March 12, 2010

Mrs Culek planned an action-packed day at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on the 4^th March for Year 5 children. The workshop was run by artist Lucy Dagger who guided them trough the stages of making a press print , how to incise the plate and ink it up with rollers before the really exciting bit of making the final print! The children examined the work of Arts and Crafts artist William Morris and William de Morgan who designed the most beautiful tiles.

A visit to the Bridget Riley flashback exhibition proved very popular and an effective way of making you feel dizzy and sick as the op art pictures painted in the 60’s played tricks on the eyes and brain.  Cheaper than a trip to Alton Towers but not such a good idea just after lunch!!

The final section of the visit was a series of videos about how art is made, showing the processes of printmaking, painting, ceramics, drawing, jewellery and sculpture. This latter category made Mrs Culek very excited as the artist demonstrating in the video was Rob Perry, her old tutor!

March 12, 2010

On Friday 5^th March the dining room at Hallfield looked like a set from a Harry Potter movie! Wizards, witches, magicians, pixies and elves queued for their lunches with a multitude of pink fairies - not all of them pupils!  No we hadn’t all swallowed a magic potion or been the victim of a Potter spell, it was part of the activities for World Book Week and the theme was magic. Sean Connolly, in a non-magic world the voice of Horrid Henry, came disguised as a wizard and told stories  - ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, ‘Winnie the Witch and the Dragon’, ‘Room on a Broom’ and ‘Snow White’, to a captivated audience of Pre-Prep children who took  a book token home to buy their own magic story book.   Who says children don’t like reading  anymore?

March 12, 2010

Was it the lure of a fish and chip supper or a streak of sado-masochism that dragged us back to an evening of humiliation and disbelief that Mr Tobin can continue to dream up such impossibly hard questions? Does he inhabit a parallel universe that has a completely alternative bank of knowledge to us? How could he be so cruel as to combine a geography round with a working knowledge of the World Cup teams and venues?

The PA Committee who usually come last with such lame excuses as having to man the bar, go for the fish and chips, hand out the salt,vinegar and ketchup came fifth, only three points behind the winning team ‘Team GB’ (nothing to do with nationality, more to do with being George Bennett’s father).It was a close run thing at the finish with the staff team of Mrs Culek, Miss Smith, Mr Florance and supportive other halves only half a point behind the winners.

The reason for the meteoric rise in the fortunes of the Committee team was due to the foresight of Mrs Shackleton in inviting Miss Thompson to join them, adding her vast wealth of general knowledge and trivia (she owes a lot of it to her 11 year old godson and watching a lot of television) to their more limited range! Who else would have recognised the theme tune of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates quite so quickly or been able to unravel the connection between the voice of Bugs Bunny, a book by Jane Austen and a film goer’s guide?

Mr Stotts invited a Canadian guest who also contributed by answering questions on anything vaguely North American and who couldn’t believe we would put ourselves through all that agony on a Friday night after a gruelling week at school!

Feel you may like to join us with a team next year? We’d love to see you, but Miss Thompson is ours, so hands off!  

If you’d like to know the answer to the brain teaser I’m sure she would explain it to you!

March 15, 2010 14:45

Vixens Netball v Winterfold 2 x 7 a-side Away.  1445 hrs.

Under 10 Netball v Winterfold 1 x 7 a-side Away.  1445 hrs.

March 16, 2010 12:00

Year 5 and Year 6 will hold their interhouse races to allow them to earn house points.

March 16, 2010 15:00

Year 3 and Year 4 will hold their interhouse races to allow them to earn house points.

March 16, 2010 - 19:00 to 21:00

The Upper School Elocution Competition will be held in the Upper School Hall.  The Adjudicator will be Mrs Sarah Miles.

March 17, 2010 14:00

Vixens Netball v Priory 1 x 7 a-side Home.  1445 hrs.

Under 10 Netball v Priory 1 x 7 a-side Home.  1445 hrs.

Under 10 Football v Blue Coat B team 2 x 7 a-side Away.  1400 hrs.

March 18, 2010 - 09:00 to 15:30

Year 2 visit Shugburough Farm.

March 22, 2010

Year 3 visit The Think Tank.

March 22, 2010 14:40

Colts Rugby v Arnold Lodge XII Home.  1440 hrs.

Under 10 Rugby v Arnold Lodge 2 x 9 a-side Home.  1440 hrs.

Year 5 and Year 6 Interhouse Netball Tournament Round 1.  1500 hrs.

March 23, 2010 09:30

Foundation visit The Birmingham Nature Centre.

March 23, 2010 14:45

Under 9 Rugby v Blue Coat 1 x 8 a-side Home.  1445 hrs.

Under 9 Netball v Blue Coat 1 x 7 a-side Away   1445 hrs.

March 24, 2010

Year 4 visit to ‘Enginuity’

March 24, 2010 - 10:00 to 11:00 March 25, 2010 - 10:00 to 11:00

The Year 1 children will play instruments for the Upper School.

March 24, 2010 14:45

Year 5 and Year 6 Interhouse Rugby Tournamnet.

Year 5 and Year 6 Interhouse Netball Tournament Round 2 and 3.

March 25, 2010

Year 4 visit The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

March 2, 2010 March 25, 2010 April 29, 2010 June 15, 2010

Year 3 will visit the Gallery on 15th June to study Journeys

Year 4 will visit the Gallery on 25th March to study Stories

Year 5 wil visit the Gallery on 2nd March to study Pattern and Colour

Year 6 will visit the Gallery on 29th April

March 26, 2010 - 09:15 to 16:00

Year 5 and Year 6 Science Workshop in Upper School Hall.

March 26, 2010 14:45

Year 3 and Year 4 Interhouse Rugby Tournament.

Year 3 and Year 4 Interhouse Netbll Tournament.

March 29, 2010

The destination of the Merit Outing is yet to be decided.

March 31, 2010 - 12:00 to 12:45

Transition, Foundation and Reception at 11.45.

Year 1 and Year 2 at 12.05.

Year 3 and Year 4 at 12.25.

Year 5 and Year 6 at 12.45.

March 2, 2010 - 16:20 to 17:00 March 9, 2010 - 16:20 to 17:00 March 30, 2010 - 16:20 to 17:00 May 4, 2010 - 16:20 to 17:00

Following a successful trial last term, instead of having year group concerts in the Upper School hall, we will have smaller, informal concerts in the Music Room based around instruments or sections of the orchestra. 

These pupils will be selected by teachers and the concerts will last around 45 minutes; no one piece will be repeated in a concert. 

The idea ais to show the progression that pupils can make and to have something to aspire to.  They will therefore span across abilities and all year groups.

The dates are shown below and are changes to the published school calendar.

2nd March 2010 Flute, Clarinet and Oboe

9th March 2010 Strings

4th May 2010 Recorders and Brass

30th March 2010 Singing and Guitar

All concerts will start at 1620 and will take place in the Music Room