The Bulletin Edition 21

I was in the Pre-Prep this week, delighted to be spending time with the Reception pupils in their magnificent new surroundings. Mrs Murphy invited Pre-Prep parents to join her for some light refreshments following the parent/teacher consultations this week so they were also able to see for themselves our new Pre-Prep facilities, if they had not already done so.

Prep parents have also been invited to visit the Pre-Prep site next week on the afternoon of Tuesday 18 March. They will have the opportunity to view the refurbished site and join Mrs Murphy and me for some light refreshments in our new communal space at the Pre-Prep, soon to be officially named the Centenary Hall.

Returning to my time reading a story to the Reception class now. The book Ms Annandale-Johnson chose was silly, funny and quirky, with excellent, complicated wordplay and rhymes (just the sort of story I love!) Not only did I greatly enjoy reading it, but I am also fairly certain the Reception pupils enjoyed listening to it too. The story concerned a largely thwarted child-prodigy architect who was finally able to realise his dreams and build the buildings of his heart’s desires by the end. All very fitting, of course, given the wonderful new spaces the Pre-Prep pupils are now occupying.

The thing that stood out for me most, however, was the Reception pupils’ use of language. They have all been studying ‘iconic’ buildings, and I was simply astonished to hear them share their understanding of not only what the word ‘iconic’ means but also to name all sorts of iconic landmarks in both Britain and abroad – a good number of which they had also even visited! I think our incredible new Pre-Prep facilities are pretty iconic, and Mrs Murphy and I look forward to showing them off to you.

On Monday evening this week Mr Bendelow was delighted to welcome loads of parents and boys to the Prep, to take part in a sequence of ‘game show’ style fun and engaging maths problem solving activities. Parents and boys joined forces as they spent time with each different ‘game show host’ (aka the maths teachers at our school!) and a great deal of very clever mathematical thinking ensued.

Miss Bee and her enthusiastic Year 6 pupil assistants were delighted to welcome Year 1 pupils from local schools, along with our own Year 1 boys and girls from the Pre-Prep, to a thrilling theatrical workshop on Thursday. The session was filled with lively acting, impressive character portrayals, and plenty of creative energy. The Year 6 boys, in particular, proved to be excellent drama coaches, guiding an eager and talented group of young performers with great enthusiasm.

Year 6 had such an inspiring visit to the Hampton School and LEH STEM Fair on Tuesday. There were some incredible and inventive projects, ranging from robotics to creative experiments, that ignited curiosity and inspired creativity in everyone! It was remarkable to see so many young minds coming together to challenge the limits of innovation.

Last weekend, the Year 6s took to the road for a sports tour to the Midlands. Alfie S, Fin M, and Jack M have written reports on the different events that took place over the three days...

Firstly, I am delighted to share that, together, we have raised an incredible £4,066 in memory of Diane Gellner-Ward for The Royal Marsden Hospital. A heartfelt thank you to everyone for your generosity and support—it truly makes a difference.

This week, Kindergarten have been exploring another traditional tale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. After reading several versions, the children noticed that while the main characters remained the same, the trolls looked quite different in each book, and some versions even had different endings. They had a fantastic time cutting out the characters and creating their own story scenes. We discussed how stories have a setting, a clear beginning, middle, and end, and worked on identifying these elements in the tale. Using goat puppets, the children acted out the story with their friends, adding to the fun!

We have had an incredibly exciting time in Reception Class learning about ‘Iconic Buildings and Towers’. The classroom has been filled with creativity, exploration, and hands-on building as the children delved into the fascinating world of iconic structures! Highlights of our ‘Little Architects’ Week have included...

It has been a whirlwind of a week in Year 1! On Tuesday we were delighted to welcome Nurse Liz from Hampton to talk to the children about handwashing. They were all asked to show family at home the correct way to wash hands, so do ask for a full demonstration this weekend!

In English this week, Year 2 have continued their adventures with Bob, The Man on the Moon, based on Simon Bartram’s brilliant series of books. First, they thought about how to structure a story using a story staircase, focusing on Bob’s Moontree Mystery. They started to generate ideas for their story and wrote a planning document, devising the title, the main characters, the setting of the story, the opening paragraph, the build-up of story, a problem that Bob must overcome and the resolution. Once the stories were planned, the children were inspired by some brilliant story openings from favourite authors, demonstrating how to hook the reader. We look forward to completing and sharing their story openers next week!