PREP
ISSUE 8 • SUMMER 2021
Never Grow Up PAGE 2
stedwards.co.uk
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...
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Year 5 Explore the Isle of Wight
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Reception Bake Off
Prep Presentation Afternoon
Sports Days 2021
St Edward’s Preparatory School, 252 London Road, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 6NR T:01242 388550 E:prepschool@stedwards.co.uk
At the end of the Summer Term we bid farewell to Prep School Headmaster, Stephen McKernan. Over the last ten years, Mr McKernan’s leadership and creativity took the Prep School on an incredible journey, and we are all very grateful to him for the dedication and commitment that he demonstrated throughout his time at the school. It was especially pleasing that in Mr McKernan’s last term, we were able to facilitate a large number of events and activities that had not been possible in recent times due to impact of COVID-19 restrictions. In the pages of this edition of Term Times, you will read about Year 5’s adventure to the Isle of Wight (P2), the incredible Year 6 production of “Peter Pan” (P1) and our Prep and Pre-Prep Sports Days (P8). None of these events would have been possible without the ingenuity and creative solutions found by our hugely talented staff team and I thank all of them for their tenacity and willingness to get things done! This term marks the start of my role as Principal of both St Edward’s Prep School and Senior School. Working alongside our Head of Prep School, Paul Fathers, I look forward to continuing to ensure that St Edward’s remains a place in which we build strong learning foundations to create bright and successful futures for all our pupils.
Mr M Burke Principal
DATES FOR THE DIARY Autumn Term 2021 Term Starts: Wednesday 8th September Open Morning for Prospective Parents: Saturday 2nd October Half Term: Monday 18th to Friday 29th October Term Ends: Thursday 16th December, 12pm
Social Media links Twitter: •@ StEdwards_Prep • @StEdsPrePrep • @SportStEds_Prep Instagram: • stedwardsprepcheltenham Facebook: www.facebook.com/ StEdwardsSchoolCheltenham
Never Grow Up! In mid-June our hugely talented Year 6 pupils put on their absolutely wonderful production of “Peter Pan JR”. After working tirelessly during the previous few months perfecting their performances and learning their lines, our eager young performers took to the stage for two nights. The spectacle delighted all in attendance as the cast impressed with their enthusiasm, talent and confidence! It was particularly special for the children that we were able to stage the play in a COVID-safe way and allow them to have the experience of performing to a live audience, P2
albeit a small socially distanced one! A film was also made so that they could share their performance with a wider circle of family and friends, who in normal times would have been able to watch in person. Both shows went extremely well and we were so proud of each and every member of the cast! A huge well done to all of Year 6 and, of course, our fabulous Director Mrs Dobson, and the rest of the Prep staff for helping it all run so smoothly!
Year 5 Explore the Isle of Wight One sunny morning in June, Year 5 set off on an adventure to the Isle of Wight. They enjoyed the trip on the ferry and spent their first evening walking along the seafront to ‘The Lost World of Adventure’ for a round of crazy golf, which had a rain forest theme and amazing sound effects! Their first full day’s activities saw them take a trip to the Needles Sand Shop where the children filled plastic shapes with layers of different coloured sand from Alum Bay. They then took a boat ride from Alum Bay, which enabled them to see the views of the coloured sands of the cliffs in their full glory! In the afternoon, the pupils went to Carisbrooke Castle where they saw King Charles I’s bowling green and learnt about the history of the Castle which has experienced sieges, imprisoned kings and seen off the Spanish Armada! They finished their day with beach games and hot chocolate, before going to bed to recharge for another busy day.
On the agenda for day two, was a trip to the Amazon World Zoo Park where the group got to experience the wallaby and lemur walkthrough and meet the many rare and endangered rainforest animals living in their specially recreated habitat. Their evening activity was a friendly bowling competition at Ryde Superbowl. On their final day they enjoyed an interesting talk about fossils, before walking up to Yaverland Bay for their very own fossil hunt!
AMERICAN HISTORY In June, Year 4 packed their school bags and boarded a coach to Bath. Their destination? The American Museum. With a remarkable collection of folk and decorative arts, the Museum showcases the diverse nature of American traditions. The pupils were given opportunities to view real objects from the lives of Native Americans who lived hundreds of years ago, before the time of the European settlers. Context to the Museum’s collection was given by a very interesting guided tour and a fascinating talk by the Museum’s Education Officer.
Year 5 had the best time on their jam-packed trip!
