News & Events
After another busy term the children went off for their summer holidays with fond memories of time well spent and with the expectation of a long summer holiday followed by a new term filled with stimulation and inspiration. 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!
On Green Britain Day, 17th June, Grimsdell held their first ever Eco Day. The children were split into mixed groups and worked with different teachers throughout the day. The children had the opportunity to make recycled musical instruments and puppets, do some weaving, make a mosaic out of tiles and even make a mini beast hotel in the science garden. It proved to be a really fun day with everybody getting lots from it.
Year 2 had a brilliant outing to Southend. The trip was made even better with lovely weather. First the children enjoyed looking at all the wonderful fish in the Sealife Aquarium. Then they walked the length of Southend Pier and caught the train back. Finally ice-creams were enjoyed on the beach and sticks of rock were purchased before returning to school, tired but happy.
History was made at Grimsdell when their first ever Swimming Gala was held. All the children in Year 2 competed for the Elder Swimming Cup which was donated by Mrs Jenny Elder who is retiring at the end of the year. Year 1 children came to watch and had a thrilling afternoon cheering on every race. It was a hard fought contest with 2W the eventual winters of our inaugural Swimming Gala. The trophy was presented by Mrs Elder.
As part of the retirement celebrations for Mrs Elder (nee Sutcliffe) a photo was taken of her and Mrs Bennett-Mills together with a selection of the first Grimsdell Nursery class who are now leaving Mill Hill Upper Sixth. Mrs Elder was the nursery school teacher at the time. The boys are Matthew F, Scott S, Jack A, Sebastian Jacobs and Paul Ivey.
This is one of our Reception classes enjoying the Science Garden. The Nature Club have been working hard throughout the winter ensuring that there are sufficient bird feeders so that the birds don't go hungry. We have a resident family of Blue Jays who can often be seen in the garden. Our Science Garden is used by all the children for a range of activities. Reception have recently been planting flowers which we are hoping will bloom in June. We also have a vegetable garden that includes cabbage, carrots and potatoes.
Two teams of Grimsdell pupils took part in the second annual 7-a-side tournament, which was hosted by Belmont. Teams from Goldfall Primary, Mulberry House, St Mary's Primary, St Josephs RC Primary, Hendon Prep and Golders Hill School participated and everyone played with great team spirit. Grimsdell's teams played very well, finishing 5th and 6th after playing each other in the final game.
The Reception children showed what absolute stars they are with their wonderful performance of ‘Rise and Shine’. All the children read their lines clearly and sang beautifully. A huge thank you must go to Miss Teng for putting together such a fantastic performance.
Grimsdell's new term starts with the promise of many exciting activities taking place during the forthcoming term. 'After School Clubs' start on 27th April and during the first week there are a number of 'At Home' sessions for each year group. The term then will see Concerts, Golf Workshops, the first ever Year 2 Swimming Gala and Sports Day. Additional highlights will be a Year 2 outing to Southend-on-Sea, Reception outing to Greenwich, Year 1 outing to Ashridge Estate and a visit from a Theatre Company. Finally, for Year 2 there will be an Induction afternoon at Belmont, involvement with the production of a leavers DVD and a Leavers arty at the end of term.
Our Year 1 and Year 2 pupils enjoyed a sports festival morning/afternoon hosted by the senior pupils of Mill Hill School. The children participated in a range of activities including dodge ball, trampolining, parachute games and dance. A fantastic time was had by all!
Year 1 Music Assembly
Year 2 Music Assembly
The video clips contain flash photography.
On Friday 12th March everyone at Grimsdell wore red socks for Sport Relief. The children were able to purchase the special socks from the office for £2 and had to donate an extra pound to wear them. In the afternoon there was a cake sale and an Easter raffle to raise more money.
On February 24th we celebrated National Sing Up day with a musical extravaganza. Everyone, including the teachers enjoyed the opportunity of sharing their singing talents with each other. A real highlight was the excellent individual performances from Daniel B on the drums, Eeshan B and Omre U on the guitar and Olivia T on the piano.
Grimsdell Nursery and Reception had their annual opportunity to take part in a 'Musical Theatre Workshop'. This year's theme was 'High School Musical' and 'Hairspray' which involved a programme of singing, dancing and acting. After a warm-up, which involved both voice and bodywork, each group followed the teacher into an extremely stirring performance which included music from both musicals. Years 1 and 2 then took part in a 'Cheer Dance Workshop'. The warm-up for this would have challenged even the fittest of adults and culminated in a cheer-leader session which involved amongst its very intricate choreography, jumping, high kicks and a Mexican wave! Both of these events were a feast of colour, energy and confidence building exercises.
Two opportunities to visit Grimsdell are coming up. The first is the Foundation Open Morning on Saturday 8th 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. For a more in-depth visit on a normal working day, the school will also be open from 9.30 – 11.00 on Monday 10th May with a talk to parents from the Headteacher at 10.15.
Grimsdell children and families have been turning their thoughts to those less fortunate than themselves. After all the publicity about Haiti, Grimsdell Parents Association made a donation of £1,000, and the children themselves raised £1,100 from their Mufti Day on Monday 25th January. All proceeds went to the Disasters Emergency Committee.
Grimsdell survived the recent snowy weather with only minimal disruption to the normal working day. All the staff came out to greet the children and make sure they got into school without slipping over. The children got to do lots of activities relating to snow – such as building miniature snowmen in the class and listening to a range of snowy stories such as Harry and the Snow King and The Snow Lambs. Thanks must go to the Maintenance Staff worked industrially throughout to ensure staff and children were able to get in and out of the school in safety.
2010 promises to be a very constructive and happy time for all Grimsdell children. Term starts on Wednesday 6th January and After School Clubs for Year 1 and Year 2 commence from Tuesday 12th January. Academically the Lent Term is always busy but additional activities will include a Musical Theatre Workshop for Nursery and Reception, a Cheer Dance Workshop for Years 1 and 2, Drama4All Workshops, a trip for Year 2 to the London Transport Museum, an outing to the Museum of Childhood for Year 1 and a visit for all from the Travelling Book company.
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.
