36 minute read
Pre-Prep
from Salvo 2022
Brambly Hedge Outdoor Learning Day
To celebrate our Brambly Hedge themed Outdoor Learning Day, the Pre-Prep was overrun with little mice! We started the day by meeting outside in the playground to find out what was in store! Each teacher took it in turns to tell the children about the activity that they had planned for them in the woodland. Then wellies and layers were put on and the children made their way up to the woods. During the course of the morning, the little mice (children!) were given the chance to choose the activities they could do. “Once we had done one, we could choose something else!” said Rafferty Addington, Year 1. Squeals of delight filled the air as the children transitioned from making mouse-sized, clay pinch pots to gathering little leaves to stick around a drawn snail shell. Other children spent hours designing their own mouse house using a shoe box. It was wonderful watching them gathering various items to furnish their houses. This also inspired some of the children who chose to create a Christmas tree for the mice and decorate it with natural decorations in their free-play time. Mrs Baxter, who loves Maths, set up an estimating and measuring activity for the children. She asked everyone to think about how big a mouse’s bath or cup might need to be. The children could choose whether to use a ruler or small cubes to support their guesses. Mrs Kidd’s activity was very popular all morning, face-painting lots of little mice! The children came back to the classroom for a picnic lunch and a chance for their hands and feet to get nice and toasty. After lunch, the children shaped a hedgehog bread roll each. First, they had to roll it into a ball, before pinching their hedgehog’s nose. They then added two currants for the eyes and used scissors to snip ‘prickles’ on it’s back. Whilst the hedgehogs browned in the oven, the children returned to the woods! In the afternoon, the children were paired up to take part in a mouse scavenger hunt. They had to search for eight different signs that mice had been in the woods. It was lovely for our eldest Year 2 children to support our youngest in Nursery and for Reception and Year 1 to pair up too. Finally, the children ended their busy day with a moment of free play. Unsurprisingly, the majority of this centred around imaginary animals and mouse houses! AB
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Raife Williams, Nursery
“This was the best day EVER!”
Hermione Bond, Year 1
Noah Dallimore-Fox, Reception
Pre-Prep Fun Day
The sun shone as we welcomed back all the families to our Pre-Prep Family Fun Day this year. The popular event is organised by the wonderful Pre-Prep Friends and is adored by everyone. It was the perfect opportunity to catch up on everyone’s adventures from the holidays and for the new families to make friends and become more familiar with the Pre-Prep before starting formally. Farmyard looked so inviting with a gathering of gazebos and bunting. The grounds team had worked tirelessly throughout the summer and the Elstree grounds and flowerbeds were looking at their finest. The children arrived with their parents and siblings and were treated to a host of activities. In one corner of Farmyard, tigers, princesses, and bats were appearing from the face painting table. Other children enjoyed icing and decorating their own biscuits before tasting their creations! Once tummies were full, the children had fun testing their patience as they hooked a duck from the paddling pool. There was also a treasure map to explore and welly wanging too! A real highlight was Roly the magician. He treated all the children to a hilarious magic show. Balls kept appearing, things disappeared, and a beautiful rabbit even emerged from nowhere! Once he had finished his magic show, he spent the remainder of the afternoon modelling balloons for each child to take home.
Whilst the children played, the parents chatted and enjoyed some of the delicacies that had been baked and donated by various volunteers. The Pimm’s also went down very well as it was such a hot afternoon!
A huge thank you to Mrs Rebecca Mills (chair of the Pre-Prep Friends Committee) and her team for making it such a success.
The Elstree Early Years children were extremely excited to head down to Bates on a windy afternoon to participate in the famous ‘Mini Olympics’. Mr Bates and the Year 8 boys had done a wonderful job of setting up a variety of sports for the children to participate in. The teams moved around from one activity to the next. There was beanbag throwing (an adaptation of shotput for 5-year-olds), standing long jump, sprinting races, ribbon dancing and hurdles. A firm favourite amongst the Reception children had to be the javelin. Their competitive side came out in force and the children loved seeing who could throw it the furthest!
