Weekly Newsletter 30 September 2022

From the Head Master

Cross-Country Captains

I am delighted to announce that Ellie Allsopp and Theo Ryan will be the Cross-Country Captains for this year, with Cecilie Jackson and Bea Thorpe as Vice-Captains. I wish them and the team all the very best for the season ahead which begins in earnest at the Shrewsbury event on Sunday.

Harvest Festival

It was a pleasure to return to St Andrew’s Church for the first time this year for our Harvest Festival services on Monday. Thank you so much to the many parents who attended the service. Very well done to the Choirs who I thought sang beautifully, and those pupils who gave a reading, always a daunting experience but the nerves certainly did not show.

House Competitions

The first competition of the new year took place on Tuesday with Senior House English. Many congratulations to Drake who came out victorious on this occasion.

Plus Certificates

As the children already know, we have made a change to the Plus certificates awarded to the children upon reaching certain milestones. Previously, the children in Years 3-6 would receive a certificate on reaching 10, 25, 50, 75 etc. Now, the children have one certificate that is kept by their Form Tutor until the end of term and when they reach those milestones the certificate is adorned with a star to mark that milestone. Their achievements will still be celebrated in assembly and the children will still receive a voucher upon reaching certain milestones. The children will also receive a badge in assembly if they reach 75 and 100. For quite a number of years, the children have been awarded WH Smith vouchers that have to be spent in the shop itself. Later in the year, we will be moving over to some form of online voucher that will be much easier for the children to spend in this age of online shopping.

IAPS Annual Conference

Next week, I shall be in Edinburgh from Tuesday to Friday for the Annual IAPS Heads Conference. This always presents an opportunity to hear excellent speakers, take part in seminars and network with fellow Heads at which we share ideas and good practice. This year, for the first time, the conference is a joint venture with HMC (Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference) and will be the largest gathering of prep and senior Heads in this country and will present many extremely useful and beneficial opportunities.

While this event is always enjoyable and useful, I am very sorry not to be at school for the many matches taking place next week, including the Years 7 and 8 House matches next Friday, and, indeed, the first Form assembly of the year – 8R on Friday.

Open Morning

I am pleased to report that Open Morning was extremely successful this morning with many prospective families attending and our older pupils acting as quite brilliant tour guides. We are full in certain year groups and I am pleased to report that numbers are looking very promising in our Reception classes for the next two years. Therefore, if you have not yet registered a younger sibling, I would recommend you do so as soon as possible. As always, with these matters, please do contact the Registrar, Mrs Sarah Church.

Thank you

Simon Clarke

PRE-PREP

Hearing the happy, animated sound of children’s voices that emanates daily from within the Pre-Prep, reminds me of what an amazingly powerful and valuable tool language is. The links between spoken language, learning and cognitive development are overwhelmingly powerful. In fact, so much so, that ‘Language and Communication’ is one of the three Prime Areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage, through which all the other areas of learning must flow.
The wonderful and imaginative details of descriptive story telling are currently unfolding across the Pre-Prep classes. There are plenty of ‘trip-trap, trip-traps’ coming from Reception as they sequence the events within The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Year 1 are weaving in time connectives, such as ‘soon’, ‘after that’ and ‘suddenly’ in their retelling of The Enormous Turnip and, in Year 2, ambitions are fizzing as the most gorgeous similes and descriptive language are woven into an animated Russian folk tale.

Kick starting our run of year group assemblies next week, Year 1 will be showcasing some of their learning and treating us to some fascinating facts about their topic on ‘Italy’. Our year group assemblies are rather special occasions, as every child has the opportunity to speak out, as well as sing and perform together with their peers. With plenty of room in the Hunter Hall, parents, friends and family are most welcome to join us – the children love to see the proud, smiley and reassuring faces of their grown-ups beaming back at them!

Our Pre-Prep Parent/Teacher Meetings are due to take place next week. These events provide parents with a wonderful opportunity to meet with their child’s class teacher to share those all-important first steps of progress and areas of development. An email with instructions on how to book an appointment was sent to parents earlier this week. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher, who will be more than happy to help, should you experience any difficulties. Furthermore, if attending after 5.20pm next Thursday, which is our later evening, please do come and join me in the Pre-Prep middle area, where I will be serving a range of cold drinks and light refreshments.

