THE QUAINTON HERALD Issue 110 – 28th January 2022
HEADMASTER'S MESSAGE Dear Parents, As they come to the end of their senior school entrance procedure, I would like to congratulate all our Year 6 children for their hard work. Many have now finished their interviews and are awaiting their results. I wish them all the best and am very proud of the excellent way in which they have approached the process and the positive and mature attitude they have adopted throughout. It was a very productive evening on Tuesday night at the Parents’ Forum meeting. A lot was discussed and I have to say there were many good points and ideas raised. We were delighted to welcome Miss Haynes, who joined the evening to offer support and to observe the good work achieved. The Forum will report on the outcomes of the meeting later in February. On Wednesday, the children in Years 3 to 6 enjoyed an online author event with Amy Sparkes. By all accounts, she certainly fired their imagination and creativity and Quainton Hall children were commended by the organisers of the event for the interesting questions they posed to the author. Further details of the event are outlined later in The Herald. Our Reception children were treated to an 'Under the Sea' themed day on Friday. All the children and Reception staff came into school dressed as creatures from the sea and the EYFS was awash with colour as the children enjoyed a range of sea based activities in their costumes. Not only were they treated to a special 'Under the Sea' lunch menu, but they also enjoyed a fabulous Perform workshop full of music, drama and dance, all centred on the aquatic theme. Thank you to Miss Sherr and her team for organising such a fun and educational day for all the children. I would like to remind parents of some important future dates: On 7th February we will be holding the annual ‘Headmaster’s Briefing’ in the Susan Milner Hall at 7pm. The evening will focus on future estate plans, academic development and will allow parents a forum in which to ask questions and discuss school matters with Miss Haynes and myself. We would both be delighted if you are able to attend and look forward to welcoming you. Page 1
HEADMASTER'S MESSAGE CONTINUED On February 22nd, the children in all age groups will have their portrait photographs taken. Please ensure any appointments outside school do not take place on this day. I must ask that parents do not park across the side entrance to Norbury School in the morning, as it endangers the staff and children entering the school. I have asked our senior staff at the front of the school to monitor this and I would request that if you are asked to move your vehicle that you oblige by doing so. On Monday, we welcome Mrs N Surani to the school. Mrs Surani joins us as a Wrap-around Care Assistant, with specific responsibilities including Breakfast Club and After School Club. With a wealth of experience in Harrow primary schools, she will be a real asset to the School. I would like to thank Dr Weinberg for organising a superb Familiarisation Day at John Lyon on Monday. The children in Year 5 and 6 enjoyed dance sessions, art projects and had the chance to use the well-equipped STEAM rooms. These focused days certainly enhance the children’s learning experience. The next event will be on 21st February and I look forward to seeing all that the children have created during these sessions. Parents will again be invited so that they too can see what has been achieved and get to know the senior school setting better. There will also be a Q&A session with the John Lyon boys and girls. I finish by wishing Evie all the best in South Korea. Take care and all the best! Thank you for all you have done for the Nursery children over your time at school – we will miss you.
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT News from the English Department: This week, the children in Years 3 to 6 were treated to an online author event with the fabulously creative and imaginative Amy Sparkes. Amy spoke about her passion for writing, the source of her inspiration and shared many exciting stories of her lively and eventful childhood! Showing, amongst other things, the family’s pet skull, Mr Bones, her ‘Writing Tree’ and her special magical sorcerer’s cloak, she challenged the children to create mysterious and magical uses for inanimate objects, such as a silver foil ‘mince pie tin’! Year 6 decided that the foil tin could be a magical hat that transported the wearer to different dimensions in the universe to solve mysteries and crack crimes! Amy read to us from her book ‘The House at the Edge of Magic’ and captivated the children with her use of language and fabulous descriptions of ‘Eric the Troll’ and ‘Flabbergast the Wizard’. The children in 5A wrote about their response to Amy’s presentation and we have included a few of their comments below: ‘When Amy showed us the key she had found in her grandparents’ garden, it made me realize that there are so many mysteries all around us to explore!’ ‘I liked that she had a special Writing Tree that she climbs to sit in and gain inspiration for all her stories.’ ‘I thought it was so cool that she had a skull in her house and that it even had a name, like one of the family!’ We will be revisiting Amy’s stories as part of a House Creative Writing Competition on World Book Day in March – details to follow in due course! If you would like to purchase Amy’s books, please follow the link on the next page to place your order.
