- Dame Bradbury`s School

newsletter
Issue No 12 | 2015-16 | Friday 20 May 2016
Follow us on Twitter: @DameBradburys
@DameBradburys
Dear Parents,
This week there was an occasion to enquire of quite a number of the children what radio station they listened to on their
journey into school, and to our surprise we garnered that many of us at Dame B’s enjoyed the start to the day with Radio 2
and Chris Evans - there was, of course, great admiration for those who listened to Radio 4 and awe abounded for those who
started their day with Classic FM! As an avid Radio 2 listener in the mornings, which is rather limited in its news content,
I often start the day over a bowl of cereal with a scroll through BBC News online. What an eclectic range of stories there
is to be viewed in one simple scroll. However, my eye is always drawn to the education headlines, whether it be the debate
around SATS and the desiccation of a rich curriculum, to the headline today of how, in primaries across the country, the
sidelining of science and languages is increasingly prevalent. As an educator passionate about the provision of investigative,
thought-provoking science, I was particularly despondent about the current state of affairs but equally reassured that here at
Dame B’s science is firmly one of our core subjects. Here curiosity is encouraged and indeed expected, investigation is
integral, collaboration a requirement and risk taking par for the course. As for languages, the fact that at least four
languages are heard in any one day by the majority of our pupils is testament to our conviction that an openness to having
a go is just par for the course for a Dame B’s child and, for that matter, for the staff.
Today we eagerly anticipated the visit of one of the Good Schools Guide reviewers, always a daunting prospect as their
views are singular, unbiased and a simplistic snapshot of what they see on the day. The grass was cut, the flag pole polished
and three excited tour guides stood to attention. One of the sessions visited within the short tour was that where
Kindergarten parents came to share a music lesson. A session that took many turns, an organic experience led by the
interests of the pupils and a far-off backing track reminiscent of Flamenco music, plus an impromptu dance with counting
and singing in Spanish, ensued to the delight of parents and pupils. Latin was observed and an enthusiastic discussion on
the role of the classics and the importance of understanding cognates ensued between reviewer, pupil and teacher.
In the following conversation I was keen to express my own opinions of why a Dame B’s
education is so unique, and to reiterate the importance of the ‘have-a-go attitude’ of our
pupils. It’s a pity the newsletter wasn’t complete at that time as this could have succinctly
evidenced the variety and the opportunity to have a go at something new or challenging,
assured that there is a safety net.
On Thursday April 28th, 36 children from Dame Bradbury’s sat the Junior Maths
Challenge, a one hour problem-solving maths paper with 25 questions. Whilst this does
not sound particularly amazing, when we consider that these 36 children all volunteered
to do this maths challenge - a challenge that has been traditionally sat by Year 7 & 8
pupils in secondary school, we start to see the calibre of the children involved. Worthy
of note is one of our Year 2 pupils who regularly attends maths club. He also decided to
“give-it-a-go”.
Of these 36 children, one is through to the next round having achieved Gold, yet
another has achieved Silver and we also have four Bronze awards. What a magnificent
effort - and for those who didn’t get an award this time, there’s always next year. They
just haven’t achieved one yet. I hope we will all feel inspired by these children and their
willingness to “have-a-go” and try something new that was out of their comfort zone.
Many congratulations to all those pupils who took part.
newsletter
Issue No 12 | 2015-16 | Friday 20 May 2016
Follow us on Twitter: @DameBradburys
On Friday 6th May, Bradbury House Captains led Dame B’s in raising money for, and awareness
of, the Starlight Children’s Foundation. Starlight works to help brighten the lives of seriously and
terminally ill children by granting their wishes, and entertaining over half a million children every
year in hospitals and hospices throughout the UK.
All the children, from Nursery to Year 6, came into school dressed up as whatever they wished
they could be. Everyone wrote their wish on a star and helped to create a fantastic ‘Wishing Wall’
on display in the vestibule - do take a moment to stop and read their wishes.The Bradbury House
Captains also ran a raffle to win one of two gorgeous, star-themed emoji cushions. We are
incredibly grateful to Mrs Hanbury-Tracy for making and donating both cushions, which
proved very popular and much sought-after prizes.
Finally to top of the day all three members of staff completed their ‘Pay Back Challenge’. With
Mr Hewlett donning his wetsuit to take a dip in the school dipping pond, Mrs Pluck braved the
strong arm throws of wet sponges, and Mrs West ‘wore” a bowl of panto-style cake mix. All three
displays were greeted with enthusiastic cheering from the audience of both children and parents!
Overall the day was a great success and raised an amazing £485.20 for Starlight, which will really
help to make the wishes come true for many seriously ill children. We would like to thank the
whole school community for all their support.
One of the notable highlights to a Dame B’s education is the opportunities and encouragement in music for all, and the
constant search that Mrs Cooper is on to find something to inspire everyone. Over the last two weeks we have seen
Kindergarten “have-a-go” at music and enjoy the opportunity to share their new found talents with their parents; and Years
3 and 4 performed a spectacular show last Wednesday afternoon and evening. What an opportunity for every child to
showcase their musical talents, perform on an instrument, and share the work they have been doing in their class music
lessons! We were treated to group compositions from Year 3 describing their polar animals, with a very memorable
humpback whale on the trombone! Year 4 followed with their cheerful singing, drumming and toe-tapping rounds. Other
highlights included the Junior Choir’s rendition of Mr Mistoffelees and some superb instrumental performances from
soloists and small groups.
