Habs Girls Weekly Bulletin Junior School - 1 March 2024

Friday 1 March Spring Term 2024

Head of Junior School’s message

This week started with a thought-provoking assembly led by Year 5. The girls celebrated the importance of Thinking Day, shared examples of role models who have made a profound difference to the world. They finished with a slightly adapted poem by Walter D Wintle It isa great reminder of the power of mindset and positive attitude in life for all our girls.

Thinking.

If you think you are beaten, you are; If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you'd like to win, but you think you can't, It is almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost; For out in this world we find Success begins with a fellow's will It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are; You've got to think high to rise. You've got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win the prize. Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster woman or man; But sooner or later the person who wins Is the person who thinks they can!

Please remember that as part of Women's History Month, we are looking for female volunteers from within our parent community to come into school to speak to students in different year groups throughout March, to share their personal stories, talk about their chosen careers and their passions. We want to empower our girls and raise their awareness of the inspirational women who exist within our own community. If you would be interested, we would love to hear from you by completing this short form: Women's History Month

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Claire Brown Head of Junior School

Cornflower Assembly

Friday 23 February

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

Aria (Rainbow Red)

Zena (Rainbow Red)

Eva (2 Alpha)

Amani (2 Ansuz)

Neya (3A)

Sophia (3 Alpha)

Melina (3 Alpha)

Amaya (5 Aesc)

Tiah (5 Aleph)

Olivia (6 Aesc)

Amba (6 Aleph)

Florence (6 Aleph)

Community

Ziva (Rainbow Blue)

Jenna (1 Orange)

Myla (1 Purple)

Alba (1 Purple)

Sophia (4 Aesc)

Nirvani (4 Aesc)

Emilia (3A)

Siya (5 Aesc)

Curiosity

Haymi (2A)

Radhika (4 Aleph)

Amelia (5 Aleph)

Lara (6 Aesc)

Courage

Ziyana-Fatema (2 Ansuz)

Rainbow to Year 6 Information

Lunch Menu

WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 4 MARCH

Please click here to view our Rainbow and KS1 lunch menu.

Please click here to view our KS2 lunch menu.

IMPORTANT REMINDER

Please take some time to look at the menu with your child, in advance. If your child has any food intolerances, please ensure they understand the food choices for each day. Pupils have been reminded that there are always Allergy Champions in the serveries who they can speak to if they are unsure about appropriate food choices for them.

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.

RoyalAcademy Young Artists’Summer Show 2024

COMPETITION DEADLINE WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH

Please click here to view the letter.

Wet Weather - Uniform Reminder

REMINDER

With the wetter weather now upon us, please may we remind all families that all pupils will be outside before school and for breaktimes and lunchtimes and as such, need to wrap up warmly with their waterproof school coat, remembering that long socks or tights should be worn with winter uniform. Only school uniform colour (matching the version of uniform your child is wearing) hats, scarves and gloves should be worn; all items must be clearly named. Please click here to review the information about the new uniform phasing in plans.

Relationships and Sex Education

SPRING 2 TO SUMMER TERM

Please click here to view an explanatory letter.

RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION

CONTINUED

Habs Library Bookshop

MONDAY 4 TO FRIDAY 8 MARCH

Habs Libraries are very excited to be once again running our own bookshop, from Monday 4 to Friday 8 March, coinciding with World Book Day 2024

The bookshop will offer a mix of popular fiction, picture books, some hidden gems handpicked by our Library team, and several titles from our World Book Day visiting author, Holly Webb. We have worked hard to ensure there is a good choice for pupils in all year groups and covering a variety of reading tastes.

Pupils will visit the bookshop during their library lesson*, and those in Year 3-Year 6 will also be able to visit at lunchtimes. Most of the books on sale will cost £4.50 or £5.50, though a handful will cost a little more, up to a maximum of £11. Pupils will also receive a £1 World Book Day Book Token to take home and use to secure a £1 discount on books purchased from local bookshops.

To buy books, pupils should bring in an appropriate amount of cash on the day of their Library lesson, preferably in a named envelope. For example, if you would like your child to be able to purchase two books, they would need a maximum of £11. We are very much looking forward to welcoming pupils to the bookshop and hope they will enjoy browsing and choosing their very own books to read and treasure in the future.

*Library lessons schedule from Monday 4 to Friday 8 March:

RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION

Design a Bookmark Competition!

CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES MONDAY 18 MARCH

The Junior Library are launching a voluntary competition to coincide World Book Day, inviting pupils to design a bookmark celebrating our enjoyment of reading. Pupils wishing to enter should use our entry form, which contains all the instructions and a space to design their bookmark. Entries should be returned to the Junior Library.

