From the HeadmasterIt was a pleasure to welcome Charles Barwell OBE and Old Hallfieldian (1972 - 1976) as our Guest of Honour at this year’s Upper School Prize Giving. Charles and Juliet, who have a young family and live locally, will become Hallfield parents in September.

Charles is currently Deputy Chairman of the Board of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (2005 - 2015) and he is delighted to hear of the links the School are developing with the CBSO.

After the successful joint venture between the Hallfield PTA with EHS PA to organise the Snow Ball last January at the ECC, this term, at the end of their successful year, the PTA teamed up with the Old Hallfieldian Society to organise “Hallfield Day” on 4 July. Hundreds of parents, children, staff, OH’s and friends enjoyed a quintessential English Summer Fair. Jazz (courtesy of the Birmingham Conservatoire) played in the marquee and entertained visitors as they enjoyed cream teas and a welcome rest!

Thank you to everyone who made this such a successful event.

The new school website went “live” in June and so you will be able to keep up to date with all of the news, events and results in our busy school.

Next term will see the Introduction of our Forest School (sponsored by the PTA) and other new and exciting developments. With record pupil numbers in September, we are looking forward to another happy and successful year.

Good luck to all of the leavers: do keep in touch with your news and successes. On behalf of Tania and myself, I would like to wish you all an enjoyable Summer holiday - and I hope England win back The Ashes!

Hallfield SchoolChurch Road Edgbaston Birmingham B15 3SJ

0121 454 1496

office@hallfieldschool.co.uk

www.hallfieldschool.co.uk

Hallfield Focus

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Inside this Issue

From the Chairman 2

PTA News 2

Hallfieldfirst 3

Pre-Prep 4

Upper School 6

Hallfield Vision 8

… on the Summer Term 2015

From the ChairmanPrize Giving and Speech Day provides a fitting end to the Preparatory School careers of our Year 6 children. I hope they will leave with happy memories of their time with us, focused around the celebratory atmosphere which fills the School in the last 2 weeks of the Summer term. For the School, the academic work is over for another year, although some staff return to organise Fun Club and the Upper School Activity Programme which provide an invaluable service for our busy working parents. For the forthcoming year, we hope to replace the existing Astroturf, improve the changing facilities for the girls and enhance the entrance to the Pre-Prep: all very worthwhile projects. I hope you enjoy the holidays!

Keith UffChairman of Governors

PTAThis year has been a very successful year for the PTA from Halloween Disco, Christmas Fayre, Snowball, Easter Egg Hunt to the great collaboration on Hallfield Day.

Thank you to all who took part in “Hallfield Day”. It was great to see the whole Hallfield community coming together and having fun in the sunshine!

The monies raised this year will be invested in establishing a Forest School. This will benefit all years from Hallfield First through to Upper School.

This year we say goodbye to the following PTA members Sat, Sonal, Jane and myself.

We are looking for enthusiastic and committed parents to join the PTA. If you are interested please let us know.

Raj SuthiChair PTA

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Dates for your Diary• 12 September - New Parents’ Brunch

• 7 November - Halloween Disco

• 5 December - Christmas Fayre

CharitiesA huge thank you to everyone who has supported our chosen charities this term. Hallfield School raised a fabulous £977.24 for the Save the Children Nepal Earthquake Appeal. Excited children came to school dressed in red, blue and white to represent the colours of the Nepalese flag. The Very Big Cake Sale raised £1021.17 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Chil-dren enjoyed baking cakes and bringing cakes to school for the event – they also enjoyed eating cakes! Thank you again to the children, staff and parents of Hallfield for your generos-ity and enthusiasm.

Hallfieldfirst NewsThis term has been a busy one. May saw the nursery take part in ‘Physical week’ where all the children took part in a variety of physical activities including obstacle courses, soft play, baby yoga and many more.

The Big Toddle was once again a ‘big’ success with the nursery having lots of Pirates running and toddling around the grounds to raise money for such a worthwhile cause.

The nursery has also enjoyed the yearly visit from some of the Year 6 children who come and spend a day helping in the nursery as part of their community week. The children are always polite and well-mannered and really enjoy coming to help.

Parents’ evening was a big success at the end of June. It is always a pleasure to see so many families and have the chance to catch up on their child’s progress within the nursery as well as receive their child’s report.

May I take this opportunity to wish all the children moving to Transition lots of luck. Hallfieldfirst will miss you all.

Dates for your Diary• 8 October - ABC Photographer

• 25 & 26 November - Parents’ Evening

• 24 December - closed - until the New Year

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Staff NewsThis term, our congratulations went to Vicki Hulland, who gave birth to a baby boy, Sebastian Arthur Hulland at the end of March (pictured).

Pre-Prep NewsThe Summer Term has been a very busy and enjoyable term for all in the Pre-Prep, enhanced by the dry sunny weather. All the children from Transition through to Year 2 have enjoyed a range of trips and visitors to the school have further enriched the curriculum.

