Daneshill Diary 11/03/16
Headmaster’s Notes
I am genuinely delighted to announce that Harry Hare has been awarded the Academic Scholarship to Wellington College. This is a fantastic achievement for Harry and absolutely well-deserved. Huge congratulations Harry!
Luke Zamoyski-Freitag and Sam Jefferson have also been offered places at Canford School for September 2017 so well done to them too.
Mr Spencer
Subject in the Spotlight News
This week has seen our houses go head to head in two separate debates. The first was held on Monday morning with Blue house up against Green house debating whether zoos are cool or cruel. Both teams put forward strong arguments for their side. The staff were seriously impressed with the competitor’s ability to ask questions of the opposing team and in turn answer the questions from the audience. The victors of this battle by a slim 7 vote majority were Green house who now progress through to the final.
Thursday this week saw Red house and Yellow house do battle with Robot; friend or foe? Outstanding performances again, from both sides enhanced by the Yellow house mascot to cheer them on! Tricky questions were asked and handled by both sides with yet again an impressive participation from the audience highlighting how much all children across the school have engaged with these debates. The winners of this battle were Yellow house who will face Green house in the final week of term. The motion for the final will be announced next week. Congratulations to all the teams who took part and make sure you sew on those debating badges this weekend!
The names of the pupils who made their house teams are listed below:
Blue House
Yr 3 Safi Rougier (replaced by Alfie Esdaile)
Yr 4 Charlie Sturges
Yr 5 Lilias Hoare Nairne
Yr 6 Henrietta Boyle
Yr 7 Hal Gavin
Yr 8 Angus Leech
Green House
Yr 3 Tom Fitzgerald
Yr 4 Jemima Froom
Yr 5 Oscar Petersen
Yr 6 Olivia Froom
Yr 7 Claudia Davies-Jones
Yr 8 Jack Kellard
Red House
Yr 3 Archie Baugh
Yr 4 Flora Calthorpe
Yr 5 Emily Baugh
Yr 6 Oliver Antelme
Yr 7 Isla Rattray
Yr 8 Georgie Brooks-Ward
Yellow House
Yr 3 Cala Marcos Bancroft Cooke
Yr 4 Martha Beeching
Yr 5 Alex Harker
Yr 6 Guy Stevens
Yr 7 Flic Young
Yr 8 Oli Beresford-Davies
Science Spectacular
Year 5 travelled to Wellington College on Thursday to watch an exciting ‘Chemistry spectacular show’. This term the children have been learning about reversible and irreversible reactions so it was the perfect trip to enhance what has already been an exciting term of bunsen burners and chemical reactions. Wellington Science Department took us through a journey in time starting off with hydrogen and how flammable this gas can be when mixed with the correct proportions of oxygen. ‘Coooooooool’ was the resounding word resounding around the auditorium after the first explosion!
From there we moved onto liquid nitrogen where its power to freeze a banana so that it may be used as hammer was plain for all to see. Continuing on, it is was a non-stop tour through carbon dioxide and dry ice to whoosh bottles where vaporised alcohol was ignited and then onto to the use of chemistry in fireworks and light sabres! We took some science home with us in our pockets in the form of hand warmers and left the show buzzing and enthused about the delights we had witnessed.
Science Week
Today marks the start of National Science week. We will be celebrating next week with form time quizzes and a National poster competition of which as a school, we may submit the 10 best posters. For more details please use the weblink on the website:
https://www.britishscienceweek.org/plan-your-activities/poster-competition/
We also hope to launch our Science library which has been possible through the support of the Friends of Daneshill of which we are hugely grateful. We look forward to seeing as many children as possible using the new science books to fuel further inspirational scientists at Daneshill.
Mrs Blomfield
Chess at Daneshill
The recently formed chess team have been particularly busy over the past few weeks having competed in two major chess events.
On Sunday 6th March, Daneshill entered the most prestigious competition in English Chess. Our U.9 team entered the regional zone in Oxford and needed to finish in the top three places to progress onto the semi-final stage. I cannot stress how tough this competition is, as most of the schools that enter have been running a chess club for many years, but for Daneshill it is just their first term! The children performed very well, finishing in 5th place. Daniel Yu managed to win all five of his games; Ciaran won two games including a very notable victory against the winners, Aldro School. Anika, Tom and Caitlin all performed admirably, picking up some points and will have gained valuable experience.
I would like to pass on my ‘thanks’ to the school and parents for supporting these chess events, which will hopefully provide a great foundation for increasing participation in chess at Daneshill.
