Habs Weekly
Junior School edition
Friday 22 September 2023
AutumnTerm
Head of Junior School’s message
Community is at the heart of Habs and this week has been filled with opportunities to celebrate community. On Monday morning Mr Lock explained in assembly about the history of ‘The Haberdashers’ Company’ and that we are all Haberdashers. Last Friday, Ms Elliott and I had the privilege of taking our Year 6 House Captains to Haberdashers’ Hall to take part in the inaugural Young Leadership Day. The House Captains had the opportunity to develop their leadership skills with other pupils’ from across the Haberdashers’ consortium through a series of workshops designed to develop their skills in teamwork, creativity, problem solving and public speaking.
A special report from the House Captains...
We spent last Friday at Haberdashers’ Hall with year 6 pupils from across the Haberdashers’ schools. The purpose of the visit was to improve our leadership, communication and listening skills. Throughout the day we took part in various activities linked to our five senses. One of the activities was to make an origami flower, we learnt how to listen to instructions and how as leaders we need to listen to other people in our community and not just our friends.
We also had the opportunity to get to know and work with other Habs pupils; within hours of meeting each other we had to trust our new friends to guide us around obstacles while blindfolded whilst music was blaring and to keep us on our toes our teachers kept moving the obstacles too.
We had a fantastic day; we developed our leadership skills as house captains and how to lead our houses to success. We can’t wait to have more opportunities to lead our houses.
House Captains: Anara, Anaya, Henrietta, Isabel, Kourtney, Olivia, Sienna, Sylvie.
Mrs Claire Brown Head of Junior SchoolCornflower Assembly
Friday 15 September
Friday afternoon assemblies are always a time of joy and celebration in the Junior School. Our weekly Cornflower Assembly celebrates individuals who have particularly demonstrated ways in which they have embodied our school values: Courage Curiosity Community and Ambition. We cherish our cornflower assemblies and hope that you enjoy celebrating with us too.
Ambition
Kyra (Rainbow Red)
Ziyana-Fatema (1 Purple)
Georgiana (3A)
Athena (4 Aleph)
Amelia (5 Aleph)
Anara (6 Aesc)
Ariyan (6 Aesc)
Curiosity
Siyenna (Rainbow Blue)
Ruhi (Rainbow Blue)
Audrey (1 Orange)
Aliya (2 Alpha)
Shaylee (4 Aleph)
Amba (6 Aleph)
Community
Victoria (Rainbow Red)
Leela (1 Orange)
Amani (1 Purple)
Mmesoma (3 Alpha)
Avni (3 Alpha)
Holly (4 Aesc)
Eliz (5 Aesc)
Monika (5 Aleph)
Courage
Sophia (1 Purple)
Alba (1 Purple)
Cordelia (2A)
Poppy Alpha)
Eva (2 Alpha)
Talia (3A)
Georgia (5 Aesc)
Rainbow to Year 6 Information
Lunch Menus
WEEK COMMENCING 25 SEPTEMBER
Please click here to view our Rainbow and KS1 lunch menu.
Please click here to view our KS2 lunch menu.
Wraparound Care
BOOKING LINK
Please click here to book your child into Wraparound Care.
Uniform
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Please click here to view information on the new phasing in plans.
Parent Handbook
Please click here to review the Parent Information Booklet for 2023/24
Snacks
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Please kindly remember that, in line with government guidance, grapes or olives should be cut in half and cherries should be de-stoned if these foods are brought in for snacks. A full list of permitted breaktime snacks can be found in the Parent Information Booklet.
Harvest Festival
MONDAY 9 OCTOBER
Please click here to read about the plans for Harvest Festival on Monday 9 October and how your family can help support this event.
Individual Pupil Photographs
WEDNESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER
Parents are reminded that all pupils will have their individual photograph taken on Wednesday 27 September. A card with a QR code for viewing and ordering the photo will be sent home with your daughter on the same day. Please look out for this in their school bag.
Authorised Collectors
All adults who are authorised collectors for your child should be registered as such on the Parent Portal. We are not able to release your child to any adult who is not registered as an authorised collector.
If you are making a change to your child’s authorised collectors on the Parent Portal within 48 hours of the time you wish your child to be collected by this adult, please also send notice of this in writing to your child’s class teacher and Mrs Walsh. Parents do not need to list themselves as authorised collectors.
Junior School Playground
The Junior School playground is staffed and open to students from 8am. To ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our students, no Junior School child should be on the playground before this time, even if they are accompanied by an adult. If students arrive before 8am, we ask that they wait outside the playground with an adult or remain in their vehicle until the playground is staffed.
