We celebrated another successful Parents’ Day on 24th June which kicked off with the Mill Hill School Corps of Drums, had some fantastic sporting events in the morning and rounded off with a lovely afternoon for the children, parents and staff back at Grimsdell. A huge thank you to all who supported the event.
Our Year 1 and Year 2 performances of ‘The Selfish Ladybird’ and ‘Cinderella and Rockerfella’ at the Mill Hill School Theatre included some brilliant singing, dancing and acting from both year groups.
We have recently been awarded our Green Flag from Eco Schools, the highest possible achievement. The pupils and staff are very proud of being bestowed this award and have worked hard on growing vegetables and plants in our Science Garden, recycling our paper and saving energy this year. Well done to everyone and let’s keep up the good work!
Our second ever Swimming Gala saw some fantastic performances from the children. As well as the usual round of races the children took part in a treasure hunt which involved finding things in the water and having a lot of fun. Everyone gave their best and 2F were presented with the Elder Cup by Mrs Elder at the end of a very competitive afternoon.
It was recently announced by Professor Michael Proctor, Chairman of the Court of Governors, that, from September 2012, lessons will no longer be timetabled on a Saturday morning at Mill Hill School. At the same time, Professor Proctor announced the formal introduction of weekly boarding at Mill Hill, also from September 2012. For further details of these changes click here.
Two of our Nursery children were chosen as winners by the School Council. Sonya and Amba from our afternoon Nursery set off for school a whole two hours before they were due to be at Grimsdell, taking pictures of everything of interest that they saw on their way to school. They then stopped for a picnic on the green in the High Street before arriving at school. Both girls were presented with a storybook and a camera. Congratulations!
During the recent Cross Foundation Charity Event Grimsdell children raised £700 for the National Autistic Society. A letter was received from Caroline Bradley from the Autistic Society thanking the children for publicising this very worthwhile charity.
Children throughout the school, including the Nursery, enjoyed a golf lesson when Dean Halford a PGA professional who is based at Mill Hill School came to give them an introduction to the game. The children participated enthusiastically.
Friday 13th May saw Grimsdell celebrate its 2nd Eco Day. The children wore green and participated in a range of 'green' activities. Pupils were split into mixed age groups and had the chance to watch exploding volcanoes, join in a mini beast hunt, go on a nature trail and plant lots of vegetables in the Science Garden.
All Grimsdell children made hats in celebration of the Royal Wedding and we had a Hat Parade in the Nursery garden to show off our creations.
Grimsdell hosted an African Drum workshop where children from Year 1 and 2 got to experience playing the drums. Everyone had a fantastic time, and a special thanks to Terry Hogan for a memorable day.
Children's minds will continue to be stimulated as the new term starts at Grimsdell on Wednesday 27th April. After School Clubs for Year 1 and Year 2 start on Tuesday 3rd May. Day one gets off to a rousing start with an African Drum Workshop for Year 1 and Year 2 and then the School is closed on 29th April and 2nd May to celebrate the Royal Wedding. Further on in this half term will be a series of 'At Homes' for each year group and a 'Green Day' on Friday 13th May. Just before the half term holiday, which commences on 27th May, there will be a Nursery Concert on Tuesday 24th May at 10.45 and 2.30.
Reception performed their hearts out in The Large at Mill Hill this week with their performance of 'Stella the Starfish'. They all spoke clearly and sang beautifully. Year 1 and Year 2 pupils thoroughly enjoyed an afternoon at Mill Hill School for a sports festival. This involved dance, parachute games, an assault course and some ball skills. The children gained tremendously from this opportunity learning many different skills, the most important being team work. The sports leaders put them through their paces with all our children receiving a medal of achievement at the end.
Year 2 enjoyed a trip to the Museum of London on Wednesday. They had great fun learning interactively in the gallery of war, plague and fire, and then took part in a workshop on their history topic of the Great Fire of London.
