Junior School edition Friday 29 April 2022 Summer Term
Head of Junior School’s Message Mrs L Flynn
It has been a glorious, sunny welcome back for the Junior School this week. In assembly last Friday, I spoke to the pupils about grit and resilience. We will all know stories of individuals who, despite facing challenges and setbacks, have used these experiences to spur them on to greater achievements. Developing this mindset in our pupils is a key aim of our teaching philosophy in the Junior School, where teachers will often talk to pupils about a ‘FAIL’ being the ‘First Attempt In Learning’. The ability to pick ourselves up after a metaphorical stumble or trip takes great courage, one of our core school values, and requires practice. Dr Kathy Weston, who runs the Tooled-Up resource, speaks about the 10 Rs of resilience, these include: recognition – pointing out to children when they have been resilient, retrospection – encouraging children to look back at times when they have overcome challenges, and reflection – when they have achieved success, focus not just on the success but how it was achieved. As a community, we reflected on the areas where each of us may ‘stumble’ in school and I asked each pupil to recognise, look back and reflect daily on the challenges they face over the summer term. In the coming weeks, do take time to ask your child ‘what was your biggest challenge today?’ and more importantly ‘what have you learned from it?’
Important Information Relationships and Sex Education meeting T H U R S D AY 1 2 M AY 6.30PM We would like to invite you to an evening meeting regarding the teaching of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in the Performance Space at Habs. Please arrive through the DT doors. The meeting will provide you with an opportunity to hear about our approach to this part of the curriculum, view RSE teaching materials, ask the class teachers any questions and discuss any concerns you may have. We will also be joined by Bill Moore, a representative from the Jigsaw PSHE scheme we follow. Please indicate here if you are likely to attend.
Year 5 Skern trip M O N D AY 9 T O F R I D AY 1 3 M AY 9AM Year 5 are looking forward to their residential geography fieldwork trip to Skern Lodge, where they will be enjoying a week of outdoor fieldwork whilst exploring the Devon coast and teambuilding adventure activities. Pupils will depart from the Girls’ School car park at 7.15am on Monday 9 May and should be provided with a mid-morning brunch and a packed lunch. We aim to return to school at approximately 5pm on Friday 13 May. Parents will be sent a text message if there is a significant delay on the return to school.
Year 4 British Schools Museum trip F R I D AY 1 3 M AY 9AM Year 4 will be visiting the British Schools Museum in Hitchin on Friday 13 May, to gain an appreciation of life during the Victorian period and experience life as a child in a Victorian Classroom. Please complete this form to indicate whether your child will have a school or home packed lunch. To add to the experience, pupils are encouraged to wear a simple Victorian style costume; dark skirt or dress, long sleeve blouse and an apron/ shawl or knee length shorts/trousers, white shirt, flat cap and waistcoat. Normal school shoes should be worn. We recommend searching local charity shops for suitable items if necessary.
Family Friday - Rainbow and Years 1, 3 and 5 F R I D AY 2 0 M AY 9AM We are looking forward to welcoming parents of pupils in Years 1, 3 and 5 to their final Family Friday event of this year. We have looked forward to our Family Friday events each half term, as there has been the most wonderful community feel in the Junior School whilst they are taking place. We very much look forward to continuing with these in the new academic year. The middle doors to the Junior School will open at 8am. We politely remind parents that photos may not be taken. Years 2, 4 and 6 Family Friday will take place on Friday 1 July.
Performing Arts Junior Performing Arts evening
The Junior School ended last term with their Performing Arts evening. The event was a fantastic celebration of music from stage and screen, featuring all of our junior music ensembles, soloists from Year 5 and 6 and some drama and dance performances. All pupils from KS2 came together at the end to perform The Rhythm of Life. They sang and danced with so much enthusiasm, confidence and energy. The audience showed their appreciation by giving them a standing ovation! It was an incredibly joyous and emotional evening which will be remembered by all involved. You can listen to the evening here.
School Community Year 1 Collaborative Easter Egg hunt Year 1 pupils were incredibly excited to welcome pupils from the Boys’ School and have them join them on their annual Easter Egg Hunt! The morning began with the children introducing themselves and getting to know one another. From there, they were put into pairs - one from the Girls’ School and one from the Boys’ School - and they set off on their mission to find golden eggs which were hidden from sight. All are looking forward to meeting up again and spending time together at the summer picnic!
Year 3 trip to Hazard Alley Year 3 visited Hazard Alley Safety Centre to learn how they can stay safe, understand risks and avoid accidents through powerful experiential learning. The pupils learned how to keep safe in a realistic environment through everyday scenarios, such as how to make a 999 call and how to cross a road safely. They also learned how to identify safety hazards in a house, fire safety, online safety, safety in a car, train safety and lots more!
School Community Off timetable week
We finished the Spring Term with our off timetable days. Within our Global theme, each year group had an immersive experience learning about one of the seven continents. We had a number of workshops, run by both external providers and Junior School parents, which were thoroughly enjoyed by both the pupils and staff. Pupils learnt about cultures, history, music, dance and sport which originate from their given continent and Holroyd Howe even provided lunches from around the world. There was a plethora of learning amidst an excited, buzzing atmosphere which culminated in our wonderful celebration assembly, where each year group was able to share some of their experiences with the Junior School.
Sport “The grit, determination and positivity they showed against three very high-quality sides should be something to feel extremely proud of.” Mr Hobley Teacher of Mathematics and Football coach
On Tuesday 26 April, Habs Junior School football team played in the Wix County Finals Day tournament at Wheatfields Primary School.
This success story demonstrates our values of
After three 20-minute matches against three different district champions, the team’s final results stood at one draw and two losses.
to reach these finals, their determination to
The pupils played tremendously and truly embodied the school values during their time representing the school at this competition.
ambition, community and courage. Our pupils showed ambition through their determination win in the face of tough opponents; community with their teamwork and efforts of working together and finally courage shown by their grit to continue despite the results that went against them.
IMPORTANT DATES May
IMPORTANT DATES
T U E S D AY 3 M AY Year 5 Intra Rounders
F R I D AY 2 0 M AY Rainbow and Years 1, 3 and 5 Family Friday
W E D N E S D AY 4 M AY Year 6 Intra Rounders
S U N D AY 2 2 M AY Year 6 Play Rehearsal
F R I D AY 6 M AY Rainbow Family Friday
T U E S D AY 2 4 M AY Year 6 Play (first performance)
M O N D AY 9 T O F R I D AY 1 3 M AY Year 5 Skern Trip Year 6 SATs week
W E D N E S D AY 2 5 M AY Year 1 picnic with Habs Boys’ pupils
T U E S D AY 1 0 M AY * Years 4 to 6 Swimming gala T H U R S D AY 1 2 M AY Relationships and Sex Education meeting F R I D AY 1 3 M AY Year 4 British Schools Museum Trip
W E D N E S D AY 2 5 T O T H U R S D AY 2 6 M AY Year 3 overnight camp T H U R S D AY 2 6 M AY Year 6 Play (second performance) Years 2 and 5 grades Rainbow and Years 1, 3 and 4 reports The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration
M O N D AY 1 6 M AY * Years 5 and 6 Football fixture
F R I D AY 2 7 M AY Inset day
W E D N E S D AY 1 8 M AY Year 5 Rounders vs NLCS
M O N D AY 3 0 M AY T O F R I D AY 3 J U N E Half term
T H U R S D AY 1 9 M AY * Years 3 to 6 Swimming gala
* Selected pupils will be invited to participate in fixtures via Evolve
M O N D AY 6 J U N E Inset day