St. John`s House News Autumn Term 2015 6

AUTUMN TERM - NEWSLETTER NO. 6
Dear Parents
Wednesday 16 December 2015
We are almost at the end of term and the children and staff have all worked extremely hard and are ready for a
break. May I remind you that term finishes at 12 noon tomorrow Thursday 17 December. There has been a lot
happening and I would like to thank all parents for their continued support and encouragement in all we do. It has
been lovely to see every child on stage for their special moment in one of the various Christmas events and I thank
the staff for their enthusiasm and hard work. This final newsletter for 2015 will, hopefully, round off all the term’s
events.
We would like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to Mrs Stainsby, Mr Ganley, Mrs
Smith, Mrs Charlesworth and Mrs Jameson who are leaving us tomorrow to start a new
and exciting stage of their lives. We hope they have a lovely retirement spending lots
of time with family and friends and travelling the world.
CHRISTMAS SCHOOL SHOP
The Christmas School Shop was very busy. Girls enjoyed spending pocket money on Christmas decorations and
Christmas crafts. 6JS were helpful shopkeepers and good at adding up sales and giving change.
ECO-COMMTTEE PLANTING BULBS
The Eco-committee decided to grow bulbs to
brighten up school in the spring. They enjoyed
planting bowls of daffodils and we look forward to
them starting to grow.
POPPY APPEAL
Thank you very much indeed for your donations for the Poppy Appeal. We are delighted to
report that we raised £286.00, this money will help Royal British Legion to continue their
vital welfare and benevolent work.
YEAR 3 and YEAR 4 – Baa…Baa… Bethlehem
Year 3 comments
“I liked doing the star dance on stage.” Edie Lewis
“It’s fun and Christmassy!” Mia Coxan
‘We looked fantastic when we made an angel arch.”
Alice McKinley Smith
“I enjoyed practising the songs with Mrs White.”
Lucia Partridge
“I loved spinning round as a star.” Holly Biggin Wilcox
“I enjoyed putting on my sparkly costume.”
Sophia Hilton
Year 4 comments
“We like the proud ‘baas’!” Isobel Cox and
Vienna Taylor
“The ending brings a smile to our faces.”
Annabel Simpson and Charisse Lim
“As I went onto the stage my legs were trembling with fear.”
Grace Hyett
“I enjoyed walking down the aisle in my
costume.” Megan Rosendale
“I liked being a naughty sheep.” Grace Gooder
“I like the old sheep because she has to wear
glasses and use a walking stick!” Ellie Tingle
YEAR 5 –
Learning to use the Bunsen Burners was very interesting, as we found out about
the different types of flames;
A luminous flame is when you can see the flame all the time but the roaring
flame, you can only see when the lights are out.
By Lucy Smith and Imogen Williams.
Tilly-May Cullen, Khadijah Sarwar and Nadia Shafi have been busy baking buns and held a ‘Bun Sale’ for Year 5.
They raised £57 for Cancer Research UK. Very well done.
YEAR 6 –
We enjoyed designing a
Christmas bauble and
hanging it on the
Christmas tree. We wrote
our own wish for Christmas
on the back of the bauble.
Year 6 girls held a ‘Multi Fit’s Got Talent Show’ at their final club of the Autumn Term.
The girls devised their own dance or gymnastic routines and performed them for each other. All the performances
were fantastic but after a vote Annalise Hutchinson and Alice Browne were chosen
as the winners with their dance routine to ‘Last
Christmas’ by Ariana Grande.
YEAR 5 AND YEAR 6 WAKEFIELD HOSPICE CONCERT
The Year 5 and Year 6 Christmas
concert in Wakefield Cathedral also
included Wakefield Hospice's 'Light
up a Life' service to remember loved
ones and the Christmas tree lights
were switched on in remembrance.
Year 5 and Year 6 retold the
Christmas story in their production of
'One Night in Bethlehem' through
song and drama. Girls in Year 5 were
actors and narrators. It was a
fantastic performance, full of life
capturing the true spirit of Christmas.
There was Christmas music from
Junior School music groups 'Wind in
the Willows' and the Upper Junior
Suzuki violin group. Flautacious, from
WGHS, also played a medley of
Christmas music. The Cathedral
echoed with beautiful music, making it very atmospheric.
The standard of drama and music was excellent and the congregation gave
generously to Wakefield Hospice, a very worthy cause, and £918.11 was
raised.
SPORT
NETBALL – The Year 5 and 6 Netball squads enjoyed an end of term Christmas
tournament. They wore their own sports clothing and festive headwear and
competed in mixed-age teams of santas, fairies, reindeer and snowmen. Matches
were very close but the fairies triumphed after winning 2 games and drawing one
game.
NETBALL TRIALS – Netball trials will be held on Tuesday 5 January at lunchtime for girls in Year 5 and after
school for girls in Year 6. These trials are for selection to the school squad and are for any girl who is currently in
the squad, for any girl who wishes to re-trial or for any girl who would like to trial for the first time. Selection will be
made after careful consideration of each girl’s current ability level and future potential after observing a variety of
specific netball skills and the application of these skills in a game situation.
DANCE – Girls in 5LR and 6JB have recently performed for Miss Roberts and Mrs
Bellhouse. 5LR performed a lively warm up routine to ‘Uptown Funk’ by Bruno Mars
and then a sports themed dance to ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ by UB40. 6JB
performed a Zumba inspired group warm up to ‘Baila Pa Emonciona’ and then trios
routines based on various words which they then translated into movements or
shapes. For this, they used the song ‘Take Me to Church’ by Hozier. All routines were
choreographed by the girls themselves and the performers wore co-ordinated clothes
to complement the dances.
