16th March 2016
Dear Parents, Pupils and Guest Readers
I am pleased to report that despite a full to brimming school diary of events, our pupils are keeping up
their energy levels! This has been a shorter than usual Lent Term because of where Easter falls; the
challenge has been to pack everything we usually do into less time. I think pupils’ Easter break will
therefore be well-deserved. 
KETTERING & DISTRICT EISTEDDFOD 2016
Well done to all our competitors. Parents, teachers and fellow pupils are very proud of you all! Many
children chose to compete for the first time and there were plenty of ‘commended’ certificates awarded,
as well as high places and some very high scores too.
Our Group Speakers from Year Five & Year Six won their competition with an extremely polished
performance of two poems, and we were equally proud of our Group Speakers from Year Three and
Year Four, who were placed second in their competition.
Year 5 & Year 6 Group speakers with judge
Freddie Brammer was placed 2nd in ‘Verse Speaking 6 & Under’, and Daniel Pigott, Aryan Nath and
Oscar Potts also recited at that competition.
Rupert Fray was awarded 2nd place in ‘Verse Speaking 5 & Under’.
Georgiana Barton and Sidar
Altunkaynak also took part. Well done to these very young competitors!
Dalitso Mlia won the ‘Solo Verse Speaking 7 & Under’, with Simon Sieunarine in 3 rd place and lovely
performances from Jerome Birch, Tabitha Fray, Chloe Potts and Calypso Sellekaerts.
Daisy Styles won the ‘Solo Verse Speaking
9 & Under’, Daisy Styles, being awarded an
‘outstanding’ score of 90 for her rendition
of “Windy Nights” by Robert Louis
Stephenson.
Ava
Brammer
and
Ali
Altunkaynak were in joint 3 place and the
rd
following pupils also received scores to be
proud of: Aneesa Wickremasinghe, Finlay
Ward, Gerda Mhunduru, Grace Irwin,
Thomas Holford and Cyrus Birch.
In ‘Verse Speaking 10 & Under’ St Ps was
proudly represented by Anaiya Paes, Zana
Paynter and Emily Laskey, whilst our
competitors in the Verse Speaking 8 &
Under were
Varnikaa Sengar, Naisha
Pandey, Agastya Ghosh, Heidi Crabtree,
Bella Sieunarine and Fred McCrone.
Emily
Laskey
and
Ali
Altunkaynak
independently entered the ‘Sight Reading
10 & Under’ class. Emily also entered the
‘Bible Reading 12 & Under’ class. Well done
on taking on these extras, Ali and Emily!
Our Key Stage Two ocarina soloists put on a fine show of skill in their competitions. Grace Hillis was
placed 1st, with Harriet Dunn and Naisha Pandey sharing 2nd place and Bella and Agastya sharing 3rd
place. Well done also to Dalitso Mlia, Simon Sieunarine, James Macdonald, Calypso Sellekaerts and
Chloe Potts. The Key Stage Two group came 2nd in their ensemble competition. Zana Paynter and
Naomi Cragg were placed 2nd in their Instrumental Ensemble competition. James Macdonald was 2nd
with his recorder solo and Alice Champion was 3rd in her recorder competition. Well done to Heidi
Crabtree, Harriet Dunn, Ruby Allan and Zana Paynter for their performances too.
Our Key Stage One ocarina group were awarded 88 marks for a lovely little performance from Zara
Warne, Aryan Nath, Oscar Potts, Daniel Pigott and Max Drage. Daniel went on to be awarded 2 nd place
for his ocarina solo and Aryan was 3rd.
This was their first entry to a music competition at the
Eisteddfod, so well done to them all!
Grace Hillis was 1st in her violin competition; Reeve won his age group’s violin competition. James
Macdonald and Tabitha Fray also performed well.