newsletter
Issue No 12 | 2015-16 | Friday 20 May 2016
Follow us on Twitter: @DameBradburys
@DameBradburys
Inspiration has many forms, but surely one of the best is to see a live production. As part of their
preparation for future school productions, and to experience a top-notch stage production first hand, Year
5 and 6 clambered aboard their double-decker bus and headed for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to enjoy
the spectacle that is the Sam Mendes-produced interpretation of Roald Dahl’s famous fantasy. They were
treated to a vibrant feast of visual effects as they travelled through Mr Wonka’s factory in the company of
those charming children; Mike Teavee, Veruca Salt, Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde and, of course, Charlie
himself. It was fascinating to hear what the different children particularly enjoyed about the production; from the flashing
fluorescent Oompaloompas, the expanding and exploding Violet, the starry journey of the great glass elevator, or the savage
nut-sorting squirrels who gave Veruca a run for her money. The children’s stage knowledge and creative ideas for theatre will
certainly have been enhanced by the show, and a big thank you goes to Mrs Cooper for organising and leading the trip.
There has been great excitement in Kindergarten this week. Mums and dads have been to visit, and one of their highlights
has been to do with all things slimey (quite right)! Kindergarten have become very interested in tadpoles and their lifecycle
after discovering plastic frogs in the classroom’s investigation area. This discovery sparked off a whole range of activities.
One child brought in tadpoles from his lake, and this led to a week of sharing stories about frogs and the tadpoles. The
children were fascinated to discover how different frogs live in different habitats, and they created different coloured frogs
in the painting area.
Reception’s interest in their ‘Machines and Robots’ topic continues. ‘Tidy up time’ has never been as thorough as when
the children turn into robots and tidy everywhere in sight! Nuts and bolts, cogs and wheels, boxes and tin foil are
inspiring creativity, and after reading the story of ‘Harry And His Robots’ children have planned more healthy meals that
might cheer Harry’s nan up in hospital. In French lessons, the children have worked on “La Chenille qui fait des Trous”
learning about the different days of the week in French, practising their counting, and learning about all the fruits and
foods the Hungry Caterpillar ate in his journey to become a butterfly.
newsletter
Issue No 12 | 2015-16 | Friday 20 May 2016
Follow us on Twitter: @DameBradburys
@DameBradburys
Hot on the heels of their Bikeability success, Year 6 were joined by Year 5 for their Road
Safety training, which consisted of some classroom-based activities and some more
practical sessions where pupils’ road awareness was put to the test. This is a vital life skill
and is especially important for this age group as a significant number do already walk to
and from school and, of course, that number will increase once they start at secondary
school. Needless to say there wasn’t much our pupils didn’t know in theory, although for
some of them the practical sessions were more of an eye-opener. It’s safe to say, though,
that the highlight of the session was for 6C, who were lucky enough to feature a
Lamborghini among the cars that slowed down for them to cross the road!
Yesterday afternoon the entire school took a moment to stop and gather for a very special assembly led by Miss Burcher to
celebrate the incredible success of this year’s reading challenge. Every child had been asked to have a go at reading a book
and then to read another and another and another... and as they read a different book to think about trying something
slightly different; perhaps a mystery or a little sci-fi, and we discovered that ‘Aliens Love Underpants’ definitely counts as
science fiction! Miss Burcher gave the total number of books read throughout the challenge, which was an astounding
1173! However, it wasn’t just the variety or the books that was celebrated; it was also the enthusiasm of the library
buddies, those children who sit with our youngest pupils in the library at break time, read them a story and help them to
find a book to inspire and entertain them. It is also the sparky and enthusiastic conversations that are heard in corridors
encouraging and challenging each other to have a go at reading something new and a celebration of our own budding
authors.
One of the questions asked of the pupils and Mr Evans by the Good Schools Guide representative was all about sport - are
our pupils given opportunity? Do they all have a go? Are we successful in competition? Well, of course, said Mr Evans: and
quite right! Our U9 boys and girls cricket teams have been in action against Widford Lodge, with the girls securing an
excellent victory. The boys have had two good victories against St Margaret’s and, more recently, against Friends’ school.
Our U11 tennis teams have been performing well, bouncing back from a narrow defeat against Felsted to comfortably beat
St Faith’s and our girls beating Howe Green. Dame B’s played host for the U9 USSP Tennis tournament on Wednesday this
week. Despite a spirited performance, we were comfortably beaten in the main competition by Friends’ school.
As we approach the final week before half term I wonder what else we might see the pupils having a go at? Watch this space!
Best wishes,
Tracy Handford
Head of Dame B’s
newsletter
Issue No 12 | 2015-16 | Friday 20 May 2016
Follow us on Twitter: @DameBradburys
@DameBradburys
This week Dame B’s are excited for...
On Tuesday, Kindergarten will be welcoming their friends from the Stephen Perse Pre-prep School in
Cambridge for a day full of fun at the Teddy Bear’s Picnic. They are looking forward to seeing them again,
and let’s hope there is no mischief from the bears!
Coming up...
HackLab’s May Half Term Camps
Monday 30 May - Friday 3 June
HackLab are hosting three exciting camps at Redgate
Software in May half term. Activities include: making
8-bit artwork, creating a game in the Super Mario style, or
making a game controller.
More information and booking details here.
Pre-prep Concert
Wednesday 29 June, 2.30pm
We are looking forward to finding out what Pre-prep
have in store for us in what is to be a fantastic concert.
Hope you can make it!
Saffron Walden Maze Festival: Our amazing co
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01799 513696 horton@gmail.co
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