From Mrs Ross

Our Year 2 boys have paired up with Year 1 boys to walk over to the Octagon and then sit beside their lunch buddy.  It has been an absolute pleasure to serve the boys' lunches and enjoy the varied topics of conversation.  Lunch times have become calm and quiet, with a much greater emphasis upon the enjoyment of our delicious home cooked meals and the company of our fellow Pilgrims'.  Reception boys have benefited from the example set by the older boys, and I am so proud of our combined efforts and progress!

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Pilgrims' Shell Awards

• Year 2 – to Aarav I for his concentration on his writing and maths this week. Well done, Aarav! 
• Year 1 - to Will T for perseverance and mastering a task that he thought he could not achieve on his own. 
• Reception - to James T for sharing resources happily with his friends. 

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Diary dates

Diary dates	Times	The week ahead
Friday 10 February	1115-1145	Celebration Assembly for Parents, Octagon
	1200	Half-Term begins
Monday 20 February	0830	Term resumes
Monday 27 February		Whole School Book Week
Tuesday 28 February		Visiting author, AF Harrold
Thursday 2 March		World Book Day and Dress UP Day! (Boys and staff dress up as favourite book characters)
Friday 10 March	1500	Pre-Prep Cathedral Assembly

 

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Notices

Menus - Please find a link to next week's menus here, on My School Portal. 

Message from the Head Nurse, Nicki Beaumont:

This is a reminder to all parents and guardians that we have boys with severe allergies to certain foods, and therefore have a policy whereby no food is to be brought into the school and/or given to boys at any time, especially at Sign-Out.
Some boys are so allergic to allergens like sesame and nuts that even their smell is enough for them to have a severe reaction. Please could you help us with disseminating this information to family and friends to keep our boys safe.
Many thanks.

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From the PPA

To book tickets for the PPA Quiz night, please go to My School Portal and select the Bookings tab. Then choose the PPA Quiz form.

 

Year 2

We have been data collectors and data experts this week in Year 2. In small groups, the boys analysed the colours in the African flags and created a tally chart. Then, we used 2Graph, a programme on Purple Mash on the Surface Gos, to create various graphs to display our data. Many steps were required to get to the final product: first, the boys had to input the data into a table, delete unneeded rows, label to columns and ensure the colour was correct; then, they had to decide on the order of their data and choose their favourite bar chart or graph to use; finally, they had to create a title for their graph, save their work and send it to the printer. It was a busy but hugely enjoyable project in which all boys worked with focus and accuracy. Can you see which colour is the most popular in all the flags of Africa? We shall continue our newly-found spreadsheet skills next week when we carry out research on a subject of our own choice.  

Another piece of work that the boys should be very proud of this week is their writing from the perspective of a girl living in the Maasai Mara. Following a short video, the boys were able to discuss how her life was different to theirs. We then put ourselves into her shoes and wrote about her daily life and how she felt.  

Finally, how brilliant do the boys’ Maasai tribal necklaces look? Many careful skills were required to reach the brilliant necklaces that are brightening up our classroom. We had to cut the middle out of a paper plate, decide upon our design, paint it onto the plate and paint the pasta. When we had finished the meticulous threading of the pasta onto the string and wore our necklaces for the first time, there were many boys who were less than keen to take them off! The Maasai men wear their jewellery to show their importance and power; I think that the Year 2s felt strong and formidable in their necklaces just like the Maasai tribe. 

 

* Mrs Walker is keen to receive any 2 litre plastic bottles that you may have at home for the boys to use in their Bug Hotel. Please drop into the Year 2 classroom when you are able. * 

Mrs Ford
 

Year 1

What a thoroughly enjoyable week I have had in Year 1 this week! The boys have wowed me with their learning, perseverance, and enthusiasm towards a variety of different activities. They have enjoyed continuing their learning about Castles and Knights and have been absorbing their new knowledge. 

One of my favourite sessions of the week has been working on art skills and drawing techniques. The boys have learnt about different types of drawing pencils and what HB means. They have experimented with using a pencil to create different textures and pencil pressure. Ask the boys to tell you about cross-hatching and stippling! What do these techniques look like, and how do you create them? The boys used their art sketch books to experiment with six different pencil techniques and had great fun being creative. 

Thinking of techniques, detail, shading and accuracy the boy's drew pencil pictures of different castles. The brief was to draw a castle showing clearly which age their castle was, what key features they needed to draw and to add detail and texture to their work. I was extremely impressed by the boys' artistic flare, effort, and enthusiasm for the task. What wonderful pieces of work. 

I told the boys that everyone can be an artist if you experiment and have a go! Believe in yourself and you can! 

I hope you are impressed with the boy's work as much as I am. Have an enjoyable weekend. 

Mrs Huntley
 

Reception
 

At the end of last week, the boys enjoyed our first All Join In session this year with pre-schoolers, led by Mr Burton. They sang, jumped, and followed the conductor, shaking their instruments softly or loudly depending on how far away the conductor moved his hands. Thank you to all who took part, and especially to those visitors brave enough to take a turn at being the conductor. Later that afternoon, the boys learnt about how to stay safe outside through a directed role play session.

 

Our transport theme in Reception this week has taken the nautical approach with the boys designing their own boats. Much scientific enquiry has occurred with discussions over floating and sinking. Our role play area has been transformed into a yellow submarine, and we are looking forward to the first of our Discovery Workshops at the Cathedral on Monday, to learn about William Walker.  We also hope to take a trip down into the crypt, if water levels allow.

In Maths, we have been working on combining two amounts and different ways of recording our answers.

Mrs Kent

 

Forest School 

Yesterday was national hedgehog day! With the Reception boys, we chatted about where they thought lots of animals go during the winter months. The boys spent some time looking for homes where some little animals might be hiding. We then had a go at creating some suitable homes using leaves, sticks and small logs. During free exploration time, our rather unusual hedgehogs enjoyed visiting some of the potential homes! We finished our session with a lovely story about two hedgehogs on a journey home.

Year 1’s session this week linked in with their science curriculum. We had fun drawing around one person with a piece of chalk and identifying the key parts of the body. The boys then created an outline of a body using sticks, adding in important features and linked the senses with the correct parts of the body.

This week Year 2 learned how water and ice could be used to create beautiful artwork. The boys collected a selection of natural items and placed them in a tray, which was then filled up with water and placed in the freezer. Next week we will reveal our frozen pieces of natural art for all to see.

We are keen to receive any 2 litre plastic bottles that you may have at home for the boys to use in their Bug Hotel. Please drop into the Year 2 classroom when you are able.

Mrs Walker