Fortnightly Up-Date 24 th May, 2013

Transcription

1 Fortnightly Up-Date 24 th May, 2013 Year VI s Favourite Activities at PGL My favourite activity at PGL was the Zip Wire. It is called Zip Wire 5 and it is very new and had only been active for a couple of weeks before we went. I thought it was going to be really scary but the instructor, whose name was Mark, said the only scary bit was stepping off the platform. I didn t find it scary at all! It was great fun and I really enjoyed it and if I had the chance I would do it again. The funny thing is that it didn t look very fast when other people were on the Zip Wire but when you were on it you could really feel the speed, apparently they had to reduce the speed it goes at because all the metal that is attached to the wire and your harness kept breaking and setting on fire and it took them ages to find the right one! It went very quickly even though they had to reduce the speed on it, which to be honest was a real shame because it was so much fun. The only annoying part about it was the run or walk for most people including me, back up to the top of the hill. There was something else you had to do if you weren t on the Zip Wire. You had to go on this very uncomfortable seat and pedal like you do on a bicycle. This made a chain like contraption that was inside a square wooden box rotate a chain that at one end would pull up a bag which you had to drop if you were at the end of the Zip Wire. There would be another person next to the chain to grab the piece of string attached to the bag and they would pull it in to the instructor at the top of the starting platform. I really enjoyed the Zip Wire and I would defiantly do it again! By Edward Jones (Form VI)

2 What a week at PGL, also known as Parents get Lost! It was such a fun week, especially doing Zip Wire 5, the highest, scariest and longest Zip Wire PGL has ever made. It does a speed of 45 mph. We were told that last year they had a few technical problems! Which made us a little bit worried and then they reassured us it was all sorted and there was nothing to worry about. I chose the Zip Wire as my favourite activity because of the hilarious event that Isabella and I witnessed, but mainly because it was the most challenging activity PGL had ever done and even some of the instructors thought it was scary. I did it to challenge myself but also to enjoy it as it looked really fun and it was! I loved it, but the bit I didn t love so much was the stopping part, you would have to career into a brake at 45 mph. I went flying, my legs flipped and I bounced up. It was great fun though. We all put our harnesses on and Sam the instructor told us what to do. First walk up the steps and stand on the platform next to Sam. Next let Sam clip the ropes into the clips. When Sam has done that she will clip a bag onto the last clip then swing it to your left, it has a rope in that you need. You are all set and ready to go, but before you go you need to do Mr Faulconbridge s instructions: shout a silly phrase, mine was Helena s Hill because of a very funny incident before the Zip Wire! Finally, the last instruction was to hold the rope, jump off and have fun! Overall, the experience at PGL was great and one which I will never forget. I will always remember the activities and the fact that I always had to laugh at something on each activity. But, the activity I will always have a hilarious memory of was Zip Wire 5. I had an amazing time not just on Zip Wire 5 but also at PGL itself. By Willow Weatherby (Form VI)

3 Year V had a Wonderful Time at Kingswood Overstrand is being washed away by the sea and Year V were keen to learn all about it when they were in Norfolk: Undercutting is when the sea erodes the cliff base and hollows out a cave, which makes it unstable. Theo Tomlinson (Form V) Slumping is when the cliff collapses because of the weight and saturation, causing the debris to flow into the sea. Olivia Murden (Form V) Transportation is when the sea washes away the debris and caravans/ The long shore drift dumps the debris down the coast. Eleanor Mansfield (Form V) Sea Defenses: The Sea Wall is made of concrete. It is found at the base of the cliff and is designed to stop undercutting. Grace Britten (Form V) Groynes come out of the cliff and into the sea. They are made of Rainforest wood and prevent long shore drift. Ned Forryan (Form V) Gabions are above sea walls. They are made of flint and steel and stop slumping. Luke Haywood (Form V) Revetments are found between the cave and the cliff. They are made of Rainforest wood. They prevent the force of the waves from hitting the cliff. Antonia Martin (Form V) Happy Birthday Mrs Allen The whole school gathered for an extremely special assembly on Tuesday, 21 st May, to wish Mrs Allen a very happy 80 th birthday. To her surprise, Mrs Allen walked into the theatre to find a sea of smiling faces! We all sang the school song and then our Prefects, Head Boy and Head Girl presented our gifts, card and a wonderful birthday cake. Finally, we sang Happy Birthday.