The entry form can be downloaded here, or hard copies are available from Junior Library during lunchtimes and library lessons.

Winners will be selected from across the year groups, and the winning designs will be professionally printed as bookmarks. These will be available for all our Junior School pupils from the Junior Library once printed.

The closing date for entries is Monday 18 March.

We look forward to seeing all the students’ ideas and sharing the winners’ designs with you all.

WEDNESDAY 6 MARCH Years 1 to 6

Author Visit by Holly Webb

We are delighted to announce that as part of World Book Day the Junior School will be hosting a visit from author Holly Webb on Wednesday 6 March.

Holly is an internationally renowned author well known for the ‘Pet Rescue’ and ‘Maisie Hitchins’ series.

During the visit Holly will be talking to the children to provide inspiration for their own writing and enthusing them about the joy of reading. The visit will support the literacy work that we do in school as well as being stimulating and exciting for the children. You can read more about Holly and her books on her website

Holly will also conduct a book signing whilst she is with us. Holly Webb books will be available in the World Book Day sale taking place in the library during the week commenting Monday 4 March.

Please could you ensure your child brings in only up to £20, in a sealed envelope clearly stating their full name and class, on the day their class has their library lesson this week.

Alternatively, if you already have any of her books that you would like her to sign, please bring them in on the morning of the visit and leave them with the class teacher.

We are very much looking forward to hosting Holly, and hope that your daughters will have a very enjoyable day.

THURSDAY 7 MARCH

On Thursday 7 March we will be celebrating World Book Day. To celebrate, we encourage everyone to dress up as their favourite book character and bring in the book linked to their costume. We will be looking for creative costumes and we encourage re-using costumes or even making them out of recyclable materials!

Further fun World Book Day themed activities will be ongoing throughout the day.

RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION CONTINUED

Comic Relief

FRIDAY 15 MARCH

We will be raising awareness for Comic Relief. We would like the children to learn a joke that they can share on the playground stage during morning break and lunchtime. Some of the best jokes will be shared during our Cornflower Assembly on Friday afternoon. We can't wait to raise a smile and a laugh!

Family Friday

We look forward to our next Spring Term Family Friday event on 22 March, giving an opportunity for your daughters in Rainbow and Years 2, 4 and 6 to share their work and learning environment with you.

An additional date for Rainbow only is detailed in the Rainbow section– page 12

Key date:

Friday 22 March 2024 (8am to 8.30am)

Rainbow, Years 2, Year 4 and Year 6, followed by Parent Talks

Classrooms will be open from 8am, please enter the school via the double doors between reception and Rainbow garden, and you are welcome to pop in any time up until 8.30am, when we will revert to normal registration and lessons. In line with our safeguarding policy, no taking of photos or filming is permitted during the Family Friday sessions.

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.

Family Friday teacher-led workshops

We are continuing to offer a range of short teacher-led workshops . These will take place between 8.30am and 9am, straight after Family Friday class-based time; these will consist of a short talk followed by an opportunity to ask related questions. The workshops will be repeated in both halves of the term, and you are welcome to attend even if your daughter’s year group do not have Family Friday on that date. The programme for this half term is:

Spring Term (Friday 22 March 2024)

• Using Devices to Complement Learning

• Developing a Curious Mind

• Negotiating Friendships

If you have not yet indicated your intention to attend a workshop, please use this form to do so.

RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION CONTINUED

Wraparound Care BOOKING LINK

Please click here to book your daughter into Wraparound Care.

Parent Handbook

REMINDER

Please click here to review the Parent Information Booklet for 2023/24.

Tooled Up

REMINDER

Following on from Monday evening, when Dr. Kathy Weston joined us for an evening of conversation and questions, please once again be reminded that all families have free access to Tooled Up Education, which is packed full of evidence-based resources, for parents on all aspects of parenting, education and family life. The School PIN for logging in is HGJ2009. We would ask that parents do not share this log-in outside of the Habs Junior School community.

Year 1 toYear 6

Spring 2 Curriculum Overviews Important information

The curriculum overviews below, for Years 1 to 6, outline the curriculum areas that have and will be covered in Spring 2.

Learning in Rainbow will continue to be led by the children’s interests and key events.

Performing Arts Spotlight

FRIDAY 8 MARCH

We are looking forward to welcoming parents of girls performing in our Performing Arts Spotlight into school next week

The performance will begin promptly at 3.45pm and last approximately one hour. Please park in the visitors' car park and make your way directly to the Sime Hall where you will be able to sign in from 3.30pm. All performers will be brought over to the Sime Hall, so please do not worry about collecting your daughter beforehand

If your daughter is making use of a backing track or a piano accompaniment as part of her performance, please ensure it is emailed to crockley@habsgirls.org.uk no later than Monday 4 March. Piano accompaniments can also be handed to Mr Nichols or Miss Rockley.

