To the Parents

Parents’ Forum A large turn out of Parents and Senior Teachers met last week for our termly Parents’ Forum meeting. The first item for discussion was a proposed Learning Support Handbook that would be made available for all parents on MyPGS. Mrs Squire presented a detailed summary of our provision and invited PF Reps to comment.

This was followed by a presentation from Mr Ashcroft aimed at raising awareness and understanding of our policy and procedures for tackling bullying.

Finally, I explained the process and criteria used when setting term dates; a complex issue influenced by many factors.

Further details of each will be available via the minutes of the meeting, which will be posted on MyPGS very soon.

Parents’ Pancakes We value greatly the input of our parents in the life of the school and this takes many forms. Our Parents’ Forum, as outlined above, is invaluable in our programme of school improvement and in disseminating key information to the wider parent body. At the other end of the scale is the very ‘serious‘ matter of Infant Parents’ Pancake races and I would like to thank all those who braved the pancake arena, providing not just a spectacle of superior sporting prowess but more so great fun and excitement for our children; well done.

Half TimeFebruary half term marks the mid point of the academic year and I am sure the pupils and teachers will be ready for a breather following a very dynamic and exciting ‘first-half’. The children will have learned many new skills, gained a great deal more knowledge and developed a much deeper understanding of their learning over the first term and a half and this will ensure that they are able to meet the challenge of the second half with great confidence and self belief. Enjoy the break.

Peter Hopkinson (Headmaster)

House Times Tables

Competition

On Tuesday all the Junior

children excitedly met in the DRT for the

annual House Tables competition.

Last week the

preliminary rounds were held, to find each House their times table champions. 32 children participated in the finals. Years Three and Four had thirty questions to complete, Year Five had 60 whilst the Year Six finalists had a mixture of multiplication and the inverse division questions to complete as quickly and as accurately as possible. During these finals, the rest of the Juniors cheered on their Houses and completed a number of Countdown challenges. Noah R, Luke W, Sam H, Marvin L, Tom D, Jonas W, Dawn S and Elsa H, all successfully completed a challenge.

Our finalists in Year Three were; Hudson: Zhenghan Y and Nika S-M. Jerrard: Henry H and Sam W. Nicol: Thomas R and Alex B-H. Privett: Sam M and Joe A. Thomas was victorious for Nicol, with Zhenghan as runner-up for Hudson.

The Year Four finalists were; Hudson: Lilly-Mae P and Marvin L. Jerrard: Sahib K and Craig M. Nicol: Dawn S and George C. Privett: Eva D and Nikhil P. Eva took first place for Privett, with Sahib coming in second place for Jerrard.

The Year Five finalists were; Hudson: Isabella T and Abhyuday S. Jerrard: Arjun K and Luke W. Nicol: Ashnah E and Aimee O ’D. Privett: Sonny Z and Jesal P. Luke showed that despite finishing fourth, accuracy is also important as he secured victory for Jerrard with Ashnah as runner-up for Nicol.

The Year Six finalists were; Hudson: Daisy C and Liberty M-B. Jerrard: Theo R and Edward J. Nicol: Jason S and Max P. Privett: George S and Edward W. In the quickest time I think we have ever seen, Jason was victorious for Nicol with George coming a very creditable runner-up for Privett.

Well done to all our finalists and to all of the Junior children for making this another successful event.

Rory’s Story of the Week

Brilliant Beavers On Tuesday Jarvis S and I went to our first Beavers meeting. I was a bit nervous but also excited about meeting new friends and playing new games.

Our beaver leader is called Rachel and she is really nice. We played dodge ball and if you were hit by a ball you had to stand on a chair and wait to catch a ball. I was really good at this game. We then had to make a pirate ship and colour in the sail.

Once we had finished we had to test our ship to see if it floated in water and both mine and Jarvis did! We then played a game of shark.

At the end I was given my first badge for crafts. I loved going to Beavers, it was a lot of fun and I can't wait to go back next week.

By Zachary R (1P)

The Newsletter of The Portsmouth Grammar Junior School Issue No.176 11th February 2016

The Lion

Nursery News

The highlight of this half term has to be the Multicultural Week last week. Nursery and Reception joined together to create a week of culture. The children had great fun making Sushi and Onion Bhaji’s, Maypole dancing, making African drums, drawing flags using the iPads and much more. To mark the end of the week the parents were invited to watch the children performing dances from around the world. Thank you to all the parents who came in and helped make the week a huge success.

Junior School Brass Band

The Junior School Brass Band is performing at Southsea Castle Rotary Club’s Annual Charity Music Concert at St Mary’s Church, Fratton Rd, Portsmouth, PO1 5PA on Saturday 12th March, start time 7.00pm. The aim of the concert is to raise money for charity. Doors will open at 6.30pm and there is on-site parking available. Admission is only by ticket. They are available in advance as numbers are limited and are priced at £6 for adults and free for accompanied under 16 year olds. Tickets are available from the Junior School Office.