4 Brooke Priory on Rutland Radio There was great excitement on Monday, 20 th May, when Rob Persani from Rutland Radio came into school to talk to two children from each year in the Prep. The interviews are going to be broadcast at 7.50 a.m. each morning from Monday 3 rd June to Friday 7 th June on Rutland Radio, frequency Nursery and Kindergarten Welly Day at Brooke The Nursery and Kindergarten had a fabulous bug hunt at Brooke on Wednesday 22 nd May: I liked the face painting and walking and seeing the horses! Charlotte Crawley (Nursery) I liked to go splashing in the river and the face painting and the horses! Imogen Bouch (Nursery) I was very brave with the pond and I liked the pony. I liked the puppies! Anoushka Faulconbridge (Nursery) I liked collecting flowers and pine cones. I liked walking around Mrs Bell s garden! Evan Miles (Nursery) I liked to see the horses and to walk on the hill. We went on a bouncy bus! Spencer Payne (Nursery) I found a wiggly worm a big one! Tabitha Spall (Nursery) I liked walking in the field! James Young (Nursery) I held a snail and a bug! Daisy Brown (Nursery) I saw an ant and a wiggly worm! Charlotte Craig (Nursery) I went in the field and found a big snake it slid off! (it was a worm!) Gus McMurray (Nursery)

5 Plans for the Playground As you are probably aware, the School Council have asked us to introduce some new activities and facilities in the playground. They have come up with an array of ideas for making playtime more fun and we have followed this through by consulting a number of companies that provide playground equipment. Our preferred option is with Sovereign and they have sent us through a number of plans and pictures detailing what they could provide. This information is now on show for everyone to see in the reception area and we hope that you will take a few moments to have a look. The playground is the focus for the Friends fundraising and one way that you can help to boost the fund is by signing on to Easy Fundraising. Easy Fundraising is a quick and simple way for you to support our project without actually parting with any money! You can help us by registering before you make your next on-line purchase. Simply log-on to the website and register - you will be asked to choose a cause and you will find us listed as Friends of Brooke Priory, Oakham. The list of participating retailers is extensive - everyone seems to be there, including Amazon, Boden and even Tesco! The very smallest transaction will help to raise funds which will ultimately be used by the Friends to benefit every child in school. If you have any questions please contact Helen Taylor who is running this for the Friends, her address is h.taylor280@btinternet.com. The Friends 80 s Night Have You Got Your Ticket? There are still a few tickets left for the Friends 80 s Night on Saturday 15 th June, so we would be delighted for you to open the invitation to friends from further afield. Everyone welcome! The event is being held at Manton Village Hall, a fabulous venue overlooking Rutland Water. A paella supper is included in the ticket price of just 20. Do come along and enjoy a nostalgic evening! Tickets are available from Miss Vale at the front desk. All profits will go into the Playground Fund.

6 Gymnastics Assembly Our gymnasts have had a fantastically successful term and it was wonderful to watch them perform their fabulous routines in assembly on Thursday, 23 rd May. We congratulate the following children who received awards: Clare Maitland - Gymnast of the Year Shield Winner Taryn Lee - Runner-up Form VI Gymnast of the Year Jo Jo White - Runner-up Form VI Gymnast of the Year Giovanna Camm - Most Improved Form VI Gymnast Yasmin O Donnell - Form V Gymnast of the Year Isabelle Heller-Janes - Most Improved Form V Gymnast