ACE Karate

SUNDAY 17 MARCH

Please click here to view a letter from Mr Patel regarding upcoming Karate grading on Sunday 17 March, deadline Monday 11 March.

Rainbow

Rainbow Parents Evenings

TUESDAY 12 & MONDAY 18 MARCH 2024

We are looking forward to welcoming Rainbow parents into school on Tuesday 12 March and Monday 18 March from 4pm to 6pm on both afternoons, for the appointments with your daughter's class teacher to discuss their progress this term. Each appointment will be 10 minutes long and these will take place in Year 1 classrooms; your child's Rainbow classroom will also be open for you to view.

Please arrive via the Junior School reception, where you will be signed in by a member of staff. We kindly ask you to make childcare arrangements so that you can attend without your children. There will be no supervision of pupils outside After School Care.

If you wish to use After School Care for supervision, you must book through the normal channels even if you are only using part of a session, remembering that this is chargeable after 4pm. We have a limit to the number of children that can be accommodated, so booking a place is essential. Please click here to book your daughter into After School Care.

The online booking system for Parents’ Evening appointments is now closed. If for any reason you need to amend your booking, please contact Mrs Karaolou directly on 0208 266 2425 before Tuesday 12 March.

Year 1

ACE KS1 Ballet Performance

TUESDAY 12 MARCH

Parents of children in KS1 Ballet are invited to attend their performance during their session on Tuesday 12 March from 3.30pm to 4.15pm in the Performance Space. If you would like to attend, please come to Junior School reception at 3:25pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Performance Space.

ACE Year 1 & Year 2 Joint Performing Arts Performance

FRIDAY 22 MARCH

Parents of children in the joint Year 1 and Year 2 Performing Arts ACE are invited to attend their performance during their session on Friday 22 March from 4.15pm to 4.30pm in the PrePrep Hall. If you would like to attend, please come to Habs’ Boys’ Pre-Prep Reception at 4.15pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Pre-Prep Hall .

Year 2

Year 2 Playstrings Performance

TUESDAY 12 MARCH

Parents of pupils currently involved in the Playstrings violin scheme, led by Mrs Boyle, are warmly invited to sit in on their daughter’s last session this term. This will take the form of an informal performance on Tuesday 12 March at the following times:

2 A 9.15 am to 10.15am

2 Ansuz 11 05am to 12 10pm

2 Alpha 2.25pm to 3.25pm

If you would like to attend the performance for your daughter’s class and see what the girls have been getting up to on the Playstrings course, please park in the visitors' car park and follow the signage straight to the Sime Hall, where you will be asked to sign in. We look forward to welcoming you

ACE KS1 Ballet Performance

TUESDAY 12 MARCH

Parents of children in KS1 Ballet are invited to attend their performance during their session on Tuesday 12 March from 3.30pm to 4.15pm in the Performance Space. If you would like to attend, please come to Junior School reception at 3:25pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Performance Space.

ACE Year 1 & Year 2 Joint Performing Arts Performance

FRIDAY 22 MARCH

Parents of children in the joint Year 1 and Year 2 Performing Arts ACE are invited to attend their performance during their session on Friday 22 March from 4.15pm to 4.30pm in the PrePrep Hall. If you would like to attend, please come to Habs’ Boys’ Pre-Prep Reception at 4.15pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Pre-Prep Hall .

Year 3

KS2ACE Ballet Performance

TUESDAY 12 MARCH

Parents of children in KS2 Ballet are invited to attend their performance during their session on Tuesday 12 March from 4.20pm to 5pm in the Prevett Hall. If you would like to attend, please come to Junior School reception at 4.15pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Performance Space.

Year 4

Year 4 Production 'Peter Pan' photographs and recording

PHOTOGRAPH DEADLINE 8PM ON SATURDAY 9 MARCH

Photographs taken at the dress rehearsal of 'Peter Pan' are available to view and purchase. Please use this link to view a slideshow of all the images available to purchase..

Please use this form to order photographs no later than Saturday 9 March by 8pm.

All proceeds from photograph sales will be donated to the St Catherine Parents' Guild. A recording of the production is available for you to view here

KS2ACE Ballet Performance

TUESDAY 12 MARCH

Parents of children in KS2 Ballet are invited to attend their performance during their session on Tuesday 12 March from 4.20pm to 5pm in the Prevett Hall. If you would like to attend, please come to Junior School reception at 4.15pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Performance Space.

