Dear All,
The week began with an assembly about discovering talents, in which we were all reminded about the ways in which we can be our best selves.
Year 8 Art and Design Group’s Return to the Castle Fine Art Gallery
Aspiring to be their best selves, on Tuesday, the Year 8 Art & Design Group returned to the Castle Fine Art Gallery in the Grand Arcade to submit their artwork in response to the gallery’s 2022 Young Fine Artist Competition. The group had been working on their ‘creative responses’ pieces for the past three afternoons, after previously visiting the gallery and learning much about the contemporary artists whose work is exhibited there. Each pupil selected a particular theme, style or artist, which interested or inspired them, and it was their task to create their own artwork in response to their visit. This was a creative challenge which encouraged both independent thinking and curiosity. All the pupils were praised for both the originality of their artwork and for the time and care that they had taken over their entries, with commendations awarded for exceptional innovation. The winning artwork will be framed and displayed in the gallery, alongside the artist’s original work later in the summer.
Lillian’s winning artwork and her review:
‘I really enjoyed looking around the gallery and getting the chance to independently work out what piece of art I would like to interpret in my own way. In my painting, I wanted the piece to have layers and maybe to include an ironic twist; I saw this in the artist’s original work. That’s why I chose ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’, but then I painted hoops on her, instead of pearls.
From the talks at the gallery and from working on the competition back in the art room, I felt that I learnt the steps of what it is like to be an independent artist. I also really liked the colourful and abstract style of art that Domingo Zapata created, so I was inspired to recreate the same feel and the powerful aspects of it’.
Year 6 have also been inspired in Art this week, studying the beautiful Lake District landscapes of William Heaton Cooper. In the weeks ahead, they will be drawing their own landscape art in a similar style.
Pre Prep News
In the Foundation class I visited this week, the children were enjoying learning about different 3-D shapes including cones, cubes and cylinders. Meanwhile Year 1 pupils have been exploring number sequences in their Maths lessons.
As part of their topic on Dinosaurs, Year 2 have been role-playing as paleontologists. The children have been learning all about the fossilisation process and what and how they can discover from fossils. They have applied their skills of study, drawing and writing to this topic, and have also been creative in designing and making their very own fossil replicas.
Year 5 First Aid Training
Our Year 5 have been learning First Aid skills this week, with special training delivered by staff from our school Health Centre. The children learned about CPR, as well as how to respond to emergencies and allergies, including how to use an epi-pen. The pupils also discussed accidents and risks, linking this with their Personal Social Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE) curriculum.
Chaucer ‘Choose-day’
Tuesday saw a home clothes day to raise money for the Arthur Rank Hospice, a charity nominated by Chaucer House, which supports people in Cambridgeshire living with advanced serious illness and life limiting conditions. Children each brought in £2.00 as a donation in return for wearing their own choice of clothes for the day (hence ‘choose-day’!), raising the excellent sum of £1092.05 for this important local charity.
U12 Regional Hockey Champions
The U12 Boys’ Hockey team put in another fantastic performance at The East Region IN2 Hockey Championships. The boys performed brilliantly throughout the day, winning a thrilling final on penalty flicks to be crowned Champions. It caps off an unbelievable season for the team who should be commended for their excellent attitude, skill and sportsmanship. Many congratulations to the boys – they are a credit to the school.
National Milano Team Trio Finals
It was a superb two days for the St Faith’s gymnasts, who attended the National Milano Team Trio Finals at Fenton Manor last Friday and Saturday. There were some exceptional performances with every St Faith’s team finishing in the top 5 nationally, and several medals being won. The U13 boys claimed a bronze and U13 A mixed team a silver medal, and the U13 mixed B team narrowly missed by 0.1 mark to finish 4th. The U11 mixed team came a highly creditable 5th in a very strong competition, with the U11 Boys’ B team also securing 5th place and our U11 Boys’ A team claiming a highly impressive bronze medal.
IAPS Swimming
Yesterday, 33 St Faith’s swimmers travelled to Walthamstow Hall School for the first round of the IAPS Swimming National Championships. Twelve other schools were in attendance and the standard was exceptionally high in many events. Two new school records were set: the Boys’ U13 50m Freestyle, in a time of 29.25 seconds and the Boys’ U13 Freestyle Relay, in a time of 1:03.32. The Boys’ U11 50m Butterfly may also have been broken and we are waiting for verification of that time. We will be informed of all the results in about 4 weeks and then we will know if any of our individual or relay swimmers have qualified for the finals in June.
And Finally
We are really enjoying seeing parents returning to school events – and next week, we will be welcoming Year 6 parents for our highly anticipated musical performance of Matilda Junior. Yesterday it was a pleasure to welcome our Year 3 parents to Tom’s Garden for a coffee morning. We were blessed with some fine early Spring sunshine in which to savour our coffee and pastries. We were also delighted to invite Year 2 families to the planting of a Cyprus Oak tree this afternoon. This commemorative Oak will mark the pupils’ time in Pre Prep and I look forward to watching this distinctive tree grow with them, through the next stage of their learning journey.
Wishing you all a relaxing and peaceful weekend,
With all best wishes,
Dr Crispin Hyde-Dunn
