Autumn Term 2023
THE PADUA PRESS REFLECTS THE MANY ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR PUPILS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS
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Introduction from Mr Richard Thompson, Head of Leweston Prep It is a privilege to introduce the first Padua Press of the current academic year and the first during my tenure as Head of Leweston Prep. As highlights reels go, what follows is up there with the best. We are proud to showcase a small selection of a multitude of fun, valuable, entertaining and inspiring events for the children that took place over the course of the Autumn Term in our wonderful prep school. I am sure you will agree that our three core values of Community, Opportunity and Expertise, are demonstrated in abundance across these pages. What’s more, they make it very apparent how the children are at the heart of everything we do at Leweston. I wish every member of our special community a very happy and prosperous 2024.
Royal Navy Visit Prep 6 welcomed the Royal Navy into school in September for a morning of STEM activities, as part of their careers education. The children learned some interesting facts about the Royal Navy and the importance of the jobs that they do, followed by the opportunity to build a ‘communications tower’ and a ‘flare’. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the activities and showed some excellent teamwork to achieve the goals which they were set. They also showcased superb creativity, supporting each other when things didn’t go to plan. Everyone had the chance to see how far a flare could fly when launched successfully, and the atmosphere was contagious. A big thank you to our visitors from the Royal Navy for such a fun and memorable morning.
Careers Talk With Author, Milli Hill Many thanks to author Milli Hill for speaking to Prep 5 about her career. Milli discussed her education at Leweston which was followed by a degree in English Literature at Durham University. Milli trained as an actor before starting a second career in Drama Therapy. After having a family, she became an author and works as a freelance journalist and blogger. She has published three non-fiction books. Milli talked about her journey to becoming an author and encouraged the pupils to think about their skills, role models, interests and dreams through an interactive activity. She discussed the importance of creativity and, using her own career as an example, the many different choices available and how they may have several different jobs during their career. THE PADUA PRESS | page 04
Grandparents’ Day in the Pre-Prep! What a lovely 'Grandparents Day' we had in our Pre-Prep! The excitement was palpable as the children eagerly welcomed their grandparents to school. Together they had lots of fun getting stuck into arts and crafts projects and delving into tales at story-time. Some fearless grandparents took centre stage during our Q&A session, where they answered the pupils' questions. We are immensely grateful to all the grandparents who joined us on this special day, as they played an invaluable role in creating cherished memories. It was fantastic to see them sweep up those children who couldn't have visitors on the day as we enjoyed sitting and looking through family photos.
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Grandparents’ Day
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Leweston Prep Raises Money for World Mental Health Day Leweston Prep joined the thousands of people across the country who came together for World Mental Health Day. It was fantastic to see splashes of yellow around the Prep to raise awareness for young people’s mental health. During the morning, Mrs Wallace shared information about ‘Bad Co’, a Dorset based mental health charity that sell fashion clothing to support local mental health charitable causes. Pupils discussed various topics throughout the day, including how to support their own mental health, and different emotions and how they affect us. They explored positive mental well-being through a number of activities, both indoor and outdoor, and did an excellent job of recognising where and who to reach out to if needed.
Children in Need 2023 On Friday 17 November, the School came together to raise funds for Children in Need. It was fantastic to see everyone covered in spots and stripes raising funds through donations for non-uniform day and bake sales, all towards an incredible cause. We are delighted to have raised almost £700 for the charity.
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Prep 1 ‘Heroes and Villains’ WOW Day Prep 1 had an exciting start to their new topic, ‘Heroes and Villains’, with a WOW day! The children came into school wearing hero costumes, including popular characters like Spider-Man and Superman, as well as real-life heroes like doctors and nurses, which was a great way to engage them and set the tone for the topic. The activities on the WOW day included making Captain America shields, writing about their real-life heroes, and making spider biscuits, activities both fun and educational. A fantastic way to help the pupils connect with the theme and spark their creativity and imagination. Exploring the concept of heroes and villains helps to learn about values, ethics and the importance of heroism in different forms. It was an exciting and interactive way to kick off this topic.
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Children in Need
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Oral Health Week As part of Oral Health week, pupils had lots of special visitors and activities to educate them about the importance of taking care of their teeth and mouths from a young age and to establish good oral hygiene habits. Reception had visits from a Dentist and Dental Nurse. They were very excited to explore pretend teeth and practice how to brush the teeth properly. The Dentist also demonstrated, on her own child, how she examines children’s teeth! At the end of their visits, everyone was given a certificate and goodie bag containing a tooth brush, tooth paste and colouring pages. These activities helped the children to develop good dental care habits that will benefit them throughout their lives.
The Science Dome Comes to the Prep Pupils throughout the Prep had a fantastic time on Monday 9 October when the Science Dome came to visit. The visiting presenters shared the exciting graphic displays inside the dome and pupils were treated to tours of the ISS, the moon, Mars and even trips outside of the Milky Way galaxy. Prep 6 focused on “fractals” (patterns which occur in nature). They saw some fascinating films as well as some really interesting planetarium views of the solar system and beyond. It was a great day as the children were fully immersed in 3D.
