SUMMER TERM 2016 - NEWSLETTER NO. 3 It has been a busy few weeks and it is great to see the girls getting involved in so many different activities. I can’t believe the half term holiday has come around so quickly and I hope that you all have an enjoyable break. School resumes at the normal time on Monday 6

th June and please remember that summer uniform with light blue hair

accessories is compulsory for the final half term of the year.

Thank you FOSJH! Everyone is enjoying playing with the new playground equipment kindly bought by FOSJH. The girls have had fun with the ankle skips, scoop bat and balls, skipping ropes and quoits. We all say, “Thank you”.

Girls who have represented school playing in the IAPS national netball finals and in the Under 11 in2Hockey North of England finals were presented with a special hoodie purchased by FOSJH. All the girls are delighted and are proudly wearing them for school activities. A big thank you from the teams, FOSJH. Speech Day Cups – Please could all Speech Day Cups be polished and returned to school as soon as possible. Please include a note stating the girl’s name and also the award.

The Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebrations - Art Competition Rowena Gration, Head of Art at the Senior School, judged our recent Art Competition. She was so impressed with the standard of work produced by our girls and found it extremely difficult to make her decision. Here are our winners and runners up in the competition. Well done, girls. We are very proud of you!

Medical Concerns A plea from Matron to remind parents that they must not send girls into school if they are unwell. We have had a few cases where girls have come into school having been unwell at home through the night or in the morning. This can be unsetting for the child, but also makes it very difficult to stop germs spreading through the school. Your help and understanding with this matter is greatly appreciated. Some Foundation pupils recently appear to have had slapped cheek syndrome viral infection. It usually causes a bright red rash to develop on the cheeks. Although the rash can look alarming, slapped cheek syndrome is normally a mild infection that clears up in one to three weeks. It's very difficult to prevent slapped cheek syndrome, because people who have the infection are most contagious before they develop any obvious symptoms. However, making sure that everyone in your household washes their hands frequently may help stop the infection from spreading. There's currently no vaccine available to protect you against the condition. What should parents do? Slapped cheek syndrome is usually mild and should clear up without specific treatment. If you or your child is feeling unwell, you can try the following to ease the symptoms:

rest and drink plenty of fluids – babies should continue their normal feeds

for a fever, headaches or joint pain, you can take painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen – children under 16 shouldn't take aspirin

to reduce itchiness, you can take antihistamines or use an emollient (moisturising lotion) – some antihistamines are not suitable for young children, so check with your pharmacist first

Unless your child is feeling unwell, there’s no need to stay away from school once the rash has developed, as the infection is no longer contagious at this point. Please notify school if you think your daughter has slapped cheek infection, so we can be vigilant and children who develop early symptoms can be spotted quickly and vulnerable people can be made aware that they may need to get medical advice.

Children’s University are holding a FREE event on Tuesday 31st May 10am until 2pm

at Wakefield College, Castleford Campus. Activities include ‘Make and Create’, sports and outdoor activities and ‘Springwatch’ activities. This is a family event and everyone is welcome to join in even if you are not a Children’s University member.

More information is available on their website: www.wakefield.ac.uk/childrens-university/news-and-events Mobile Phones – Please can you make sure that all mobile phones and mobile devices brought into school are clearly labelled. Thank-you. Raise for Life and Teenage Cancer Trust.– Jessica Armstrong a Year 13 student at WGHS has volunteered to dye her hair dark pink to raise money for Teenager Cancer Trust. If you would like to

find out more or sponsor Jessica then please go to the following website: https://www.gofundme.com/raiseforlifewghs School Shop

The last School Shop of the year was very busy. Good buys included craft kits, stationery and Father’s Day cards (dad’s look out for them). Year 6 girls have enjoyed running the shop this year, choosing items to sell, setting out the stock and serving customers. Handling money and giving change has helped them to practise their mental maths skills. Thank you to everybody who has spent their pocket money at the School Shop this year.

