The Buzz

Dear Parents/Carers

It's been wonderful to see the children back in school this week and to see the pictures they took during the holiday for the extreme reading challenge. We certainly have some very dedicated readers in HJS and I am looking forward to judging the entries and announcing the winners next week. The winners will have vouchers to spend at the Scholastic Book Fair (next week). The book fair will also accept world book day vouchers which we will give out to the children this week.

I would like to reiterate Mr James' reminder regarding full school uniform which includes school shoes. Please see the table below and please ensure that your children are not wearing jewellery or nail varnish which is not inline with policy as they will be asked to remove it.

Next week is National Offer day for year 6 pupils. Some of you may receive offers for year 7 which are not your first choice. Please do not reject them as you will be removed from the system and your child will not have an offer of a place at all. You should accept the place offered and indicate that you wish to remain on the waiting lists for schools with a higher preference. The waiting lists change frequently so it is worth remaining on them. If you have any queries on your child's offer of a secondary school place, please contact Mrs McLachlan in the office.

This week we were delighted to run the final of the HJS Multiplication Tables Challenge. The finalists for each house were so impressive and exceptionally quick whilst the rest of the school were solving their own multiplication tables challenges. The winning house was Bushy and Mrs Gillian Radcliffe, an HPP governor presented the medals. Thanks go to all the staff for their work with this but especially to Miss Cooper, our Maths Leader, who organised this event so carefully.

Finally, huge congratulations to the HJS swimming team who excelled with particular mention to the girls who are now second in the Borough. This is a tremendous achievement and we are hugely proud of all the children who took part. As we know taking part is important, but winning is even better! Thank you to Mrs Fraser who leads the squad selection and training and is absolutely dedicated to ensuring the chilren have a wonderful experience.

Have a great weekend when it arrives and keep reading!

Ms H Lockey

3D- Arthur W

3G - Ehsan G

3M - Adharva P-S

3S - Seb M

4B - Theo T

4P - Sofia J

4S - Caitlin F

4C - Frankie M

5C - Omar O

5A - Oliver B

5D - Audrey R

5S - Emilia E

6W - Niharika S

6B - Wren C

6GF - Tia D

6L - Yannick M

This week we are focusing on Reading Challenges. Well done to:

Bronze

3M - Elliot R

3S - Violet C

5S - Samuel

Silver

3M - Curtis G & Freddie B

3D - George H

3S - Oscar L

3G - Charlie B

4C - Maia

Platinum

3G - Poppy B

The class with the best attendance last week was 3S.

The class with the least numbers of lates last week was 4B with zero lates.

Twelve talented swimmers went to the Borough Swimming Gala on Thursday 8th February. Mrs Fraser is delighted to report that the girls are Large School Borough Champions. Year 6 girls won the butterfly, freestyle, breast stroke, backstroke, 3x1 medley relay and were 2nd in the 4x1 freestyle relay.

This resulted in the girls being runners up to LEH in the final placings (small, medium, large and independent schools).

Year 6 boys have ribbons for coming 6th in the 3x1 medley and 4th in the boys freestyle, and we had a couple of 7th place finishers too. Many thanks to all who took part and a big thank you to Mrs Fraser and Mrs Karam for taking the children to the Gala.

The Borough gala is an annual event. If your child swims for a club please let the office know, so when we are looking for swimmers next year we have this in record.

On Monday 19th February, we took two teams of netballers to St James's Primary School. Both teams were tenacious in defence and showed great teamwork and skill in attack, resulting in victories for both squads! We were exceptionally proud of how they put all their training into practice and supported each other throughout. Well done HJS and a big thank you to Mrs Beaumont for helping them to train for this event and Mrs Fraser for taking them.

Big congratulations to Charlotte, Inaya, Mollie and Ada for their show at the Hampton Hill Theatre before half term. Each evening they have performed to a large group in the theatre showcasing various dances such as ballet, jazz tap and modern dance. Miss B said that it was a fantastic show and she was very proud of the girls.

