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A Dramatic Production of ‘The Tempest’

Many congratulations to Y8 on their dramatic retelling of ‘The Tempest’. Regarded as Shakespeare’s farewell to the theatre, it was noted that this would be Mr Stokes last production with Y8. However, they did him proud, with notable performances by the comic duo Trinculo and Stephano, and the brooding character of Caliban – should we laugh at him, hate him or pity him? Our female Prospero was striking in her stage presence (the programme notes drew our attention to similarities shared by the adaptations Margaret Thatcher made, in presenting herself as the first female Prime Minister of this country!) Ariel was flighty and truly an airy Spirit, and the chorus and the group of Lords did a great job to.

Many thanks to all those who have supported the development of the production over the last few months. To parents – for their help with line-learning and costumes, to staff – with their help on the night and to the children – for their commitment, talent and enthusiasm!

Poetry by Heart

Many congratulations to Martha G, the winner of our Poetry by Heart School Competition 2018 and runners up Benjy D and Owain W (all Y9). Poetry by Heart is a national poetry reciting competition, in which students recite two poems of their choice, one that has been written before 1914 and one after. The initial round took place at school during last Thursday’s assembly. Martha won a copy of the ‘Poetry by Heart’ anthology, and her performance, which was recorded, will be sent to ‘Poetry by Heart’ for judging. She has every chance of being called to perform at a regional level!

Celebrating World Book Day

World Book Day is a perfect fit for Heritage, celebrating what we love best : books! Most of the pupils and staff arrived dressed as their favourite character from a favourite book and the day got started with a book themed assembly for Infants and Juniors, providing an opportunity for everyone to parade their costumes! A Where’s Wally quiz ran throughout the day and the whole school stopping what they were doing at 11am to read / look at a book quietly. Book activities were undertaken throughout the day including mask making for UP tying in with Where the Wild Things Are, spider cobweb weaving for Year 2 tying into Charlotte’s Web, baking gingerbread men for Year 3 tying in with The Gingerbread Man whilst Year 4 had fun making Kitty Lacey books linking to Kitty Lacey.

Years 4, 5 and 6 worked in groups to plan a persuasive talk about a book they would like for the library. Each talk was then presented to Mrs Pilkington and the class, and a vote was taken to choose the favourite. Year 4 chose Gold of the Gods by Bear Grylls, Year 5’s result was a draw (so they got both) First Class Murder by Robin Stevens and Cruel Kings and Mean Queens by Terry Deary. Year 6 overwhelmingly voted for The Shapeshifter Series by Ali Sparkes. All titles have now been added to the library – which is also now adorned with book bunting made by Year 3, with 10 word stories and pictures.

Pupils brought in a donation of £1 to give to Book Aid International – a charity which provides books to international communities which have few or no books to read.

Robin Hood – The Musical

Y5 gave two wonderful performances of Robin Hood in Panton Hall, delighting their audiences, both young and old. Accompanied by Miss Sahakian on the keyboard and Mr Catley on the drums – there was much toe tapping and jollity to be had by all.

Before the production, Betsy C (Y5) wrote:

“In this fabulous version of Robin Hood, you will meet a young archer and his band of Merry Men who travel around England performing, to make ends meet. But when the fair Maid Marion is captured by the cruel King John, the entertainers have to become real heroes and save her. You will absolutely love our performance of this legend of old. The story will hold the audience in silence with anticipation. The set will have your eyes ticking and by the end of the fourth song there won’t be a dry eye in the house. If you think you’ve seen good musical theatre you don’t know the half of it. Book your tickets now!”

Mr Catley said: “It was a joy to work with Year 5 to produce this wonderful play. All the children worked exceptionally hard as a team and each child gave an amazing performance. We were really grateful to Miss Sahakian for leading the music and for the super Year 5 parents for helping to find such splendid costumes. Mr Stokes also deserves our special thanks for setting up the blacks and lights. The class will remember this performance for many years to come, I think”

The play was written by Craig Hawes for MusicLine and was amended with kind permisssion.

Principles for Family Life – a Parents Information Evening

Heritage and the HCA welcomed parents to school on Tuesday evening for a thoughtful presentation by Mrs Scarlata and Mrs Fletcher considering the interrelationships parents and children have in all sorts of family contexts.

Starting with interaction from parents on their hopes for their children as they grew up were a range of concerns – understanding the importance of truthfulness, showing respect to others, becoming more independent and capable (doing away with helicopter parenting which keeps children mollycoddled and less resilient in the demands and duties of real life) and finally understanding obedience, especially in the younger years, to reflect a loving and guiding relationship where the parent can occupy his/her unique role. That tricky balance between over ‘authoritarian’ or too ‘laissez-faire’ is not easy and Mrs Fletcher pointed out that we are all under authority and all face consequences in our lives if we disregard established boundaries. However, it does require adults to be models, leading from the front ….

Mrs Scarlata made us aware of the negative impact of saying NO! in tones which sets up reactive states in the brain. If a child is hungry, tired or emotionally lonely they can quickly over react so we need to be sensitive to meeting their needs routinely, in order to gain co-operation from them. Saying YES! can open the opportunity for discussion together. She also presented us with a picture of the range of needs children have every day – The Mind Platter. Sleep is key – physical exercise – focused work to make deep brain connections – relationships with family and friends – play time of all sorts! – relaxation – and’ time in’, which gives space for internal reflections on the day/reading/experiences.

A helpful distinction was made between using ‘natural consequences’ to bad choices or behaviour which need to be made matter-of-factly and clearly, and the temptation to instead turn that into punishment. The point being that natural consequences flow from poor choices but can help the inexperienced child to see how they can change their choices to better results. When this morphes into punishment, given in heightened emotional tones by the parent, the child does not learn from his mistakes and digs his heels in, reinforcing a pattern of poor choices.

Please do get in touch with Mrs Scarlata if you would like to chat further about anything raised through this seminar. Below is a list of books she would recommend:

(1) Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years, Jim Fay and Charles Fay
(2) Parenting with Love and Logic, Dr. Foster Cline and Jim Fay
(3) Parenting Teens with Love and Logic, Dr. Foster Cline and Jim Fay
(4) More Ideas About Parenting with Less Stress, Jim Fay, Charles Fay, Dr. Foster Cline
(5) The Pearls of Love and Logic For Parents and Teachers, Jim Fay and Dr. Foster Cline
(6) Brainstorm, Dr. Daniel Siegel
(7) The Whole-Brain Child, Dr. Daniel Siegel
(8) The Yes Brain Child, Dr. Daniel Siegel and Tina Bryson
(9) EQ and Your Child, Eileen Healy
(10) How to Raise a Child with a High EQ, Lawrence Shapiro
(11) Parenting with Presence, Dr. Susan Stiffelman
(12) How To Talk So Kids Will Listen And Listen So Kids Will Talk, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
(13) Siblings without Rivalry, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
(14) If I have to tell you One More Time, Amy McCready
(15) Raising Great Kids, Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend