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To be a Pilgrim … is to adapt, Episode 12I am so incredibly proud of all the Pilgrims, teachers, and parents for what we have achieved this week. Well done for staying at home and keeping yourselves, your family, and each other safe. Well done to the medics, emergency responders, teachers, food and essential service providers, and all others who have had to leave the house to help the people of the UK through this crisis. On Monday night, many Pilgrims went to sleep, school bag packed, all excited and ready, expecting to be in school on Tuesday morning. A few boarders even came back to school on Monday night as our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was making his announcement to the country stating that we were going to go into a country wide lockdown and schools would have to move to virtual provision from the next day. With twelve hours' notice, we had to open 100% virtually. Thank you, teachers! Thank you, boys! Thank you, parents! We all made this happen and with aplomb… and lots of smiles. I had 220+ boys on my Zoom on Tuesday morning for a very quick Head’s assembly. Less an assembly, more like, “Hello. I am SO VERY happy to see you all!” That was so emotional for me. It was so lovely to see all the boys’ smiling faces. It’s always great to see the boys grinning and happy to be back in OUR school after a holiday, but this was especially great. The Pilgrims were there, en masse, not complaining, nay smiling from ear to ear, ready for another challenge and finding pleasure in connecting via Zoom. Keep up the great work, boys and adults! Look after yourselves and each other. We CAN do this. We ARE doing this. As Charlie Mackesy’s character, the boy, says in the image below, “We are getting through.” 
Charlie Mackesy, artist and bestselling author published his book The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse in October 2019. His collection of drawings and short conversations between the four titular characters was an instant bestseller (number one Sunday Times bestseller of 2020) sparking comparisons with Winnie the Pooh and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. His comforting sketches and quiet musings were the perfect balm for a nation undergoing collective challenge in lockdown in 2020. Mackesy’s comments on vulnerability, friendship, and overcoming adversity provide rays of sunshine at challenging times. Perhaps they are helpful now? See the two drawings and quotes I have included in this piece. I encourage you to find some more. So, well done to everyone I have seen at work this week. It’s been a joy to see. From science to mathetics to scavenger hunts, to storytime and Forest School. Thank you to all the teachers and boys who adapted so quickly. Huge thanks to Mr Buck, Mr Greenwood, Miss Whitworth, and Mrs Beverton for supporting the boys of critical worker parents. Huge thanks to Mrs Beaumont and to the other nurses and matrons who got our lateral flow testing facility set up in the Octagon. All staff were tested on Monday 4 January; all negative for COVID-19. As we move into week two of this half term's virtual school lockdown, keep up the great work and remember to be kind to yourselves and each other. Remember to reach out to ask for help if you need it. Remember to offer help if you think someone else needs it. Remember it is not always easy to ask for help, as the horse in this image by Charlie Mackesy says. Take care and stay safe. 
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Open Zooms for Parents Last term, we began holding Open Zooms with Sarah to provide parents with a chance to chat or to ask specific questions about anything of concern. This term, we would like to continue to make that opportunity available and so every Saturday starting this week (9 January), Sarah will be available between 1200-1230. She will ask members of the Senior Leadership Team to join her - this week it will be Alistair Duncan and Becca Higham. Please Zoom in if you are free! |
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The Week AheadSaturday 9 Jan | 1200 | Head's Open Forum Zoom drop-in (see above) | Monday 11 Jan
Tuesday 12 Jan | All Day | Year 6 Online Interview practice with Mr James Wormersley | | Tuesday 12 Jan | 1800 | Presentation to Parents about Accelerated Reader – for parents of boys in Years 3-6 |