Wriggly Caterpillars and Beautiful Butterflies! In May, the children in Kindergarten were learning about caterpillars and the transformation into butterflies. They thoroughly enjoyed rolling playdough into spheres to make their own caterpillars and used lots of words such as “roll it”, “long” and “wiggle” whilst shaping their creations. A variety of materials such as match sticks and pipe cleaners were then used to decorate them. They also investigated sensory trays with models of different insects, looking at each one through magnifying glasses and trying to identify them. Art was incorporated into their learning by painting different pasta shapes to look like caterpillars and butterflies.
STEPPING BACK IN TIME! Our Year 6 pupils donned their best 1940’s outfits and were transported back to the Second World War in May! Dressed as evacuee children, the group travelled on a traditional steam train along the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, heading into the safety of the countryside. Much to their horror, an undercover German Spy managed to infiltrate the carriage and quiz the children about their movements. When they came to a stop Mrs Johnson kept calm and chased the spy from the train! A fantastic glimpse into wartime life, the pupils had a truly wonderful time on this memorable excursion.
ERASMUS+ The Prep School has been taking part in a very exciting Project this year. The ‘Erasmus+ Profile Project‘, aims to facilitate learning financial literacy in EU schools. Run by the University of Gloucestershire, the project has partner schools in Italy, Croatia, and Hungary, with St Edward’s working with the project co-ordinators as the UK partner school. The Project Team aim to develop teaching and learning materials over the course of three years, which will provide the blueprint for the implementation of financial literacy in primary schools.
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A TRIP TO SLIMBRIDGE In late June, Year 3 pupils went on an exciting trip to Slimbridge. The Wetland Centre is bursting with wildlife and provides a fantastic opportunity to learn about some important conservation work. The children got to try pond dipping and also explored ‘Wellyboot Land’. A highlight of the visit was the chance to see the new aviary, where they learnt about what estuaries are and the species of birds that they are home to. The pupils also visited the flamingos and saw many sitting on their eggs waiting for them to hatch.
CHIRPY CHICKS! In May we had some egg-stremely exciting new additions to our school community when we welcomed 4 new chicks, incubated and nurtured by our Year 5 pupils. The hatching of one of the eggs was live-streamed during a whole School assembly so that all the children had an opportunity to experience the wonder of watching new life enter the world.
CODING WITH KODU Kodu is a 3D game development environment that is designed to teach children basic programming principles. Children in Year 4 created their own games in Kodu this term, including building the terrain for their virtual world, populating it with characters and then programming their behaviours. There are many benefits of learning coding at a young age, as it helps children to gain an advantage in thinking, processing, and communication skills.
HOTELS FOR BUGS To conclude Pre-School’s ‘Minibeasts’ topic, the children created bug hotels! With our increasingly urbanised environment and the trend for ‘manicured’ gardens often consisting of large swathes of mowed lawn, there can be a lack of suitable habitats for our native insects to live. Pre-School constructed their ‘Bug Hotels’ using recycled materials from home, and sticks, pine cones and bark from the school grounds. Their first guest was ‘Woody’ the woodlouse who left a 5-star review! P4
CAFOD’s ‘Eyes of the World’ Campaign The current campaign of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) is called ‘Eyes of the World’, focussing on the fight to tackle climate change. The eyes of the world were on the UK in June when Britain hosted world leaders for the UN Climate Talks when important decisions were made that will shape the future of our global family. During an assembly that same week, Mr McKernan listened to the children as they shared their thoughts on climate change. One child in Year 3 said, “The assembly made me think about the damage we are causing and it makes me sad, especially as it is the poorest people being affected the most.” Two Year 3 students were moved by the assembly so much that they started collecting litter from around the school grounds during their break and lunch. Towards the end of the week, two of our Year 5 pupils represented the School at the Little Ways
Partnership Meeting (a collection of Catholic Schools in Cheltenham and Gloucester) where they talked on Zoom about the green initiatives that had already been implemented in our school. Our pupils talked confidently about the School Farm and garden and the recycling bins we have in all of the classrooms. They also talked about how everyone at school tries to reduce the amount of single use plastic in circulation by having reusable water cups and bottles. The other schools were very impressed by all the things we do at St Edward’s and the girls heard some great ideas of initiatives that they could start soon.
