Kirkham Grammar School Junior, Infant and Pre-School Issue 15 Friday 17 June 2016 Dear Parents It has been a busy fortnight with a vast array of activities taking place at KGJS. Our J4 pupils thoroughly enjoyed their Outdoor Adventure Trip to Wales, as I am sure you will see from the photographs in this newsletter. I would also like to mention that they were an absolute credit to the school and I personally enjoyed their company for the short time that I spent with them in Wales. Our Pre-School have had a very busy week, with both their Summer Production today and Sports Day to look forward to tomorrow. The Infants have also produced some stunning work, which is on display at the front of school – well done to all! I cannot believe as I am writing this, that we only have three weeks left of this term and yet there are so many exciting events still to look forward to. Next weekend, we have our Summer Music Festival and it would be lovely to see as many of you there as possible. Our annual Prizegiving is a highlight in our school calendar and a time when we celebrate all that we have achieved over the past year and once again I hope to see lots of parents attending. We will then enjoy the outdoors during the last week of term, when we will hope for some warm, sunny weather for our Infant and Junior Sports days. Finally, all that remains is for me to wish our talented Choir the very best of luck for their performance this evening at the Final of the Last Choir Singing. Wishing you all a relaxing weekend. Mrs AS Roberts Follow me on Twitter: Annette Roberts @KGJShead
On Monday 13 June, Reverend Bunday came into KGJS to talk to the children about the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations and her coronation. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II as monarch of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon took place on 2 June 1953. Elizabeth ascended the throne at the age of 25, upon the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952, and was proclaimed queen by her various privy and executive councils shortly afterwards. The coronation took place more than a year later because of the tradition that holding such a festival is inappropriate during the period of mourning that follows the death of a monarch. Katie Sloane, from J2, was our ‘Queen’ for the day and Charlie Read, from J4, the President who asked the ‘Queen’ questions! Thank you to Reverend Bunday for coming into KGJS.
It was lovely to welcome our new I1 parents into school on Tuesday 14 June. During their visit they were entertained by our wonderfully talented KGJS Choir who have been busy practising for the final of ‘Last Choir Singing’. This event gave them the perfect opportunity for an extra rehearsal!
Please could all library books be returned to school by Monday 20 June. Thank you to the J4 librarians, who have done a fantastic job this year!
There is just a week to get your nominations in for the ‘Educate Awards 2016’. The different categories are listed on their website at www.educateawards.co.uk Entries close on Friday 24 June 2016
In I2, we have been reading the story of Dougal’s Deep-Sea Diary. Linked to this, we have discovered a treasure chest in the classroom! Throughout the week we have been digging deep to find lots of different treasure, including some giant bubble makers, which we used at break time! The children have made some fantastic treasure island maps, using co-ordinates, and have extended this knowledge to some descriptive writing. Well done, I2, what a fun week!
The I3, J1, J2 and J3 children were very excited to welcome UK based illustrator and author, Alex T Smith into school for a workshop. Alex, creator of the CLAUDE books, delighted the children with his fantastic stories and illustrations before he took them through a step by step guide so they could have a go at producing their very own pictures!
As you read this latest newsletter, our KGJS Choir are at King George’s Hall in Blackburn, preparing to perform at the final of Last Choir Singing. They have had an incredibly busy few weeks, dedicating a huge amount of their break times to rehearse for the final. On Tuesday, Ian Hooper visited school to give the choir some final tips! After winning AJIS Sings, performing at Young Voices in Manchester and coming runners up in the heat stages of Last Choir Singing, this really would be the icing on the cake. Good luck to all taking part tonight, and remember, whatever the outcome you are all winners in our eyes! Details about the final will be in the last newsletter of the year.
KGJS have adopted three cute Guide Dog puppies called Domino, Freya and Biscuit! We have been given a poster and a certificate and we will receive regular updates. Each child has a ‘Sponsor a Puppy’ postcard that they can complete with their ‘Pupdates’.