There were a good number of pupils who entered pianoforte
competitions at this year’s Eisteddfod once again. Lilly Tromans won
the ‘7 & Under’ group and Sanjita Kurapati came 2nd. Well done to
Dalitso Mlia upon his performance too. Grace Hillis won the ‘10 &
Under solo’, Ruby Allan was 3rd and Reeve Lim also performed well.
He was 3rd in the ‘11 & Under solo’, entering a competition pitched for
older players.
Spectacularly, he also entered the ‘12 & Under’
pianoforte solo, which he won! He then went on to play in the ‘12 &
Under’ duet class with his sister and former St Ps pupil Casey, and they
were awarded 1st place. Naisha Pandey was placed 3rd in the ‘8 &
Under’ competition, entered also by James Macdonald, Varnikaa
Sengar, Bella Sieunarine and Ava Brammer performed in the ‘9 &
Under’ competition.
Lilly and her winning smile!
St Peter’s School Choir entered two competitions, winning the ‘Hymn Singing’ category and coming 2nd
in the ‘Open Choice’ one. Their singing was simply sublime and one of the pieces was beautifully
accompanied on the violin by Reeve Lim. The Choir’s performance at the forthcoming Key Stage Two
Summer Concert is eagerly anticipated. They are also booked for Founders Day so that we can hear the
tapestry of musical magic they weave together.
Congratulations to Daisy Styles for reciting her poem so beautifully at the Eisteddfod Prize
Winners Concert on Saturday night. At the same concert, Grace Hillis played a piano solo
with great skill and sang a song both sweetly and confidently. She was presented with the
GM Riseley award as the overall winner of’ Instrumental Classes 10 years & Under’.
YEAR FIVE TAKE OFF TO THE NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE
Mrs Lee reports that earlier this
week 5JL visited the National
Space Centre in Leicester. Pupils
explored
the
‘Planets’
gallery
where there were giant models of
each planet as well as a telescope
and some recreations of the Mars
Space
Probes.
investigating
They
in
were
particular
whether life on Mars would ever
be possible, after watching with
interest the Mars Space Mission
being launched in the same week
as their visit.
A fabulous 3D
planetarium show followed which
explained all about the training and dangers involved in becoming an astronaut as well as
demonstrating a little of the G force effect that is encountered when a rocket breaks out of the Earth’s
atmosphere.
Pupils attended a special workshop that linked with their specific science topic this term: ‘Earth, Sun and
Moon’. They were fascinated by demonstrations of the Sun’s power, how the Earth’s tilt causes the
seasons and why the moon changes shape over the course of a month. A visit to the ‘Rocket Tower’
concluded the day where our children learnt all about the ‘Space Race’, saw a real section of a rocket and
found out how astronauts stay healthy in space when they have to they eat and sleep with no gravity.
ISA TAG RUGBY COMPETITION FOR OUR YOUNGER PLAYERS
A team of seven pupils selected from Year Three and Year Four
represented St Peter’s School at the Independent Schools Association
Tag Rugby competition at Stafford Grammar School last week. After a
long journey there with Mrs Tye in the School mini bus driving seat and Mr Holmes’ team talk, there
were only fifteen minutes to warm up in preparation for their first match, so there was no time to get
nervous! Our ‘first game group’, made up of the older children in the team, played with no inhibitions,
winning 8-5. The subsequent matches were not as successful for us but we were able to qualify for the
semi-final of the Plate competition. We were pipped to the post by just one try; nevertheless the children
did not stopped running for the ball and competed hard. It was a joy to witness their enjoyment of the
day- even the cold, wet and muddy conditions! All seven team members played a part during the day,
and almost all of them featured on the score sheet too!
Thank you for representing your School, Malachi, Fred, Bella, Agastya, Heidi, Sherry, Grace, Matthew,
Simon and Theodore.
