News from
Bablake Junior and Pre Prep School
Chongololo Experience
As a young boy I was always intrigued by the chongololo, the African millipede we can see in the picture. In the tropics they used to creep around our houses, especially in the rainy season.
I am sure they would have preferred forest floors. The one that visited our school earlier this term was a monster, as thick as your finger and segmented in armour. Like a train they slink around corners and bend and weave between obstacles. They are a wonder of nature and apparently make good pets!
The chogololo does not have many predators. At a push they might be eaten by a mongoose, but their strong shells and bitter taste make them immune to all but the most desperate of beasts.
I know all of this through experience, although I could have learned it from books or the telly. This was of course before the internet.
Spring is coming and with it great opportunities to explore and to be outside. There are millipedes in Britain and the humble woodlouse is a well armoured, unusual creature. Our Forest School experiences are proving very popular here at school and I believe children enjoy and benefit from time outside; in the garden, in the woods, hills and dales. Connecting with nature is meant to make us happier too. So let’s get outside this holiday, enjoy the Spring, seek the creatures and connect with nature.
Mr Neil Price Headmaster
Kindergarten
“THIS MANGO IS SLIPPERY!”
AMELIA-GRACE
We’ve had a very busy term in Kindergarten this Spring working through our ‘Healthy Eating’ topic.
The children have:
• Planted cress seeds to develop their knowledge about growth
• Brought in fruit to make a fruit salad – this was a great social activity, which they all really enjoyed
• Engaged in a range of food games related to healthy eating – they especially enjoyed ‘Guess the smelly food’
• Created our own food plates, making decisions on what food was good for us
“I like pineapple because it’s sour.”
Harrison
“Look, I’m mixing the fruit with the spoon.” Luke
“This is yummy.” Wetherley
YUMMY IN MY TUMMY
Reception have been reading the book Oliver’s Fruit Salad by Vivian French and, as a result, have discussed fruit in great detail.
Fruit labels have been inspected for the fruit’s origin and the ever popular globe has been searched to find the location of a variety of countries. The children have all shared in the making of a delicious fruit salad. They have chopped, mixed and of course tasted their creations all with much delight. We are continuing to
THE TIGER WHO CAME TO OUR TEDDY BEAR TEA
To celebrate all of the wonderful work that Reception have done The Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr, the children decided to hold their own tea party. They wrote invitations for their teddies to come along and enjoy the festivities. The teddies and the children had a wonderful tea party. While the children were eating, they were ‘interrupted’ by a greedy tiger. Thankfully, the tiger was soon on his way and the children and teddies were able to continue their tea party and games. Thank you to the parents for their party donations and to the teddies for coming along. We all had a super time!
Year 1 became the solar system when they used inflatables to show how the planets orbit the sun.
For the next mission, the children learned all about life as an astronaut. They were fascinated by how the simplest of tasks become a challenge in space – like eating, drinking and sleeping!
When looking at the constellations, we all enjoyed using spaghetti and marshmallows to recreate some of the well-known constellations – we may have enjoyed a marshmallow or two as well!
The highlight was our Space Day Spectacular. In the run up to this, we designed secret invitations to send home to surprise our loved ones. We even took a trip to post them, particularly exciting for those first time posters, and a challenge for those who struggle to keep a secret. Children chose their activities for the day and displayed some fabulous teamwork.
The celebration ended with a superb demonstration of their space knowledge with a ‘Space quiz’ and they did not disappoint –wowing everyone!
year 2
Tales with a Twist
As part of our recent topic on Traditional Tales and Stories with a Twist, the children dressed up as a character of their choice and took part in a number of exciting activities:
• designing and making a new bed for Goldilocks
• constructing a beanstalk for Jack
• making a new bridge for The Three Billy Goats Gruff
• building a raft for The Gingerbread Man
The children worked together as a team in small groups across the Year Group with great success. Their finished designs were impressive, passing tests for both strength and durability.
#ShortandTweet
As part of our World Book Day Celebrations, the children wrote their own short story as a tweet. This resulted in a multitude of exciting adventures, all told within the constraints of a limited word count.
Once upon a time, there lived a hammerhead shark, who went to the East coast of Singapore for his school holiday and met his friend lemon shark. They went to the amusement park, won prizes of mantis shrimps playing ring the bell game. A fun day for both sharks.
