Froebelian Strictly Come DancingOur Form I (Yr3) and Form II (Yr4) children put in lots of time and effort to impress the judges for our Strictly Come Dancing competition. The glitter ball sparkled and there were some real show-stopping dances! All the children performed magnificently. Well done!

FootballThe children played all their football matches with high

spirits, determination and passion. Froebelian may not

have won every match but Mr Finan, the football coach, is

extremely proud of the team and their 100% effort.

Cross CountryDespite the horrendous

weather conditions for most of the races, our pupils

showed true resilience. The children competed in the

Leeds Cross Country League races finishing high in the

rankings. The final race will be held in March.

Netball U11Our netball squad had a flying start to the season by winning 3 out of 4 matches during the Gateways Tournament. At Lady Lane School they won by an impressive 14-1. The squad then played matches against Bramhope and St Peter’s School easily winning both 28-0 & 12-2. Well done!

Oh no, It’s the

BACK PAGE Janu

ary

2016

• The Walk of Art• Harvest Festival• Children in Need• PTA News• Sports Round Up

Inside this issue:

Froebelian School, Clarence Road, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4LB Telephone:0113 258 3047 Web:www.froebelian.com

The FroebelianDIGEST

Welcome to all...I cannot quite believe I am already writing my inaugural piece for the Froebelian Digest! It only seems like a few weeks ago that I was arriving at the school gates for the first time as the new Headteacher; feeling slightly nervous and wondering what the term had in store for us. Fast forward four months and I am amazed at how many wonderful things have happened in our Autumn Term; many of which are detailed in this Digest. I have been made to feel so welcome by the children, staff and parents and, although not yet fully initiated in the ‘Froebelian way’, day by day I am discovering what makes our school so special and unique. I would like to thank you all for your valuable support last term and I look forward to continuing to develop strong partnerships throughout our school community this Spring.

THE FROEBELIAN SCHOOLGiving a Flying Start to the Citizens of Tomorrow

LKG and KG to Nell BankKindergarten and Lower Kindergarten visited Nell Bank in Ilkley where they went on a Gruffalo hunt, made Gruffalo crumble and built a house for the

little brown mouse. They also did pond dipping and there was even time for fun in the water park..

Walk of ArtThe theme for this year’s whole school art project was the ‘Splendour of Sculpture’. We were lucky enough to work with bespoke furniture makers, Jake Coleman and Gareth Edwards from Coleman & Edwards Makers of Fine Furniture, and freelance artist Rachael Foster on this project. With their expertise and the help of many willing parents, each class produced a unique piece of abstract art. The children were also involved in building a beautiful chair, which will be used as the ‘Assembly Chair’ in The Hub. The children visited Jake and Gareth in their workshop in Bramley and saw them making the parts for the chair and Form II helped to assemble it.

The sculptures, the finished chair and a storyboard display of the whole project formed the Froebelian’s entry into the Horsforth Walk of Art, a 2-day arts’ festival that took place in July 2015.

Seaside Workshop

With the help of Tempus Fugit, Remove became "Time Travellers" for the afternoon and were able to have a taste of the Victorian British seaside. They watched a traditional

Punch and Judy show, met a fortune teller and played some traditional seaside promenade-type games. A

fantastic time was had by all, especially during the renditions of famous British seaside songs, such as "I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside" and "Daisy, Daisy!" The children were even able to see some real Victorian toys and hear

the sound of a hurdy gurdy. They thought that the swimwear was most unusual!

The Froebelian DIGEST

PAGE 2 PAGE 3

Author Emma Warner-ReedOn Wednesday 2 December the author Emma Warner-Reed came to school to read and talk to Forms III and IV. Emma brought her recently published novel with her, ‘Dotty and the Calendar House Key’. Lipalo and Avani were winners in Emma’s competition to rewrite the end of the prologue and won a copy of the book. Phoebe and Freya were also highly commended for their entries. ‘Dotty and the Calendar House Key’ is on the Book Club reading list next term and everyone is really looking forward to lots of discussion and drama activities relating to the book.

We hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas Fair on Saturday 5 December. There was a real festive feeling in the air and we even had Santa in his grotto. I am sure we will all agree this was a great start to the festive season and to all our Christmas celebrations. The FPTA are busy planning next year’s events, which include a Teddy Bear’s Picnic for Pre-Prep, an Easter Disco and the Spring Ball in May. The exact dates are still being confirmed but will be announced very soon. Follow our social media pages to keep up to date with the FPTA plans for 2016.

After many months of work and planning the FPTA are delighted to announce the opening of our Outdoor Learning Zone. We are very grateful to the School Council for their support and extra funds to ensure the area was completed to the high standard we set out to achieve.

Twitter- @FroeblianPTA Facebook – join the Facebook Group, ‘Froebelian PTA’

Transition visit the Post OfficeTransition wrote a letter to somebody they lived with and then for homework they addressed their envelopes and tried to learn their home addresses. The next day, the class went for a walk to the local post office where the children took it in turns to buy a first class stamp. All the children were a credit to the school, remembering to say please and thank you.

The children said, “We weren’t sure how long the letter would take to reach our house but thought it might take longer to someone who lived further away…we soon found

out that it didn’t matter whether we lived close to the school or a bit further away. Most of the letters arrived the next day!”

Froebelian Parent Teachers Association (FPTA)

What do we do?Our aim is to deliver social activities for the children, parents and families of the Froebelian School. Funds generated through these events are donated to a wide spectrum of projects across the school to enrich the school environment.

Follow Us and help

THE FROEBELIAN SCHOOLP A R E N T & T E A C H E R A S S O C I A T I O N

Young Shakespeare Company Form III and Form IV experienced the world of Shakespeare yesterday thanks to the Young Shakespeare Company. They performed Romeo and Juliet, with our children playing lots of the roles. Apparently the best bit was the fake blood!

There were five actors playing all the main parts, the Nurse, Lord Capulet, Mercutio, Tybalt, Friar Lawrence, Romeo, Juliet and Benvolio. The children also played lots of the supporting roles. The quality of the play was brilliant and extremely engaging. There was plenty of action with the actors even using real knives: though we were assured that the knives were blunt and the blood was fake.

The Froebelian DIGEST

PAGE 4

ChickensThere was great excitement in school when Farmer Robert from Meanwood Valley Urban Farm brought some fertilised eggs. Form II carefully looked after the eggs in their classroom. All of the eggs hatched and the children did a brilliant job of caring for the chicks as they grew up. The school kept 3 hens and the ‘Hen Club’ help Mrs Giles look after them.

Armistice DayOn Wednesday 11 November, we observed Armistice Day in school.

Form III led a special assembly, and then the whole school gathered by the flagpole to observe the two minute silence. George Potts played a moving rendition of the Last Post on the trumpet as the flag was lowered. The children bought poppies and together we raised over £154 for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Fund.

Form III attended the Armistice Service at Horsforth Cemetery alongside other local schools and members of the Horsforth Community.

Number 22!We are delighted to announce that the Froebelian School is ranked at number 22 out of 100 independent prep schools in the Sunday Times Parent Power survey. This is up from number 25 last year. We are the highest ranked school in Leeds and Bradford and are still the only school from Leeds in the top 100.

“We are so proud of our children,” said Mrs Dodds. “This is a testimony to the hard work and dedication of not only the children and their teachers but also the whole school community who work together to foster a life-long thirst for learning.”

Harvest AssemblyMrs Dodds led a wonderful Harvest Festival Assembly. She talked about the history behind this festival and where our food comes from. Children from each class helped to create a rainbow made from fresh fruit and vegetables. Thank you to all the children, parents and carers for your generous donations, which we donated to Horsforth Live at Home and the Make a Wish Foundation.

Froebelian FlyersThis year we have introduced Froebelian Flyers. Each week staff nominate pupils who they believe have best met the characteristics of one of the flyers.

Froebelian FlyersThis year we have introduced Froebelian Flyers. Each week staff nominate pupils who they believe have best met the characteristics of one of the flyers.

Kindergarten EidKindergarten learnt all about the festival of Eid when Mrs Shere visited them to talk about Eid celebrations. She explained all about the significance of Eid and how her family celebrates. The children were fascinated to hear about Zaki visiting the Mosque and to see the special clothes that he and his sister wear.