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Diary dates for the Term aheadGiven the changes that have been forced upon us this week, we have had a look again at this terms’ academic calendar and will be making some changes to our anticipated dates (for example to Year 5 and 7 Parents' Evening will be delayed until after the exams). Obviously, we will need to review these again if our expected return date after half term changes. | Friday 22 January | Exeat Effort Cards for Year 3-8 | | Friday 12 February | Year 3-8 Assessment cards published | | w/c Monday 22 February | Year 5-7 Exams | | Tuesday 2 March | Year 5-7 Exam Report cards published | | Tuesday 2 March | Year 5 Parents' Evening 1800-2000 | | Thursday 4 March | Year 7 Parents' Evening 1800-2000 | | Thursday 4 March | Year 4 Parents' Evening 1800-2000 | | Tuesday 9 March | Year 7 Parents' Evening 1800-2000 | | Monday 8 to Friday 12 March | Year 8 Mock exams for 8S, 8W and 8C | | Friday 12 March | Exeat Effort Cards for Year 3-8 published | | Friday 26 March | End of Term Assessment Card Year 3-8 published | | Friday 26 March | Year 8 Full reports published |
Mr Duncan |
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Choirtime at ChristmasThis was a much-changed choral run into Christmas. Nevertheless, the choristers delivered many pieces from the Christmas repertoire in a series of Christmas evensongs to a full, albeit distanced, Nave congregation. There were many highlights including Eric Whitacre's Lux Aurumque and the Year 8 quartet of William Holmes, Thomas Law, Shane Shelley, and Johnny Wyatt performing the first verse of Once in Royal. These can all be found on the Cathedral's YouTube channel and are well worth experiencing. The choristers were in residence from 18-25 December and when they weren't singing, they enjoyed many other activities. These included table tennis tournaments, a gingerbread house decorating competition, a trip up the road to The Screen to see Wonderwoman 1984 (it actually reminded me of Superman III, from around 1984!), and singing carols outside Father John Cutter's nursing home. Amongst all this, there were Nerf gun battles, lego, jigsaws, and football on the grid..... some of which can be seen on our social media channels. As we approached Christmas Day itself, there was the service for the blessing of the crib on Christmas Eve followed by two, rather than three, services for Christmas Day. The boys, for their part, were a great credit and good company. Mr Short |
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Unique friendsAnyone who knows me knows I love dogs, especially lurchers/greyhounds/whippets. I had a bit of fun over the Christmas break taking photos of Roxy in different animal 'moods'. 
Fox mode I'm not saying for a moment that dogs are the best pet or best animal; each to their own, I say. What I do say is that the company of my dogs is not a substitute for other company, it is unique. Just like the company of each and every friend of mine is special and unique, and each family member too. 
Deer mode When we ask our children about friends, it's important as parents to understand what they are describing to us. Knowing your children's friends will tell you a lot about your children. If you like them, appreciate their attitudes and values, then chances are so do your children. Good friends who have a positive impact of your children are a clear indicator that your children are doing well. Those friendships might even be online or virtual (one of my children has a virtual pen pal in Germany who they have never actually met!). Nor is the number of friends important. Some children will have 2 or 3 good friends. Some will have lots. With our uniqueness comes the puzzle of working out what works best for each of us. 
Kangaroo mode Me, I'm happy with my loving family, some excellent friends, and my dogs. Mr Shroff |
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School NoticesClose-of-Day Cocoa - For the duration of this Lockdown, every Weekday night from 1800 to 1815, there will be a Social Zoom available to any boy who would like an end of the day chat. Different staff will be hosting each night with their cocoa/tea/Bovril/Horlicks/etc. A boy might: - Want to leave a message for a member of staff
- Want to pass on a problem
- Want to make a suggestion
- Just want to chat!
He will always be welcome. Details are in the in the Close-of-Day Cocoa Classroom. Mr Hammond A prayer room has now opened in Google Classrooms. It is a space where resources and ideas for prayer can be found as well as invites to prayer meetings on Zoom. 
