Daneshill Diary 12/02/16

Headmaster’s Notes

Today we received some fantastic news from Wellington College who announced that Georgia Lea has been awarded a Sport Scholarship. We are immensely proud of Georgia’s achievement and have no doubt that she will take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Well done Georgia!!

On Wednesday I watched our Year 6 pupils perform an evening of poetry and music entitled ‘magic and mystery’. This production highlighted the significant amount of talent that is present in this year group.

When stripped back to a plain black costume worn by the whole cast and a set that was only illuminated by a lighting system for effect, the whole emphasis was on the raw talent of those delivering the poems and songs – and we were not left disappointed! The poetry ranged from the extraordinary ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll to ‘Mafia Cats’ by Roger McGough with the work of twenty three poets covered throughout the evening. Music ranged from Lennon and McCartney to Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice, culminating with the poignant ‘Believe’ by Lin Marsh. It was enchanting and emotional, but above all great fun!

The teamwork of those who had earlier been winning inter-school hockey and rugby fixtures was transferred to the ultimate team game of performance arts. Without a question of a doubt this is an area of our curriculum where we are unbeatable, due in no small part to Mr Soper and Mrs Mannion. Year 6 were exemplary in maintaining the standards we have learnt to expect but never take for granted.

Another great week at Daneshill!

Mr Spencer

‘Maths Times’

On Friday 5th February, six of our Year 5 pupils went along to St Gabriel’s to participate with other children from more than thirty schools in a selection of Maths challenges. The pupils’ tangible excitement was great to behold and they came away mentally exhausted but very satisfied by the whole experience. The results for this week and last week are as follows:

Year 4

Nonagons: Score: 147 (Joint 1st place) 1st out of 37 schools
Hexagons: Score: 137 (Top score 171) 7th out of 35 schools
Rhombus: Score: 116 (Top score 164) 11th out of 35 schools

Year 5

Nonagons: Score: 101 (Top score 141) 9th out of 33 schools
Hexagons: Score: 106 (Top score 129) 7th out of 34 schools
Rhombus: Score: 106 (Top score 138) 13th out of 34 schools

An excellent effort from all of our mathematicians! Well done Harry Aldred, Percy Zhang, Cameron Swan, Emily Baugh, Natalia Ivanov, Candy McNair Scott, Lily Moore, Anika Deb, Freya Green, Daniel Yu, Ciaran Churcher and Sam Arnold.

On Tuesday 23rd February the children will be taking part in a Maths challenge that will test their knowledge of their tables. These times tables tests will take place in the pupils’ Maths lessons so there will be no disruption to the rest of the day. Please can they do some practising over half-term though!!

What excitement this week with the counting of triangles!!! Did you get the right answer?

This week’s challenge is similar to one we had earlier in the term so there should be lots of correct answers in the box.

A lamp and a bulb together cost £32.00. The lamp costs £30.00 more than the bulb. How much does the bulb cost?

News from the Pre-Prep

This week in Reception we have been learning about Chinese New Year. We tried some yummy Chinese food and danced to Chinese music with scarves and ribbons. We made Chinese dragons, which count in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s and made some Chinese lanterns. We had lots of fun in the role play area dressing up and using chopsticks. In the construction area, we built some Chinese temples and waterfalls and rivers for the dragons. We also discussed the similarities and differences between Chinese New Year and other celebrations.

Our Year 1 pirates resurfaced in the classroom this week when asked to produce a treasure map using a grid. The children learnt how to read a coordinate by moving ‘along the corridor’ and ‘up the stairs’. Once they had planned where they wanted to hide the treasure and where various objects would be placed, they were asked to read their map using coordinates.

This week’s maths was taken to a new dimension when exploring both 2D and 3D shapes. Their prior knowledge was developed by introducing new shapes and vocabulary such as edges, vertices and faces. The Year 1 children are beginning to see the pattern between the two times table and doubling. We have also looked at the unit pattern when counting in tens.

Very many congratulations to Year 2 who last Friday took on the responsibility of taking the lead in our Pre-Prep Assembly. The children decided to share the Bible stories that they have been reading from The Lion Bible in class. This term we having being looking at the Miracles that Jesus performed and the children happily acted ‘water into wine’ and ‘calming of the storm’.