Kindergarten also celebrated the festival of Diwali by listening to stories, watching a DVD all about a small boy celebrating Diwali. The children made some card divas and finally we made a raita dip which they enjoyed eating with some poppadoms.

Children in NeedWe had a fantastic time celebrating Children in Need on Friday 13 November. The children, and even some of staff dressed as their favourite superhero. Over £300 was raised and shared between Children in Need and the school’s charity for this year, the Make a Wish Foundation.

PAGE 5

The Froebelian DIGEST

Ballet LessonsSome of our LKG children have ballet lessons with Mrs

Rutter. They have been having lessons since mid September, and have been working on their first position, good toes and

naughty toes and practising a little

routine. They have had great fun

and look forward to ballet every

Wednesday.

A busy term for Lower KindergartenLKG have been busy this first term at Froebelian and have enjoyed a range of different activities. Messy activities such as painting, shaving foam letter formation, gardening and collaging are always popular and the children have also enjoyed reinforcing their literacy and mathematical skills in the new Outdoor Learning Zone. They have also been on their first visit; a harvest festival service at St Margaret's Church in Horsforth where they enjoyed a bible reading, colouring activity, songs and a short prayer.

School Charity – Make a Wish FoundationThis year’s school charity is the Make a Wish Foundation. This amazing charity works tirelessly to grant magical wishes to enrich the lives of children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions. The monies raised don't just help grant a wish to

a seriously ill child; they give the whole family precious time together, creating magical memories to cherish for years to come. www.make-a-wish.org.uk

Dragon’s DenForm II pupils were set a DT task to design the best toy for Christmas 2015. They then presented their ideas in the style of Dragon's Den. Playing the Dragons were Mrs Dodds, Mrs Stratford and Mrs Smith. After some fantastic ideas by the pupils, the winning design was 'Bounce Boots'.

On Thursday 15 October the First Steps Nursery at Froebelian held a VIP launch party for the school’s Governors, staff and local businesses such as Carter Towler Chartered Surveyors, OS12 marketing and Cherry Builders who have been instrumental in the development of the new nursery.

Other invited guests included local press from Suburban magazine, Councillor Simon Dowling from the Horsforth Hall Park Ward and local businesses such as The Honey Pottery. Speeches were given by Rachel Burton, Head of the Nursery, Ravi Naru, Chair of Governors at the Froebelian School and John Tranmer, the Headmaster who has recently left the school this year after 24 years in the Headship.

Mr Tranmer cut the ribbon and officially launched the nursery before inviting the guests to meet the staff team and look around the nursery. The evening was a

resounding success with guests commenting on the high quality finish of the building, the beautiful displays of the children’s work and the strong focus on the teaching, learning and educational philosophy. The guests were all given a special goody bag to take home with a surprise treat from the nursery’s cook inside!

The nursery currently has vacancies for children aged 3 months to 4 years but children may still gain entry to the Froebelian School at age three. Join us online

Many of you follow the school on Facebook and Twitter where we regularly post photographs or updates of exciting events at school. We welcome all parents to follow us by searching for ‘The Froebelian School’ on Facebook and @FroebelianS on Twitter. It would be enormously helpful if you could share/retweet our posts on your own feed to spread the word amongst your family and friends about the wonderful things we do here at school.Please also follow our nursery, First Steps at Froebelian on Facebook and Twitter or visit their website www.firststepsfroebelian.co.uk

PAGE 6 PAGE 7

Science QuizWell done to our pupils from Form III and IV (Year 5 & 6) who came a respectable third in the National Keystage 2 Science Championship at Moorlands.

First StepsN U R S E R Y AT F R O E B E L I A N

FIRST STEPS NURSERY AT FROEBELIAN, 173 NEW ROAD SIDE, HORSFORTH, LEEDS, LS18 4DR

Why First Steps at Froebelian?

Open 51 weeks of the year, Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm

A distinct educational ethos that builds and extends all capabilities for each child

Close links to the Froebelian School with preferential entry at 3+

Purpose designed interiors with advice from renowned early years specialists

First StepsN U R S E R Y AT F R O E B E L I A N

...is our exciting new nursery from the prestigious

Froebelian School in Horsforth.

The most important

First Step for

your child...

For all enquiries or to request a prospectus

please call: 0113 258 8933 or email: firststeps@froebelian.co.uk