Telephone (01623) 861054 • www.wellowhouse.co.uk

office@wellowhouseschool.co.uk

We are Wellow.

A H

alf

-term

ly N

ew

sle

tter

fro

m W

ello

w H

ou

se

Sc

ho

ol

December 2017

The Wellow House Chamber Choir has been busy throughout the

festive season, singing in the local community at Christmas events.

To Hathersage

Year 8 pupils had a spellbinding insight into the ‘wizarding’ world of Harry Potter, when they visited the Warner Brothers Studios on 7th November.

There was an opportunity to try out a broomstick, wear a cape, see the magnificent Great Hall at Hogwarts, and even try some butter beer in the Three Broomsticks pub before returning to school for an evening film.

Amazing Art! There are some extremely talented ‘artists in residence’ at Wellow House School – and this is just a selection of recent examination work from Year 5 and 6 pupils.

Under exam conditions, the standard of their still life ‘bottle studies’ - which encouraged pupils to think about perspective and measurement in art - was simply fantastic!

This has been an unprecedented term for all those involved in music making at Wellow House School, simply because I am able to report that we now have 73 children studying an instrument or receiving vocal tuition. After nearly completing my first year as Head of Music, I am already reflecting on what a fabulous opportunity I have each day to travel around school delivering classroom music lessons and other musical provision. Our classroom-based learning this term has seen us focus on developing our vocal and aural skills. The first part of this learning was celebrated during the Harvest Festival Service, where for the first time we featured our Chamber Choir as a fundamental to the Service itself. I should probably mention that no choir is complete without a Head Chorister, so appointing Thomas into that prestigious role has allowed me to concentrate on the music and Tom to organise the troops! Great start Tom, thank you very much! The peripatetic teachers have continued to prepare children for ABRSM and TRINITY Rock and Pop examinations during their weekly lessons. I feel honoured to be leading on the music here and if you ever wondered what makes it so compelling…I encourage you to walk into a guitar lesson, for example, featuring Eric in Year 2, who is always completely and utterly absorbed in his learning and carries the biggest smile on his face. Pop in on Jemima, who is really enjoying taking her first steps at the piano or walk in on a vocal lesson featuring Emma in year seven, who has the most beautiful of voices. As a result of the superlative teaching and learning taking place, I often don’t get very far, however, I consider it a small price to pay to hear such delightful music making.

from Mr Williams

Our next round of Instrumental and Vocal exams will be in the final week of term. The Associated Board have once again recognised Wellow House School as a centre for examining, therefore Ms Joy Crick will join us for over four and a half hours of testing. Everyone is continuing to work incredibly hard in readiness for their opportunity to shine and as always, I continue to offer my full support to anyone who may want my help. Next term, we will be moving away from the vocal training (although we are going to Young Voices on the 16th January 2018!) and getting more established with the requirements of Music Theory, remembering that the summer exam period will this year see as many children as possible sit either Grade 1 Music Theory or a grade equivalent to their current ability level. New for next year, an early evening Musical Soirée on Thursday 8th February will see children demonstrate their musical learning in a vast array of ways. This event will then kick-start a series of open invitations to parents to ‘enjoy a music lesson’. From there, the Easter service will once again confirm the depth of talent we have revealed and with all those things complete, I then personally look forward to delivering yet another Summer Spectacular. This year’s end of term concert will be even bigger and even better…I’d better start planning. Finally, I would like to thank colleagues, parents and carers and of course, the children for welcoming me into Wellow to enjoy my first year. I cannot wait until next year!

Winter wonders Pre-Prep pupils have enjoyed a

packed schedule leading up to

Christmas – culminating, of course,

in the Nativity performances!

Pre-Prep children loved making Christingles to celebrate Advent. Christingle means ‘Christ Light’ and the children considered the

symbolism of the fruits, candle and ribbon. The Christingles looked

beautiful when the candles were lit!

Once upon a time…

Christmas Story Night in Owl Club was a huge hit – the perfect chance to wind

down, snuggle up in pyjamas, enjoy a hot

chocolate and listen to festive tales! Story Night took place in front of the

‘fireplace’, which children helped to create.

On our way to

Bethlehem!

Movie magic

Pre-Prep pupils loved their

visit to the cinema in Worksop on 5th December. There was a

very festive atmosphere as children settled down to watch ‘The Star’, a film based on the

Nativity story.

