Daneshill Diary 14/10/16
Headmaster’s Notes
It was lovely to see so many of you last Saturday at the Memorial Service. It was a special occasion and Mr Spencer would have rightly felt so proud. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in this poignant, emotional and uplifting service.
There have been plenty of highlights this week along with a great deal of hard work in the classroom. The first half of term is flying by and it is wonderful to see all the children so positive and enthusiastic about school. The Nursery and Reception children are thoroughly enjoying their new outdoor play equipment.
On Monday Mrs Caratelli accompanied some Year 5 and 6 pupils to Lord Wandsworth College where they took part in a competition measuring their ability to understand logic. On Tuesday Year 7 travelled to Battle Abbey on the South Coast to follow up their studies on the Norman Conquest. On Thursday, as part of their Adventure & Leadership programme, a group of Year 7 & 8 pupils were introduced to the world of Motor Racing and Car Mechanics. They all learnt how to change the wheel of a car …. what a useful skill!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Mr Wansey
LWC Logic Cup
Four children from Year 5 and 6 (Percy Zhang, Candy McNair Scott, Ciaran Churcher and Lily Moore) participated in a day of Maths at Lord Wandsworth College on Monday 10th October.
There were sixteen teams attending from schools far and wide. In the morning the children worked as a team and ran around the school grounds following a Maths trail. They had to answer questions on shapes and bearings with lots of deciphering required to work out the mathematically inspired codes. In the afternoon they had a Maths Relay that again involved some challenging questions but the excitement amongst the children was wonderful to see. Well done to the team. A great day was had by all and a good lunch too!
Mrs Caratelli
Pre-Prep News
Dinosaurs are always a favourite subject in Reception! This week we have been learning about carnivores and herbivores. Many of the children have initiated writing independently due to the sheer excitement alone that this topic conjures up. We have been putting dinosaur bones into order by their length and weighing them to find out which one is heaviest and lightest. There are endless possibilities and who knows, we may have a future Palaeontologist in our class!
Our Year 1 writers have been looking at expanding their fabulous sentences by using ‘wow’ words and showed a real understanding of how we use adjectives to add detail to our work. The children demonstrated this knowledge by inventing their own animals and using a selection of ‘wow’ words to describe their creation. One particular favourite was a ‘Zenkey’ which was half zebra and half monkey! Our materials topic continues to engage the children and this week they have been introduced to some new vocabulary – transparent, translucent and opaque. They enjoyed using their finely tuned Pirate skills to go on a hunt around the classroom to gather items which they then categorised according to their properties.
What a week Year 2 have had! In Maths the children were surprised to see crocodiles eating the greatest number when comparing two numbers and the first bronze stickers were given out for super times tables learning. Celtic torcs were created and look just as if they were made in the Iron Age as well as the children threading to create beautifully woven patterns. It has been a delight to see the children challenging themselves and really striving in their work. It has been vital for them to learn how to control and shape our thoughts and mindsets for when we find something a bit harder or feel we are not as good at something. The pupils in Year 2 taught the rest of the Pre-Prep in assembly how important the word ‘yet’ is. If you ever think “I am not very good at this” think “I am not very good at this yet.” The positive steps being taken are visible already; keep up the good work Year 2.
