Derby Grammar School - Primary School Chronicle - Autumn 2019 by Chris Knight

Primary School

Chronicle Autumn term, 2019

Welcome to our Infant School pioneers!

Primary School Life Prefects Our 2019-20 Prefects were announced at the start of the new year: Pupil

Role

Alexander D

Head Boy

Harjan N

Deputy Head Boy – Juniors

Nicholas P

Deputy Head Boy – Juniors

Tom C

Deputy Head Boy – Infants

Alex K

Deputy Head Boy – Infants

Arjan D

Atkinson House Prefect

Spencer H

Bemrose House Prefect & Charities Prefect

Sam W

Blackton House Prefect

Reehan W

Derby House Prefect

George B, Harvyn C & Iósaif D

Sports Prefects

Anish V

Charities & Music Prefect

Tom R

Arts Prefect

Mikeli U & Joshvir R

Library Prefects

School Council

Welcome To Our New Boys

Congratulations to Zach, Alex, Denny and Reehan for being voted their class School Councillor for this year. They all had to prepare a persuasive speech for their peers in order to gain their vote.

Welcome to all our new boys this year. We are joined by:

They are joined on the committee by Head Boy Alex, and Deputies Harjan and Nicholas (Junior School), Tom and Alex (Infants). We have already had a couple of meetings with lots of interesting ideas for the year.

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 Jackson and Viraj in Reception  Tommy, Salar, Rishaan and Ethan in Year 2  Jack, Aavai, Jayan, Jacob, Harley, Tristan and Zach in Year 3  Akili and Aaron in Year 4  Arjan, Joshvir, Tom and Mikeli in Year 6.

Primary School Chronicle | Autumn 2019

Cross Country & Tug Of War This was the first exciting House event of the new school year. It took place at Rykneld Sports Centre. Although it is a fun event, it is also a bit tense. Y5/6 ran first and it was a close call between Iósaif and George B for first place. Iósaif won by just an arm’s length. Sam was third. Next up, Jackson and Viraj in Reception class raced, with Viraj just sneaking ahead at the finish line. Then it was the turn of our new Y2 boys - Tommy, Ethan, Salar and Rishaan. The final race was for Y3/4. Ben took a comfortable first place, Jack was second and Bill third. Our top three in the Y3/4 race were all Atkinson House boys, and it was Atkinson who were the winners of the 2019 House Cross Country trophy. Tug of War was a close event as all teams tried their absolute best. Bemrose snatched the cup in the end. Iósaif, George B, Harvyn, Y6

House Events Art The competition was to create a piece of work based on ‘A Wonder of the World’. The title was decided by Mrs Sly and new Art Prefect, Tom. It didn’t have to be one of the seven wonders, but something that was wonderful to the pupil. Ms Sellors, Head of Art, was the judge. She said: “The standard is always high, and this year is no exception. I could have awarded every entry a prize! I admire the ingenuity of the boys. There is a lot of very good re-purposing of materials and a good use of different media. I congratulate everyone who has taken part.” Individual winners were: 1st

2nd

3rd

Viraj

Jackson

Tommy

Years 3 & 4

Bill

Charlie

Jack

Years 5 & 6

Alex K

Iósaif

Shamoil

Infants

House winners: 1st: Atkinson 2nd: Bemrose Primary School Chronicle | Autumn 2019

3rd: 4th:

Derby Blackton Page 3

Clubs There are so many clubs in Primary School which run at lunchtime and after school. But weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always on the look-out for more and our boys are never afraid of coming up with ideas for new ones! We love to accommodate their requests as much as possible. Here are just four of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new clubs...

Recorder Club

Science Club

I wanted to join recorder club because I was interested in learning the recorder. I like it because Mrs Penny goes through all the notes in music. I hope to be able to play in assemblies soon. Anish, Y6

Mrs Hill helps bring science club to life with colourful experiments! Every Thursday, we have a fun filled session of thrilling science experiments.

Art & Craft Club

Yoga Club

Every Friday lunchtime Year 6 and 7 have Art and Craft Club up in the Art Suite.

We enjoyed trying a new club this year, and we have liked learning the different poses.

Here we can express our creativity and have fun with different activities each week.

Some are easier than others but they are great fun as we do them as part of well known stories like Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Twits and even Minecraft.

Tom, Y6

The highlight was when we created lava lamps. We used a plastic bottle, oil, water, fizzy tablets and food colouring. When we had created them we learnt that putting the lids on too tightly caused the pressure to build up, creating a puddle of oil on the floor! Musa, Y5

Tom C and Arjan

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Primary School Chronicle | Autumn 2019

The National Stone Centre

Derby’s Churches

On 23 September we went on our first trip. We visited the National Stone Centre at Wirksworth because we are learning about Rocks and Soils in our science topic. We went on a tour around the site and saw lots of fossils in the rocks. We even saw an old lead mine where children would have worked. Later on we made our own fossils.