Mr Pert
News from the Pre-Prep
In Reception it has been an exciting week learning about the farm. Visiting a real working farm was of great educational benefit. Once again the people at the farm commented on how well the Daneshill pupils behave. The children were engaged and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the animals. Whilst we were there, a baby lamb was born and we got to see it take its first steps.
In English the Year 1 pupils transformed themselves into news reporters and had fun interviewing well-known book characters. The children gained an understanding of ‘question words’ such as who, what, when, where, why and how. They looked at question marks and used these correctly in their written work. We discussed the difference between open and closed questions so that the children could gain as much information as possible when quizzing their peers. Be prepared for lots of questioning at home this weekend!
The Year 1 children were introduced to fractions during Maths this week. They learnt about halves and quarters of shapes. We have also been investigating whether numbers are odd or even and the children noticed how odd numbers end in 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, whilst even numbers end in 2, 4, 6, 8 and 0. This understanding helped the children to identify if a 2-digit number was odd or even by looking at the units.
In PSHEE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) over the last couple of weeks in Year 2, we have been looking at, discussing and developing a ‘Growth Mindset’ where we have been encouraging the children to think about a positive attitude to learning and exploring how mistakes can actually help us learn. With focus on changing how we think, going from ‘I am not very good at this’ to ‘How can I improve?’ In assembly this week we talked about Radom Acts of Kindness and how to think of others by remembering to say ‘good morning’ as you walk into the classroom. You could also try smiling, giving someone a compliment or volunteering to help your Mum and Dad. We also read ‘Have you Filled a Bucket Today?’; a guide to daily happiness for children by Carol McCloud, which encourages positive behaviour, as children see how very easy and rewarding it is to express kindness, appreciation and love on a daily basis.
Pre-Prep Teachers
Nursery Corner
We have had another fun week of nursery rhymes and activities here in the Nursery. The children have loved making their Jack and Jill puppets (perfectly timed with the introduction of the ‘j’ sound!) and the 2 Little Dickie Birds and have enjoyed performing their rhymes in front of their friends. We have also been spotting the rhyming words within the stories and making up different endings to create nonsense rhymes which we have all found great fun. Who would have thought that actually Humpty Dumpty managed to get sewn back together and then had a birthday party with Goldilocks and the 3 Bears!
Following on from our Incey Wincey rhyme we did a super activity to work out how many of us liked spiders! So many of us do, as you will have seen from our chart on the wall!
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Beeching
Sporting Fixtures
Wednesday 9th March
HOCKEY
U.13 A vs. Amesbury W 4 – 1
U.13 B vs. Amesbury L 1 – 2
U.11 B vs St. Gabriel’s L 0 – 1
U.10 B vs St. Gabriel’s W 3 – 1
RUGBY
U.13 A vs. St. George’s W 21 – 0
U.13 B vs. St. George’s W 39 – 17
Colts A vs. St. George’s W 20 – 5
Colts B vs. St. George’s L 10 – 20
Colts C vs. St. George’s D 25 – 25
Friday 11th March
NETBALL
U.8 A vs. Bishopsgate W 4-1
U.8 B vs. Bishopsgate L 3 – 9
RUGBY
U.9 vs. St. George’s D 8 – 8
U.8 A vs. St. George’s
U.8 B vs. St. George’s
Wednesday was one of those days where the sheer difficulty in playing in the cold, wet mud was overcome by the feeling of team work, sportsmanship and determination. With all the discussion about the questionable value of rugby in the school sports programme due to its propensity for head injuries, it is worth reading below about the clear values and reward instilled and gained by the need for the collective effort, discipline, technique and determination needed on the rugby pitch. I don’t think that one of the boys playing would have had it any other way!
U13A – Won 21-0
The 1st team had another difficult away trip with difficult conditions to contend with. After a good win in the previous fixture against St Neots, Daneshill started really well from the kick off, knocking St George’s backwards. We almost had the perfect start from a turnover and moved the ball wide, but unfortunately Will Wyatt couldn’t hold onto the final pass where he would have had a walk-in. Nevertheless, Daneshill responded and continued to pile pressure on their opponents and from that, we played phases, kept hold of the ball and Will made up for his earlier mistake, finding a gap to score which he also converted to make it 0-7.
With the conditions deteriorating, mistakes ensued from both sides. In the last five minutes of the first half, Daneshill showed the desire not to concede showing good line speed to affect a try saving tackle. The boys made it hard for themselves by trying to play rugby on their 5metre line but were saved by the forwards who deserve massive credit.
