Daneshill Diary 24/11/17
Headmaster’s Notes
It has been a wonderful week in school. Well done to the swim squad who won their third gala of the term and also to the U.9 Hockey team who went undefeated at the Yateley Manor tournament on Thursday. The excitement on the faces of the girls when they returned to school brandishing their medals was quite something to behold. Well done also to Year 6 who have survived their assessment week and seem to have done so without breaking sweat. It is hard to believe that Christmas is almost upon us and school is rapidly being transformed for the festivities to follow. The staging is up ready for the Pre-Prep nativity and I was fortunate enough to see the girls in reception practicing their angel dance. There are two and a half exciting weeks ahead!
Mr Griffiths
Year 6 Sleepover at Natural History Museum
On Saturday 18th November, the Year 6 pupils met at Daneshill in an array of onesies excited for their sleepover at the Natural History Museum. We arrived in London in good time to get our beds (a luxurious word for what we actually slept on) set up and the children were straight in their sleeping bags rolling from one mat to the next with their dino eye masks on, which had been supplied in their goody bags! By 7.30pm, the entirety of team Red T-Rex, our code name for the night, were sat in a theatre being fascinated with incredible and, at times, unbelievable facts on sharks. From the Cookie Cutter shark to the Port Jackson shark to the Megalodon, the children were amazed with the array of facts and fossils displayed.
From there we moved onto the next activity, being paleo artists, designing and creating our own dinosaur t-shirts. The final activity was a torch lit adventure in the dinosaur exhibition with the lights out! It was a fun-filled night and all the children were enthusiastic to take part. I was astonished how willing they were to still put their hands up in a question and answer session at gone eleven o’clock at night! After an anticipated spell of giggling and whispering the children eventually settled into sleep mode!
In the morning we had a wonderful live animal show where a few of our pupils were called upon to hold some of the specimens and I was even lucky enough to hold a live python! The entire trip was a huge success not only because of the impeccable behaviour and enthusiasm from all the Year 6 children but also the staff and parents that accompanied the trip enabling it to run so flawlessly.
Mrs Blomfield
Pre-Prep News
Reception were jumping for joy when they came into school on Monday to discover a superhero den had arrived in their classroom! The children have been busy all week saving the world and capturing baddies! We have enjoyed focusing on learning and writing the letters in our names. The children chose their own vibrant colours to finger paint over their written names and practised saying each sound aloud. It has been wonderful to see the Reception children so enthusiastic about their Christmas play, angels and sheep have been singing and dancing all week and we cannot wait to show our families all our hard work in the weeks to come.
In Year 1 we have been learning all about how to be a good friend. We read ‘The Story of Abraham’ from the Old Testament and discussed the important message behind this story. It was wonderful to listen to the children identify different ways they could be kind to one another. We also put the finishing touches to our pirate adventure stories and have published them in our English books – please do come and take a look!
We have put our chef hats on in Year 2 as we have been learning about what foods make a healthy balanced meal. New vocabulary such as carbohydrates, protein and nutrients were discussed and the teachers were very impressed with how much prior knowledge pupils had around this subject. The children designed healthy meals which they might attempt to cook at home with you this weekend! Bon appetit!
The Pre-Prep Teachers
Sports
Weds 22nd November
FOOTBALL
U.13 A vs. St. George’s D 2 – 2
U.13 B vs. St. George’s L 1 – 2
Colts A vs. St. George’s W 3 – 2
Colts B vs. St. George’s L 4 – 5
Colts C vs. St. George’s D 2 – 2
HOCKEY
U.13 A vs. Cranleigh L 0 – 4
U.13 B vs. Cranleigh W 14 – 0
U.13 C vs. Cranleigh W 4 – 1
U.11 A vs. Cranford House W 4 – 0
U.11 B vs. Cranford House W 8 – 2
U.11 C vs Cranford House W 4 – 3
U.10 A vs. Cranford House W 7 – 4
U.10 B vs. Cranford House W 4 – 2
Thursday 23rd November
HOCKEY
U.9 A vs. Yateley Manor T’ment Won T’ment
Vs The Abbey W 2 – 0
Vs St Neot’s W 2 – 0
Vs Chandlings W 3 – 0
Vs Yateley Manor W 4 – 0
Vs St. Piran’s W 1 – 0
Friday 24th November
FOOTBALL
U.9 A vs. St. George’s W 4 – 3
U.9 B vs. St. George’s W 7 – 0
U.8 A vs. St. George’s L 0 – 2
U.8 B vs. St. George’s W 6 – 0
U.13 A
This was a very satisfying result against the best team we have played all season. The boys showed great work rate and determination to grind out a result against an extremely technically able St. George’s outfit.
