Autumn term newsletter 2017

Personal Achievements

Characters from Olobob Top

Veronica Painter, Year 5, has been fortunate enough to be involved in the production of a brand new CBeebies animation aimed at pre-school children called Olobob Top.

Over the past year, she has spent a number of recording sessions to record her voice. It's been an exciting experience for her to be involved in this production and see how the shows have developed. Veronica's character is a cute red squirrel who loves books named Crunch. Sounds just like Veronica!

Olobob Top focuses on creative play, imagination and discovery and shows young children that there is no limit to what they can create. It's on twice daily and we are proud to say that within a few weeks it had the highest viewings of all the CBeebies programmes.

 

A fabulous range of cakes on offer

Macmillan Cancer Care

Year 8, helped by other kind donors, held a cake stall outside on Friday morning and again in the afternoon. 

There was a impressive choice of homemade cakes for eager customers to choose from enabling a grand total of £185.24 to be raised for a deserving cause.

 

 

 

Petworth Victorian Day

On 3rd October, Year 6 went out to Petworth House. We all dressed up in Victorian clothes, the boys dressed up as climbing boys and the girls went in black dresses. It was a 50-minute journey and when we got there I was shocked! It was a huge Victorian house. We were given a tour of the house, I was amazed by all the different rooms. In the dairy room we made butter, it was a fun but a tiny bit of a moist process! In the estate office all the paper and money was stored. We did four different activities: rug cleaning, fire making, shoe polishing and copper cleaning. It was all so interesting and I was sad to leave but I’m definitely going back! Paris Pourani, Year 6

Maths

Maths competitions are now held once a fortnight. The competition entries are on the board by the back door. Everyone is welcome to enter from Years 3 to 8. The questions or problems are accessible to all and marked on the merit of their year group. All successful entries are entered into a prize draw which is selected at Assembly. More children are getting involved week by week: something all of the maths staff team are very excited about. Winners to date: Bea Farr (Year 3), George Armstrong (Year 5), runner-up Nell Wolff (Year 5) and Michael Savage (Year 3).

Friday 20th October is a very exciting day for us. The Year 8s will be attending the TEDx talks held at the Brighton Dome. The TED talks are internationally recognised events and we hope that our eight young men will be inspired by what they experience. We anticipate having some interesting reports after the event! 

Monday 30th October will see the Year 7s venturing out to Shoreham Airport (weather permitting). Mr Gibbs has kindly volunteered his time to accompany the group. Not only will the Year 7s experience the organised tour of the airport, but they will gain 1st hand knowledge from Mr Gibbs about how maths is a part of his job as a pilot. Hopefully this will inspire the children when they return to the classroom to value some of the maths topics such as bearings and speed which they will study this year. Angela Farley

Leisure and Extra-Curricular Activities

Our Lego Club continues to be a great success! This year, Toby Martin (Year 7) leads the drop in club every Thursday breaktime. The Year 3s have the privilege of having Toby, a Master Builder, supervise these sessions with Ms Farley. They either follow instructions to build new models or create their own to show to Mrs Kelly. It’s a lovely, fun, light hearted session where all who participate are very enthusiastic. 

Break times are becoming a hive of activity. Skipping has become a regular feature of the playground. Both boys and girls can be seen joining in either individually or with groups skipping with the big ropes. It’s lovely to watch a variety of children enjoying themselves in this way and improving some of theirskills. I believe Thomas Crane is one of the record holders achieving over 76 consecutive skips on the big rope. Recently the Pre-Prep donated some balls on hoops that are put around the ankle, which have become a big hit too. Angela Farley

The Golden Conker Tournament

It has obviously been a very good year for conkers.

Three weeks into the tournament, hundreds of bashes later and both the Junior and Senior competitions have several Conkeruistadors left bashing each others` conkers with hardly a crack in sight.

I think this could be a long tournament. Watch this space! Mr. Mac

 

 

SAPA – Halloween

Mr and Mrs Kraszewski, with the help of a gallant group of parents, organised a Halloween Party for the Pre Prep on the afternoon of Friday 13th October which was followed by a disco for the Main School.  

An enormous amount of time and effort went into the occasions and an enormous amount of fun and enjoyment was had by all those who attended. We'd like to extend our grateful thanks to all concerned. Patricia Sinclair

 

Colts Soccer

The Colts captained by Ewan Roberts have had a good start to the season with some impressive performances.

At the Lancing College Tournament we reached the Plate semi final. Armstrong who scored three goals and Johnston were Men of the Tournament. At Dorset House the team swept all before them winning both matches they played. A loss followed against Sion but the boys insist: ‘We were robbed of a goal’!

In a stirring match against Great Ballard, honours were shared in a 1-1 draw. Armstrong scored and Kanaparthi was Man of the Match.

