The Bulletin Edition 20

The magic hidden within the pages of a good book was brought to Hampton Pre-Prep & Prep yesterday as the school celebrated World Book Day. Miss Allott, in her role as Head of English, organised a fantastic day for us! Under the welcome sunshine, boys and teachers showcased a dazzling array of colourful costumes in the school parade. Throughout the day, the boys enjoyed a carousel of literary activities including our author visit from Simon Fox, a shelf quiz (which books on shelves at home belonged to which teachers – there were some excellent cryptic crossword style puns to help boys solve the mystery), decorating masks and an exciting, Mr Salt-style version of Ragnarok aka ‘Capture the Flag’. What a wonderful way to celebrate the joy of reading!

It has been a busy week for the U11s. It started on Monday with an away fixture for all boys to King’s College Wimbledon. With the ground soft to firm underfoot and the sun shining there were near perfect conditions for passing rugby. The A team displayed fine form with a performance in which several boys raised their game and exemplified the progress we like to see on the sports field. Their dominance in defence was particularly impressive. The Bs were ably captained by Felix, who, through positive communication on the pitch, ensured the team stayed in touch with a strong King’s team. The boys put together some excellent phases to score the best tries of the afternoon, but it wasn’t quite enough to take the win. The Cs faced King’s Cs and then their Ds over two halves. It was a tough half against the C team, but they found their groove against the Ds and put in a good attacking display.

What a truly magical week it has been in Pre-Prep! The highlight, of course, was our joyous celebration of World Book Day, where the children arrived brimming with excitement, dressed as their favourite book characters. The school was alive with storytelling, creativity and a shared love of reading.

This week, Kindergarten have been reading the classic fairy tale The Three Little Pigs. We've explored many different versions, from old hardback books to modern picture books. We discussed the differences between them, but one thing remained the same in every version—the big bad wolf, who always tried to gobble up the little pigs! This led to a lot of discussion about how the pigs must have felt, and it helped us realise the importance of being mindful not only of our own feelings but also of our friends' feelings, as unkind words and actions can hurt others.

Reception have been thinking about the weather this week. We have talked about all sorts of different weather conditions the children have experienced and how each one makes us feel. We were lucky to experience a variety of weather this week in true changing-season style – from frosty mornings to glorious spring sunshine!

Year 1 had an exciting and story-filled week! In English we prepared for the visit of author Tracey Corderoy, by writing questions we would like to ask her. The children remembered to start each one with a capital letter and end it with a question mark. When Tracey arrived on Wednesday the children were so thrilled to meet her in person!

Many wonderful and creative book characters were in attendance on World Book Day in Year 2. Some may have wondered whether we had entered Hogwarts for the day! The children loved parading in their costumes at the Prep, as well as taking part in the World Book Day quiz. Year 2 rose to the challenge of leading their house teams in this fun activity.