No. 10 Autumn Term 2010
The Successful term continues...
Writing Week
Monday 11th – Friday 15th October was Writing Week at
Byron Court. The children participated in some fantastic
writing activities over the five days; Reception were visited
by a local librarian using toys to tell stories, while Years 3
and 4 were treated to a visit from author, Chrissie Gittins,
reading her stories and poems to inspire them. The week
culminated in a stunning display of pupils work in the hall
for children, staff and parents to enjoy.
Our Reception children have just begun work on their
writing and had lots of fun drawing patterns and mark
making, both in the classroom and outdoors. They have
been working hard to learn letter formations and use these
to write their names. They produced a wonderful display
of pre-writing skills for the hall.
Class 3 have created books entitled ‘Ourselves’. They
wrote their name, age, labelled drawings of their family
and even included their hand and footprints! They made a
wonderful display with their Byron Bear Book, in which
children had the opportunity to take Byron Bear home for
the weekend and with the help of their parents take photos
and write about his exciting adventures – it made for
interesting reading!
Year 1 was in the company of the ‘Hungry Caterpillar’
this week. They read and retold this classic story and
created a beautiful collage of the caterpillar himself. They
went on to write their own version of the story, choosing
a different creature born from an egg and selecting their
own food for it to eat. These were made into zigzag books
and filled with more gorgeous illustrations. They created a
memorable display.
Class 6 went poetry mad this week. They read poems
and rhymes and went on to write their own colour poems
using wonderful description. They looked great on display
in the hall.
Year 2 was on fire! They produced an array of exciting
work based on the Great Fire of London. They wrote
eye witness accounts in newspaper reports, sensational
acrostic poems and fact sheets on the monument, built to
commemorate the rebuild after the fire. Most stunning
of all were their pop-up books depicting London before,
during and after the fire – they certainly stood out in the
hall display.
Year 3 delved into the world of Fantastic Mr. Fox. They
read, role played and rewrote the story, producing their
own ‘fantastic’ books. Next they turned their hand to
become film critics and compared the film with the book
and identified the similarities and differences. Displayed
with their endings to the play script ‘The School Bell’
their work made for entertaining reading.
Class 11 was time travelling, investigating what life
was like for children during World War II. They debated
the advantages and disadvantages of being evacuated and
went on to produce some wonderful accounts of life as an
evacuee. Delicious recipes were written and instructions
carefully explained. We were also treated to some sinister
descriptions of haunted houses, which used all the senses.
Classes 12 and 13 walked, talked, wrote and ate like
Egyptians. They wrote mouth-watering recipes for
Egyptian pastries and then filled the school with delicious
aromas as they followed their instructions to make and
bake them. They then turned the tables to become food
critics to review and evaluate their tasty treats. Exploration
of the Nile took the form of information leaflets and class
poems. Altogether their work formed a stunning hall
display.
Year 5, produced a wide range of literature over
the week. Sailing with Sir Francis Drake, producing
newspaper reports of his battles and acting as
apothecaries, creating Tudor cures to gruesome ailments.
Fantastic comic strips were produced in I.C.T. lessons
and detailed character descriptions showed skilful use of
powerful description and imagery. Pupils displayed an
array of striking work in the hall.
In Year 6 they were getting to grips with the Greeks.
They produced instructions for would be heroes on how
to slay a Gorgon, diary entries from Greek and Trojan
warriors and newspaper accounts of the battles. They
even tried their hand at advertising, producing posters for
famous Greek inventions, including the thermometer and
catapult. This made for a dramatic display.
It was an action packed week, thank you to everyone for
their imagination, effort and hard work.
Nationwide writing competition
Camellia Mohammed Khani Class 17 was shortlisted
for the 8–10 year old category in a nationwide writing
competition.
Michael Morpurgo, the famous author of numerous
children’s books supported a nationwide competition
earlier this year called ‘The WICKED Young Writers’
Award’, to encourage and celebrate young writers.
In July we entered some examples of our children’s
creative writing into this competition. Byron Court is
very proud to announce that Camellia Mohammed Khani
in Class 17 formerly in Class 16 has been selected as
one of the finalists in her age category and will attend a
ceremony at the London Apollo Theatre, where the overall
winner will be announced. Camellia’s poem ‘The Journey
Byron Court Primary School Tel: 020 8904 2785 Email: [email protected]
of a Twig and a Pebble on a River’ will be published in an
anthology celebrating the 2010 WICKED Writers’ Award.
Congratulations to Camellia and good luck in the final.