The Pre-Prep Teachers
Sports
Wednesday 12th October
FOOTBALL
Colts A vs. St. Edward’s L 1 – 3
Colts B vs. St. Edward’s W 4 – 1
Colts C vs. St. Edward’s W 10 – 0
Colts D vs. St. Edward’s W 7 – 0
HOCKEY
U.13 A vs. St. Neot’s W 4 – 0
U.11 A vs. Yateley Manor T’ment 3rd
U.11 B vs. St. Neot’s W 1 – 0
U.10 A vs. Bradfield T’ment 2nd
U.10 B vs. St. Neot’s W 8 – 1
U.10 C vs. St. Neot’s L 2 – 4
Thursday 13th October
FOOTBALL
U.13 A vs. St. Neot’s T’ment 3rd Plate
Friday 14th October
FOOTBALL
U.9 A vs. St. Edward’s L 0 – 4
U.9 B vs. St. Edward’s L 0 – 2
U.8 A vs. St. Edward’s W 5 – 0
U.8 B vs. St. Edward’s D 0 – 0
HOCKEY
U.9 A vs. Lambrook L 0 – 1
U.9 B vs. Lambrook L 0 – 8
U.8 A vs. Lambrook W 1 – 0
U.8 B vs. Lambrook D 1 – 1
Reports
U.13s
From the moment the game began the girls looked impressive; organised, fluid and determined. They expertly used the breadth of the pitch to move the ball efficiently up into attack. They displayed superb supporting and linking play from the defence through the midfield and up to attack, which allowed us to score three impressive goals in the first half. St Neot’s came back fighting and on a few occasions we were left open in defence but from out of nowhere one of our girls would sprint their way back to defend with all their might. In the closing minutes of the game a fantastic ball was played out of defence to Felicity Young who proceeded to dribble the ball at least three quarters of the length of the pitch. She then cleverly flicked the ball gently in to the D where Tilly Scott Knight was waiting to finish it off in style. This topped off a tremendous performance showing strength, impressive fitness and a real desire to win. Girls of the game were Felicity Young, Olivia Irby and Scarlett Crawford. India Fulford should also be commended for her superb leadership and dynamic and committed play.
U.11 A
There were two pools with four teams in each pool. Each game was 12 minutes long and Daneshill started off well; beating The Abbey B team 3-0 in their first game. Our second match was against Yateley Manor and with excellent team work we won the match 1-0. The third and final match in the pool was against St Neot’s which disappointedly finished 0-0 after some great attempts from our attackers. Daneshill finished winner of the group and we played in the semi-finals against The Oratory who came second in pool B. It was a tough game and after 12 minutes there was still no score. We had to play another 5 minutes which also resulted in no goals. After a further 5 minutes without goals it all came down to penalty strokes. Saskia Lea and Grace Weedon tried their best but unfortunately we lost 2-0. There were a few unfortunate injuries, but all the girls persevered and can only be congratulated for their excellent play.
U.11 B
This was a gripping game from start to finish. Daneshill were the more dominant side for the majority of the match particularly the second half. I was most impressed by the ability of our girls to move the ball down the pitch into our attacking zone. The support from all players was excellent. The score remained a tense 0-0 for most of the match. Although it wasn’t through lack of trying or through lack of opportunity! Thankfully for our girls, Eliza Esdaile was able to force the ball across the goal line a couple of minutes before the final whistle was blown. The St. Neot’s girls voted Felicity Waldmann the Girl of the Game and Millie Richardson should also be commended for her tenacious attitude and work rate in all areas of the pitch.
U.10s
After a fantastic morning of coaching the girls were looking forward to playing the other nine schools at the Bradfield U.10 Prep Schools’ Hockey Festival. Daneshill got off to a great start comfortably beating Thorngrove 2-0. This was followed by our toughest match of the afternoon when we came up against The Oratory. We continued to attack but unfortunately we forgot to defend too, losing our only match of the afternoon 1-3. We were delighted to beat Yateley Manor 1-0 after drawing with them a couple of weeks ago and had a very exciting, close game against St Andrews, drawing 2 all. Daneshill then had three superb, confident wins against St Pirans, St Neots and Holme Grange with Imogen Dyer converting some excellent goals. Exhausted by now we were quite happy drawing 0-0 with Chandlings, with Katie Lee-Smith keeping the ball out of our defending end, but we needed some more points on the scoreboard. A final scraped 1 – 0 victory against Crosfields moved us back up the table. As the final results were read out in reverse order, and we didn’t hear Daneshill’s name, our excitement grew. We finished in an amazing second place and were awarded silver medals. The girls excelled all afternoon, never giving up, and unquestionably played their best hockey of the term. Yateley Manor won the tournament so we were quite pleased, but frustrated, to have been the only school that had beaten them all afternoon. Well done girls!