Infant Pancake Races

On Shrove Tuesday, we held our annual Infant School Parents’ Pancake Races, the most eagerly anticipated event of the Spring Term! We had a wonderful turnout in the Sports Hall with many keen competitors armed with their frying pan and pancake ready for the races.

All the Infant children watched with great excitement and cheered loudly as the adults raced. They flipped their pancakes twice when they came to a hoop, before dashing to the finishing line where they were awarded their place. After 2 very close finals, the champion of the ladies’ race was Abby Pallant-Sidaway and the men’s competition winner was Jagdish Patel.

We all had a wonderful afternoon and hope that our worthy winners enjoyed their Easter egg prizes as much as we enjoyed watching all the races. We would like to say a big thank you to all the parents who took part and entertained the children to celebrate Shrove Tuesday.

Brilliant Maths Day How

many Maoams

in a Metre? Twelve.

What is the

perimeter of 4J’s room in Maoams? 408! How many lines of symmetry are there on a Maoam packet? That’s one for you to work out.

We had lots of fun in 4J last Tuesday working in groups to find magnificent maths on our Maoams and we even got to taste the treats. We worked in teams in the morning finding out lots of facts and Mrs Townsend set us a big challenge in the afternoon to create a Special Edition box for the Maoams.

We thought it was going to be easy but the fact that it had to be made from a net made it very challenging. Luckily the prospect of taking our Maoams home kept us going and we all succeeded. Maths day was brilliant!

The Northern Lights Year Six are studying Philip Pullman’s ‘The Northern Lights’. We have recently written persuasive letters from the viewpoints of different characters about adopting the book’s main character, Lyra. Here is one of the letter’s highlights.

Dear Sir of the Magesterium,

I am writing to you to take the role of the legal guardian of the wonderful Miss Lyra Belaqua. I know that you are a strong, powerful and brilliant man who knows what to say and do. I would like to point out my position in the Magesterium which is very high up- a lot higher than you.

My first reason for why I should adopt Lyra is that I have the safest home in London. This will enable a kind and loving feeling at home to help her become happy and confident in the future.

In addition to this reason, I am also the real birth mother of Lyra. How would you feel if you as the natural parent was unable to take care of your child as they had been entrusted to a bear that won over you in court? I hope that you will understand this because, as her mother, no one knows Lyra like me.

In conclusion to my letter I hope that you understand how lost I am without my daughter. I know in your position as a strong and powerful man you will understand me.

Kind regards,

Marrisa Coulter.

By Jacob P 6J

Fetch the Engine

Year 2 had great fun this week. We have been learning lots of new things and started our Fire topic where we are learning about the Great Fire of London.

In maths this week we have been looking at measurement and capacity. We explored how much water a litre was and how many different containers we could fill up with one litre. We realised that to put a fire out you would need lots and lots of water!

Headmaster’s Awards

The following Headmaster’s Awards were awarded:

Martyn Lloyd for a fantastic persuasive letter from the point of view of a character from the book Northern Lights, Elliot Hartridge, James Chivers, Phoebe Hung, Samuel Zhou and Isabelle Durrant for excellent work on translation and reflection in the four quadrants, Matthew Guyver and Chandhana Iravindranath for excellent engagement with our Maoam Maths Day, Rosie Tanner and Samir Akram for writing a super description of Neverland, Christian Sim for excellent effort in English, Carter Gould and Harry Carlin for an excellent description of Neverland, Ellis Temperley-Chapman for super maths on Maths Day, James Kan for independent work on patterns on Maths Day, Elena Findlay-Pacheco for an excellent persuasive letter, Joshua Bracegirdle for showing the whole class a maths pattern for the others to repeat and performing in the Little Red Hen in class, Luke Wiseman, Finlay Hoddle, Madeleine Smith and Jack Nay for a superb Joseph of Arimathea poem, Madeleine Smith for outstanding persuasive writing, Zac Oliver for excellent instructional writing, Douglas Henderson for superb dancing in the Sounds of War topic, Daisy Lee-Jones for a 100% spelling record, Amelie Roseblade and Jessica Richards-Kellett for showing detailed workings during a maths investigation, Charlie Hill, Amelie Roseblade, Jessica Richards-Kellett and George Collins for solving a difficult maths investigation

Juniors’ Roll Of Honour

The following pupils signed the Honours Book this week:

