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This Week at St Faith’s

Academic Extension (AcE) Day

On Thursday, the children in Years 3-8 enjoyed being ‘off-timetable’ as they took part in the first Academic Extension (AcE) Day of this academic year. AcE days form an important aspect of our ambitious and rounded education, and they culminate in a full Enrichment Week (E-week) in the summer term, including the opportunity for overseas trips for pupils in Years 7 & 8. The core aims of the enrichment programme include enabling pupils to extend and deepen their understanding of a wide range of concepts within and beyond the set curriculum. AcE days also help to develop our pupils’ interpersonal, communication, teamwork and leadership skills.

Pupils in Year 3 donned their fine Egyptian costumes and immersed themselves in a variety of activities included writing hieroglyphics and making scarab beetles out of clay which for the ancient Egyptians were a symbol of renewal and rebirth. The children also enjoyed drawing cartouches and acting out a drama based on “The Book of Secrets”.

In Year 4 Drama lessons, the children have been working on short rhyming pantomimes, which will be performed in front of parents on Thursday 5th December – in a show appropriately called, ‘Oh, yes it is!’. During AcE day the Year 4 pupils greatly appreciated the opportunity to spend time specially focused on rehearsing their pantomimes.

Meanwhile, as a broadening of their Computing curriculum, Year 5 learned more about the history of Computing when they visited the Centre for Computing History. The centre in Cambridge presents a unique collection of exhibits with particular emphasis on the development of personal computing from the large sized machines of the sixties to the powerful personal devices of today.

Year 6 undertook a Rivers Study, extending the Geography curriculum by field work in three different river locations within Cambridge, including Coe Fen and Nine Wells Nature Reserve.

Meanwhile, Year 7 applied their problem-solving skills for their AcE Day task. As a new initiative, the pupils were introduced to The Earthshot Prize, which was launched by Prince William in 2020 to search for and then scale up the most innovative solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges. The children were asked to consider problems and possible solutions in one of the following five areas: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-free World and Fix Our Climate. In addition to thinking about these real-life challenges, the children also took part in wellbeing activities.

To round off our review of AcE day, the Year 8 pupils were engaged in a very happy ‘trip down memory lane’, as they chose the photographs of themselves that they would like to go in their school Yearbooks. The Yearbooks are produced by the Year 8’s as a keepsake to mark their time at St Faith’s. In the afternoon, the Year 8 pupils undertook some important First Aid training and they also explored some concepts in Sports Psychology.

Buddy Sessions

Buddy sessions provide a valuable opportunity for older pupils to encourage and support younger pupils. As well as developing leadership and teamwork skills, the ‘Buddy’ scheme promotes social integration between year groups. The latest round of Buddy sessions took place on Monday, together with our house assemblies, which were greatly enjoyed by all. You can read more about the role of Buddies – and other positions of responsibility that our Year 8 pupils undertake – on our school website page, under the heading Prefects, Buddies & House Captains – St Faith’s Cambridge

Year 3 Art

This week in their Art lessons, pupils in Year 3 have been learning about the French Impressionist painters and they have created some wonderfully colourful spring meadows in the style of Claude Monet. The pupils were then inspired to add some insects to their landscape compositions whilst learning about the post-impressionist Henri Rousseau, whose jungle paintings are teeming with flora and fauna.

Year 3 Art

Year 5 Spelling

Year 5 have been focusing on spellings this half term and they had a wonderful time exploring tactile ways of practising their spelling words. From moulding letters, writing with five pens at once, to spelling words in wildflower seeds, it was certainly a creative lesson for all involved!

Spanish Cities and Towns

In their Spanish lessons, the Year 6 children have been designing their ideal city or town, using new vocabulary learnt in class about cities and towns. Different groups worked collaboratively using their creative ideas of what their ideal city or town would look like, and what amenities should be included. A selection of these design ideas will be displayed on classroom bulletin board.

Year 7 Shakespeare Research

In English some of our Year 7 pupils shared their research about Shakespeare – a task undertaken using modern technology. This was then acted out on stage with confidence and good connection with the audience – inspired by historic Shakespeare performances of old.