All the physical activity, in addition to the wind, resulted in some very tired children who were very grateful for a warm sausage roll and orange squash in the Long Room to complete a wonderful afternoon. The Early Years children really impressed us with their behaviour, eagerness and energy levels and we may even see some of them become Olympians in the future! It was a very special afternoon and we were delighted that children from Boot Farm Nursery could come and join us too. Contributing to their Elstree Award, the group of Year 8 helpers were very friendly and gave the Pre-Prep children super direction and encouragement with the different challenges. HJ
Constantin Hill, Reception
“I loved running around and being chased.”
Freddie Hughes, Reception
“I like running with my fast trainers.”
Edwin Bendelow-Smith, Nursery
Throughout the children’s first four years at Elstree, we aim for every individual to learn without realising they are doing so. We hope that they are excited by education, seeking to discover more and to challenge themselves to ask why. Aside from the academic lessons, we hope to provide individuals with experiences and activities to broaden the offerings at Elstree. We work hard to facilitate engaging learning experiences and encourage children to find an avenue outside the classroom that they are passionate about.
With the recent move to being a co-educational school, we were delighted to set up a netball club for children in Years 1 and 2. Boys and girls were welcomed to the Sports Hall on a Wednesday morning to learn some of the key skills and rules of the game. Netball is taught in a fun and relaxed manner, meaning the children can gradually equip themselves with the skills required for some of the more competitive matches that they will play in the Prep School. Other popular clubs include Dance, Judo and Football. Specialist teachers who visit Elstree weekly taught these to our pupils. The children in Nursery also had a Dance lesson included in their timetable and children in Years 1 and 2 were able to sign up for 1:1 dance lessons, in the same way 1:1 music lessons are arranged. When talking to the children about the highlights of Elstree, the rich offering of activities is often something that is mentioned. Current clubs include Science, French, Dance, Tennis x 2, Arts and Crafts x 2, Judo, Netball, Football and Athletics.
We are always looking at new club avenues, keeping in mind the children’s interests and passions. We are excited to see what next year might bring! AB
Pre-Prep Harvest Festival
This year, our Harvest Festival celebrations were made even more special by being invited to celebrate in St Peter’s Church with Rev’d Jane Manley. The service was lovely, and the church was filled with beautiful song and huge smiles. Home-made decorations included autumn crowns, wreaths and an array of colourful vegetables. It was certainly a vision of joy as we all gathered together to thank God for the harvest as well as thinking of those who are less fortunate than we are. Thank you to everyone who joined us in the church to celebrate. It really was a very special occasion. Thank you also to our wonderful community who kindly donated so much non-perishable food and other household items. We loved seeing the growing table of wonderful donations on display each morning in both the Prep and Pre-Prep entrance halls. The Pre-Prep alone collected 313.8kg of offerings which equates to 659 meals, and the Prep collected 493kg of offerings which equates to1035 meals. The West Berkshire Foodbank were “so grateful for every single item”. Again, a huge thank you to everyone for your attendance, generosity and for a super Harvest Festival. HP
Story Museum
Reception had a wonderful time at the Story Museum in Oxford. The children were so excited to be going on a coach for their first school trip! We arrived in Oxford and made our way to the museum, where we got into our space suits straight away. Henry Barton knew exactly what we had to do to blast off and gave a wonderful count down. We were taken into space, we saw the moon and stars, rockets and all sorts of exciting things. We heard a Native American myth about how the stars got into the sky and we then listened to stories about space using props to bring them to life. Ollie Hill loved steering a plane into space. We then came back down to Earth and explored the Small Worlds area of the museum. Each area was book-themed, so we went on a bear hunt, the bunnies’ bus and helped the Jolly Postman. Noah Dallimore-Fox told the class that his best part of the trip was driving the bus, but for many it was the giant bed where we read bedtime stories with the biggest teddy I think we’ve ever seen! SO’N
STEAM Museum
Year 1 had a wonderful trip to the STEAM Museum. The children were completely immersed in a different era, dressing up and exploring steam trains. Everyone had a turn to be a train conductor, build their own model steam trains and then explore a life-size version – even looking underneath to investigate the inner workings. The children were beautifully behaved and were great ambassadors for Elstree Pre-Prep. HP
World Workshops - The Environment
