Welcome to the pre-prep & prep blog!
SEEN ON INSTAGRAM
Here’s a round-up of our Instagram posts from this week – take a look below!
CCAs have begun, and Kiddy Cook jumped straight into the fun! 😋 Our little chefs got busy mixing, rolling and squishing Rice Krispies and yoghurt into snowy treats – with a tiny blueberry surprise hiding inside 🫐. They loved the mess, the making, and of course… the tasting!
Make sure to follow us on Instagram for regular updates and snapshots of daily school life.
Mrs Murphy’s News
It has been wonderful to see life settle back into its natural rhythm here at school. This week, we are incredibly proud of our Kindergarten children, who have taken to school life like ducks to water. Seeing happy, smiling faces each day is what it is all about and, however simple it may sound, I firmly believe that happy children learn best.
As educationalist Jean Piaget famously said, “Play is the work of childhood.” It has been a joy to watch our youngest pupils exploring, learning, fostering friendships and growing in confidence as they begin their school journey.
During our assemblies this term, we are exploring our four school values: Teamwork, Honesty, Perseverance and Integrity, with each value linked to one of our Houses. These values were chosen through a process led by former House Captains and Vice Captains at Prep, who gathered suggestions from their teams before the children themselves made the final selection. We hope that by celebrating and revisiting these values regularly, they will serve as a constant reminder of the qualities we strive to demonstrate both in and beyond the classroom.
In yesterday’s assembly, Mr Barr explored what true teamwork means and reminded the children that it can be demonstrated in many different aspects of the school day, whether in the classroom, on the playground, in sport or through acts of kindness towards others. As the saying goes, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” We are certainly stronger when we work together.
It has also been a big week for announcements. We are delighted to inform you that we have appointed our new House Captains and Vice Captains for the term ahead. Their enthusiasm, leadership and commitment to our school values make them excellent role models, and we look forward to seeing all they accomplish in their roles.
- Tudor: House Captain, Daniel and Vice-Captain, Amir-Ali
- York: House Captain, Shaylen and Vice-Captain, Ivaan
- Lancaster: House Captain, Harry and Vice-Captain, Deniz
- Windsor: House Captain, Joseph and Vice-Captain, Saroop
Likewise, we have also announced our new School Councillors and Year 2 Eco Warriors. These pupils will play an important role in ensuring that pupil voice continues to be heard and in helping us care for and improve our school environment.
- School Council: Rosie and Oscar (Year 2), Archie G and Ozan (Year 1), and Dominic and Henry (Rec)
- Year 2 Eco Warriors: Aarav, Arnav, Aryan and Louis
Congratulations to all our pupil leaders. We are immensely proud of you and look forward to seeing the positive contributions you will make to our school community throughout the year.
This week the Courtesy Cup and Badge went to Kai (Reception) for demonstrating excellent manners and looking for ways to be kind and helpful at Mrs Timba’s construction club. His polite attitude was also noted by Miss Maden at history club – what a star!
and Stars of the Week were awarded to:
- Year 2: Jon for working hard to remember and use our new Mrs Wordsmith vocabulary. Mrs Timba is overjoyed!
- Year 1: Henry for being a maths whizz this week and challenging himself every day!
- Reception: Ethan for being a joyful learner – for coming into school with a big smile and showing excitement to learn!
Many congratulations to the following:
- Year 2 – Amir Ali for winning a medal for playing well in a football match.
- Reception – Kit for achieving Level 1 Swim England Award.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend after a very busy week.
KINDERGARTEN
This week, Kindergarten have thoroughly enjoyed exploring our topic, ‘Getting to Know You’. The children loved sharing their family photographs with the class, proudly pointing out and naming their family members. These lovely photos are now on display in our classroom. If you have not yet sent one in, there is still time, as we would love to include your family, too!