The half-term challenge is to see if the children can create a diary of their holiday, remembering a variety of punctuation and a wide range of vocabulary. This week they all excelled themselves in writing diary entries as if they were living in London in 1666 during the Great Fire.

We would like to wish you all a happy and relaxing half-term holiday.

Pre-Prep Teachers

Nursery Corner

It has been another super week in the Nursery. We have been looking at different size objects and working out which is the biggest and which is the smallest and encouraging the children to compare practical items to distribute between Daddy Bear, Mummy Bear and Baby Bear. It is lovely to hear and see their language and logical thinking develop.

We have also introduced the ‘f’ sound – quite a tricky one to master but with the help of our rhyme ‘down the fishy and over his fins’ the children have made excellent attempts in their sounds books. Everyone also had a chance to make a sparkly fish head band – getting the glitter out will always gather a crowd!

Have a fabulous and relaxing half term break.

Mrs Beeching

Sporting Fixtures
Tuesday 9th February
HOCKEY
U.9 A vs. Rupert House W 4 – 0
U.9 B vs. Rupert House W 10 – 0
U.9 C vs. Rupert House W 4 – 0

NETBALL
U.8 A vs. Rupert House W 8 – 2
U.8 B vs. Rupert House L 1 – 5

Wednesday 10th February
HOCKEY
U.13 A vs. Thorngrove L 1 – 3
U.13 B vs. Thorngrove A’s L 0 – 4
U.11 A vs. Dolphin W 1 – 0
U.11 B vs. Dolphin W 1 – 0
U.10 A vs. Thorngrove D 0 – 0
U.10 B vs. Thorngrove A’s L 0 – 3

RUGBY
U.13 A vs. Bishopsgate W 38 – 10
U.13 B vs. Bishopsgate L 5 – 38
Colts A vs. Bishopsgate W 13 – 0
Colts B vs. Bishopsgate L 3 – 6
Colts C vs. Bishopsgate L 1 – 10

Friday 5th February
RUGBY
U.9 vs. Bishopsgate TBC
U.8 A vs. Bishopsgate TBC
U.8 B vs. Bishopsgate TBC

The last week has been really busy for the girls, with various fixtures taking place and two sports being played. Last Friday, the Year 4 girls headed to Dolphin for A and B matches. Both teams came away with victories, the A’s winning 5-0 with goals coming from Katie, Imogen, Jemima, Lola and Lily; whilst the B’s won 4-0 with Anika scoring twice, and Eloise and Octavia also scoring. Meanwhile, the other Year 4s and the Year 3s were hosting various netball fixtures at school.

On Tuesday, the Year 4s had more hockey fixtures to undertake, with lots of excellent play and numerous goals scored. The A team won 4-0, the Bs excelling and running out 10-0 victors, whilst the C team beat the opponents B team 4-0. The reports from the staff at the game told of lots of really good play, teamwork, endeavour and skill, putting into practice all that they have learnt over the term so far. Hopefully they can keep this run of form going after half-term.

On Wednesday, the Year 6’s travelled to Dolphin where the A team deservedly picked up their first win of the season courtesy of a 1-0 victory with the only goal scored by Tilly. All the girls played their part and could have scored more goals, but the important part was to take home the victory. The B’s also won by the same scoreline, after another tight game.

At home, the U.13’s suffered two losses to Thorngrove, with the opposition goalkeeper thwarting the A team on numerous occasions during the 3-1 defeat. The B team were also up against Thorngrove As, and despite the loss, the girls put in a great performance, and deserved a goal. There were also some great saves from Jess who played her first game of the season in goal. Meanwhile, the U.10 A team were held to a tight 0-0 draw, whilst the B team also came up against the opponents A team and suffered a 3-0 reverse. Special mention goes to Candida who played both of the matches in goal, and made numerous saves to keep the match as close as it was, particularly in the B match.

Thanks to all of the staff who have helped out with the fixtures so far this term. Enjoy your break and here’s to more success after half-term.

Mr King

It has been a very good week this week as fixtures against Bishopsgate have demonstrated that we are progressing both in terms of skill and teamwork. The match reports are below.

The 1st XV finally had a game at home on Wednesday afternoon and didn’t disappoint. They proved last week wasn’t a one off and despite scoring less; we played much better rugby.

At the beginning it was very even as both sides shared possession and were getting used to the boggy pitch. After scoring some good tries, the 1st XV took their foot off the gas and allowed Bishopsgate to come back into the game with a score just before half time which made it 19-5. In the second half, Bishopsgate came back with confidence from their last score and a few minutes later added to their score to make it 19-10.