Award Winning Wildlife Area
In June we entered the wildlife garden into the Brent in
Bloom competition, organised by the Brent Parks services,
and we were pleased to receive the news earlier this
month that we had been awarded third prize in the schools
category. On Thursday 21st October Mrs Akavickiene
and Mrs Khalfi were presented with the Certificate and
prize of £20 gardening vouchers by the Mayor of Brent,
Councillor Harbhajan Singh, at the Brent in Bloom
Awards Ceremony at Brent Town Hall. We would like
to thank all of the children that worked hard last year
preparing and maintaining the garden, their hard work
was rewarded.
This year we have got off to a good start, we have had a
bumper crop of tomatoes, apples and pears, the apple and
pear trees in the orchard area have now been pruned and
the grass area in the wildlife garden has been cropped.
With our garden vouchers we will be buying daffodil
and tulip bulbs to plant in the coming month, so we have
plenty to keep us busy.
Pre-season Football
14th October 2010
The Boy’s team prepared for the Brent Tournament with a
good 3-1 win against a strong Uxendon Manor side. Byron
Court dominated throughout and won comfortably with
goals from Joshua and an excellent double from Nickolas
C. Mason was outstanding on his debut controlling the
midfield, with Oliver and Mahmoud not only solid at the
back, but also quick to launch counter attacks.
13th October
The Girl’s team began their season well with a 2-0 victory
over Lyon Park. Ayah and Maya were outstanding in
defence as they both made their debuts, and Sharnez and
M’Khaiya set up plenty of chances for Helayna and Chloe
who both scored.
14th October
The Girl’s victory was followed by a friendly against an
Uxendon Manor team that included a Middlesex star. She
was the difference between the two teams as she scored all
the goals in a 4-0 defeat for Byron Court.
Brent 7 aside Football Tournament
Byron Court has an excellent record in this event having
won the Boy’s trophy a record 5 times, since it began in
the 1960s, and the Girl’s trophy a record 6 times. We,
therefore, took two strong teams to represent the school on
Saturday 16th October.
The Boy’s squad was; Mahmoud (gk), Nickolas C (c),
Calvin, Oliver, Mason, Shane, Joshua, Nicolas H and
Kashief.
They kicked off the day with a match against a very
good St Margaret Clitherow and despite being the
strongest team throughout, the ball just wouldn’t go in the
net. Byron Court had to settle for a goalless draw.
Next was St Joseph’s, Wembley, (B-team) and the boys
played even better hitting the woodwork 4 times! But yet
again the luck was out for Nickolas and Joshua who just
couldn’t force the winner. The final score again was 0-0.
In the third game of the group Byron Court had to beat
Sudbury and Calvin moved out of defence and took a spot
up front. Within 2 minutes, he justified the decision with
a cool finish, after good work from Nicolas H. With 30
seconds to go, Sudbury had their only chance of the game
which they converted to put the scores level. But straight
from the restart captain Nickolas C flew past the whole
Sudbury team on his own before slotting the ball past the
keeper. 2-1 to Byron Court at full time.
The final game in the group saw Byron Court concede
a last kick equaliser to group winners Salisbury, but the
early goal from Nickolas was enough to see the team into
the quarter final.
The boys went into the Quarter Final match against St
Joseph’s, Willesden feeling confident. Unfortunately, with
seconds to go to half-time and being fully in control, a
high challenge on captain Nickolas saw him stretchered
off. Straight from the restart, St Joseph’s made their only
opening of the game and scored. Despite the excellent
efforts of the whole team and Nickolas hobbling back on,
it wasn’t to be their day and Byron Court went out 1-0.
Well done, however, to the whole team for playing some
outstanding football and a special mention to Mason, who
impressed hugely at the tournament despite being the
youngest player there; and Nickolas C for showing great
courage.
The Girls squad included: Nicole (gk), Helayna (c),
Chloe, M’Khaiya, Ayah, Maya, Sharnez, Elena and Chyna,
and was managed by Criss, our Site Supervisor.
They began their day with a game against Salisbury and
dominated throughout with M’Khaiya winning everything
in the middle of the field to set up continuous attacks for
Chloe, Sharnez and Helayna. Chloe eventually got the
goals that gave the team a deserved victory and the perfect
start to the tournament. In a close encounter, we lost the
second game 1-0 to Malorees and it meant the pressure
was on for the girls to win the final group game. Chloe
again got the decisive goal, but it was Nicole, Maya and
Ayah who won the plaudits with some fantastic last gasp
defending. 1-0 to Byron Court was the final score.
