End of Spring Term 2015 Newsletter

NEWSLETTER
End of the Spring Term 2015
Dear Parents,
Friday, March 27th 2015
The Spring Term draws to a close after another bustling and exciting programme
of events, both in the classroom and outside. The visit by author, Annabel
Claridge, who shared her experiences with the pupils of life as a writer and a
researcher of historical figures, served as the perfect introduction to World Book
Day later that week when pupils arrived in school dressed as their favourite book
character.
In its 18th year, World Book Day celebrates an enjoyment of reading and it was
indeed a delight to see marvellous costumes on show, for example, the likes of
Little Red Riding, a very suave 007, some
Harry Potters, Alice in Wonderland and a
group of ‘Men in Black’. From princesses to monsters and ‘Where’s
Wally?’ to Superman, a great deal of fun and book-sharing was had
by all.
The Spring Term also marks the season for Speech and Elocution
examinations and we were delighted to hear of early successes at the
Dudley Festival by Arjun Sekhon, in Year 6 who was awarded the
Solari Rose Bowl for his performance of the poem ‘Babies are
Boring’ and Raeanne Davidson, also in Year 6 who gained a Merit.
Many congratulations to them both and good luck to all our other
participants this weekend.
Year Two have enjoyed listening to stories about miracles told by
Joshua Chinnaiyan’s father and we are grateful to him for sharing his
time with us.
Our Mother’s Day event this year was themed to raise funds for the
Birmingham Children’s Hospital who are linking up with the ‘Big Hoot’ event which will arrive in Birmingham over the summer and see oversized owl sculptures on display around the city as part of its fund-raising
programme. We were delighted to welcome so many mothers into school to make owl masks and bracelets
and share in some refreshments—a very exciting event for all the children.
Well done to Year 6 who put together a project on ‘Endangered Animals’
for the Go-Givers presentation at Newman University. Mrs Stone was
impressed by their confident delivery.
The Spring Term Concert proved to be highly successful with pupils from
Choir as well as piano, violin, recorder and guitar groups taking part,
totalling over 50 children, from Reception to Year 6. Pupils in Year 5 and
6 took an active part in welcoming visitors, handing out programmes, presenting gifts as well as acting as
narrators during the event and carried out their responsibilities with maturity and confidence. So too our
performers who managed to conceal any sign of nerves from their audience and executed their pieces with
poise and skill. Our thanks go to Mrs Lowe and the team of peripatetic teachers, Miss Dodd and Miss
Webster, for organising this enjoyable musical event.
School Uniform :
Pupils may return to school for the start of the Summer Term in their Summer uniform. Please refer to
the uniform list in your copy of the Parents’ Handbook for full detail. All girls require a summer hat
complete with hat band and badge, while the boys continue to wear their caps. Blazers are required by all
pupils. Girls may wear ankle or knee length white socks, but no tights please. All items of uniform are
available from Early Years who will deliver ordered and paid for goods to school every Wednesday.
Shorts should be worn by all boys in Transition to Year 4, but are optional for boys in Years 5 and 6.
The shorts may be purchased from any uniform supplier, but should be traditional in style and not the
style that have large external pockets. Please ask for advice from the School office if you are unsure of the
style required or have any questions. All boys should wear short sleeved shirts. Please note that all pupils
should be wearing full Summer uniform by Wednesday, 29th April when the class photographs are taken.
Please do make use of Twitter on @NorfolkHSchool or look at the feed via the school website to keep up
to date on what is happening in school and the latest photographs of events and outings.
After-School Clubs :
Our after-school clubs programme is growing! Next term, we are introducing a Spanish Club for Years 2,
3 and 4 offered by Mrs Grocutt and two Computer Clubs run by ComputerXplorers, in Game Design for
Years 1-3 and App Design for Years 4-6. Mrs Wallace and Miss Szalasna have also introduced an exciting
new range of activities into After School Club such as Play Doh, memory games and problem-solving
activities to keep pupils entertained and challenged once their homework tasks are finished. More news
will follow at the start of next term about further exciting activiities to be introduced from September.
Challinor Scholarship (for pupils currently in Year 4)
This year, the Challinor Scholarship examinations will take place during School Assessment Week,
starting on Monday, 11th May. The scholarship, which is awarded to one pupil on academic merit and
offers a £200 termly discount in fees throughout the last two years of education in Years 5 and 6, is based
upon the results of an internal assessment in Mathematics, English (creative writing and comprehension)
and Verbal Reasoning.