The children in the EYFS had a visit from The Animal Man and have visited farms, Birmingham Wildlife and Conservation Park and Wonderland. Key Stage One children have enjoyed workshops delivered by Sir Teachalot and have visited Harvington Hall, Blakesey Hall and Dudley Castle.

We have all been entertained by some amazing performances this term too. Foundation and Year 2 children and staff have worked extremely hard to put on their plays ‘The Enormous Turnip’ and ‘The Little Muncher’ respectively. The musicians in Year 2 also performed at the Summer Instrumental Concert just prior to Half Term as well as in our Pre-Prep assembly the following day. It was lovely to see and hear the children

play their instruments. Simon Cheung and Sophie Gautam were selected by Miss Pickford to perform at our first Foundation to Year 5 Assembly and did so remarkably well without any sign of nerves!

The children (and staff!) always enjoy coming to school in their home clothes and in doing so have raised money to help the ‘Nepal Earthquake Appeal’ and the ‘Make a Wish Charity’.

As we approached the end of term the children from Hallfieldfirst, Transition, Foundation and Reception enjoyed the annual EYFS Teddy Bears’ Picnic on the School field.

We hope you and your families have a fantastic Summer holiday and we look forward to welcoming you back in September at the start of the academic year 2015-2016.

Mrs HumphrysHead of Pre-Prep

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Dates for your Diary• 5 Sept – Foundation Phonic Workshop

• 9 Sept – Foundation & Reception Parents’ Information Workshop

• 10 Sept – Year 1 & 2 Parents’ Information Workshop

• 22 Sept – Siblings’ Photographs

• 22 Sept – Foundation & Reception Settling-in Parents’ Evening

• 23 Sept – Individual Photographs

• 23 Sept– Year 1 & 2 Settling-in Parents’ Evening

• 20 Oct – Pre-Prep Harvest Assembly

• 11 Nov – Foundation & Reception Parents’ Evening

• 12 Nov – Year 1 & 2 Settling-in Parents’ Evening

• 9 Dec – Pre-Prep Christmas Service

• 10 Dec – Reception Nativity Performance

Year 2 Shoe Lace Tying WorkshopTo prepare the Year 2 children for the demands of Key Stage 2 in September, everyone took part in a shoe lace tying workshop on the 16 June. This was something new which demanded concentration and good motor skills as well as an ability to make ‘drawbridges and castles’, push ‘dragons’ through holes and make ‘bunny ears’ appear magically. Happily everyone met the challenge and was awarded a certificate for successfully completing the workshop. If you would like to practise this skill at home explore www.cooshoo.co.uk and www.fieggen.com to show you how – it’s great fun!

Pre-Prep Sports DaysWe were so fortunate with the weather for the Key Stage 1 and EYFS Sports Days this year on the 15 and 16 June respectively.

All of the children performed incredibly well in their running races, the skills and obstacle races. It was lovely to see all of the parents supporting and cheering the children to the finishing line. The children who managed a place on to the winner’s podium looked incredibly proud with their medals and rosettes.

The races which were most fiercely contested, by staff and children, were the form relay races. The overall winners were Mrs Lowe’s form in Year 2, Mrs Hall’s form in Year 1, Mrs Rafiq’s form in Reception and Miss Allen’s form in Foundation. Congratulations to the winners. Roll on next year’s competition!

Upper School News

We have been enjoying a term of beautiful summer weather and in the Upper School the children have made the most of it with a host of special trips and events. Sports Day was a great success, hardly any fixtures were cancelled due to the weather, and all year groups have enjoyed educational visits outside of school through the term. Whilst Year 5 have been hard at work preparing for their important exam season coming up, Year 6 have been able to broaden their horizons considerably and enjoyed Drama Week, as well as a week of adventures in the Lake District. A real favourite of mine is Community Week where the eldest children in our school are asked to think about their place in the wider world, and specifically how they can be good citizens and contribute positively outside of their lives in school. They spend time helping with the younger children, learning about their local environment as well as being taught skills that they could use to save a life or help in an emergency, with the expertly delivered first aid programme. Mr ThackwayDeputy Head

Residential Visits Hallfield is well known in the local area for the academic endeavours and successes of our children. Of course this

is something we all cherish and value highly but it shouldn’t be allowed to obscure the great value we place as a school on developing the whole character and the depth and breadth of our extra-curricular provision. A great example of this is the

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programme of residential trips the children take part in as they progress through Year 4 to Year 6. Year 4 have again enjoyed the magnificent scenery of the Brecon Beacons for their overnight trip, which involved pony trekking, climbing and team games. Year 5 had a geographical theme on their 4 day trip to North Yorkshire and the Cranedale Centre, whilst Year 6 experienced the best of the summer weather on their outward bounds trip to Ullswater in the Lake District. Memories which will last a lifetime were made in those 5 days.