Reception Bake Off Children in Reception had a number of opportunities to show off their culinary skills this term. Having learnt ‘The Queen of Hearts’, a traditional British poem and nursery rhyme in which the Queen has her tarts stolen by a naughty knave, the children were given the opportunity to make jam tarts of their very own. They mixed the ingredients, rolled out the pastry and cut out circles which they then filled with jam. After a short time in the oven the tarts were then enjoyed by the pupils - yum! This was followed up by a visit to The Seedling Kitchen to see Chef Alan who talked to the children about making bread and showed them how to shape it into different rolls. All of the children were then given some dough that they rolled into different shapes. Some made snowmen, some made hearts and we even had one shaped like
Ginger the cat, who is regularly seen on School grounds! Hands-on cooking activities help children to develop confidence and skill. Being in the kitchen can also be particularly good for practising mental maths when measuring out ingredients!
Year 6 Presentation Afternoon During the last week of term, our Year 6 class of 2021 took part in a socially-distanced Presentation Afternoon, streamed live so that family members were able to watch along at home. Year 6 have had a unique last year of Prep School. We had never imagined that this would be how our students’ time would end. Over the last year the St Edward’s community has demonstrated great strength, adaptability, and unity and the Year 6 pupils have been no exception. The audience were treated to several musical numbers from the Year 6 production of “Peter Pan JNR”, performed with aplomb! They then heard from several speakers, including special guest, Douglas Hughes. Mr Hughes is Senior Director of Packaging for Mondelez International (the owners of Cadbury), focussing on improving the
sustainability of packaging materials. Our fantastic Head Boy, Max, and Head Girl, Karoline, delivered excellent speeches, with a huge amount of confidence. They reminisced on their time at school, the struggles we have all faced over the past year, and how the school has supported the pupils throughout it all. During the ceremony a range of prizes were awarded to recognise the hard work and progress of the pupils during their time at the Prep School. To end proceedings, our Prep Headmaster, Mr McKernan, had the audience gripped as he delivered his final message to the pupils, including a couple of his ‘best-worst jokes’ and some positive messages to live life by.
A TRIP TO COTSWOLD FARM PARK Our Reception pupils embarked on a trip to the Cotswold Farm Park in June. They learnt about the different rare breed animals that are kept at the farm and particularly enjoyed seeing a very special new-born; ‘Braveheart’, the Suffolk Punch foal. The children discussed how the breeds of goats differed from those kept at the school farm and also had great fun driving the electric tractors, pretending to be arable farmers and playing on the brand-new adventure play equipment and zip wire.
CULTIVATING CROPS Pupils across the year groups were set the task of growing their own vegetables this term! As well as working to cultivate some delicious crops the children also focussed on the science behind gardening. For example, Year 6 conducted an experiment with lettuce seeds to see which conditions allowed the plants to thrive best, and Year 3 took part in a germination investigation when planting their broad beans.
Woodland Management for Year 4 As part of their science topic on Human Impact, Year 4 visited Westonbirt Arboretum in early June and enjoyed taking part in a number of activities related to Woodland Management for Wildlife. The activities included looking for evidence of living things that use trees for shelter or food, a game called “Shrinking Forest” where they learnt about the importance of trees to animals and people, and a treasure hunt where they had to find items made from wood and paper. To the hilarity
of the children, this included toilet paper! Many of the children said their favourite activity was using natural materials to design and make their own model of woodland. The Westonbirt teachers were very impressed by the knowledge and creativity shown by our pupils. By the end of the day, the children had learnt how important sustainable woodlands are to both humans and wildlife and how we can help by buying wood products that have the FSC and PEFC kitemarks.
DRUMMING UP A STORM This term, Year 5 pupils continued with their whole-class African Drumming lessons. African drumming is an exciting and exhilarating experience in which the pupils are required to work together to produce a cohesive sound. With the good weather, we enjoyed towards the end of the academic year the lessons moved outside into the School grounds and it was lovely to hear the rhythmic beats echoing around the school site.
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MEET
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TE AM
Mr Paul Fathers, Head of Prep School
St George’s Day Celebrations In celebration of St George’s Day Pre-Prep children explored the school woodland in a crosscurricular activity involving Forest School.
then attacking as the Dragon. They also spent time making magic potions to repel the Dragon using soil, water and leaves.
The pupils recreated the story of St George by dressing up as the Dragon, Princess, Knights, and the King. They took it in turns to play each character, swapping between protecting the Princess as the Knights, King and St George,
The activity was a fabulous way to help the children to develop confidence, problem solving skills and creativity, which they will be able to carry through into all aspects of their learning.
