Connecting school and home
Recently, some Year 5’s have been going to the KS1 Playground at lunchtime and have been leading sports with Year 1 and 2. The games they have been playing include hurdles, cones, skipping ropes, hoops, etc. They have all been enjoying themselves.
Some images of what they have been doing these past days:
On Friday the 19th November, 2 representatives from each house in each class played it off for 4-square glory! The first place in each game received 50 merits (house-points) and second place won 25 merits! The final results were:
The rugby season started strongly last Tuesday with our year 5 & 6 team taking to the (slightly) muddy fields at Old Ruts RFC. The day could hardly have gone much better with four wins and two draws for the team in the day.
The team, like a bike that’s been left outside, were a little rusty at first. Letting in soft tries to a Joseph Hood team but scoring good tries of their own. With St Matthew’s trailing 3-2 going into the final minute, Kalvin burst down the left
to score in the corner. The young referee looked uncertain, but with Paddy on the touchline performing an excellent task of commentator, touch judge and third umpire the try was awarded and the team were off to a drawing start.
Paddy has put a lot of work in with these players behind the scenes and it paid off as St Matthew’s set the pace in the next game with fast play from the off. Sam and Jai repeatedly found space and Sarah like a bird in flight enjoyed
time on the wing. Despite missing out on one try for going beyond the dead-ball area, we came out 3-1 winners over Sacred Heart B and held on to win 3-2 against the old enemy (Hollymount) in a nail-biting finish.
The team were buoyed by that result, and took the field for their final pool game against Sacred Heart A expecting to win. However, the defence from both teams seemed to still be on their half term break. The play was end to end,eventually finishing in a 5-5 draw. Time for the teams to catch their breath and see how the other results had gone. We had finished second in our pool,
so a third place play-off against Aragon beckoned. After the small break, the team, unusually, started quickly and with purpose, Katya running in a good length of the field try after a turnover. The defence applied pressure
all game and we finished 4-2 winners, meaning a third place finish and qualification to the finals on Friday 6th.
The Year Three and Four Rugby Team also had a competition this week and thoroughly enjoyed leaving the day undefeated. Well done Team!
In the growing dark on Monday after school, four intrepid teams did battle on the St Matthew’s hallowed turf. The ‘field of dreams’ it may not have been, but the showing from our young boys was an excellent display of character. Having played away from home twice recently at the recent Merton tournaments, the year 5 and 6 boys team came back with the very position that no one wants to finish – 4th place! To rub salt into the wound, they were put there in part, thanks to Bishop Gilpin who beat us twice on the day. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and I’m sure the team will be itching to get into the tag rugby tournament for the spring term.
Having missed out on winning the cluster tournament to Sacred Heart on penalties, it was round two back at home for a football friendly that resembled a game of hide and seek by the time it finished. In test cricket, the umpires bring light meters. The science coordinator informs me that no such equipment exists in this school.
To the games themselves. St Matthew’s year 6 team, like many of your Christmas holidays, got off to a flying start with a 5-0 thrashing of their Sacred Heart counterparts. The boys played magnificently, Tarran Williams continually finding space and with more time on his hands to shoot than Big Ben. The year 5 team struggled to gain a foothold in their game. The score was close at half time but Sacred Heart ran away 5-2 winners.
The half time oranges brought a welcome break and with a little shuffling of the teams we began two new games with years 5 & 6 on both pitches. Some sloppy play in defence and ricochets reminiscent of a pin ball machine saw St Matthew’s behind early on. Our reporter couldn’t see, but could hear Mr Peck rallying his troops for the second half. It may have been something along the lines of:
‘Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’
This they did (without the crying) and battled back to draw 1-1. The other sides had a similarly close game, Sacred Heart emerging 3-2 winners.
Many thanks must go to the parents for daring to come out and support in the bleak mid-winter. They cheered magnificently and provided the tea for the boys. Perhaps next time Mr Peck could organise some hot drinks for the parents? It would do him good to learn to make a decent cuppa! That’s it for the sport this term. Look out on the PE notice board for the upcoming events in the Spring term.
If the idea of having to deal with your child’s filthy kit from the field fills you with dread, then perhaps hockey could be for you (and your child). Our school appears to be full of hockey players and a select few took the short walk with Mrs Carroll in November down to the mud-free 4G pitch at Ryanes Park High for the Merton Quicksticks Hockey finals.
