2018 Lent Term No. 4 Newsletter 02.02.18

Key Values:

Innovation, Confidence, Aspiration, Respect, Enthusiasm

Dear Parents and Children

WhatsApp

A few months ago, you may recall that I asked parents to respect our policy not to discuss pastoral issues over WhatsApp. I acknowledge the benefits this social media platform plays in reinforcing the home school partnerships and have heard many parents comment on the reminders within the school community which they feel are valuable. I appreciate that social media platforms are at personal discretion.

In recent weeks, a number of parents have shared frustrations with me over these groups. Issues that have been raised with me are often linked to the same key points: parents not wanting to be part of a continuous flow of messages; parents using the forum to gain momentum with negative opinions; parents circulating gossip which is unverified or (in some cases) false and messages that are about individual children in all but name.

Please may I again politely suggest that these groups are kept as positive social platforms and healthy environments for parental communication. May I emphasise that the correct forum to discuss any concerns is with teachers at school. We pride ourselves on our warmth of welcome as a school community.

Nursery

The Explorers’ room is now full and there is a waiting list for full-time places. There are only limited places available for a number of sessions for after Easter, as follows:-

Tuesday afternoon - 2 places Friday morning – 1 places Friday afternoon – 5 places We therefore currently only have places available on: Tuesday afternoons, Friday mornings and Friday afternoons. These places will

be allocated on a first come/first served basis. If you are considering increasing your child’s sessions after Easter, please contact the

Prep Office as soon as possible.

School Video

The school video has been updated, to see Mrs Wilson talk about the best of our school and her vision please see the school website

or follow this link: http://www.hullcollegiateschool.co.uk/video

Charles Hart, Head for the Day As you are aware, Charles Hart will be replacing me for a day as Headteacher at the end of February, following his parents generous support at the Michaelmas Ball. His support will come from Henry Rawson in the form of Deputy Head for the day. The boys have ambitious plans: McDonalds for their friendship group, a football tournament (I would have been shocked if football hadn't been part of his plans!), an ice cream factory at lunch, a chocolate fountain for his class and scooters on the playground for the day. I think you'll agree that the boys have a fairly sound understanding of my role! The boys will also be meeting Mrs Wilson and working to solve a number of similar situations of which I am faced with day-to-day. I hope they want me back the following day!

Message from the Headteacher

Music exam results - Michaelmas 2017 A number of our pupils took music exams last term. The results are now all in and we are delighted to share their results with you. Not only do the pupils need to perform three pieces to a high standard, they are also required to learn technical exercises and answer questions which show their musicality. Well done to you all!

ABRSM Instrument Mark Standard Lucy Gilson Piano Harriet Hollis Trumpet 121 Merit Xavier Goddard Violin 121 Merit Rockschool Grade 1 Andrew Lough Guitar 81 Merit Trinity Grade 1 Daisy Shepherd Violin 80 Merit Alice Milner Violin 80 Merit

Read Write Inc.

I have never been an advocate of any one particular scheme as the answer to delivering a quality learning journey for our children. I have encouraged staff over the past 2 years, to take the best bits of any commercial scheme. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 have attended some of the best current continued professional development courses available and we have reviewed what we feel are the best parts of Read Write Inc.

With that, and the appointment of Mrs Hotchin, an English specialist, we began this term with a revised teaching approach that is already having a huge impact across the key stage.

At Hull Collegiate School we have been following the Read Write Inc. programme to teach phonics, reading and support our writing. The Read Write Inc. journey begins in Nursery, where children learn the Set 1 Speed Sounds, and then continues into Reception and Key Stage 1. High frequency words that are not phonetically regular are taught as ‘tricky’ words and they are practised frequently too.

As you are aware, the next stage of the Read Write Inc. scheme is for children to read storybooks and take part in activities such as comprehension and writing activities based on the book.

In KS1, we have recently adapted the way we are teaching our Read Write Inc. sessions and have decided to focus on daily oral phonics sessions. We will still be following the same programme of sounds and applying them within word and sentence based activities. This daily input will also enable us to practise further spelling and grammar skills. However, we will no longer be following the storybook stage because we have recently found that moving to our new ‘text based’ approach, within our English lessons, is allowing much more creativity in Year 2. The children have been completely immersed within our first text - ‘The Day the Crayons Quit,’ and we hope that this will have even further impact on their reading abilities and the quality of their writing.

