​​​​From Mrs Ross

The week has rushed by, as always, in the Pre-Prep and we are excited for a big week next week (our last full week of term!). Preparations including singing rehearsals with Mr du Plessis and the crafting of head-dresses, have picked up, and we look forward to seeing many of you on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon, for refreshments by the river at 1430 and in the Pilgrims' Hall at 1500 for performances. The boys are excited for 'Move Up Morning' on Tuesday, when they will visit their new classroom to spend time with their new teachers.  The finale next week will be our Pre-Prep Sports Day, which will take place on Wolvesey from 0900-1100.  All family and friends are welcome to join us for an exciting morning of racing, relays and activities!

I would like to thank you in advance for your continued support and hope that you enjoy this wonderful time of The Pilgrims' School year!

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Save the Dates

 

• Wednesday 28 June Year 4 and Pre-Prep Performance 1500 
• Thursday 29 June Year 4 and Pre-Prep Performance 1500
• Friday 30 June Pre-Prep Sports Day 0900-1100
• Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 July Open Classrooms for parents 0815-0845
• Wednesday 5 July - Final Celebration Assembly 0845-0930
• Wednesday 5 July - Pre-Prep End of Term 1545
   

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Pilgrims' Shell Awards

• Year 2 – to Teddy James for his outstanding abstract wave artwork. Well done, Teddy! 
• Year 1 - to Zakariya for excellent perseverance with cursive handwriting.
• Year R - to Tymur for his excellent knowledge of Set 2 Sounds and for his fantastic progress with reading

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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.

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From the PPA

Year 2

The end of Year 2 is certainly on the horizon. With that brings the excitement of new adventures in Year 3 but also the potential for worries and anxieties of leaving what is known to travel into the unfamiliar. Year 2 shared an extra-special Circle Time this week discussing the next stage in their Pilgrims’ career. Discussions ranged from moving into different classrooms and the size of the tables through to no longer being able to read favourite books to be found in the Pre-Prep. Some boys were concerned that there may be more Prep and about learning the new system of Show Ups and Show Downs. The boys found it supportive and valuable to talk together. Once conversation moved on to revealing anticipations, each boy found they were able to share much more than just one. Popular mentions included:

• All the competitive matches against other schools.  
• Football on the Grid and learning the rules of Quad Cricket. 
• Art in the “proper” Studio! 
• Watching the fish in the pond at break time. 
• The sheer amount of Commoners… 50, I was told by Finn! 
• Science experiments with BANGS! 
• And, perhaps my favourite, getting to use the SALAD BAR in the dining room!! 

By the end of our Circle Time, the boys were able to reflect that, despite a few worries about the next step (which is only human nature), their excitement was greater.  

The week ended with the Year 2 boys being invited to play with Year 3 on their ‘turf’ rather than inviting them back into the Pre-Prep playground. This was BIG!  And boy, was it FUN! 

Mrs Ford 

Year 1

The boys shared the excitement of Year R when chicks hatched in school and carefully checked in on the chicks daily as they grew and changed over the weeks. 

The boys in Year 1 were delighted when they were allowed to hold a chick before it left for its new home with Mrs Walker.  A discussion took place on how we needed to behave, the volume of our voices and what a suitable 'holding hand nest' looked like. We practised before the real thing! A chick was then carefully carried over to an eagerly awaiting circle of boys who had their nest hands ready to accept a fluffy, soft and cuddly chick. The chick and its brothers or sisters cheeped at each other, which we thought was them talking to each other and making sure they were safe!

The boys first described how the chick felt in their hands, and if it was what they were expecting.  Secondly the chick's egg tooth and feathers were looked at closely. The chick was even starting to get its grown-up wing feathers. Every boy held a chick and was very brave, caring and gentle. The chicks calmly sat in each boy's hands and didn't appear to mind being passed around at all.  

What a lovely, special memory for us all to share.  I have heard they are doing well at Mrs Walker's house!

Have a great weekend.
Mrs Huntley

Year R

It has been a busy week with musical rehearsals for our production next week: Rock the Boat. There have been many conversations and drawings about the different types of sea creatures living in the ocean as the floodwaters rose around Noah's ark! 

The boys are very proud of their mixed media collage inspired by Monet’s Water Lilies, and cannot wait to share them with you in our upcoming Art Exhibition next week. They started with the paint for the flowing water before adding a mix of oil pastels and tissue paper water lilies. 

In Maths, the boys have combined their work on odd and even numbers with measuring. They have been working on building the longest tower. They have also enjoyed measuring their feet in our very own role play Shoe Shop.

Mrs Kent

Forest School

This week Year R, 1, and 2 all had a lovely time around the fire pit. It is always a popular and exciting session and the older boys are beginning to becoming more involved with making the fire and cooking the popcorn.

It was the first fire pit session for Year R, and after listening to a story about fire safety, they listened carefully to the various safety procedures. They also learned how to stop, drop, cover and roll as well learning how to build a fire in our fire pit and how to put it out.

Cooking popcorn on the fire is always great fun, and the boys are always amazed at the amount of popcorn that is created from a small handful of popcorn kernels! Smiles all around!

We finished off by learning a new camp fire song, which was sung to a familiar tune.

Mrs Walker