Daneshill Diary 12/05/17
Headmaster’s Notes
Any school would pay a hefty premium if we were able to bottle Daneshill’s special ingredient. It would fly off the shelves. It is the children’s unabashed willingness to join in, try new things and apply 100% commitment. This week we have seen our special ingredient flow by the bucket load. The annual Bradfield Restless Prep school triathlon could once again have been mistaken for a Daneshill event such was our participation. Then, last Saturday evening the Daneshill senior dance crew performed a routine for the paying public alongside professional performers. I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone in expressing my admiration for the children’s attitude. It is their humble confidence in their collective abilities which sees them shine on occasions where most would wilt. It’s a mindset which will lead to great future success and is fostered by the dedicated and diligent staff who are so willing to go above and beyond. A huge thank you and congratulations to all involved in this week’s successes.
Mr Webster
Inter House Maths Challenge
On Tuesday every child in Year 2 to Year 8 took part in a five minute long table test during their Maths lesson with the tests adapted to the expected ability of each year group. There were questions from 1 x 1 to 12 x 12 with divisions included for the older children.
All of the pupils did so well and many of them requested to do these tests more often! One child managed to complete 351 correct answers in 5 minutes, have a go yourselves and see what an impressive score that is!!!
The final scores were totalled up for each house and the results were as follows.
First place: Green
Second place: Red
Third place: Blue
Fourth place: Yellow
The weekly Maths challenge will continue to be set to maintain the children’s curiosity in this subject.
Mrs Caratelli
Year 5 trip to Blenheim Palace
Year 5 enjoyed an extremely productive day at Blenheim Palace on Thursday. They were given a tour of the Palace and discovered the magnificent State Rooms, which were greeted with great enthusiasm.
After the tour they spent time sketching designs that they found around the palace in the wall coverings, upholstery and ceilings. They will be using some of these designs in Art and Maths to create an entry for the annual Schools competition that Blenheim Palace always runs.
Before heading back to school we had time to visit the Butterfly House and enjoy a delicious ice cream. A most enjoyable and memorable day was had by all.
Mrs Caratelli
Pre-Prep News
Who could possibly imagine how exciting Arachnids could be! This week our classroom took on the deadly sixty experience, we discussed and learned about spiders and all sorts of interesting creatures. Due to the energy this topic has generated, we will continue next week.
A cheeky little boy named Jack paid a visit into Year 1 on Thursday night whilst we were all at home tucked up in bed. Can you believe that he left us some magical beans; how appropriate considering we are currently studying plants in Science… “It’s like he knows!” exclaimed one very excitable child. We have now planted these beans and are looking forward to the adventures ahead. The children have visions of climbing beanstalks and meeting giants whilst Mrs Beeching and Miss Kearns have got their eyes on that golden egg!
The best moment of the week for Year 2 was undoubtedly our ‘Florence Nightingale Day’ on Monday. What a fantastic and inspiring way to start the week. The children were full of Victorian spirit as they arrived at school in their period costumes, ready to greet Florence herself and work alongside her to bring the learning to life! As Florence taught the children about her friends that she travelled with and hospital life, chants of “Yes mistress” could be heard and they worked incredibly hard to create clay candle holders, pill boxes and broaches. The children even wrote job applications to be cooks, soldiers and nurses; after which they were interviewed by Florence herself! The afternoon was spent living the life of a wounded soldier and becoming nurses to heal injuries and diseases. A buzz of enthusiasm and excitement filled the air as the children got into character and became dedicated members of the Scutari Hospital. It was a truly memorable day that we are certain the children will remember for years to come! We would like to say a big thank you to all our wonderful parent helpers who made the day so special.
The Pre-Prep Teachers
Nursery Corner
It has been busy week in the Nursery. We have enjoyed the sunshine when the clouds have dispersed. We have spent lots of time outside and free flowing. For Forest Thursday we played lots of parachute games and a fun wiggly worm game. We found lots of ‘worms’ and had a competition to find the longest one!
The children have enjoyed the theme ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ with lots of storytelling, painting and making 3D models of beanstalks. We have also been doing lots of measuring. They have found things smaller and bigger than the giant’s foot print and ordered items from the lightest to the heaviest using balancing scales.
Please can I remind parents that we need sun cream, sunhats and waterproof trousers in school, so we are ready for outside learning whatever the weather!