We wanted to offer the children at Elstree something additional to the experiences and learning opportunities provided by the ‘standard’ curriculum. To this end, we launched World Workshops and the first one took place in the Autumn Term. Inspired by the Earthshot awards, the theme for this term was The Environment. The topic was launched in the PrePrep assembly with Mrs Bond reading the book 10 things I can do to help my world by Melanie Walsh. This provided the children with ten practical and simple things they could do to make a difference to their planet. The children left full of ideas about how to make a change, whether it be turning out the light as they left the classroom, using both sides of paper to draw on, or turning the tap off whilst brushing their teeth. Following the assembly, each class took part in a small workshop. It was Nursery’s turn first and they helped to create a compost bin by the Pre-Prep gardens. The children went into each class collecting their fruit peelings and mixed it with leaves from the grounds. The children all helped to roll the compost bin to mix it together! They have enjoyed going back to check on it to see if it had turned into compost yet! It was then Reception’s turn to make bird feeders. We talked to the children about why this was important to do, and the children thought about the weather in the winter and how it might affect the birds in our school grounds and our gardens. The children worked in pairs to pour seeds, crushed biscuit cones and stale Pom Bears into their mixing bowls. They then used their hands to mix it into a wonderful bird cake with lard. The teachers and children talked about food waste and where it goes once we put it in the bin. The children were excited not to waste the old food, but instead give it to the birds. They have all hung their bird feeders on the tree outside their classroom so that they can watch the Elstree birds feeding on them. Finally, it was time for Year 1 and Year 2. These children helped to do some weeding and planting. We have a lovely Pre-Prep Garden containing a pond and five raised beds. These planting areas have been a little neglected of late, so the children went out in their classes with trowels and forks and dug up the old roots and dead plants. Once the weeds had been removed, the children enjoyed digging holes to plant tulip and daffodil bulbs. They are looking forward to seeing them bloom in the spring and hope they will help the Elstree bees and other insects! Throughout the projects, the children worked wonderfully as a team, helping one another outside the classroom. All took the activities very seriously and felt proud that they were making a difference. Many children talked about wanting to take their ideas home and it was a delight to hear our youngest children showing passion and enthusiasm towards our planet and making a difference. We are sure the children will really enjoy these themes, and that they help to broaden the values of the children at Elstree. AB
Reception Family Tea
The topic in the Autumn Term for Reception centred around families and so we decided to invite special visitors in for a tea party. The children spent the morning making scones, where Heidi said, “We got our hands really sticky!” In the afternoon we were delighted to welcome mummies, daddies, uncles, aunties, grandparents and siblings to the Pre-Prep. We all enjoyed the yummy scones with jam and clotted cream as well as delicious cakes and treats from the wonderful catering staff. Noah said, “I love having Daddy and Nanny at school.” The children all loved the tea party, showing off their classrooms and spending time with their family members. SO’N
Pre-Prep Nativity Play
After the last year it was particularly special to see parents and children enjoying both our Christmas nativity plays in the McMullen Hall. The script, written by Charlie Wood, who regularly films our productions, was a masterpiece. There were plenty of amusing lines, which the children delivered brilliantly! We were impressed how quickly lines were learnt and it was great to see the children helping their friends when lines were forgotten, or actors distracted! The songs were catchy, and we all loved them. The pupil’s actions, some planned and some just from joy, were wonderful to watch.
We are incredibly lucky to have such an inspiring music teacher in Miss Collins. She enthuses the children, and they all love her. Mrs Kidd had done wonders with the costumes and the children were delighted to get dressed up. The DJs did a wonderful job of linking the story together and the Kings, Queens, camels, stars, angels, stable animals, shepherds, naughty sheep, Mary, Joseph and of course the donkey brought the story to life for us. We were really impressed that the children managed to perform so brilliantly twice in one day. Well done everyone, we are very proud of you all. RJB
Alice O’Neill, Year 2
Harry Mills, Year 2
Hugo Kayser-Booth, Year 2
World Workshops - Bracelet Making
Mrs Bond was fortunate enough to visit South Africa during the Christmas break; a trip that inspired the Lent Term PrePrep Workshop. It was an interesting trip to share with children, with the colourful scenery, exciting animals and the abject poverty and slums that are in such a stark contrast to our lives here. Transferring the realisation of how fortunate we are sparked wonderful conversations with the children, who really wanted to understand what they could do to help. Exploring the differences in people’s lives, the children learnt about the Maasai Tribe - their houses, schools and the jewellery that they make and sell to tourists. This launched the project idea for the Pre-Prep children to work as a team, with each one making their own bracelet. They would then set up a shop and invite children in Year 3 and 4 to come and buy their jewellery. All proceeds would be sent to ‘Where Rainbows Meet’ a charity supporting a range of families in Africa. The bracelet making was a roaring success. Year 2 children were challenged to plait and knot their bracelets using embroidery threads. Our youngest children in Nursery also joined in, threading their beads onto a slightly thicker elastic. Hand-eye coordination and patience were certainly tested, but they all did a wonderful job. The day of the shop finally arrived, and the bracelets were carefully presented to look appealing to the visiting shoppers. Four classes from the Prep School took it in turns to attend. It was wonderful to see the Pre-Prep children’s joy as their bracelets were chosen and sold, making a total of £239.53. In addition to this wonderful profit, it is what the children learnt that was valuable. That 2-year-olds could recognise how lucky they are and that all the children in the Pre-Prep have an awareness that some people in the world are less fortunate than themselves. It was empowering for them all to make a difference.