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CONTINUED BUY THE BOOKS HERE…
PAPERBACKS - RRP £ 6.99 EACH OR OUR GREAT BUNDLE OFFER OF BOTH TITLES FOR £12.99 ***EACH BOOK INCLUDES A SIGNED BOOKPLATE*** If your child would like to buy a copy of THE HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF MAGIC AND/OR THE TOWER AT THE END OF TIME, please click on this link to order from Chiltern Bookshops: https://chilternbookshops.co.uk/product-category/amy-sparkes-virtual-event/ ALL ORDERS PLACED THROUGH THIS LINK WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DELIVERED FREE TO THE SCHOOL: Click the link above Select the name of your child’s school from the drop-down menu Add to Basket View Basket Click collect free from the Chorleywood Bookshop or Gerrards Cross Bookshop (this will ensure free delivery to the school) Proceed to Checkout PLEASE SPECIFY YOUR CHILD’S NAME AND CLASS IN THE BOX MARKED ‘DETAILS REQUIRED FOR SCHOOL EVENTS’ ALL ORDERS WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE SCHOOL AFTER THE EVENT. THIS LINK WILL EXPIRE 48 HOURS AFTER THE EVENT – SO PLEASE ORDER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CONTINUED A Wealth of Poetry! This week, the children in Years 4 to 6 have focused on writing poetry and we are delighted to share with you a selection of their work. To mark ‘Holocaust Memorial Day' on 27th January, some of the Year 6 pupils wrote poems on this year’s theme ‘One Day’. Shyam and Rishika read their poems to the School in a special assembly held on Wednesday to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Congratulations to Thashini, who received a Headmaster's Certificate for her work.
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CONTINUED
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CONTINUED
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CONTINUED We are pleased to share some more poems on the theme of ‘Evacuation’ written by our Year 5 pupils. Congratulations to Anoushka and Krish B who received a Wizard Writer Award for their work.
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CONTINUED
Krish B's poem.
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CONTINUED Year 4 have been writing a range of animal poems. Some of the children wrote poems describing animals in Africa, whilst others experimented with their use of metaphor to write ‘recipe poems’ to describe their chosen animal.Congratulations to Anya and Summer, who both received Wizard Writer Awards for their work.
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CONTINUED
Isa and Rian's poem
Milan, Anush and Saif's poem Page 11
MATHS DEPARTMENT This term Year 3 are learning all about fractions. They have been learning about unit and non-unit fractions, fractions as tenths and decimals and how to find fractions of amounts and quantities. As a way to demonstrate their learning, they have turned their names into a fraction, looking at how many equal parts their names have, what each letter represents and the fraction of vowels and consonants in their names. Here are some pieces of work showing how pupils would split their names up.
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Aashiana
Ariana
Eshaan
Rayan
MATHS DEPARTMENT CONTINUED
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Tara
Shreyas
Vihaan and Aadam
Nieve and Keertan
MATHS DEPARTMENT CONTINUED Year 4 have been working in pairs to solve mathematical statements using (BIDMAS). They have played the role of a detective by investigating who out of four subject teachers; Maths, English, History and ICT, has committed a crime! They have solved each teacher statement and found that the criminal who made two errors was the English Teacher, the victim who made one error was the History teacher and the other two suspects who made zero errors were the Maths and ICT teachers.
Tia and Anya's investigation
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SCIENCE DEPARTMENT Year 3 are learning about rocks and erosion. We began the topic looking at a picture of a surface that had been eroded and discussed the meaning of the word 'erosion'. For a collaborative element, pupils worked in groups to understand the process of erosion and wearing away by conducting a very simple experiment. In Year 4, we have been learning about state of matter, how to use and understand correct vocabulary and terms associated with air. Experiments with balloons helped our pupils learn and discover the way particles behave and how to prove air has weight. Year 6 pupils have been busy identifying and describing the functions of different parts of flowering plants. They explored the requirements of plants for life and growth, how they vary from plant to plant and consolidated their knowledge of the life cycle of flowering plants, using models and an interactive video clip.