Mrs Pearcey
Sports
Monday 8th May
CRICKET
U.13 Girls vs. St Neot’s W by 32 runs
TENNIS
U.8 and U.9 vs. St Neot’s W 9 – 3
Wednesday 10th May
CRICKET
U.13 vs. Horris Hill L by 50 runs
U.11 A vs. Horris Hill L by 6 Wickets
U.11 B vs. Horris Hill L by 6 Wickets
U.10 vs. Horris Hill W
ROUNDERS
U.13 A vs. Edgeborough L 8.5 – 21.5
U.13 B vs. Edgeborough L 6.5 – 10.5
U.13 C vs. Edgeborough L 5 – 11
U.11 A vs. Edgeborough W 24.5 – 11.5
U.11 B vs. The Abbey L 16.5 – 21.5
U.10 A vs. Edgeborough W 18 – 12.5
U.10 B vs. Edgeborough W 18.5 – 10.5
U.10 C vs. Edgeborough W 18 – 10.5
Friday 12th May
CRICKET
U.9 A vs. Horris Hill
U.9 B vs. Bishopsgate
U.8 A vs. Bishopsgate
U.8 B vs. Bishopsgate
ROUNDERS
U.9 A vs. St. Neot’s
U.9 B vs. St. Neot’s
U.8 vs. St. Neot’s
Reports
U.10 A
Daneshill batted first and got off to a rather slow start; after the first innings we undoubtedly knew we could do better. With superbly tight fielding and good communication the girls certainly showed how to put pressure on the other team. There was tremendous improvement in the second innings, Lily, Claudia and Isla batted particularly well and scored convincing rounders by tactically hitting the ball into empty spaces. With consistent bowling and excellent catches we managed a convincing win. An impressive match with some excellent crowd pleasing catches! Well done girls.
Miss Jones
The U10 B team executed some excellent batting and gutsy runs in their first innings against Edgeborough. The team were guilty of some over throwing and fumbles during their first fielding innings but after a good team talk at half time and a few tactical changes the girls were back on top. Quick work at backstop and accurate bowling by Martha Beeching prevented Edgeborough scoring at second base and some exceptional catches by Freya Leech meant Edgeborough struggled to score. Overall and great finish and a well fought game.
Mrs Cowd
U.13
On Wednesday we were taught a lesson in disciplined, accurate cricket. Horris Hill batted first and played very well on a difficult pitch. Our bowling was not as tight as it needed to be, bowling 18 wides and never really pinning the batsmen down to create pressure. We tried very hard in the field but a lack of execution at times gave them easy runs. A magnificent catch on the boundary for Harry Burleton was a good reminder of what we can do when we get it right. They ended on 138, a good total but not insurmountable if we were able to get off to a good start.
In reply Horris Hill bowled supremely well and the start we needed failed to materialise as, though there were some lovely shots struck, we could not pierce the field and struggled for runs. 3 wides in the whole innings was a good indicator as to how tough they made life for our batsmen. There were not many free deliveries and we really had to work hard for our runs. David Wilson batted very well with a top score of 23 and Archie Beresford Davis struck a fine 16, but it was not enough as we came up short in our run chase. We did very well to get to 75 but it was a case of what could have been in the end as Horris Hill were deserved winners.
Mr Baldwin
U.11 A
Put into bat, the U.11 A were confronted by some outstanding opening bowling. Pacey and unerringly accurate, the Horris Hill pair finished with combined figures of 8 overs for 2 wickets and only 11 runs. At the halfway stage of the innings, the score of only 20 runs for the loss of 3 wickets was a fair illustration of the challenge with which the Daneshill boys were faced.
But some mature and intelligent batting from Oscar – who anchored the innings with a resolute 13 – lay a platform from which the other batsmen could launch an attack. Will S finished with a fantastic 29*, demonstrating great tactical understanding and game management in the way that he timed his innings. With the addition of a few quick-fire boundaries from Alex W and Edward, Daneshill finished their innings on 81-6 – slightly under-par but, considering the standard of the opposition bowling, the inconsistency of the pitch, and the score after 10 overs, this was a brilliant rescue attempt. It was so pleasing to see the boys taking responsibility for their innings, placing a very high price on their wickets.
Some tight bowling, outstanding wicket-keeping from Alex H and a few early wickets gave the boys a glimmer of hope, but there sadly just weren’t quite enough runs on the board. They tried their absolute best and met all the targets that we had set before our innings in the field: to concede less than 10 extras; to create a run-out opportunity, which was duly taken by Alex and Alex; and to take the ‘catch of the season’. Marios’ blinder at gully will certainly take some beating!
Well done and very well fought.
Mr Kinsey