Pre-Prep Reflections Week 8 November 2024

Diary Dates

*PLEASE NOTE NEW DATES/TIMES

*Tuesday 12 November – Odd socks day for Anti-Bullying Week

Friday 15 November – Non-uniform day for Children in Need (£1-2 donation)

Wednesday 20 November 2.15pm – Year 3 Entry parent information meeting

Thursday 21 November – Autumn Reviews issued to parents

Wednesday 27 November 3.50-7.30pm – Parents’ evening

Wednesday 4 December 3.45-4.45pm – Pre-Prep Disco

Tuesday 10 December 3pm – Informal parent drop-in

*Thursday 12 & Friday 13 December 2pm – Nativity performances

Monday 16 December – Christmas jumper day

Tuesday 17 December – Christmas pantomime

Wednesday 18 December – End of autumn term (12 noon)

Term dates for 2024-25 and 2025-26 are available to download from the school website.

Spotlight on Reception

We have had a brilliant first week back in Reception. In our literacy lessons, we have been listening to Bonfire Night poetry and exploring the different adjectives we can use to describe what we can see and hear at this time of year. We have then written about what we can see on Bonfire Night, using some descriptive vocabulary. It has been great to create firework pictures for a new display in our classroom. Our new topic this term in Early Years is ‘Forest and Woodland’ and our key text this week has been Percy the Park Keeper. We have looked at some of the different animals that live in the forest and thought about the sights and sounds we hear when we take part in forest school. In mathematics this week, we have been looking at the days of the week and the months of the year. We have learnt some new rhymes to help us remember the order of the days and months, and we’ve enjoyed sharing them with our friends. We have been very impressed with how the children have settled back into their routines and we’re looking forward to a busy and exciting half term ahead!

Mrs Rickard, Mrs Smyth and Miss Adams

Anti-bullying Week

Next week is anti-bullying week across most UK schools. As Monday is Remembrance Day, Odd Socks Day has been moved to Tuesday 12 November. This is all about raising awareness and celebrating our unique differences. If the children would like to wear a pair of odd socks to school on Tuesday, we would love to see them – the louder, the better!

There will be special assemblies and activities taking place throughout the week, culminating in Children in Need Day on Friday 15 November. As usual, this will be a non-uniform day to raise money for the charity. The suggested donation is £1-2 and the children will not be expected to change for PE lessons, so please bear this in mind when choosing outfits! Thank you for your support.

Mrs Lawrence-Jones, Head of Pastoral Care

Nativity 2024

We are already looking forward to this year’s school Christmas play, which will feature a traditional nativity play set within the story of The Polar Express – with a fair amount of artistic licence, of course! You will receive a slip in your child’s reading diary explaining their role and some costume suggestions. We would be grateful if you could provide a costume for your child in a named bag by Friday 6 December. You are welcome to bring their costume into school before this date. Please do let us know if you have any questions or difficulty sourcing a costume as we would be very happy to help. Each class teacher has chosen the roles for their class, so please speak directly to them in the first instance if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your support.

Ms Richards, Deputy Head

Entry to Year 3 parent information meeting

In response to requests from parents, we will soon be holding an information meeting with Exeter School about entry to Year 3. This will be in the school hall 2.15-3.15pm on Wednesday 20 November. Parents from all year groups are welcome to attend and there is no need to book. Leah Hardy, Head of Lower School at Exeter Junior School, and Liz Williams, Director of Admissions and Marketing, will be coming over to speak about the 7+ assessment morning and transition arrangements for pupils progressing to Year 3. There will also be an opportunity for parents to ask questions.

Ms Richards, Deputy Head

Parents’ Evening

All parents should have received an email with this link to the online booking form for parents’ evening on Wednesday 27 November. Each meeting lasts 10 minutes and it is important that we adhere to this time limit to avoid running late. If you require a longer meeting or would prefer to meet online, please let AJ know and we will arrange an alternative date with you. If you have already arranged a meeting with your child’s teacher, you do not need to complete the booking form. Please email AJ on pre-prep@exeterschool.org.uk if you have any problems using the online booking form.

Mr Ayling