An application to become a school council class representative

At the beginning of the new academic year pupils are invited to apply to become class representatives for the school council.
This is Gregory's (Year 6) application.

I think school council is important because it gives children a chance to give their opinions, which means they might be able to change things in school for the better for the children. I would like to contribute to this system.

I am not only enthusiastic about school council, I am packed with ideas. I have a loud, fluent voice but I am good at listening and can take on board other people's opinions and give feedback.

I am also fair, not always choosing friends' ideas but choosing the best ideas.

They'll never see the end of me. Yes, it might give me extra homework. Yes, it might give me more to remember. Yes, it might make me miss break times, but no matter!

I personally believe everyone in this class is capable of greatness and I am definitely one of them.

Gregory 6HC

Shakespeare Rocks

 

Year Six, have put on an end of year production called: ‘Shakespeare Rocks’. It is a musical comedy with some puns and surprises. 

 By Ysabelle and Alexis
6HL

When putting on a production there is a lot of preparation beforehand, such as: making props, designing costumes and lots of practice and rehearsals.

At first, auditions took place to select the different roles. We auditioned in groups and the following day we found out which part we had been given. The main part was Shakespeare and his part was played by two children (Perez and Nacho) both performing on different days. William’s assistant, Ollie, was played by a confident actor - Jack.  As it is a musical, there were a multitude of songs to learn. We then introduced actions to the songs, while we waited for the stage to be built, ready for rehearsals. 

Meanwhile, the Year Six staff created unique Elizabethan style costumes, that were very realistic, that added to the final results. The music teachers put together a group of talented recorder players to perform  music from that period, at the start of the play, to produce the right atmosphere. Soon, all the small adjustments were made and the play was gradually coming together.

 

 

To complete, the stage was built and rehearsals took place there every morning before half eleven. If there was time, we would have a quick run through in the afternoon.

Finally, on the 12^th of July was our first dress rehearsal to KS1 and we could identify what we need to alter before our real performance. When the day came, everyone felt tense and nervous as some drastic changes were made, however the audience laughed and truly enjoyed the play. Donations were made to help pay for the props and printing ink at the end. All in all, the play went extremely well and the two performance we put together were described as inspiring and hilarious. It has been a great end of year experience and I am certain everyone would love to do it all again!

 

                                                                      By Juliet 6KA

Green sleeves -Sharmine 6HL

              

  Cantiga - Recorder Group                                                               

 

                                                                 

 

Primary Schools Athletic Competition

On the 7th of June, 2016, a group of us went to Southampton Sports Centre to take part in an outdoor athletics competition. I took part in the high jump, 150m sprint and the 4 x 100m relay. As a member of year 6, I was taking part in the upper school age group.
In the high jump I was very nervous because I had trained for the high jump only once and that was three weeks' ago. Also, I had only jumped a metre high, so to reach 1.15 metres was a big achievement for me. I ended up winning the high jump because the girl in second place could not make it over the 1.15 metre bar in three tries.
In the 150m sprint I came second to last because I am not a runner. When I participated in the 4 x 100m relay, our team (Emily, Layla, Holly and myself) came sixth out of nine schools that were in our heat.
What came as a surprise to me was coming first and winning a medal in an event. As well as this, I was 7 cm from breaking the record for high jump.

Winner of the high jump event

Olivia 6KA

Boys' 6-a-side football tournament

On Thursday 19th May we played in a Boys' 6-a-side football tournament. In the group stages we won four games and drew 4 without conceding a goal! The semi-final was a close match (0-0) and it went to penalties. Unfortunately, St. Monica beat us 3-2 and we finished fourth overall.


Boys' 6-a-side football team

Dominic 6HC

Springhill Spitfires - U11 Mixed Cricket Team




Springhill Spitfires

Our school U11 mixed cricket team, 'Springhill Spitfires' played our second game of the U11 Mixed Cricket League against 'Bitterne Blazers' on Tuesday 3rd May. Before the game, some university students filmed us for their course. Then we practised with Sam before playing the game, which we won. Certificates were given to their best players and ours (Harry and Lily).



Fielding



Batting



               
Anmol 6HL
Lily 6HC

Well done, Springhill Spitfires, winners of the U11 Mixed Cricket League!

Springhill Spitfires 'A' team - League winners

Springhill Spitfires 'B' team



This term, we were asked to write an ‘outsider’ themed piece of writing. I chose to write a blog from Rosa Park’s perspective (a couple of weeks before she died) because to me, Rosa Parks had changed the way we now think about cruelty and racism. What she did, started the Civil Rights Movement. She was such an ambitious woman and an inspiration to the whole world. She believed she could...and she did, galvanizing a change in our society with her act of defiance. In my opinion, more people should be like Rosa Parks. I am extremely proud of this piece of writing and I hope you enjoy reading my piece of work, as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Martyna 6KA

Read my piece of work here

Dance competition winner

On Sunday 15th, I took part in a very successful dance competition with my dance school. In solos, we had a choice of going for a street/hip-hop or a slow/contemporary solo. I went for the slow solo because we rarely have them at competitions. I came 1st in my advanced under 12 category – receiving a trophy and a sash! When solos where done, it was time to perform our team entry (which was called Generation). We were in the advanced over 14 category and came 2nd, winning a medal. Towards the end of the competition it was the turn of the pairs (my pair is called Annmarie). My pair is slightly older than me, consequently, we danced as advanced under 14s and were placed 1st, also receiving a trophy!