The children in Year 1 were treated to the most wonderful workshop in the Lent Term, hosted by Newbury showground. They started the morning by making a delicious smoothie packed full of healthy fruits. We were very impressed with all the little chefs we had, some children helped to cut the apple, pour in the orange juice and measure out some frozen berries. It was such fun watching all the fruits whizzing up together in the smoothie maker and the best part was trying it afterwards!
After this, the children made some porridge. They talked about where the oats came from and how we get milk. Luckily, Year 1 had already learnt about the journey of milk so they enjoyed recalling all they remembered. Rafferty in 1HB was an excellent porridge stirrer, he made sure it didn’t stick to the bottom and that it cooked evenly. The children loved having a small helping in a little bowl and they added honey to make it taste that extra bit special! The children returned to the PrePrep for a quick run around. When they arrived back at the McMullen Hall, they could not believe their eyes, inside was a cow! Buttercup (the wooden cow) had come to visit Elstree Pre-Prep and she had four very full udders that needed milking. The children learnt how milkmaids used to sit on a little wooden stool and how to get the milk out. All the children had a turn and they managed to fill a bucket!
Finally, everyone in Year 1 was able to plant some crops of their own ready to grow at home. They tipped some soil into a small flowerpot and arranged 6 seeds. Some chose oats, others went for barley and some decided on wheat. The children carried this home with such excitement; we can’t wait to hear how they develop. It was such a special morning and a wonderful opportunity for the children to share what they already knew and to learn some new pieces of farming information. AB
Christabel Ridley-Day, Year 1
Rex Ruddick, Year 1
“I liked the colours of the smoothie.”
Charlotte Rose, Year 1
Pre-Prep Easter Bonnet Parade
Many of the Pre-Prep took part in our annual Easter Bonnet Workshop. With the sun shining and a feeling of spring in the air, the children enjoyed crafting Easter bonnets with their parents, grandparents and teachers. Each classroom was a sea of colour and creativity. There were Easter Eggs a plenty being glued onto bonnets and chicks being positioned with precision. Due to the mild weather, Nursery enjoyed their bonnet making outside in the Early Years Garden.
The Pre-Prep children then had the opportunity to show off their creations during our Easter Bonnet Parade. Visitors congregated in the playground and watched the children process. It was a wonderful way to end the term and to start the holidays with a smile. AB
“I love my bonnet so much!”
Johnny Ruck Keene, Year 1
Felicity Barclay, Reception
World Book Day
The theme for this year’s World Book Day in the Pre-Prep was Julia Donaldson books – and what an array of fabulous costumes we saw. The morning’s parade was full of excitement and the children loved listening to stories and bringing so much of what they heard into their learning and games throughout the day. Reading The Paper Dolls and making chains of paper friends, KS1 children explored the value of friendships and making memories. Zog inspired a lesson in Dragon school where children learned to fly and to roar quietly, squeakily and loudly. They also breathed fire with tissue flames.
After hearing the story Hospital Dog, the children thought about what makes them feel happy and safe if they are nervous, scared or sad about something. What a wonderful day we all had celebrating books and reading! SO’N
Henry Clark, Reception
“My favourite bit was listening to Highway Rat.”
Sam Turford, Reception
“I loved learning to fly. I got a golden star.”