The Cross Foundation Science Week got off to a good start when Year 2 children visited Mill Hill School. They joined up with some of the Mill Hill Students - and the Headmaster Dr Luckett! - for a lesson on electricity.
Grimsdell children were thrilled this week when Mrs Elder - who recently retired from teaching at Grimsdell - returned with her Harris Hawk 'Harley' for a display on the main lawn. The Harris Hawk is one of the most popular Falconry birds, and is now widely regarded as the ideal beginner's bird for those interested in falconry.
Last week our Year 1 children and their parents visited Belmont for a taster session. While their parents were learning all about life at Belmont the children took part in various activities. After performing some science experiments – including launching a rocket – they later enjoyed writing some poetry. The children had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed meeting Belmont children.
A warm welcome awaits prospective pupils and their families at Grimsdell on the Foundation Open Morning on Saturday 14th May when all three schools of the Mill Hill School Foundation are open. Grimsdell will be open for tours and displays from 10.30 to 12.30, and there will be an opportunity to meet the teachers.
There will also be an additional opportunity to view Grimsdell on a normal working morning on Monday 16th May from 9.30-11.00. The Headteacher will do her talk at 10.15 and the last tour will take place at 10.30. No need to book.
Year 2 enjoyed an excellent Fire Safety Education Workshop run by the Schools Officer from the London Fire Brigade. Together they took part in a number of activities and discussed how to keep themselves safe from fire through the use of some simple fire safety messages. The children were also provided with details of the London Fire Brigade website, where they could consolidate what they had learnt through puzzles, games and stories.
Wednesday February 9th was National Sing Up day and we celebrated with a special assembly and a visit from Christina Coker, Chief Executive of Youth Music for Sing Up. We felt very privileged that she chose to visit Grimsdell on National Sing Up day. Mrs Coker kindly joined in our singing assembly and then she visited different classes to experience some of the fun singing activities the children were participating in. Mrs Coker said that she had a fantastic day and was very impressed with the commitment Grimsdell had shown towards the Sing Up programme.
Over the last couple of weeks Lower Sixth students from Mill Hill have been coming to each of the classes at Grimsdell to teach the children a little about recycling and managing waste. This has proved to be a great success for all involved.
As part of their curriculum Year 2 have been learning about Mexico recently. To enhance their understanding of the culture they have designed some Mexican rugs. Irene M and Minar H both agreed that the most rewarding and enjoyable aspect of the task was 'printing the black shapes'.
Wednesday saw the Nursery and Reception classes participate in ‘Mini Movement’ with the children moving and shaking their bodies to some Disney tunes. Thursday saw Year 1 and Year 2 learn some ‘Street Dance’ where they were ‘busting’ some moves to chart hits. The children are still talking about the fun they had – keeping fit has never been such fun!
The Grimsdell ‘Toffee Bear Choir’ and staff had a fantastic day at the O2 on Tuesday taking part in the world’s largest choir performance – Young Voices. The children rehearsed all afternoon before singing their hearts out in front of a packed O2 Arena of around 20,000. A wonderful experience for all involved. Video clips can be viewed on www.youngvoices.co.uk.
The new term commences on 6th January and after school clubs for Years 1 & 2 start again on Tuesday 11th January. The spring term promises to be packed with many good things. A highlight this term, however, will be The Year 2 Choir performing at the 02 Centre! They will be taking part in the 'Young Voices Foundation' Concert. This is a charity that aims to inspire and motive children through music and signing. Young Voices also work closely with CLIC Sergeant, a charity that helps children with cancer.
The video below shows the children taking part in the Barnet Infant Music Festival with 6 other schools. The children sang with the other schools and also performed their own song 'The Magic Travel Machine'. The children and staff had a wonderful time and special thanks must go to Miss Teng for preparing the children so thoroughly.
Autumn term at Grimsdell rounded up with a series of events which were thoroughly enjoyed by the children. The Y1 and Y2 concerts featured 'Frosty the Snowman' and the nursery performed carols for their parents. After the Christmas Lunch and Christmas parties the week ended with a visit from Santa who waved the children off for their Christmas holidays.