On Monday 19th February we held our annual Times Table Competition Final. Thirty two children represented their houses - they all were fantastic!

While the finalists complete their activity, there was a whole school times table challenge taking place in the Rose Hall

The results were incredibly close:

4th place: Tudor

3rd place: Hampton

2nd place: Thames

1st place: Bushy

The external Summer 2024 Clubs Timetable will be released via Parenthub on Thursday 29th February at 7pm. In order to ensure as fair a process as possible, no bookings will be taken by the clubs until this time. Bookings all need to be made directly with the clubs and booking details will be included on the new timetable. Below is a list of the clubs available for your perusal prior to booking.

Reminder that we have our Science Workshops on 5th and 6th March. A letter has already been sent out requesting a voluntary contribution of £2.50. Whilst payment of this is voluntary, if we do not receive sufficient contributions in order to run the workshop then we will cancel it and a full refund will be made.

A further copy of the letter is attached via the below button along with the link to Parentpay which can be found at the bottom of The Buzz.

Achieving for Children's Mental Health Support Teams are delivering a series of webinars for parents of primary aged children. The "Helping Children with ..." series of webinars will cover a range of common difficulties experienced by children.

World Book Day 2024 is fast approaching!

We will be celebrating on Friday 8th March. The children will have the opportunity to dress up as a character from their favourite book (they could bring the book in and we might have a chance to read some snippets throughout the day) and will be completing a World Book Day related activity.

It is that exciting time where the Book Fair returns to HJS. After school, on the 28th/29th February and 1st March you will be able to visit the Rose Hall to purchase a whole range of books! We will be keeping you updated on social media on hitting our target sales of £1,000!

As before, we will only be able to sell two out of three copies on the shelves. Any subsequent purchases will need to be ordered by school (payment for these must be made on the day!). We will be trialing the use of a QR code to pay on the day - this is new from Scholastic, please bear with us as we work through it.

The Spark! poetry competition for this year is still open (entry sheet included below). All you need to do is take inspiration from one of the titles or covers of this years shortlisted books to inspire your poem. The closing date is the 8th March. However, Miss Smith requests any entries be submitted by the 5th March to allow her time to read and submit a selection by the 8th. Please hand them to your teacher who can pass them along.

The high-quality art and design curriculum at Hampton Junior School engages, inspires and challenges pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress through the school, they are encouraged to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design communicating what they see, think and feel through the use of texture, form and pattern.

We are incredibly lucky to have a fantastic supply of art materials and media that the children can get stuck into! The children are shown how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to different times and cultures. Children are given the opportunity to study the work of great painters, sculptors and designers, allowing them to develop skills and techniques to apply to their own artwork.

Creative Arts Week is another way that we explore art and artists based on specific themes, previously we have created art focusing on the Seasons, Connecting with Nature and Taking Care of Our Environment.

The teaching and implementation of the Art and Design Curriculum at Hampton Junior School is based on the National Curriculum and links to topics to ensure a well-structured approach to this creative subject.The skills covered include sketching, painting, marbling, mono and relief printing, collage and sculpture. These are based on Topics such as the Tudors, Egyptians, Romans and the Victorians. The work of national and international artists is explored and enriches the children’s understanding of history and culture as well as artistic techniques – these include cubism, landscape drawing, portraiture, sculpture and clay and many more!

6GF & 6L really enjoyed their WW2 day before half term. There were lots of show and tells about personal family history and we explored (using 6 grid references) where the bombs were dropped.

6GF and 6L really enjoyed their parent showcase where they got to show their books to their parents/carers. Thank you to all those who came. The children were very proud of their work.

Email: office.hjs@hpp.school
Website: hpp.school
Location: Hampton Junior School, Percy Road, Hampton, UK
Phone: 020 8979 2545
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HamptonJuniorSchool