The Bulletin Edition 4

Following my attendance at the IAPS Heads’ Conference in Wales last week, I find myself reflecting on the remarkable potential AI holds for enhancing education in our schools. We had a fantastic series of presentations, seminars and workshops on tech and its place in a modern forward-facing prep school, and I also found myself sharing a couple of reflections with a couple of mums on the gate on Monday this week. Tech, and its place in schools (let alone family life!) can set pulses racing (nothing wrong with that of course).

Whatever your view as a parent (and please, I am always happy to hear what that might be) AI can offer unprecedented opportunities to tailor learning, provide personalised feedback and help to identify areas where additional support may be required. These advancements promise to elevate both teaching and learning, and I suspect will become not just a feature of how and what children learn over the coming years, but a ‘baked in’ part of it. I am firmly of the view that we are on the cusp of an exciting era where technology can complement further the incredible work our teachers already do here, making our classrooms even more dynamic and engaging. AI is here to stay (we were told last week anyway…!)

While AI is set to bring many advantages, we must not forget the irreplaceable value of human connection in education; relationships matter a great deal to me on both a personal and professional level. The intuition, empathy, and personal connections fostered between teachers and pupils are, in my experience, fundamental to nurturing a well-rounded, happy child. We are thinking carefully here about how to use technology as a tool to support, rather than replace, the rich and meaningful interactions that lie at the heart of our educational ethos and therefore everything we do at our school.

One of the joys of school football is the chance to test yourself in tournament football, and it was the U8 A and B teams who had their first experience of it this week when they travelled to the Surbiton 5-aside tournament.

Assemblies this week took us on a fascinating journey through time as we explored how families have evolved over the past century. Reflecting on the incredible changes that have shaped the way we live today, we celebrated the many forms families take and the unique stories behind them.

In Kindergarten, we have been learning about the story of the Little Red Hen. We read different versions, noticing different farm animal characters in each. One thing remained the same, however – none of the animals offered their help to the Little Red Hen. We discussed how they should have been kind and helpful, which, of course, is one of our Golden Rules!

Reception have been learning about our bodies, discussing the functions of different body parts, and exploring ways to keep ourselves healthy and hygienic. We talked about personal hygiene and the essential daily routines that help maintain our health.

We have had an action-packed week in Year 1! On Thursday, we were delighted that the autumnal sun was shining and we could enjoy our highly-anticipated Autumn Walk in Carlisle Park. We were excited to become nature detectives and spot lots of signs of autumn and nature within the park. We also busied ourselves collecting plenty of autumnal woodland treasures for a display in our classroom. We listened carefully to an autumn story before heading back to school. The children all walked so smartly on our first outing and listened very well – well done Year 1!

It’s been another busy week for Year 2. In maths, we have come to the end of our place value unit, concluding with the children revisiting counting in 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, and marvelling at all the patterns that can be made on a 100 square. They are all ready to add and subtract next week!