Pre-Prep News, Friday 12 January

Welcome to 2024 and Happy New Year!

From Mrs Hall

A particularly warm welcome to our new children and families. It is always very special to see the children return to school after a holiday period, and this week has certainly been a good example of this. The Christmas break can require a little re-adjustment for people before they get back into the swing of a regular routine (and that is just for the adults!), but the boys have returned in excellent spirits, eager to continue where they left off in December.

New Year is traditionally a time for reflection and resolutions. My message to the Pre-Prep children in assembly on Tuesday was to make the most of every opportunity this year but also to not be afraid of making mistakes or getting things wrong. We listened to a story all about the Snowdrop and how it is a sign of hope and new beginnings. I asked the boys to think of something they did in 2023 that they had never done before and then to imagine what new things might be in store for 2024. What good things would you like to do this year? We don’t know what the new year will bring, but we can be certain that it will be full of exciting opportunities and challenges.

We look forward to sharing many wonderful moments with you this coming year and working in partnership with you to help your son develop and grow. We are here to support and help you too, and you are able to contact us at any time. If you have anything on your mind, any concerns, questions or queries, or you just need some reassurance, please do get in touch. Here’s to a fabulous year ahead.

Mrs Sarah Hall, Head of Pre-Prep and Year 2 Teacher: shall@pilgrims-school.co.uk
Mrs Sarah Huntley, Reception Teacher: shuntley@pilgrims-school.co.uk
Mrs Victoria Ford, Year 1 Teacher: vford@pilgrims-school.co.uk
Mrs Maxine Kent, Year 2 Teacher: mkent@pilgrims-school.co.uk

* * * * * * * * * *

Pilgrims' Shell Awards

Year 2 - to James for the most amazing progress with his handwriting.
Year 1 - to Tymur for fantastic ideas when writing and his independent approach. Well done, Tymur!
Year R - to Macarthur for settling so well into life at Pilgrims'.

* * * * * * * * * *

Save the Dates!

Friday 19 January	Pilgrims' Play session 1000-1100
Friday 26 January	Pre-Prep Open Morning 0915-1200
Friday 9 February	Half-term begins 1200

* * * * * * * * * *

Notices

Menus for next week 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.}

Forest School: Mrs Walker has suggested that on Thursdays for Forest School, the boys wear 'base type' layers under their t-shirts and shorts, particularly if the weather is cold. Could all boys also please have a hat and gloves that they leave in school ready for cold days too. Many thanks.

* * * * * * * * * *

From the PPA

To book for the Lunar Lunch, please go to the form on My School Portal here, under the Bookings & Forms tab.

To contact the PPA, please email: ppa@pilgrims-school.co.uk

* * * * * * * * * *

Year 2

What a brilliant start it has been to 2024. The boys in Year 2 have come back to school motivated and ready to learn right from the onset. There was so much excitement around our new topic, Africa, and we are eagerly awaiting a visit from the author whose books we will be studying over this half term. She comes fom Lagos in Nigeria.

In Maths, we are looking at money. Please do allow your son to count the coins in your purse or pocket, maybe by keeping a weekly log and then comparing the differences each week?

Finally, we have introduced 'a word a day', to increase and enrich the boys' vocabulary. We started on Tuesday with the word 'swagger' and William M came up with the best example of this as he swaggered around the room, with an air of confidence, looking very pleased with himself.

Mrs Kent

Year 1

As a welcome back to the start of a new school term, Year 1 has spent the week reading and reflecting on The Planet in a Pickle Jar by Martin Stanev. Grandma wished to preserve all the beautiful things on our planet for her grandchildren’s future. But, she needs their help!

This book has helped us to think about the wonders of our life on this planet. We have talked a lot about what we value and want to preserve for the future. We have thought about what is important to us, be it something in nature, an animal, a favourite person, a memory, a feeling. The boys have created their own Planet in a Pickle Jar poems that include their favourite ideas. They have worked really hard on their descriptive language and have picked their favourite line to share here:

A fast ride at a colourful fair – James
Diving in misty water – Guy
A tiny gecko – Rhys
A soft and friendly tiger – Arthur OB
The bright sun – Arthur J
A cuddly bedtime story – Tymur
Tasty hot meatballs with curly long spaghetti – Ben
A sunbathing sparrow - Dario

Each and every member of Year 1 must be commended for coming back to school this week with a keen work ethic. I have been very impressed with all the boys’ attitudes towards school and the busy jobs that we have asked of them each day. This term focusses on Knights and Castles which has been touched on this week, but we shall start with vim next week. To say the boys are excited would be an understatement!

Mrs Ford

Year R

Happy New Year! I have been hearing all about your Christmas holiday activities from the boys: visiting grandparents, opening presents from Father Christmas, time at home to play and relax, wonderful walks and holidays away from home. A vast array of special times that always seem to go by in a flash. The boys, however, have been raring to go again, full of enthusiasm and energy for the term ahead.

We are now welcoming the Lent term. This term is usually a cold one, so please remember to layer-up your sons ready for time outside the classroom. Hats and gloves are essential, especially for Forest School.

In Reception Class we are focusing on the themes 'Once Upon a Time...' Traditional tales, followed by 'Spring has Sprung'. The boys will have opportunities to engage in a variety of activities both inside and outside, linked to these themes. They will also continue to follow their own interests alongside these enhancements.

This week started with settling back into school life, remembering and following rules and routines. We have also welcomed a new friend to our class, Macarthur, who really is a delightful addition. Welcome Macarthur!

The story of Goldilocks and The Three Bears has been our focus for this week and for next. The boys enjoyed listening to the story and exploring activities related to bears. Rules about NOT just barging into a house uninvited, size-ordering and story language were all discussed.

A fabulous start to the new term. Well done boys!

Mrs Huntley

Forest School

It was great to see the boys back with such enthusiasm and energy for the term ahead. This week our main focus was reconnecting with nature.

Year R boys were really keen to sport some signs of Spring on our way to the arboretum. We found snowdrops, catkins and daffodils starting to push through the soil. We had fun re-learning an open clove hitch knot and using this skill to create their own stick pet. The boys very much enjoyed taking their pet for a walk and giving it a name!

Year 1 became nature detectives, using a set of cards that challenged them to look more closely at our natural environment. Once the challenge was completed, the boys were allowed to collect an example of their findings and place it in their hoop. If they were unable to bring the example to their hoop, they had to share their findings with an adult. All challenges were completed successfully, and some careful observations were made.

Year 2 learnt what it would be like to be a squirrel foraging for nuts during the winter months. Each boy was given five imitation acorns to hide safely in the arboretum. After exploring natural symmetrical patterns, the boys returned to the zone where we had hidden the acorns. The boys were given limited time to try and find as many acorns as they could and see whether they would survive the long winter. This became a test of memory as well as a survival game!