We took an early lead thanks to some great pressing from the front players that ended with Joey stealing the ball and scoring.
St. George’s dominated most of the possession but the boys were very organised and disciplined defensively. We conceded from one error and a long range effort and went 2 – 1 down, however we continued to battle. In the final stages a great piece of vision from Harry set Joey up again to equalise and secure a draw.
A great performance from the boys who learned a lot playing against very strong opposition.
Mr Morgan
U.13 B
We all came away from this game scratching our heads as to how we hadn’t won it. Daneshill dominated from start to finish and commandeered the majority of possession in midfield. We had chance after chance but a combination of poor finishing and an inspired performance from the St George’s keeper cost us in the end. All of the boys played exceptionally well but unfortunately St George’s took the two chances that came their way and we didn’t capitalise on ours. Let’s hope we can finish the season next week with the victory we deserve!
Mr Spencer
Colts A
This really was one of the most outstanding team performances that I have ever seen.
Charlie S was calm and secure in goal, making several excellent saves, tipping two shots onto his crossbar from close range. Dominic and Ciaran were brave and assured in defence, intercepting stray passes and standing firm in the face of sustained pressure from the St George’s attackers. Daniel, Ben and Nicholas were tireless in midfield, seemingly winning ever 50/50 scrap, and they quickly recycled possession to start Daneshill’s attacks. And William and Rupert were sharp and dynamic in front of goal, combining both poise and ruthlessness.
The game swung to and fro: St George’s went 1-0 up; then Daneshill equalised, 1-1; Daneshill took the lead, 2-1; St George’s squared it up to make it 2-2 with 5 minutes to play. After such a challenging season, it would have been so easy for the boys to drop their heads, imagine the worst and lack the self-belief needed to score a winning goal. But when William’s Ronaldo-esque free kick rocketed into the bottom corner, the boys knew they had finally got their just reward for all their determination, grit and perseverance.
Well done to every member of the team. You have exemplified everything a coach could wish to see. You have lost, drawn and won with grace, sportsmanship and respect; you have worked relentlessly to improve, both individually and as a team; and you have shown such courage, grit, determination and perseverance in every single game, regardless of the scoreline. Let’s finish the season with another victory next week.
Mr Kinsey
Colts B
In an end to end game, we came out with a very close defeat. We started well; scoring very early before being pegged back 2-1. Three further goals in the first half put us in a strong position but we knew St George’s would come at us strongly in the second half. From the start we were put under intense pressure, with the boys defending heroically as waves of George’s attacks came forward. The pressure eventually told and St George’s pulled one back, and then equalised. The intensity went up another notch and we came forward, coming close to taking the lead again but it wasn’t to be. St George’s won a penalty which was confidently dispatched to give St George’s the lead. We came forward again and again but couldn’t equalise.
The boys never gave up and their defending was at times heroic, with defenders literally throwing themselves at shots to protect their goal. They should be proud of their never-say-die attitude.
Mr Collins
Colts C
The Colts C’s played very well today. At St Georges request we went to 6 a side and each of the boys knew they were going to be playing tough opposition and so they had to be at their best. Before the match we discussed our roles and we were clear on what we wanted to achieve.
We started the better with Monty playing some lovely balls through the midfield and one chance in particular saw Sam one on one with the Goalie. The goalie came out which forced Sam wide and his shot just missed the left hand post. Lots of hustle from Shantanu, Sam and Monty saw pressure on the St George’s goal but we could not score. Ethan saved two good strikes from St George’s and James and Ijoba defended strongly with James in particular reading the play and pressing forward to defend ensuring we were playing mainly in their half. Unfortunately the one chance St George’s had, they took and went 1-0 up at half time.
From the kick off Monty dribbled through the St George’s side to slam one into the back of the net! St Georges hit back straight away and we fought hard again. Sam jumped on the ball as it popped out and dribbled towards the St George’s goal. He was not going to miss this time and as sure as the sun rises, he placed it past the keeper. From here it was end to end stuff as we had the better of the final minutes but could not finish. Jack’s left foot finish across goal was unfortunately saved by the keeper.
This was a great game to watch, end to end and very competitive stuff. It was the first time this season we have been in the cauldron of a very tight game, and the boys loved it!
Mr Baldwin