Kirkham Grammar School Junior, Infant and Pre-School Issue 10 Friday 4 March 2016 Dear Parents Once again the past fortnight has been a very interesting and productive one here at the Junior School. It was lovely to welcome our special visitors from Drapers Hall , London, last Friday, including the Master Draper, Mr John Giffard and our Drapers’ Governor, Mr John Borradaile. I would like to thank our Head Boy and Head Girl, Thomas Shuttleworth and Poppy Kearsley, along with our Drapers House Captains, Charlie Read and Amy Merrick, who showed our visitors around the school and were wonderful ambassadors for KGJS. This half term is an extremely busy time for our sports teams and Performing Arts pupils. They have been involved in a number of competitions and events, more of which you will read about in this newsletter, which includes the Choir’s trip to Manchester Arena for the Young Voices Concert. I am looking forward to welcoming many of you at our forthcoming Cheese and Wine Evening which our Junior performers are busily preparing for. I am so proud of our pupils for the commitment they demonstrate to all our school events. Finally, thank you to everyone who came to support our very first Farmers’ Market. I am sure that those who attended will agree that this was a superb event and here’s to the next! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Mrs AS Roberts Follow me on Twitter: Annette Roberts @KGJShead
On Friday 26 February, Kirkham Grammar School welcomed Mr John Giffard, Master of the Worshipful Company of Drapers in London, for an official visit to the School. The School’s association with the Drapers’ Company dates back to the middle of the 17 th century. For almost four hundred years this prestigious City of London Company has taken an active interest in the life and work of our school. The Drapers Company is a charitable trust which has similar connections with a number of other schools and universities throughout the UK. The Master, which is a ceremonial post to which a senior member of the Company is elected to serve for a year, visits charities and organisations supported by the Company as part of his year of office. Mr Giffard, a former Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police, was accompanied by the Clerk of the Company, Colonel Richard Winstanley, its Head of Charities, Mr Andy Mellows and the School’s Drapers Governor, Mr John Borradaile. The guests started their day with an assembly at the Junior School, followed by a tour of the school. During their visit they were entertained by the Junior School Choir, before heading over to the Senior School. They were joined for lunch by Mrs Roberts, Mrs Shuttleworth and our Head Boy and Head Girl, Thomas Shuttleworth and Poppy Kearsley. They left having seen at first hand the vibrancy of our traditional, yet forward-looking, school. Mr Giffard expressed how delighted he was with the warmth of the welcome that he had received from both pupils and staff, and was deeply impressed by the diversity of activities that he had witnessed across the two schools.
From the Parish Church of Kirkham St Michaels, Church Street, Kirkham, Preston, PR4 2SE www.stmichaelskirkham.org.uk Dear Parents, I am writing to inform you that St. Michael’s Church Junior Choir is currently recruiting choristers from the age of 7, and I would be very glad to hear from you if your child shows interest in singing. We rehearse on Thursdays from 4.15 to 5.15 p.m. at St. Michael’s Church. There is no regular commitment on Sundays but all choristers are required to sing at major services and concerts (i.e. Christmas and Easter). If you think that your child might be interested in joining please just come along to a Thursday afternoon rehearsal to see what it is like – no previous musical experience required. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any queries or if your child is interested in joining us. Karen Au BA ARCO Organist and Choir Director 07760809018 karen.au@cantab.net
Kirkham Grammar Junior School have been awarded the Gold Award by Dobbies Garden Centre which will allow us to improve our schools grounds and gardens! Watch this space for more information……...
Library Books Please could all library books be returned to school next week. Thank you
It has come to our attention that there has been a large amount of lost uniform recently. We appreciate the inconvenience caused to parents and pupils whilst this uniform is missing. Therefore could everyone please ensure that they label their child’s uniform properly and please return to school anything that has been taken home in error as soon as possible. Thank you
Please follow us on Twitter for the latest news at KGJS! twitter.com/ kgjs_
House
Sub-total
26.2.16
4.3.16
Total
Birley
1317
227
313
1857
Drapers
1575
308
215
2098
Colborne
1293
224
209
1726
Clifton
1264
267
258
1789
On Wednesday 2 March, 58 very excited pupils along with Mrs Shuttleworth, Mrs Case, Miss Fountain, Mr Butterworth, Miss De Maine, Mr Edgar and Mrs Tickle, set off to perform at the Young Voices Concert 2016 at the Manchester Arena. On arrival at the Arena, the children were shown to their seats for the rehearsal. After two hours rehearsing, the children enjoyed a packed tea, before returning to their seats ready for the main concert. The children and staff thoroughly enjoyed the event which included several artists including Laura Wright, The Beatbox Collective, Urban Strides and Tom Billington, as well as a full live band and the internationally acclaimed conductor David Lawrence. The atmosphere was electric and the Young Voices Concert, who this year celebrate their 20th anniversary, saw over 7000 local school children perform together on the one night to a capacity audience of friends and family! The children (and staff) really did sing their hearts out and danced the night away! All the children were excellent representatives for KGJS and each and every one of them should feel very proud to have taken part in such a spectacular event; one they will hopefully remember for the rest of their lives!
