AUTUMN TERM - NEWSLETTER NO. 6

Dear Parents Wednesday 16 December 2015

We are almost at the end of term and the children and staff have all worked extremely hard and are ready for a break. May I remind you that term finishes at 12 noon tomorrow Thursday 17 December. There has been a lot happening and I would like to thank all parents for their continued support and encouragement in all we do. It has been lovely to see every child on stage for their special moment in one of the various Christmas events and I thank the staff for their enthusiasm and hard work. This final newsletter for 2015 will, hopefully, round off all the term’s events.

We would like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to Mrs Stainsby, Mr Ganley, Mrs Smith, Mrs Charlesworth and Mrs Jameson who are leaving us tomorrow to start a new and exciting stage of their lives. We hope they have a lovely retirement spending lots of time with family and friends and travelling the world.

CHRISTMAS SCHOOL SHOP The Christmas School Shop was very busy. Girls enjoyed spending pocket money on Christmas decorations and Christmas crafts. 6JS were helpful shopkeepers and good at adding up sales and giving change.

ECO-COMMTTEE PLANTING BULBS The Eco-committee decided to grow bulbs to brighten up school in the spring. They enjoyed planting bowls of daffodils and we look forward to them starting to grow.

POPPY APPEAL Thank you very much indeed for your donations for the Poppy Appeal. We are delighted to report that we raised £286.00, this money will help Royal British Legion to continue their vital welfare and benevolent work.

YEAR 3 and YEAR 4 – Baa…Baa… Bethlehem

Year 3 comments

“I liked doing the star dance on stage.” Edie Lewis “It’s fun and Christmassy!” Mia Coxan

‘We looked fantastic when we made an angel arch.” “I enjoyed practising the songs with Mrs White.” Alice McKinley Smith Lucia Partridge “I loved spinning round as a star.” Holly Biggin Wilcox “I enjoyed putting on my sparkly costume.” Sophia Hilton Year 4 comments “We like the proud ‘baas’!” Isobel Cox and “The ending brings a smile to our faces.” Vienna Taylor Annabel Simpson and Charisse Lim

“As I went onto the stage my legs were trembling with fear.” “I enjoyed walking down the aisle in my Grace Hyett costume.” Megan Rosendale

“I liked being a naughty sheep.” Grace Gooder “I like the old sheep because she has to wear glasses and use a walking stick!” Ellie Tingle

YEAR 5 –

Learning to use the Bunsen Burners was very interesting, as we found out about the different types of flames; A luminous flame is when you can see the flame all the time but the roaring flame, you can only see when the lights are out. By Lucy Smith and Imogen Williams.

Tilly-May Cullen, Khadijah Sarwar and Nadia Shafi have been busy baking buns and held a ‘Bun Sale’ for Year 5. They raised £57 for Cancer Research UK. Very well done.

YEAR 6 – We enjoyed designing a Christmas bauble and hanging it on the Christmas tree. We wrote our own wish for Christmas on the back of the bauble.

Year 6 girls held a ‘Multi Fit’s Got Talent Show’ at their final club of the Autumn Term. The girls devised their own dance or gymnastic routines and performed them for each other. All the performances were fantastic but after a vote Annalise Hutchinson and Alice Browne were chosen

as the winners with their dance routine to ‘Last Christmas’ by Ariana Grande.

YEAR 5 AND YEAR 6 WAKEFIELD HOSPICE CONCERT The Year 5 and Year 6 Christmas concert in Wakefield Cathedral also included Wakefield Hospice's 'Light up a Life' service to remember loved ones and the Christmas tree lights were switched on in remembrance. Year 5 and Year 6 retold the

Christmas story in their production of 'One Night in Bethlehem' through song and drama. Girls in Year 5 were actors and narrators. It was a fantastic performance, full of life capturing the true spirit of Christmas. There was Christmas music from Junior School music groups 'Wind in the Willows' and the Upper Junior Suzuki violin group. Flautacious, from WGHS, also played a medley of Christmas music. The Cathedral echoed with beautiful music, making it very atmospheric. The standard of drama and music was excellent and the congregation gave generously to Wakefield Hospice, a very worthy cause, and £918.11 was raised.

SPORT NETBALL – The Year 5 and 6 Netball squads enjoyed an end of term Christmas tournament. They wore their own sports clothing and festive headwear and competed in mixed-age teams of santas, fairies, reindeer and snowmen. Matches were very close but the fairies triumphed after winning 2 games and drawing one game.

NETBALL TRIALS – Netball trials will be held on Tuesday 5 January at lunchtime for girls in Year 5 and after school for girls in Year 6. These trials are for selection to the school squad and are for any girl who is currently in the squad, for any girl who wishes to re-trial or for any girl who would like to trial for the first time. Selection will be made after careful consideration of each girl’s current ability level and future potential after observing a variety of specific netball skills and the application of these skills in a game situation.

DANCE – Girls in 5LR and 6JB have recently performed for Miss Roberts and Mrs Bellhouse. 5LR performed a lively warm up routine to ‘Uptown Funk’ by Bruno Mars and then a sports themed dance to ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ by UB40. 6JB performed a Zumba inspired group warm up to ‘Baila Pa Emonciona’ and then trios routines based on various words which they then translated into movements or shapes. For this, they used the song ‘Take Me to Church’ by Hozier. All routines were choreographed by the girls themselves and the performers wore co-ordinated clothes to complement the dances.