#happyholidays
By Gurshant
ENVIRONMENTAL ART
Year 2 were visited by an environmental artist and had the opportunity to observe and take part in willow weaving. The living structure/dome that was completed on the day will hopefully flourish over the coming months to become a fun and safe place for the children to work and play.
Sneak the curious snake went to Egypt. He found a strange, dark pyramid and went in, but he was scared. Inside was an old wizard who said “No one may enter here. I’ll turn you to stone!” Sneak understood the wizard was lonely, not evil, and said “Let’s be friends.”
So they were.
By Leo
Junior School News
PRIMARY MATHS CHALLENGE CERTIFICATE WINNERS
Huge congratulations to three of our Year 6 pupils who have been presented with awards by The Mathematical Association in this year’s final round of the Primary Mathematics Challenge (PMC).
These prestigious honours demonstrate their achievements as some of the best young mathematicians in the UK. Well done to Ava (Silver award), Bavan (Bronze Award), and Aaryan (Bronze Award) for all their hard work throughout this competition and the various stages that took place over several months.
To help clarify the scale of these achievements here are a few number facts:
• Over 66,500 pupils entered the Primary Maths Challenge
• 2,521 pupils were invited to the Bonus Round - seven of which were from Bablake
• There were only 1,590 awards given
• Bablake had one Silver Award - out of 685 given nationally
• Bablake had two Bronze Awards - out of 710 g iven nationally
Teyah Amlani Atreya Bhave Aaryan Gill
Gill Ava Kealy
Spring Concert
The Informal Concert was a great success with more musicians than ever before.
The School Orchestra opened proceedings, with Autumn by Vivaldi being the highlight of their performance. The brass group debuted after a term of practice and they did a great job on the first few pieces they have all been learning. Several vocal soloists performed – Zulekha sang beautifully. The Strings played a very important part throughout the concert with numerous pieces. The choir received a warm response from the large audience after a wonderful performance. Percussion finished the proceedings with a composition by Simon Wagstaff, who also contributed. As usual, it ended with a ‘loud bang’ to round things off.
The evening was a lovely celebration of the immense musical talent we have at Bablake Junior School.
Year 6
Year 5
Year 4
Year 3
Nelson Thomas Goodyear
Sean George
Nancy Parker-Griffin
Mya Jawanda
*Simran Mandhyan
Eliot Aniah Agbelusi
Rio Khaira
Aaryan Saran
Manpreet Nagra
*Leo Guo
Churchill Teyah Amlani
Jude Clarke
Reza Dashti
Prabjan Hayer
*India Print
Kavin Raja
Nosarume Iyengunmwena
Nzumbu Nemukovhani
Christian Kwok
*Harrison Phipps
Lara Bateson
Lucas Heer
Anish Soni
Sukhmani Chhokar
*Atreya Bhave
Serena Sahota
Shawn Aikhionbare
Tiyana Muchenje
Hope May
*Caelan Jess
* Indicates pupils who were on the podium for Fast Maths.
Darcey Hands
Aidhan Dosanjh
Ayo Giwa
Venice Kwok
*Arun Selopal
Akshaya Sivamayakumar
Nakshatra Pradeep
Ariel Tsang
Ariana Ayers
*Jay Heer
Nathan Chesworth
Henry Cooper
Kiyaan Naheem
Aaron Davis
*Oyebola Afilaka
Ariana Norman Osarugue Iyengunmwena
Lennon Alcock
Amy Mhurushomana
*Haroun Amar
Alexa Parr
Oliver Rees
Veer Gill
Julius Tan
*Maryam Mirza
Gursevak Shergill
Jensen Clarke
Minnah Abdel-Maksoud
Connor Clifford
*Adam Jhumka
ROMAN SHIELDS
This term, Year 3 have had a fantastic time learning about The Romans and exploring how they used to live. We have looked at the expansion of the Roman Empire, hierarchy, towns and roads, baths and toilets – with toilets being the children’s obvious favourite, of course!
The half term holiday homework task was to make shields and swords and they did a mighty fine job. They have thoroughly enjoyed practising different army formations, such as the ‘testudo’ (tortoise) and re-enacting a Roman battle.