Year 5

5Aleph ClassAssembly

MONDAY 4 MARCH

5 Aleph will be delivering their class assembly on Monday 4 March from 8.45am to 9.15am in the Performance Space, which parents and guardians are warmly invited to.

Attending parents should park in the visitor's car park and walk round to the Dining Hall doors, where you will be registered from 8.30am. We kindly ask attendees to wait outside until a member of Junior School staff arrives to welcome you in.

KS2ACE Ballet Performance

TUESDAY 12 MARCH

Parents of children in KS2 Ballet are invited to attend their performance during their session on Tuesday 12 March from 4.20pm to 5pm in the Prevett Hall. If you would like to attend, please come to Junior School reception at 4.15pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Performance Space.

Jazz Summer School 2024

Please click here for more information.

Habs Indian Music Course 2024

Please click here for more information.

Year 6

KS2ACE Ballet Performance

TUESDAY 12 MARCH

Parents of children in KS2 Ballet are invited to attend their performance during their session on Tuesday 12 March from 4.20pm to 5pm in the Prevett Hall. If you would like to attend, please come to Junior School reception at 4.15pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Performance Space.

Year 6 Forest School Spring Term

IMPORTANT REMINDER

We are very pleased to share with you that all the Key Stage 2 classes will continue to enjoy a Forest School experience during the Spring or the Summer term. Forest School provides a valuable opportunity for children to connect to nature and understand more about the world around them. Research has shown that it helps to foster teamwork, problem solving, risk taking, independent thinking and creativity alongside developing practical skills. We will be outside for two hours whatever the weather so please could your child wear the following for the session, making sure that the clothes provided are suitable for outdoors and for getting slightly muddy:

• Durable, full-length trousers (not onesies)

• Long sleeved top and jumper

• Coat

• Wellington boots

Please check the weather forecast for your daughter’s timetabled session (see date below). If it is due to rain, please provide your daughter with a waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers. Please ensure that your she has enough suitable layers if the weather is due to be cold; this may include, a hat, scarf and gloves. If it likely to be hot weather, please ensure sunscreen is applied before school and that a sun hat is bought in to school. Your daughter should wear their Forest School clothes and trainers to school on the day bringing in wellington boots if not already at school, extra layers, or waterproofs if needed. If the forecast is rain it might be advisable to bring in their PE kits as extra clothes in case, they need to change after the session.

Finally, please ensure that your daughter’s allergy, intolerances, or specific dietary information on the Parent Portal is up to date two weeks prior to your child’s session as we will be cooking and eating as part of the experience.

Please contact Mrs Gibson (cgibson@habsgirls.org.uk) if you have any further questions. We are looking forward to these sessions and we hope that your daughter will greatly enjoy and benefit from this experience.

YEAR 6 INFORMATION CONTINUED

Year 6 Play Rehearsal

SUNDAY 9 JUNE

Thank you to those of you who completed the form confirming your daughter's availability to attend a planned rehearsal on Sunday 9 June. We have decided to schedule a full day rehearsal, which will run from 10am to 3pm with a break for lunch. Girls who can attend only a morning or an afternoon rehearsal will be able to join when they can. More information will follow next term.

Jazz Summer School 2024

Please click here for more information.

Habs Indian Music Course 2024

Please click here for more information.

Tuesday 5 March (after drop off)

Habs Giving Day 2024 MiniDash

Attention all Junior and Prep School parents and guardians!

Get the silly hats ready, get set and go!

Join your child(ren) on the morning of Tuesday 5 March for our annual fun run in support of Habs Giving Day Click on BOOK NOW to run with your child(ren)

Click here to view photos from last year’s MiniDash in which over 300 parents took part – it was a lot of fun.

Every parent/guardian and child who runs (or jogs, or walks ) in the MiniDash unlocks extra cash from our challenge donors, meaning more funding for Bursaries and Community Service Partnerships, the schools’ top priorities this year.

Habs Giving Day is all about celebrating community, philanthropy and taking part. We will share more details on Giving Day in the coming weeks

If you have any queries please contact Mrs Sonal Dhadphale, Alumni and Development Officer at foundation@habselstree.org.uk

Tuesday 19 March, 8am to 9am

Boys’Prep Hall

Neurodiversity Parent GroupCoffee Morning

Rainbow to Year 6

On Tuesday 19 March the Individual Needs teams across the Girls’ Junior and Boys’ Prep schools will be hosting a coffee morning from 8am to 9am in the Boys’ Prep Hall. This is the first of a series of coffee mornings that we will be running that aim to share good ideas and strategies for supporting children with learning differences. Anyone who has an interest in neurodiversity is welcome to come along. In this initial meeting we will be telling you a little bit more about how we support pupils through our departments as well as sharing the resources we use and directing you to the website Tooled Up via a video that Dr. Kathy Weston has prepared for us signposting useful materials Home - Tooled Up Education. We also hope that this will be an opportunity for you to meet other parents. If you would like to attend this meeting, please register using the link below.