This year, the Pre-Prep Nativity was

‘Shepherd Boy’ – with plenty of other

traditional characters playing an

important part, including Wise Men,

angels, and of course, Mary and Joseph.

Well done to all the

children, who

practised hard and

put on a lovely

performance for parents and siblings.

Learning is fun!

Festive activities are exciting – but FS1 pupils have also had lots of fun learning in the classroom

this term…

Food for thought

Year 2 pupils enjoyed a trip to Tesco in Ollerton recently, to learn how their food travels ‘from farm to fork’. It was an invaluable lesson on the journey our food makes to reach our plates.

Down on a festive farm!

FS1 and F2 pupils loved their visit to Rand Farm on 7th December, where they met Mrs Claus for a spot of Christmas cooking, saw live reindeer, a 3D ‘Enchanted Forest’ and stepped through a secret bookcase to meet Santa Claus!

A pleasingly large cast of over twenty took to the stage on Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th December, to delight two similarly large audiences with their excerpts of famous Christmas stories. Highlights were everywhere as this hard-working cast split into smaller groups to deliver their own festive tales. On an hour a week after school and just one morning of rehearsing together, they really managed to make it look polished and fun.

We joined a panicking Jorge, Izzy and Thomas as they realised that they had not prepared the house in time for the visitors (the audience). Then it was time to tour the texts… First, we joined Mole and Rat (Esme and Emma) as they confidently entertained the visiting, giggling field mice carollers, led by their impressive Uncle Mouse (Tomi). Then we saw a music teacher (Alex G) explode as his class deliberately sang the wrong words to carols, before Alex N, Sophia, Elizabeth, Anya and Tomi joined forces with Mr O’Kane on piano and Mr Williams on violin to recreate the more repeatable parts of Fairytale of New York beautifully, albeit with a false start!

From New York, we travelled to Wales, where young Dylan Thomas and his friend Jack were portrayed mischievously and confidently by Jean-Pierre and Ben, as they ate candy cigarettes and pretended to be hippos. Things took a darker turn as we visited the workhouse, where pauper (Thomas) vented his anger at the great and the good for turning him away when his wife (Celia) was in direst need. Thomas took on a huge amount here and handled it maturely.

The lighter side of Christmas came with the Punch’n’Judy show that was Blackadder’s Christmas Carol with downtrodden Baldrick (Alex B) manhandled by his master Blackadder (played with great enthusiasm by Gabriel). They made a fine comic duo before Mrs Scratchitt (Brad) added more hilarity on her appearance. Soon, things were put right when we saw how the spirits actually gave the correct message in the original, with Scrooge played beautifully by Alex B, with Tupper (Fred) and Bob Cratchitt (Connor) adding their comic timing.

Finally, it was time to visit Laurie Lee’s (Elizabeth) Slad Valley to go carol barking through the snow and wind, with a motley crew making up the church choir. When this atmospheric piece was over, we finished by singing some Christmas favourites with great glee. Well done, everyone, on a super show; and many thanks to Mr Woodhouse and Mr Mason for their technical help.

Mr O’Kane

A real Christmas Cracker!

the Front Line’

In Remembrance Pupils and staff at Wellow attended a special Remembrance Service on 10th November in the grounds of the school. We sang ‘Abide with Me’, and pupils delivered readings. At 11 o’clock, the flag was lowered to half-mast. Our thanks go to Reverend Zoe Burton of St Swithin’s Church, Wellow, who kindly attended the service, and to Mr Williams, Head of Music,

who organised the event.

Congratulations to Anya (Year 5), who has received a letter from Robert Jenrick, MP for Newark, to congratulate her on her beautiful artwork. Along with hundreds of other pupils from across the region, Anya entered a competition to draw a design for Mr Jenrick’s official 2018 Christmas card and has been announced as a runner-up!

‘I have received again this year an unprecedented amount of entries from primary schools across my constituency for my Parliament at Christmas card competition. The standard, again, was extremely high and made for a very difficult task for Joanna Parlby, Managing Director of the Newark Advertiser, and myself to select a winner and runners-up from the hundreds of entries received. Your card design was absolutely delightful and will now appear on the back of my Christmas card which will be delivered to thousands of households across my constituency.’

Robert Jenrick MP

Christmas greetings!

A helping hand at Christmas… Once again, Wellow pupils and parents have created dozens of beautiful boxes for the Mansfield Shoebox Homeless Appeal.

