Weekly Newsletter No 10 1st July 2016 - … · Beatles medley. The Groove Diggers ... In the second half it was the turn of the school orchestra to ... Blue Coat also batted well

Weekly Newsletter No 10 1st July 2016 Simon Arbuthnott It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our former Headmaster, Simon Arbuthnott on Monday, 27th June. Mr Arbuthnott was Headmaster of Winterfold from 1977 – 1999 and a loyal Governor of the school from 1999 to 2010. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Arbuthnott family at this time.

Year 8 Trip to Burghley House On Thursday Year 8 visited England’s greatest Elizabethan House – Burghley House! This palatial house was built by William Cecil, 1st Lord Burghley and Treasurer to Elizabeth I. Burghley was built to impress and the State Rooms are awe-inspiring. The children had a guided tour, followed by a workshop on Tudor Medicine and this really consolidated all their knowledge and understanding on this period in time which we have been studying. The gardens were landscaped by Capability Brown and there is the most fascinating Sculpture Garden with contemporary sculptures which were truly brilliant. One of the highlights of the day was The Garden of Surprise. This was built as an acknowledgement of William Cecil’s love of gardens. This type of garden has ‘tricks and conceits’ which spray passers-by and which

delighted the children. Year 8 Trip to Worcester Races The Year 8 leavers went on their traditional trip to Worcester Races on Wednesday. Jenny Cheshire, the Executive Director of the course who is also a former Governor of Winterfold, organised another excellent programme of Maths-related activities for us. Our host for the day, John, a former National Hunt jockey took us to see the Stewards’ Office, the Weighing Room and the Jockey’s Changing Room which are all areas normally out of bounds to the general public. After all being weighed on the official scales we were very interested to visit the sauna where the riders try to lose excess weight before the race. John also showed us the equipment used by the jockeys and explained the intricacies of the sport in a very informative way. We were able to watch the first two races of the afternoon before returning to school. Once again, the day out proved to be a very interesting experience for the Year 8 pupils. Year 4 Maths Challenge Day On Tuesday, Miss Humphrey accompanied four of our super Year 4 mathematicians to compete in a Maths Challenge Day at King Edwards School against nine other independent schools. The skills of Emily Bower, Grace Hynes, Benjamin Hewitt and Thomas Hunt were tested in various different activities, where they were pitted against the clock to work out the correct answers and solve puzzles as a team before the children from the other schools. We were then treated to a fun and interactive afternoon with Kjartan Poskitt, author of the Murderous Maths books, who delighted us with the many ways that maths can be made fun and engaging for children of all ages. Emily, Grace, Benjamin and Thomas behaved beautifully and worked commendably as a team, representing the talents of Winterfold superbly. Well done!

Year 4 Trip to Compton Verney Year 4 visited Compton Verney Art Gallery, in Warwickshire, on Wednesday to explore their collection of paintings from Naples, Italy. There were lots of beautiful paintings on display, but we were investigating landscapes in particular. We studied pieces of art depicting Mount Vesuvius, which erupted many times between 1600 – 1900AD, and learnt about how using contrasting colours could make the viewer feel different emotions. After lunch, we used what we had learnt to create our own landscapes of erupting volcanoes, using watercolours, pastels and charcoal. It was a lot of fun and Miss Howarth, Miss Humphrey and Miss Boddy were all very proud of the many vivid and imaginative landscapes that were created! Well done Year 4! Year 3 Trip to Conkers on Monday 4th July Please ensure that children wear tracksuits, trainers and a waterproof jacket for their trip to Conkers on Monday next week. Senior Summer Concert This year’s Summer Concert was a huge success yet again. The theme was Space and Space Travel to celebrate British success in orbit this year. The Brass Group kicked off with a rendition of ‘Aso Sprach Zarathustra’ and Michael Jackson. This was followed by the Wind Band with a couple of groovy renditions of Dr Who and Star Trek. Next came the Off Beats who gave a confident performance of a couple of jazzy numbers. We then had the Senior Choir singing the classic space theme Star Man by David Bowie. This was followed by a group of Year 8 girls who sang a wonderful close harmony version of Defying Gravity from Wicked. The Chamber Choir were up next with a beautiful performance of Stars by Esenvalds and then Look at the World by John Rutter and a Beatles medley. The Groove Diggers finished off the first half with slick renditions of The Final Countdown and Counting Stars. In the second half it was the turn of the school orchestra to really blast out the theme from Star Wars, ‘Mars’ from The Planets Suite and Mission Impossible. Finally, we recreated the last night of Glastonbury with Coldplay’s massive hit Sky Full Of Stars, complete with balloons and full band! Congratulations to all of the children who worked so hard for this concert, especially the younger children who really helped carry the show. Also thanks