CASTLE CURIOSITY
Year 3 had a fantastic time visiting Warwick Castle this term. The children explored different areas, learning about the attack and defence features of the castle. Highlights included climbing the ramparts, visiting the Kingmaker and the Horrible Histories Maze. A hugely successful day, enjoyed by all, that supported the children’s learning in school.
year 4 Spectacular Science!
Year 4 went on a trip to the British Motor Museum as part of National Science Week. We explored and took part in a range of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths) activities, from designing our own Land Rovers to controlling Robots. There was even a Science Show for us to be amazed at – everyone had a fantastic time!
Fantasy Worlds Meet Year 4 Art
Spanish sculptor, Joan Miro, who was inspired by fantasy worlds, was the basis for this term’s Art project. Year 4 have created wire and papier-mâché sculptures incorporating Miro’s ideas on symbolism, represented in line and shape.
year 5 Forces in Science
Year 5 went to the MAD museum in Stratford to link with their work on Computer Aided Manufacture (CAMs) in Design Technology and Forces in Science. They looked at some amazing models using CAMs, levers and pulleys and got to try out some games and puzzles related to the machines. They returned to the classroom and used their DT skills to design their own moving toys using CAMS.
“Paired Maths has really helped me get better at my times tables and now I am really good at them.”
Maya
“I love Paired Maths because the Seniors help you when you don’t understand something. I’m so grateful for Paired Maths as it’s helped me improve my times tables.
Stefanie
“Paired Maths lets you learn in a fun way. It’s been a great opportunity!”
George
“It is really fun and helps me to learn more Maths.”
Emma
“Paired Maths is great. It helps my skills improve and makes me better at Big Maths Beat That. My partner, Freya, is very nice to me and congratulates me when I get a high number. It gave me courage to do Big Maths faster.”
Eva
PAIRED MATHS
Over 25 enthusiastic mathematicians in Year 5 have been working with pupils from the Senior School to improve their recall of the 36 key addition and 36 multiplication facts. This fluency practice is part of our program of Big Maths Total Recall to help improve fluency of these essential facts. We have been playing games in pairs to race to be the first to answer the questions. These facts
GALAPAGOS POETRY
Throat of the serene, cloudless sky, towers above me, Black imps of hell trample on me, Seas undulating crash through my hopes, Quivering in the lightest wind, I fly high.
By Toby
Liquefaction through a sapphire sky, Creeping upwards from the horizon, Streams of melted gold fills the sky, Clouds of pearl envelope the sun.
Happy Birthday Charles Darwin!
Year 6 celebrated Charles Darwin’s birthday with lots of activities throughout the day.
• Zoo Lab came along to share some creatures –everything from slimy Giant African Snails to fluffy white Rats and even a Giant African Millipede.
• The pupils took turns visiting the Senior School Biology labs, dissecting fish to gain practical scientific experience.
• Pupils went outdoors in the School Spinney to have a go at setting their own Darwin style pitfall traps for the bugs.
• The pupils used live locusts as models for their own artwork, referring to Darwin’s drawings for inspiration.
Inconceivable species, Perched upon the black basaltic lava, Massive and black, The frigate birds, Quivering in the lightest winds. Bright, red-orange crabs, Unremarked upon their songs, And the great Marine Iguana, Lie on the Galapagos.
By Munria
BRITISH SCIENCE WEEK
Following their work on Charles Darwin, the Year 6 classes covered further environmental issues during British Science Week. They held a Trash Mob (a quick fire, high-energy litter pick) on the school grounds to investigate our levels of single-use plastic. They also held the ‘The Great Plastic Debate’ in each classroom by working on
NSPCC
Thank you for supporting our fundraising efforts on behalf of the NSPCC – we’ve raised an amazing £540 so far!
World Book Day
We had a very busy World Book Day this year with activities throughout the Pre Prep and the Junior School. Everyone wore pyjamas and got to bring their teddies to school. There were group sessions for reading (some lucky groups had cookies and milk too), the Book Fair was on, and we even held our own Book Swap at the Junior School. It was a busy day with lots of reading and book activities.
The proceeds from World Book Day will support former pupil Sophie Zgraya who is running the London Marathon for this amazing charity. The non-uniform combined with the cake sale was a great effort from everyone – and thanks for the yummy donations of cake too. Sophie came to visit to talk to the children about the marathon and she tells us that a marathon is 111 laps of the front field!