This hierarchy of residential experiences provides the opportunity for the children to experience a variety of differing locations and challenges away from home in a controlled and safe environment. The staff learn so much about the children in these settings and it is always remarkable to see how much the children grow in confidence during their time away from School with their friends.

Year 6 Drama Week - The TempestAfter the success of last year’s Macbeth, between the 18th -22nd May 2015, the Young Shakespeare Company were back at Hallfield working with our Year 6 children to prepare their end of year play: Shakespeare’s The Tempest. We began work on Monday morning after watching actor-producer team Liz and Paul’s interpretation of the play, before an intensive week of workshops, auditions and rehearsals followed, culminating in a spectacular final performance on the Friday afternoon. The Year 6 children

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Dates for your Diary• 8 Sept - Year 5 & Year 6 Parents’ Information Evening

• 10 Sept - Modern Languages trip to Chateau du Broutel - Parents’ Information Evening

• 15 Sept - Year 3 & Year 4 Parents’ Information Meeting

• 22 Sept - Cranedale ‘drop-in meeting’ for Parents

• 5 & 6 Oct - Year 3, Year 4 & Year 5 Settling in Parents’ Evening with Form Teachers and Pupils

• 13 Oct - Year 4 and Year 6 LAMDA Performance for Parents

• 19 Nov - Year 6 Parents’ Evening

• 24 & 26 Nov - Year 5 Parents’ Evening

• 2 & 3 Dec - Year 3 & Year 4 Parents’ Evening with pupils

• 9 Dec - Upper School Christmas Service St George’s Church followed by seasonal refreshments in school

were truly superb throughout the week, both during their rehearsals and in the final show – many congratulations to all staff and children involved!

The Big HootAfter many weeks our owl is finally complete and I think you will agree it looks fantastic! A big thank you geos to Lauren, Nuhaa, Freya, Mehul, Rohan, Wendy, Shaya and Iyda for all their hard work. Thank you as well to all the children and staff who have shared comments and ideas along the way; you have been a huge help. The owl will be exhibited at Birmingham Museum

and Art Gallery – you can keep up to date with the Big Hoot trail via www.thebighoot.co.uk – a great family activity for the holiday.

Hallfield VisionFrom the ChairmanHallfield Day was a wonderful occasion where Old Hallfieldians, current Hallfieldians, parents and staff came together to enjoy a fabulous day of fun, food and laughter!

Donkey rides, falconry display, circus workshop, jazz band, bouncy slide and brilliantly organised stalls by the children and staff were very popular with everyone. OH’s enjoyed nostalgic tours of the school and noted the many new developments and changes since their time at the school.

Superb weather, ice creams, a wonderful BBQ, happy parents and tired children will ensure that the event will be repeated.

Tim VennerOHS Chairman

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Dates for your Diary• 16 Sept - Informal Reunion – Edgbaston

• 18 Sept - Recent Leavers’ Football & Hockey Tournament

• 2 Oct - OH Quiz Night

• 12 Nov - AGM - all Old Hallfieldians and staff welcome

• 23 Jan - PTA, OHS & EHS Ball

Looking back to the future: The Old Hallfieldian Society

Contact the OHSTim VennerChairmanTim.Venner@ Charles-Stanley.co.uk

Celia HooperExecutive OfficerC.Hooper@ hallfieldschool.co.uk

Tania Outwin-FlindersCommunications OfficerT.Outwin-Flinders@ hallfieldschool.co.uk

Congratulations to William William Pitt, OH 2007-2010, has won a place at RGS Worcester for Sept 2015, for Year 7 entry. William very much enjoyed his time at Hallfield, where he made many good friends - and still keeps in touch with them to this day. Well done – and good luck in September.

England Rugby Honours Lewis Grinsell, OH 97-2005, represented The RFU England Divisions at Under 16’s in April 2010 and has since played for England Under 20’s versus Wales (January 2013) and has played at Twickenham on several occasions.

Lewis has just received his Degree in Sports Science from the University of the South West (Hartpury) and has recently been employed as a Strength and Conditioning Coach and Player at Championship side Moseley Rugby Club. Well done Lewis – do keep us posted!

Sisters say ‘Thank you’We recently heard from OH sisters Lindsey and Rebecca (Bexy)Hunt:

Lindsey, OH 99-2001, received a BA in graphic design and computer science at UNC in Charlotte, North Carolina (cum laude) where she lives and works as a graphic designer with the Compass group.

Bexy, OH 99-2003, graduated from Vanderbilt in 2014 where she majored in chemistry. She joined Nova University Medical School the same year and is hoping to become a surgeon.

The girls always look back at the years they spent at Hallfield with fondness and gratitude. ‘The school gave us the solid foundation we needed in our education - thank you Hallfield!