On Saturday 17 September a KGS team of Annette Roberts, Helen Shuttleworth, Michelle Tickle, Lindsey Case, Alicia Blanco-Bayo, Kate Aldeen, Sharon Anyon, Jill Knowles, Lucy Knowles, Gill Latham and Claire Blacow will take on the challenge of the Pretty Muddy run in Blackpool. They will work together over the 5k obstacle course to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Your kind donations would be gratefully received. Thank you in advance for your support. www.justgiving.com/ KGJSMuddyTeam
Sports Photographs If parents take photographs at school events/sports fixtures we would love to see them! They may even get used in school newsletters, on the website and in press releases. Please email them to Michelle Tickle at m.tickle@kirkhamgrammarjnr.co.uk Thank you
Kirkham Grammar Junior School Facebook news is now on the Kirkham Grammar School Facebook page….we hope this will make the ‘whole school news’ easier to follow! Please visit and ‘LIKE’ the KGS page for all the latest news, photographs and information. The Facebook page name is ‘Kirkham Grammar School’ and can be easily identified from our KGS logo above.
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Please follow us on Twitter for the latest news at Please could we kindly ask parents/carers not to park on Drapers KGJS!
the yellow lines within the school car park and keep these twitter.com/kgjs_ Colborne clear at all times in case of an emergency. Thank you
Clifton
I2 had a wonderful treat on Wednesday to celebrate the end of our Science topic, ‘On Safari’. We had lots of interesting visitors into school including a gecko called Dave, a Burmese python called Bo, some hissing cockroaches and a Tigu lizard called Jenny. There was also a scorpion and a tortoise. Ranger Rob amazed us with his knowledge of the different animals and his obvious passion for these creatures. He had many stories to tell us about his adventures with snakes and crocodiles, including his work at the zoo. The children were enthralled and had the opportunity to handle lots of the animals. The snake was a particularly memorable moment for teachers and pupils alike! Mrs Aldeen & Miss Kitt
More photographs on our KGJS Flickr page
Auditions for Aladdin take place on Wednesday 22 June for J3 and Thursday 23 June for J1 and J2. All the children have been given the information if they would like to audition. Thank you Mrs Shuttleworth
On Wednesday 15 June, the J2 children enjoyed an exciting trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. They set off bright and early and arrived feeling enthusiastic. The children enjoyed looking at a range of vehicles from periods of history, finding out about war planes and the development of cars. They then experienced an explosions workshop where they had to be explosives detectives and solve a crime from 100 years ago, looking at evidence and observing different kinds of explosions. The 4D theatre was enjoyed by all, as we accompanied Neil Armstrong on his trip to the moon and felt all of the movements and effects that would be felt on-board a rocket. Following this they found out about the history of steam engines and how the modern train was developed and then we had time to enjoy the experiment room. The day came to an end with a visit to the gift shop before returning to school. A wonderfully busy and productive day!
More photographs on our KGJS Flickr page
On Thursday 16 June, Kirkham travelled to Stanley Park in Blackpool for the annual AJIS Athletics Championships. Competition is always very tough with 23 schools from throughout the North West taking part. There were four different age group categories, U11 Boys, U11 Girls, U10 Boys and U10 Girls. By the end of five hours fierce competition we had achieved the following results; GOLD U11 Boys 600 metres—Archie Dowds U11 Boys Long Jump—Archie Dowds U11 Girls Long Jump—Hattie Madden U11 Boys 4 X 100 metres relay—Aiden Hayward, Archie Dowds, Freddie Tarrant and Ben Wiggins in a NEW RECORD TIME! SILVER U11 Girls 4 X 100 metres relay—Anya Baxter, Bo Madden, Talia Armstead and Hattie Madden U11 Boys 150 metres— Freddie Tarrant U11 Girls Hurdles—Bo Madden U10 Boys Hurdles—Austin Clutterbuck U10 Boys 150 metres—Alexander Kane BRONZE More photographs on our U11 Boys Hurdles—Thomas Shuttleworth KGJS Flickr page U11 Girls High Jump—Talia Armstead U10 Boys 600 metres—Alex Maude U10 Boys 4 X 100 metres relay—Alexander Kane, Alex Maude, Austin Clutterbuck and Owain Heathcote-Jones These are fantastic performances and everyone should be very proud of their performances, even if they did not win a medal. Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who braved the wet weather to offer their support.
Over the last few terms throughout the Infant classes, the children have been working hard in all their lessons. We wanted to celebrate each and every child’s achievements and together we have created a wonderful display showcasing our Literacy work. We hope that you enjoy reading their stories, diaries and reports, along with sharing some of their art work linked to this. We are very proud of all our children for their hard work and determination – well done everyone!