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Oral Health Week
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Sport
Cross Country In November, we hosted ten visiting schools for our annual Girls’ Cross Country Schools Race. Despite the rainy lead up to the event, everyone showed fantastic determination and made the finish line! We were delighted to finish with two Team Gold positions and three podium places across the three age categories.
Pentathlon Success Six students from Leweston Prep and Senior School travelled to Bali from 2 to 5 November to compete in the World Biathle (run – swim – run) and Triathle (shoot – swim – run). Overall our pentathletes achieved with some fantastic results. Congratulations to Lexie, who competed in the U11 girls, finishing in the GB Triathle with team Silver!
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Sport Pellet Shooting Well done to our Prep School shooters Pennie, Aurelia and Owen, who took part in their first Regional Schools' Pellet competition. They competed in the Junior event alongside shooters up to Year 8. They all did brilliantly in their first competition.
NSEA Grass Roots Congratulations to the riders who achieved some fantastic results at the NSEA Grass Roots show jumping competition; including 3 team wins, 4 individual wins and collecting the Style Award in every class!
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Girls’ Cross Country Event
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Prep 6 Roles of Responsibility We couldn't be prouder of the Prep 6 students who were awarded their well-deserved roles and responsibilities after half term. As they step into these new roles, we are delighted to watch them become inspiring role models for our younger pupils.
First Aid Training
DT Volcanoes
In the week before half term, Prep 5 and 6 took part
Prep 3 have been working on creating
in some very important First Aid training. Led by Ali
mountains during their DT lessons this
Parnell, students practised the recovery position and
term. Working in groups, they have the
how to properly carry out CPR.
structure of their mountain and then
Well done to everyone for taking on board all of the instructions given. It was a great opportunity to gain essential life skills and understand the importance of being prepared in an emergency.
covered it in Modroc. They worked brilliantly together in their teams, taking it in turns and listening to each other's ideas. They then painted their models, made settlements out of clay and started working on a ski lift! The final stage was to glue on their buildings to create their settlements and to assemble their ski lifts.
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Harvest This term, during Wednesday morning Mass, the School Chapel was filled with gratitude and generosity as pupils walked to the front in their groups to place their Harvest offerings in front of the Altar. We are so proud of the incredible amount donated this year which was delivered to the Sherborne Food Bank and will make a significant difference in the lives of those in need. Thank you to our pupils and their families for their kind donations.
Tree Planting In November, members of the Leweston community came together to plant 210 saplings in the grounds, as well as building and hanging new bird houses. The saplings will eventually form a hedgerow of hawthorn, dogwood, wild cherry, silver birch, rowan, and hazel to create a natural border of year-round colours. Thank you to the army of volunteers, including our boarders, who gave up their time to help, despite the muddy conditions. THE PADUA PRESS | page 16
Prep 6 'Buddies' Prep 6 kicked off the term with a fantastic first meeting with their Pre-Prep 'Buddies'. The children loved meeting their buddies and sharing stories with them. These weekly meetings give the pupils the opportunity to read with their buddies, develop writing skills and friendships across the year groups. In their last session for the Autumn Term, Reception Class worked on decorating their snowman hyacinth pots with help from their buddies, ready to send home for their families. It was wonderful to see how patient Prep 6 are with the children and how beautifully they all work together.
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Prep Buddies
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Christmas and End of Term
Festive Singing Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Christmas Concert and singing at the Festive Shopping Day. It was lovely to get into the Christmas spirit whilst showcasing our talented musicians.
Cheap Street and Trinity Manor
In the lead up to the holiday, the Prep pupils visited Cheap Street Church and Trinity Manor Care Home to take part in some festive singing. It was brilliant to see how well their performances were received by the care home residents and Church visitors.
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Christmas and End of Term Prep Nativity Thank you to all who attended our Pre-Prep and TC2 Nativity. It was a brilliant start to Christmas and the children did an amazing job on stage!
Christmas Parties Leweston came alive with festive cheer as everyone rocked their Christmas jumpers on Christmas Jumper Day and indulged in a delicious Christmas lunch! The afternoon then saw Class Christmas Parties and games.
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Christmas and End of Santa Claus is Term Coming to Town! Santa Claus came to town and brought so much joy to our pupils at the end of term. They had the chance to have a special chat with Santa and his helpers, who handed out a little gift to each child! The excitement was contagious as the Prep School sang 'Jingle Bells' at the top of their lungs. Thank you to the team at RNAS Yeovilton for transporting Santa and his helpers in style, and for lighting up everyone's faces with big smiles.
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Prep Nativity
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Christmas and End of Term Carol Service Leweston Prep's end of term Carol Service was, as always, a beautiful event. Held in the School Chapel, we welcomed staff, students, family, friends and past staff members. Thank you to everyone who joined us.
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01963 211 015 | admissions@leweston.dorset.sch.uk | www.leweston.co.uk Leweston School, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 6EN
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