FROM THE HEAD MASTER
The end of term is upon us after an exceptionally busy but fulfilling few weeks. The children are to be commended for their continued enthusiasm and efforts. They are, however, very ready for a well-earned break.
Scholarship Success
I am delighted to announce two more scholarships. Olivia Woollcott-Price has been awarded a Games and Leadership Scholarship to Kimbolton and Stephen Upton has been awarded a Sport Scholarship to Oakham. This is a tremendous achievement and follows Olivia’s splendid exploits on the netball court and Stephen’s prowess on the hockey field this term. Well done and congratulations to both.
Mary Poppins
Those of you who were lucky enough to attend the show would, like me, have been blown away by the standard of the production. The children were absolutely brilliant with superb acting, singing and dancing. Very well done to all the children involved, both on and behind the stage, and to the very many members of staff and parents who gave so much time and effort towards the production. Particular thanks and congratulations to Mrs King, our Musical Director, and our Director Supreme, Mr Williams! It was just the most wonderful production, absolutely supercalifragilistic… (etc) from start to finish!
Netball County Champions
Huge congratulations to both our 1st VII and the U12A teams who rounded off a super season of netball by becoming County Champions on Monday in the tournament held at Oundle. Very well done, girls!
Summer Term Calendar
The calendar will, as always, be posted to you in due course. If you want to look ahead, our sports fixtures are already on the sports section of the website (SOCS). While we, of course, do not know which teams the children are in yet, it will give you an idea of the fixtures for the term.
Charity Events
While we very much enjoyed the two charity events this week, we would not normally hold two events so close to one another. Thank you for the children’s support of ‘Rock Your Socks’ for World Down Syndrome Day, a global awareness day officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. Then on Wednesday the prep school children thoroughly enjoyed the Fun Run, which I am pleased to say has raised more than £1,500 for the Turkey and Syrian earthquake appeal. Well done and thank you to all.
Ski Trip
I am so very pleased that after a hiatus of three covid-hit years the Year 8 ski trip is finally going ahead again. The children will be departing school tomorrow and heading for Pila, Italy, where I know they will have the most brilliant time. The snow conditions are looking good and I have no doubt the children will have a wonderful time both on the slopes and in their après-ski activities.
Finally, I wish you and the children a very Happy Easter and I do hope you all have a super holiday.
Thank you
Simon Clarke
PRE-PREP
Collaborative Learning in Year 2 – Their Ghanaian Adventure Continues!
When children come together to work collaboratively, it can heighten and enrich their learning experience immeasurably. Not only does collaborative learning pull to the forefront all those valuable skills of taking turns, negotiating, planning and following rules, but it also gives rise to some wonderful opportunities for creative and critical thinking. Year 2 immersed themselves in such an experience this week, when they created some huge, colourful fabric paintings. Inspired by their recent exploration of Ghana, the children used a batik technique to add colours, patterns and Ghanaian animal shapes to an enormous piece of cloth. The results made for bold, bright and detailed pieces of artwork, that are stunning to look at.
‘Rocking our Socks’ for World Down Syndrome Day
From sporty to sparkly, to jazzy, snazzy and neon, Tuesday saw a fabulous rainbow of coloured legs on parade, as staff and children ‘Rocked their Socks’, in recognition of World Down Syndrome Day. All the money raised will now be sent to the Northamptonshire Down Syndrome Group, which relies entirely on donations. Thank you so much for your support – it is a wonderful feeling to know that we have made a difference to others.
Time for the Holidays ~ The Summer Term Awaits!
How quickly the weeks have whizzed by and now, rather tellingly, from the splodges of yellow paint adorning most surfaces, and the brightly coloured egg shapes and fluffy chick pictures popping up everywhere, the Easter holidays are upon us.
Whilst it is important for the children to recharge their batteries and enjoy a well-earned rest, if possible, it is beneficial to keep the learning momentum gently ticking over at home too. Whether curled up sharing books together, or reading alone, providing children with a range of opportunities to read, listen to stories or explore words and sounds, for just ten minutes a day, is enormously valuable. Please also bear in mind that the children have their Numbots and Purple Mash log-ins on their reading record books, for some carefully managed short bursts of computing and maths activity.
On return from the Easter break, the children may wear either their summer or winter uniform. Mr Clarke will write to parents in the new term to advise of the date when all pupils will move to summer uniform.
Have a fun-filled, restful holiday!
Pupil Achievements
Congratulations to the following children for their success in swimming – Olivia King (2M) Level 4 and 20m, and Elodie Bolt (1S) Level 3.
Very well done to the following gymnasts – Jai Chavda (1N) ‘Star of the Week’ and Sophia Hodgkins (2L) Grade 3.
Congratulations to Arlo Crifo Garton (2L) who has successfully gained his orange belt in Karate and to Reuben Desai (RG) who has been awarded his white belt with purple stripe.
Very well done to Sam Barber (2L) who was awarded ‘Man of the Match’ and scoring two magnificent goals for his football club.
Congratulations to Bethany Lofts who has achieved a Rainbows’ Gold Award, presented to her in a ‘Pot of Gold’ ceremony – Bethany must also be commended for being the first Rainbow from her village group to achieve every single Rainbow badge possible.
