Simba - Spring 2012

Simba

Spring2012

Debby Lapworth and Sport Relief, inspiring us to think of others.

AUTHOR VISIT To inspire and enrich writing, local author Janet Roberts visited school on Friday 10th February to share her work and writing tips. The Misadventures of Chico Chugg is Janet’s first book to be published and we have been promised more to follow. This was a fantastic opportunity for children to question a writer on the story writing process and to develop their own strategies and motivation.

MENU TO MAKE YOUR TEACHER ANGRY

Starter Glorious graffiti on a succulent warm toast, A roasted haddock, soaked with silly spelling mistakes, Tender goujons garnished with writing on the desk, Flavoursome soup mixed with a selection of carefully chosen bad manners.

Main Course Marinated turkey with a glitzy, gold topping of rocking on chairs, Carefully opened clouds of potato stuffed with stupidity, Devilish dressing of shouting out in class, Honey glazed pork with a side of fighting.

Dessert A platter of cheese cake with a side of arguing, A vanilla cloud of ice cream topped with muddy shoes.

You will surely enjoy this fabulous experience!

By Manav and Joe.

ELECTRICITY TOPIC

YEAR

4 children

used their

knowledge

from their electricity

YEAR 4 DT MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PROJECT

topic to bring their

clowns faces

to life

with

lit up noses

and spinning

bow ties!

YEAR 4 MASK MAKING IN ART

RUN!!

We were so pleased that many children from Bablake entered Radio 2’s 500 word competition. Apparently there were 74,000 entries! Lucas Bennett was one of several Bablake Junior School pupils who made it through to the next round; his story is in the top 2000 – good luck Lucas!

“I knew this was a mistake!”. Dave sat sadly in the clubhouse, desperately trying not to catch the eyes of the two boys glaring at him across the room. He’d recently moved into the area and had only joined the running club to stop his Mum nagging him about not getting enough exercise.

“Ok lads, let’s get moving” encouraged Chris, the coach. Dave asked if he could go on the training run with someone as he didn’t know the route. “Sure” exclaimed Chris and to Dave’s horror he beckoned the two boys over who had been pulling faces at him. “Tom and Bill will look after you”.

“Great!” thought Dave,” Just my luck!”.

Outside, it was freezing cold and pitch black. Dave tugged his hat down over his frozen ears. They set off and, much to his amazement, Dave was able to keep up with the others. Suddenly, Tom shouted that Dave’s shoelace was coming undone. “We can’t wait for you, turn left at the end of this road” shouted Bill as they sprinted off into the distance. Dave tied his lace and continued on his run. He turned left but quickly had to vault over a fence into a dark wood.

“That’s strange” thought Dave, squinting really hard, trying to see the other runners.

The silvery moon appeared from behind a cloud. He was scared now, branches snagged at his hair and tree roots tried to

wrap themselves round his ankles. He was breathing really hard and loud. Behind him a twig snapped, he felt sure he could see a swirling shadow, he gulped hard and ran faster than he’d ever run before.

Eventually, by some miracle, Dave made it back to the clubhouse, where Tom and Bill were waiting, laughing at him. “Don’t forget the race on Saturday” called Chris as Dave and his Mum left, Tom’s and Bill’s taunts still ringing in his ears.

On the start line on Saturday, Dave was petrified. Everyone was pushing and shoving to get a good position. Bill sniggered “Hope no-one gets lost this time!” The starter pulled the trigger and 150 boys exploded into action, leaving Dave behind, alone. Dave closed his eyes. He imagined he was back in the wood. He remembered how scared he’d been and he started to run. He felt like the dark swirling shadow from the wood was chasing him. Faster and faster he ran, overtaking running vest after running vest. The shadow was breathing down his neck, he was desperate to get away.

His heart was pounding in his mouth, his muscles were screaming, but he couldn’t stop, he had to escape. He sped towards the finish, he would be safe if only he could cross the line...

That night, just before he went to sleep, Dave proudly looked at his gold medal one more time. He thought of Bill’s and Tom’s shocked faces when he had passed them on the home straight. “Thanks boys, I couldn’t have done it without you!”.

Lucas Bennett

“Now I know that you have to be over 135cm before you can sit in the car without a car seat. That was useful information like evertying else you taught us!”

James McCook

YEAR 3 SAFETY CENTRE “I really liked the bit when we were in the shop. And about the petrol station. I really liked the Safety Centre and I would like to go again” Oliver Spencer

“My favourite part was when the house caught fire because the coat had fall on to the radiator, but thankfully you taught us what to do and we were ok“ Aamir Lockhat-Clegg

Chess

Clas sics

Bablake Junior Chess team have had a very successful year.