Alice O’Neill, Year 2
The Pre-Prep couldn’t believe their eyes when they came back after half term to discover a new area of their playground had been developed. Harry from Year 2 kindly funded a large proportion of the project after winning a ‘design your own pizza’ competition at The Royal Oak. It seemed fitting that he opened it for us. Special thanks to the Year 2 Pre-Prep classes of 2021 and 2020 for their donations to the playground too, and to our fabulous grounds team for working so hard to complete it over the half-term break. The new area has provided hours of fun this term and is a well-loved area of the playground. All the children were also challenged to grow their own sunflower. Seeds were planted in the raised beds surrounding the new area with a competition launched to see whose sunflower will grow the tallest! AB
“I was so happy to cut the ribbon!”
Harry Mills, Year 2
Poetry Performance
We were very lucky to watch the PrePrep Poetry Performances on a grey Monday morning. The entrants ranged from Nursery through to Year 2 and all must be commended on their oral presentation skills. Mr Owens, Head of English, was kind enough to give up his time to come to listen to the performances. He commented, “It is something quite special to be able to stand in front of a packed crowd and recite your poem, never mind if you are three or seven!”
One child even sang their poem – very impressive! Two children wrote their own poems with their fathers – one amusingly about life at Elstree and the other commemorating the upcoming Queen’s Jubilee. The poem was so special and delivered beautifully, the Pre-Prep are planning to use it as inspiration for the celebrations in June. AB
Healthy Eating Workshop
Year 1 and 2 were treated to a visit from a nutritionist from our school catering company, Holroyd and Howe. She started by getting the children to think about why they needed to choose and eat healthy foods. She was impressed by the suggestions which ranged from keeping our teeth healthy to keeping us alive. After this, the children were encouraged to ‘eat the rainbow’. We discovered that the various coloured fruits and vegetables all contain different vitamins and minerals which are good for our bodies. Did you know, carrots are orange and contain Vitamin A which helps our eyes to be healthy? Broccoli is green and contains calcium which is important for our bones and teeth. All the children said they were excited to look at the colours on their plates at lunchtime from now on!
The nutritionist talked to the children about trying new things so that we can enjoy more foods and have different vitamins and nutrients in our bodies. We were interested to hear it takes our bodies 10 times of ‘trying’ to work out whether you really like or dislike something. The teachers will make sure to remind their classes about this in the dining room! Lara Grant, our catering manager, showed us a wonderful healthy eating tree. At the moment, it is a little bare without many leaves. Every time we try something new at school, we can add a leaf to the tree. We can’t wait to watch it blossom.
At the end of our session, all the children were invited up to look at the colourful fruits and vegetables on display. They were able to pick something new to try. Some went for radishes whilst others picked asparagus, many even came back for seconds or thirds! Leo Bond loved trying some Romanesco with beetroot humous, the teachers also thought this was rather tasty! Lara had made such an effort with the displays and created ‘edible gardens’ for everyone to enjoy. The children were inspired to explore new textures and tastes and left with full, healthy tummies! Thank you very much to Holroyd and Howe and to Lara Grant.
Johnny Ruck Keene, Year 1
Oscar Sydney-Smith, 2LT
“I tried a radish, like Peter Rabbit!”
Johnny Ruck Keene, Year 1
Leo Bond, 1SP
Year 2 finally visited Windsor Castle during the Lent Term. Our topic the previous term was Castles, and the children were all extremely excited to finally go to a ‘real life’ one! As the coach approached Windsor the children were keen to catch their first glimpse of the castle and there were great shrieks of delight when it came into view.
