The Prep Edwardian
Autumn Term 2017
From the Headmaster
Welcome to the Prep Edwardian review of the Autumn Term. This is our 30th year, and activities and events will take place to help us mark this important milestone in the history of our School Trust. As usual, you will notice the breadth of opportunity afforded to our children shown in the plethora of activities on offer. The addition of the School Farm and our new dining room, The Seedling, have been big attractions for the children. As you browse through we have captured the rich variety of learning experiences such as Pre-Prep Music Workshops, the visits to the Wilson Gallery, Parents and Pupils Christmas Crafts, and travelling back to the Stone Age. Our annual visits to the John Moore Museum and the Black Country Living Museum, the large variety of musical performances, coupled with the usual success on the sporting front made this a busy term. In true Christian fashion, we finished with our Pre-School and Pre- Prep Nativity and Carols by Candlelight at St Gregory’s Church. We wish all our pupils, parents and grandparents a successful and prosperous 2018. With warmest wishes
Stephen McKernan Headmaster
1
Preparatory School 2
From the Head Boy and Head Girl Welcome to the Autumn Term Prep Edwardian. We are this year’s Head Boy and Girl, Angus Walker and Freya Glasson. We would like to share with you some of the new features that have been added to our School. Early in the Autumn Term our School farm was set up and we welcomed two goats. We had a big competition to name them, which was very exciting for all of the children. The winning names, chosen by Daisy James in Year Five, were Sandie and Goldie. We also came back to School in September to our brand new dining hall, The Seedling. The Seedling is very modern and everybody loves eating there! We have a new food source as well and the food is delicious. Also, the children who receive Gold Leaf awards during our Friday celebration assembly now get invited to sit up on the raised area of The Seedling with the teachers to mark their achievements. We are in the process of designing a new adventure playground, including a zip wire, a basket swing and much more, so watch this space! We look forward to welcoming another exciting term this Spring and would like to wish you all a Happy New Year.
3
A world of sensory learning Sensory play enhances learning through hands-on activities that stimulate the child’s senses. This is a great way for children to explore the world they live in! Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction. In our eagerness to prepare children for school, it’s easy to forget that activities like making patterns in dry or wet sand, paint or mud; exploring natural treasures or gloop; or simply experiencing the outdoor environment close-up, are all important stepping stones. The challenge for adults is recognising their value and that ‘in the hands of a child, the simplest of objects can be transformed into whatever they want it to be’ (Gascoyne, S, 2012).
4
Exploring Autumn Outdoor learning is at the core of our curriculum as we believe that it is one of the most important companions in children’s growth and development. With the school set in 42 acres of parkland our children have opportunities to connect with the natural world and embark on activities which enable them to take appropriate risk and challenges and build strong positive relationships with their natural environment.
5
People who help us A huge thank you to all the professionals who gave up the time to come and talk to the Kindergarten children. The children had a wonderful time learning how to care for domestic pets, exploring the role of a firefighter and finding out all about Father Pat and his role as a priest. The children then met a post lady who ensured that she collected their Christmas wish lists in order to send them to the North Pole!
6
7
Autumn Term in Pre-School The children in Pre-School Hazel and Pre-School Laurel share their favourite moments from the Autumn Term.
We love running and riding and spinning and jumping and drumming. Thomas, Bobby and Isaac
P.E. is great because we love it. Balancing is fun. We run around and learn hard things with Miss Ansell. Sienna and Olivia
I love drawing and writing. Elena Law
Collecting leaves, conkers, dandelion clocks and pine cones. We like exploring and finding things. Pre-School
Learning our sounds is fun, we sing songs. Olivia
We love doing art, painting and making things with jewels. Yasmine, Mia and Annie
We love being messy and exploring. Maisy Little and Megan
We like playing with our new friends. If our friends fall over we can help them up. If we are nice to them they will be our friends. Pre-School
8
Diwali Reception pupils enjoyed exploring the Hindu festival of Diwali. The children made Rangoli patterns with the assistance of Year 6 pupils, who also helped Mrs Singh to deliver a wonderful talk to the pupils and teachers.
