St Teresa's PREP BULLETIN 27.03.26 by EffinghamSchoolsTrust

Issue 11

Dear Parents,

Bulletin

Spring Term

27th March 2026

Two thirds of the way through t ar, with a 9 5 week Summer Term left to go, this year certainly is flying by

But it has been jam-packed with so much learning and so many excellent extras. This week has been no exception.

I am sure many of you took the opportunity to support older daughters and their friends in attending the Senior School Musical production of Westside Story What a magnificent job the whole team did in putting on such a spectacular show

In Prep School, on Wednesday, we had our penultimate class assembly of the year with 5AB entertaining parents and peers with their learning in celebration of Shakespeare Week as part of their Tudor topic. Lots of fun facts, song and dance routines and very well learned lines I was especially struck by the origins of the phrase ‘box office’ coming from the room where they stored the boxes they had collected the patron’s coin!

Later that same day, after staff had transformed Room 44 into a 1940s throwback venue, Year 6 celebrated the end of the their topic on WWII with a VE Day celebration party. Followed by a round-up of the success of their Life Lab experience and a big reveal of how much profit each team made and how much money in total they raised for charity. Well done, Year 6!

On Thursday, we started our Easter celebrations with a lovely Lenten Mass This was followed at lunch time with a well organised, and led, Easter Egg Hunt, our thanks go to the wonderful ladies of FOST for putting this fun treasure hunt on for the girls. The weather also turned beautifully sunny to create a stunning back drop for running around the school solving clues, cracking the code and unlocking the safe to reveal the chocolate delights inside

And today we started with our annual Hop, Skip and a Jump event, many thanks to Mrs Hitchman and Miss Collins, which led into fun Easter learning, end of term assembly and Easter reflection

All that is left for me to do is wish you all a joy-filled Easter break as we come to the end of Lent, reflect on the year behind and the year ahead and take great joy in the knowledge that, as it says in Luke 24: ‘He is not here, He has risen!’

Best wishes and see you in the Summer!

Gareth Tindall

Pastoral Pause

As we head into the Easter holidays, I fully appreciate that we hand back tired children following a busy term in school. We also hand you back your children, full time, 24-7 – and whilst for me this was the most joyful thing, I understand that long days of keeping-them-busy is no mean feat.

Can I reflect with you that they AND you should do the following three things: Practice a little self-care: a day in the break of doing what we need to unwind. Make space for wonder – find things that take your breath away and make you go ‘Wow!’ –whether that be in the Natural History Museum, taking in a Musical in Town, simply watching the sunset over local fields and woods. Be awed this break. Celebrate Nature! Get outside, go for walks, runs, kayaks, paddleboard rides, cycles or whatever else you love doing – outside The fresh air will be invigorating and a healthy way to tire them out

And finally, never forget dear parents, that your presence in your child’s life is a gift Share that gift together Let them enjoy moments with you this break that they will never forget Because as the famous quote says:

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel ”

Have a blessed end to Lent and a joyful celebration of our Lord’s life on his resurrection Sunday, Gareth

GOLDEN BOOK

Well done to all of the girls in our Golden Books this week:

5AB

Lulu & Ava for their informative and interesting fact files about William Shakesp Izzy E-N & Flossie H for their independence and determination when sewing their Tudor banners.

5HT

Millie G for confident stitch work and a brilliant Tudor inspired banner design in History this week.

Zoe G for a comprehensive and beautifully presented William Shakespeare fact file in English

6RG

Olivia L for her fantastic speech in the style of Winston Churchill's VE Day speech Super use of images, a range of sentence types and passive voice, well done!

Liberty C for her fantastic VE Day speech. Super effort to use emotive language and a range of different sentence structures. Well done!

Isla S for the performance of her VE Day speech Super control and intonation when presenting her speech, which contained some fantastic emotive language and a clear message. Well done!

6MK

Cary D, Daisy B and Abby V-R for writing and delivering engaging and uplifting VE Day speeches that demonstrated confident use of both active and passive voice.

DRAMA STARS

Year 5: Arabella N for her impressive performance of Juliet's soliloquy in her class assembly

Year 6: Isla M for her confidence in speaking in front of an audience during her perfect pitch.

SCIENTIST OF THE WEEK

Year 5: Isabelle C, Florence D, Leila A and Charlotte E for their imaginative Seed designs which included detail about their dispersal methods and demonstrating their understanding of our topic.