We were met by Martin at the Visitors’ Centre and set off for a visit to St George’s Chapel. We had a quick chat about showing respect and talking quietly in the church. The children were amazed by the height of the ceiling and the sheer vastness of the space. They especially loved looking at all the flags by the choir stalls and the altar. There was great excitement when someone spotted a sword and some amour hanging by a painting. They did an amazing job of trying to whisper their reactions! We went back to the Visitors’ Centre for a workshop on knights. Our guide, Martin, did a fabulous job of capturing our attention and imaginations. The children loved seeing the outfits worn by pages and squires and we had plenty of volunteers to model the costumes, chain mail, armour and to try out some of the weapons. They were all astounded at the size of the lance used for jousting and it took two of them to lift a practice lance! After lunch, we walked over to visit Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House. The children were thrilled to see the miniature house and particularly impressed to hear that all the electrics and hot and cold water taps actually worked. The guide at the door also told us that the mini champagne bottles actually contained real champagne! Our visit to the Dolls’ House led on to a journey through the state rooms. Each one brought new cries of “Look at this!” “Wow!” and “This is the best day ever!” The gold room was a highlight, as was the dining room with hundreds of coats of arms on the ceiling. As we left the staterooms, we saw three soldiers marching past in their smart red tunics and bearskin busbies. The children watched them check on the guard near the Queen’s apartments and then followed them back across the castle grounds to their guard room. There was quite a sound of small feet marching as we went back to the Visitors’ Centre to collect our things before heading home. A tired but happy crew got back on the coach, and we all felt it had been a wonderful finale to our Castle topic work. The staff were very proud of the children, who remembered huge amounts from last term, and all behaved beautifully. RB
Gabriella Ajani
“Wow! Look at those swords on those guns.”
Oscar Sydney-Smith
Alex Fowler
Another fantastic ‘Outdoor Day’ filled with fun, adventure and huge smiles all around!
Taking inspiration from Julia Donaldson’s book The Stick Man, we first explored the grounds for sticks of different lengths, widths and shapes. We came back to create our own stick families and carefully decided what materials would be best to use in creating our masterpieces. We used pipe cleaners, wool, string, twine, tape and googly eyes! Our stick families looked brilliant! After lunch, we had a great time in Plantation, making dens using larger sticks and some people even created rafts to float on our Pre-Prep pond. Nursery and Reception played with their stick men in the woods wearing their beautiful home-made stick crowns. They also created Stick Men sun catchers and even used some of their sticks to practise natural weaving with wool! Everything looked fabulous. We were incredibly lucky that the sun was shining for us all day and we couldn’t have wished for more glorious Spring weather. What a wonderful day had by all! HP
Summer Term
The Look Out Discovery Centre
What a wonderful day Reception had when we visited The Look Out Discovery Centre in Bracknell. We arrived and the children quickly became engrossed in the huge variety of hands-on Science activities. They built dams, watched how their bones and muscles moved when they danced, tried to put a body back together and heated air to make a hot air balloon float, to name a few! Arthur loved the special mirror box and managed to count 32 Arthur’s! He explained that the box was made of lots of different mirrors.
After lunch we had a lesson about minibeasts, learning which creatures live in the woods and how to identify insects. We learnt a catchy ‘heads, thorax, abdomen’ song and enjoyed joining in with the actions. After that, we went on a minibeast hunt. Some of the children found an enormous woodlouse which they were very excited to show the teachers. Rafael said it was the best trip he’d ever been on. SO’N
Reception Den Building Day with Visitors
What a wonderful day Reception had in the woods with their visitors!
We were blessed with glorious sunshine and the children were all very excited as they waited for their special guests to arrive. We made our way up to Plantation, via the Early Years woods which the children visit every Wednesday. The children loved telling their guests about where their tribe plays each week.
Once we got to Plantation everyone started making their dens - there were some amazing creations and we were so impressed, Henry Barton said, “We’ve made a huge den with loads of people. Consti brought ropes and tarpaulin to make a roof and I brought bunting to make our den pretty!” Ollie and Noah spent a long time looking for camouflage for their den, afterwards Noah said his favourite part of the day was building the dens. He said, “To start with, me and Ollie didn’t help but then we started helping and we liked helping.” Henry Clark even built an annexe on his den for a lavatory! Sophie said, “My favourite part was building the den with Granny because we got bark and charcoal and we made tiles and we drew a ladybird and stuck it on to the roof.”
After we had all admired each other’s dens, there was a very competitive game of children versus parents ‘hide and seek’. Thank you to all the parents and grandparents for coming and making the day so special. SO’N
The now well-established Elstree Hour is designed to give the Year 2 children a small taste of what is to come before they ‘graduate’ up into the Prep School, as well as giving them a chance to meet and get to know some of the staff. This years’ programme included some Bushcraft Fun with Mr Attwood, Outdoor Art with Mrs Syckelmoore, an Introduction to Year 3 with Mrs Kidson, a Cricket Tournament with Mr Bates and a lovely picnic with Mr and Mrs Inglis. My thanks go to all the staff who kindly volunteered their time to ensure that the Year 2 children had so many fun and beneficial afternoons at the Prep School. JCM
Mr Ames - a local Vet
Jack from Nursery felt very excited knowing his Daddy was coming to school this week! Mr Ames is a local Vet and Mrs Bond thought that the children in the Pre-Prep might like to know a little more about his work and what he does.