7 Summer Fête Friday, 14 th June We are reverting to a Friday afternoon fête this year and hope that you will bring friends and family along to join in the fun. As usual, there will be a Tombola, Raffle, Cake Stall, Jam Jars and lots of games. If you would like to donate a prize for the Raffle we should be most grateful. For anyone who has not experienced a Brooke Priory Fête before, we should explain that the Jam Jars stall is the children s favourite as they buy a ticket for 50p and everyone is a winner so, please can we ask you all to provide at least one clean jam jar filled with wrapped sweets and/or new trinkets. On Wednesday, 12 th June, we are having a Odd Sock Day, when the children will come into school in their most amusing combination of socks in exchange for a bottle for the Tombola. If you are able to help us set things up for the fête please give your name to Miss Vale, we will begin at 11 a.m. and there will be a sandwich lunch and coffee for everyone in the Year IV general area before events begin at 2 p.m. Let s hope the sun shines! Brooke Priory Show Jumping Competition The first Brooke Priory Show Jumping Competition took place on Saturday, 4 th May, at Hill Top Farm, Oakham, by kind permission of Mr and Mrs William Cross. Our boys and girls showed true grit and determination as they contemplated the course on their fabulous ponies. Teams from Maidwell and Witham Hall also joined us for what was a truly fantastic morning. No doubt this will become an important annual event! Sports Report Well, we all survived the residential season and with PGL and Stibbington now only blissful memories, sport can once again become my focus. Although I will miss hurtling down a zip wire at 45mph and looking for pirates and their treasure around a mysterious lake!! So here goes, a whistle stop tour of the past few weeks of sporting action. On the Cricket front the U11 boys had tough matches against Stoneygate which saw two losses but highlighted areas for development that should stand us in great stead for the important encounters ahead. The U11A team squad competed in the Uppingham 6 aside tournament. After beating Moorlands from Leeds in their first match convincingly the boys went on to play New Beacon from Kent. After 10 overs New Beacon had scored 69 for 1, a fantastic total in only 60 balls bowled. This left our boys a run rate of more than a run a ball. Undaunted, the lads played superbly reaching a total of 67 for 3 with 1 ball still to be bowled. The boys gave it their all but could only run twice on the last ball of the match which meant that although they had scored the same amount of runs they lost on number of wickets taken. New Beacon went on to win the