What is your role within the School? As Head of Prep School, my role in school is really varied and exciting; it includes seeing what the children are doing all over the school, talking to the teachers and making sure that everyone has everything that they need. There is also a lot of organisation for me to manage! What did you do before working at St Edward’s? I have been at St Edward’s for quite a long time, but before I came here, I was a teacher at the Royal Grammar School in Worcester which is based in a really interesting building that dates back to the 15th century. What would you say is the most interesting part of your day-to-day work? Definitely working with the children, either as a large group in assembly, a class or just a few individuals. What activities do you enjoy in your spare time? Travelling, cycling, eating out and watching football both in a ground and on TV.
Sculpting Snails In early May Pre-School children were reading the stories ‘The Snail and the Whale’ and ‘Sharing a Shell’.
Who, or what, would you say has most inspired you in life? Anybody who has persevered and kept going despite obstacles. This would include the inventor of the light bulb, Thomas Edison, who went wrong many times before finally perfecting his invention.
To link to their reading, the children worked with air-dry clay, to make their very own snails! They worked really hard to roll out the large sausages required to form the shell and body of their snail, before threading small beads onto lengths of pipe cleaner and using them as eyes for their new friend. Once finished, each snail was named and left to harden.
Tell us one activity that is on your ‘Bucket List’ I had planned to go to Australia before travel was stopped and would still really like to go. Finally, the best thing about working at St Edward’s is… The people, both children and adults- the children are inquisitive and really want to learn and the adults are friendly, helpful and really enjoy being here.
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Pinch Pot Fish This term in art, having previously drawn and painted fish in oil pastel and poster paint, pupils from a range of year groups went on to make a 3D version in clay. They learnt to create the body with two pinch pots, coiled the lips and made fins from rolled out slabs. They each made the fish their own by adding hearts, stripes and spikes to the bodies. The final step in the process was to glaze them in bright colours after they were biscuit fired!
Welsh Adventures for Year 6 INCREDIBLE INDIA Towards the end of June, Year 6 set off to Wales for their ‘French’ residential trip. Despite the enforced change of country, the scenery was just as beautiful, even if the weather was not quite as warm for the whole of the trip! When they arrived at the activity centre, Year 6 got stuck in straight away, thoroughly enjoying the chance to participate in some team building games before tea. Later that evening the group took on the ‘Nightline Challenge’, where they had to lead each other through an obstacle course whilst blindfolded. They also had the chance to play French bingo and practise their French numbers up to 100. For the rest of the week Year 6 enjoyed having a go at a huge range of activities including, paddle boarding and canoeing, rock climbing, bushcraft, Jacob’s Ladder and the Leap of Faith, high ropes, archery, caving and an assault course. We were really proud of how our Year 6 pupils helped and supported each other as they worked together to overcome nerves and just have a go at all the experiences on offer to them. Everyone really made the most of a truly amazing, activityfilled week of adventure!
Year 3 thoroughly enjoyed their ‘Incredible India’ topic this term. As part of the activity, they learnt about the traditional Indian artform ‘Rangoli’. The tradition is a daily practice in some Hindu households, but the patterns are time consuming to create, so complex designs are often saved for festivals such as Diwali or Sankranthi. Year 3 tried their hand at constructing their own Rangoli artworks using coloured rice, with some very beautiful results!
CONDUCTOR OR INSULATOR? One afternoon in May, Year 4 took part in an electrifying practical Science lesson! The children were asked to investigate a variety of materials to ascertain which were conductors and which were insulators. The pupils had a range of substances to test, including wood, copper, glass, steel and plastic. They each set up a circuit and chose to test a range of samples, making sure that they had written predictions for the outcome of each beforehand.
A WELL-BEING WALK WITH TED
Stella the Starfish Children in Pre-School, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 put on a wonderful performance of “Stella the Starfish” towards the end of term. COVID-19 restrictions and the fact that we were operating in bubbles, meant that we were unfortunately unable to stage the production as a live performance as the children couldn’t all be together at the same time. However, by recording and editing the individual year groups, along with some clever use of green screen, we managed to create a lovely film of the production to share with family and friends. The musical explores the theme of being helpful to others. When Stella the Starfish is found, lost and alone, by two children, they agree to help her find
her family. They are transported into the ocean by a magic shell and seek the advice of the colourful sea creatures. None are able or willing to help, except for Sid the singing shark, who helps to reunite them with Stella’s family.