DANCE EVENING – We have recently confirmed the dates for the annual Dance Evening which are as follows:
Rehearsal on Wednesday 13 April, 1.00 - 4.00 pm at QEGS theatre
Rehearsal on Thursday 14 April, 4.00 - 6.30 pm at QEGS theatre
Performances on Monday 18 April and Tuesday 19 April, 7.00 pm start at QEGS Theatre.
Girls in Year 6 will have the opportunity to audition for the Dance Evening and girls in Year 5 will have a Dance
Showcase in which they can perform any work that they have choreographed. Both events will take place in March.
FRENCH –
In French, we watched a French Christmas animated film
called 'L'enfant au grelot'. It was about a boy called Charlie who
had been abandoned in a forest. He is found by a postman and
taken to an orphanage. We won't tell you anymore of the plot,
but it has a happy ending!
We produced a film review, thinking about the characters,
scenery and the music etc.
Joyeux Anniversaire to the following girls.
Suha Rashid
Manya Dhingra
Lucy Watson
Ellie Burrows
Faron Buckley-Anderson
Isabelle Butler
Ava Dunn
Thea Speight
Annalise Hutchinson
Aimee Smith
Eiliyah Pervaiz
Lucia Partridge
Danai Proot
Emily Beasley
Isabella Pye
01 decembre
05 decembre
07 decembre
11 decembre
13 decembre
17 decembre
22 decembre
25 decembre
28 decembre
01 januier
05 januier
07 januier
14 januier
18 januier
19 januier
Jenna Maghaireh
Kate Lawrence
Frances Lonsdale
Molly Dainty
Leah Davis
Grace Hillier
Holly Biggin-Wilcox
Anastasiya Barclay
Amelie Brayshaw
Sophia bulmer
Aarya Shenoy
Khadijah Sarwar
Tia Patel
Zoe Partridge
04 decembre
07 decembre
08 decembre
12 decembre
14 decembre
17 decembre
25 decembre
27 decembre
31 decembre
05 janvier
05 janvier
08 janvier
15 janvier
18 janvier
SPANISH CLUB
In Spanish Club, we have been busy comparing
Christmas and New Year traditions in the UK and in
Spain.
Feliz Navidad!
CHRISTMAS LUNCH
What a wonderful Christmas lunch we had
today. Thank you to everyone who made it
so special.
MUSIC
Under 11 Choir sing with the Skelmanthorpe Male Voice Choir
On Saturday 5 December the Under 11 Choir had their first external
engagement of the year – to feature as guest choir with the
Skelmanthorpe Male Voice Choir in their Christmas Concert at
Wakefield Cathedral. We
were so proud of the girls;
it was a truly splendid
evening with some
fantastic singing. They
sang with real style,
clearly enjoying themselves and conveying that to the audience. Betty
Chamberlain and Manya Dhingra delighted us by singing the first verse
of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ as a duet - what an opportunity to sing
that in the Cathedral, and our two flautists Charlotte Bennett and Yasmin
Kumar accompanied the song ‘Soualle’ beautifully. The concert was in
aid of the Alzheimer’s Society. We are really looking forward to their next concert on 19 December with the
Yorkshire Philharmonic Choir in Unity Hall.
Music successes
In November Leina Tordoff played her violin in the British Suzuki Institute
Graduation Concert at Huddersfield University as well as receiving her
certificate for successfully graduation from Book 1 (she is now on book 3!). It
was a fabulous concert featuring about 125 Suzuki players from all over the
region performing on violin, cello, flute, recorder and piano. Leina also
achieved second place in the Haydn Wood Music Festival where she
competed in the Under 11 class – quite impressive for an 8 year old!
We have also had some super successes on the piano with Katherine Jarvis gaining her Grade 3 with distinction
(achieving a fantastic result of 90%) and Abbey O’Donnell gaining her Step 2 piano with distinction.
Wakefield Youth Training Orchestra
Three of our talented musicians, Amelie Brayshaw (Violin), Charlotte McKinlay (French horn) and Lizzie MacKenzie
(Cello) attend the Wakefield Youth Training Orchestra which is conducted by Mr Meredith and meets on a weekly
basis. Last week the girls were involved in the orchestra’s Christmas Concert at Unity Hall.
Best wishes
Please note that Butterflies in Wakefield has now moved to new
premises – 47 Northgate, Wakefield, which is next door to Jam.
DATES TO NOTE - A list of dates for your diary can be found on our website www.wgsf.org.uk.
I would, however, like to draw your attention to the following forthcoming events during next half term.
Mrs R Edwards
Head of Junior School
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Thursday 17 December – End of Term – 12 NOON
Saturday 19 December – U11 Choir singing with YPC – Unity Works
Tuesday 5 January – Start of Spring Term
Thursday 7 January – Junior Department visit to West Yorkshire Playhouse
Wednesday 13 January – FOSJH Committee Meeting
Thursday 14 January – Year 4 Parents’ Information meeting – Malham
Monday 18 January – Years 5 and 6 taking part in Young Voices, Sheffield
Wednesday 20 January – Year 6 visiting Chantry Chapel
Wednesday 20 January – Junior School Open Morning
FOSJH BLOG
We are very grateful to all parents who have supported FOSJH over the past year. Whether it has been baking buns and
cakes, buying raffle tickets, or simply turning up at events such as Family Fun Day or the May Ball, on behalf of all the
committee we would like to say 'Thankyou'!
With very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Alistair (Chair) and Nicki (Secretary)
PS Please email me if you would like to chat to me about becoming involved in FOSJH in any way :
Everyone in the Junior Department would
like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year.