Summer Holiday Club is now all booked up – Confirmation letters to be sent out after half term. YEAR 3

We really enjoyed our visit to Meanwood Valley Urban Farm as part of our science topic studying ‘rocks and soils’. We had fun identifying various types of rocks and making our own soil. The teachers seemed a bit worried about bringing the wormeries we made back to school!!

YEAR 4

Some of the Year 4 girls visited Wakefield Cathedral last week. They had a tour behind the scenes to see where the choir practised and stored their music and robes, then some girls had a turn at conducting their classmates in their own mini choir. Back in the cathedral, the girls played a peel on some hand bells and learned how the organ and piano make their sounds. Some girls had the opportunity to play the organ, which you play with your hands and your feet!

We have enjoyed our visit to Leeds Makkah Masjid mosque this week. We saw the washing area, the main prayer hall with its beautiful dome and some of us dressed up in a variety of headdresses. We were also fortunate to witness some Moslems completing their prayers. This was a great introduction to Islam, our next RE topic.

YEAR 5 Year 5 have been examining the parts of plants and investigating pollination and fertilisation. ‘We looked at some plants under a microscope in the science lab – it was amazing!’ Nina Smith 5APW. We really enjoyed making our scarves in Craft Club with Mrs Watson. We will certainly need them in the winter months!

We have also been getting to grips with rulers and protractors in maths to accurately draw polygons with specific properties. The measuring and drawing of angles took a lot of concentration.

YEAR 6 Last week Year 6 stayed at the Blencathra Field Centre in the Lake District. They enjoyed working towards their John Muir award. The girls had to complete four challenges to receive this award. They had to discover a wild place, to explore its wildness, to conserve a wild place and to share their experiences with each other. We are delighted to report that all the girls completed these tasks with enthusiasm and commitment. A thoroughly fantastic week was had by all.

There are lots more photographs from Blencathra available on the website.

The girls in Year 6 Science Club have enjoyed their time making, predicting and testing the things they have made, with the help of Rebecca and Sarah from Year 12. In our last club, we enjoyed making and testing solar-powered fans.

FRENCH Merci, Fleur! We say 'au revoir' to Fleur, our French assistant, who has been working with some of our Junior School classes this year. We have really benefitted from hearing a native speaker and we thank her for all the support she has given us. We wish her all the luck with her studies in France. Bon voyage!

Où est Claude? Don't forget to look out for Claude around school. The first girl to let Madame Roberts know where you have seen him and what he is saying earns 2 stars! Bonne chance!

Joyeux Anniversaire to the following girls.

Chaisse Lim 23 Mai Abbi Riddiough 03 Jun Lillie Wightman 10 Jun

Lubelihle Makoni 23 Mai Molly James 05 Jun Grace Whitfield 11 Jun

Ishita Mohapatra 23 Mai Shriya Nagtode 06 Jun Komal Kaur 13 Jun

Jahaan Raza 24 Mai Isabelle Gaskell 07 Jun Leina Tordoff 13 Jun

Hannah Jessop 28 Mai Arianna Pascale 08 Jun Mallory Wigglesworth 17 Jun

Havanah Riddell 29 Mai Iqra Ahmed 09 Jun Isabelle Worrall 17 Jun

Jaelynn Craven 18 Jun

ECO COMMITTEE NEWS The Eco-committee decided that they wanted to grow potatoes in the school garden. Hooriya Fida-Hussain researched how to grow them then the girls prepared the bed by weeding and adding compost and then planted seed potatoes in troughs in the prepared ground. We have organised a rota to weed the bed and water the plants. We look forward to harvesting the crop and enjoying new potatoes for school lunch.

Don’t forget to order your canvas shopping bags. They are still on sale to raise money for the Eco-committee's chosen charity, the Eden Project. FOSJH LOGO Imogen Williams, 5APW, won the FOSJH Design-a-logo competition. Look out for it on all FOSJH correspondence. DRAMA CLUB

Girls in Year 5/6 Drama Club put on an excellent production of 'Out of this World' for parents and friends after school on Tuesday. 'Out of this World' is a fantasy story which contains an environmental message about saving the earth's resources. The girls have enjoyed developing their acting and singing skills at the club and they designed the costumes and made the props in the meetings too.