With a goal each in the initial 5 minutes, at first glance it was expected to be a close match. However, Daneshill soon dominated possession and began to spread out and use the wings to drive the ball into attack. There were some great passes in the circle which undoubtedly allowed for the successful goals. Girl of the game was awarded to Alice Evans, and a particular mention must go to Sofia Eben Aimine for her steadfast defensive work and confident clearing. These girls have a brilliant team spirit, however they now need to start passing the ball with more conviction. An excellent match though – well done!
Colts A
This really was a game of two halves. We felt as a team we had taken a huge step forward on Sunday at the Bradfield Tournament and wanted to build on this. We started the first half very well and looked the better side. St Edward’s were skilful and physical and though they edged us in the skills stakes, we pressed in defence, were physical throughout and played the better football, passing well and claiming a deserved 1-0 lead at half-time with Harvey slotting a goal from a great ball into the box from Marios. Our defence had been outstanding with James and Barnaby making great decisions and often stealing the ball to set up play up field. Marios, Will and Freddie were dynamic in the midfield, strong on the ball and really impressive in the ‘effort areas’ of transition from attack to defence and vice versa. Oscar was rarely challenged and when he was he made some great saves. The second half was a different story. St Edwards scored fairly quickly, against the run of play, and our heads went down. From there we struggled to play any football as our efforts around the park dipped and we seemed to believe we were destined to lose. We duly did, conceding three goals in the second half and rarely getting out of our half. It was a disappointing end to what had promised to be a very good game. Clearly we need to take a lesson on our mental approach to difficult situations from this match.
Mr Baldwin
Colts B
Daneshill dominated proceedings from the start but we once again looked like we might succumb to the same problem that has been affecting us all season; our ability to put the ball in the back of the net. Having been parked in the opposition half for the majority of the game Arthur Toosey finally opened his account for the season with a nice side footed finish. We continued to be wasteful in front of goal though and paid the ultimate price with St. Edwards equalising with their first attack of the half. Thankfully Edward Terry scored just before half-time to give us a 2 – 1 lead at the break. The second half saw St Edward’s come back into the game with the defence being tested. Cameron Swan and Seth Gavin in goal were up to the challenge though with Cameron making a superb tackle as the last man to keep the score in our favour. Alex Williams scored two goals to take the game away from St. Edwards and in the end we ran in comfortable winners. Well done boys!
Mr Spencer
Colts C
A week’s break for House Football evidently had no detrimental effect on the Colts C, with the boys finishing as 10-0 winners. Following the game, I found myself repeating the exact words from my debrief from the last match against Dolphin School: “the scoreline is pleasing, of course, but the manner and style of the goals was truly outstanding.”
Passages of two-touch football by all outfield players carved up plenty of opportunities, with the midfielders in particular taking full advantage. Ben Kellard seemingly met every cross into the box, finishing with 5 goals overall; Ciaran Churcher rifled home from distance after a smart lay-off from Luca Dharwar; and Nick Legh-Smith put down a marker for possible ‘Goal of the Season’ with his left-footed volley from outside the penalty area. It was also pleasing to see Harrison Cleaver and Daniel Yu fit so seamlessly into the Cs – Daniel marking his debut with a well-taken goal.
While the more defensive members of the side were rarely tested during the game, all the boys must be credited for taking such pride in protecting their own ‘clean sheet’ for the second match running, and for being so humble in their victory.
Mr Kinsey
Colts D
Another great performance from the boys this week. Right from the whistle they looked to pass the ball and run into space. We attacked for most of the game and managed to put away 7 well worked goals. Daniel showed how well he has come on this term and put away 4 goals. There were more goals from Sam and Harry, plus a first of the season for Conal.
We weren’t really tested in defence this week but we did look to keep our structure on the pitch throughout. This week the boys need to focus on decision making and when to pass the ball so it is neither too early nor too late. Well done and keep working hard!
Mr Soper