DEPUTY HEAD (HEAD OF KS2)

What a wonderful year it has been. This academic year has seen our pupil numbers grow and, as a Key Stage, we have moved in to a new area of the school. The staff and pupils alike have really made the school feel like home and brought life to our corridors.

Our girls have navigated new friendships, new ways of learning and disruptions to their routines due to Covid, admirably. I am incredibly proud of the resilience shown by our Sherborne Girls and the sustained eagerness for learning. Some of my highlights for the year are mentioned below:

Reading

Reading has been a whole-school focus this year. For most of our pupils, English is an additional language therefore at Sherborne Girls, it was important that we supported the girls in equipping them with the skills to fully access the curriculum. As a school, we know that if we can teach children to be successful readers, they will be able to access the curriculum to the best of their and achieve the full potential. Helping your daughter make progress from her individual starting point is at the heart approach. We therefore ask pupils to read for 30 minutes a day on our online platform and add their own personal choice books to read for pleasure.

We have intensively taught phonics all the way through Key Stage 2, at the level appropriate for each individual child. This year has seen the introduction of Accelerated Reader at Sherborne for Girls. As a teaching staff, we are incredibly passionate about the potential benefits that each pupil can reap, if they are committed to working hard. Since it’s implementation in October, we have seen on average 30% of Key Stage 2 make more than one year of progress; this is a fantastic achievement in 7 months for so many pupils and we several pupils who have made 2 or 3 years of progress in those seven months too! Sherborne for Girls will be sure to build upon this and improve on the success already garnered.

Stem

We believe that STEM is a golden thread running through our broad and balanced curriculum. As the girls move through the Prep school, they begin to utilise such spaces as ‘The Maker Space’, Virtual Reality Room, ICT labs and Drama rooms. Using an enquiry approach to learning, pupils are able to hypothesise, test, design, create and evaluate. We challenge the girls to use such higher order thinking skills across subjects and make relevant, cross-curricular links. We also develop resilience and perseverance through our school values and lessons as a STEM approach to thinking.

We are now established as a Microsoft School and the use of consistent devices and operating systems across the school has enable pupils to accelerate their computer and coding skills. Our girls are very proficient in using online platforms to enhance their learning in all subjects.

In upper Key Stage 2, we have been very fortunate in being able to offer some subject specialist teaching within our on-site senior school. Year 5 and 6 have relished the opportunity to have lessons in the Sharman Science Zone within our fully equipped science laboratories. This has ignited a passion for science subjects at a young age. In my Pupil Voice Survey, Maths was highlighted as one of the favourite subjects by almost all pupils in Key Stage 2. Sherborne Girls do not shy away from a challenge and what was most pleasing was seeing one pupil showcasing her mathematical prowess by solving linear equations at our summer Talent Show.

We look forward to growing our pupils numbers next year and welcoming with open arms more talented, witty and formidable young ladies in to our school.

HANNAH LOUISE DYER Deputy Head / Head of Key Stage 3

Day, testing different surfaces with Ron the Skateboarding Armadillo. A range of activities were planned during Qatar Identity Week, such as designing a new world cup stadium, exploring currency and writing letters to penpals in Spain to tell them all about Qatar. The week culminated in coming to school in national dress to celebrate Qatar National Day.

Plants was the theme for our first few weeks back to school with online learning. The girls decorated their own pots, planted seeds and observed the conditions plants need to grow. We welcomed the return to school and jumped into our topic on Egypt, visiting ancient sites in the Virtual Reality room. STEM Week developed the girls’ engineering and teamwork skills when they had to work together to make their own model shaduf. Aeronaut, Sophie Blanchard, was our focus hero for International Women’s Day as the girls learnt all about her hot air ballooning exploits. Pink and Gold Day saw everyone dressed in theme colours and enjoying raising money by participating in a sponsored walk around the school. Clubs started this term - Book Club members cosied up with stories in the school library and Science Club members were putting their magnet knowledge

The first week of Summer Term brought with it Daddy, Uncles and Grandads Day. We had so much fun challenging our dads to build the tallest structure using only spaghetti and tape. April was Autism Acceptance Month, and the girls were very impressive when demonstrating their understanding of what Autism means, designing Autism friendly classrooms and celebrating differences. Light was our topic in the first half of the term and the girls explored how shadows were formed, using this knowledge to create tea light holders for innovation day. Mrs. Goldsack set the class a task to investigate the best material for new school blinds. During Ramadan, the girls wowed us with their outfits for Garangao and the shoe box appeal highlighted the generosity of all our families. The many talents of Year 3 were on display during the school showcase and Green Day broadened the girls’ understanding of local and global environmental issues.

It was our pleasure to teach Year 3 this year. They are kind, hardworking young ladies and we are proud of the way they have matured ready for Year 4.

