Pre-Prep Reflections

Pre-Prep Reflections Week 28 2024

Dear parents,

How have we reached May already? The summer term is already flying by, but sadly the weather hasn’t quite caught up yet. Earlier this week, to much sniggering and eye rolling from the adults, I did my annual sun safety assembly and reminded the children about the importance of wearing a sunhat, using sunscreen and staying in the shade. Hopefully we will get some sunshine soon so that the children can actually apply these sun safety rules!

Sponsored Fun Run

We have been absolutely delighted with the response to our quadruple marathon fun run last term. The sponsor money has been counted up and I am thrilled to announce that the grand total raised currently stands at an incredible £1,423.50! This is well beyond any amount that we have ever raised as a school and the money is going to make a huge difference to our friends at Westbank. Katie, their fundraising manager, will be dropping by with her giant cheque next Tuesday. Thank you all again for your amazing support.

Assemblies

In Monday’s assembly, we looked at the final British Value of ‘tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs’. Yesterday, school chaplain Rev Close visited to give an assembly about the local elections, linked to the British Value of democracy. He held a mock election and chose some children to fill out ballot papers in a secret voting booth. Earlier in the week, all children were asked to vote for one girl and one boy in their class to be elected as this term’s school council representatives. The results can be found below and it was my pleasure to hand out new badges in assembly today.

Next week

A reminder that the school will be closed on Monday for the May Day bank holiday. Next Thursday, there is an open evening at Exeter School, which I will be attending, and I know some of you are planning to be there too. Please do come and say hello if you are coming along for a tour.

I hope you all enjoy the extended weekend and look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Tuesday.

Mr Daniel Ayling

Diary Dates

Please note the two amended dates highlighted in bold, which are now confirmed:

Thursday 9 May 5.30-8.00pm – Exeter School open evening

Thursday 16 May – Open morning for prospective families

Saturday 18 May – Devon County Show

Thursday 23 May 3.30pm – Drinks reception for Mrs Furniss

Friday 24 May – Staff INSET day (school closed)

Monday 27 to Friday 31 May – Half term

Saturday 15 June 1.00-4.00pm – Family Society summer fayre

Friday 28 June 1.30-3.30pm – Sports Day *NEW DATE*

Wednesday 3 July – Year 1 fire station trip

Thursday 4 July – Transition afternoon *NEW DATE*

Monday 8 July 3.00pm – Parent drop-in

Tuesday 9 July 2.30pm – Summer showcase

Wednesday 10 July – Summer term ends at 3.30pm

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

Spotlight on Year 1

In English, we have been learning about formal and informal letters through the book Dear Greenpeace. The children enjoyed writing their own letters and sharing these with the class. We have been learning about plurals in phonics and when to add -s or -es to words to make them plural. In our Tuesday wellbeing lesson, we spent some time thinking about how we can be kind and the impact our words have on our other people’s feelings. In science, we have continued our learning about plants. This week, we discussed the difference between garden plants and wild plants. We are monitoring our broad bean seeds and have been excited to see some root growth this week. In mathematics, we have been exploring different ways to find halves and quarters of amounts. We also enjoyed exploring different map symbols in geography and identifying various keys on a keyboard in computing. The newest members of our class, Santi and Salvi, are settling in really well and we look forward to Levi joining us in a couple of weeks. 

Miss Lawrence, Mrs Thomas and Mrs Tyler

Year 2 printmaking workshop

We have arranged for Year 2 to visit the senior school art department at Exeter School for a printmaking workshop. This will take place on the morning of Thursday 6 June. We are aiming to leave as close to 9am as possible and will travel on school minibuses there and back. This means that we are unlikely to be able to hear every child read that day. We will be back at school in time for lunch. This will be the third year that we have run the workshop and it is always an enjoyable experience for the children. We look forward to sharing the results with you.

Mrs Goodwill

Healthy Eating

We have noticed some children bringing in playtime snacks that are high in sugar and salt. Please remember that sweets, chocolate and crisps are not allowed, in accordance with NHS guidelines. Items such as processed meats and cakes lack the nutritional value that children need to aid learning and concentration. Even some ‘fruit’ strings and winders have very high sugar content. We strongly encourage children to bring a small fruit or vegetable snack. Plain rice cakes or breadsticks are another healthy alternative for fussy eaters!

We also ask that every child brings a named water bottle to school so that they can stay well hydrated. Please note that these should only be filled with water; no squash, juice or fizzy drinks are allowed. Children are encouraged to refill their water bottles as needed throughout the day, and water is served in jugs and cups at the lunch table every day.

Please note that we are a nut-free school. Children are welcome to bring in individual cakes or cut-up tray bakes on special occasions such as birthdays, but please ensure these are nut-free for the safety of all children. Thank you for your continued support.

You’re invited…

We would like to invite all parents, children and staff to a special drinks reception to celebrate the retirement of Mrs Julie Furniss. This will be an informal gathering in the hall on Thursday 23 May from 3.30pm. Julie has been my PA and our invaluable school administrator for the past two years. We are all going to miss her hugely and hope you will be able to join us to say goodbye and wish her well. 

Mr Ayling

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

Marnie Pitts

Jonah Oxenham

Reception

Rocco Manouchehri

Estelle Turner

Year 1

Evie Thomson

Ben Wopshott

Year 2

Charlie Farmer

Olivia Hancock

These children have been awarded their badges in assembly today. If your child has a school council badge from a previous term, they are welcome to keep it, but please may we ask that it be removed from their blazer and remains at home. Thank you.

House Points

The children have continued to develop their understanding of our school character virtues and they are all trying hard to be kind kingfishers, helpful herons, curious curlews and teamwork turtle doves! The house point tokens have been counted up after the first two-and-a-half weeks of term and the winning house was announced today. Here are the totals:

Brixham (Yellow): 122

Bridgwater (Green): 124

Devonport (Red): 131

Bideford (Blue): 141

Congratulations to Bideford!

Stars of the Week

Nursery

Bodhi

For settling into Nursery beautifully and being enthusiastic about joining in with different activities. Well done!

Miss Adams

Reception

Sadie

For always being creative with her thinking during activities and for attempting new challenges. Well done!

Mrs Rickard

Year 1

Santiago

For settling well into school and for thinking of some great sentences in our handwriting lesson. Well done!

Miss Lawrence

Year 2

Olivia

For her excellent work on formal and informal letters in English this week. Well done!

Ms Richards & Mrs Goodwill

Head's Star of the Week

Joshua (Reception)

For being a helpful heron by volunteering to help clean and tidy up after lunch. Well done!

Mr Ayling

Lunchtime Tidiest Table Award

Congratulations to Year 1!

Family Society Summer Fete

If you would like your own stall at the fete, please click on this link to book.

 

Nativity dress rehearsal 🌟

Nativity dress rehearsal 🌟 ...

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1st XI Cricket - boys and girls

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.

Register your place here