The second half was a similar story with plenty of mistakes from both teams but when Daneshill lost it our rucking, which was dominant through the match, won the ball back. St George’s predominantly kicked their possession away and played into Tom Swart’s hands as he countered superbly on numerous occasions or kicked into space.
In the last ten minutes, Daneshill were still looking very confident and from some great work by the captain in the ruck who then carried strongly, resulting in him getting hurt, the boys kept hold of the ball and Will found himself in space to score his second and converted, 0-14. With Riley having to come off and reshuffle, Daneshill continued their fine display and after a strong carry from Angus, the ball was picked up from the back of the ruck where William Toosey scored in an unorthodox fashion which was also converted by Will Wyatt.
The game ended 21 – 0 to Daneshill with our boys displaying resilient defence and a high work rate. The forwards, as mentioned earlier, deserve massive credit for their part as they were phenomenal at the breakdown and won three scrums against the head. With those conditions, for your forwards to put in a shift and more was fantastic. The backs played well also but it was a day for the forwards. Well Done!
I am looking forward to our next and last game for the 1st team who look to make it three out of three since the loss to Horris Hill and five wins out of seven overall.
Mr Lowe
U13 B – Won 39 – 17
I was really impressed with the positivity with which our depleted side went into this match. Horrible weather coupled with losing two players to illness could have made for a difficult fixture, but the lads went for it right from the off. An exciting first half saw us put four tries past them, with our Captain Jack Kellard converting a very tricky one from near the touch line. We ran well and our passing down the line was exceptional. Two targets for the second half were going hard into contact without slowing and using our shoulders, not our arms to drive over in rucks. Daneshill responded and the second half was more physical than the first, with increased aggression in rucks and some fantastic tries from carries through contact. Special mentions go to Jake McGregor for his agile running and multiple tries, Hal Gavin’s carries, Jack’s positivity and fantastic tackling and Joseph Shippen Davies’ progression in his rucking. A really pleasing and well-deserved win in the rain!!
Mr Champness
U11 A – Won 4 – 1
Big congratulations must go to the U.11A’s who picked up two wins despite the extortionately cold and muddy conditions. One would have expected a scrappy match full of handling errors and one off runners but this was not the case. In the first match St George’s scored from the kick off which suggested a tough day was in store. However, showing the resilience that has become synonymous with the U.11 A’s we bounced back in true Daneshill style. We have added the ‘two passes wide’ mantra to our play over the last three weeks but today we executed it well for the first time. We began to really stretch the opposition. We were going forward with purpose, breaking the gain line and ensuring the St George’s defence was on the back foot before going wide. Some lovely hands from Tommy Guy and Lucas Darragh saw Guy Stevens put in space many times. He did not disappoint, displaying his evasive running style through quick feet resulting a two try bag. We won the first match 3-1 and it was to be more of the same in the second. A more determined St George’s side took to the field and despite their freshness and enthusiasm, we grounded them down to win 1-0. Harry Burleton led the way with some crunching tackles and Joey McGregor was phenomenal in both his ball carrying and defensive efforts. We were unlucky not to score one or two more tries and the match finished with Orlando showing some real determination, taking the ball moving forward at first receiver and very nearly powering over the line. I was very pleased for the boys and they should be proud of their efforts.
Mr Baldwin
U.10 A – Lost 0 – 4
U.10 A team played their part in a beautiful war of attrition. The mud churned and the blood boiled as shoulders crunched and faces grimaced. Not a backward step was taken by either side. This was certainly a game for the defence coach. In fact, given the handling conditions, we were better off without the ball as our quick line speed often had St George’s reeling backwards towards their own line. The first quarter was particularly impressive as Daneshill tackled ferociously for almost the entire period before stealing a turnover, working the phases and scoring under the posts. Unfortunately, St George’s had one player who appeared immune to the sticky surface and glided, fleet of foot, over for a brace. Well fought boys! A draw would have been a fairer result.
Mr Webster
U.10 B – Drew 25-25
A great afternoon was had by the U.10 B’s. A gutsy performance from the boys in a cold and wet affair saw them get their just reward. Trailing 3-1 at half-time gave Daneshill the drive to try even harder in the second half. There was some great tackling in defence, which gave the boys the determination to get their hands on the ball. The look in some of the boys’ eyes at the break meant we were up for this game. Accurate passing and retention of ball was key and eventually saw us pull-off a last minute try. I counted nearly a dozen passes to score the equalizer. There were notable tries from Percy (x2) Cameron (x2) and Robin. Great team effort!
Mr Soper