Year 3 to Year 6

Tuesday 19 March, 7pm Prevett Hall

Junior Performing Arts Evening

You are warmly invited to our Junior Performing Arts Evening, which will take place on Tuesday 19 March at 7pm in the Prevett Hall The evening is entitled 'A Celebration of Music, Dance and Drama through the Ages', and will feature the following:

KS2 Chorus - this involves every pupil from Year 3 to Year 6

Junior Orchestra

Junior Choir

Senior Choir

Brass Ensemble

Guitar Ensemble

Super Saxes

Recorder Consort (formerly Descant Recorders)

Year 3 Recorders

Golden Bones

Junior Chamber Strings

Fabulous Four-Stringers

KS2 Performing Arts Club

Joint Year 5 Performance Squad

Flamenco Dance

There will also be solo and small group items interspersed in the programme, provided by performers from Year 5 and Year 6

Please note that girls in the ensembles and the Year 5 and Year 6 solo/group performers will need to bring their instruments into school for a rehearsal on the day of the concert

For the concert itself, instrumentalists should arrive at the Prevett Hall no later than 6.15pm, and the rest of the pupils who are taking part should arrive by 6 30pm Pre-concert refreshments will be available for the audience in the Prevett Hall foyer We expect the concert to end by 8 20pm

Tickets for the evening can be reserved online using the box office from Friday 15 March at 9pm

A direct link to the box office will be shared closer to the event date

There will be a limit of two tickets per family, priced at £5 each. Students taking part in the concert do not need tickets The booking form will close on Tuesday 19 March at 8am

The dress for the evening is all black: plain black trousers or leggings and black top (with no embellishments) and plain black shoes and socks (school shoes are fine)

We look forward to seeing you at the Performing Arts Evening which promises to be a varied programme and a real showcase for all involved

Rainbow to Year 6

CoCommercial Partnership Spring Camps & Activities

Limited time offer!

Quote HABS24 at checkout and get 20% off when you book this Easter with Camp Beaumont. With over 50 activities on offer, Camp Beaumont can guarantee that this Easter holiday at Haberdashers' Boys' School will be truly unforgettable! Offer valid until Monday 18 March, book your place now via this link.

Please click here to find out about our co-commercial Spring Term camps on offer at Habs Elstree Schools. For all weekday activities available, please click here.

SPORTS FIXTURES

SPRING 2 2024

SUNDAY 3 MARCH

* Year 6 ISGA Gymnastics (5 piece)

WEDNESDAY 6 MARCH

* Years 6 Football vs Berkhamsted (AWAY)

FRIDAY 8 MARCH

* ESSA Divisional Round at Woodside (AWAY)

JUNIOR SCHOOL CALENDAR DATES

SPRING TERM 2024

MONDAY 4 MARCH

5 Aleph Class Assembly

TUESDAY 5 MARCH

Giving Day - MiniDash

WEDNESDAY 6 MARCH

Year 1 to 6 Author Visit – Holly Webb

THURSDAY 7 MARCH World Book Day

FRIDAY 8 MARCH

6 Aleph Forest School

Years 1 to 6 PerformingArts Spotlight – Invite Only

TUESDAY 12 MARCH

Year 2 Playstrings Performances

Rainbow Parents’ Evening 1

WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH

Year 1 Capel Manor Gardens Trip

THURSDAY 14 MARCH

Outgrown Uniform Sale

FRIDAY 15 MARCH

Year 1 Collaboration Pirate Treasure Hunt

MONDAY 18 MARCH

Rainbow Parents’ Evening 2

TUESDAY 19 MARCH

Neurodiversity Parent Group Coffee Morning

Junior PerformingArts Evening

FRIDAY 22 MARCH

Family Friday – Rainbow, Years 2, Year 4 & Year 6

Family Friday Parent Workshops

MONDAY 25 TO WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH Off Time Table Week

THURSDAY 28 MARCH TO FRIDAY 19 APRIL School Holidays

MONDAY 15 APRIL Staff Training Day (No Pupils In School)

TUESDAY 16 APRIL Summer Term begins

The reminder dates above cover the next four school weeks, if you require further information beyond this time frame, please refer to the school calendar on Firefly.