From Mrs Hall

The Lent term always rushes by in a flash, but that doesn’t diminish its value in all the boys achieve and learn. The boys grow and flourish as they embrace the challenges and joys of everyday school life. This growth is especially evident during our open mornings when we proudly showcase the Pre-Prep. The boys consistently impress us with their politeness and enthusiastic interactions with visitors.

This week has been full of exciting learning moments across all year groups. A particular highlight for me was listening to the Year 1 boys during their French lesson, as well as seeing their enthusiasm for learning about castles. Year 2 impressed me with their excellent grasp of ‘bossy’ verbs—a skill they are mastering with great confidence! Meanwhile, Reception continues to shine as the boys grow in self-assurance, confidently moving around the department and interacting with the older boys and staff.

Looking ahead to this weekend, we encourage the boys to think about the ‘visitors’ they might spot in their gardens as part of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. Please do join us for our ‘Winter Warmer’ evening on Thursday too. (see your SchoolPost of Thursday 21-Jan at 1630 to book.)

Have a wonderful weekend and happy birdwatching!

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Save the Dates !

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Notices

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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Pilgrims' Shell Awards this week:

Year 2: to Dario, for consistently doing his best.
Year 1: to Justin for the joy and interest he has shown in his learning this week. Well done, Justin!
Reception: to Hammie for showing 'integrity'; for doing the right thing in a reliable way.

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Mindfulness Commoner

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Reception

During our Literacy sessions in Reception Class, we have been looking at the text 'Poles Apart' by Jeanne Willis & Jarvis.  The boys very much enjoyed this story. 

The story is about the Pilchard-Brown penguin family going off to have a picnic and getting lost along the way.  They accidently end up at the North Pole!  We have learnt that polar bears live at the North Pole and penguins live at the South Pole, so they were a very long way from home. The penguin family and Mr White, the polar bear, soon become the best of friends as Mr White takes them on an adventure all the way back home, visiting different countries on the way.  

While reading and exploring the text we looked at the words that were used and how they linked to each country.  We also looked at the globe to see where these countries were located.

The boys then chose which country they were going to write about.  We have been learning how to write a sentence and what a sentence actually is. The boys are becoming more proficient at saying what they are going to write ahead of writing, thinking about how to spell each word in their sentence and which letters they need, how to lay this out on their paper, adding finger spaces, a capital letter to begin and a full stop to end!  Such a lot to remember! Good progress is being made with their new writing skills. Little and often writing practice really does help with this skill.  Great effort boys, well done.

Mrs Sarah Huntley
Reception Teacher

Year 1

Castles

Mrs Victoria Ford
Year 1 Teacher
 

Year 2

The boys had a lot of fun whilst working on money this week. Yes, it is still a National Curriculum requirement that children can: 

• recognise and use symbols for pounds (£) and pence (p); combine amounts to make a particular value.
• find different combinations of coins that equal the same amounts of money.
• solve simple problems in a practical context involving addition and subtraction of money of the same unit, including giving change.
• A trip to a local shop would be a great opportunity to put this into practice. 

Race to 100
The boys were challenged to take turns at rolling dice and adding the appropriate coin onto their race track, attempting to be the first one to reach 100. A really simple idea which can be played anywhere and extended to higher amounts. I was impressed with the boys' concentration and fair play.

Independence and responsibility
As we come to the close of the second full week of this Lent term, our thoughts turn to encouraging the boys to become more independent and responsible. We are preparing them for a smooth transition into Year 3. Therefore, Mrs Hall and I ask that you encourage your sons to carry their own belongings into the classroom and say goodbye at the front door. 

Mrs Maxine Kent
Year 2 Teacher

Forest School

It was very exciting this week, as it was our first chance to base our Forest School sessions in our wonderful new outdoor classroom. The shelter is a fabulous addition to our programme and provides the boy with some well-needed protection from the elements.

This weekend is the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. Many people across the country will be carrying out surveys to see which birds visit their gardens. Please click on the link if you would like to take part.

Our outdoor classroom is the perfect place to do a bit of bird spotting from. After chatting about the different types of birds we might see, the boys in Year R had a fun, but sticky time making some delicious fircone fat balls for our birds. The boys also learned how to make a bird feeder using Cheerios and pipe cleaners. They proudly hung them on the bird feeders on the other side of the river bank.

The boys in Year 1 used their session to reconnect with nature and to become nature detectives. The boys were given a series of challenges and asked where possible to collect examples of their challenges and place them inside a hoop. The activity encouraged the boys to become more aware of their surroundings and observe nature more closely.

Only three British mammals truly hibernate. Year 2 learned some interesting facts about the little dormouse and spent some time understanding what sort of nest they like to hibernate in. With this information, the boys attempted to make their own nest in the grounds for our imaginary dormouse, with some very pleasing and cosy results!

Mrs Fiona Walker
Forest School and LAMDA Teacher

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PPA Upcoming events

(Go to My School Portal, Bookings & Forms to book)

Pre-Prep for pre-schoolers