A winner's smile

I was extremely proud of myself and came home with the biggest smile on my face.

Martyna 6KA

Recently - on the 8th March - my friends and I participated in a project to raise money for CAFOD (Catholic Association For Overseas Development). We all agreed on doing a cake sale. There were many things we had to plan including:

-A float

-How much we were going to charge for a cake

-Letters to the children's parents

-Posters to spread awareness

Cake Sale poster

We received help from the Parents’ Association as they often hold events such as cake sales. They helped us choose a date for the sale and directed us on selling techniques. This advice supported us especially when we were trying to face tough decisions...

Once we had agreed on the price, we hung up our posters to spread awareness. We drafted letters, printed them. We had to cut them up and put the letters in the registers. When doing this, it was the day before the cake sale, Monday 7th.

Putting up posters



On the day of the cake sale we had many donations. At 2:40 we all took tables from Year 2 and then we laid them out under the Year 2/1 shelter;  it was by the gate so we could catch everyone's attention. After that we put the cakes on display and put our gloves on.

Getting ready



The gates opened and a multitude of parents swarmed in, buying the cakes.



We sold the cakes for 20p each. Because we were selling the cakes for charity, people were giving generous donations.

One of our many customers

A satisfied customer

With lots of help and advice from teachers we managed to raise £140 for CAFOD!

All sold!

Juliet 6KA

Pope Francis

DAILY ROUTINE: Pope Francis rises on his own at around 4:30 a.m. and spends the next two hours praying, reflecting on the Scripture readings for the day and preparing his morning homily.  He delivers it off-the-cuff at the 7 a.m. Mass in the chapel of the Vatican's Santa Marta Hotel where he lives.  After Mass, Francis greets his faithful followers in the atrium outside the chapel, then walks a few metres into the hotel dining room for breakfast. He often will have fresh-squeezed orange juice and membrillo, a quince jelly, with toast, which is extremely popular in Argentina.

After breakfast, Francis takes the lift up to the second floor to his home.  He then gets to work, either staying in the hotel or heading to the Apostolic Palace if he has formal audiences.  Occasionally he takes a break to recite the Rosary. After a 1pm lunch in the dining room, Francis takes a siesta of about 40 minutes and carries on working into the evening, often taking care of correspondence. He tries to get in an hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament before dinner, though he confesses to sometimes falling asleep before praying!

Dinner in the dining room is self-service, cafeteria-style at 8pm. Before taking the lift back upstairs, he will be sure to courteously thank the Swiss Guard, the Vatican policeman and reception desk clerk on duty in the hotel lobby, and say good-night. He's in bed by 9pm, reads for an hour and is asleep - "like a log" - for the next six hours or so.

HOBBIES: Francis is a lifelong fan of football and has kept his membership in his beloved San Lorenzo club however he never watches it on TV. He enjoys reading the newspaper, particularyly Rome's popular daily Il Messaggero. Interestingly, Francis is a huge fan of the tango and on his birthday, thousands of people joined in a huge tango party on the streets of Rome. In a recent interview, he talked in depth about his love for the dance which as an Argentinian, he claimed "It is something deep within me."

FAVOURITE FOODS: Francis adores mate, the typical Argentine tea, and readily sips from mate gourds handed up to him from fans. He prefers red meat to fish, does not enjoy spicy food and has a sweet tooth: friends from home bring him alfajores, Argentine cookies filled with dulce de leche and covered in chocolate. Nevertheless, visitors to the Santa Marta dining room say he's not a finicky (fussy) eater and that he consumes pretty much anything he is served. He has said he misses going out for pizza and recalls fondly getting pizzas after watching San Lorenzo games at Buenos Aires' "Gasometro" stadium.

Daisy 6HC

Memorable day with Birmingham Royal Ballet Company!

On Thursday 28th January, Eva, Freya, Daisy and Adele were chosen to attend King Edward VI School for a workshop with the Birmingham Royal Ballet Company, currently performing Swan Lake at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. Nervous but excited at the prospect of the adventure ahead, we arrived at the school and were shown to the dance studio by Miss Baranette, a teacher at King Edward's and organiser of the event.
After stretching and exercising, we started our plies with our instructor, Josh, a dancer at the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He told us the story of Swan Lake and we listened to some music (Dance of the Cygnets). Then, in groups of four, we choreographed our own versions of the famous cygnet dance, which we then performed to the other schools that had joined us.

Performing plies

Finally, we learnt how to mime - miming is acting without speaking and just using body language.
When the day soon came to an end, we got autographs and had our photo taken with Josh.

Budding ballet dancers with Josh

This is a day we will never forget!


Daisy and Freya, Year 6