Both A and B teams take part in the Coventry Schools Chess league. This involves playing on Friday nights throughout the Autumn and Spring Terms and requires considerable dedication. The teams compete in the B league and are the only Junior School side in the competition.

Despite their youth, they have achieved several super victories over secondary school opposition. The A team finished a very creditable second in the league this year. They have been committed players;

always playing to a very high standard. The team also reached the B league cup final this year. Unfortunately, we lost narrowly in the final: 2.5 to 3.5 I would like to thank the pupils for their dedication and care when representing the school. Some of their opponents have been rather surprised at the standard of their game! I am sure that we will continue to have a very strong team nexy year.

On Monday the 20th of February, members from Year 6 took part in a Classics evening.

The pupils worked extremely hard to learn the song “Just Like a Roman�. They performed this with gusto and verve over in the EDM block in front of a packed house! The pupils were largely responsible for the performance; coming up with some imaginative choreography!

This song was part of a larger performance in which children from the Senior School took part. This was a really enjoyable experience for the children and they seemed to relish taking part in a co-production. I would like to thank them for all of their hard work.

Mr Norman

Mr Norman

Isabelle Hemus, George Parker, Will Sibley & Hannah Elsy

At Bablake we want your children to thrive in the classroom and in life.

In preparation for this, many of our pupils enjoy responsibilities that support the community.

Pictured are the Head Boy and Girl from the Junior School and the Senior School. These young people represent their peers. There is of course only one Head Boy and Girl in the school but in our families all of our children are extraordinary individuals and every one of them is a valued member of our community.

Creat ive Writ ing

The Magic Box

I will put in the box:

The brightest sun setting behind the trees,

The sound of birds singing their joyful songs to each other, And the smell of freshly baked bread.

I will put in the box: The silkiness of a rabbit’s soft fluffy fur,

After reading Mary Howitt’s poem, “The Spider and the Fly” 5K wrote to the spider to try to persuade him to stop eating flies and other insects.

We have great concerns about your friendship problems. Who can trust you when you flatter and deceive at every opportunity?

Who would like you: a dangerous criminal on the loose? The rumours will soon spread; already bugs have begun to flee in terroryet you still manage to gorge yourself on them.

By Eva Kant - 5K

A bit of chocolate melting in my mouth, And the swishing of the trees waving their arms slowly.

I will put in the box:

There was a young lady from china,

The sound of the waves quietly crashing against the rocks,

Who went for a cruise on a liner,

The sight of small, tiny rabbits playing amongst the flowers,

She fell on the deck,

And the soft feathers of a bird.

And twisted her neck,

I will put in the box:

And now she can see right behind her!

A flower garden with different colours looking like a rainbow,

bY jOSPEH rOBSON

The sweet smell of roses below my feet,

A Description of Smaug from the Hobbit He lies on a pile of treasure, every inch of him glistening with gold. His tail wrapped round him like a ball of orange wool and fire and smoke billows out his nose as he snores. Large fangs protrude out his enormous jaw and a long, snaky tongue drapes out his mouth. His wings cover large spaces and have claws at the end. Amongst all this was a brain. Smaug’s brain liked people admiring him and the fear that most people possessed of him. That was on good days! On bad days Smaug had a fierce temper and would jump out the mountain and eat up anyone who annoyed him. He has a evil mind but also likes to be pretty and to be flattered.

By Izzy Hemus - 6N

And the lovely smell of my mum’s roast dinner.

My box is fashioned from gold, ice and silver,

There was once a young, lively bee Who really disturbed a big tree

With stars all around it, And secrets inside.

I shall travel in my box, To places like China, And play till the sun sets.

There once was a boy called Terry Who went for a trip on a ferry He bought a toy car And shouted hoorah And began to feel very merry

By Tom Parks

By Jasmine Harrison

He got stuck in a branch And had no chance, Of possibly getting free.

By Tom Dewes - 3F

There once was a lady from Spain, That had a young foal with a mane, She started to cry, Got killed by a fly, And nothing was left but her brain!

By Eleanor Baird.

BABLAKE JUNIOR ACHIEVES BEST EVER SCHOLARSHIP RESULTS Bablake Junior School pupils were celebrating remarkable success in this year’s Bablake School Entrance Exam. Seven pupils were awarded Scholarships, a record breaking result.

“We are thrilled with how well our pupils have done and their hard work is reflected in their success. For the fifth year running all of our Year 6 pupils have gained places at Bablake School. The childrens’ parents and everyone at the Junior School do their best to facilitate this success and our pupils flourish in the supportive environment.”

In the picture are Harry Hine, Amrit Gill, Maryam Ismail, Hana Dhanini and Emma Blackett who received academic awards, Anna White, who won a Music Scholarship and Art Scholar Ashleigh Stonier.