Mental Health Awareness Week took place in May and the theme this year was nature. Good mental health and spending time in nature often go hand in hand, whether that’s sitting in the garden with a good book, taking part in Farm Club at school or simply going for a walk in your local area. During Mental Health Awareness Week, our Well-being Nurse, Becca, took some of the Prep School children out into the grounds for a walk with well-being Dog, Ted – an activity which, arguably, is a fantastic way to encourage anyone to smile! To find out more about how well-being is a really important part of St Edward’s life and how well-being and academic success can go hand in hand, you can listen to Becca’s episode of the School Podcast: https://stedwards.uk/podcast
All of the children delivered fabulous performances, working hard to learn the songs. Year 2 particularly impressed by learning their lines and presenting the dramatic elements of the show really well. It was a great team effort and a very enjoyable experience for both pupils and staff! P7
INTER-HOUSE CRICKET In the scorching heat of sunny June afternoon, all pupils in Year 6 took part in Inter-House cricket matches. This was the first competition year for the girls, who have fully embraced the new sport, making huge improvements with their batting, bowling and fielding. After six extremely competitive matches, the results were as follows: 1st Place and Inter-House Champions: Dahl 2nd Place: Blyton 3rd place: Lewis
INTER-HOUSE SWIMMING GALA Just before half-term each year group competed in Inter-House Swimming Galas. All Galas consisted of a number of relays, both fun and more competitive races, with each child gaining valuable points for their House. The Galas were all held in good spirit, with the Year 6 House Sports Captains proving invaluable in organising and encouraging the younger children. Lewis House won the Year 3 and 4 Gala with a fantastic 40 points and Dahl were the winners of the Year 5 and 6 Gala with 39 points. All pupils gave their very best and impressed their teachers with the amount of maturity displayed during the competition. Results in full: Year 3 and 4 Gala • Blyton – 24 points • Dahl – 20 points • Lewis – 40 points Year 5 and 6 Gala • Blyton – 38 points • Dahl – 39 points • Lewis – 31 points
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Prep Sports Day 2021 There was plenty of change in the air for the 25th St Edward’s Prep Sports Day, as favourites Dahl House, emerged triumphant with both the Sports Day and Relay Cups. Blyton pushed them close in the afternoon relay session, but perhaps it was fitting that it was the green of Dahl that enjoyed the glory, as the meeting returned to the main site of the school on the new 200m grass track. The reduction in size from the 300m redgra surface created a lot of new races, so new records were set in abundance. But, although there were several close calls, notably by Taylor P (Y4 50m A Race), Lucia S (Y5 75m C Race), Amy P (Y6 75m B Race) and Rufus C (Y6 75m C Race), no track records were broken, confirming that the grass surface would be a tad slower. The slope also made it tougher for the 150m, 200m and longdistance races, as well as for certain runners in the relays who had to negotiate the uphill section.
very first jump of the competition, who became the new holder with a leap of 3.81m, 12cm further, leaving Holly T-S in second after she too broke the record with a best jump of 3.72m. Due to the switch in location, the Long Jump competitions were completed beforehand, with Dahl forging a lead from those events that they retained throughout the main day itself.
To complete the cycle of change, the ‘Vortex Howler’ was introduced for the throwing events to replace the cricket and rounder ball throws from the past. Due to its lighter weight, the winners of these new throwing events became new record holders in a flash!
Sports Day Cup (Overall including track, field and relay events): 1st Dahl House – 1130 points 2nd Lewis House – 1058 points 3rd Blyton House – 1040 points
There was one record broken though in the Year 6 Girls’ Long Jump event. Two athletes broke Sophie C’s ten year old record, but it was Zara C, with the
Results:
Relay Cup: 1st Dahl House – 116 points 2nd Lewis House – 112 points 3rd Blyton House – 84 points
Pre-Prep Sports Day 2021 We also were able to hold an absolutely amazing Pre-Prep Sports Day in the very last week of term. The day was filled with many fun races, which the children loved participating in and all of them behaved impeccably. They showed some brilliant teamwork and kindness towards one another, celebrating each
other’s success with lots of cheering for those making the podium. There were several fun ‘Novelty races’ as well as the all-important Sprint and Relay races. A particular favourite being the Pre-School basket race, one to remember! Well done to all of the children for taking part!
St Edward’s Preparatory School, 252 London Road, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 6NR
T:01242 388550 E:prepschool@stedwards.co.uk