WHS Junior High Notes Summer 2018

Summer 2018

JUNIOR

High Notes The Magazine of Wimbledon High School

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

Full STEAM ahead!

Welcome to our High Notes magazine Summer edition.

There is much inside to excite and delight from all our girls and even if your daughter’s work isn’t featured on this occasion you get a very good insight into what she will have been up to.

At the start of this academic year, WHS was awarded the status of Microsoft Showcase School. This means that we are practising all that we say about STEAM, coding and technology whilst looking to your daughter’s future. One sunny day an entire team from Microsoft’s UK office arrived in school complete with a camera crew – see pages 4 and 5 for details of this inno-

Cover Photo by Zest Photo

vative project. It was exciting to see everyone learning and part of the day was about encouraging the girls to talk about how they know they are learning really well. It won’t surprise you to hear how eloquently they spoke to the camera and the great thing was that they referenced so many soft skills. They spoke about the need for kindness, collaboration, confidence, honesty, support for one another, knowing how to persevere and when to use your voice.

A genuine enthusiasm and excitement for learning came across which I’m sure you will find in these pages also.

Alongside this, we have celebrated WHJS girls playing their

first ever cricket matches, and have continued to develop our tennis skills through our new academy programme. There have been two wonderful shows; Scheherezade and Seussical, and we’ve packed in four residentials; Juniper Hall, PGL Isle of Wight, Bushcraft and Le Touquet plus many, many, other day expeditions – photos of which you will have seen online via High Ways over recent months, or on our @Juniors_WHS twitter feed.

We can’t include everything here of course but I hope you enjoy the read…

Kate Mitchell HEAD OF JUNIORS

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

RECEPT ION This term Reception have been busy explorers. They have travelled to the forest, the jungle and even encountered dinosaurs! They enjoyed their Wild Learning adventure on Wimbledon Common, especially hanging upside down like a sloth on the ropes. The summer term would not have been complete without a visit to the farm, with pig racing being one of the highlights.

Our young adventurers are now ready for the next step on their learning journey.

BY LAURA

BY ISABEL

BY IS AB EL

BY SAFI

01

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

YEAR 1

As part of their creative topics “Yum Yum” and “Splish Splash Splosh”, Year 1 made new friends in Beegu, Sparkle, Silvy and Bog Baby, enriching their learning. The girls enjoyed the outings to the Science Museum, Build a Bear, Hampton Court Palace and the Wetlands Centre. Well done girls on a super year and what fun we have all had too!

BY GRACE Canals are not natural, they are man-made.

Boats can travel along them. They have locks on them.

The source of the river is at a high point.

Rivers can break through sand stone.

You can fish in them.

Streams are bumpy and have lots of rocks.

Streams are very small.

The source of the river is at a high point. Rivers can break through sandstone.

You can fish in them.

Who made that terrible mess outside the classroom?

BY JEMIMA

by Mollie, 1M

BY ISLA I think a seagull did it because I saw some lovely and beautiful seashells from the sea and I saw a unicorn horn.

Our patio was a mess and I saw some paw prints. Logs were guarding the nest. There were shells and soil, pine cones and wood.

02

BY KRITHIKA

BY LOLA

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

YEAR 2

Year 2 have been inspired by the works of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake. They have written and illustrated stories and poems and thoroughly enjoyed working on characterisation in drama.

Following a visit to the V&A they have become experts on fashion and had fun designing clothing for their fashion show.

BY ISOBEL

BY RHYTHM

BY LILIA

BY MISHI

BY THEODORA

BY ORIA NE 03

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

MAKER CHAMPIONS “Technology is all about solving problems, and there are lots of problems to be solved.”

ANNE-MARIE IMAFIDON

Year 3 and 4 girls kept this quote in mind as they as they launched themselves wholeheartedly into our Maker Champions day with Microsoft Education in June – could they rise to the challenge?

Photos from the day, and from other digital STEAM lessons this year!

Microsoft brought in a number of colleagues to run the event and offer teaching and advice throughout the day. The girls excitedly began to make their festival masks, using their coding skills to bring the masks to life with flashing eyes and smiley mouths.

Although the Micro:bits were unfamiliar, their Junior School computing lessons stood them in good stead and they made speedy progress.

You can get more of a feel for the day by watching the Microsoft Education film, The A to Z of Learning, featuring parts of the day and interviews between teachers and pupils. Scientist in Residence, Mr Jon Mayland and Director of Digital Learning and Innovation, Mrs Rachel Evans both helped run the event (as Ms Lombard, who had set it up, was in France with the Year 6s!).