Life at Pre-School has been so exciting! We have explored all areas of learning through the use of a variety of materials that remind us of what happens during the Winter months in England and other countries, too. We discovered that ice melts when we pour water over it and that there are animals that actually enjoy living in very cold and icy places, such as the North Pole. A lot of language came through our investigations and we learnt new words which we are hoping to use to write fascinating stories. We have also been preparing our Mothers’ Day Assembly. It all began the day we started talking about our mums and we then thought it would be a good idea to express our emotions through our very own art creations. What a rewarding experience this has been!!
Kirkham Grammar Junior School have their own Facebook page! Please visit and ‘LIKE’ our page for all the latest news, photographs and information. Our Facebook page name is ‘Kirkham Grammar Junior School’ and can be easily identified from our KGJS logo.
J1 have really enjoyed their investigation of the rainforests around the world in Geography. After Christmas we found out lots of interesting information during our visit to Blackpool Zoo and our work culminated with every member of J1 creating a rainforest project. We were incredibly impressed with the amount of time and effort that many of the children had applied to their projects and the results were equally impressive. The children approached the project in a variety of ways, of which a handful can be seen here. One novel approach was Amelie Singleton’s 3D project, which featured all of her information and pictures on the leaves of her trees. Well done everybody!
On Friday 26 February, Daisy Gibbs and Callum Benson from J3 visited the I1Y children to talk about Daisy’s sewing hobby. She showed the children articles she had made including a pair of shorts and a dress and also demonstrated how to make a lavender bag using her sewing machine. Callum helped Daisy by showing the children different sewing books used by Daisy. Thank you to both children for a very informative and enjoyable presentation.
The final of the KGJS Has Got Talent Contest took place straight after Half Term. Heidi Aldeen suggested and planned the event along with the School Council. The Infants celebrated their talent with a concert featuring representatives from each class. There was a lovely atmosphere and the I3s started the concert by singing ‘True Colours’. There was a wide variety of talent, ranging from joke-telling and practical pranks to singing and funky dancing! The Pre-School came to watch and gave each child in the Infants a star cupcake to celebrate their performances and remind them that they are all stars!
The Junior finals had special visitors including Simon Cowell, Kylie Minogue, Jessie J and others! The results were as follows: J1 1st
Sam Goodman
2nd
Amelie Singleton
3rd
Jenson Crompton, Morgan Cuthbert & Lillijae Moulding
J2 1st
Ben Firth
2nd
Morgan Thomas
3rd
Olivia Noblett, Anya Kiely & Grace Livesey
J3 1st
Hennie Thompson
2nd
Siôned Jones-Blanco
3rd
Owain Heathcote-Jones, Jacob Adjetey-Hilton
J4 1st
Anya Baxter
2nd
Charlie Read, Archie Dowds, James Gornall, James Spencer & Adam Gregan
3rd
Josh Langley & Ben Wiggins, Noah McKnight, Madison Gallagher & Poppy Clough
On Thursday 3 March, the Infant and Junior classes enjoyed an exciting day of creative writing and book-making to celebrate World Book Day. Each class selected a theme prior to the day and collected items and ideas that linked to their chosen theme to inspire them in their written tasks. In the morning the children explored and discussed their story themes within a range of activities. The children then discovered how to plan and draft stories effectively, using techniques suggested by real authors from the World Book Day website. During the afternoon the children enjoyed editing their writing and producing their final pieces to be displayed in their own hand-made class books. Take a look at the wonderful writing produced by the children – the class books will be displayed near the School Office next week.
Saturday 27 February saw Kirkham Grammar Junior School turn into a busy and action-packed Farmers' Market. There was also an array of craft activities to keep the visiting children entertained, from ice-cream and pancake making, to Easter pot decorating and barn dancing! One of the highlights of the morning was a Baking Workshop with Dorret Conway, a finalist from BBC's Great British Bake Off. The children were delighted to be given the opportunity to make some of Dorret's special cookies!! They were shown how to sieve flour, melt margarine and syrup and shape the mixture into individual cookies. Spagó of Lytham demonstrated pizza spinning, with Reverend Bunday, the Vicar of Kirkham, successfully spinning his own pizza to the delight of his young daughter, Ruth! Visitors were able to browse a number of stalls including; Atherton's Butchers of Longridge, Strong’s of Lytham, Goats Meat.com, Greens Deli from Kirkham and Jill's delicious cupcakes!! Later in the afternoon, the winners of the KGJS 'Decorated Plant Pot' competition were announced and presented with their very own gardening sets! One gentleman, who visited with his wife and two young grandchildren, commented, "I just wish I was young again....I would have loved to have come to this school...the staff and pupils are wonderful, the school has such a lovely atmosphere." Austin, from Anderton’s Butchers, one of the stall holders, who had children with him, elaborated, "We have had a fantastic morning and can't wait for the next one!" Jodie from ‘Make it Personal 2 U’ said, "A very successful craft fair, what a brilliant school, lovely pupils and great atmosphere!” Mrs Roberts added, "It was wonderful to see so many new families at our school and we hope this will be the first of many events like this! Many thanks to all the stallholders for their support in making the event such a huge success!"
