On The Home Straight
Many Nursery Hands Make Light Work
The Nursery children have started the new half term with bags of energy and enthusiasm. The teachers began the week by giving the children the opportunity to share their own ideas of what they particularly enjoy and want to experience during their last few weeks of Nursery; empowering them to take ownership of their learning. One idea was to go on a ‘bug hunt’ – so off we went! With bug pots, magnifying glasses and binoculars at the ready, the adventurous youngsters set about exploring high and low under logs and on trees. This outdoor adventure provided a fantastic opportunity for discussion; learning new vocabulary and interesting facts. Once back in the classroom, the children used their creative flare to create the most wonderful bug houses, suitably adorned with slides, beds and bug swimming pools. Their imaginative homes really were were such a delight. Almost all of the children mentioned their love of cooking, so it was decided to use the vegetables growing in our very own vegetable patch to make an omelette. Using their gross motor skills, the children drew on all their strength to pull the leeks from the ground and discovered that working collaboratively they were stronger together. They developed further their fine motor skills by chopping and mixing the ingredients before tucking into their delicious omelette.
Rosie Snagge, Nursery Class Teacher
Team Spirit Alive And Well In Reception
Come rain or shine, the outdoor construction blocks are always popular with our enthusiastic young learners in Reception. Whether it’s exciting dinosaur dens, lively musical stages or challenging obstacle courses, the children love working collaboratively while sharing their creative ideas. This week, having created an obstacle course for their peers, an inquisitive group searched for a range of different objects which could be included to extend the route. It was quickly decided that some of their choices were better than others based on their properties, but nothing was discarded before being tested by keen volunteers. Once complete, enthusiastic onlookers were invited to try out the course, displaying resilience when reaching long stretches or wobbly planks. But the little learners weren’t deterred, instead they responded by challenging themselves to speed around the course at a greater pace supported by cheers from their friends. Teamwork was also to the fore as the children worked together on balance and movement during Games with Mrs Oecken before honing their ball skills with a series of throwing, catching and fielding exercises. It seems like team spirit is truly embedded in our Reception cohort.
Georgie Hunter, Head of Reception
Year 1 Go Animal Crackers At Marwell Zoo
As the slogan says: ‘Marwell Zoo, more than just a great day out!’ And it really was for Year 1, who discovered that there was so much to see and do. Watching penguins waddle, meercats peer, tigers stretch and monkeys chase, it truly was a feast for their eyes and their senses. Year took part in two workshops that were incredibly informative; one on the adaptations that animals have made over time to their habitats and one on the classification of animals. As a result, the children learnt a memorable mnemonic to help them remember the classification groups and categorised skulls based on their shape and teeth. This reinforces all the learning they have been doing in Science this year around the topic ‘Animals, Including Humans’. This wonderful first-hand experience really helped to bring a fascinating subject to life.
Kerri Wilkes, Year 1 Class Teacher
Instructions Galore For Industrious Year 2
Year 2 returned to school on Monday in fine fettle and determined to make the most of their last half term as Hedgehogs and Foxes. They will be concentrating on writing instructions until the end of term, so they have been busy following instructions this week to make and create things. Highlights included making jubilee crowns at Forest School, following instructions to become a Roman soldier, learning how to make Roman battle formations (and have a battle), making bird scarers and repurposing plastic bottles as planters. Unfortunately, no photographs exist of the aftermath of the children’s own attempts at writing a set of instructions – apparently, turning your teacher into a toad is not a reversible process and, without opposable thumbs, the poor toad/teachers have struggled to operate the camera!
Sophie Delacombe, Year 2 Class Teacher
Year 3 Set About Ridding Our Oceans Of Plastic
A rather unexpected, unconventional and somewhat eccentric scientist whirled into Year 3 on Wednesday morning, whipping up a whirlwind of wonderful excitement. World-renowned workaholic and reclusive researcher Professor C Lea Nup, whose nickname is ‘Cleanup,’ ventured away from her science laboratories to impart some of her vast knowledge about plastic pollution affecting our rivers, seas and oceans. Quoting her esteemed eco-colleagues, Sir David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg and Boyan Slat, Professor C Lea Nup shared how approximately one thousand polluted rivers were currently creating expansive areas of floating debris in the world’s oceans. The most famous, which is called the North Pacific Garbage Patch, is currently three times the size of France! From turtles confusing plastic bags for jellyfish, sea creatures becoming entangled by abandoned nets and the disastrous consequences of seabirds feeding plastic to their young, the Year 3 pupils were appalled and recognised that things must change. Horrified by the realisation that, if we don’t act now, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans, the children took up the mantle to create their own inventions to help address the growing issue of plastic pollution. Over to you, children!
Shirley Jervis, Year 3 Class Teacher
Year 4 Probe Highfield’s Natural Habitats
Year 4 are busy studying ecology in Science and have been pondering what habitats are and what an organism needs to be successful in its habitat. Armed with their exercise books and pencils, the young explorers made their way around the extensive school grounds to look at all the many and varied habitats we have in our grounds and what kind of animals live there. The pond was their first port of call before the children stopped off at the colourful bee garden which has been created by some of our Year 8 children to help our threatened pollinators. Next stop was the woodpile at the periphery of the sports pitches where numerous creepy crawlies were discovered hiding out, such as spiders, ants and woodlice. The children then headed onto a sandy track in the woods before returning to the lab to collate their findings. Next week, Year 4 will be researching different habitats around the world before finishing with an adaptation project.
