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Weekly Newsletter

17 May 2013

Bootham Old Scholars enjoyed meeting up at the recent reunion weekend

PRIZES NEEDED FOR GLOBE DAY – 2ND JULY

You may already know about the coming Globe Day when the whole school will come together to engage with global issues. Students will be playing The Dangerous Game, a simulation of what may happen to the world and its environment over the next fifty years. Players who come off badly in the game will have a meagre lunch in the refugee tent. However, we would like to have strong incentives for players to perform well so that the game represents the real driving forces in the world. So we are asking if there are parents who may be able to offer prizes for students (possibly prizes your business could offer). Please contact Mark Robinson in the next week or two if you may be able to help.

We were privileged to welcome Ruth David to school today and hear her moving talk on being a child in Nazi Germany – a child of the Kindertransport. 

DEBATING AT BOOTHAM JUNIOR SCHOOL

Year 6 have been writing balanced arguments on a range of geographical issues including nuclear power, wind turbines, marine conservation zones, GM crops and electric cars. GM Foods won the ‘best argument vote’ in Year 6 which you can view here. Also this week, Year 6 have held a debate. The motion discussed was ‘It was better then (1960s/70s) than now.’ After a lively debate, the children voted. The results were 12 For and 8 Against.

NURSERY NEWS

The children in Nursery have been thinking about where they live and local places of interest. They’ve been learning some positional language and are planning a treasure hunt. Several exciting excursions have been planned for next half term and the photo above shows who came to visit us last half term - Rosie’s pony Cora!

NEWS FROM THE LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT

The return leg of the French exchange takes place next week. The pupils arrive on Wednesday, 22nd May and depart on Wednesday 29th May. There is a full programme of events organised and we hope the pupils will enjoy the combination of cultural and fun activities.

LOWER SCHOOLROOM GEOGRAPHY TRIP

Despite the less than Spring like weather we had a great field trip on Wednesday to Skipwith Common and the Wolds. The students were enthusiastic the whole day even after lunch when the temperate seemed to plummet. The leaves were well and truly out and the smell of bluebells and sound of birdsong delighted us all whilst the wow factor of the Wolds was palpable as ever. The challenge the students face now is to work out how two such different landscapes have been created so close together.

BSA MIDSUMMER BALL: SATURDAY 29 JUNE

Parents, staff, College One and Two students are invited to the Midsummer Ball which takes place on Saturday 29th June at York Racecourse. The evening starts with a drinks reception at 7pm with a three course dinner and dancing until 12.30 a.m. Tickets cost £47 and further information is available here. There’s a delicious menu and the ticket request form should be completed and returned with payment by 7th June.

D-DAY LANDINGS TRIP

There are still some places available on next Easter's WW2 field visit to Normandy. Any students who wish to join us should bring in their slips by half term to secure their place.

YEAR 4’S FIRST RESIDENTIAL VISIT

The Year 4 class had a wonderful time on their residential visit. On the first day, the children walked the Hole of Horcum and stayed overnight at Helmsley Youth Hostel. After a good night’s sleep, they went orienteering at Dalby Forest before returning to school. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and benefited considerably from this experience

CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS

This year’s Chess Championship was held on the last Sunday at BJS. There were 78 entries from schools across York with the following results: Merit Awards went to Charlie Phillips and Euan Brooke in year 4 and under. Bootham Junior School came second in the Team Trophies. Miles Dib-Bennett came first in year 6, with Adam Sullivan 4th and Edward Tribe coming a close 5th. Bootham Junior came 1st in the Team Awards for the year 6 group. Everyone enjoyed their day very much and would like to say a big thank you for the excellent facilities and to all the helpers who made the day special.

MODEL LOCOMOTIVE COMPETITION

Dave Ventress, who works in the Design and Technology department, recently won second place in the National Model Engineering and Modelling Exhibition at Harrogate. He came second in the category of Locomotives 5 inch gauge to 7 and one quarter inch gauge. Dave has had some success in this competition before having previously won a highly commended. Dave spent 15 months working on his rolling stock. It is at a scale of 27 mm to the foot and is an exact representation of a wagon to be found in the national collection at York Railway Museum.

SPORTS NEWS

Junior School Cricket: On Friday 3rd May, Bootham Junior Cricket team played the Minster school in a 10 aside match. Both A and B teams unfortunately lost but everyone played really well, had a great time and represented Bootham Junior School brilliantly. The children are looking forward to their next match and hope to learn some new skills from their trip to Headingly to watch the cricket match.

Boys Tennis: The U15 team managed to beat Joseph Rowntree school on Wednesday. The game finished 3 sets all, however Bootham managed to win on number of games won. Hanjun Kim and Liam Langedijk won their singles game and then paired up to win their doubles.

Cricket: The weather put pay to a number of games this week, however Bootham teams did manage to play Archbishop Holgates at U13 and U15 level. Unfortunately, both teams lost in fairly close games. The Old Scholar's game last Saturday was a competitive game with Bootham's 1st XI eventually winning. Scholar's scored 119-7 with Max Fend and Jake Long the pick of the bowlers. Jake Long, Elliot Long and Dan Doherty batted well to secure the victory. 

Rounders: On Tuesday we took our U12 and U13 rounders teams to Huntington – both teams coped admirably with the wet pitches and won 16½-5 and 10-4 respectively.

Athletics: It was the York and District athletic trials on Wednesday afternoon. We took 17 athletes to compete in various events. All performed well and wore the Bootham vest with pride. We await the results to see if we have any students who qualified.

Rounders matches against The Mount are on Saturday 18th, and lots more next week so keep your eyes on the noticeboards!