Year 3 visited two churches as we are learning about Signs and Symbols in our RS topic. When we arrived at Derby Cathedral, the first thing we saw was the crane lowering the Knife Angel into place! Inside, we saw an enormous moon hanging above the pews! How DID they get that in? Jack dressed up as the Bishop and sat in a special chair which only the Queen and the Bishop can sit in. We liked having our photograph taken with a cardboard cut-out of Buzz Aldrin.

We looked at lots of different rocks and minerals. We really enjoyed the gem panning activity, especially when we found some fool’s gold – its proper name is pyrite. After lunch, we visited the exhibition where we had to find clues to answer a quiz. There was an earthquake sensor which measured the vibrations when we jumped up and down on the mat. It was a great trip! Harley & Zach, Y3

Twycross

Next we went to the Sanctuary Cafe and had juice and cookies. Then we walked to St Mary’s Church. We enjoyed seeing the pictures on the walls that tell stories about Jesus. The Lady Chapel was very peaceful and we met Father Paul. Tristan & Jack, Y3

Trips

Once we got to Twycross Zoo we had to collect our entry tickets at reception and inside the toilets were poisonous ants. The first animals we saw were the meerkats and the leopards. Then we saw the bonobos which were endangered, intelligent playing with a ball and protecting their young. In the same room we saw tortoises which were reminiscent of slugs! The tortoise enclosure smelled atrocious! A man taught us about the rainforest which supported our geography rainforest topic. Abhi, Y4

Primary School Chronicle | Autumn 2019

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Hollowford “I had been looking forward to going to Hollowford ever since I joined Year 3!” Nicholas “I loved weaselling! I managed to squeeze through some tiny spaces.” Iósaif “I felt proud of all of our achievements both caving and weaselling.” Harjan “Caving was a great experience and I loved every moment of it.” Harvyn “We worked hard together as a team to build our raft.” Joshvir “Our trip to Hollowford was so inspirational and we were encouraged to step out of our comfort zone.” Arjan “We all felt really proud of ourselves when we finished building our tent.” Reehan “Chimpy gave me the confidence to climb up the high ropes.” Mikeli “I enjoyed climbing the cargo nets to get to the top of the obstacle.” Sam “Putting up the tents was a bit tricky but we worked well as a team to succeed.” George “I found the Leap of Faith difficult but I was proud to overcome my fear of heights.” Tom C “The night walk seemed an impossible task at first but with resilience and teamwork we finally made it to the top.” Tom R

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Primary School Chronicle | Autumn 2019

Forest School

At Forest School the pupils have weekly exposure to the natural world. They are actively encouraged to assess risks within a safe and secure environment whilst still having the freedom to explore and find excitement in the world. Forest School is based on a child-centred approach so the boys are actively involved in following their own interests and drive. The younger boys have shown much curiosity and imagination, whether that’s dragon eggs being found or air raid shelters being made whilst the older boys have been more involved in developing the site or learning knots for den making. “I like digging for bones and looking for dragon eggs.” Jackson, R

“I like eating toast and marshmallows on the fire.” Tommy, Y2

“Forest School is fun. At the start I got hurt from treading in brambles but now I know how to keep away from them.” Ryan, Y4

We were so pleased with our Junior School boys who took to the stage at Speech Night to tell us about their favourite memories of the academic year 2018-2019.

Speech Night

It all began back in the previous May when Mrs Baldwin invited them to write down some of their recollections. What a lot of fantastic stories there were! In fact, there were so many great ones that we decided to put a short film together which was played at Speech Night. Adam, Harjan and Tharusan were selected to take to the stage and worked hard on their speeches and practised with Mrs Baldwin and Mrs Simpson. On the night they were brilliant! Mrs Baldwin said: “Adam, Harjan and Tharusan were amazing tonight. They’ve worked so hard on their speeches, and there wasn’t a nerve in sight. They have been a delight to work with and I’m so proud of them.”

Watch the video at www.derbygrammar.org/speech-night-2019 Primary School Chronicle | Autumn 2019

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Charities Week Y6 worked really hard to raise money to help the children in Tanzania during Charities Week. Sam and Harjan organised the Bottle Flip Challenge, Iósaif wrote three different quizzes and George and Tom C organised the Welly Wanging competition. Tom R and Alex K had wet sponges thrown at them in the stocks. Y6 also ran the Name The Teddy, Guess How Many Sweets In The Jar and Treasure Hunt activities in between buying cakes and trying their luck on the Chocolate Wheel. Spencer & Anish, Y6

Tom & Alex

Penalty Shoot Out Winners Alex, Rishaan and Spencer

Anish

Fundraising The Fireworks Spectacular organised by our PTA and supported by DGS families and the local community raised a phenomenal £12300. Thank you! The work of the PTA funds all sorts of equipment and activities, often requested by the boys themselves. Our School Council discusses plans with input from their classmates and take requests to Mrs Sly who in turn presents them to PTA. Just some of the things funded this year for Primary School include balance bikes and scooters for our Infants, playground equipment for all, and resources for Mrs Genders’ Writing Club.