MUSIC A number of our musicians have been busy in the community. Grace Hillier played her saxophone in the Robin Hood Music and Drama Festival coming third in the woodwind class, competing against seven other highly talented musicians. She was awarded a distinction and a fantastic mark of 85%. The adjudicator complimented her on her “musical playing” and her performance showed “musical vision”. Well done Grace.

Mariella Shuttleworth took part in a fabulous harp workshop day at St Peter’s School: “My harp teacher Rachel Jerome invited me to join some other of her harpists at St Peter’s School in York last Sunday. We made a new group called Strings of the North. We spend the day learning lots of new pieces and getting to know each other. At the end of the day we all played our harps together in the school chapel. I performed a solo piece called Barn Dance. The day was so good that we are all getting together again in the summer for a special harp weekend. I am really looking forward to performing with all the other harpists again.”

Amelia Batty is currently starring in the Wizard of Oz at St Austin’s Theatre. She has been rehearsing for many months and is playing the part of a Munchkin, and does get to sing a solo at one point in the performance! Last Friday our Under 9 Choir took part in the Wharfedale Music Festival. This year the Festival has moved from the Kings Theatre to the Craiglands Hotel. The girls thoroughly enjoyed performing in the ballroom, giving a very stylish performance of the set piece the fun ‘Be Cool’, and our own choice piece the beautifully evocative ‘Night Riders’. The adjudicator gave them amazing comments, praising them on so many fabulous singing points. Mrs Browning also had an exciting moment when she stood in to accompany for another choir – some amazing sight reading there! Our Under 9s were awarded a distinction, and came second overall. Well done girls, I am so proud of you. Thank you also to all the parents who came up to support us. SPORTSports Day We are looking forward to our annual Sports Day on Tuesday 7

th June at QEGS track. The programme of events is as

follows: 11.00am – FIELD EVENTS: Year 3–6 rounders ball, Year 5 and 6 Shot, Year 5 and 6 high jump, Years 3-6 long jump 12.30 pm LUNCH - All competitors will have a picnic lunch at WGHS Games pavilion. Toilet facilities for spectators are available at QEGS Games pavilion. 1.30 pm TRACK EVENTS: Year 5 and 6 150m sprint, Year 3 and 4 300 metres, Years 3 – 6 obstacle race, Years 3 – 6 skipping race, Year 5 and 6 80 metres, Year 3 and 4 50 metres, Year 3 – 6 sack race, Year 4 – 6 600 metres, Years 3 – 6 egg & spoon, Years 3 – 6 hurdles, Years 3 – 6 House relays 3.15 pm PRESENTATION OF CUPS AND CERTIFICATES

Athletics Competition 36 girls from Year 4, 5 and 6 participated in an athletics meeting at Thornes Park athletics stadium. It was an opportunity for our athletes to put their training to the test in both track and field events against a boys ’ team from QEGS and a mixed team from Huddersfield Grammar School. Despite very wet conditions the girls put on a superb performance and gave the boys some stiff competition in several events. Sports Photographs The photographer from Tempest photography will be visiting school on Tuesday 9th June to take team photographs of all girls who have represented the school in sport this year.

Star of the Week – 03/05/2016

Mia Coxan 3JB Lovely buddy to visitor

Abbie Riddiough 3JB Improvements made in reading and in handwriting

Shamaail Hashmi 3JC Working hard in Science remembering tricky terms for how a plant makes food

Amaya Patel 3VH Trying so hard in Maths and for enthusiasm in all subjects

Mallory Wigglesworth 3VH

A happy member of the class and for trying particularly hard with her portrait of the Queen

Shriya Nagtode 3EB Always smiling and helpful in all lessons

Grace Whitfield 4CG Wonderful effort in all subjects- giving 100% in discussions and in tasks