Families were asked to donate both essential and luxury items for their boxes, which will be delivered to homeless people in the local area this Christmas.

This year, we were also asked to consider donating items for animals – and the charity have already donated many shoeboxes to rescue centres, which see an increase in abandoned animals at this time of year.

Many thanks to Miss Conquest (pictured with Head Boy, Bradley Lucas and Head Girl, Mia Teal) for co-ordinating the appeal at Wellow House School and to parents and pupils for putting together the boxes.

The Under 13 boys have battled through a season that has not been big on wins but, with the exception of one game against S Anselm’s, has been very big on heart and skill. Our wins came in one of the three matches we played at Worksop and in the second game we played at home against St Hugh’s, but the most committed rugby undoubtedly came against Lincoln Minster just before half term and in the last two games of the season, that St Hugh’s match and the last game against Westbourne.

Under-13 Rugby season Round-Up

Sporting fixtures for the Spring Term will be detailed in the 2018 Wellow Calendar and in the School Reception.

Success for Under-11s

Sports

The game started off tough for Wellow as a Witham player ran in a try straight from the start. After the restart, Wellow started to move the ball around the pitch freely and recycled the ball well. A great phase of passing saw George touch down for the first try in the corner.

Wellow dominated the first half running in 3 more tries to deservedly lead at half time, one of which was a superb length of the field run by Charlie. A great first half of passing, defensive organising and superb work at the breakdown, particularly by Ben, enabled Wellow to come out strong in the second half on the front foot. A great start for Wellow as William danced his was through to score straight from the restart. Another quick try followed after captain Finley stole the ball and ran in to score a breakaway try. Good supporting runs and strong ball running from Aliakbar, Charlie W, and Tom helped Wellow keep hold of the ball for long periods and progress up the field. Witham came back into the game scoring 3 tries but Wellow ended up winners with a score line of 6-4 and left the field to the applause of all who were watching.

A great result boys and a superb effort from all. Well done, a pleasure to watch!

Mr Mason

We have invariably been the smaller side and sometimes the slower, but our support play and passing skills have allowed us to play some lovely flowing moves. The Year 8s have been the engine of the team, with Alex the standout Year 7 at prop. Captains Fred and Alex have been committed in defence and swift in attack; Jorge has become a fine finisher; Connor and Brad showed lovely handling; Will was brutal in both attack and defence, full of effort; Thomas C improved unbelievably through the season in all aspects of the game; and Henry mauled well and showed good passing skills. The Year 7s will find life harder without them next year, but Zachary began to tackle with real meaning and run with purpose as the season came to a close, while Anton showed strength and enthusiasm and Thomas H began to look more assured in a new sport. Thank you for all your effort, boys – you are unrecognisable from your Under 10 and 11 seasons. Thanks also to our many supporters.

Mr O’Kane

The U-11 boys’ Rugby team have had an exciting season with some important wins – here’s a report of their match against

Witham Hall on 22nd November…

Our Hockey term has offered opportunities for several girls to play up an age group, resulting in valuable learning experiences. They have all shown a level of confidence for which they should be extremely proud, exuding a positive attitude and desire to accept the challenges. We have worked hard to match standards for fixtures and all our teams have enjoyed some wins, draws and very closely fought results. Our U9s have had a buoyant season and our Year 4s have been playing up admirably with the U11 team, further improving their skills and basic awareness of tactical play. Our Year 3s are developing their confidence and willingness to tackle; as our U9B team, they have been playing so well against predominantly Year 4 opponents. Our U11 girls came together with the majority having little previous experience. They have enjoyed practising with the senior girls and have all finished the season with more conviction in their game. They have improved their support play between each other by looking up, become more aware of reading and anticipating the game and shown more confidence to maintain possession for longer while moving up the pitch. The U13 team mainly comprise Year 7 girls and they have shown great promise against older opponents. They have finished the season on a winning turn, with the team fulfilling all their roles with maximum effort, great determination and strong team work. Our senior girls have been a credit in their encouragement towards our younger players. Well done everyone, it has been a big squad effort this term!

Mrs Nichols

In the swim…

Wellow runners on top!