I loved it because it was really cool and it made me really curious. I loved all the STEAM.

CHARLOTTE 04

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

It was fun and creative, I particularly enjoyed the part where we made faces on the micro bit and on the plate that we made the nose light up.

I like STEAM.

ALLEGRA

We asked Mrs Evans, who joined WHS in April, about the day, her job and digital learning at WHS…..

How did you find the Maker Champions day?

It was an awesome day of learning, with creativity and joyful experimentation at the heart.

How did the day come about?

At the start of the academic year, Wimbledon High became a Microsoft Showcase School.

Being a Microsoft Showcase School is incredibly exciting. It means that we’re part of a global network of schools who are committed to technology for teaching and learning. We get to try out new products first and give feedback to the developers. We also get great support from Microsoft and opportunities for visits and workshops that enrich our girls’ experience.

What are your plans for digital learning at WHS?

I want it to be exciting and open everyone’s minds to the almost limitless possibilities that technology can bring to learning and to society as a whole. Whether or not pupils go into a STEAM career – and I appreciate this is a long way off for Junior girls! – everyone needs to understand new technology to make sure that as a society we can take action to use it for good.

The STEAM activity was really innovative and it was just really brilliant doing all the technology.

EMILY

05

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

YEAR 3

What a busy half year. The Year 3 girls journeyed through Africa exploring music, culture, geographical landforms, animals and stories. More recently, they have returned to the 19th century to discover what Victorian life was like and the girls have been artistic with different textures. Perhaps the most exciting event was their first school residential trip to Juniper Hall.

The Wimbledon Observer JUNIPER HALL IS IN DANGER, YEAR 3 ARE TAKING OVER!

By Chloe Last week, in the hot 25 degree heat, Year 3 from Wimbledon High School embarked on their first ever residential visit.

They boarded the coach with excitement as they headed off towards Mickleham, their final destination Juniper Hall, located to the base of Box Hill in Surrey.

On arrival they were greeted by the lovely sunshine and staff after being show to their dormitories. “I loved my dorm, it had all my best friends in!” exclaimed a brilliant eight year old named Romily. A girl called Cara said that they learnt many facts.

Mrs Prag reported that everyone was super shocked when they found out that Romily and Chloe had caught a mammal, (a vole), they called it ‘Cookie.’

BY CA RA

06

Stella, an excited student, commented that Cookie was adorable! “Everyone adored Cookie” commented the lovely Mrs Shufflebotham.

BY ABARNA

“They caught Cookie twice!” exclaimed Gemma, the activity leader. Apparently, the girls caught a leech and a tiny clam.

Many people caught water snails when they experienced pond dipping. They used all their net skills to catch all the amazing underwater life. But, they didn’t just catch pondlife, they also caught insects and bugs using tools to trap them.

I heard that Chloe’s group caught a snail and a woodlouse.

It was very unusual because it was curled up in a ball. They also caught a spider.

“No-one wanted to leave,” reported Mrs Leaning.

After their amazing adventure, Year 3 enjoyed their ride home with all their new things from the shop.

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

YEAR 4

Spring and Summer highlights of Year 4 include: our fabulous production Scheherazade, in February; an Italian architecture art workshop in March; the residential on the Isle of Wight in May and visits to places of local interest. We all loved our day at the AELTC!

BY EMILY

BY EMILY

BY IRENE, SMIL A AND ARAB ELLA

BY CAITLIN

BY FLO

BY ORIEL

BY SOPHIE

BY PRIYA

07

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

YEAR 5

Year 5 have enjoyed going back in time as part of Tudor Treasures and back to nature with their Bushcraft residential. As part of Bem Vindo ao Brasil they have studied the Amazon rainforest.

BY NIKKI

BY ELODIE

BY ALEXANDR A

BY CHLOE

BY NAINA

BY REN

08

Junior High Notes | Summer 2018

YEAR 6 Year 6 have had a busy and exciting time, including a trip into the land of the ‘Whos’ and a visit to France. The girls have been studying Great Expectations and learning about the social structure of Victorian Britain.

As the term draws to a close, they are preparing themselves for the excitement and anticipation of moving into the next phase of their education.

Best of luck Year 6!

BY SERAPHINA & ALICE

BY HA FS A

BY KATERINA 09

Wimbledon High School, Mansel Road, London SW19 4AB 020 8971 0900 • info@wim.gdst.net • www.wimbledonhigh.gdst.net Head: Mrs Jane Lunnon Head of Juniors: Kate Mitchell The Girls’ Day School Trust is a Limited Company.

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