My favourite memory was when we took biscuits to the Maker Space and put icing on top.

- Shaikha Al Malki

I remember when we celebrated pyjama day. I was wearing my favourite pyjamas.

- Aisha Mahjob

I loved it when we learnt about the River Nile. We were so interested in it, and we had so much fun.

- Maryam Yousef

I remember we had fun together and learnt to be kind.

- Al Anoud Al Thani

I enjoyed it when it was Daddy’s Day and we made towers out of pasta sticks. Me and my dads was the tallest (98cm).

- Ghalya Al Delaimi

CLASS 3A | S.Y. 2021-2022

CLASS 3A | S.Y. 2021-2022 engaged and even did a melting ice cap experiment from home. We then moved on to our second topic – all about Chocolate! The girls were very excited to do this topic – especially as it involved creating and branding their own chocolate bar. They made adverts for their chocolate bar, and had to convince Ms Dyer to buy it. We also read ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ a story they were all keen

In Term 3 we learnt all about electricity. The girls built their own circuits, learning how to connect wires the wires to light a bulb. We also learnt about insulators and conductors, and did an experiment to see which items were insulators and which were conductors. We then learnt about sound and how it travelled. We created telephones using wires and cups to show how this worked. We also learnt about scripts in English and performed them. We used our STEM lessons to create props and costumes to go with our plays.

THE GIRLS HAVE HAD A GREAT YEAR. HERE WAS THEIR ANSWER TO:

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YEAR 4?

I enjoyed making chocolate and especially tasting the ingredients!

– Sumayyah

We don’t just learn, we have fun too!

– Shaikha Ahmed

Maths! Because it’s fun and it makes me clever!

– Sara Ibrahim

I enjoyed being with my friends!

– Sadeem

Most thing I enjoyed is how we study in a fun way!

– Noora

I have been delighted to teach 4A –they are a lovely class full of character, fun and imagination!

I wish them all the best for Year 5!

CLASS 4A | S.Y. 2021-2022

CLASS jewellery project. They planned, created, and evaluated their products, and used PowerPoint to present their finished assignment. The girls showed great respect to the Mayan culture, taking into consideration their values and their way of lifestyle during that period. At the end of Autumn 2, the girls enjoyed partaking in various activities celebrating Qatar National Day.

Spring term saw a return to online learning. The girls showed great responsibility for their own learning by attending lessons every day. The main topic for the spring term ‘Space’ allowed the girls to par-take in various STEM-based activities, such as DIY Nebular jar, phases of the moon model, fizzy moon rocks, and even launched a rocket using household materials. During online learning, the girls found out lots of facts about the planets in our solar system and produced a nonchronological report.

The girls were excited to return to their classrooms for Spring term 2 and continued their enquiry topic ‘Space’. This term saw the girls designing and engineering a device which would allow them to collect moon rocks. They showed fantastic teamwork throughout this group project as they collaborated to achieve a

Summer term saw a focus on materials and changing of states. The girls developed their understanding by investigating different materials and observing their states. They took part in various experiments to prove their hypothesis. During this term, the girls showcased their STEM ability and created coasters using clay. The money donated went towards supporting the school in Cambodia. The girls showed great kindness and empathised with those who are less fortunate than themselves; with the support and generosity of the wider Sherborne community, the event was a success. The last week of term 1 was Book Week, where the girls participated in various Literacy-based activities. They showed their acting skills by dramatizing scenes from Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Pyjama Day and dressing up for Book-Character Day.

In the final term of Year 5, the girls used their accumulated knowledge and understanding from the whole year and applied this to various subjects in the curriculum. Their final STEM project was to design, create and improve a solar oven using all the skills taught throughout their academic years. They showed great responsibility, teamwork, perseverance, kindness, honesty, and respect during all lessons which was a great achievement.

THE GIRLS HAVE HAD A GREAT YEAR. HERE WAS THEIR ANSWER TO:

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YEAR 4?

THE GIRLS HAVE HAD A GREAT YEAR. HERE WAS THEIR ANSWER TO:

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YEAR 5?

I love art because I love drawing and the teacher is always kind and helpful.

- Meera

I liked writing the diary recount because I got to pretend, I went to a fairy woods.

- Alanoud

I love STEM because I like to build stuff, create stuff and use new things.

- Salma

I liked sitting with friends to learn.

- Meera

I love how the teachers are very kind and they help us with things we don’t know (especially Miss Raje)

- Maryam 5B

I loved when we wore our pyjamas to school.

- Lolwa Al Enazi 5B

I liked celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee because we had a fun day and a lovely picnic.

- Mashael 5B

I like English because I like writing stories.

- Moza Al Khulaifi 5B

I love how the teachers respect us pupils and they work hard.