Year 6: Liberty C for her excellent work on horse evolution. Megan S for her resilience and determination in Science this week.

Spring Term, 2026 Key Diary Dates:

Mon 20th Apr Inset Day All Day U10 & U11 Pre-Season Tennis Training 11:30 – 13:00

Tues 21st April Term begins 08:00 Ducks eggs are delivered AM

Wed 22nd April The ducklings should start hatching! All Day

Thur 23rd April Judaism Workshop, Room 44 13:15 - 15:45

Fri 24th April Year 5 'Adopt A Chef', Dining Hall 09:00

Tues 28th April

Student Led Assembly, Sophia D & Zoe G, Sports & International Dance Day (29th April), Room 44 08:35 Year 5 'Adopt A Chef', Dining Hall 09:55 Wed 29th April 5HT Class Assembly, Library 08:15 - 09:00 Evensong Winchester Cathedral (Schola Cantorum) 11:15

Thur 30th April Flower Procession in Honor of Our Lady 08:35 Fri 1st May Ducklings will go to their new home PM Mon 4th May Bank Holiday All Day

Tues 5th May - Fri 8th May YR 5 PGL Trip to Osmington Bay All Day

Whole School Prep School, Reports - Spring 2 Prep School, Reminder: Hop Skip and Jump, 27th March

https://stteresas.schoolpost.co.uk

If you have any questions please email prepinfo@st-teresas.com Tennis Pre Season Training

Please remember to check your inbox, including your junk/spam, as the email may go to your junk box the first time it is sent

LifeLab

Last Friday saw the culmination of all of the Year 6's hard work during their LifeLab project The teams were prepped and ready for the team of judges that came to watch their 'Perfect Pitches'. Each girl stood tall and sold their business with confidence and eloquence. They displayed humour, excellent product knowledge and a wonderful team spirit.

After some slight alterations to the stalls, the doors of the Library were flung open to receive a wide rang of customers Products flew off the shelves and it was wonderful to see everyone enjoying themselves, whether it was by having a temporary tattoo or a new hairstyle At the end of the day, the girls raised a phenomenal £849 21

Congratulations to all of the teams, and in particular Tsunami Surfers who won 'Perfect Pitch' and Giggles & Glow who won overall Many thanks go to Mr Field and Mr Neate who were excellent judges and Mrs Haymes for all her support in the Library

Year 6 Speeches

After analysing Winston Churchill's speech to the nation on VE Day 8 May 1945, Year 6 explored different examples of emotive language and active and passive voice, then applied what they know to write their own speeches The final speeches were fantastic and included short sentences and language carefully chosen for i Th i l h heir speeches to their peers, considering their use of intonation, emphasis and m gestures to really make an impact and get their me

Year 6, 'A Child's War' Topic

To mark the end of their topic, 'A Child's War', Year 6 celebrated the end of the war: VE Day (Victory in Europe), celebrated on 8th May 1945. Room 44 was turned into our very own street party, with bunting adorning the walls and tables and even flags to wave Huge thanks go to all those that provided resources, from plates and bunting, to cakes and other goodies; the room was resplendent with red, white and blue and the table was filled with cakes, sandwiches, nibbles and treats The girls enjoyed sharing the food whilst listening to a bit of Glenn Miller, which really set the tone After eating, it was time for a boogie Several of the girls performed dances in both groups and solo, with a particularly fantastic jive, then we ended with a bit of Horrible Histories It was a lovely afternoon and a fabulous way to celebrate our work this term.

We are going to hatch some ducklings!

Our eggs will arrive on: Tuesday 21st April 2026

The ducklings should start hatching around: Wednesday/Thursday 22nd–23rd April

The ducklings will go to their new home on: Friday 1st May

5HT Class Assembly 29/04/26 At 8 30am in the Library

Refreshments will be served from 8 15am

Summer Uniform

Please may the girls in Years 5 return to school after Easter wearing their summer uniform. Summer uniform is optional for our Year 6 girls However, they will be required to wear their winter uniform for special occasions such as Prize Giving and the Leavers’ Mass As a reminder, the summer uniform consists of: pink and white striped dress; white ankle socks (not trainer socks); blazer and a cardigan

Music Exams

Congratulations to all the Prep School girls who sat their ABRSM music exams last week with impressive results:

