Posted on: May 3rd 2019
“In the equation E=mc2, what does the c stand for?” asked Mr. Ashton in his dulcet tones during the Friends of Norfolk House Annual Pub Quiz before the Easter holiday. A question that certainly left a few people stumped; although perhaps not the Form 6 parents who clinched victory (congratulations!) after winning the tie breaker question against the Form 4 parent team. The answer is: c stands for the speed of light. Physically travelling at this speed is impossible, however, the speed at which this year has flown by at Norfolk House has certainly felt close! We had much to celebrate during the Spring term, from the outstanding 11+ results that our Form 6 children achieved after their interviews and exams came to an end in January, to the showcase of their musical talent in the Senior Prep House Music Competition. We also enjoyed World Book Day, Comic Relief, ten different educational visits or workshops organised by our teachers, 25 fixtures and three tournaments, as well as the STEAM Parent-Pupil event.
This term has begun in a similar way with the charming Junior Prep Showcase on Wednesday where children entertained us with songs, live science experiments, presentations and amusing jokes! The children in Form 4 were buzzing with excitement on Wednesday morning as they left for their school journey to PGL for three days of climbing, archery, abseiling, zip-lining and much more. In a couple of weeks, it will be the turn of the children in Form 5 and 6 as they enjoy a Bear Grylls-esque experience for four days at the Bushcraft site in Oxfordshire.
After the Easter break, the staff and children came back to newly painted corridors and brand new lockers - a special thank you to the Friends of Norfolk House for funding these. The children in Forms 3 to 6 are thrilled with their lockers and Form 2 children no longer need to keep their bags and coats in their classrooms.
Our Summer sports programme has begun and we move into our second year of cricket, kicking off with our first fixture for boys against Aldenham this week and girls against Belmont in two weeks time. In the build-up to Sports Day children in Forms 1 to 6 will focus on athletics. As always, this term a wide range of after-school clubs is on offer for all children from Reception through to Form 6.
As we approach the end of the year, our Nursery children prepare to make the important transition into full-time schooling in Reception. Our Nursery team are working on ensuring the children are ready and to support them in this we will be running our induction, with the help of our Head Boy and Head Girl, and inviting the children from our own Nursery and others to meet their classmates and teachers during Circle Times.
The Senior Prep pupils, and especially our Form 6, are busy rehearsing for this year’s production; Matilda. Over the course of the term, they will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills from across the curriculum to a real-life business situation in our Young Enterprise project which will culminate with them launching their products at our annual Summer Fayre. During this time they will develop important self-management skills, learn to work to deadlines as part of a team and deepen their understanding of business and finance. This is part of the curriculum we run during the Summer term that is designed to support our Form 6 children with their transition to senior school.
Finally, at the end of the term, we will be saying farewell to our Form 6 pupils and celebrating achievements from across the school at Awards Day.
We look forward to working together with you to help all the children at Norfolk House experience success through challenge and by continuing to provide them with a broad range of engaging learning opportunities.
Thank you for your continuing support.