Breakfast Club is available for families who would like to drop their children at school before 8am.Breakfast Club is available for families who would like to drop their children at school before 8am. Pupils need to be booked in by the Friday of the previous week to be included in the register for the following week. If parents need to make an emergency booking, an email must be sent to Mrs Walsh so that the register can be updated.
Please book via the Wraparound Care link on page 4 If any Junior School students are found to be unaccompanied by an adult before 8am, they will be taken to Breakfast Club for their safety, and a charge will be applied.
NEW NEW
Autumn 1 Curriculum Documents
There is so much to be excited about in the coming weeks. Learning in Rainbow will be led by the children’s interests and key events.
The curriculum overviews below, for Years 1 to 6, outline the topics that will be covered in class this half term.
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Year 4 Year 5 Year 6
Family Fridays
We will be once again inviting parents into school for our Family Friday events, which will take place on the following dates:
Key dates:
Friday 13 October 2023 (8am to 8.30am)
Friday 10 November 2023 (3pm to 3.30pm)
Friday 8 December 2023 (8am to 8.30am)
Rainbow Years 1, Year 3 and Year 5
Rainbow only
Rainbow, Years 2, Year 4 and Year 6
Classrooms will be open from 8am and you are welcome to pop in any time up until 8.30am, when we will revert to normal registration and lessons. This term Family Fridays will take place in the classrooms; there will be opportunities to see the wider school with your daughter in the Spring and Summer terms.
On arrival at school, please use the car park as opposed to the drop off lanes and walk to the Junior School. The middle doors will be open from 8am and from there you will head to your child’s classroom, where you will sign in. If you have more than one child involved in the event, older siblings will collect their work and meet you in the classroom of the younger sibling
Should you be unable to join your child, they will have the opportunity to bring home some of the work to share with you the evening before. If you would like your child to bring work home because you are unable to attend, please contact their class teacher.
Parent Talks
Additionally, we are offering a range of short parent talks for parents to attend. These will take place between 8 30am and 9am, straight after Family Friday, and will consist of a short talk followed by an opportunity to ask related questions. The talks will be repeated in both halves of the term, and you may attend even if your daughter’s year group do not have Family Friday The programme for this academic year is shown below:
• Benefits of ‘Outdoor Learning’
Autumn Term
(Friday 13 October and Friday 8 December)
Spring Term
(Friday 9 February and Friday 22 March)
Summer Term
(Friday 24 May and Friday 21 June)
• Building Resilience and Learning Through Failure
• Supporting Spelling
• Developing Independence
• Using devices to complement learning
• Developing a Curious Mind
• Negotiating Friendships
• Building strong mental health and coping strategies
• Written Methods in Maths
• Oracy in the Junior School
Please use this form to indicate if you wish to attend this term. The form will remain open until Monday 9 October at 12pm.
St Catherine Parents' Guild Fireworks Extravaganza NEW
Rainbow Parent Meetings
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Rainbow parents are invited to make an appointment to meet with your daughter’s class teacher to discuss how they have settled into Rainbow on either Tuesday 3 October or Thursday 5 October, between 4pm and 6pm. Each appointment will be 10 minutes long and these will take place in the classrooms.
Booking Appointments
We will be using an online booking system, which allows parents to select their own appointment time. This can be accessed via this link or through the parent portal on Firefly, clicking the ‘Parents’ Evening System’ button.
When logging in you will need to provide your full name as per our records, your child’s full name (no nicknames or shortened names) and their class. When you type in your child’s class you must leave a space between the words (Rainbow Red or Rainbow Blue).
The online booking system will open at 8pm on Monday 25 September and will close at midday on Friday 29 September. After this deadline you will not be able to create or amend appointments online.
If you have any queries, please contact Mrs Karaolou in the Junior School office on 0208 266 2425.
Rainbow to Year 2 Little Habs Minibus Service Trial
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read important communication about the Little Habs Chaperoned Minibus Service Trial.
NEW NEW
Rainbow
Important Reminder
To help us with our lunchtimes here at school, we ask that you encourage your child to use a knife and fork during mealtimes at home.
Mrs Prendergast has also asked us to remind all parents/guardians to remove their child’s earrings prior to coming to school on P.E days. This is for health and safety reasons. If the earrings are caught by accident during a PE lesson, they could cause significant damage to your child and others around them.
RainbowAutumn Term Family Fridays
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
We would like to invite you to join your child in their classroom for our ‘Family Fridays’. This will be an opportunity for you to spend some time with your child when they can share some of their work with you and show you around their classroom. You may choose to attend for the full half hour or for just part of this time and we please ask for only one parent to attend per pupil.
We will be running ‘Family Fridays’ for Rainbow twice every half-term, creating an opportunity for you to attend at your convenience.
The dates for the Autumn Term are as follows:
•Friday 13 October 2023 - 8am to 8.30am
•Friday 10 November 2023 - 3pm to 3.30pm
•Friday 08 December 2023 - 8am to 8.30am
Please note that on Friday 10 November, you will be able to take your child home from the classroom. On Friday 13 October and Friday 8 December, there will be the opportunity for you to sign up to a variety of teacher-led workshops that will run from 8.30am to 9am. Please use the form on Page 7 to express your intention to attend.
In line with our safeguarding policy, taking of photos or filming will not be permitted during the ‘Family Friday’ sessions.
We hope that you will enjoy this opportunity to spend some time with your child and enjoy their learning environment.
Year 1
Rainbow to Year 2 Little Habs Minibus Service Trial
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read important communication about the Little Habs Chaperoned Minibus Service Trial.
NEW
Year 2
2ATimetable Change
MONDAY 25 SEPTEMBER
There will be a change to the 2A timetable beginning Monday 25 September. PE will now be on Wednesday and Friday so please ensure that your daughter’s kit is in school on those days. Swimming remains on Tuesdays. An updated copy of the timetable has been stuck into your child’s Learning at Home Journal.
Rainbow to Year 2 Little Habs Minibus Service Trial
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read important communication about the Little Habs Chaperoned Minibus Service Trial.
NEW NEW
Year 3
Team Building with WiseUp
On Wednesday 13 September, Year 3 enjoyed a morning of exciting and challenging team building activities hosted by WiseUp. In small groups, they worked together to tackle a range of tricky but fun tasks that encouraged their communication and teamwork skills.
Morning Mathletics, Wordshark and Touch Typing Sessions
TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER
For children who have been invited to the drop-in morning session for Mathletics, Wordshark and Touch Typing.
Sessions will commence on Tuesday 26 September at 8.10am. They will subsequently run each week from Monday to Thursday. Pupils should enter the school via Mrs Walsh’s desk. We look forward to welcoming your daughters
Transport Update
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read a letter regarding important updates for this academic year.
NEW NEW
NEW
The Young Geographer of the Year Competition
Please click here to read full letter.
The Young Geographer of the Year competition is the Royal Geographical Society’s annual competition which recognises the outstanding work of the next generation of geographers. With its age ranges spanning from Year 3 to A Level, the competition encourages thoughtful and creative answers to the competition’s theme which is set each year.
The deadline is Monday 25 September 2023. All entries should be handed to your child’s new Junior School class teacher. Only the top ten entries can be submitted to the Royal Geographical Society. Therefore, once all entries have been given in, a panel of teachers (including the Head of Geography from the Senior School) will judge and select the best ten. Entries from all students will be celebrated within the school and we very much hope your child will take part in this prestigious competition.
If you have further questions, please contact Carolyn Sawkins: csawkins@habsgirls.org.uk
3
Year 4
Inter House Cross-Country
Congratulations to all the students in Year 4, 5 and 6 who took part in the Inter House Crosscountry competition on Monday 18 September.
This was a fantastic school event which enabled every child to demonstrate courage and ambition whilst representing themselves as a member of their House within our HABS community.
When we combined all the results from year 4, 5 and 6 the overall Inter House cross-country results were:
Chameleons finished in 4th place, Seahorses finished in 3rd place, Puffins finished in 2nd place and the overall winners were Aardvarks.
Well done to everyone for all their energy and enthusiasm shown throughout this event.
Morning Mathletics, Wordshark and Touch Typing Sessions
TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER
For children who have been invited to the drop-in morning session for Mathletics, Wordshark and Touch Typing.
Sessions will commence on Tuesday 26 September at 8.10am. They will subsequently run each week from Monday to Thursday. Pupils should enter the school via Mrs Walsh’s desk. We look forward to welcoming your daughters
NEW NEW
Transport Update
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read a letter regarding important updates for this academic year.
The Young Geographer of the Year Competition
Please click here to read full letter.
The Young Geographer of the Year competition is the Royal Geographical Society’s annual competition which recognises the outstanding work of the next generation of geographers. With its age ranges spanning from Year 3 to A Level, the competition encourages thoughtful and creative answers to the competition’s theme which is set each year.
The deadline is Monday 25 September 2023. All entries should be handed to your child’s new Junior School class teacher. Only the top ten entries can be submitted to the Royal Geographical Society. Therefore, once all entries have been given in, a panel of teachers (including the Head of Geography from the Senior School) will judge and select the best ten. Entries from all students will be celebrated within the school and we very much hope your child will take part in this prestigious competition.
If you have further questions, please contact Carolyn Sawkins: csawkins@habsgirls.org.uk
NEW
Year 5
Inter House Cross-Country
Congratulations to all the students in Year 4, 5 and 6 who took part in the Inter House Crosscountry competition on Monday 18 September.