English: Charlie Kettle (x4), Freddie Fairhall (x3), Phoenix Cross (x3), Zac Oliver (x3), Larina Wood (x2), Madeleine Smith (x2), James Curwood, George Tolcher, Evan Cole, Charlie Wilkie, Gabriel Lee, Poppy Jordan English Homework: Evie Chapman, Nikhil Patel, Max Povey, Lilly-Ella Beardsley, Joseph Smitherman, Aimee O’Donoghue, Larina Wood, Andrew Davis, Joseph Alexander, Iona Perkins, Lexi Bryan, Max Higgins, Tom Chamberlain, Sienna Caven, Charlie Kettle, Ben Robinson, Jakey Wood, Ted Wakelin, Hugo Kennedy, Katie Millard, Samuel Miller Maths: Zac Oliver (x4), Freddie Fairhall (x4), Phoenix Cross (x3), Charlie Kettle (x2), George Tolcher, Lilly-Mae Prentice, Jimmy Cathie-Kirby, Alex Robinson, Henry Moran, Chi-Yee Lim, Archie Lockyer, James Carlin, Eva Durrant, Lewis Ndahiro, Sophie Chamberlain, Annabelle Brown, Daragh Walker, Ryan Nay, Jakey Wood, Sreeraj Menon, Isabella Tarttelin, Thomas Smith, Suly Amin, Heike Verster, Alice Hudson Maths Homework: Isabella Gourlay (x3), Evie Chapman, Alice Hudson, Sophie Chamberlain Maths Day: Charlie Hill, Amelie Roseblade

Science: Henry Collins (x2), Phoenix Cross (x2), Zac Oliver (x2), George Tolcher, Molly Moriarty-Turnbull, Isabel Wiles, Freddie Fairhall, Isabella Tarttelin RS: Nikhil Patel, Lewis Ndahiro, Freddie Fairhall P4C: Isabella Devereux, Freddie Fairhall Geography: Isabel Wiles (x2), James Curwood, Abi-Mae Budgen, Alex Robinson, Henry Moran, Noah Gibbs, Dawn Sands, Sophie Chamberlain, Sienna Caven, Ben Robinson, Rufus Millar, Jakey Wood, Ria Freeman, Yasmin Jardine, Ihsan Uddin History: Freddie Fairhall (x2) French: Zac Oliver Spanish: Phoenix Cross, Anjali Arackal Computing: Isabella Tarttelin Cookery: Charlotte Carroll, Samuel Miller Art: Zac Oliver (x2) Dance: Phoenix Cross Drama: Freddie Fairhall Reading: Phoenix Cross (x2), Liberty Mitchell Brock, Evie Chapman, Evan Cole, Finlay Hoddle, Charlie Hill, Lucinda Hawdon, Roman Robertson-Cross, Chandhana Iravindranath, Nikhil Sen, Madeleine Smith, Lewis Ndahiro Spelling: Phoenix Cross (x2), Abi-Mae Budgen, Elsa Hares, Max Povey, Larina Wood, Susie Taylor, Sophie Chamberlain, Anjali Arackal Assembly: Chi-Yee Lim Conduct: Freddie Fairhall Kindness: Oliver Bridle Story Plan: Phoenix Cross

Infants’ Silver Book Awards

The following pupils have achieved a Silver Book award:

Phoebe Gallop (x2), Carson Hanley (x2), Amber Kan, Cyrus Motamedi, Hattie Monk, Ellis Temperley-Chapman, James Kan, Kayla White, Eddie Kingsmill, Joshua Bracegirdle, Ellie Cossey, Christina Stylianou, Joshua Keeling, Oliver Cole, Lucas Buchan, Henry Foster, Scarlett Appleby-Mell, Indie Rees, Amelia Barr-Sanders, Jojo Hu, Madeleine Robertson, Sanna Patel, Swapasthya Gajula, Carter Gould, Beaulah Wilson, Sarah Appleton, Izzy Bostock, Patrick Harrison, Harry Carlin, Nathaniel Gingell, Phillip Leao-Mouquet, Zhengjie Yuan, Daniel Sands, Anna Parnell, Joseph Caldwell, Tristan Oliver, Bruno Rothwell, Buster Rothwell, Jarvis Silk, Eva Burkinshaw, George Haywood, Amir Owino, Aishanni Aranan, David Cuthbert, Joshua Johnson, Amber Cameron de la Salle, Rosie Tanner, Alanah O’Leary, Kitty Fowler, Peter Hewitt, Henry Campbell, Lotti Pabari, Joshua Moore, Lucy Powlesland, Oshea Baker, Amelia Davies, Henry Parnell, Raphael Gamble, Fraser Macdonald, Elias Clediere, Alberto Browning-Sanchez, Owen Clay, Narina Dalali, Alfred Scott-Robinson, Dillon King, Fraser Ndahiro, Samir Akram, Ali Esmaeel, Evan Ashdown, Ella Jackson, Lance Carroll, Maddison Cade, Henry Miller

Healthy Eating Award

The following pupils have achieved their Healthy Eating Award for choosing healthy options at lunch time:

Henry Moran, Jace Piskura

Pupils’ AchievementsCongratulations to:

Alice King (2G) and Dillon King (2P) for receiving their Blue Level 3 Alpine Ski award.