On Wednesday 15 June, KGJS U11 girls took part in the AJIS Rounders Tournament. The results were as follows; v Birkenhead won 9½-2½ v St Bedes won 4½-2½ Quarter Final v AKS won 5-3 Semi Final v Manchester High won 7-2 Final v Kings School, Macclesfield drew 4-4 Congratulations to all girls as this is the first time we have won this competition to be crowned AJIS Rounders Champions. The final was a draw with Kings Macclesfield therefore we will share the trophy. Thank you to AKS for hosting the tournament and to all the parents and grandparents who came along to support!
JUNE Saturday 18 June—Pre-School Sports Day, 10am Monday 20 June—J4 Enterprise Week begins Thursday 23 June—U11 Rounders v St Pius (A), 3pm Friday 24 June—Percussion Showcase, Junior School Hall, 2.45pm for 3pm Mums v Girls Rounders Match, Junior School, 4pm-5pm Saturday 25 June—FKGS Summer Ball, 7pm Sunday 26 June—Summer Music Festival, 1.00pm—4.30pm Tuesday 28 June—Junior Sports Day Practice, 9am-12 noon Wednesday 29 June—I2 & I3 Trip to Tatton Park Thursday 30 June—Pre-School Transition Meeting for Parents, 4pm-6pm JULY Friday 1 July—Prizegiving, 1.30pm, MPH Tuesday 5 July—Junior Sports Day, 12.50pm-3.30pm Thursday 7 July— Junior Coffee Concert, Junior School Hall, 9am Infant Sports Day, 1.30pm-3.30pm Friday 8 July—End of Term, 12 noon (no Late Room but Pre-School remains open) New Term begins Tuesday 6 September
On Tuesday 14 June, Kirkham hosted AKS for our annual U11 Athletics match. The match is always good preparation for the AJIS Athletics Championships. A full range of track events took place with some very exciting races with victories shared by both schools. A break in track events saw the field events take place and once again there were some fantastic performances by both schools. The relays completed the match and home advantage helped Kirkham secure victory in the boys and girls competition. Mr Oddie and Miss Baxter would like to thank Miss Cooper, Mr Butterworth and Mr Roberts for their help on the night and for the previous two fixtures this season. The final scores were as follows: U11 Boys Kirkham 85 AKS 69 U11 Girls Kirkham 93 AKS 61 Well done to all who took part and to the parents and grandparents who came along to support.
It all began when three colourful eggs appeared in our playground and, after a few days, they hatched. We could not believe our eyes!!!! Three aliens came out and we were just amazed when we heard they had decided to stay with us. We gave them names and decided to learn their language. This is how we came up with the idea of doing a show about aliens. We have not only been getting ready for our Summer Production, we managed to get all the Pre-School Parents involved and‌wait to see the family creations that have landed in Pre-School. We have become aliens, astronauts and Moon dancers and will be accompanied by some amazing aliens, too. Our topic on Aliens led us to talk about Super powers and so we decided to choose Superheroes as our next topic. This is how our Literacy lessons became exciting times to think and discuss the type of hero we were going to become. Super Broccoli, Super Apple, Super Pony Flower Girl, Super Biscuit and Super Crispy were some of the superheroes who made their own costumes ready to use their powers to save the world.
Last week the J4 pupils enjoyed a spectacular week at Manor Adventure, Abernant Lake Hotel Residential Camp. All the pupils and accompanying staff took part in a vast range of activities ranging from zip-wire to archery, climbing to stand-up paddle boarding, assault course to crate stacking, plus many more. All of the activities provided challenge and required lots of team work and cooperation. Enjoyment was always a primary objective and there was lots of laughter and smiles throughout the week with many memorable experiences. Throughout the week we were blessed with tremendous weather - that was until a couple of hours before we prepared for our overnight camping trip! However, in true Kirkham fashion, we did not let a little rain hold us back. With camp games, a fire and even a talent show, the damp weather was hardly noticed, although the rain did stop by the time we were heading to the tents for a night under canvas. Well done to all those who took part and made the week such a memorable occasion for all involved.
More photographs on our KGJS Flickr page