Year 1 have been inspired by non-fiction linked to the theme of pirates.

Coming soon

Harry Potter themed enrichment day for all of Year 5 pupils and visiting Year 5 children from most of our feeder primary schools. Pupils always comment that the school is like Hogwarts, so on these few days in June, the school will take centre stage. With history on the history of magic, chemistry potion making, DT wand making and wand practice, a Great Hall style feast of Potter favourites and Quidditch rugby, it's sure to be an experience to excite all. Many year groups in KS2 will also tie into those 2 days through their curriculum and Year 5 will weave that theme into their core subjects in the Summer Term. If there are any Harry Potter super fans out there, please let me know, and I can introduce you to the planning working party.

Headteacher’s Commendations

For always being dedicated, for always having a fantastic attitude to learning, for always being excellent in everything she does.

Well done!

Eva Sourbron

Emma Norris

Emma has continued to work very hard in literacy. This week she has been developing sentences and phrases that help to create imagery in the readers mind. A budding author!

Well done Emma.

Headteacher’s Commendations

Mrs Kell @HCS_PrepHead

Edward, Rufus, Oliver and Louis from 5H have worked really well as a team to produce a video on the Solar System. They wrote the script, recorded themselves and used a video editing software to add transitions, background music and pictures to their videos. A great well done on teamwork and the use of technology.

Edward, Rufus, Oliver and Louis (5H)

Lucy Gilson

Listening carefully, taking on board advice and experimenting in her writing, making very good progress.

Sports Fixtures

Monday 5 February U9 Football and Netball v Pocklington. Away. KO 2.15pm. ETR HCS 4.15pm Wednesday 7 February ISA Cross Country at Beech House, Rochdale. Pm. ETR 5.00pm Friday 9 February U11 Football and Netball v Scarborough College. Away. KO 2.00pm. ETR 4.30pm

TT Rockstars

The TT Rockstars app has been updated for both Android and IOS, Version 1 of the app will no longer work from 2 weeks today (16th Feb) so please ensure you are running version 2 and above on all of your devices.

Coffee Concert

You are all welcome to attend our coffee concert next Thursday 8 February at 10:00. Refreshments will be available in the foyer beforehand. The newly formed guitar group will be performing, along with the orchestra and other groups and soloists. SLM

Cottingham Music Festival

Congratulations must once again go to Daisy Shepherd and Xavier Goddard, who performed at Cottingham Music Festival last weekend. They both performed really well and were a credit to the school.

SOLOS Xavier Goddard (1st and 3rd) Daisy Shepherd

Spelling Competition During the Spring Term, we will be holding a spelling competition between the School Houses. We have split the categories into: Years 1 and 2 Years 3 and 4 Years 5 and 6 The final will take place on March 1, in which children will be required to spell as many words as possible in a given time. If we have a situation of similar scores then there shall be a 'sudden death' spelling shoot out! Get practising over half term, so that we can find out which house has the greatest spellers in the Prep School! Mr Whitfield

Homework

It is our intention that homework supports pupils’ learning and should reflect what the pupil has been learning at school. Although there is no specified time limit to homework, it is considered 30 minutes per piece to be ample. It is up to the discretion of the parent to judge when their individual child has completed enough of the task. Please do make a note in the homework diary to feedback comments to the teacher. Here are some reminders about homework, taken from the Prep School Homework policy:

Our Intentions

All homework will be based around learning objectives being covered in class. Activities will vary between specific focused tasks and more open ended research based topics.

We recognise that the time allocated for homework activities and the scope of activities set will change as children get older.

The Role of the Parent/Carer

We would encourage parents to value, support and praise their children in participating in homework activities. We would also ask that parents encourage pupils to remember to bring their homework diary to school on a daily basis to allow them to be used as an effective communication tool.

Reading

We recognise that reading is one of the fundamental skills that an individual can possess. We aim to promote reading and a love of books at every stage of learning within our school. We consider regular reading activities to be an essential homework activity that needs to be carried out at least four times each week at all stages of development, whether a foundation stage pupil learning initial sounds or an older and more able reader developing reading comprehension skills. We would ask that home reading is recorded by the parent / carer in the child’s reading record / homework diary to help us decide on the next step in the child’s learning.