Isobel McAndrew 4SS Exceptional skills in coding

Megan Rosendale 4SS Great creativity in all aspects of the curriculum

Bayan Yousif 5LR Excellent standard of work in all areas of the curriculum since joining our school

Neharika Vemula 5TP Fantastic responses and enthusiasm during field work at Castle Head

Emily Northern 5APW Enthusiastic writing about Andy Goldsworth’s art installation created on the playground

Caitlin Bruce 6JB Carefully and thoughtfully presenting the route to Blencathra

Laura Roberts 6JB Outstanding effort in all Reading Trail tasks

Sophina Akram 6HJ Working hard on reading using the Bug Club

Evie Woodhead 6HJ Working hard on the character description of ‘The Highwayman’

Yasmin Kumar 6JS Working very hard and making progress in all areas of the curriculum

Emily Ramshaw 6JS Trying very hard to build up tension and excitement in her writing using short sentences

Star of the Week – 09/05/2016

Savannah Peel 3JB Working hard in music lessons and producing an excellent composition

Emily Dimbylow 3JC Working so well with her partner at Lego Coding Club and using initiative when model building

Isla Darby 3VH Working so well with her partner at Lego Coding Club and using initiative when model building

Eve Patel 4EB Super research on the Greek gods

Ellie Tingle 4EB Super research on the Greek gods

Jemima Otter 4CG Excellent effort in English comprehension lessons

Emmy Vann 4SS Making such great progress in all subjects

Holly Bestwick 5LR Working hard each week to give evidence from the text to support her answers in English comprehension lessons

Niamh Barratt 5TP Super attitude towards learning and being a good friend to everyone in the class

Lilly King 5APW Working hard in all areas of the curriculum

Star of the Week – 16/05/2016

Freya Sheahan 3JLB Lots of enthusiasm on the visit to Meanwood Urban Valley Farm

Madison Atkin 3JC Excellent behaviour at Meanwood Urban Valley Farm

Mallory Wigglesworth 3VH

‘Star wormer’ on class visit to Meanwood Urban Valley Farm

Amelie Creswell 4EB Working so hard in Maths

Antonia Wallis 4CG Brilliant dramatic performance about the Greek gods

Lily Wynne 4SS A kind friend to everyone

Eve Townend 5TP Commitment to the Bug Club

Anna Schofield 5LR Detailed observational drawing of an insect

Khadijah Sarwar 5APW

Working hard and speeding up in all lessons

Jessica Morisson 6JB Always having an enthusiastic approach to her studies

Antonia Maddan 6HJ

Working hard and producing excellent pieces of creative writing and improving the style of her handwriting

Ella Barnes 6JS Working very hard and trying her best in all areas of the curriculum

Best wishes

Mrs R Edwards Head of Junior School

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 this half term

30

th May to 3

rd June – School closed for half term holiday

7th

June – Junior department sports day 16

th June – Y5 & Y6 Summer musical

17th

June – Charity games afternoon 21

st June – Transition afternoon

22nd

June – Children’s University Graduation 1

st July – Speech Day – Jubilee Hall

8th

July – End of term – School finishes at 12.00 noon.

FOSJH BLOG Many thanks to all those who came to the FOSJH May Ball- it was a great night and everyone had an enjoyable time! The food was excellent, the entertainment was superb (as evidenced by the dancing

until the early hours) and we are delighted to confirm we raised over £400 too. Thanks in particular to all those involved in the organising, preparation and tidying up!

The Bags to School on 6th

May was also a success and we raised a further sum of £136.80 from this.

Details about some of the things FOSJH has bought for school can be found in this Newsletter.

We have confirmed the orders for the Emma Bridgewater “WGHS JS” Mugs and we expect these to be available at the start of the Autumn Term. An order form will be on the school website soon

and we will be sending out order forms via school bags after half term.

Have a great half term break and see you all at the various sports days in June, where we will be selling drinks and refreshments- let’s hope the sun shines!

Alistair McKinlay (Chair) and Nicki Williams (Secretary) Email: nicolaamwilliams@gmail.com