Neighbours, Sudbury were the Quarter-Final opponents
for the girls. Byron Court dominated again, and with
Ayah, Maya and M’Khaiya winning every tackle, one of
the forwards always looked like they would eventually find
the net. Chloe and captain Helayna both scored in the 2-0
win.
It was St. Joseph’s, Wembley in the Semi-Finals. They
had beaten Byron Court Girls in the previous 6 meetings
between the sides over the last 3 years and had also won
the trophy for the last 3 years. However, this Byron Court
Team fear no-one and showed this as they continued
to win tackles despite the size of some of the St Joseph
girls. Ayah, in fact, was marking a striker who was twice
her height! We had the best opportunities but the game
was eventually decided by a moment of brilliance from
M’Khaiya who won the ball on the edge of her own area,
before dribbling the full length of the field and smashing
past the keeper. 1-0 to Byron Court and a first appearance
in the final for 5 years for our girls.
The final against Wembley Primary was incredibly one
sided as we dominated, just as we had all day, but the
game was 0-0 at full time. Wembley showed they were
Byron Court Primary School Tel: 020 8904 2785 Email: [email protected]
worried by putting every player in defence for extra time.
Despite two incredible one-handed saves from Nicole,
Byron Court lost the final 1-0 on penalties.
The girls, however, did themselves and the school
incredibly proud and deserved to go home with their shiny
silver medals. Special mentions to Maya who has been
asked to represent Brent at the end of year London Games
and Chloe who was the tournament’s top scorer with 5
and a big thank you to Criss for giving up her Saturday to
manage the girls.
Netball Match Report
On Monday 27th September ten girls from year six
attended the High Five Netball Festival at Kingsbury High
School, five other schools attended.
After the initial welcome and introduction to the game
we were split into two groups to play friendly matches
of High Five Netball. The first team we played were
Wembley Primary School, they were a very strong team
and we lost our first match the score was 3-1. Next we
played Saint Robert Southwell, we played much better this
time easily winning 1-0.
Our final match was against Oakington Manor, this was
an evenly based match the final score was 1-1. The girls
all played well and represented the school with a positive
attitude, Ahlam and Maya were our goal scorers, with
Helayna and Chloe demonstrating outstanding skills. We
would like to thank Mrs Khalfi and Criss for coaching
us and taking us to the match and Mr Randeria for his
support on the day. The team was: Ahlam, Chloe, Helayna,
Lauryn, Maya, Pritika, Rhiana, Sharnez, Simran and
Surina.
Netball League Match
On Wednesday 10th November 2010 the year six netball
team played their first seven-a-side netball match, for the
Brent North League. The match was held at Byron Court
School and we played Mount Stewart School.
Mount Stewart won the toss and took first centre pass,
they were a strong team, but our defence played well and
won the ball back and we scored the first goal, Mount
Stewart soon equalised, Maya was able to score a second
goal but Mount Stewart equalised again just seconds
before the half time whistle. We took the centre pass in
the second half and got off to a flying start, we outplayed
Mount Stewart and scored a further 5 goals, Mount
Stewart were able to score one more goal making the final
score 7-3 to Byron Court.
The girls played exceptionally well, especially Maya
who scored all of our 7 goals, and Simran as Goal Keeper,
who defended well thwarting Mount Stewart’s attempt to
score again. We would like to thank Mrs Khalfi and Criss
for coaching us and Mrs Khalfi for umpiring the match.
The team was: Ala, Ahlam, Camellia, Chloe, Helayna,
Mariaym, Maya, Simran and Surina.
Middlesex Girls Team
Well done to Kyra Lobo who made her debut for the
Middlesex Girls U9s team, scoring on her debut against
Chelsea!
Brent Primary Schools Under 11
football squad
Congratulations to Nickolas Constantinou in Class 18,
who has been chosen as a team member for Brent Primary
Schools Under 11 football squad. His first game was away
to St. Albans and Nick represented the school excellently
by scoring the 1st goal in a 3-1 victory.
Sainsbury’s Vouchers
Many thanks to everyone that has sent in vouchers. Over
the last 5 years the school has received over £7000 worth
of sports equipment using these vouchers. This year we
have purchased new mini goals, huff and puff playground
equipment, hockey balls, footballs, netballs as well as balls
for use at playtimes.
Book Fair
Please come and support our school Book Fair which will
be open on Tuesday 30th November and Wednesday 1st
December from 3.45–4.30pm in the school hall.
