Pre-Prep Reflections

Pre-Prep Reflections Week 15 2024

Dear parents,

Our first full week of the new year has been very busy and everyone is settling back into the pace of school life. Year 2 even managed to squeeze in some yoga this morning! While the temperature has dropped, the weather has thankfully been dry, allowing us to spend more time outdoors with the children. Thank you to those parents who were able to join me for coffee on Monday morning. The next coffee morning is pencilled in for Monday 22 April at 8.50am if you would like to join me.

This week

On Tuesday, I was out of school all day to complete my safeguarding refresher training. This is a statutory course that all designated safeguarding leads must undertake every two years and it is always a good opportunity to think afresh about how to develop safeguarding in school. Yesterday, our safeguarding governor Ruth Vigers visited to talk through our annual safeguarding audit and action plan, followed by our school chaplain Rev Close, who popped in to spend some time in lessons. Mrs Van was unable to visit this afternoon as normal, so Mr Wood, Junior School Deputy Head, came in her place to hear Year 2 children read.

Assemblies

This week, my assemblies have focused on kindness. We have started to introduce characters in the form of birds related to our four school virtues: we have the kind kingfisher, the helpful heron, the curious curlew and the teamwork turtledove. Each of these characters has been beautifully illustrated by our very own Mrs Goodwill, who is also a talented artist. We look forward to sharing these with you soon. Yesterday, I read the story of the Rainbow Fish, with its message of kindness, sharing and friendship, while earlier in the week Miss Rose, Assistant Head (Character), revisited our whole school ‘endeavour’ theme in her assembly.

Amazing achievements

Many congratulations to two Year 2 children who have accomplished remarkable achievements recently: Bel completed her tenth full 5km Parkrun just before Christmas and already has a personal best time of 29:30! Meanwhile, Alexander has been awarded three medals in the St Luke’s Swim School winter gala – one silver and two bronze! Well done to them both – we are all so proud of you. We always love to hear about children’s achievements out of school and we are happy to share certificates, medals and awards in Friday’s celebration assembly.

Staff update

I am sad to announce that Mrs Martin will be leaving Exeter Pre-Prep School at the end of the spring term. I know this has been a very difficult decision for her and we will all miss her hugely. Some of you may know that Mrs Martin has had a long commute from the Yeovil area for over a year now, and we are pleased that she has found an exciting new role as curriculum co-ordinator at an independent special school closer to home. I am in the process of recruiting a Reception teacher to cover the summer term with Mrs Dray, and will update you on staffing plans for next academic year in due course.

Next week

Exeter School’s next open morning is taking place on Tuesday if you would like to have a tour. We also have the next meeting of the family society at Exeter School next Wednesday at 5.00pm.

Diary Dates

Tuesday 16 January – Exeter School open morning

Friday 2 February – Year 2 entrance assessments for Exeter School

Friday 2 February 7.00pm – Parent/staff quiz night *new date*

Tuesday 6 February – Safer Internet Day

Wednesday 7 February – Open morning for prospective families

Friday 9 February – International Day

Monday 12 to Friday 16 February – Half term

Monday 19 & Tuesday 20 February – Staff INSET days (school closed)

Wednesday 21 February – Pancake races

Thursday 7 March – World Book Day

Wednesday 13 March – Spring Reviews issued

Friday 15 March – Science Day and Red Nose Day

Wednesday 20 March 4.00-7.30pm – Parents’ Evening

Wednesday 27 March – Easter Theme Day

Thursday 28 March to Tuesday 16 April – Easter holidays

A list of term dates for the academic year 2024-25 is now available on the school website.

Spotlight on Year 2

We have had a great first full week back with Year 2. We have enjoyed starting a new English topic on ‘Imaginary Creatures’ and have shared a range of funny fiction texts including ‘Not Now Bernard’ and ‘The Lion in the Meadow’. The children have created their own imaginary creatures that could feature in a story and have thought about ways to describe them. In mathematics, we have been learning about 3D shapes and their properties and the children particularly enjoyed creating their own 3D shapes using different materials. Our science topic this term is ‘Uses of Everyday Materials’ and we have spent some time identifying different materials around the school and discussing why a particular material has been chosen. We have continued to learn about maps in geography; this week’s focus has been planning a walking route from school to a point of interest, such as a park or shops, using road names, compass directions and positional language. In computing, the children have had fun creating sequences using the same instructions in different orders, and then testing them using a floor robot to see how the different orders affect the outcome. Our art topic this term is ‘Simple Printmaking’ and this week we were adding observational flower drawings onto our colourful handprint backgrounds. We have been very pleased with the mature way in which the children have returned to school and look forward to another fun and productive term.

Ms Richards, Mrs Goodwill and Mrs Titchin

Nativity recording

We are pleased to be able to share the link to the nativity dress rehearsal performance with you – please click here to view it. The recording took place on Monday 11 December 2023. Our thanks once again to Mr Richard Fry from Exeter School for filming and editing this footage, which we hope you and your family will enjoy watching.

Easter Theme Day

On Wednesday 27 March, the children will spend the whole day off-timetable, taking part in Easter-themed activities. We would like to invite parents to come in at 3pm for a special Easter assembly, where the children will share some of their learning with you. This will be followed by a tea party in the hall in honour of Mrs Martin, as this will be her final day at Exeter Pre-Prep School. There is no need to book. We hope you will be able to join us and, if you would like to bring a nut-free cake, please feel free!

Please note that the parent drop-in that was previously scheduled for this date will no longer take place. Instead, we will put a selection of your child’s work out on parents’ evening (Wednesday 20 March) for you to look at before or after your meeting.

School Council

At the beginning of each term, every child in the school takes part in a democratic vote to choose their new school council representatives. Congratulations to the following children who have been elected to serve on the school council this term:

  • Nursery: Hettie and Max F
  • Reception: Agatha and Jake
  • Year 1: Sophie and Luke
  • Year 2: Joanne and Jeremiah

Quiz Night

Please note that the date of the parent/staff quiz night has moved to Friday 2 February. This is a fun, relaxed social event for pre-prep and junior school parents and staff. Last year’s event was a huge success and we hope more of you will be able to join us this year. The event is held at Exeter School from 7-10pm. Entry is £5 cash per person on the door and everyone is welcome to bring their own food and drink. Teams are up to 6 people per table and anyone who wishes to come can be allocated to a team if necessary. Please let your class rep know if you would like to come.

Stars of the Week

Nursery

Benji

For being so enthusiastic to read with us and working very hard on his sounding out and blending. Well done!

Miss Adams

Reception

Aelia

For her wonderful enthusiasm and interesting questions when learning about food from around the world, particularly China. Well done!

Mrs Martin

Year 1

Holly

For settling into Exeter Pre-Prep School and Year 1 so well this term. Well done!

Miss Lawrence

Year 2

Ollie

For being polite and enthusiastic during our Christmas visit to Westbank and for working so hard on his number work in mathematics last week. Well done!

Mrs Richards & Mrs Goodwill

Head’s Star of the Week

Elias

For his super effort on Wednesday morning when I was teaching Year 1. It was a pleasure to hear him read and see his beautiful writing. Well done!

Mr Ayling

Lunchtime Tidiest Table Award

Congratulations to Reception Class!

Nativity dress rehearsal 🌟

Nativity dress rehearsal 🌟 ...

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Pre-Prep News

Come along to our whole school open morning on Friday 24 January 9-10.45am to hear from the Head, have a pupil-led tour around classes in action and have your questions answered by our friendly admissions team.

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