DANCE EVENING – We have recently confirmed the dates for the annual Dance Evening which are as follows: Rehearsal on Wednesday 13 April, 1.00 - 4.00 pm at QEGS theatre Rehearsal on Thursday 14 April, 4.00 - 6.30 pm at QEGS theatre Performances on Monday 18 April and Tuesday 19 April, 7.00 pm start at QEGS Theatre. Girls in Year 6 will have the opportunity to audition for the Dance Evening and girls in Year 5 will have a Dance Showcase in which they can perform any work that they have choreographed. Both events will take place in March.

FRENCH – In French, we watched a French Christmas animated film called 'L'enfant au grelot'. It was about a boy called Charlie who had been abandoned in a forest. He is found by a postman and taken to an orphanage. We won't tell you anymore of the plot, but it has a happy ending! We produced a film review, thinking about the characters, scenery and the music etc.

Joyeux Anniversaire to the following girls. Suha Rashid 01 decembre Jenna Maghaireh 04 decembre

Manya Dhingra 05 decembre Kate Lawrence 07 decembre

Lucy Watson 07 decembre Frances Lonsdale 08 decembre

Ellie Burrows 11 decembre Molly Dainty 12 decembre

Faron Buckley-Anderson 13 decembre Leah Davis 14 decembre

Isabelle Butler 17 decembre Grace Hillier 17 decembre

Ava Dunn 22 decembre Holly Biggin-Wilcox 25 decembre

Thea Speight 25 decembre Anastasiya Barclay 27 decembre

Annalise Hutchinson 28 decembre Amelie Brayshaw 31 decembre

Aimee Smith 01 januier Sophia bulmer 05 janvier

Eiliyah Pervaiz 05 januier Aarya Shenoy 05 janvier

Lucia Partridge 07 januier Khadijah Sarwar 08 janvier

Danai Proot 14 januier Tia Patel 15 janvier

Emily Beasley 18 januier Zoe Partridge 18 janvier

Isabella Pye 19 januier

SPANISH CLUB In Spanish Club, we have been busy comparing Christmas and New Year traditions in the UK and in Spain. Feliz Navidad!

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

What a wonderful Christmas lunch we had today. Thank you to everyone who made it so special.

MUSIC Under 11 Choir sing with the Skelmanthorpe Male Voice Choir On Saturday 5 December the Under 11 Choir had their first external engagement of the year – to feature as guest choir with the Skelmanthorpe Male Voice Choir in their Christmas Concert at

Wakefield Cathedral. We were so proud of the girls; it was a truly splendid evening with some fantastic singing. They sang with real style, clearly enjoying themselves and conveying that to the audience. Betty Chamberlain and Manya Dhingra delighted us by singing the first verse of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ as a duet - what an opportunity to sing that in the Cathedral, and our two flautists Charlotte Bennett and Yasmin Kumar accompanied the song ‘Soualle’ beautifully. The concert was in

aid of the Alzheimer’s Society. We are really looking forward to their next concert on 19 December with the Yorkshire Philharmonic Choir in Unity Hall.

Music successes In November Leina Tordoff played her violin in the British Suzuki Institute Graduation Concert at Huddersfield University as well as receiving her certificate for successfully graduation from Book 1 (she is now on book 3!). It was a fabulous concert featuring about 125 Suzuki players from all over the region performing on violin, cello, flute, recorder and piano. Leina also achieved second place in the Haydn Wood Music Festival where she competed in the Under 11 class – quite impressive for an 8 year old!

We have also had some super successes on the piano with Katherine Jarvis gaining her Grade 3 with distinction (achieving a fantastic result of 90%) and Abbey O’Donnell gaining her Step 2 piano with distinction.

Wakefield Youth Training Orchestra Three of our talented musicians, Amelie Brayshaw (Violin), Charlotte McKinlay (French horn) and Lizzie MacKenzie (Cello) attend the Wakefield Youth Training Orchestra which is conducted by Mr Meredith and meets on a weekly basis. Last week the girls were involved in the orchestra’s Christmas Concert at Unity Hall. Best wishes Please note that Butterflies in Wakefield has now moved to new premises – 47 Northgate, Wakefield, which is next door to Jam.

Mrs R Edwards Head of Junior School

Everyone in the Junior Department would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

DATES TO NOTE - A list of dates for your diary can be found on our website www.wgsf.org.uk. I would, however, like to draw your attention to the following forthcoming events during next half term.

Thursday 17 December – End of Term – 12 NOON Saturday 19 December – U11 Choir singing with YPC – Unity Works Tuesday 5 January – Start of Spring Term Thursday 7 January – Junior Department visit to West Yorkshire Playhouse Wednesday 13 January – FOSJH Committee Meeting Thursday 14 January – Year 4 Parents’ Information meeting – Malham Monday 18 January – Years 5 and 6 taking part in Young Voices, Sheffield Wednesday 20 January – Year 6 visiting Chantry Chapel Wednesday 20 January – Junior School Open Morning

FOSJH BLOG We are very grateful to all parents who have supported FOSJH over the past year. Whether it has been baking buns and

cakes, buying raffle tickets, or simply turning up at events such as Family Fun Day or the May Ball, on behalf of all the committee we would like to say 'Thankyou'!

With very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Alistair (Chair) and Nicki (Secretary)

PS Please email me if you would like to chat to me about becoming involved in FOSJH in any way: