Daneshill Diary 17/10/14
Headmaster’s Notes
The eagerly awaited science building has made good progress and is now on course to open on Monday 10th November. This will obviously give a considerable impetus to the delivery of science throughout the curriculum. The building programme has not been without difficulties for us all though. Last Friday contractors cut through the water pipes and the electricity mains almost simultaneously. In good Daneshill fashion everyone dealt with the problems without too much panic and we all survived unscathed. We were without telephones and computers for three hours, which was a reminder of how peaceful life used to be with chalk and talk.
Much has happened during the first half of term with the greatest number of football and netball match played against other schools plus our attendance at a number of tournaments that I can remember. I would like to acknowledge the hard work put in by our Chef and his catering department in providing teas for over a hundred pupils on several occasions.
The experienced ones amongst you will know that the second half of the Michaelmas term is always very busy and everyone’s stamina will be tested to the limits.
I hope that you all have an exciting half-term break.
Mr Spencer
History in the Spotlight
History dress up day was a huge success. The excitement on Monday morning was tangible as a huge range of historical figures from almost every field of human endeavour walked into school. Every era was represented and the presentations were both informative and well researched. With each child presenting and being presented too both in their forms and the assembly, they were introduced to at least twenty historical figures that they may not have heard of. We heard about the efforts of Alexander Fleming, Neil Armstrong, Joan of Arc, The Unknown soldier, Charles Darwin, Margaret Thatcher and Florence Nightingale to name but a few. Throughout the day children told me facts and figures about their character and the original aim of ‘lighting a spark so that children may actively engage with and gain an interest in history’ was, I felt, achieved. Thank you for all the support and effort you made in providing the children with their costumes and assisting their research.
The Prep-Prep staff have really encouraged their pupils to engage in history and have made a wonderful timeline of all the children in Pre-Prep. With family histories and family photos being provided it really is a most interesting read and something to behold. The children have been very excited about their family being represented on the walls and it is great to see. Their parade on Dress Up day gave each child the chance to show off their individual costume and on my visits that day I was most impressed with the knowledge each child had about their chosen character.
Next half term there will be some more activities running with the continuation of ‘Daneshill’s hidden stories’ and ‘today in history’. Please keep the family histories coming in as the stories are amazing to read and make the children so proud!
Mr Baldwin
Year 3 Time Travellers
On a sunny October morning, an excited Year 3 embarked on a journey of discovery. Our destination was Highclere Castle (now famous as Downton Abbey), the seat 100 years ago of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon. With his archaeological colleague, Howard Carter, he famously found the Tomb of the Egyptian Boy Pharaoh, Tutankhamun. Today, the 8th Earl and Countess welcome visitors to the Egyptian Exhibition situated in the cellars of the Castle.
The children observed many beautiful artefacts and an intricately painted coffin of a noble woman from 3,500 years ago. In the Discovery Gallery, the children were then very surprised by the life-size wax models of Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter!
The highlight of the trip was the recreation of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. An audible gasp of ‘Wow!’ was heard as children used their ‘candles to peer through the darkness at the ‘wonderful things’ found after fifteen long years of searching.
Year 3 Teachers
News from the Pre-Prep
What a wonderful and fascinating day the Pre-Prep children had on Monday when they had the opportunity to dress up in the most spectacular costumes, as a famous man or woman from the past. Well done to the Mummy’s and Daddy’s for their great imaginations and helping the children with their outfits. The children all arrived with some really interesting facts about their character from the past and they were happy to share their information with their year groups. The highlight of the day was the parade of costumes in the Pre-Prep corridors in the afternoon, sadly this had to take place inside thanks to the weather.
It has been fantastic for all the staff to have the chance to properlymeet the parents of the children in their class, giving them the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress and how they have settled into the new academic year – where have the last 6 weeks gone?!
May we wish you all a happy and restful half-term holiday; to return to school with fully charged batteries ready for an action packed second half of the term that involves the excitement of a Christmas Play!
Miss Bull
Nursery Corner
We have had a fantastic week in the Nursery enjoying the changing seasons and how helpful the weather has been in giving us such a variety this week! From wind to rain and back to glorious sunshine – perfect! We have taken advantage of the wet times to allow the children to enjoy that truly fabulous experience of jumping in puddles and on those calmer weather moments we have been out collecting the most amazing array of colourful leaves that are on offer around the school grounds. It really is a magical time.
We have continued with our sounds and have introduced ‘n’ this week. This means we have now covered the first 6 sounds in the Jolly Phonics Scheme. With half-term ahead I’m sure the children would enjoy picking out those they recognise in their home books and on signs and posters when you are out and about – do encourage them to do so, they really are doing so well.
As with any half-term break it is an important mid-point in the term to allow the batteries to recharge, so we hope that you all have a relaxing and enjoyable time and we look forward to seeing you on return.
Mrs Beeching
Sporting Fixtures
Weekly Sports Reports
The U.10 and U.13 squads had fixtures against Dolphin School on Wednesday. The U.13 A team started strongly and took the lead, scoring 5 goals in the first quarter, whilst denying the opposition the opportunity to have any shots on target. In the second quarter the Dolphin girls stepped up their game, tightening the score to just one goal difference. Daneshill dug deep and pulled together as a squad, holding onto their lead until the final whistle, eventually winning the game by one goal.
The B team had a tough start to their game and found themselves three goals down after the first quarter. After some successful tactical changes, they had a good second quarter and levelled the score at half time. Our shooters scored some great goals in the third quarter as the team maintained their discipline on court and played cautiously in the wet weather. Daneshill finished the game one goal up, which was well deserved.
The U.10 A team had a close game with Dolphin which was goal for goal from the start. The girls knew they had to work hard to keep their lead and despite the wet weather, they made every pass count, eventually winning the game 4-3.
The U.10 girls also played in a netball tournament at Luckley House School on Thursday. There were seven schools in attendance and we played each school in 8 minute matches in a round robin format. The Daneshill girls got off to a good start against The Grey House School, winning the game 6-0 which gave them a great confidence boost. They won the next game against Highfield B 4-1 but unfortunately lost the game against Highfield A 1-4. We drew the next two matches against Rupert House and Bishopsgate 1-1, which were two very strong teams so Daneshill did incredibly well. Our last game against Waverley School finished 4-0 to Daneshill and the girls were delighted with their performance. The final results were incredibly close and came down to goal difference. Daneshill came third which was an excellent result, with Bishopsgate (a team we drew with in the earlier rounds) winning the competition overall. A superb result and I am delighted with the progress they are making.
The U.9 and U.8 netballers played in eleven matches last Friday (10th October), against St Andrews and Dolphin. Our seven squads (U9 A & B and U8 A, B, C, D & E) were triumphant in 10 out of 11 games which was a fantastic achievement.
The Year 6 girls took part in a lacrosse master class with friendly fixture on Wednesday alongside St Mary’s School. Mrs Barnes and Mrs Blomfield led the session which was designed to help the girls learn new skills and refine their existing lacrosse skills in a fun and energetic session. The girls had a great afternoon and we received lots of positive feedback from St Mary’s after the session so it’s definitely something we will be looking to repeat in the near future across all year groups.