Shakespeare 1

 

PSHCE Year 5-8

Earlier this term, we invited pupils in Years 5 to 8 to reflect upon the important aspects of what makes each person unique. During a dedicated PSHCE lesson, each pupil then had the opportunity to create a unique ‘hand’ design. These designs celebrate their individual identities and help us to appreciate the rich diversity within our school community. The resulting display is a vibrant tapestry of our collective identity, showcasing the beauty of diversity and the strength it brings to our school community. Do please take a look at the display at the top of the staircase in Ashburton when you are next in school.

Singing tea-time recital

On Monday pupils and families were invited to attend an informal Singing Recital performed by a group of our young singers in the Britten Room. There was a wide selection of pieces chosen for the recital, and it was a pleasure to hear such vocal talent among our pupils.

 

English Schools’ Year 7 & 8 Cross Country Cup (First Round)

Mr Mageean writes,

“Last Friday saw our Year 7 & 8 Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country teams running in the first round of the English Schools’ Cross Country Cup. There was a fantastic turn out of many schools with our pupils competing in races comprising over 50 athletes. First up were our Girls’ Team running 2100m. Our team consisted entirely of Year 7 pupils (due to the Year 8 girls also being involved in the IAPS Hockey Regional Round on the same day). This gave our younger team the experience of competing at a high-level running event and it will no doubt help to provide them with great experience as many of them will go on to compete at the same championships next year. It was particularly encouraging to see one of our pupils run a strong race to finish in 10th position, with the vast majority of pupils ahead of her being in Year 8.

Our Boys’ Team was keen to start well and two of our pupils quickly forged their way into the top 5 athletes after the first 600m of their 2700m race. They were soon joined by one of the Year 7 pupils who worked his way gradually through the field of runners to join the frontrunners as the finish line approached. All the boys ran extremely well and were overjoyed to hear that their finish positions of 7th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 22nd and 40th were good enough to keep a low total of team points which saw them qualify for the Regional Finals as they finished as 2nd place school. We wish them well at Stowe on Friday, 8th November when they compete for a place in the National Finals.

A huge thank you to Mrs Hames and all the parents that came to encourage our pupils and cheer our teams on. A special note of thanks to Mrs Knight (ex-England international Half Marathon runner) who helped the pupils familiarise themselves with the course before warming up the girls on the day.” Please see a full list of results in the sidebar.

House Hockey & Rugby

This week there have been house sports matches taking place for Years 6-8 and as usual, the results listings can be found in the sidebar of this newsletter. Playing for their respective Houses brings a great sense of pride and enjoyment to the children and our Learning Habits of Collaboration and Resilience are always at the fore during these occasions.

U13 Girls’ Hockey

Mr McGregor writes, “Last Friday our U13 Girls’ Hockey Team travelled to the IAPS Regional Hockey Tournament, held at Ipswich School. The girls came away victorious having won all 8 of their matches against teams from across the East Region and they have qualified for the IAPS National Finals. These will be held at Stamford School on the 29th of November. Over the course of the day the girls played some scintillating, free scoring hockey, as well as finding the resolve to dig deep and win through some tough physical encounters. As well as the IAPS Nationals, the girls also have the England Hockey Regional Finals to look forward to in December. An in-depth look at the day, which saw the girls score 31 goals and concede just 4 can be found here. IAPS Regional Results. “

Prep Open Morning Wednesday 6 November

The Prep Open Morning is now almost full, so if anyone you know is still thinking of registering, please do encourage them to do so as soon as possible, Open Mornings – St Faith’s Cambridge.

We will also hold our second Pop-in & Play session for families interested in joining us for Reception 2025 or 2026. Register for the session on Thursday, 14 November, Admissions – St Faith’s Cambridge.

And finally…

By the time that you read this newsletter, the Year 5 pupils will have returned from their sleepover on Thursday night and Friday morning. The evening is a great way to round off the half-term, with a treasure hunt in the school grounds, laboratory experiments, trampoline in the sports hall and then a pizza supper. After a hearty breakfast the following morning, the children round off the sleep-over event with visits from circus jugglers who share their skills, and the ‘Reptile Experience’ giving the pupils a chance to learn about and see some remarkable reptiles. After all of that, I am sure everyone will be ready for a restful half-term!

With all best wishes,

Crispin Hyde-Dunn