At the Seaford Tournament, the boys won a couple of matches and finished second in their division. Gombera was Man of the Tournament for some superb goalkeeping.

Against Lancing Prep Hove, the boys played brilliantly in attack with Man of the Match Gombera netting a hat-trick. Shortcomings in defence resulted in a narrow 4-3 win.

Under 9 Soccer

Against Great Ballard the boys gave 100% and battled on to the end. We lost but I forget by how many.

At the Seaford Tournament, all the boys played in every game and gave 100% effort. They finished 6th of 8 teams. Goal of the Tournament was scored by Turner with a dribble and 20 yard shot. Elliman was Man of the Tournament for numerous great saves in goal. Mr Mac.

Netball

U12 v Shoreham College (A)   7-1 (win) 

Team: Annabel J (C), Poppy, Ava, Ines, Paris, Millie, Annabel O.

Our team was outstanding. Every player knew their role and worked hard to both attack and defend throughout the whole match. We had been working on our short passing drills, getting in front of the player and finding space - also drills tackling the 3 stages of defence. Our girls used all these skills in the match and I was impressed and very proud of their standard of play. At half time (we only played 2 halves) we were 6-0 up. We had a big mix up of positions to give the opposition some leeway for the 2nd half and saw Annabel Owen (Year 5) score a goal against a somewhat taller GK. Girl of the Match: Annabel Johnston.

U11 v Shoreham College (A) 3-1 (win)

Team: Millie (c), Ines, Paris, Annabel O, Oona, Veronica, Nell

This was an interesting match for our girls as it was a new combination. We had set it up as a ‘training game’ as we had no idea how this team would work. The opposition were all Year 6 girls so we had our work cut out for us. Our Year 6 girls were very strong and we had already had Annabel Owen playing up for the U12 team which helped the cohesion. The Year 5 girls had been diligent with their warm up time, practising their shooting and this showed in the match. The Year 5s played with confidence and totally deserved this result. We had far more shots than the opposition and dominated the game which was a great start to the season.  Girl of the Match: Ines Lochrie.

U11 v BHPS (A)  1-7 (loss)

Team: Millie, Ines, Paris (C), Annabel O, Oona, Veronica, Nell, Evie

We played a full match of 4 x 7 mins.

The first quarter saw some great defending and special mention goes to Veronica who worked very hard at GK: she played well and came out with ball several times. (Score 0-1)

The second quarter saw the opposition find their form and had some lovely attacking moves and accurate shooting. Paris, our captain, really came alive, responded to their play and started to intercept and turn the game around for us. This quarter saw Evie (Yr 4) come on the court and her play was outstanding throughout the game. (Score 0-4)

The third quarter showed Annabelle Owen making some excellent space and working hard to move the ball around in our attack. Unfortunately we tended to crowd each other which made it hard to create any flow in our game. That said in this quarter Ines scored our one and only goal … but it was tremendous (the goal of the match!) ... straight in from the edge of the circle. (Score 1-7)

The last quarter was probably the best quarter for us as it was a draw. Throughout the match Millie worked consistently well, with tight marking, lots of interceptions, moving around well to find space with a tough opposition. Her speed, agility and sense of timing and space is to be commended. (Score 1-7)  All the girls played with a positive attitude and we learned a lot from this game.  Girl of the Match: Millie Bryant-Nichols. Positives: Excellent defending from all players.

U12 v Great Ballard U13 (A) 5-11 (loss)

Team: Annabel J, Poppy, Ava, Rosalind (C), Millie, Ines, Paris, Annabel O,

The first quarter was very disappointing. We were not match-ready. Our warm-up had been poor so our passing and catching was very scratchy ... we fumbled nearly every pass. Paris made some good interceptions but we dropped our heads to the point where the opposing umpire told our girls not to give up. Sadly the ball rarely made it into our half of the court as our passing and space on court was very weak. (Score 0-7)

The second quarter we started to find some form. To be fair to our girls, Great Ballard had a couple of very good Year 8 girls on their team, which made it tough but we held our own drawing this quarter and we saw a little bit of form returning. (Score 2-9)

The third quarter showed much more ‘oomph’ from our girls, with some good shooting, especially from Ines. We actually won this quarter, which showed what our girls are capable of when they are focussed. (Score 4-10)

The last quarter we had quite a change around bringing Annabel O back on and putting Rosalind as GK. Again this was an evenly matched quarter. (Final Score 5-11)

The defence girls had a really hard match. Our attitude started off quite poor but improved as the match went on, as was commented on by the spectators and opposition! Girl of the Match: Paris Pourani.  Positives: Good defending and hard work from most players. Some excellent shots.