Mr Bryant |
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Lateral Flow TestingDuring the Christmas holidays, the Department of Education announced that they wanted schools to roll out weekly Lateral Flow Testing for all staff and children in Senior Schools and Colleges in England, which included our Year 7s and 8s. Regular testing to be carried out on children and staff would mean that children and staff could remain in school unless they developed symptoms, or a positive lateral flow test. If that were the case, they would need to be sent home and a PCR test would need to be done. During Monday's Staff Inset Meeting we set up the Octagon as a testing centre and waited with bated breath for the testing kits to be delivered! Thankfully our shipment arrived early, and we were able to test 75 staff successfully. Even though we went straight into Lockdown afterwards, it was a great relief to know that we had seven staff trained and able to run a testing site safely and successfully and that we have plenty of Lateral Flow tests for the future. Whilst we are in Lockdown, we will be testing all staff on-site weekly and have offered to test any Critical Worker boys we are looking after too. We have all found this process reassuring in the midst of the pandemic. I hope you will too. Nicki Beaumont |
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Enrichment With Lockdown keeping the boys at home, and with the afternoons dark and dreary, the options for outdoor entertainment are limited. The dreaded phrase ‘I’m bored’ may start to creep in. But fear not - no Pilgrims’ boy should ever be able to say he is bored during Lockdown! The Enrichment Classroom provides an activity every afternoon for the boys (and their siblings and other family members if desired!) to attempt. It is all completely voluntary, but do look at this if you are struggling for entertainment inspiration. The boys will be encouraged to share photos and videos of what they have achieved on the Google Classroom, and the best ones may even make it onto our Social Media channels. The first few two days saw a scavenger hunt and parachute making! In addition to this, I want especially to highlight the Friday Enrichment Activity – this will be a weekly ‘Beat the Teacher’ challenge. Mr Buck and Mr Greenwood have set themselves some tasks and now challenge the boys (and their siblings and other family members) to try and beat them at it! Again, all details are in the Enrichment Classroom. If you have ideas of things you would like to see on the Enrichment activities, please do email me (bhigham@pilgrims-school.co.uk) and who knows, you may find your idea as an activity the following week. Accelerated Reader All boys in Year 3-6 have access to our Accelerated Reader programme. This is a programme designed to help engage boys in their reading, as well as provide staff with a means of monitoring the boys’ independent reading. The link for boys to complete their quizzes is on the RMUnify launchpad – please ensure you use this link, as other ones will not work. Usernames should be your son's first letter of his first name, followed by his surname, and his password is his initials. For example: bhigham followed by bh. The boys are quite well versed in how the system works, but for those parents who are new or would like a reminder of how the programme works, I will run a zoom meeting on Tuesday 12 January at 6pm to give further details. Many of you will remember that last year, we encouraged boys to try to become a ‘Word Millionaire’ by reading over 1 million words throughout the school year. This year’s challenge is by Sets – the words each boy reads will be added into their Set (Normans, Monks, Romans, Wrens or Saxons), and each week, the Set Reading Total will be shared. Boys will still be able to keep track of their own personal word count, but we will be celebrating the Set totals in the weekly newsletter. If you have questions about AR please do drop me an email (bhigham@pilgrims-school.co.uk) Year 6 General Studies A fascinating discussion took place in the Year 6 General Studies lesson this week – all centred around the question, ‘Is it ever right to lie?’' Boys worked in breakout groups of three to discuss possible answers. Initially, strong arguments were put forward that one should never lie, and dishonesty caused a great deal of upset. However, as discussions moved on, more ideas were put forwards about lying to keep yourself safe in times of danger, when playing a game that required you to lie, or perhaps when wanting to spare someone’s feelings. This last point then leads to a further debate about whether that is a good enough reason to lie, mostly centred around what to say to someone who has cooked you a meal and asks if you like it… but you don’t! Cyrus gave a great response to this, stating there is a difference between lying and not being honest. To finish the lesson, we played a game of ‘Two Truths and a Lie’ to see how easy it is to spot when someone is not being truthful. Boys returned to their breakout rooms to come up with three facts – but one was untrue. Coming back together, each group took it in turns to give their sentences, with the remainder of the year group having to decide which one they thought was a lie! I was hugely impressed by the boys’ engagement and thought processes during these discussions and I look forward to hearing more of their opinions on various topics over the coming weeks. Miss Higham |
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The Sky at Night - January 8 onwards Next week’s highlight should be Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury together. From January 9 to 12, the planet Mercury will climb past Jupiter and Saturn, which will be descending sunward. After sunset, look just above the southwestern horizon after sunset on Saturday January 9 to see Mercury sitting just a thumb's width to the lower left of Saturn—with brighter Jupiter positioned above them. All three objects will fit within the field of view of binoculars (red circle). Mercury and Saturn will be a challenge to see within the evening twilight – except for the gimlet eyed! Do please let me know if you think you see all three! Mr Hammond |