to the musicians, helpers and parents for their generous support. It was a great year to what has been another fantastic year of music at the school.

Music News Well done to the string group who played a concert out of school at St Oswald’s Church in Worcester. They performed really well and the event was hugely enjoyed by all. Thanks to all of the parents who supported this event. ABRSM exams take place on Monday and Tuesday – the list is up on the main board in reception. Good luck to all taking exams. Music Treat The annual Music Treat takes place on Wednesday and is for all the children who have made a real effort in the rehearsals running up to the concert. Children should wear home clothes (bring a waterproof coat if rain is forecast) and up to £5.00 spending money. The children are expected back at school at 3.30pm and are then free to go home. Senior Play Last week, children from Year 7 and 8 took part in three performances of this year’s senior play, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. With limited time, all of the children rose to the occasion and particularly the Thursday evening performance ran very smoothly. The play was very ambitious, with twenty eight scenes in six different locations! Special mention must go to Missy Hingley, who was superb as Lucy and Oscar Glendenning as the sulky Edmund. A number of new stars were born with Katie Beckett, Oliver Taylor and Harry Law, all of whom showed confident performances and committed to their characters well. Emily Clark was the scariest White Witch imaginable, playing the role with much anger and hate; a side of Emily never seen before or to be seen again! Aslan, played by Jack Stirk, had very much evolved as time and rehearsals went by and with Miss Roberts’ amazing mask, the lion (and Jack) took on a magnificence and pure presence on stage. There were a number of key Year 7 performances from George McEwan as Peter, often leading key scenes and Mia King as Mrs Beaver and understudy for Lucy; Winterfold stars of the future! The Year 7 back stage and production crew learnt a number of new skills: wardrobe turning, clearing stages at lightning speed and the art of sound and music production. The snow machine was an added bonus, which worked well to create the cold, snowy Narnia scenes. The production this year has been a huge team effort with many staff being involved. Miss Gready has committed her time to the play and has remained patient and had a calming influence as Assistant Director. Miss Roberts has worked tirelessly with her breath-taking scenery, mask making and creating the wardrobe. Also a huge thank you to Mrs Glendenning and Mrs Nash for spending hours sourcing materials and creating costumes. The talented children that we have in Year 7 & 8 should be proud of their achievements on stage, with a complex and demanding school schedule, time was really against us this year but an outstanding commitment was made by the leading actors and actresses. Well done!

Lost Property An identical pair of black Hi-Tec walking boots (one size 6 and one size 4) were mixed up on the recent Year 6 Wye Valley trip – if your children are the owners please see the school office! Also, a pair of unnamed brown leather walking boots and wellingtons were lost from Wye Valley – please check.

Whole School Photo All order forms have been given out to children – please remember to order directly via the Tempest website or freepost.

SPORTS NEWS

Prize Giving and Sports Day The annual prize giving and sports day on Saturday last week was yet another great success, despite the odd shower! Please do visit our website and have a look at the photos and videos from the day: http://www.winterfoldhouse.co.uk/prizegiving-sports-day. There is also a selection of photos at the end of this newsletter.

