Dear parents,

A glance through @SPFSchools during the last three weeks will give you a flavour of what an action packed and happy period of term it has been, with no shortage of highlights.

Ben Miller’s visit on Monday 26 November was much anticipated and greatly appreciated. We were very pleased that he was able to begin his day at the Foundation by spending time with Junior School pupils and staff before moving on to the Senior School and Dame Bradbury’s. Lovely too that we have seen his book, The Night I Met Father Christmas, being avidly read in virtually every classroom!

The following Monday, Year 4 pupils thoroughly enjoyed extending their knowledge of the Romans during a day trip to Colchester Castle Museum.

Other special events have come along ‘thick and fast’, ranging from the informal on site to the more elaborate in other venues. Very well done to all those who have performed in the following: Cattley’s House Assembly on the theme of ‘Future Challengers’, the Year 3 & Year 4 Performers’ Platform Concert, the Year 4 & Year 5 Speech Pupils’ Recital on the theme of ‘We Are Family’, Year 6’s Drama Production of ‘Scheherazade’, and the Junior School Carol Service.

Directing three classes of pupils on stage would be too daunting a task for many but fortunately Mrs Marty felt equal to the challenge and after a term of lessons and rehearsals, she and her cast of 53 delighted two audiences with a fast paced, colourful, entertaining and, at times, rather moving version of ‘1001 Arabian Nights’. Year 6 pupils were thrilled when the time came to piece together the whole play on the Senior School stage and they certainly did themselves justice when acting, singing and dancing. Comments such as, ‘It’s really fun because the costumes are realistic and the songs are very cheerful’, ‘It’s fun because I like going to the rehearsals, especially in the Senior School with loads of props and a wider space to practise’, ‘I’ve got four parts and was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to learn all my lines but it was easier than I thought because the rehearsals really help and your friends test you on your script’, ‘The costumes are colourful and I’ve got a nice hat but the trousers are rather baggy’, and ‘I’m proud how everyone does their best and it gets exciting when you know there is going to be an audience’ sum up what an amazing opportunity this was for our pupils in their final year as juniors. Hearty thanks to Mrs Marty and all who supported this memorable production.

We are inspired by our pupils in a great variety of ways and sometimes quite unexpectedly. On Tuesday we found ourselves transported to the world of Andy Warhol’s Pop Art when the members of Year 6 Photography Club exhibited their ‘selfie’ projects on large display boards in the Library.

Another surprise was when we discovered that William in Year 6 had taken part in the 'People's Procession' on the centenary of Armistice Day.  After standing for three hours, William laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in remembrance of his great great grandfather, this relative’s nephew, the WW1 casualties associated with Mill Road Cemetery and those associated with Clare College, where his mother works. After the walk past, William was interviewed by Martin Dougan for Newsround. Well done William, well done also to Naomi in Year 5 who laid a wreath on behalf of her Brownie pack in the Remembrance Sunday parade in Cottenham.

Although carol singing began shortly after half term, the festive season didn’t really arrive in the Junior School until the Christmas puddings were delivered, the tree in reception was festooned with homemade decorations and Christmas Fair excitement took hold. We are very grateful indeed to PFA committee members and volunteers for organising a fantastic Fair with such an amazing number and variety of stalls and activities. Those who attended really enjoyed themselves and appeared to leave carrying bags bulging with all manner of Christmas goodies! Special thanks to Sigrid Mueller who coordinated the event this year.

It was lovely to see so many of you at our Carol Service in St Andrew the Great on Monday afternoon. We hope you enjoyed this occasion as much as we did and that you were impressed by the singing, in four languages no less. The children put great effort into their performances and we are very proud of them all.

Today our Year 6 pupils marked Hanukkah with a special session led by Analena’s mother, to whom we are most grateful. Tomorrow we are raising funds for Save the Children by wearing Christmas jumpers and enjoying our first Chartwells Christmas lunch. We have reached the end of a very busy Autumn Term and the beginning of a well deserved holiday!

We hope you and your families enjoy a wonderful break over Christmas and New Year, and we look forward to seeing you again in January.

Best wishes,

Katie Milne

Head of Junior School

Sports round-up

As a department we want to see enjoyment and progress throughout the year in a variety of sports. The Autumn Term is a long one and provides perhaps the best opportunity to witness improvements in a particular sport.

The girls have attacked hockey with gusto across the year groups and have been involved in some classic encounters when representing the school. We have been working hard to develop a style of hockey that encourages decision making and possession whilst utilising the space and taking risks in the attacking half. It hasn’t always gone to plan, where the results are concerned, but we have seen periods of sensational hockey and remarkable progress. There are far too many highlights to mention, but we must congratulate the U9A team for remaining unbeaten throughout the season and the U11As for finishing 10th in the region.

We welcomed Joe Tillen at the start of the term as the Foundation’s Head of Football and he has hit the ground running. Expectations have been raised and the boys have risen to the challenge. With relatively small numbers in comparison to other schools it has been great to see pupils challenging themselves by representing the year above on occasion. It has also been great to take whole year groups to fixtures and to showcase the depth in talent that we currently have in the Junior School. Most recently the U11 boys football team played very well in the EFL Kids’ Cup, which is run by Cambridge United. They were unlucky not to progress through to the next round, narrowly missing out due to a penalty shoot out for the 2nd qualifying place.

In the winter months it is also fantastic to see some superb creative work through dance and gymnastics. We are looking forward to being involved in the Senior School’s gym and dance showcase next term. Pre-season hockey for the boys is also now underway and the girls are enjoying being on the netball court. Finally, the much anticipated house cross country race is looming and, with every runner earning points, it promises to be a passionate event!

Remember to stay up to date by checking the sports website www.stephenpersesport.com and following us on twitter @SPFSport.

Notices

SIMS Parent App

Over the last few weeks we’ve rolled out the Parent App to enable you to update details more easily. You should have received a SIMS Online Services Invite. If you experience any issues with using the app, please contact Neil Williams, our Data Manager datamanager@stephenperse.com and he will help you.