Ellis Temperley-Chapman (RO) for being awarded player of the week on Sunday for Little Dolphins at Havant Rugby Club under 6s.

Peter Hewitt (2G) for achieving the level 6 ASA national swim award.

Amber Kan (RM) who was Gymnast of The Week from the Sansom School of Fitness last Saturday.

Badges

RED BADGE – Congratulations to Molly Moriarty-Turnbull for gaining her Red Badge.

Recommended

Apps

Following Maths Day and the Parents’ Maths Workshop this fun and interactive app is packed full of engaging

educational content and stimulating assessment activities that are appropriate for a wide range of ages and abilities.

Quiz Corner

This Week:

1. What does the night shark typically eat? a. squid and fish b. seagulls

c. fireflies d. people

2. In Korea, what is the dish sannakji? a. live octopus b. see-through bread c. blue steak d. breakfast cereal

3. True or False? The saxophone was invented in Belgium by a man named Adolphe Sax.

Answers from last week:

1. c. 74 2. b. 5

th October

3. True.

The L ion’s Pride

Fixtures

Wed 24 Feb 1300: U10A Girls’ Hockey v Farleigh (a) 1330: U11A & B Churcher’s Rugby Tournament (a) 1400: U11A & B Netball v Sherborne House & Prince’s Mead (h) 1400: U11C Netball v Prince’s Mead (h) 1415: U10D Girls’ Hockey v Twyford (a) 1445: U10B & C Girls’ Hockey v Twyford (a)

Thu 25 Feb 1330: U8 Prince’s Mead Rugby Festival (a) 1400: U11 Boys’ In2Schools Hockey Tournament 1430: U8A Girls’ Hockey v Hampshire Collegiate (a) 1430: U9B Girls’ Hockey v Hampshire Collegiate & Twyford (a) 1430: U9B Rugby v Hampshire Collegiate (h) 1515: U9A & C Girls’ Hockey v Twyford (a)

Saturday Sport –

important notice Due to reasons of safety, there will be no parking or vehicle stopping to drop pupils off allowed at Hilsea grounds. Parking is available at the Lido car park next to the grounds. Thank you for your support with this matter and helping us to ensure the safety of your children.

PGJS Sports InformationAll sporting updates and cancellation information will be via the PGJS Sport twitter feed @PGJSSport.

IAPS Regional

Swimming Gala

On Monday the Junior School was represented by 18 boys and girls

from Years 5 & 6 at the IAPS Regional Swimming Gala at St Swithun’s School in Winchester.

A great afternoon of competition was enjoyed by a large enthusiastic crowd and a very talented group of swimmers.

Some of the many highlights of the Gala were individual wins in their events from Lottie B, Jakey W, Aimee J and Maya K who won the 50m freestyle by a 1/100 of a second !

In the relay events the Under 10s achieved an incredible clean sweep winning all 4 races (boys’ freestyle & medley, girls’ freestyle & medley). The Under 11s swam with great determination also, culminating with the boys winning their medley relay race as well.

Well done to everyone, Mr Le-Clercq

Community Pancake Races

at the Cathedral

U10 Hockey v Amesbury

On a cold afternoon at Hilsea, the Under 10 Girls hockey teams took to the astro for their final fixture before half

term against Amesbury School. All three teams were in action providing great entertainment for those who came to watch, with end to end action in every game, including some superb individual performances. The Under 10A girls demonstrated excellent speed and skill within their match, working hard and communicating well with one another throughout. Sophie C showed exquisite dribbling skills throughout, earning her reward with a goal to finish, one of many fantastic performances during the match.

The B team clinched a last minute equaliser after battling hard to stay in their match, Lola M showing great drive and determination on the wings creating the goal scoring chance for Evie A-W to slot home the levelling goal. The C team game was just as close, Arya P scoring a fantastic goal to keep the scores tied at the final whistle.

A special mention must go to the goal keepers; Lottie B, Connie M and Emilia T who performed brilliantly showing great tenacity, skill and courage to keep the goals at a minimum!

The Supervised Park and

Ride Service

Please be aware that the supervised park and ride service for pupils in Years 3 to 6 is still running on a daily basis from 8.10am. The service is currently under review and unless there is greater demand over the coming days it may have to be withdrawn at Easter. If you would like to sign up for the service or require any further details please email j.ashcroft@pgs.org.uk.

HILSEA GAMES

There will be no games sessions for Juniors (Y3-Y6) until Saturday 27th February when there will be hockey for the girls and rugby for Year 3 and 4 boys. Year 5 and 6 boys will have indoor cricket at School.

The Lion Sport