Parking :
A polite reminder is given to ask parents to accompany their sons and daughters up to the school drive
rather than let them out of cars from the zig zag lines as this is key to their safety. Please could we also
remind you that the Nursery car park is for the use of Nursery parents only.
After School Club
Please note that After School Club finishes when the school closes each day at 5:30pm. If you are running
late for collection, please telephone the school and note that a charge of £1:00 per minute will be levied
after 5:30pm. We thank you for your support in this.
Please keep free Saturday, 9th May as it is our next Open Day event—more details to follow next term.
New Appointments
There are exciting times ahead at Norfolk House School as we prepare to welcome Mr Morgans, our new
Deputy Head (Pastoral) to Year 5, working alongside Mrs Kenney for the start of the Summer Term.
Please remember that there is an opportunity to meet both him and Mr Thompson, the Deputy Head
(Academic) who will join us in September, on Thursday, 16th April at 2:45pm in the School Hall for all
parents of pupils in the current Years 4 and 5 or on Friday, 17th April at the same time for any other
parents wishing to meet the new staff. We look forward to seeing you there!
I am also pleased to announce that Miss Gill will be joining the School as the new Year 2 teacher in
September. Having taught for five years in the independent preparatory sector and teaching a Year 2 class
currently, Miss Gill brings experience, enthusiasm and high standards for learning. We are very much
looking forward to her joining us and details of opportunities to meet her will follow next term.
Mr Storey will be leaving the school at the end of July to take up a new teaching appointment and we wish
him success and happiness in his new role. I am pleased to report that Mrs Kristal will be joining the
School in September to teach Year 3. Mrs Kristal brings 15 years’ experience of teaching Years 1 to 3 and
is currently teaching a Year 3 class, where she prides herself upon providing challenging and stimulating
activities for the pupils in her care. I very much look forward to introducing you to her next term.
These exciting developments within school will allow the opportunity for Mrs Stone to concentrate upon
using her experience and specialism in the teaching of Art, Design Technology and French to different year
groups across the school from September and we are already looking forward to seeing some of the new art
projects planned.
In our Celebration Assembly today, the following pupils were congratulated for their hard work, high levels
of effort and overall improvement :
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Sukhmani Kaur
Rayan Latif
Kanye Smith
Daniel Martin
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
George William
Tripat Assi
Kurun Kaushal
The Spring Term Painting Competition has led to experimentation by the pupils in a wide range of styles
and techniques and produced some fine examples of art work. The winning pieces will be on display in
school at the start of next term. Hearty congratulations go to the following pupils for their winning entries :
Transition
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Kaide Ebanks
Gurtej Hunjan
Raafey Huda
Jai Dhillon
Sarjan Hujan
Omeir Shaheed
Daya Paul
Anna Martin
- " Cat"
- " Fishes"
- " Goldfish"
- " William Morris Wallpaper"
- " Constable Landscape"
- " Mythical Bird"
- " Aborigine X-ray Painting of a Dolphin"
- "Remembrance Poppies"
Warwick House were once again winners of the House Points Award, having
collected the most this term. Across the school, individual pupils who
collected the most House points for the Spring Term were awarded a gift card
in the assembly, so very well done to :
Reception:Neil Nair
Year 1: Amrit Sivia
Year 2: Oscar Fisher
Year 3: Sunil Chand
Year 4 : Kiran Abram
Year 5 : Jaya Hujan
Year 6 : Raeanne Davidson
Congratulations also go to Jia Avasthi and Raeanne Davidson in Year 6 for a Headmistress’ Send Up
further to an excellent piece of independent research on the partial solar eclipse. A Headmistress’ Send Up
also goes to Amar Sangha in Year 5 for an excellent ICT project. Well done to all of them!
Further to some excellent examples of pupils’ work received for the Independent Learning Project in
December, I take pleasure in announcing a new Project based around the ‘Colour Red’. Letters to explain
the project were issued last week and I am already looking forward to seeing the pupils’ creative ideas.
Thank you to all of you who take part. May I wish you an enjoyable and relaxing Spring break and we look
forward to welcoming pupils back to school on Wednesday, 15th April.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Sarah Morris—Headmistress