Rossall U11 Rugby Sevens On Wednesday 25 February, Kirkham Sevens A Team travelled to Rossall to take part in the Budge Sevens Tournament. KGJS achieved the following results; v St Bedes won 40-0 v Grange won 5-0 v Liverpool College won 35-0 These results meant Kirkham had won the group and went on to play St Mary’s Crosby winning 25-0. KGJS’ hardest and most challenging game was against Manchester Grammar. It was a tight game but the opposition scored in the last play to win 15-10. Thank you to Rossall for organising and everyone who came along to support. Rugby v The Buchan School On Thursday 25 February, Kirkham played Rugby against The Buchan School. It was a great game with Kirkham stringing some fantastic passes together and physical tackling that resulted in a clean sheet 25-0 to Kirkham. Well done to everyone who played and thank you to all the parents who came along to support. The U11B Team played against The Buchan A Team and played really well. All players ran and tackled very well and made The Buchan work hard for their points. They eventually lost 20-10 with tries scored by James Gornall and Josh Langley. All the boys can be very proud of their performance.
U8, U9 & U10s Rugby v St Mary’s Hall On Saturday 27 February, Kirkham U8s, U9s and U10s travelled to St Mary’s Hall to play Rugby. The conditions were cold but clear. The results were as follows; U8s won 60-35 U9s lost 35-15 U10s drew 30-30 Thank you to all the parents who came along to support. U11 Rugby v Stockport Grammar School On Monday 2 February, KGJS U11s Rugby team hosted Stockport GS In the quarter final of the AJIS Cup. Both sides were very competitive from the first whistle and it was obvious Kirkham would need to be at their best against a very physical Stockport team. A period of excellent passing by Kirkham saw them build up a 20 point lead by half time. A number of changes led to two further tries but the KGJS defence became fragile which allowed Stockport to score two of their own to make the final score 30-10 to KGJS. Kirkham now play The Grange in the Semi Final on a date to be arranged. North West Hockey Finals On Wednesday 2 March, the U11 Girls Hockey team travelled to Manchester High School to play in the North West Hockey Finals and achieved the following results: v Manchester High School won 2-0 v Hill House (Yorkshire) won 4-0 v Kings School Chester won 3-0 v Queens Chester won 2-1 v Brinsworth (Yorkshire) won 6-0 These results mean KGJS are the North West Hockey Champions and qualify for the North Hockey Finals on Tuesday 15 March at Leeds University, along with the U11 Boys who have also qualified.
On Thursday 3 March, the U11 girls took part in the AJIS Hockey Tournament at Preston Sports Arena. They achieved the following results; U11A Team v Kings Chester won 1-0, v Withington won 3-0, v Westholme won 3-0, v Kings Macclesfield B Team won 2-0, QF v Stockport won 3-0, SF v Kings Macclesfield A Team won 2-0 Cup Final v Manchester High School won 1-0 This result means the A team are the AJIS Hockey Champions for the third consecutive year! U11B Team v Kings Macclesfield A Team drew 0-0, v The Grange won 1-0, v Rossall lost 3-0, v Birkenhead drew 0-0 QF v Oldham Hulme won 3-0, SF v Westholme won 2-0 Plate Final v AKS lost 2-0 This is the first time the KGJS U11 Girls B Team have ever come back with medals from the AJIS Hockey Tournament. Well done to all girls who played really well throughout the whole tournament! Thank you to all the parents who came along to support.
Over the past two weeks, several members of staff have been updating their first aid training qualifications. During their Tuesday evening sessions, they have practised their CPR, AED use, patient care and bandaging skills!
MARCH Sat
5
U10 Rugby v Preston Grasshoppers (A) 1.30pm
Mon 7
AJIS U11 Rugby (A) 12 noon–6.00pm at Merchant Taylors
Tue 8
AJIS Music Festival 11.45am-4.45pm
Wed 9
U11 St Mary’s Hall Rugby 7s Tournament (A) 12 noon–6.00pm U11 St Mary’s Hall Girls Hockey Tournament (A) 12 noon–6.00pm
Thu 10
Fylde Coast/North Fylde Choir heats - 5.30pm at The Marine Hall, Fleetwood
Fri
U11 Rugby 7s v St Mary’s Crosby (A)
11
Tue 15
U11 Boys & Girls North Hockey Finals (A) Leeds 8.00am–4.00pm
Thu 17
Cheese & Wine Arts Evening 7.00pm
Fri
18
U10 Girls KGJS Hockey Tournament (H) 11.30am-3.30pm
Sat
19
U8 Rugby v Fylde (A) 2.30pm
Wed 23
Pre-School Egg Hunt Senior School Founders Day Service 2.30pm St Michael’s Church, Kirkham Junior Disco 6.00pm–7.30pm : PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE FROM 11/2/16
Thu 24
End of Term 12 noon—Pre-School remains open Summer Term begins Thursday 14 April 2016