FROM THE HEAD MASTER
Captains of Sport
I am delighted to announce the Captains of Sport for this term:
Captain of Netball – Elsa Miles and Vice-Captain – Tiggy Kanjurs
Captain of Boys’ Hockey – Benedict Briggs and Vice-Captain – Joe Griffiths
I wish them all the very best for the season ahead.
Year 4 Pantomime – A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Camelot
What an absolutely stunning show! While I was very sad to have missed the actual performance last night as I was at an IAPS meeting in Berkshire, I did watch the dress rehearsal so knew just how good the performance was going to be. For children of 8 and 9 to be able to pull that off was a huge achievement. There were so many standout performances, really enjoyable songs (if a little cheesy!) and it was great fun from beginning to end. Very well done to the children and, of course, Mrs Hanford, Mr Wilson, Miss Govier and Miss Savage, as well as all the other members of staff involved.
Cross-Country and Busy Monday Afternoon
First of all, I do wish the cross-country runners from Spratton representing South Northamptonshire tomorrow all the very best.
On Monday, we host our annual event, the Spratton Hall Relays. Please note that we have 14 schools visiting so it will be a very busy car park on Monday. We have taken steps to try to reduce the busyness, including staff parking on the Laurels courts so the staff car park will be available for parking at 3.30pm and 4.00pm. It would also help if as many ‘lift-shares’ as possible could take place at Monday’s 4.00pm pick-up.
Finally, of course, good luck to our own teams taking part in the races!
STEM Week
Mrs Williams, Head of Science, led Assembly this morning, introducing STEM Week taking place beginning on Monday. There are many of fun, exciting and interesting events lined up for next week, culminating in the Royal Institute Science Show taking place next Friday for all pupils from Pre-Prep to Year 8. I am sure it will be a great week!
Thank you.
Simon Clarke
PRE-PREP
Snapping Twigs, 3D Shapes and Hot Chocolatey Fun in the Forest School
Being out in the fresh air can really energise the children’s learning. Add in a maths theme of making 3D shapes and the children in Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed working collaboratively to snap and tape sticks together. I’m not sure the children even noticed the icy chill, as they busily created structures such as square based pyramids, cubes and cuboids. Some wonderful mathematical words, such as edges, faces and vertices, were being used as the children described the properties of their 3D shapes, with cups of hot chocolate helping to keep working hands warm.
Year 2 Church Visit
Ripples of excitement could also be felt in Year 2 on Wednesday. Dressed up for the occasion, the children headed off to St Andrew’s church in Spratton to learn more about a Christian wedding ceremony. Once inside, the children met Rev. Twigg and marvelled at all the church features that they had been learning about in class. Re-enacting a wedding ceremony, complete with music, flowers, bridesmaids, and of course, a happy couple, brought smiles to everyone’s faces – as did the sparkling elderflower fizz and beautifully iced wedding cake that the children all enjoyed at the wedding reception on their return to school!
Reception Head Off on a Surprise Mission!
Earlier this week, our Reception children stifled squeals of delight as they set off on a surprise mission ….to the village post box in Spratton! Last week, following the Christmas break, the children put huge amounts of effort and careful thought into writing special thank you letters to their grown-ups at home, to say a big thank you for a particular present, outing or experience that they had enjoyed over the festive period. Once back at school, it was heart-warming to hear how proud and excited the children sounded as they tried to predict what their grown-ups might say when they opened their letter and …realised it was from them!
1N Explore Spratton
It has certainly been a week for pulling on gloves, coats and woolly hats to venture outdoors. Year 1 are currently focusing on the human and physical geographical features of our local environment and what better way to identify them than to follow a simple route on a map around the village of Spratton. The children really enjoyed pointing out the many different types of buildings and street furniture that are scattered around the local area.
Pupil Achievements
Congratulations to the following children for their success in swimming – Ottilie Osborne (1N) 10m and Level 3, Aya Wilson (1N) Level 2 and George Harris (1S) Level 3.
Very well done to Leonardo Dep-Shepherd (1S) who was awarded a badge for his refereeing and a trophy for his effort and skill in football, particularly defending.
Fiona Sanchez
Head of Pre-Prep
MUSIC
Tuesday 30th January – Year 8 Informal Concert
The Year 8 Informal Concert is always a lovely evening when the musicians in the year group get to show us their musical talent. All members of Year 8 who play an instrument/sing are invited to perform. A letter containing further details was sent out this week to all those involved. Please return the e-reply as soon as possible.
Uppingham Orchestral Day – Thursday 8th February
The Concert Band and all members of the String Orchestra who are Grade 2 standard and above, have been invited to take part in this excellent day of music-making. A letter was sent last week by Clarion Call to all those invited containing further information. Please submit your e-reply by the end of today (Friday).
Exam Success
Congratulations to Zayn Shah for passing his Grade 4 piano exam.
ART
Artist of the Week
Artist of the Week goes to Jemima Paul (4C). Last week Years 3&4 did observational drawings of peppers cut in half and Jemima really impressed me with her wonderful tonal drawing, displaying good form and shape.
Mrs Moreton
STEM WEEK 2024
CAKE SALE
Thank you to everyone who donated cakes to the Year 8 Cake Sale on Tuesday. We managed to raise a total of £290.72 for Cancer Research.
PUPIL ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to Max Yuill who represented Northants U14 Boys in the 12 Counties Cup at Corby Tennis Centre. He won against Norfolk and Leiceistershire going into a two set tie break.
MEDICAL
Head Lice
As this is a problem throughout the school at the moment, please could you take the time to check your child’s hair and treat accordingly.
Head lice are wingless insects that live on the scalp and neck. They are grey or brown, have six legs and when fully grown are about the size of a sesame seed. Females attach their eggs to your hair close to your scalp. The eggs hatch about 7 – 10 days later and it takes 10 days for them to be adults and laying new eggs.
When the lice hatch they leave empty shells called nits attached to the hair. Nits are white and you may mistake them for flakes of dry skin. Nits stick to the hair and you won’t be able to remove them with normal shampooing.
You can only get head lice through head to head contact. They cannot hop, fly or swim. Although head lice maybe embarrassing and sometimes uncomfortable, they don’t usually cause illness. However, they WON’T clear up on their own and you need to treat them promptly.
Treatment of head lice
There are many treatments available including:
- Insecticides – e.g. Full Marks liquid or Derbac M
- Wet Combing with special fine toothed comb
- Non–insecticide based products – e.g. Hedrin
Insecticides and Non-Insecticides
When using these products for treating lice they are available as lotions, liquids and shampoos. Always follow the instructions carefully. Usually the insecticide lotion should be rubbed onto scalp and hair, left for approximately 12hrs before you wash it out. Then comb using a fine toothed comb. This process should be repeated after 7 days to kill any new lice that may have hatched.
Wet Combing
This is a method of removing lice with a fine toothed comb. You need to spend 20 – 30mins combing through the entire head of hair. It is easier to remove the lice and nits if the hair is wet and conditioner still on hair. The process needs repeating every 3 days until there have been 3 consecutive sessions without seeing any lice.
Many thanks
Matron