Art Displays

Year 5 Trip to Medieval Coventry Everyone at Bablake Junior School enthusiastically supported this wonderful venture. Over £400 was raised through our one mile run.

Some of this money is going to CHILDREN with CANCER UK and we are delighted that our own Debby Lapworth is competing in the London Marathon in support of this fine charity.

Everyone dressed up and made it round the mile. It was great to see so many parents and the teachers enjoying the community experience. We were very pleased to be part of this record breaking charity event.

One freezing February morning, Head of History, Mr. Norman, led our energetic Year 5 through Coventry to look at the remaining Medieval parts. Enthusiastically, we left school, hoping to learn a lot about our city’s past.

Ayman Farid 5K Firstly, we walked over the bridge to see Coventry’s magnificent spires.

Churches in Medieval times were giant so you’d feel small; this was so you could see how great God is. The church was an important part of life, in fact if you didn’t go to church you were considered as odd.

The spires were built on high ground and would have been seen for miles.

Now there are huge office blocks obscuring the views, we have to remember that medieval homes weren’t that big.

Elizabeth Hayes 5K Next, we stopped off at Cook Street’s gate. There

were twelve city gates in Medieval times but only two have survived. I noticed there was a gargoyle on the gate for as they believed in God, they also believed in the devil. Passing through the gate, I looked up and observed Coventry’s symbol of the elephant with a castle on its back.

Kelly Turnbull 5K The wall enclosing Coventry was 12 feet in height and 8 feet thick. It was two and one eight of a mile long.

It was started in 1355 and took 179 years to complete.

Tax was collected from the people of Coventry to pay for the wall’s upkeep and repairs. This tax was called murage, from the latin meaning wall.

Conor Jelley 5K After all the hard work building the wall it was demolished by King Charles II in 1662. All that money and effort just went down the drain! 179 years! King Charles II had a reason for

this; he destroyed the wall because Coventry had supported Parliamentarian causes.

Zahrah Jahangir 5K We also visited St. Michael’s church. This church was bombed during the nine hour Blitz in 1940. Incendiary bombs (bombs that explode into fire, marking the place where the bombs that did the damage should be dropped) fell on the lead roof, causing it to collapse. It makes me feel amazed when I think back to the times where intricate, stained glass filled the now gloomy, empty gaps.

Eva Kant 5K Even though I am a Coventrian, I never realised all the treasures that are in the city!

Now I feel proud of living in Coventry. I wonder what other treasures are hiding out there.

Zahrah Jahangir 5K

e

h th t i w Tour try d n aa en e v T o 5 C Year ayor of M Lord

You can imagine how delighted Year 5 pupils were to be invited to take tea with the Lord Mayor of Coventry, Councillor Keiran Mulhall.

The event was featured as a ‘highlight of the year’ for many of the children.

As part of our work on Coventry in both History and Geography, we arranged a visit the Council House and St Mary’s Guildhall with the help of Mrs Bennett, Lucas’s Mum. We could not believe our luck when the Lord Mayor said he would be like to have tea with us.

Having learned about the role of the Lord Mayor, the children were very pleased to have the opportunity to ask all kinds of searching questions to Councillor Mulhall about his role as the First Citizen. The children learned that the Lord Mayor actively promotes the local area to industrialists and tourists, as well as championing causes and raising the profile of the local community and the Council.

Throughout the year, the Lord Mayor meets with people of all ages and backgrounds. He has recently returned from a trip to India.

The Lord Mayor also told us about his chosen

charities. This year he is calling on everyone in Coventry to join together and donate a one off one pound, to go towards his selected charities.

The beneficiaries of this year’s appeal are: Coventry Ophthalmology Service, UHCW Charity Army Benevolent Fund - The Soldiers’ Charity

The Chamber was built between 1913 and 1917 and is furnished with Warwickshire oak – a wood known for being soft and easy to carve when young, but which mellows and becomes extremely hard over time. The craftsmen who carved the oak, paid testament to the animals that had lost their habitats due to removal of the wood by carving them into the design.

We were then taken through ‘the time tunnel’ into St Mary’s Guildhall, the finest meCoventry Children with Special Educational dieval guild hall in the country. First built in needs the 1340s for the merchant guild of St. Mary, it was enlarged between 1394 and 1414 and At the end of the Mayoral year, all of the extensively embellished at the end of the 15th money raised for the campaign will be divided century. Soon after it was built, it was also adbetween the beneficiaries. Many children opted as the headquarters for the mayor and wanted to make a donation to these charities city leaders, and the corporation of Coventry and we were able to give the money to the remained there until the early 20th century Lord Mayor during tea. The money was very when Coventry Council House was built. warmly received.