Despite the snow this week Grimsdell School remained open and the children battled the elements to arrive safe and sound each day. They all thoroughly enjoyed the wintry conditions with opportunities to play in the snow.
Grimsdell are taking part in the national 'Switch Off Fortnight', an EDF Energy campaign run through its education programme. 'Switch Off Fortnight' is designed to encourage young people to think about how they use energy and to show them how and why it is important to use it more efficiently. Grimsdell School Council delivered an inspirational assembly to the rest of the school explaining the main issues of concern.
Grimsdell children have sent a record number of shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts to deprived children overseas. The Samaritan's Purse charity sends more than a million shoeboxes filled with gifts to youngsters in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia every year.
The children enjoyed filling their boxes with items such as toys, tennis balls, jigsaws, dolls, cars, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, soap, pens, paper, colouring books, hats, scarves, gloves, sweets and many other items. Each box was wrapped in bright Christmas paper and will end up with orphans and children who have been abandoned – basically, children who have nothing. Grimsdell children appreciated that these boxes would mean the world to those receiving them and it heightened their sense of charity at Christmas.
Parents are to be invited to attend a talk on 22nd November where Margaret Goldthorpe will speak about promoting self discipline in children's learning and behaviour. Her background is in teaching, having worked for more than 30 years in both primary and secondary schools. She has also been a member of the Behaviour Support Advisory Service for two Local Authorities and is the author of six books.
A flyer will be sent to Grimsdell parents regarding this event, which is organised by the Grimsdell Parents' Association. Please contact Mrs Ali Whitworth, GPA Chair, for information about tickets.
Grimsdell's harvest fund raising this year went to The Upper Room, a charity in Shepherds Bush. A representative from the charity joined the children to tell them about the work that is undertaken and to thank them for their generosity. The children sang, played and read their Harvest pieces beautifully.
Along with other schools around the country, Grimsdell children raised a substantial sum of money by wearing their jeans to school for the day. The event aims to raise money under the banner 'Changing the world for children with genetic disorders'.
To enhance their knowledge of the Jewish New Year a Grimsdell parent came into the school and explained to the children all about the Shofar which is an instrument made from the horn of a ram or other Kosher animal. It is blown on Rosh Hashanah marking the beginning of the New Year. As an 'aide memoire' the children also learnt a song about how the Shofar is played.
The Autumn term, which commences on Wednesday 8th September gets off to a social beginning with a series of 'At Homes' and a New Parents Tea. During the Autumn term Year 2 can look forward to a visit to The Barbican, and there will be a series of end of term concerts for Years 1 and 2. After School Clubs for Years 1 and 2 will commence on Tuesday 28th September.
Friday 25th June saw another fantastic Parents' Day, with beautiful weather, a grand introduction from the Mill Hill School Corps of Drums and a great turn-out from all our parents. Children enjoyed the sports in the morning, looking through their work and meeting their new teachers in the afternoon and had fun with all the events hosted by our GPA on the main lawn. It was a truly lovely day enjoyed by everyone.
The Year 2 play 'The Goblin Next Door' was a lovely story of a Goblin learning the importance of being nice to others. The children retold the story with great enthusiasm and gusto, with marvellous performances from everyone topped off with a performance from the Grimsdell Band!
Reception had a great day out at the Planetarium in Greenwich this week. They enjoyed looking at the old telescopes and had fun moving from East to West on the Meridian Line! The budding astronomers also explored space with ‘Ted the Bear’ who, with the aid of an interactive show, showed the children the sun, moon and planets in his quest to show them the big bear in the sky!
Meg the Golden Retriever, who belonged to Mrs Bennett-Mills, came to school every day for 11 years. Sadly Meg passed away in 2006 but she is still fondly remembered with a bronze statue on the main lawn. The sculpture was presented to the school by Mr Paul Jessup, who was one of our parents at the time.