Fiona Sanchez
Head of Pre-Prep
CHARITIES
Rock Your Socks
Thank you to everyone who wore their brightest socks and tights on Tuesday for World Downs Syndrome Awareness Day. We managed to raise a total of £315.05.
Fun Run
Wednesday saw Years 3-8 take to the grounds on a fun run to support the Red Cross Turkey/Syria Earthquake Relief Fund. The fields were awash with a red sea of bobbing heads and muddy faces! Thank you for your support in raising a fantastic £1,590 for the Red Cross appeal.
SPORT
U12 & U13 Netball County Cup Finals
Congratulations to both teams who left the finals as County Champions, with the U13 team being unbeatean and the U12s winning all but one match, which they drew!
Leicester Grammar Cross Country
Well done to our Cross Country teams who took part at Leicester Grammar last Friday. The U9 girls, U9 boys and U11 girls’ teams came first, with Spratton winning overall and individually Isla Allsopp came 1st in U11 girls and Chloe Spencer came 2nd in U9 girls.
Bloxham Arena Eventer Challenge Championships
Well done to the Spratton Equestrian Team who won this season’s Eventer Championships at Bloxham last weekend, taking home a number of trophies and rosettes.
MUSIC
Exam Success
Congratulations to the following pupils for their excellent music exam results.
Violin
Grade 1
Aoife Morris – Pass
George Guppy – Merit
Grade 2
Shanaya Phatak – Distinction
Guitar
Grade 2
Rufus Joyner – Distinction
Grade 3
Oliver Mundy – Merit
Oscar Beynon – Distinction
Archie Wright – Distinction
Grade 4
Matthew Bose – Merit
Music Theory
Grade 5
Nathaniel Benn – Distinction
ART
Wanted Items
If you are having a spring clean, the Art Department would love the following items for observational drawing:
Teapots – ceramic and stainless steel
Any reflective objects
Tea cups
American diner style sugar pots/teacups/teapots
Animal skulls
Plastic fruit
Plastic flowers
Thank you – Mrs Moreton
DRAMA
After many weeks of rehearsals, preparation and hard work, both performances of ‘Mary Poppins’ were “practically perfect in everyway”!
Well done to everyone involved, including those who helped with costumes, music and scenery, as well as a huge thank you to Mr Williams, Mrs King and their team for all the extra time and effort it takes to put on such a fantastic production.
To see more wonderful photographs please visit the gallery link at the bottom of the newsletter.
FRENCH FASHION SHOW
There was much excitement amongst Year 4 on Tuesday. Taking part in their own French fashion show, they decided on themes for their group such as places, parties, festivals and jobs. Each group worked together to create a short script in French to describe what each other was wearing as they walked down the ‘catwalk’. They all threw themselves into the activity and spoke some super French.
Mrs Bradnam
EASTER EGG HUNT
HEAD LICE
As this is a problem throughout the school at the moment, please could you take the time to check your child’s hair and treat accordingly.
Head lice are wingless insects that live on the scalp and neck. They are grey or brown, have six legs and when fully grown are about the size of a sesame seed. Females attach their eggs to your hair close to your scalp. The eggs hatch about 7 – 10 days later and it takes 10 days for them to be adults and laying new eggs.
When the lice hatch they leave empty shells called nits attached to the hair. Nits are white and you may mistake them for flakes of dry skin. Nits stick to the hair and you won’t be able to remove them with normal shampooing.
You can only get head lice through head to head contact. They cannot hop, fly or swim. Although head lice maybe embarrassing and sometimes uncomfortable, they don’t usually cause illness. However, they WON’T clear up on their own and you need to treat them promptly.
Treatment of head lice
There are many treatments available including:
- Insecticides – e.g. Full Marks liquid or Derbac M
- Wet Combing with special fine toothed comb
- Non–insecticide based products – e.g. Hedrin
Insecticides and Non-Insecticides
When using these products for treating lice they are available as lotions, liquids and shampoos. Always follow the instructions carefully. Usually the insecticide lotion should be rubbed onto scalp and hair, left for approximately 12hrs before you wash it out. Then comb using a fine toothed comb. This process should be repeated after 7 days to kill any new lice that may have hatched.
Wet Combing
This is a method of removing lice with a fine toothed comb. You need to spend 20 – 30mins combing through the entire head of hair. It is easier to remove the lice and nits if the hair is wet and conditioner still on hair. The process needs repeating every 3 days until there have been 3 consecutive sessions without seeing any lice.
Many thanks
Matron
SHSPA EVENTS
NATIONAL ONLINE SAFETY GUIDES
As we head into the Easter holiday, our Online guide this week is another example of a ‘positive’ aspect of gaming. As much as people talk about the negatives of gaming, games playing can be hugely beneficial in many ways: teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking and so much more, including reading. This is particularly true for those children who are reluctant to read or who are struggling. Andy Robertson from Ask About Games has put together a little selection of games which you can find in this link, which may be something different for children to explore over the Easter break.
https://www.askaboutgames.com/news/great-video-games-that-get-children-excited-about-reading
Here is the link to the school website where you will find more details and further helpful information.