Daneshill then realised Bishopsgate weren’t going to give in and with some great handling and solid defence, Daneshill again extended the gap scoring another try. There was a superior difference in fitness levels and the extra work we have put in was illustrated when Daneshill were first to every breakdown, making some big hits through Riley and getting good turnover ball.

Daneshill managed to score another two tries before the end to finish the game as comfortable 38-10 winners. We showed maturity in this game with the way we responded to conceding two quick tries and making sure we finished with a win on a good performance.

There were some standout performances from Angus who was everywhere all game and picked up two tries. Riley also made some big hits in midfield. The half-backs connection is getting stronger each week with Sami showing brilliant footwork and good decision making.

As a whole, the team should be very proud of their last two performances as we go into half term with high morale. I’m extremely happy with how we have responded from the opening game but there’s still more work to be done.

Mr Lowe

The U.13 B’s had a tough game, losing 38-5, but fought hard to show what the Daneshill spirit can do when right up against it. Having come into the fixture three men down due to illness we were already feeling the pressure. However, the opposition loaned us 4 players from their senior squad and we were able to have an enjoyable game of rugby. 5-man contested scrums, 35 minute halves…the referee put the lads through their paces, and they did very well indeed. Highlights included: Jake’s fantastic agility, avoiding contact while still making significant ground; Jack’s world-class tracking, putting down man after man and holding the defensive line together; Nathan’s powerful hits in the ruck, driving opposition players over with a roar. The lads kept their work rate up until the final whistle, and what could have been a disappointing game due to injury was actually a worthwhile and impactful game of rugby. Targets going forward include keeping the defensive line’s shape and not bunching, and making sure the first man to the ruck drives over hard. All in all a pleasing afternoon’s work. Well done chaps!

Mr Champness

The Colts A really showed what they are made of, coming back from a tough loss last week and ripping into their work from the first whistle, earning a 13-0 win. Bishopsgate are a notoriously hard school to play and we felt if we were to stand a chance we had to make the first tackle, or first carry, count.

They kicked off and chased well; Harry Burleton took the ball into contact, making good metres. It was now crunch time, the first ruck. We got lower than they did, made quicker decisions than they did, and blasted them off the ball, scoring through Thomas from the resulting phase play. It set the tone as we ran in five tries in the first four minutes. Lucas, Harry, Joey and Orlando all crossed the white line through a mixture of individual skill and team work.

Throughout the match we improved upon our speed of clearance from the ruck with Tommy Guy making quick decisions; we were then able to use our pace out wide. The game was tough in that having started so well Bishopsgate were never going to get back into the match so the ref did his best to even up the game, at the request of both coaches. Our boys then showed composure and resilience, even though decisions were continually going against them. All in all it was a great afternoon.

Mr Baldwin

I was proud of the Colt B team last week. I told them they played with hearts the size of rugby balls! I’m pleased to report that their commitment did not diminish against equally strong opposition in the shape of a stocky Bishopsgate squad. The final score of 6 tries to 3 in favour of the visitors did not reflect the flow of the game. In fact, two of Bishopsgate’s tries came from an attempt to play expansive rugby from our own line, an approach which, as a Welshman, I’m aggrieved to discourage. Bishopsgate’s superior size and speed meant they always had the edge but, in the face of this superiority, our boys’ will and desire to win only increased and I was proud to see bodies on the lines and hard tackles being administered. Decision making is now the main collective target for improvement. Knowing when to pass and when to run is an art form lost on many of the English rugby squad but we’re determined that our Colt Bs will continue in the scholarship of the subtleties of this oval ball game.

Mr Webster

The Colts C started really well, clearly trying to put into place what had been taught throughout the week.

Unfortunately we managed to get disgruntled by the opposition as they were a bit bigger and from then on we never really managed to put aggression into our rugby in thinking terms. Oscar Brownfield made about 50% of all tackles and really pressured their runners. Jude showed real promise moving forward and was the first to the ruck on many occasions. Harry Stickland put in some good tackles too. Conal and Cameron kept thinking they could run through the whole team and when they were tackled lacked the ability to retain possession, so this is something to work on for the next game.

Another sizeable loss but a huge improvement from last week.

Mr Soper