Issue 23 - 1 July 2019

From the Headmaster

Dear Parents,

 The children had an enjoyable Creative Arts week with exciting sessions of dance and drama delivered by a range of experts from the world of theatre and dance. The week takes a huge amount of organising and the success was down to the efforts of Ms Campion. I cannot thank her enough for all her hard work and dedication to the performing arts, including the fantastic production she presented with the children and Miss Shah just two weeks ago!  It was a huge effort and a fantastic few weeks of creativity to help further support the children’s confidence, speaking and listening and public performance skills. 

On Wednesday afternoon, the Pre-prep took part in their annual Sports’ Day. The weather was perfect and the event was well supported as the children hopped, threw and dribbled through all the sporting activities. There was a new format for the afternoon which worked really well, allowing all the children to be involved equally and strive together both as a team as well as in their pursuit for individual success. Thank you Mrs Khan and Miss Agius for creating and organising such a fun afternoon for the children and parents.

On Friday, the youngest of our community put on an end of term production led by Mrs May. This was truly an absolute triumph considering the age and experience of the children. I was so impressed by the children’s willingness to engage with the parents and all of them spoke confidently, clearly and with such enthusiasm. This year has seen many positive changes in the Nursery and the provision for our youngest pupils continues to go from strength to strength, as evidenced in the fantastic work on display.  The children’s performances and smiling faces clearly showed the progress that they are all making and Mrs May and Mrs Chohan deserve the highest praise.

Mrs Durg and her team brought the Susan Milner Hall to life on Friday with an amazing display of the Art Clubs’ pieces of work. Neon Jelly Fish and Dandelions brought colour to the hall. It was an honour to hand out the well-deserved awards on Friday afternoon and to observe all the imaginative, creative and highly skilled work on display. Thank you to all the parents who were able to attend and to the children for their wonderful artwork. 

The rest of the week needs careful planning. Please do glance at the dates and times later in the Herald.
 

Staff news

We are thrilled to be welcoming several new staff members who will be joining the school in September:

Mrs Alimohamed will be joining the nursery with fourteen years of experience as a teaching assistant; most recently at Pinner Park Junior School. Mrs S Rana will be joining PP1 as a teaching assistant having been a teacher and teaching assistant at the Swaminarayan School and Avanti House. Both join us with a wealth of experience working with Early Years and Key Stage One and we are excited for all that they will bring to these important years for the children.

Mrs Mary Ford will be re-joining the staff to teach English to P6 to P8. Having graduated from Cambridge University, Mrs Ford began her teaching career twenty years ago in Suffolk.  Having worked for several years as Head of English and Drama, Mary was appointed Assistant Head of Shrewsbury House School in Surrey where she taught English and Drama to Common Entrance and scholarship level.  Following our relocation to Harrow in 2014, Mary worked as SENCO here at Quainton Hall before leaving to have our second child and raise our young family.  She is thrilled to be returning to the School to take up the role of part-time senior English teacher in September. 

There are a number of role changes that will take place in September. Mr A Antoine will become (Acting) Head of Sport. Mrs N Khan will be Head of Pre-prep and Miss K Agius will be Head of EYFS, both having been acting Heads this year with great success. 
 
Mr M Still has become Father Mike and the school’s Chaplain. Fr Mike was ordained at the weekend by The Bishop of Fulham at the Guild Church of St Andrew Holborn in the presence of the Bishop of London. My congratulations go to him as he enters his year as a deacon.

I look forward to seeing you all at various points during this final week of term. If I don’t get a chance to greet you all in person, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very peaceful and restful holiday.

Reports will be sent to parents this year in the week beginning 8 July.

Form Teachers for 2019-2020

Mr Ford also writes:
 

On a selfish note again

Thank you so much for all the good wishes and congratulations which I received prior to my ordination as a Deacon last Saturday.  The service itself was wonderful (but very hot!) and it was lovely to be able to celebrate with so many friends (some of whom I have known for well over 40 years), school families and colleagues.

Here are the five Deacons who were ordained together, pictured with Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham, and Sarah Mullaly, Bishop of London.

Prep 5 and Leavers in France

Mr Wood is producing a website article to celebrate the return of our Adventurers from the South of France.  By all accounts they had a wonderful, but rather tiring, trip; stretching themselves physically and mentally.  

           

Football Success

Ethan and Nathaniel M, along with Eeshan M recently played a friendly match against West Ham Football Academy with their team Cassiobury Rangers. All the boys played well and enjoyed the experience.
Nathaniel managed to score a goal but, even more excitingly,
Ethan M has been offered a place with West Ham due to his performance on the day and will be joining West Ham Academy in July for pre-season training. 

Congratulations Ethan!  We look forward to seeing your name in the sports news before too long!

Arabic Club

Mrs Alwaheidi would be happy to see any parents who are interested in the work she has been doing with the children in the Arabic Club this year.  Please come along after school tomorrow (Tuesday 2 July) to see, hear (and possibly taste!) something of the Arabic-speaking world.

Summer Reading Challenge 
 

The long hot summer holidays will soon be here. Harrow Libraries are inviting children to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge - the FREE annual celebration of reading which is held in libraries nationwide.  The Summer Reading Challenge, organized by the Reading Agency, is an annual reading scheme held during the summer holidays to encourage children to read. This year the theme is Space Chase inspired by the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. You can find out more by clicking here.

           

To take part the children need to be a member of the library, then they can register for the Summer Reading Challenge. Once signed-up, children read books, collecting small prizes along the way. Those children who finish the challenge, by reading six books, will receive a medal and certificate.  

In Harrow Libraries, there are a variety of FREE activities for children to encourage them to take part. 

Visit Harrow Libraries by clicking here to find out more.

Speech Days 2019

The children are now busy rehearsing various musical and other items to be included in our two Speech Days (Thursday afternoon for PPR – PP2) and Friday Morning (P3 to P8).  We look forward to seeing parents there for those events, when children will be looking extra smart, and we can celebrate the end of the year together!

The last week of term for the Main School

Monday 1 July:
Speech Day rehearsals during the Day
18:00 Leavers’ Cricket (Old Millhillians Sports Ground)

Tuesday 2 July:
Speech Day rehearsals during the Day
09:45 End of Term Concert (Susan Milner Hall) – All parents welcome
16:05 Arabic Club Presentation (Susan Milner Hall) – All parents welcome

Wednesday 3 July:
Speech Day rehearsals during the Day

Thursday 4 July:
09:00 Leavers’ Service (Chapel) – Parents most welcome to attend.
09:45 Final Assembly – Lots of Certificates to hand out – All parents welcome
14:00 Speech Day and Prize-Giving for Pre-Prep Classes and their families
(Trinity Church) – Refreshments back in School afterwards

Friday 5 July:
Normal morning for EYFS and Pre-Prep children 
Prep Children to arrive at Trinity Church in good time for:
11:00 Speech Day and Prize-Giving for Prep Classes and their families
(Trinity Church) – Refreshments back in School afterwards
12:00 – 12:30 Reception Children to leave or join older siblings after their Speech Day
13:00 approx. – Main School Closed – no after-school care or minibus service that afternoon.

Wednesday 10 July:
Nursery Closes for the Summer

Finally, may I wish you a restful, restorative and enjoyable Summer Holiday when it arrives.  Travel safely and we look forward to seeing you when we start next term, on Thursday 5 September.  For those who are leaving us, you do so with our very best wishes for the future in all your new schools!

Fr Mike Still
Assistant Head (Administration)

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