The Bulletin Edition 26

The boys and girls in Year 1 correctly used the word ‘blue’ in discussion with me recently, when we were trying to come up with synonyms for feeling a little glum, which I thought demonstrated a really subtle and very nuanced understanding of what it feels like when things are not going quite so well.

To that end, we have been very pleased to mark the Mental Health Foundation’s National Mental Health Awareness Week at both the Pre-Prep and the Prep, under the broader banner of our current assembly theme: Bright Days. On Thursday morning, I had the pleasure of speaking to the pupils in the Pre-Prep about this, and I shall be continuing with the same in my assembly with the boys in the Prep on Monday morning.

The Mental Health Foundation has chosen community as its theme for this year’s awareness week, which struck me as rather apt. There was a great deal I could share with the children about how my own understanding of our school – as a community – supports the notion of a community-minded spirit, which in turn helps keep our mental health in good working order.

We are lucky in school, really. By virtue of being here, we are automatically part of a vibrant and uplifting community. However, like all communities, there are times when things go a little awry. Life rarely trots along in full and joyful, cartoon-like technicolour, with all of us skipping merrily through daisies humming cheerful tunes all the time. There will be ups (phew!) but there will also be some downs. That is why it felt important to share a few top tips for supporting our mental health as members of a kind and positive community. These included the importance of talking about our feelings, and quite simply of being kind, not just to others, but to ourselves as well.

Bright Days, indeed. They are, naturally, even brighter when we take care of each other.

The boys are well and truly into the swing of the cricket season. The U11s continued their progress with strong results against Surbiton. The U10Ds recorded their first win of the season with a close victory at Esher CC against Surbiton. Worthy of mention is Francis, who reigned supreme with the bat and saved the game with his bowling in the last over. Congratulations to him and the team.

Year 1 had the exciting opportunity to visit Winchester Science Centre. Their trip was filled with hands-on activities, inspiring exhibits and interactive workshops that helped bring their learning to life. From exploring the wonders of space to discovering the science behind everyday inventions, the children were encouraged to think creatively, ask questions and spark their curiosity. It was a fantastic experience that truly captured the spirit of innovation and imagination. How lovely to hear the children all behaved so beautifully on their trip offsite – excellent ambassadors for the school!

It’s been a SUPER week this week in Kindergarten as we launched into Superhero Week! We started the week with a visit from Mr Smith who read a wonderful book - Super-Duper Dudley by Sue Mongredien and Caroline Pedler. We talked about what qualities are needed to be a superhero and decided strength and speed were not the most important. Our thoughtful class decided that showing kindness and care for our fellow students was probably the best quality. We also talked about the real-life superheroes we know such as police officers, doctors and firefighters to name a few.

We’ve had a ‘beary’ fun-filled week in Reception, learning all about bears. We discovered there are many different types of bear, living in varying kinds of habitats; polar bears enjoying the freezing climate of the Arctic to sun bears living in the tropical forests in Asia. We enjoyed watching the author Michael Rosen reading his story, ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ and wrote our own versions in our creative writing. We looked at the fantastic language that Michael Rosen used and talked about adding exciting ‘adjectives’ to our writing to add interest.

The highlight of our week in Year 1 has to be our wonderful trip to the Winchester Science Centre! The children were then thrilled to soar into space and take a trip around the planets in the solar system, during our session in the Planetarium. They had the chance to explore the exhibits on offer in the Space and Sound sections of the centre – we learnt so much and even got the chance to step inside a real astronaut suit! Finally, we were wowed by the Rocket Workshop where we learnt about what to consider when making a rocket aerodynamic. The trip brought all of our learning in school to life, and the children’s behaviour was exemplary – what a terrific day was had by all!

Year 2 spent the morning at the Prep yesterday, as part of the Prep transition programme. First of all, the children participated in a lesson taught by Mr Ford - ‘learning to learn’ – finding out all about the necessary skills required to make a successful student. A lot of fun was had trying to crack the riddles set by Mr Ford! Further to this, the children had lots of fun learning some organised games with the Year 6 Friendship Champions at break time. However, Year 2 showed the Year 6 buddies how to play Connect Four – they were unbeatable or should I say “UNSTOPABLE”! Finally, they enjoyed a taster French lesson, delivered by Mr Smith. The children worked in pairs to learn and perform a French dialogue – do ask your child to teach you the dialogue at home.