Year 5

Leila A: Alto sax Grade 1, Merit

Isabelle C: Piano Grade 2, Merit

Year 6

Jessica A: Singing Grade 3, Merit

Ellie B-S: Flute Grade 1, Merit

Sophia C: Singing Grade 4, Merit

Sophia H: Violin Grade 2, Pass

Rosie M: Singing Grade 2, Pass

Ania S: Violin Grade 3, Distinction

Ania S: Singing for Musical Theatre Grade 2, Distinction

Performance News

On 15 March, Anna R performed Adele’s Set Fire to the Rain in front of a packed audience at The Studio, New Wimbledon Theatre. It took a lot of courage and she did so well. Well done Anna!

Wizard of Oz

We round off the Spring Term by looking forward to the Year 6 S production of The Wizard of Oz. A fun afternoon was had by all as we started to e numbers, combining Years 5 and 6.

Sports News

Pupil news

Thea B-H participated in the Great British Schools Biathlon Championships 2026 over the weekend. She was leading the race and swim during the first half of each of her races - she came 39th in the country overall. Well done, Thea - we are very proud of you!

You will be able to access fixtures for the day, alongside the Sports Calendar which can provide you with all the sports fixtures weeks and months in advance. If a team sheet has been published for a particular fixture, the blue ‘person’ symbol will be available to click on. simply click on the blue symbol next to the fixture to access the team sheet

HOP, SKIP AND JUMP

Thank you all who came and joined in with Hop, Skip and Jump this morning. Unfortunately, we couldn’t bring the sunny weather but we brought fun spirit and all the girls started their Friday morning active!

Happy Easter Everyone, eat lots of chocolate and stay active!

From the PE Department!

PPORTS ORTS CCAMP AMP

SWIMMING TENNIS ARTS &

Interhouse Dressage 2026

STE are so proud of how our riders threw themselves into the Interhouse Dressage competition this week, despite their nerves It was wonderful to see how each of them has grown in confidence and skill over the past six months Well done to each of you. The results will be sent by email next week.

Faith Discussion Evening

On Wednesday 18th March a Faith discussion Evening was held at St Teresa's

We welcomed Fr Toby Lees, Fiorella Nash and Fr Charles Benoit to speak about the changing landscape of AI and about what St Francis has to teach us as we navigate through these changing times It was a truly inspiring evening and one that reminded us of who we are and of who we are called to be Two things stood out for me. The question of who are we becoming. In an age when AI seems to be making things easier, we should remind ourselves that we are not what we do but rather who we can be.

The second thing was to consider what we give our attention to and in how important being with one another is Don't miss the next Faith evening whatever you do

This Week

A reading from the Gospel of John

Jesus, seeing Mary weeping, and the Jews who were come with her weeping, groaned in spirit and troubled himself… and he wept.

Jesus therefore came to the tomb And he cried with a loud voice: “Lazarus, come forth!”

Reflection

As we come to the end of a busy term and continue our journey towards Easter may our hearts be raised up. For Christ is not distant to us. He enters our world and through His power transforms us. This is the central Christian hope That Christ is Incarnate, present, in the here and now Even in our places of grief and hurt. Have a wonderful Easter what ever you are up to and let us all pray for peace

Prayer

Lord Jesus,

You stood with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in their moment of sadness Stand with us today in the places where we feel worried, tired, or weighed down

Help us to support one another, to bring comfort where there is sadness, and to be signs of your love in our school community.

Amen.

Friday 24 April th 8am - 10:30am

SUMMER TERM GROUP SESSIONS

ESTA is delighted to be accepting bookings for group lessons during the summer term. Sessions will run from Tuesday 21 April through to Friday 3 July (10 weeks). st rd

Group sessions will run at the following times:

Y5&6 - Wednesdays @ 4:15-5:15pm

Y7&8 - Fridays @ 4:15-5:15pm

Y9&10 - Fridays @ 5:15-6:15pm

Performance Group (invitational) - Wednesdays @ 6:15-7:45pm

Boarders' Group - Tuesdays @ 6:15-7:15pm

Please contact Kirsti to book your child’s place at esta@effinghamschools.org

ESTA also offers private coaching for adults and children throughout the week.

We look forward to welcoming everyone on court during the summer term!

CONTACT MADDY HALLIWELL

WEEK COMMENCING 20 APRIL 2026 TH