- Lolwa Al Naimi 5B

I love PE because we do lots of different things like Dodgeball and Basketball.

- Fatma AL Dosari and Shaikha Mahjoob 5B

I like Maths because the teacher always supports me.

- Aisha Al Thani 5B

I enjoyed making chocolate and especially tasting the ingredients!

– Sumayyah

We don’t just learn, we have fun too!

– Shaikha Ahmed

Maths! Because it’s fun and it makes me clever!

– Sara Ibrahim

I enjoyed being with my friends!

– Sadeem

Most thing I enjoyed is how we study in a fun way!

– Noora

I have been delighted to teach 4A –they are a lovely class full of character, fun and imagination! I wish them all the best for Year 5!

CLASS 5A | S.Y. 2021-2022

CLASS 5B | S.Y. 2021-2022

CLASS 5B | S.Y. 2021-2022 the girls showed commitment to their learning and we still managed to enjoy some great learning experiences. We went on a journey with Katie in our first weeks together in our study of the book, Katie’s Pictures. The girls researched pictures and created portal stories based on them stepping into their painting. Our focus then shifted to learning about the experiences of children in World War II – learning about evacuation, rationing and the war effort. Our weekly visits to the Makerspace were a highlight for the girls – we did robotics, built planes, built shelters and then finally, we used our skills to create products for sale during Qatar National Day celebrations. This was a highlight of the term and a highlight of the year – the girls created businesses and products for sale – we eventually raised 1500QAR for our schools in Cambodia.

Term 2 began with yet another stretch of online learning which we managed to make engaging with pupil take over, visiting pets, PJ days and scary stories! But it made us so grateful to be back together again. Our topic was Mysteries and suspense and the girls worked on the text Francis, a fantastic suspense story animation that had us all hooked. The girls wrote their own suspense stories using this model and the features we observed in other stories. We also looked at other disasters – Shackleton’s Endurance expedition and the Titanic. Our time in the Makerspace this term was related to ice, snowflakes and the polar ice caps. We also took part in a Trashion Show contest with some other year groups, producing an outfit from recycled materials. A highlight from this term was International Women’s Day when we focused on women who inspire us – cumulating in a fantastic dress up day where we celebrated these amazing women.

Our Term 3 topics were based around Natural Disasters and this was the focus of our English, Geography, STEM and reading – a truly cross curricular topic. Tsunamis was the focus for our display for STEM creativity day. There was a number of events this term including our Garangao celebrations and Literacy Week. Our classroom was filled with reading and books, pyjamas, book characters and much more. The classroom door and corridor was transformed based on the book, ‘What do you do with an Idea,’. A big focus for this term was ideas – what do we do with them? How do we make them grow? In a very busy term we also managed to squeeze in a school trip to Kidzania, where the girls were able to enjoy some fun times learning and playing together. We ended the year with a short video presentation about our year as a celebration and way to mark the end of our year.

I have enjoyed working with these girls and am proud of everything we achieved together – they are ready for Year 7 and I’m excited to see what else they do with their bright futures. Good luck 6A – keep being the best versions of yourselves! Miss Gilbert.

Najlaa Alderham: What I like about year 6 is the tea party because we had a lot of cakes. I also like science and history because we can go to different rooms and learn cool stuff.

Badreya Alsaei: My favourite memory of Year 6 is, the shops & the Jubilee tea party. I like the shops because, we got to work together and make things for the school. I like the Jubilee tea party because, we made a lot of deserts & we got to do activities related to the queen. Another memory is the ICT lessons. I really like ICT because, we got to learn coding & a lot of things about devices.

Sara almudhka: I loved the julibee party, and The Garangoo party and I also liked science because I learnt different and new informations. Hessa : my best memory in Y6 is the business, and the P.E lessons playing football and bench ball vs our friends.

Haya: My favourite memory was when we got to make fashion out of scrap:)

Safya: My favourite memory was garangao and PE.

Alawar: My favourite memory of year 6 was grangao

Dana: My favourite memory of yr6 is pink and gold day beacouse we wore pink shirts and we walked around the school.

Aisha: My favrourite memory of year 6 is dressing days and and garango day because there were allot of candys and the cupckake day.

Marya: My favourite memory was when we did Math I also enjoyed the Pj party.

Fatma: My favorite memory of year 6 is having friends and pajama party. Also i like every event our parents came with us. I like when we were doing the business sessions because we didn’t need to study and lessons and i like PE because we play fun games the PE teacher designs. The best part is we get to bring our devices in. I will really miss all my teachers and friends. <3f

Huda: My favourite memory of year 6 is pyjama day and tea party. P.E lessons and also when we did the business. I also liked the Jubilee party because we had fun and there was a lot of cakes and we had a lot of activities about the queen and the old days.

CLASS 6A | S.Y. 2021-2022