9
Pre-Prep Music Workshop Pre-Prep thoroughly enjoyed a Music Workshop, led by Mrs Pope, Director of Music. The pupils all played an instrument and participated in a great ‘Peter and the Wolf’ performance for the Pre-School children. Thank you Mrs Pope for inspiring our younger pupils!
10
A King is Born! Pre-School and Pre-Prep pupils put on an excellent production of A King is Born. The children delivered their lines clearly and confidently and sang very enthusiastically!
11
Visits to the Wilson Gallery Pre-Prep Art Week began with a visit to The Wilson in Cheltenham to discover what ‘art’ was and to explore the gallery and museum. Pupils enjoyed experimenting in their workshops as they discovered a range of techniques including printing, painting using Brusho and creating rubbings to show different textures.
12
Christmas Crafts
13
Reception...
14
Fun in Year One The children have enjoyed all of their topics this term. These have included having fun being weather forecasters and predicting the weather and discussing the changing seasons, taking journeys in a variety of transport and their first swimming lesson experience.
15
Footprints from the past Year 2 have been learning all about dinosaurs this term. The children travelled back 245 million years to the Triassic period and have discovered our world and how it has changed, right up to present day. They have enjoyed finding out all about fossils and the process of fossilisation as part of their work. After exploring a range of fossils the children were then able to make and enjoy their own fossil biscuits.
16
Travelling back to the Stone Age As an introduction to their history topic, Year 3 travelled back in time to the Stone Age and went on a scavenger hunt in our School grounds to explore what life would have been like for hunter-gatherers during this time. Pupils built shelters using natural materials, tasted blackberries, learnt to make a fire and even saw a real deer! They then took part in a Stone Age workshop which supported their history topic ‘Scavengers and Settlers’. Pupils learnt about the clothing and weapons used by early humans; discussed the changing settlements they lived in; embarked on a woolly mammoth hunt; created Cave Art and even solved a Stone Age Murder Mystery! They also became archaeologists for the afternoon and debated on whether materials would rot or not after burial.
17
Visit to the John Moore Museum
18
Black Country Living Museum Year 6 enjoyed a busy day at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. Pupils spent the day finding out about life in Victorian times with each class following the life of a different Victorian child, learning about their work, school and family life. The children also enjoyed visiting the authentic Victorian confectioner and steam fair.
19
Sporting Achievements
20
James D. making ground against Berkhampstead as Josh P. and Johnnie H. look on.
With rugby being the main sport for the term, pupils have been busy representing the School in various matches, festivals and tournaments across all year groups.
Sam S. on the charge with Isaac M. and Zayn K. in pursuit.
All pupils have had the opportunity to play and the improvements made in the quality of their performances have been noticeable across all levels. Football action has been confined to the Cheltenham and District Primary League and St Edward’s have safely qualified for the Main Championship next term where they will be one of eight schools competing for the title.
21
Carols by Candlelight
22
23
Happy 30th Birthday St Edward’s! The 30th anniversary of the birth of St Edward’s was celebrated on Friday 6th October. The Prep School staff and pupils were treated to a fun filled day down at the Senior School. This involved many games and challenges, where the Prep and Senior School pupils were given the opportunity to work collaboratively throughout the day. The day ended with a short service and a whole school photograph.
24
25
Cheltenham Literature Festival All pupils from Reception through to Year 6 were able to experience the wonderful Festival of Literature! They saw performances, talks and demonstrations from their favourite authors, and we were lucky enough to be gifted an illustration by Jonathan Stroud, which is now on display in our Library.
26
Gun Dog Display We were delighted to welcome The Gundog Company to the School which was very exciting for Year 2 to Year 6 pupils. The Gundog Company are sponsored by the Independent Schools Association and are a family based project based in a small Leicestershire village that are enthusiastic about the gundog breed and committed to their training and welfare.
27
Children in Need Mufti Day
28
St Edward’s Preparatory School London Road, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL52 6NR, UK T: +44 (0)1242 538900 E: prepschool@stedwards.co.uk www.stedwards.co.uk