Watches

Please be reminded that watches worn in school should be unobtrusive and silent. Ideally, they should be

navy/black and should not beep or distract pupils from their work. Analogue watches will support pupils

learning to tell the time. As usual, we caution against bringing anything of high value into school.

Get to know your Class Rep

If you would like to know who your class rep is, please contact Niki Rennardson so she can put you in touch. Please contact Niki on 07768 584627.

Wolds Way Challenge

Please support the Hull Collegiate Prep School’s Wolds Way challenge to complete the 79mile walk from Hessle Haven to Filey Brigg over five legs. Most people would walk the Wolds Way during late spring and early summer when the weather is more favourable with the sun on their back and the landscape softened by new growth. But no! This is after all an outdoor challenge to raise money for ‘The Treehouse’ and outdoor learning opportunities at Collegiate together with Sport Relief 2018. So with the biting wind, bleakness of mid-winter, possibility of a winter wonderland of fresh fallen snow and driving rain all of which contribute in providing the perfect opportunity for a walking challenge! Therefore, I ask you to please be generous in supporting us to reach our goal, fulfil a sense of personal achievement and well-being, and raise a substantial amount of money to be shared equally between the two worthy projects, Sport Relief 2018 and the HCS Outdoor Learning Treehouse. Sport Relief 2018 provided the inspiration with their slogan 'whatever moves you, do it for Sport Relief'.

The 'Treehouse' will serve as an outdoor learning classroom for our Forest School sessions and outdoor activities. Teaching children outdoors encourages curiosity and stimulates all the senses in a way that indoor learning simply can’t do. Forest School at Hull Collegiate has always been an integral enrichment activity since its conception in 2008. With the support from The Friends of Hull Collegiate School, the embryonic development of bringing Forest School home to Tranby Croft began in September 2016 with a substantial investment into resources, together with a fully trained OCN Level 3 Forest School Practitioner. In January 2017 work began on procuring a unique structure, designed and built specifically for the developing needs of our children to bring them closer to the natural world and make their world more adventurous. The ‘treehouse’ will reflect the environment that it is to serve and will ignite the spark within our children to instil the passion, creativity and imagination for the love of adventure that goes hand in hand with Forest School and their future outdoor learning experiences. The treehouse at Tranby will be set within five acres of extensive landscaped gardens, amongst many unique tree specimens collected from around the world and planted by the Wilson Family. Many of these specimens are protected with Tree Preservation Orders to guarantee their longevity and will provide a stunning backdrop for the treehouse. The children will literally step or rather climb into another world and experience the elevation and perspective only accessible from the canopy of the trees. The treehouse at Tranby will become an Icon fitting of Forest School and will function and serve as an outdoor learning and forest school classroom.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and support in this Wolds Way Challenge.

Mr Dyson and Mr North

https://www.gofundme.com/hull-collegiate-wolds-way-challenge

Safi Coffee

Members of Team Uganda delivered another fabulous PowerPoint presentation to a prospective customer about Safi Coffee. Dan Sturdy, owner of the Barista Box was so impressed by their performance he bought 4kg of Safi beans to serve to his customers. We are pleased to inform you Safi Coffee is also on sale now at Beverley Minster.

East Riding Theatre

ERT has announced their season for 2018, kicking off with the theatre’s first in-house production of the year, Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire, which opens in March – it will be the first time the play has been performed outside of Broadway and London. Following a tremendous directorial debut last year with The Night Season, ERT’s artistic director Adrian Rawlins, who recently visited Hull Collegiate School, will be directing this fiercely funny and compelling drama set in South Boston, USA. Visit their website for more information www.eastridingtheatre.co.uk

Future Events

.

Quiz Night - 2nd March 2018

Doors open 19:00. 1st question 19:30

An evening of fun and friendly competition. £10 per person, price includes supper

Summer Fete - 23rd June 2018

Details to follow

Christmas Fair - 2nd December 11:00 – 15:00

Santa’s Grotto, over 30 stalls, children’s activities, Christmas trees and much more