Mr Ames talked to all the children about different types of vets and what they specialise in. He explained that he was a small animal’s vet and that he mainly helps poorly cats and dogs. Snowy the toy dog came to visit the children because he had been feeling unwell. Mr Ames told everyone how he takes the history of the patient by asking the owners what has been wrong. After this, the vets work from the animal’s nose to their tail, checking for signs and symptoms. Mr Ames said being a vet was like being a detective. The children were invited to perform a pretend operation. Edwin (Nursery), Aggie (Year 2) and Rex (Year 1) looked wonderful in the surgeon clothes! They wore an operating overall, a hat, gloves and a mask. Mr Ames showed everyone an x-ray of Snowy’s tummy. Silly Snowy had eaten 6 golf balls which needed to be cut out. Edwin, Aggie and Rex performed the surgery very well, cutting open Snowy and taking out the golf balls! Mr Ames also showed the children how to bandage different creature’s arms and legs. It was great fun having a go and making sure the bandages were wrapped tightly and securely. The children listened with such interest, and many said they hoped to be a vet when they are older! We are all excited to hear from some other visiting parents later in the term when we will learn more about their jobs. AB
Pre-Prep Sports Day
On Friday 1st July the Pre-Prep took part in their greatly anticipated ‘Great British’ Sports Day. The rain clouds loomed, but the weather held off for a wonderful event on the glorious pitches. Mr Morris and Mrs Sandford lived up to the previous traditions of themed races to music, and to fit with the Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations earlier in the term, we witnessed some perfectly regal competitiveness! The event of the year began with Nursery and the ‘Opening Ceremony’ race. The children ran a length of the track proudly waving their Union Jack flags, before handing over to their next team member. Next, saw Reception taking part in ‘Royal Ascot’ where, as the name suggests, they galloped with their hobby horses over hurdles whilst being cheered on as though we were indeed, at the races! Year 1 then took part in the very British tradition of afternoon tea. However, this race was by no means relaxing, instead the children had to run up the track carrying their tray of teacups, saucers and cutlery, ensuring they didn’t spill any items. Thank goodness the Queen wasn’t here waiting for her sandwiches because I’m not sure they would have arrived in one piece! Year 2 then treated everyone to a ‘Jousting Tournament’, which saw them carrying a swimming noodle under their arm as their lance, while hopping over hurdles on their hobby horses. Other races from the afternoon included ‘Queen for the day’, ‘Changing of the Guards’, ‘Pin the tail on the Corgi’ and ‘The Royal Bank of Elstree’. However, a firm favourite among all of Pre-Prep was ‘The Royal Dash’ by Year 2. They took it in turns to run an entire lap of the Elstree athletics track, cheered on by Nursery, Reception and Year 1. Not only did they do this once, but we were also treated to a lap by the boys, closely followed by the girls. They definitely had lots of energy to showcase.
Luckily, the weather held off long enough to see the return of the famous Mummy, Daddy and Visitor races. Mr Morris carefully selected the races to re-create after watching the children, and there were a record number of participants. For the children, it was a real highlight to watch some of their parents running a length of the track and demonstrating their competitive side. Lastly, after encouragement and cheers from both parents and the children, the teachers took part in a race all of their own this year. Interpreted in their own unique way, the Pre-Prep staff all linked hands together to run past all the classes and hit the famous Union Jack finish line at the opposite end of the track. It is safe to say the whole Pre-Prep community had a brilliantly royal afternoon at the ‘Great British’ Sports Day and everyone took part with a smile on their faces, cheering on their friends. A huge thank you to both Mr Morris and Mrs Sandford for masterminding yet another incredible Pre-Prep Sports Day. HM6
“I loved all of the running races!”
Freddie Hughes, Reception
Sam McEwen, Reception
Charlotte Rose, Year 1