We visited a series of rooms with collections We were given a tour of the Coventry City of early arms and armour, the furniture and Council Chamber by John Bourne and the artworks providing a suitable backdrop to the children were even allowed to sit in the fascinating stories shared by our knowledgeCouncillor’s seats! able guides, John Bourne and Kip Bhandal.

The main attraction is the magnificent Great Hall, with its medieval stained glass, a ceiling of carved angels and, dominating an entire wall, one of the rarest and most important tapestries in the country.

In the old Council Chamber we saw some interesting carvings of the ‘Coventry Elephant’ – which were fascinating as they were carved by people who had never seen an elephant!

The tour was a great success. It gave the children a real sense of Coventry’s medieval past, with the Lord Mayor forming the link with the first Mayor who was inaugurated in 1345. We could see how Coventry’s civic tradition still holds strong today.

Many thanks go to the Lord Mayor, John Bourne and Kip Bhandal, who made us so very welcome and Mrs Bennett, who helped to organise the visit.

NETBALL NEWS It has been an exciting and busy term for all Bablake netball teams, with a plethora of matches being played.

GIRLS RELAY TEAM COVENTRY CITY FOOTBALL DAY

The U11A team has defeated teams from Arnold Lodge, Ruckleigh, Crescent and Kingsley Prep this term. They also participated and gained valuable experience in two tournaments, taking third place in the Tudor Hall Netball Festival. The U11B team continued last term’s winning ways and remain unbeaten. This term they added a 9-2 victory over Eversfield, and a 6-5 defeat of King Henry’s.

MIXED RELAY TEAM

BOYS RELAY TEAM

The U10A and B teams have competed not only against teams in their age group but also against U11 teams. The A team secured a fine 5-3 victory over an U11 Ruckleigh team, defeated Crescent 9-1 and 5-1 and then won a closely contested match against the Croft 6-3.

FOOTBALL

CROSS COUNTRY

This has been a very successful season with every boy in the school having the opportunity to represent a team. There have been some fantastic games and Bablake Junior School ran out winners in most of them.

This has been another hugely successful season for those representing our teams and for everyone else at the school who has helped in this success simply by taking part.

The U10A team reached the quarter final in their first ever tournament and then finished in 5th place in the U11 Tudor Hall Netball Festival. Congratulations to Jasmyn Leong who was voted ‘Player of the Tournament’, a fantastic achievement when chosen from 55 players, most of whom were U11.

The girls ran magnificently in September to come second in the Year 5 and win the Year 6 race at St Martins. The house cross country a few weeks later, where every pupil in the school tried their best, was a fine affair supported by many parents.

Churchill came out on top, closely followed

by Elliot and Nelson.

The U9A team have made a fantastic start to their netball careers at Bablake and are unbeaten in all their games this season. This term alone, they have recorded an excellent 6-3 defeat of KHPS, 7- 3 victory over Warwick Prep and 8-0 over Arnold Lodge. The U9B team have enjoyed their first matches and can be proud of their early performances.

The Under 8s have had a good first season with several very close games including victory over Arnold Lodge and a good draw with Eversfield. The B Team were undefeated.

The Under 9s were very successful, only narrowly losing to Fairfield and winning all their other games, including notable victories against King Henrys, Twycross and Eversfield.

The Under 10 A&B Teams enjoyed victories against Eversfield, Twycross and The Crescent. A draw with Warwick was followed by a defeat for the A Team in the return leg, whilst the B Team went from victory to defeat!

The Under 11s saved their best performance for the last game where they were outstanding against King Henrys, the A Team winning 4-0, the B Team winning 2-1.

A great term’s sport. Many thanks to all the coaches.

In the Coventry Schools events our teams have been magnificent. The girls won both the A and B competitions, whilst the boys battled hard to come in third and fourth.

Over 20 schools take part. In the recent relays, the girls were again outstanding, winning their event. The mixed team also came out winners after some determined performances. The boys team came home in third and were delighted with their bronze medals.

This has been another fantastic season.

Many thanks to Mrs Price, Mrs Reed and all the games staff for their commitment.

A special thank you must go to parents and family members for their invaluable support at matches throughout the season. Cries from the most ardent dad of ‘tackle her’ and ‘you’re shooting into the wrong goal’ have been much appreciated! Next season will see the return of rounders matches, which are equally exciting for both player and spectator, so hopefully we can rely on your support.

Inter House Netball winners

Year 6 Nelson, Year 5Churchill, Year 4 Eliot

Mrs Reed, Mrs Huxter and Miss Summers

Bablake Open Evening Friday 22nd June 2012 5.00pm - 8.00pm Visits during school day welcome all year Bablake is a high - achieving independent school in Coventry for boys and girls aged 3 - 18, where individuals thrive as members of a happy, caring and ambitious academic community. For more information about fee reductions and transport arrangements or to request a prospectus, please consult:

www.bablake.com