Oli Backhouse, Year 4 Science Teacher
Year 5 Consider The Sikh Belief System
This week in TPR, Year 5 have been looking at Sikh beliefs, specifically the belief that there is only one God; that all monotheistic religions believe in the same God but that they follow different paths to that God. 5FT were given the challenge of portraying this idea artistically. They showed fantastic creativity in showing how the paths to God can be so different, with such paths represented by flowers, books, rainbows, hot air balloons and even aeroplanes. It always amazes me to see the hidden creative talents which abound within the class and the imagination that can be shown so brilliantly to understand this religious concept.
Ed Elgood, Year 5 TPR Teacher
Defence Is The Best Form Of Attack For Year 6
The forward defensive has gone out of fashion. It’s negative, you don’t score any runs, it’s boring and, quite frankly, it doesn’t have a place in the modern game – or does it? Well, the U11A girls decided to find out, as they found themselves in a predicament facing the final ball of the day in their entertaining match with Edgeborough. Highfield won the toss and, given the black skies above, captain Jemima G put Edgeborough into bat. The bowling was tidy, the volume loud, the energy tangible, the wickets began to fall and the batting team were restricted to a score of 53. In reply, Highfield batted well, running effectively between the wickets and putting pressure on the fielders. But as the game entered the final three overs, the opposition bowlers found their groove and the scoreboard pressure began to build. With Highfield needing 21 runs off the last three overs, this one was going down to the wire. At this point Ella G decided to take matters into her own hands, hitting consecutive boundaries and putting Highfield into a commanding position. But still the Edgeborough bowlers wouldn’t lie down. So it came down to the final ball of the day with under-pressure Highfield attempting to cling onto a two-run lead with everything they had. Looking for the decisive wicket which would turn the game in her team’s favour, Edgeborough’s opening bowler bore down on Genny H, who stepped confidently towards the ball and executed a text book forward defensive; the ball stopping dead and Highfield hung on for a tremendous win. Perhaps this ‘old-fashioned’ shot still has a place in the modern game after all!
After losing the toss, the U11A boys were asked to bat first by visitors Edgeborough. Ian L and Max F opened the batting, notching a couple of early singles to get the scoreboard moving. As the afternoon unfolded, the boys all made full use of the renowned short boundaries on Macs Field, tallying a decent score of 146 runs by the close of the innings. Theo K retired at 30 while Jack R hit 24 before being dismissed. Chasing 147 to win, Edgeborough were immediately put under pressure as Albie B and Harry J took three wickets between them by the end of the sixth over. With so many good cricketers in the team, the U11s are always spoilt for choice when it comes to bowling, but one constant in the team is Jack R and he certainly didn’t disappoint – taking two wickets in his two-over spell to keep Edgeborough under the cosh. Such was Highfield’s dominance that Edgeborough didn’t reach 50 until the 14th out of the 20 overs. Determined not to be outdone by his peers, Dougie H came on for a bowl in what turned out to be the penultimate over of the match – and what an over it was as he picked up three wickets; first taking a catch off his own bowling before Harry J also took a smart catch to leave Dougie the proud recipient of a triple-wicket maiden which paved the way for Albie to pick up the final wicket and secure a thumping win. This was a solid display from every member of the team, with Gus B earning his first cap with the A team following some excellent batting performances in the B team and Theo K named man of the match for his fine effort with the bat. Well done to all the boys on such a wonderful afternoon of cricket and many thanks to the parents who came to support the team.
Dan Bather & Oliver Hamilton, U11 Cricket Coaches
Year 7 Revel In Latin Revision Ahead Of Exams
On Monday, ahead of their exams, Year 7 grabbed the opportunity of a final lesson of revision in various subjects to consolidate all their hard work over the first half of the Summer Term. For Latin, this involved reviewing learned vocabulary (or vocabulary which was almost there) and ensuring everyone was as confident as possible about how to approach both the challenge of translating a story from the Latin (always a joy) and being ready for the tough grammar questions that follow (less fun but an important element). Here at Highfield, we aim to introduce an element of fun in our learning to complement the strong values of our everyday academic work, so for the Latin exam the final section of the revision period was something a little bit different – for some a high-speed wordsearch around all those case endings they have learnt and for others questions on the myth of Perseus.
Alex Walker, Head of Classics
Year 8 Unfazed By Arrival Of Common Entrance Exams
The challenge that has been looming for the majority of the Year 8 children finally arrived this week – in the form of Common Entrance examinations. These exams are an opportunity for the children to show their best and act as a starting point for the next stage of their academic journey at their chosen senior school. The Theatre and Dance & Drama rooms were transformed into exam halls, a space in which to work through papers in their academic subjects. And throughout this mammoth week, Year 8 have been brilliant. While the majority of our teaching is not based around exams, this term has seen a team effort between tutors, teachers and pupils to put each individual into the strongest position possible for the Common Entrance exams. With revision strategies and the experience of sitting exams practised earlier this year, efforts have been focused on exam technique and refining the skills and knowledge that the children have. Not only have they excelled in their efforts, both in and outside the classroom, but they have supported each other brilliantly throughout the process. The additions of extra revision sessions attended and examples of pupils using their free time for final preparations have shown how keen the children are to leave no stone unturned. This group has impressed us all throughout the week; there has been a calm and collective nature to how Year 8 have carried themselves. They know they have done their very best and will now have a short wait until they receive their results, punctuated by a fun and relaxing trip to Wales. We are hugely proud of them and now look forward to a well-earned Pembrokeshire trip and the forthcoming Year 8 production.
James Figgis, Head of Year 8