DANCING ALL THE WAY TO BLACKPOOL
Elliott and Beatrice Furnell last danced in School in 2015. Since then they have not been idle! Training
for three to four hours each week, working towards the UK under 10 Championship, they have attended
many competitions, working towards the "big one" at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool at Easter. There,
they will compete every day for a week! During that time they have also been invited to represent the
North East in a team competition, which is a privilege for them but also a tribute to their talent and
dedication. We wish you good luck Beatrice and Elliott!
SHAKESPEARE WEEK AT ST PETER’S
It is 400 years since the death of Shakespeare and therefore
a good opportunity to use this fact to bring an
appreciation of The Bard’s work. Our pupils in Key Stage
Two have taken part in a range of activities aimed to
sharpen their interest in our great playwright. One of the
most popular has been trading Shakespearean insults!
If you would like to join in the fun then click onto
http://teachwithict.weebly.com/shakespearean-insult-generator.html#sthash.qsFzot4g.dpbs
And in case you thought our love of Shakespeare at St Ps is just entrenched in fun, here are a few fondly
remembered moments from our 2010 production of The Tempest.
YEAR ONE ASSEMBLY
Well done to our fabulous Year One class who presented such a super assembly to the School earlier
today. It was all about Toys through history. Here are the class getting ready to perform one of the
pieces of music they played to us all this morning.
SUNNYLANDS NURSERY WELCOME THE FIRE SERVICE
Oh what eyes of wonder beheld the various pieces of equipment shown to our youngest pupils during a
visit from our members of our local fire service!
WORLD BOOK DAY 2016
Reading is fun in more ways than one! Once again we celebrated this much loved day, but did so in a
different way. In Key Stage One we had all manner of characters turn up wearing beautifully created
masks based on characters from Beatrix Potter’s books.
Drop off was a bit different that morning too! And the School Office welcome was also a tad unusual!
In Key Stage Two there was a distinct lack of uniformity. 
Thank you to all families for supporting World
Book Day. I appreciate that a good deal of work
goes into planning costumes and creating masks.
It really was worth it as the day’s atmosphere was
simply magical as a result.
SPORTS RELIEF IS TOMORROW!
St Peter’s School will be supporting the Sport Relief effort to raise an awareness of and
funds for those less fortunate than ourselves. During the afternoon all pupils at the
School will be able to choose how they complete their mile: hopping, three-legged,
walking, dancing, backwards, or their own individual (but safe!) way of making the mile.
After school there will be an opportunity for parents to take part too. We will have a separate time for a
mile which is run, followed by another time for those preferring to walk it. Depending on ground
conditions, it may be possible for parents of babies and toddlers to push prams around the circuit.
Please send Sports Relief donations to School in an envelope marked SPORTS RELIEF and try to get
your donation and/or sponsorship money in by Tuesday 22nd March so that we can complete the admin
and send off the money to Sports Relief before the Easter school holiday starts.
EASTER SUPPORT OF CHILDREN’S WARD AT KGH
Thank you to everyone who either already has or will be supporting a pupil led
initiative to raise funds to purchase bibs, hats and mittens for babies in the
children’s ward at our local hospital. Easter egg hunts have already taken place in
Key Stage Two and will happen in Key Stage One soon. Then next week there will
be a cake stall on Tuesday after school during which the Easter chocolate raffle will
be drawn. Thank you to Emily, Ruby, Mary and Amy in Year Six for organising
everything, with a little bit of help from their families and school staff.
PTAFA HALF TERM COMPETITION WINNERS
Congratulations to Finnie Doyle and Mary Proctor on winning Book Vouchers in the PTAFA’s half term
competition. There were plenty of runners up too, so well done to you all!
DON’T FORGET
Key Stage Two Winter Games Afternoons run from 1.30pm next week on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Please refer to previous emails for all details.
The next issue of school news will be in the form of our annual School magazine Key Moments, which
will be distributed on Monday 18th April.
Ahead of Lent’s end, I wish all School families a blessed Easter and hopefully some relaxed time to
spend together.
Yours sincerely
Maria Chapman MA(Ed)
Headmistress