From Mrs Hall

Despite another amazing week here in Pre-Prep, there has been one highlight that everyone has been talking about—our new arrival! We are thrilled to announce an exciting addition to our Pre-Prep family, George the Tortoise! Our newest little friend arrived earlier this week and has already captured the hearts of both the boys and staff alike.

Please read more further down the newsletter:

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New Music Group for Toddlers
We’re thrilled to announce the start of a new toddler music group, Musical Shells. For more details, please refer to the link on our website and our recent Social posts. We encourage you to spread the word to friends and family!

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support. It’s been a week full of learning, laughter, and growth, and we can’t wait for another exciting week ahead.

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Shell Awards this week:

Year 2: to Arthur J - for stepping up to the challenges of Year 2.
Year 1: to Christopher for the higher order thinking skills he has shown throughout the week with the use of such rich vocabulary. Well done, Christopher.
Reception: to Ralph for his bravery and sensible approach to wearing his eye patch in school every day.  

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Save the Dates !

Saturday 5 October	0830-0900 0930-1130	PPA Breakfast-in-the-Yard event (see flyer below) Whole School Open Morning
Monday 14 October	1600-1800	Year 2 Parents' Evening
Friday 18 October	all day	Year 1 trip to Winchester Science Centre
Saturday 19 October	0815-0915	Wellbeing Matters Live 1: talk for parents in the Octagon
Monday 21 October	1600-1800 1830-2030	Reception and Year 1 Parents' Evening Year 3 Parents' Evening
Tuesday 22 October	1500	Pre-Prep Celebration Assembly Half-term break begins
Monday 4 November	0830	School resumes

 

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Notices

After School Club and Commoners pickup times: Please remember to collect your sons promptly, either at 1630 when After School Club ends, or at 1800 when Supper Club ends. 

Menus are available here on My School Portal. 
^{Reminder: no food is to be brought into the school and/or given to boys at any time, especially at sign-out.}

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Class news

George is a friendly and curious tortoise, and we are delighted to introduce him as part of our continued efforts to foster a love of nature and responsibility in the boys. Caring for George will be a wonderful opportunity for them to engage in hands-on learning, and we’ll be incorporating him into our lessons and activities. Through this, the boys will learn how to be gentle, respectful, and responsible when interacting with animals. George’s enclosure is now set up in the library, where the boys (and staff!) can observe him throughout the day. While we won’t handle him too much to avoid causing any stress, the boys will have supervised opportunities to interact with him gently—until it’s time for his hibernation! We encourage you to ask your boys about George and what they’ve learned about tortoises. Perhaps they’ll even share some fun facts with you at home!

Thank you for helping us welcome George to our community. We can’t wait to see the excitement and learning opportunities he’ll bring to the classroom! If you have any questions or would like to know more about George’s care, feel free to reach out to any of the Pre-Prep team.

How to Help at Home: Enrichment Opportunities

As a follow-up to the “How to Help at Home” section of the Curriculum Maps sent out at the beginning of the term, this newsletter is also the perfect place to highlight exciting events in the wider community that may be of interest to you as a family. Exploring exhibitions, theatre performances, or places of interest that are connected to the subjects the boys are studying at school can be hugely enriching for their education and personal growth.

Here are a few performances at the Theatre Royal in Winchester that we think would be particularly enticing for Pre-Prep families:

Year R and Year 1:

• The Gruffalo
  • Saturday 19th October at 1:30pm and 4:30pm
  • Sunday 20th October at 10:30am and 1:30pm
    An adaptation of the beloved story, perfect for the younger boys to enjoy!

Year 1 and Year 2:

• The Chronicles of Atom and Luna
  • Sunday 13th October at 2pm and 4:30pm
    A magical adventure full of myths, fairytales, and nature. This would be a fantastic way for the boys to explore storytelling and imagination.
• Do Not Play This Piano
  • Wednesday 30th October at 2pm
    The exciting tale of a boy named William, invited to play a prestigious concert for Mozart’s birthday. Will his tricks on the piano impress? This performance promises a thrilling journey for young music lovers!

We hope you find these suggestions helpful and that they offer some wonderful opportunities for your boys to engage with the arts in fun, creative ways.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Mrs Huntley, Mrs Ford, Mrs Kent and Mrs Hall

Forest School

I do love this time of the year when the leaves and conkers are starting to fall to the ground as it gives us such wonderful creative opportunities. The boys in Year R had a wonderful session creating a conker bug using a selection of colourful fallen leaves and by simply threading them together, the conkers seemed to suddenly come alive!

Story telling is always a huge part of our Forest School sessions, and this week the boys in Year 1 attempted to create their favourite part of a traditional story using natural resources. Can you guess which part of the story ‘The Three Little Pigs’ the boys tried to create?

Working with clay is always a very popular session in Forest School. This week Year 2 thought they would try and capture some natural patterns in the clay. The boys carefully selected some natural resources, and using a rolling pin and clay they created an imprint of their natural item in the clay. They then continued to explore the various patterns they could make in order to create a natural clay tile.

 

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From the PPA

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