We travelled light, just 6 intrepid players, 3 girls and 3 boys for balance, and a steely determination to bring back a trophy to our already over-crowded cabinet. Placed in a tough group, the children swept all competition aside in a devastating morning of glorious goals. As well as having clean kit, there were clean sheets as well from the team. Merton Park were dispatched, 5-0; Dundonald went down 3-0; West Wimbledon managed to hold parity with us, in a 2-2 draw. But then it was back to winning ways, Holy Trinity well-beaten 4-0 and finally Hatfeild losing 3-0. Nearly everyone was getting on the score sheet, Annabel Jordan proving deadlier than a shark in front of goal.
Then came the dreaded lunch break. If you’re enjoying a day out at Lords, or the Oval, this would be something to look forward to. Sadly though for the teachers, the bar was closed and all momentum from the morning generally stops in the afternoon.
That all said the quarter final was easy enough; St Matthew’s coming out 4-1 winners against Morden Primary. Next, came the reigning champions, Bishop Gilpin, in the semi-finals. Sadly there were no parallels with England’s world cup semi-final and last year’s champions overcame us 2-0, in a very close encounter. We would have to go again in the 3rd place play-off which the team did magnificently to win 4-1 against Wimbledon Park and finish on a deserved high.
A special mention should go to Joel in the team. Despite not scoring any goals (some feat when you consider the team scored 25 in total) he must have saved dozens in a brilliant display of defence throughout the tournament. More to come in the Spring term when we will look to defend the three titles won in last year’s Quickstart competition.
Despite the recent wet weather, a number of children have been showing off their sporting prowess and representing the school in
various different sports in the last few weeks.
A strong team of 25 runners from KS2 took to Morden Recreation ground to tackle a cross country course; an old favourite at
schools. This one is harder than in days gone by as the course is entirely open so no trees or bushes to hide behind! The children
were a real credit to the school and nearly all finished in the top 20 in each race. Timo and Nelson were outstanding, coming 2nd
and 8th in their respective races.
We have enjoyed some success on the football pitch as well. Our year 4s drew one game and won 3 in a recent Raynes Park
festival. A special mention must go to Bradley on his excellent captaincy.
Year 5 and 6 hosted two teams from Hollymount in a friendly after school last week. One team won 6-4 and another lost 5-1 after battling back from 4-0 down at half time. Clearly the defense had all gone on holiday! Thank you to the parents who organised the half time oranges and tea for the children. Our
visitors were warmly welcomed and it was much appreciated.
Last of all, our netball squad traveled to The Joseph Hood Recreation Ground yesterday for the Raynes Park Netball Cluster Tournament. After winning all 5 games in the group and not conceding a single goal, the team progressed to the final against Merton Park. This was a tightly fought contest and the final score was a disappointing 2-1 to Merton Park. Spirits were still high though as the St Matthews team will go through to the borough finals at the beginning of November. A special thank you to Sarah Bell who gives up her time to coach the netball squad and was a great support yesterday. The team captain Helena said, “It was a great day, we played so well and I was very proud of the team. I am looking forward to borough finals and doing the best we can.”
For the Merton School Sports write up, see the link below.
http://www.mertonssp.org.uk/news/raynes-park-hi-5-netball-competition
Look out next month for how the Netball team get on in the borough finals, as well as how the Year Five and Six team do in the Quicksticks Hockey and Football competitions.
Another week done… this term is flying by. Just like our Science learning in Year 5! This week we learnt about the Greenwich Meridian and the different time zones around the World. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.
We also really enjoyed our visit from WHS last Thursday and are looking forward to our visit there on Thursday 10th October 2019.
One of the perks of being in Year 5 is the opportunity to be a Sports Leader. Our training and preparation is well underway and we had a great session with the Merton Sports Leader representative last week. We learnt how to set up a drill and how to explain and demonstrate it effectively.
This week we planned our own drills and created our own sports cards showing these.
We’re looking forward to trying out our drills soon. We’ll be leading lunch time clubs and helping Year 2 and 3 with their PE in no time.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Dyer and Year Five 🙂