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The Quad gets its first workout! The pictures below show the work on the newly laid all-weather surface on the Quad as it progressed in the Christmas break. Tuesday morning saw the Quad get its first use at morning break. The new stumps (lovingly made by Chris Bell) were put down, and an impromptu game between the Critical Worker boys got underway. As you can see from the photo, Mr Buck and Mr Greenwood were keen participants too! A photo taken from Mrs Short's office window a little later shows Mr Buck and Mr Greenwood back at it leading rugby drills in Games yesterday. Mr Duncan |
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Lockdown Life for Critical Worker boysA few Critical Worker boys join us each day. They are following the class timetable just like the boys at home. Mr Greenwood and Mr Buck have been supervising the Junior boys and Ms Whitworth and Mrs Beverton have been in charge of those in the Pre-Prep. Photos below show Zoom Science for Year 3 and Zoom Creative Writing in Year 1. Mrs Brown |
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The Briggs Virtual Library is open for business and the Book Club is back!Visit the Briggs Library Virtual Classroom ztpc6rw where you will find links to reading resources, reading suggestions per Year group, and online magazines. Opportunities to meet and chat on Zoom during the week are posted on the Class Stream. I am delighted to launch this half term’s Book Club, which will focus on Michael Morpurgo. We will join ‘Michael Morpurgo’s Month: February 2021’, which invites Schools to read a selection of his books – see below. The virtual nature of the Cake Breaks during the week before Half Term, will allow us to mix year groups to a certain extent. Each Cake Break will be open to those pupils who have read one of the books below within the appropriate reading age. Keen readers will be able to join more than one meeting, if they wish to read more than one title. Please note that the reading age guidelines reflect the suitability of contents, not just the difficulty of the language. All these books are available from the Hampshire Library (either in eBook or audiobook format) and online retailers. Some independent bookshops, like P&G Wells, also operate through https://uk.bookshop.org/ Mrs Brill |
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Microsoft 365 - apps for use on home devicesAs part of the school's Microsoft licensing agreement, your son has access to the Microsoft 365 suite of apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher [Windows only] and more) at no cost to you. These apps can be installed on up to three Windows or Mac devices and can be used for educational purposes for as long as your son remains at the school. To take advantage of this, simply go to www.office.com, sign in with your son's Pilgrims' email address (@pilgrims-school.co.uk), and then click Install Office on the right. 
Once installed, open one of the apps, such as Word, and you'll be asked to sign in again -- use your son's Pilgrims' email address and the whole suite of apps will be activated. Peter Upfold (IT Technician) |
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Sport NewsHappy New Year from the Sports Department. It's been great to see everyone this week on Zoom. There is an array of activities in year group classrooms for PE & Games but one thing I wanted to draw your attention to is the Conqueror series: https://www.theconqueror.events/ Mrs Short helpfully drew these distance-related challenges to my attention. There is a range of distances to choose from related to real-world locations which you can virtually chart your progress along with every run, ride, or walk. There are some amazing medals to achieve which could be helpful in motivating even the most reluctant, but charges do apply. Good luck, and if you decide to work towards a challenge, let me know how you get on! Mr Short |
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From Mrs RossVirtual Celebration Assembly Our Virtual Celebration Assembly was a lovely way to finish our week and to celebrate everyone's achievements. A special mention to the boys who were presented with certificates this afternoon: Alex S for being so focused, polite, and hardworking during Virtual School Daniel H for making good contributions to class discussions during Virtual School with Mrs James. Isaac M for being so kind and thoughtful at Critical Worker School. |
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Year 2What a busy week we have had at Virtual School! Well done to all of the boys for their hard work and enthusiasm. In Year 2, we have made a great start to our 3D Shape work in maths and our 'Amazing Africa' cross-curricular topic work. Mrs Ross |
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Year 1Year 1 have been amazing virtual learners this week! All have worked hard and coped brilliantly with the change to working on screen. Well done, boys and thank you parents for your support! Mrs James |
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I have been amazed by the boys this week, especially their enthusiasm and their energy. Some would have gone to bed on Monday night having laid out their uniform ready for school on Tuesday morning only to be told when they woke up, no you cannot go into school but have virtual lessons instead. The boys have shown resilience, adaptability, and a love of learning. The Pilgrims’ Shell Award, this week, goes to Isaac M for his kindness to others. Mrs Kent |
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Welcome Mrs WalkerThis week we welcomed Mrs Fiona Walker to Pilgrims'! She has made a wonderful start, despite such difficult circumstances. |
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The Pilgrims' School, 3 The Close, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 9LT 01962 854189 pilgrims@pilgrims-school.co.uk; admissions@pilgrims-school.co.uk   
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