U12 v BHPS 1st team (A) 4-7 (loss)

Team: Annabel J, Poppy (C), Ava, Millie, Ines, Paris, Annabel O,

This was an exciting and balanced match. Our girls put all our drills into practice and looked like a team ‘ready to do business’ We had a good warm up and this showed in the way we started the match.

1st quarter: We hit BHPS hard and took the lead, which put us in a strong advantage. We had great circle defense from Poppy and Paris. Ava had good positioning for the back line pass which allowed the ball to flow from defence to attack. BHPS were a strong side and had very good moves and they match us. Score 1-1.

2nd quarter:  We continued our strong play. We played with confidence and again took the lead. With the wind it was impressive to see Annabel J and Ines score some great goals. Our play look structured and and there was much more awareness of finding space. Score 2-2

3rd quarter: In this quarter, unfortunately we lost two of our centre passes, which BHPS capitalised on and pulled ahead. The centre pass is something difficult to practice well at school and we will continue to harness our boys to help us improve our tactics here. BHPS had a superb tall and athletic GD which put pressure on us, which was difficult for us to respond to. However, Annabel J followed all coaching tips and did very well to move around her opposition. Score 3-6

4th quarter: Our girls did very well to keep their form. Our centre court, Millie and Annabelle O continued to work tirelessly throughout the match to get the ball down to our shooters. All girls had a strong spirit to the end and again held their own to draw this quarter. Unfortunately, the damage was done in the 3rd quarter, but we ended with our heads held high.  Girl of the Match: Annabel Johnston

U12 v Sion (H)  4 - 4 (draw)

Team: Annabel J, Poppy, Ava(C), Ines, Paris, Millie, Annabel O, Chloe

This was a very balanced match overall.  Sion took a commanding 2-0 lead in the 1st quarter. Their shooters were extremely accurate and capitalised on every opportunity. Playwise the girls were evenly matched. Our defending was excellent, forcing the opposition into holding the ball for more than 3 seconds. We drew level, forged ahead towards the end of the game but Sion came back in the last few minutes to equalise. Millie must be commended for her skill level working to keep the ball moving down the court. We lost our passing at times, and occasionally lost our players, but overall our hard work was evident in the improvements shown. Annabelle Owen is looking stronger and stronger playing up with the older girls; and Chloe, our visitor, played a quarter, and this mini insight looks promising for the future.  Girl of the Match: Paris Pourani.

U11 v Sion (H) 0 - 0 (draw)

Team: Millie, Ines (C), Paris, Annabel O, Oona, Veronica, Nell, Evie, Katie

Again, this was a very even match. We only played two halves but it was very insightful. We are very lucky having our 3 powerful Year 6 girls (Ines, Paris & Millie) being the core of this team, but we also had a lot more effort and skill shown by the younger players today. Annabelle O really showed her athleticism and skill level with improved passing and catching, and the most improved player today was Oona, who was unrecognisable making interceptions and defending very well. We also introduced Evie and Katie from Yr 4 into the squad and they made tremendous contributions to the game. Evie made some great interceptions and although we didn’t get to see Katie shoot, she worked extremely hard to get free for passes. I was very proud of the girls looking more like a team today. Girl of the Match: Ines Lochrie.

All in all it's been a rather good end to the term and good effort all round. Angela Farley

Pre-Prep News

The topic of ‘food, glorious food’ has enabled the children to discover and use the fruits found within the school grounds. Across the whole of the Pre-Prep we have been baking bread, apple pies and apple crumble. The children have been lucky enough to pick their own apples and blackberries and then use them in their baking. A delicious privilege. They have also been able to pick their own playtime healthy tuck with the abundance of apples in the walled garden.

Being thankful for the fruits of harvest time was celebrated during our Harvest Service. It was wonderful to see the children perform with such confidence so early on in the school term. The children sang beautifully and the story of The Enormous Turnip was told with enthusiasm. The service collection went to St. Mary's Church and the food was distributed to families in the local area. Thank you to everyone for your kind donations.

A spectacularly warm October day provided the perfect back-drop for the Pre-Prep’s visit to Home Farm on the Goodwood Estate. Pupils learnt so much about a working farm and where food comes from. Cow milking, butter churning, den building and piglet watching were just some of the highlights whilst soaking up the beautiful Sussex countryside. The children listened attentively and asked some excellent questions to enhance their learning. We thanked the staff at the farm for such an enjoyable day and they commented on the impeccable behaviour of the children. A lovely day all round!

The first half term was rounded off with a spectacular spooky Halloween party organised by SAPA. The children excitedly dressed up and were greeted by the school gym brilliantly transformed into a scary space ready for doughnut eating, dancing, games, hot dogs and lots of fun. A fantastic time was had by all. Thank you to all who helped organise and help. Kirsty Miles

Enjoy the half term even though the weather forecast is not very encouraging! Mrs Sinclair, Principal