As part of our topic, we painted self-portraits, using mirrors to carefully observe our skin, hair and eye colours. This activity led to thoughtful conversations about how everyone is different and special in their own way. We also enjoyed reading a Mr Men & Little Miss story about being unique, which sparked a lovely discussion about the ways we are similar to, and different from, our family and friends.
This week, we introduced the role of Class Helper. Each day, a child’s name is drawn from the box and, if they wish, they can take on this special responsibility. Duties include counting how many children are present, serving fruit at snack time, being first in line, and helping the teachers with daily tasks. It has been a wonderful way to encourage independence, confidence and responsibility.
This week, the children were introduced to Shareodactyl, who is brilliant at sharing with his friends. We are all trying to be just like him by showing kindness and sharing with others. Whenever Shareodactyl spots a child sharing beautifully, they earn a special sticker to celebrate their excellent teamwork and friendship skills.
We also enjoyed our first music lessons with Miss Bee, where we learned a new song and the actions that accompany it.
Please could you send in your child’s EYFS Entry Booklet if you have not already done so.
A gentle reminder to email a.hand@hamptonprep.org.uk with the name, photograph and password for anyone who will be collecting your child. Also, please may to ensure that your child’s clothing and water bottles are clearly labelled.
Next week, we will continue our ‘Getting to Know You’ topic. The children will also bring home a ‘Show and Tell’ bag, which they can use to bring in a small toy or book to share with their friends and teachers.
By Mrs Hand – Kindergarten Teacher
Reception
We have had a very busy week in Reception as we completed our second full week of school! Our learning has focused on the topic ‘Making Our Mark’. The children enjoyed recognising and creating their names using pasta, resulting in a bright and colourful display in our classroom.
We also listened to the story, Gregory and the Magic Line by Dawn Piggot, which inspired us to create a large collaborative piece of artwork in the hall. Together, we went on a mark-making journey, taking our pens across the paper to explore different lines, letters and shapes. We saw some fantastic patterns emerge, along with many wonderful creative ideas, including animals, sea creatures and space-themed drawings. We all agreed that it felt great to work together towards a shared goal.
Throughout the week, we have continued to reinforce our understanding of the Golden Rules, using them as the basis for our daily class discussions. It has been lovely to hear the children’s thoughts and ideas, and we have been impressed by their sensible and caring responses. As a reminder, our Golden Rules are:
- Do Be Gentle
- Do Be Kind and Helpful
- Do Listen to People
- Do Work Hard
- Do Look After Property
- Do Be Honest
We have also been learning our daily routines and are incredibly impressed with how independently the children are coming into class, hanging up their coats, and putting away their book bags and water bottles. Well done, Reception!
It was lovely to meet so many of you at our Reading Evening on Thursday. Reading folders will be coming home today. This week, we have included a name card in your child’s book bag for you to practise writing their name together. Please encourage your child to write slowly and carefully in our cursive style, holding their pencil correctly and beginning each letter on the line.
A gentle reminder to please send in a family photograph for our class display. Photographs can be emailed to:
s.annandale-johnston@hamptonprep.org.uk
Next week, Reception will be learning about our new topic, ‘Magnificent Me’.
Have a lovely weekend!
By Mrs Johnston – Reception Teacher
Year 1
It’s been a busy and strong to the year with Year 1. This week saw us start White Rose Maths, diving straight into word problems and working on addition word problems, with some children confidently tackling numbers up to 100. Alongside this, we also began our brand-new addition and subtraction workbooks, giving the children plenty of opportunity to practise and build their confidence with number work. Times tables have also started this week, and the children put in some great effort during today’s test practice, showing real focus and determination.
In English, our focus has been on expanding sentences using two adjectives together with the conjunction ‘and’, which the children practised through fun speaking and writing activities all about toys. They have done very well and have come up with some great describing words.
A particular highlight of the week came in humanities, where we had a brilliant lesson on physical geography, exploring volcanoes and learning all about their different components – the children were fascinated, asked lots of thoughtful questions, and it really brought the topic to life for them.
In science, we’ve begun our new topic on seasons, starting with a close look at the characteristics of autumn; the children impressed us with how much they already knew and are now excitedly looking forward to some autumn spotting of their own on our upcoming trip to Carlisle Park next week.
Altogether, it’s been a strong and positive start to the year, and the children should be very proud of their effort. We hope they all enjoy a well-deserved rest over the weekend!
By Miss Madden – Year 1 Teacher
Year 2
Year 2 have had a very busy week! In maths, we have been learning about the place value of 2-digit numbers and have had a lot of fun partitioning them in different ways, using a range of apparatus. We will continue learning about number and place value next week. We started our Autumn Term topic, “Amazing Africa” by learning about the seven continents and five oceans of the world. Our focus next week will be to identify hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the equator, before we start learning all about different countries and their cultures within Africa.
In English, we have been enjoying reading the West African Folktale, “Too Much Talk” by Angela Shelf- Medearis. At the start of the week, we predicted what we thought was going to happen next. After reading the story, we sequenced events in pairs and then wrote our own introduction to the story. We practised spotting the inverted commas within the text and reading speech with expression.
In science, we have started our topic all about forces and movement; how we push and / or pull an object to cause it to move or change direction. It’s incredible how many forces are in action in the classroom and on the playground!
What a great start to Year 2! The children have adapted quickly to the new routines and frequency of prep with flair. Enjoy a well-deserved weekend.
By Mrs Timba – Year 2 Teacher
On the Sports Field
It has been an exciting start to the sporting term, with all year groups in action this week and a total of 21 football fixtures taking place. By all reports, the matches were played in the spirit of great sportsmanship, teamwork and effort. Of the 12 results recorded so far, the boys returned with an impressive 10 victories, making it a very positive opening week.
The U9s enjoyed a particularly successful afternoon against Newland House. In the B’s fixture, Lucas scored a last-minute screamer to secure victory, while Canaan and Tristan demonstrated outstanding effort and commitment for their teammates in the D’s team game.
The U10s hosted Claremont Fan Court School and worked incredibly hard throughout the afternoon. The A’s played some lovely flowing football, moving the ball with confidence and purpose. For the B’s, Nicolas produced a superb 20-yard strike which proved crucial in securing the win. Across the year group, there was plenty of evidence of the boys developing both their technical skills and their understanding of the game.
In the U11s, Christo earned a well-deserved Man of the Match award for his efforts, helping his team through a competitive fixture with a display full of energy and determination. In the D’s, Arnav put in some solid defensive work.
It has been a brilliant week to start the term and perhaps most pleasing of all, it has been great to see the boys displaying the values of respect, responsibility and integrity both on and off the pitch.
Notices
With temperatures still reaching the 20s (and considerably warmer in the sunshine), a reminder that it is generally too warm for boys to be wearing underlayers on their Sports days. Please save these for cooler weather. If your son is cold in the morning, wearing a tracksuit top is preferable.
Next Week’s Fixtures
Tuesday 22 September
- U8 A’s & B’s Surbiton 5-a-side Tournament, 1:15pm-3:30pm (holders of the trophy)
- U9 A’s Claremont Cup v St Paul’s, Home, 2:30pm
Wednesday 23 September
- Epsom U11 6-a-side Football Tournament, 9:15am-1:15pm
- TPS U10 A’s & B’s 7-a-side Football Tournament, 2:00pm-4:30pm
Friday 25 September
- U9 C’s & D’s Surbiton Tournament, 2:00pm-3:40pm
By Mr Salt – Head of Sports
Year 5 Art Workshops
Year 5 pupils explored the history and theory of colour, considering how artists created paints before the Industrial Revolution and how colour theory developed in the 1800s. They experimented with colour combinations and explored how warm, cool, light and dark colours can affect the mood of an artwork. Pupils also explored mark-making and created self-portraits inspired by artists including Vincent van Gogh and Rachel Jones. They then created their own still-life paintings, inspired by Wayne Thiebaud’s idea that “every age has its own still life”.