A winning formula

Wellow House School’s Under 9 and Under 11 teams competed in the Highfields School cross country meeting on a very cold, bright November afternoon. There were over 300 runners from 15 schools participating this year, with Highfields hosting a very enjoyable afternoon. The Under 9 Girls were very successful, with Isabella completing an exceptional performance to finish in 1st place, especially when we remember she is still of Under 8 age. Team captain, Thea, also had a successful afternoon coming in 3rd place. The other girls in the Under 9 team all ran to gain creditable positions and secured the team’s overall position of a well-earned 1st place. The Under 9 Boys worked very hard with team captain, Harry, coming a very respectable 6th place. Sam, despite incurring a bad knee injury after a fall at the beginning of the race, showed amazing courage and commitment to his team by keeping on running to finish the race.

Violet was Wellow’s solo entry for the Under 11 Girls’ team and ran an excellent race. The Under 11 Boys’ team was very successful, with Charlie coming in 1st position with a comfortable lead. Finley also ran a good race and finished the race in 6th position. All our runners are to be commended on their effort and we were very proud of them all, demonstrating once again the team spirit that is typical of Wellow House.

Mrs Nichols

Pupils in Years 3-8 enjoyed a fun (yet highly competitive!) House Swimming Gala on 8th December, which took place

in the newly-refurbished Wellow House pool. House Captains co-ordinated their

own swimming teams and the event was a great success.

Dates for your Diary Monday 8th January

Spring Term begins at 8.45am

Tuesday 16th January

Pupils in Years 3-8 to attend the Young Voices event at the

Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield. Pupils will have an early lunch at

11.30 and transport to the venue has been provided. Pupils are

due to return to Wellow at 10.30-11.00pm.

Monday 22nd January

Learning Support Parents’ Evening

Friday 26th January

Boarding Sleepover from 5.00pm

Grades

Grades

Tuesday 6th February

Year 4 Parents’ Evening from 5.15pm

Thursday 8th February

Musical Soirée from 5.15-6.30pm in The Barn. Parents are warmly invited to join Mr Williams

and our talented musicians and vocalists for a café-style musical workshop. Refreshments

will be available during the evening.

Monday 12th February

Year 6 Parents’ Evening from 5.15pm

Wednesday 14th February

Valentine’s Disco in Owl Club

Friday 16th February

Half term begins at 5.00pm

Grades

Saturday 27th January

Whole School Activity Saturday

Please note that from January 2018, fees

will no longer be accepted into the former

(NatWest) bank account. Please refer to

correspondence for details regarding the

new Barclays account.

We are Wellow.

Goodbye… and good luck! Goodbye, and good lucK!

Julie Baugh has been absolutely essential to the fabric of Wellow House life for over twenty years. She has worked as a teaching assistant in the classroom and in the swimming pool, where she has brought on so many of our young swimmers over the years.

She will be most remembered by recent Wellovians, however, for her role as Matron: she provided care and understanding with a softer side and a great sense of humour, often there as much for emotional support as medical.

Julie organised house outings for many years and both she and the children will have fond memories of their excursions together. As a colleague, Julie has been extremely helpful and supportive: she actually helped me to move house into the area when I first arrived, requisitioning farm vehicles to save me from needing a removal firm! Her strong singing voice has provided a lead for all her colleagues and the children in church services for two decades as well.

We wish you the very best for your retirement, Julie, although the grandchildren are bound to ensure that you remain just as busy. Dan O’Kane

We are Wellow. Telephone (01623) 861054 • www.wellowhouse.co.uk

office@wellowhouseschool.co.uk

It is with great sadness that we say our farewell to Joanna Crook, who has been such an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher in the Pre-Prep for the past decade at Wellow, teaching Year 2 for most of her time with us and running Pre-Prep as Joint Head in recent years. She has also worked tirelessly to help to organise the Learning Support across the school with Miss Lamb for the last year.

She has brought fun and talent to her many roles, innovating with events such as The Enterprise Challenge and the Holi Celebration Run; and joining in with Wellow traditions like the Ragsdale Run with gusto, as well as bringing on the children in her care in the more day-to-day essentials of the classroom.

Behind the scenes, Joanna has organised many staff training courses and I shall miss the fun we have invariably had with her when undergoing lifeguard training in the pool. She has always enjoyed socialising with colleagues too, and anyone who was there for her (…okay, our!) ‘a capella’ music quiz at one particular Staff Christmas meal will not forget it in a hurry.

We wish you the very best for the future, Joanna. Many Wellovians owe you a great debt of gratitude.