The Great Fire of London
In Creative Curriculum, Classes 7 and 8 have been
learning about the Great Fire of London. On Monday 18th
October Classes 7 and 8 had a visit from Samuel Pepys’s
Servant, Mrs Wellbake. Her mission was to make sure
that this tragedy never happens again. We all travelled
back to 1667, one year after the Great Fire of London. We
learnt about what life in London was like before, during
and after the fire. “It was a very interesting visit because
she told us a lot about what happened in the Great Fire of
London.” Rachel, Class 7. We learnt about what happened
with many children chosen to act out parts of the story.
Everyone took part and we all used actions and props to
bring the story to life! “It was a very fun afternoon and it
was interesting too!” Dylan, Class7.
Classes 7 and 8 thoroughly enjoyed Teach-it-throughdrama’s storytelling show! Thank you!
Diwali/ Eid Parties
The parties on Thursday 4th November were a great
success – all of the children thoroughly enjoyed taking
part. Approximately 40 children took part in the show
and we’re sure that all the parents that came to watch
were impressed with the fantastic dance skills of all those
involved.
Class 19’s interview with Joe Layburn
On Thursday 7th October Class 19 visited Preston Road
Library to speak to the famous children’s author Joe
Layburn. The class spent an hour listening to Joe explain
how he became interested in writing children’s books and
where he got the inspiration for the characters and ideas
for the stories. Joe was really impressed with the range of
questions asked by class 19 and they loved hearing him
read a section of his first book Ghostscape. Joe also gave
them an insight into the story lines behind Runaways and
Street Heroes, leaving them all eager to read them. The
visit was very inspirational!
Byron Court Primary School Tel: 020 8904 2785 Email: [email protected]
Good Work Assembly – September
The teachers were given the very difficult task of selecting
two or three pupils from their class. They have chosen
children who have settled well into their new class, have
a positive attitude to learning or have produced a piece
of work that is particularly good. These children were
selected for Good Work Assembly in September.
Class 1
Layla Akhtar-Darr
Simeon Abdullah
Rameez Rana
Class 2
Hanisha Patel
Katie Angell
Ryan Samarasinghe
Class 3
Lakshanaa Balakrishnan
Japan Mills-Thomas
David Morais
Class 4
James Otaruoh
Anusika Tharmarajah
Harshene Ramesh
Class 5
Mahdi Ali
Sam Pourkhabbaz
Tawana Britton
Class 6
Umaiza Bhatti
Diya Lodhia
Bob Chan
Class 7
Serena Mehta
Raul Patel
Ayush Patel
Class 8
Musa Hassan
Sonal Shah
Jasmine WarringtonMainoo
Class 9
Kristin Egogo
Ria Bharj
Class 10
Om Rajyaguru
Fatema Osman
Class 11
Rohan Chotai
Adina Shafi
Class 12
Aliza Zaidi
Sasha Scott
Class 13
Abbeyshak Jeyakumar
Chyna Williams
Class 14
Rashaan Burte
Kiyara De Silva
Class 15
Omar Danso
Julia Rosiak
Class 16
Simran Scanio
Maariya Rana
Class 17
Joshua Blaize-Carr
Warda Najmi
Class 18
Ummiya Bhatti
Marcus Harvey
Class 19
Yash Patel
Ahlam Ahmed
Good Work Assembly – October
These children were selected for their good work during
October:
Class 1
Elora Khan
Daksha Suresh
Yusuf Merza
Class 2
Ishanee RamkissdonKulkarni
Nishant Sahoo
Konrad Williams
Class 3
Ria Shah
Eshan Davda
Priyal Sakpal
Class 4
Kayla Spencer-Philbert
Shan Wickramarachchi
Nicola Smal
Class 5
Saddic Abd Saddic
Brandon Riley
Wiktoria Otulak
Class 6
Alfie Bates
Bradley Morrison
LinXuan Yang
Class 7
Lathikah Jeevagan
Vinay Visavadia
Shajanth Santhiranesan
Class 8
Thomas Fordyce
Abdi Osman
Nihal Khan
Class 9
Zara Murray
Theshegan Navaratnarajah
Class 10
Sahil Gandhi
Arti Heer
Class 11
Natasha Farquharson
Tom Beesley
Class 12
Bukunola Ogunbowale
Thomas
Jaisal Patel
Class 13
Maanav Patel
Nariman Gira
Class 14
Tarun Mistry
Tyana Patel
Class 15
Joshua Roberts
Ibrahim Al-Hariri
Class 16
Yasipan Sriskandarajah
Feroz Anjum
Class 17
Josef Griffiths
Janvi Patel
Class 18
Nickolas Constantinou
Christiana Constantinou
Class 19
Lauryn Daley-Salmon
Depali Rai
Byron Court Primary School Tel: 020 8904 2785 Email: [email protected]