8 tournament, which just goes to show how close Brooke were to overall victory. I was as proud of the boys as I ever have been, as they behaved like true sportsman despite being bitterly disappointed to be so close and yet so far away. We live to fight another day and there are still two more opportunities to secure that fabled silverware for the trophy cabinet. The U9 boys had their first competitive Cricket experience at LGJS in less than seasonal conditions. The wind howled, the rain intermittently fell with gusto and the temperature was far from conducive to athletic fielding, powerful batting and accurate bowling. The boys played with the appropriately named windball, which did exactly what it said it would, go anywhere the wind took it! But with hands frozen and limbs battered by the wind and rain, this group of boys did not let their enthusiasm for Cricket die out and as the embers still burned they were left with many lessons to learn in order to master this venerable game but with a spirit and determination still intact, to do just that. The U9A Cricketers got there first win of the season against Copthill with a good bowling performance from William Begy on his debut, dynamic fielding from Danny Rumble and an explosive batting performance from Kai Onyett. The U11B Cricketers had their best performance of the season and, although they lost, the boys are showing increased confidence and technical ability with each game. Ryan Spall hit a four followed by a six during his stay at the crease, which was fantastic. On the diamond of the Rounders pitch the girls have performed superbly. The U10 and U9 girls both battled the inclement conditions against LGJS with great fortitude and humour. They arrived for tea soaked and windswept but with great smiles on their faces and stories of what might have been. Our U11 girls were simply tremendous in their IAPS 2 nd round encounter against Witham Hall. In a somewhat hostile environment the girls held strong, sticking together throughout an afternoon of intense and pressure filled competition. It always saddens me when the true power and learning potential that sporting competition provides is lost. I am as competitive as the next person, if not more so, but to live your sporting life balancing on the knife edge of winning and losing is a perilous and ultimately unfulfilling place to exist. It is far better to compete strongly with ambition, tenacity and pride and let the result lay in the balance of the sporting gods, safe in the knowledge that whatever you learn from the experience will only make you stronger and wiser than you were before. Our girls thankfully played the game with the latter frame of mind and although they lost on this occasion they gained far more than their opposition could ever imagine. Well done, girls, I am extremely proud of you as always. The U9A girls won narrowly against Copthill, with Eleanor Crawley scoring 4 rounders and taking two catches, whilst the U11B girls narrowly lost under the watchful eye of Mrs Bell and the U11A girls fought out a nail-biting draw. Moving on to another so called summer sport, tennis, although our first fixture against Copthill saw blustery winds and light rain mar the occasion and make playing tennis nearly impossible. However, our girls and boys played extremely well and with the total number of games won by each team throughout the match being the deciding factor, Brooke came out winners. This was a fantastic achievement as it was some of the girls first experience of team tennis. Finally, we come to Athletics. Our brave children ran brilliantly in the rearranged Ratcliffe cross country, the longest of the season. I am glad to report that we won the Form III (Jolie Mitchell-Clarke, Gabi Gelderbloom, Mathilda Holland, Tess Cunliffe and Alice Whyman) and Form VI (Willow Weatherby, Saoirse Mason, Mya Onyett, Taryn Lee and Evie Jones-Best) girls team competitions as well as picking up individual medals with Mathilda Holland (3), Jolie Mitchell-Clarke (5), Kai Onyett (6), Mya Onyett (4), Evie Jones-Best (5), Saoirse Mason (6), Ruben Scott (4) and Oscar Bryan (5). Well run everyone, you deserved your rest at the end. Moving to track and field, the Form III and IV children took part in the Invitational Athletics on Thursday evening and with perfect conditions all of the children performed fantastically. The team finished 2 nd overall and there were many first places achieved in the track events. Wayne Faulconbridge, Head of Sport

9 PLEASE NOTE: Fixture information is now available on the school s website: and parents are asked to check that there have been no last minute changes. The Sports Line number is no longer in use. Wednesday 5 th June Wednesday 12 th June Sports Fixtures 1530 U11A Cricket v Grantham Prep (H) U11B Cricket v Grantham Prep (H) U9A Cricket v Grantham Prep (H) U11A Rounders v Grantham Prep (H) U9A Rounders v Grantham Prep (H) 1530 U11A Cricket v Laxton (A) U9A Cricket v Laxton (A) U9B Cricket v Laxton (A) U11A Rounders v Laxton (A) U11B Rounders v Laxton (A) U9A Rounders v Laxton (A) Summer Term Week 7 Monday 3 rd June 0840 Half Term Ends Wednesday 5 th June 0930 Bikeability Group 2 Thursday 6 th June 1200 Years 11 VI to see James and the Giant Peach at the Curve Theatre Returning at 1700 Week 8 Monday 10 th June Tuesday 11 th June Wednesday 12 th June Thursday 13 th June Friday 14 th June Saturday 15 th June 0845 Years I and II to the Sea Life Centre, Birmingham 0900 Year VI Making DNA trip to The Toxicology Unit at Leicester Year III Step Back in Time at Burghley House, Stamford 0900 Kindergarten visit to West Lodge 1900 Musical Evening 0840 ODD SOCK DAY 0930 Bikeability Group Rev. Rush to take Assembly 1330 Year VI Watercolour Workshop with Alan Oliver 1540 Prep Stay and Play (Music Dept) 1900 New Kindergarten Parent Presentation 1400 Summer Fête 2000 Friends 80 s Evening

10 Elizabeth Bell Headmistress