Fiona Sanchez
Head of Pre-Prep

Pre-Prep Pupil Achievements

Congratulations to the following children for their swimming achievements – Alex Schwartz-Jones (2L) has gained his Level 4 certificate and Alice Maule (1N) has gained her Level 1 award.

Well done to Francesca Williams (RG) for competing in and winning a running race at the Shaldon Regatta.

Congratulations to Archie Brown (1N) who successfully completed a 5-mile cycle ride around the Althorp Estate, in support of the Cynthia Spencer Hospice.

A final celebration is in order for Arlo Crifo Garton (2A) who has gained his red belt in Taekwondo.

Pre-Prep Forthcoming Events

Monday 3^rd October, 4-6pm – Parent/Teacher Meetings for RY

Tuesday 4^th October, 4-6pm – Pre-Prep Parent/Teacher Meetings for RG, Years 1 and 2

Tuesday 4^th October, 8.45am – 12pm – Year 1 Pizza Making Workshop in Pizza Express (Northampton/Market Harborough)

Wednesday 5^th October – final date for photographs and measurements of entries into the MDNA Sponsored Sunflower Growing Competition

Thursday 6^th October, 4-7.30pm – Pre-Prep Parent/Teacher Meetings, all classes

Friday 7^th October, 3pm in the Hunter Hall – Year 1 Assembly (Parents, family and friends are welcome to attend)

MUSIC

Informal Concert – Thursday 13th October

We are currently in the process of finalising the programme for the Informal Concert on Thursday 13th October. A letter will be sent to all of those that have been invited to perform next week.

ABRSM Exams

The ABRSM music exams will take place during the week beginning Monday 14th November. If your child has lessons outside of school, and they are ready to take an ABRSM music exam, they can be entered to take the exam at school. Please contact me for more information. The final date for entries is Wednesday 5^th October.

Oakham Music Day – Tuesday 4th October

We are looking forward to the Oakham Music Day on Tuesday. It should be a fantastic day for our Year 6 Choir members. We will be leaving school at 9.00am, in full uniform, so those pupils involved will not need to bring their school bags in that day. For those children who have requested transport back to school, we hope to be back at approximately 6.00pm.

Concert Band – Tuesday 4^th October

Due to the Oakham Music Day, there will not be a Concert Practice on Tuesday 4^th October.

Miss Morrell
Director of Music

CLUBS

Please note that Years 5&6 Netball Club on Thursday 6th October is cancelled but will take place on Thursday 13th October and then every other week after that.

The Years 7&8 Netball Club will take place on Thursday 20th October and then every other week after that.

ECO CLUB

Eco Club have been doing some fun upcycling by turning old unused library books into cute hedgehogs!

BOOK FAIR

A huge thank you for your support at this year’s Scholastic Book Fair. It was so lovely to witness the enthusiasm of the children and their love of books which was abundant all week.

Sally Alexander – Librarian

ART

Christmas cards are near to completion! Here are a few examples of how fantastic they are looking. Each year group has a different theme.

HARVEST

A group of us in Year 8 went to visit the Hope Centre. We first met a lady who was in charge of part of the Hope. Her name was Tanya and she took us for a guided tour around the Learning Resource Unit. This is a safe area where service users can learn new skills that can be used throughout their lives. There is a big meeting area where people can talk and discuss various matters including struggles. We were taken to one of the IT suites where you can learn other skills that could help you get a job. The facilities at Hope provide users with many different activities such as an Arts room, where you could paint or play musical instruments. We saw some of the art which was incredible. Many self portraits we think were good enough to be sold in a gallery!

Before Year 8 all got there, I think we were all expecting the Hope Centre just to donate food to people and give them a place to stay. It is so much more. Old, broken garden tools have been given to the centre. They have been mended and done up and now are sold to the public. This enables users to learn even more skills, feel empowered and resourceful.

It was so nice knowing where our food donations actually go and who they help. Our donations are helping so many families. Since Covid, the number of families seeking help has doubled, which means they need help more than ever. After visiting the Hope Centre, I think that we have all really realised how lucky we are and how amazing the volunteers are that work there.

Thank you for all your Harvest donations.

Olivia Woollcott-Price