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SCIENCE DEPARTMENT CONTINUED
Yug's work (Y6)
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ART AND DT DEPARTMENT Year 1 Art Year 1 are looking at the 'Three little pigs' in class and in art, we drew the pigs and their houses.
Nicholas’s colourful and well-drawn Three little pigs!
Maya’s beautiful Three little pigs.
Year 2 Art
Aryela’s super cute Panda
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Amelia’s happy Panda bear eating Bamboo!
ART AND DT DEPARTMENT CONTINUED Year 3 Art
Year 3 studied a famous artist - Wassily Kandinsky. He was an abstract artist from Russia who explored shapes to express his feelings. He enjoyed drawing circles and using bright colours too. The pupils have used lots of coloured paper to create a Kandinsky tree collage artwork, filled with concentric circles! They have also explored the colour wheel and tried lots of interesting colour combinations.
Aadam’s colourful Kandinsky tree.
Jasmine’s colourful collage with lots of details.
Eshan’s colourful collage with lots of colour combinations.
Year 5 Art Year 5 are exploring James Rizzi this term. He was an abstract artist from New York who was famous for his anthropomorphic (having human characteristics) cityscapes. His artwork was bursting with expressions, colour and minute details. Year 5 are enjoying creating their own version of cityscapes.
Krish B’s James Rizzi inspired artwork. The buildings are in conversation…amazing personification Krish! Page 18
ART AND DT DEPARTMENT CONTINUED Year 5 DT A few more completed Cereal box-packaging designs from year 5.
Aditi’s Christmas themed cereal…and well priced too!
Dharsha’s chocolate flavoured cereal! Now, who wouldn’t love some chocolate in the morning!
Rian H’s Christmas themed cereal box. That’s a funny Christmas joke Rian.
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ART AND DT DEPARTMENT CONTINUED Hobby Art
Zalaan’s calming landscape with pastel shades. Truly serene.
Zalaan’s hobby art of an airport. Well drawn! Looks like a very busy airport.
Adam’s (Year 1) brilliant Hobby project. He’s built a house using recycled materials. Wow Adam! Look at all the details.
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ART AND DT DEPARTMENT CONTINUED
Veera’s hobby art…well written and drawn…
Dharsha’s ombre hobby art…well-blended Dharsha
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YEAR 2 Team Work makes the Dream Work! Our PSHCE lesson this week was all about TEAM work. We do a lot of this in Year 2 and we know the value of working together, helping each other and being part of a team. Our challenge was to work in a team to use construction kits to build a model of the Great Wall of China - something we are learning about in our Topic lessons. We had to work fast as we had a timer ticking away in the background!! Communication, Collaboration and Cooperation; we were able to do them all. We soon discovered the acronym for team really is true:
Together Everyone Achieves More
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YEAR 2 CONTINUED
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HALF TERM CAMP
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QUIZ - WHO AM I? This week's Quiz Huge congratulations to all the pupils who successfully guessed John Fitzgerald Kennedy as the answer to last week’s quiz. Special congratulations to Keyan (5AA) who was the first to email me with the correct answer and a certificate will be awarded to him.
One of his famous quotes is “I’m a perfectionist, and I always think I can do better what I have done, even if it’s good”. He was born on 12th October 1935 in Modena, Italy. He was a teacher, and then an insurance salesman. He was given a special award: the Grammy Legend Award in 1998. He appeared in many outdoors concerts, including his televised concert in London’s Hyde Park. Please send your answer by Monday via email to Mrs Alwaheidi at arwa.alwaheidi@edu.quaintonhall.org.uk
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UPCOMING EVENTS U9 Netball CANCELLED
Tuesday 1st February Wednesday 2nd February
09:00 - 16:00
Friday 4th February
13:30 - 16:00
Head's Briefing Meeting - All Parents welcome
Monday 7th February
19:00 - 21:00
U9 Hockey CANCELLED
Tuesday 8th February
U11 Unihoc CANCELLED
Thursday 10th February
Year 6 History Trip to Bentley Priory U11 Tag Rugby v Aldenham (Away)
Year 5 JS Performance Assembly START OF HALF TERM
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Friday 11th February Monday 14th February
08:40 - 09:00
BIRTHDAYS
We wish the following children, who will be celebrating their birthday in the coming week, a very Happy Birthday!
Arnold C Reception Arjun B Year 2 Adam A Year 4
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