We’ve also started selling House scrunchies made from the Junior School House tie material to continue support for this charity. This is an ongoing effort and we have so far raised £140. There seems to be lots of interest so far and the girls are enjoying having them to tie back their long hair.
SPORT RELIEF
The whole school took part in Sports Relief by dressing up in sports kit for the day and participating in various sporting activities. This really is a great charity and it is wonderful to join the rest of the country in being sporty –we raised over £300!
Girls’ Sport
IAPS Regional Netball Finals for U11s at Uppingham
What a day it turned out to be – the U11s played amazingly well! There were 30 of the best schools in the region in the tournament.
The pace of play was incredibly fast and intense, and the standard was amazing. The weather was awful, freezing cold, and Bablake played really well to win all of their pool matches against The Elms, King Henry VIII and The Old School Hall to qualify for the quarter finals.
After an epic match they drew 5-5 against Magdalen College; the game went into extra time! Magdalen College had first centre and despite a turn over from the girls’ they managed to score first. The girls fought on and managed to equalise, but after the final whistle, the other school declared the central timing was wrong and went on for 40 seconds too long! The other school complained that Bablake’s goal was after the six allocated minutes and after tense discussions it was deemed that Bablake had not equalised in time and so were out of the competition. It was a horrible way to loose, but the girls played so well despite many decisions not going our way! I was really proud of all the girlswell done everyone.
Mrs Haywood
NETBALL
Bablake Junior School Netball this year has been absolutely amazing! We have had to cancel some matches but have still had an incredibly busy term with many fixtures and tournaments still able to go ahead across all four age groups with a great deal of success.
Well done to all our 12 teams across the age ranges, who have won over 90% of the matches played, including all the tournaments! Once again, we have five of our teams unbeaten for the whole season! What an achievement!
The U11s played amazingly well this year, only losing two matches in the whole season – WOW!
The A team won the Warwick Tournament, beating six other teams. The B team came second in their tournament, only being beaten by St Martin’s A Team. A fantastic achievement by both teams.
The Under 10s and under 9s have also played really well this year with great wins against King Henry VIII, Solihull, St Martin’s, Croft, Crackley Hall and Warwick. Well done!
HOCKEY
The teams continued strongly this term, achieving a creditable draw against Solihull, and some super wins against Arnold Lodge, The Croft and St Martin’s.
TOURNAMENTS
Well done to the girls who played in some really challenging conditions! The U11s came fourth in their tournament and the U10s came second. A great effort from you all!
Well done to everyone who competed in all of the sports teams this term. Thank you for your hard work and a special thanks to all the parents for your support at all of the matches, whatever the weather.
Boys’ Sport
Football
Despite the very wet weather we have experienced this winter, Bablake Junior School have managed to play 54 Football matches!
There has been the usual success accompanied with this most popular sport with 75% of the matches being undefeated. Every boy has represented the School in a fixture, which is a great achievement for everyone involved including, teachers, coaches and groundsmen!
All the boys have really benefited from some expert coaching this year in the form of Mr Roberts who as an ex-professional footballer and coach who knows how to get the best out of the young players.
The U11 squad have continued to really enjoy their football this term and there has there has been real competition for places. The A team have been exceptional and have only lost one match out of 11 fixtures. Unfortunately, that loss came during the Finals of the Indoor Football Championship, which meant they narrowly missed getting into the knockout stage. This was a great shame as the boys had played really well to get themselves in contention to win the competition.
The C and D teams have also enjoyed great success and they have finished the season undefeated which shows real strength in depth.
The U10s have made remarkable improvements under Mr Roberts’ coaching and as a squad have only lost one match! The A team in particular now play good football very well together as a team. There are some very talented boys in this age group and they will undoubtedly be an even stronger team next year.
The U9s have been very enthusiastic this year and really enjoy playing football. The A team continue to develop and have had success with wins against Balsall Common and King Henry VIII. The B team have made great improvements and have ended up winning most of their matches.
The U8s are arguably the most talented group in the school and have been very impressive. They really play well as a group and have beaten some very good teams throughout the term. It has been great to see everyone in Year 3 representing the school this term and this has been an excellent experience for them all.
Well done to all of our footballers this year!
Mr Benfield