U8A Rounders vs Blue Coat The girls had a tough match against Blue Coat yesterday but played well. We fielded first and made some good decisions. A little more work on our throwing and catching will ensure that we get more players out in future, but nonetheless the girls did well. Our batting is improving and we scored some good rounders. It was a well fought game but in the end we lost 11½ - 16½ to Blue Coat. Well done on a successful year girls, your game has developed this season and will continue to do so next year! U8B Rounders v Blue Coat The U8B team played Blue Coat on Thursday and even though it wasn’t exactly warm it didn’t rain and it finally felt like summer was returning! Winterfold batted first and made a great start with Lara Shuker scoring 2 rounders from the bat whilst Lisa Boesl and Emma Wilson scored 1 rounder each and Bessy Hingley and Meredith Lister-Faulkner both scored ½. Along with several extra rounders given for no balls, we amassed a solid total of 10 rounders in our first innings. Blue Coat also batted well but were unable to score any full rounders relying more on ½ rounders at second post and from no balls. The Winterfold team fielded well and at half time we were leading 10-6. In the second half both teams showed improved skill levels in the field and scoring was more difficult. Lara still managed to add another 1½ rounders to her personal total, Meredith added 1 more and Olivia Leung and Holly Rainger both scored a couple of ½ rounders. Our fielding was also much tighter in the second half with Lara bowling superbly and Kasey Newton and Bella Pinfield both contributing well to the team effort. The final result was a resounding victory to Winterfold 15½ - 9½. A lovely way to finish our season. Well done girls!

PRE-PREP NEWS

*Please read the first part of this newsletter as some news items may also apply to Pre-Prep children*

* PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL CHILDREN BRING IN A SUN HAT/CAP AND WATER BOTTLE *

Induction Evening A reminder that the induction evening for Pre-Prep parents is to be held on Monday 4th July at 7.00pm. Year 2 This week the children have been busy little creative bees developing their sewing skills with a perfected running stitch. They are poised and ready to sew on their name labels for September – result! We have also begun our focus on ‘Renoir’ and have produced some fantastic sketches ready for the application of colour. Year 1 The children have enjoyed writing about characters from ‘Rainbow Fish’ and creating their own character using lots of adjectives. They have also started to read ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’ where they have considered how to stop the hungry seagulls who keep taking Mr Grimley’s lunch! In Science children have continued to look at materials and use adjectives to describe them and consider what objects are made from certain materials. In Art, they have made their own piece of art/collage using lots of different materials. Reception This week has seen the children enjoying the outdoors and starting our new mini-topic on ‘Boats’. They created their own imaginative creatures called ‘Dibblewarts’! The highlight of the week was our trip to Stratford where we had a lovely cruise on a river boat. Unfortunately, due to the poor weather, our picnic had to

take place back in the classroom. The children enjoyed the trip and have written up some wonderful work about what they enjoyed most. Kindergarten 2 This week the children have enjoyed learning about ‘Water Transport’. They have created 2D shape boats and lovely boat paintings. They have also been counting, ordering and finding the missing numbers of boats 1-10. We have had fun riding our bikes and different types of transport in music and movement. Kindergarten 1 This week we have been thinking about our feelings and recognising the feelings of others. We have played ‘I Spy’, looking for objects with the same initial sound, lotto and singing rhymes. We went on a safari journey in Africa and made paper-plate elephants, zebras and giraffes. Woodhouse This week the Babies have been making buckets and spades, enjoying sand play, and gluing and finger painting for their ‘Summer’ theme. Meanwhile the Tweenies have been making crabs, octopi and seahorses, whilst the Toddlers have continued with their ‘Transport’ themed display, making a large aeroplane and a boat . Next week we will be supporting the Crackerjack Children’s Trust by having a Teddy Bears Picnic. Sponsorship forms have been sent out and children can bring teddies (the larger the better!) into Nursery. We also have a ‘Holiday Board’ in the Toddler room and would like the children to bring in a photo of their holiday when then return!

Sports and Prize Giving Photos 25/6/16