£12300!

There are lots more plans in the pipeline, so hopefully we can update you more in the Spring newsletter.

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Primary School Chronicle | Autumn 2019

Rev Paul’s Ramblings As always I was greatly impressed by the energy, support and enthusiasm of the Primary School in supporting our harvest appeal. As you know, your donations go to Derby YMCA who work with disadvantaged young people in Derby. Harvest happens very early on in the autumn term and this year our new boys, in Junior and Infant, got on board with the School’s ethos of giving back and making a difference. I say a big thank you to all the parents who made this happen. This term is a very busy one and, for the second year in a row, our remembrance service and act of remembrance was done differently. The behaviour of all the boys in a long and moving ceremony was a credit to the School and parents, as was those boys who took part in the act of remembrance. As I write this, we are preparing for the big push of shoeboxes for the YMCA. I know both Primary and Senior School will do an amazing job of giving and going the extra mile. It makes me proud to be part of an amazing team of staff, parents and pupils. I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year.

Rev Paul

Fundraising Book Fair In September the travelling Book Fair came to DGS. The boys enjoyed browsing through the wide selection of books available and we raised £59 towards some new books for the School Library. Thank you to DGS parents for your support. Mrs Monk

Christmas Cards Once again this year, the boys had the chance to design their own Christmas Card through the ‘Art Projects for Schools’ company. It seemed very early to be doing it in October but the boys got into the Christmas spirit. Thank you to parents who ordered cards, tags and wrapping paper. We raised £133.10 from sales which the School Council would like to spend on new Wet Play games in each classroom. Primary School Chronicle | Autumn 2019

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Sports Round-Up We have had a great autumn term of rugby this year with some excellent team performances across the year groups. As always, the boys have been working hard to improve their rugby skills and have made great progress with their catching, passing, tackling and game understanding. Our Year 2 and 3 boys have been introduced to the rules of the game and have been working on their evasive running and supporting skills. Year 4 have added tackling to their skill set for the first time this year, and Years 5 and 6 have been developing their off-loading skills out of the tackle and getting to grips with rucks and mauls! In terms of school matches, we have had an enjoyable fixture schedule. The Year 4 boys enjoyed their two matches against Lichfield School and Denstone Prep, scoring lots of tries and making a good amount of tackles in the process. The Year 5’s have also put in some excellent team performances against The Elms, Lichfield School and Denstone Prep, and worked exceptionally hard throughout The Elms Rugby Festival. I’ve been proud of Year 6 who have led by example throughout and have put in some impressive team performances against The Elms, Lichfield School and Denstone Prep in both home and away matches. Very well done everyone! Overall, we have had an excellent first term of school sport and I would like to thank our new Sports Prefects for the year

Under 10 team

(George Blount, Iósaif Dickens and Harvyn Cheema) for the great work they are doing so far!

Mr Smyth

Class Assemblies Year 5 - The Aztecs

Year 6 - Hollowford

In the assembly you learned everything you could ever possibly want to know about them - meet Montezuma, an Aztec emperor, and Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador who ended the Aztec empire!

In our fabulous assembly we told our parents what a wonderful time we had and how grateful we were to be able to go to Hollowford.

Full of funny jokes, you could actually laugh your socks off (I’m not kidding)! At the end the cast even danced to the Macarena. Everyone put in a great performance. The crowd cheered - it was the best class assembly ever. Daniel, Y5

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We bonded well with the new boys and learnt the importance of teamwork. We explained how we would be able to use these skills back at school when working as a team in sport and helping each other in lessons. As a rugby team we are now stronger and more united than ever. Alex D, Y6

Primary School Chronicle | Autumn 2019

Achievements Achievement Assemblies this term have celebrated all of the fantastic accomplishments by our pupils, both inside and outside of school. Here are just a few of our amazing boys: 

Tristan, Zach and Harley (Y3) are all super-swimmers. Tristan has a certificate for swimming 50 lengths, Zach has a bronze award and Harley was the fastest 8 year-old his club championships.



Daniel (Y5) has taken part in his first triathlon.



Alex K (Y6) has passed his grade 3 Music Theory exam.



Tom C (Y6) has been filming for a documentary series - When Eddie Meets Arnie.



Sam W (Y6) showed us all of the tennis medals he’s won recently.



Ollie (Y5) has won another belt in Taekwondo - he’s not far off a black belt now!



Viraj (R) can now swim a whole width on his own.



Jayan (Y3) is one of our youngest ever pupils to achieve a pen licence.

September