Daneshill Diary 23/10/15

Headmaster’s Notes

Half-term is here already but I am sure that many of the pupils are exhausted and looking forward to some extended holiday time. Experienced parents will know that the second half of the Michaelmas term is always the most intense.

I would like to take this opportunity to flag the deteriorating state of the lanes surrounding the school with the combination of autumn leaves and wet weather leading to treacherous driving conditions. With the clocks going back this weekend it will also be noticeably darker at pick up times so it is particularly important to be aware of the movement of children in and around the car park area. Young children are not always alert to the potential dangers of vehicles so we ask parents to be particularly vigilant on their behalf.

The eagerly anticipated Firework evening at Daneshill is on Friday 6th November and it is not too late to purchase your tickets from the School office for this exciting event.

I look forward to seeing you the other side of half-term.

Mr Spencer

News from the Pre-Prep

Reception went on a welly walk on Thursday. We went into the woodland area and went on an Autumn hunt. We collected the autumn leaves and little twigs. We then read the story of Percy the Park Keeper’s Treasure Hunt. We were amazed that Percy had come to Daneshill School and left us a treasure trail. We followed the clues to find chocolate treasure. Later we went and built little homes for Percy’s friends the owl, the rabbit, the badger, the squirrel, the fox, and the hedgehog. What fun!

The Big Bad Wolf came to visit Year 1 for their Science lesson this week as he was looking for the Three Little Pigs. The children outsmarted him by using their scientific knowledge on materials to build them a strong and safe house to shelter in. Through this activity the children learnt about making predictions and recording their results. It was a joy to see them engaged in their learning and applying what they had learnt in previous science lessons. We have been very impressed with the children’s ability to count in 10’s and will be extending them further next half term as we move on to the 2 and 5 times tables.

The Year 2 children have risen to the challenge of doing Maths homework this term. This prep has found them investigating symmetry, 2 D shape and number bonds. At half-term the children will be giving their parents a number quiz whereby they have to guess a number by asking questions. This will be reinforcing mathematical terminology that they have been introduced to through the new Abacus Maths Scheme.

May we take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and restful half-term holiday. We look forward to seeing you back here on Wednesday 4th November.

Pre-Prep Teachers

Nursery Corner

The children have all been making necklaces this week as part of our ‘n’ sound reinforcement. They are now more familiar with the songs we sing relating to each sound are joining in with increased accuracy and gusto! We also support their learning with actions as well as rhymes which they have used to help them when forming the written sounds. Another link with the ‘n’ sound allowed the children to catch fish with our ‘net’ which was great fun, if a little messy and wet, as they had to hunt through the bubbles to find the fish that were hiding!
Our ‘Room on the Broom’ display is complete and the children certainly continue to enjoy re-enacting the story with this week’s line of choice being “Buzz off – that’s my witch” which has caused such excitement!

We hope you all have a fantastic break over half term and see you on return.

Pre-Prep Teachers

Sports News

Another good week of fixtures for the U.11 and U.10 netball girls in their fixtures against Dolphin on Wednesday.

Whilst one of their assets is speed of play, the U.10 A team recognised that the long, fast ball was not necessarily working during the first quarter of their game and adapted their game perfectly taking this into account. Instead they selected shorter, more direct passes which carried the ball calmly to the shooters hands, demonstrating good decision making.

The U.10 B team were my ‘team of the week’ as it was the best I have seen them play all season. Their attacking drives were well timed and the girls created space all the way down court. I was incredibly impressed with their self-discipline as they made very few errors and their ball handling skills have shown lots of improvement. It was a lovely game to watch.

The U.11’s also played well making lots of interceptions and defending the ball well. The A team maintained the majority of possession throughout the match and once they had settled into their flow, they dominated Dolphin in attack.

The U.8’s and U.9 netball teams also had some great fixtures against Dolphin and The Marist last Friday. The U.9’s played incredibly well and gave a really gutsy performance, with some exceptional movement and team work. The U.8’s played very well too and although only early in their netball ‘careers’ the girls are picking up the skills and tactics brilliantly.

On Monday afternoon we welcomed back Helen Murray from English Lacrosse to lead a lacrosse master class for the Year 8 girls. Helen, who plays lacrosse for Bristol and the South West, taught the girls the fundamental skills of the game such as catching, using the stick correctly, and passing accurately. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are really looking forward to learning more about the game in the future.

The Year 3 girls were also fortunate to experience a Netball Masterclass this week, run by local professional Super League team, Surrey Storm. Rhianne McHale joined us to lead a 2 hour netball workshop which covered lots of skills and drills with some game play at the end. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the experience and we will look forward to them transferring their newly acquired skills into their inter-house netball matches this afternoon!

Miss O’Neill