This was a fantastic school event which enabled every child to demonstrate courage and ambition whilst representing themselves as a member of their House within our HABS community.
When we combined all the results from year 4, 5 and 6 the overall Inter House cross-country results were:
Chameleons finished in 4th place, Seahorses finished in 3rd place, Puffins finished in 2nd place and the overall winners were Aardvarks.
Well done to everyone for all their energy and enthusiasm shown throughout this event.
Morning Mathletics, Wordshark and Touch Typing Sessions
TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER
For children who have been invited to the drop-in morning session for Mathletics, Wordshark and Touch Typing.
Sessions will commence on Tuesday 26 September at 8.10am. They will subsequently run each week from Monday to Thursday. Pupils should enter the school via Mrs Walsh’s desk. We look forward to welcoming your daughters
NEW NEW
Transport Update
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read a letter regarding important updates for this academic year.
The Young Geographer of the Year Competition
Please click here to read full letter.
The Young Geographer of the Year competition is the Royal Geographical Society’s annual competition which recognises the outstanding work of the next generation of geographers. With its age ranges spanning from Year 3 to A Level, the competition encourages thoughtful and creative answers to the competition’s theme which is set each year.
The deadline is Monday 25 September 2023. All entries should be handed to your child’s new Junior School class teacher. Only the top ten entries can be submitted to the Royal Geographical Society. Therefore, once all entries have been given in, a panel of teachers (including the Head of Geography from the Senior School) will judge and select the best ten. Entries from all students will be celebrated within the school and we very much hope your child will take part in this prestigious competition.
If you have further questions, please contact Carolyn Sawkins: csawkins@habsgirls.org.uk
NEW
Year 6
Inter House Cross-Country
Congratulations to all the students in Year 4, 5 and 6 who took part in the Inter House Crosscountry competition on Monday 18 September.
This was a fantastic school event which enabled every child to demonstrate courage and ambition whilst representing themselves as a member of their House within our HABS community.
When we combined all the results from year 4, 5 and 6 the overall Inter House cross-country results were:
Chameleons finished in 4th place, Seahorses finished in 3rd place, Puffins finished in 2nd place and the overall winners were Aardvarks.
Well done to everyone for all their energy and enthusiasm shown throughout this event.
Morning Mathletics, Wordshark and Touch Typing Sessions
TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER
For children who have been invited to the drop-in morning session for Mathletics, Wordshark and Touch Typing.
Sessions will commence on Tuesday 26 September at 8.10am. They will subsequently run each week from Monday to Thursday. Pupils should enter the school via Mrs Walsh’s desk. We look forward to welcoming your daughters
NEW NEW
Transport Update
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read a letter regarding important updates for this academic year.
The Young Geographer of the Year Competition
Please click here to read full letter.
The Young Geographer of the Year competition is the Royal Geographical Society’s annual competition which recognises the outstanding work of the next generation of geographers. With its age ranges spanning from Year 3 to A Level, the competition encourages thoughtful and creative answers to the competition’s theme which is set each year.
The deadline is Monday 25 September 2023. All entries should be handed to your child’s new Junior School class teacher. Only the top ten entries can be submitted to the Royal Geographical Society. Therefore, once all entries have been given in, a panel of teachers (including the Head of Geography from the Senior School) will judge and select the best ten. Entries from all students will be celebrated within the school and we very much hope your child will take part in this prestigious competition.
If you have further questions, please contact Carolyn Sawkins: csawkins@habsgirls.org.uk
NEW
JUNIOR SCHOOL SPORTS FIXTURES
WEDNESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER
Year 6 Netball Match v NLCS
(Away) 1.45pm to 4pm
THURSDAY 28 SEPTEMBER
Year 5 Intra Netball Tournament (During P.E Lesson) 10.35am to 12pm
WEDNESDAY 4 OCTOBER
Year 6 Netball Match v Berkhamsted (Away) 1.30pm to 4.30pm
THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER
Division 10 Swimming Gala (Year 4, 5 and 6) (Home, Habs Boys), 3.30pm to 5.45pm
SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER
Year 6 Netball Tournament (Away, NLCS) 8.30am to 2pm (approximate times)
WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER
Year 6 Netball Match v STAHS (Home, Habs Girls) 3.30pm to 4.30pm
JUNIOR CALENDAR DATES
WEDNESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER
Individual Pupil Photographs
TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER Rainbow Parents Evening 1
THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER Rainbow Parents Evening 2
FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER
Family Friday Parent Talks
Family Friday – Rainbow, Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5
MONDAY 16 OCTOBER TO FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER Half Term
For further information, please refer to the school calendar on Firefly.
