pupils in lesson
Pre-Prep Reflections
pupils in lesson

Pre-Prep Reflections Week 31 2024

Dear parents,

It was lovely to see so many Exeter Pre-Prep families at the Devon County Show last Saturday. Our Exeter School stand was buzzing all day and we were well prepared with pop-up fans, rain macs and snacks to keep the crowds going, come rain or shine. We have also been fortunate to inherit the dinky sofas and cushions for our library area! Today we have enjoyed having Mrs Smyth back in school to help Mrs Pike with the Forest School sessions.

Farewell, Mrs Furniss!

The time has come for us to say a fond farewell to Mrs Furniss who is retiring at the end of next week. All week, the children have been presenting her with hand-made cards, pictures, flowers and even a caterpillar cake! In assembly this morning, we presented her with a special gift for her garden. Thank you to all of you who were able to join us in the hall at the end of the day to wish her well with a glass of fizz and some delicious canapes.

Julie has been a much loved and valued member of our team over the past couple of years and I am incredibly grateful for her conscientious hard work and unwavering support. She is not quite ready to sail off into the sunset just yet, though, as she will be spending time in school over half term with Ms Andrea Jellard who is taking over the role of school administrator when we return to school. Mr Heath will take on the management of the school minibuses (and the bus phone) with additional drivers from the operations team at Exeter School.

Lovely Lunches

I have continued to enjoy having lunch with small groups of Nursery children in my office this week. It has been fantastic to hear some quieter characters taking part in conversation and talking so confidently and articulately, and all the children have eaten very well. Miss Sam Moore, our new lunchtime assistant, came into school on Tuesday and Wednesday this week to help with the lunch service and complete a handover with Mrs Furniss. She enjoyed meeting the children and has already started learning some names. Miss Moore, who is from Dawlish and has three children, will be working from 11.15am-1.15pm daily after half term alongside Mr Heath, which will enable the school office to be staffed over lunchtime.

Our lovely lunches have been provided by our fantastic catering team, which is managed by Ms Michelle Hendrick, who is leaving us after more than forty years of service on our catering team. Michelle joined us as a young chef and has worked her way up through the organisation to manage our catering services, something that she has done with flair, creativity and innovation. We are incredibly lucky to have such fantastic food every day at school. We will miss her very much and thank her for all she has done to keep us well fed with such delicious and nutritious food for so many decades. It is hard to imagine our kitchens without her. Best of luck for a long, healthy and happy retirement Michelle. Exeter Pre-Prep will not taste the same without you!

General Election

You will all be aware of the fact that the prime minister has called a general election for July 4. This will be a busy day at Exeter School – we have an open house in the morning for prospective parents at the senior school site, and also new pupil afternoon at all schools on that day. These will go ahead as planned. The governors, along with the leadership of the school will be tracking the outcomes of the election and any ongoing impact on us as an organisation. We will of course keep you updated when we have information to share with you.

In Service Training Day

Tomorrow is a staff INSET day for which the school will be closed. We will be heading over to Exeter School for training and meetings in the morning, then back to Exminster in the afternoon. Excitingly, we have hired the new cookery school at Westbank, where trained chef Mr Heath will be leading a cookery team building workshop for the staff team. I hear that seafood broth, soda bread and cheesecake are on the menu and hope my cooking skills are up to it!

I hope that the weather is glorious for half term and that you all have a restful break. We look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Monday 3 June for the second half of the summer term.

Mr Daniel Ayling

Diary Dates

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

Tuesday 18 June – Year 2 house picnic lunch at Exeter Junior School

Wednesday 26 June – Reception trip to Paignton Zoo

Friday 28 June 1.30-3.30pm – Sports Day

Wednesday 3 July – Year 1 fire station trip

Thursday 4 July – Transition afternoon 

Saturday 6 July – Play Olympics at Exeter Junior School

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 2

This week, we have continued our ‘seaside’ topic in English where we have looked at how language is used in poetry. The children wrote their own beach themed tongue twisters and their own version of a seaside senses poem. The ‘seaside’ theme has continued in geography with a focus on understanding what an island is, and locating the main islands of the UK using Google Earth. In mathematics, we have been learning about money and exploring how different combinations of coins and notes can make the same total. In science, we have finished our plants topic and we have been amazed by how well our class bean plant has grown. Creating digital music in computing, using Chrome Music Lab, has allowed the children to explore rhythm, tempo and sequences of notes – luckily, we had a set of headphones for each of them! In French over the last couple of weeks, we have learnt about the artist Claude Monet and created our own Monet inspired pieces of artwork (pictured). We have really enjoyed being architects in our art lessons this half term and we were very proud to show off our 3D creations to Reception and Nursery children last week. We wish you all a lovely half term break.

Ms Richards and Mrs Goodwill

Staff update

I am pleased to announce some changes to our staffing structure next academic year, with effect from September 2024. Firstly, Mrs Dray will be moving into the role of Nursery Leader on a full-time basis. Mrs Dray has proven to be an outstanding Early Years Practitioner over the past four years in Reception. She achieved her Level 3 diploma in Early Years education last year and is due to complete her Level 5 qualification in Early Years leadership imminently. Mrs Dray will continue to be supported in the Nursery class full-time by Mrs Wannell, another qualified and experienced Early Years Practitioner.

Mrs Rickard will continue as the Reception class teacher from Mondays to Thursdays, while Mrs Smyth will take the class on Fridays, as well as leading Forest School sessions for the rest of the school on Thursdays. Miss Adams will move into the role of Lead Teaching Assistant and will be based full-time in our Reception class. As a qualified teacher, Miss Adams has spent two years leading the Nursery class and ensuring the children are very well prepared for their next steps into Reception. In this new role, she will also oversee our cover and interventions.

The staffing in Key Stage 1 will remain unchanged, with Miss Lawrence, Mrs Thomas and Mrs Tyler in Year 1 and Ms Richards, Mrs Goodwill and Mrs Titchin in Year 2. There will be an opportunity for parents to meet these staff at the end of the day following our transition afternoon on Thursday 4 July. I look forward to sharing further details about this event and an update on the restructure of the pre-prep leadership team after half term.

Mr Ayling

House Points

It has been so pleasing to see the children continue to demonstrate our school character virtues. 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 before the half term break and here are the totals:

 

Devonport (Red): 120

Brixham (Yellow): 121

Bideford (Blue): 126

Bridgwater (Green): 149

 

Congratulations to Bridgwater!

Stars of the Week

students holding certificates

Nursery

Cleo

For always having a great attitude towards her learning and looking after new members of the class. Well done!

Miss Adams

Reception

Estelle

For shining in all of her independent writing this week and showing a fantastic attitude to learning. Well done!

Mrs Rickard

Year 1

Levi

For making a great start in Year 1 and trying so hard in all our lessons. Well done!

Miss Lawrence

Year 2

Charlie F

For challenging himself to complete some tricky money work in mathematics. Well done!

Ms Richards & Mrs Goodwill

Head's Star of the Week

Max F (Nursery)

For his super sitting and great concentration in assemblies and in the classroom. Well done!

Mr Ayling

Lunchtime Tidiest Table Award

Congratulations to Reception!

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