RSM Chronicle Spring/Summer 2019

THE

AN UPDATE OF ALL THE NEWS AND EVENTS AT REIGATE ST MARY’S

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

COMMUNITY OUTREACH, CHORISTERS VISIT HARTSFIELD MANOR & RECEPTION VISIT EVERSFIELD FOLLOW OUR TRIPS TO HEVER, HERSTMONCEAUX, CHESSINGTON & GO APE SPORTS, HOLIDAY CLUBS, OUTDOOR LEARNING, MUSIC, DANCE & CHARITY

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

HEADMASTER’S WELCOME It has been lovely to see the children enjoying the school’s extensive grounds during the spring and summer months. Outdoor learning has brought an extra dimension to their education, and they have been excited and engaged by a host of novel and fascinating outside lessons. School life has also been enriched by interesting visitors, day trips, residential trips and competitions, and all the while academic success continues. I am very proud of our Year 6 leavers who move on to fantastic senior schools, happy, confident and well prepared for the challenges ahead.

In response of the needs of parents, our popular wraparound care and holiday clubs have been extended this year so all children, from Green Shoots to Year 6, can benefit from a quality provision in a familiar environment for 48 weeks of the year. I am delighted that so many families have made use of this and you can see a snapshot of the activities the children have enjoyed this summer, further on.

Marcus Culverwell, HEADMASTER

The Chronicle captures just a small part of why Reigate St Mary’s School stands out from the crowd. I hope you enjoy looking through it.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH Community outreach continues to be an important part of school life and the children have gained so much this year from a variety of projects.

In May, every child from Reception to Year 6 took part in a sponsored ‘Water Walk’ to raise money to buy water tanks for communities in Uganda. They each had to complete a route in the school grounds carrying water in containers. Children in Africa often have to carry water over long distances and this challenge helped pupils to experience how difficult this must be for them. It was lovely to see the children persevering and working as a team across the year groups.

A fantastic £4461.27 was raised in total.

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

‘Every water tank that we fund will change the lives of the people using it.

We really want the children to know that every one of us can make the world a better place if we try’.

MRS FREEMAN

The children have also enjoyed meeting members of our local community: Reception children have been regularly visiting elderly residents at Eversfield Nursing Home and our choristers enjoyed singing at a teatime concert for local residents at Hartsfield Manor.

Year 6 pupil, Claudia, raised money for George and the Giant Pledge, a charity raising money for the Royal Marsden, by having a ‘Giant Chop’ of her hair which she then donated to the Little Princess Trust.To raise further money for the charity, she challenged Mr Culverwell to have his head shaved. He bravely accepted and on the last day of term, he became a hairless headmaster in front of a cheering audience of pupils.

The children have benefitted tremendously from their weekly visits to the elderly residents of Eversfield.

MRS NICHOLSON

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

EARLY YEARS It has been a wonderful spring and summer for our Early Years children.

They have loved learning inside and out; developing their independence and confidence by exploring the world around them.

The children have plenty of space to explore and use their imagination.

MISS LORAINE

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

EARLY YEARS

Early Years love topic work and small projects have brought the children’s learning to life this year. They particularly enjoyed creating cork boats which required perseverance, problem solving and team work. The children were delighted to float and race their boats on the water afterwards.

How can we, with our adult minds, know what is interesting?

If you follow the child ‌. you can find something new.

JEAN PIAGET

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

WORLD BOOK DAY World Book Day was celebrated in style at Reigate St Mary’s: beginning with a colourful costume parade in assembly. It was wonderful to see the children dressed as their favourite book characters and much creativity was evident.

Author, Abby Longstaff, read to Early Years and presented several of her other books to the older children. The following day, the hilarious poet, Roger Stevens, spent the afternoon working with Years 5 and 6, giving them some great ideas on how to scaffold a poem.

It was wonderful for the children to have the opportunity to hear from published authors who inspired them to continue to develop and enjoy their writing.

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

RSM DANCE RSM DANCE SHOW Nearly one hundred pupils have been involved in the dance programme at RSM this year. Over the past six months they have been working hard to perfect their technique and this culminated in a brilliant evening of dance at the end of term.

Exciting routines wowed the audience and showcased not only how much the children’s talents had developed but also how much enjoyment and camaraderie they have within their dance groups.

RGS DANCE SLAM The Year 5 and 6 Drill Team were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to perform at the RGS Dance Slam.Year 5 performed ‘Bury a Friend’ and Year 6 performed ‘When the Party’s Over’, both

by Billie Eilish. I really enjoyed the variety of dance styles being performed on stage.

BELLA, Year 5

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

ROCK BOTTOM At the end of the spring term, Years 5 and 6 performed the hilarious ‘Rock Bottom’.

During three packed shows, they took the audience back to the Stone Age where Evil Lady Lava’s quest to stay young was thwarted by a young caveman and his family and friends. Lights, costumes and puppets brought this fun-filled musical to life.

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

ROCK BOTTOM

I am so proud of the entire cast who worked so hard during rehearsals.

They performed brilliantly.

MRS RUSHBY

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

INTER-HOUSE CHARITY DAY Every year at the end of term, the children raise money for charity by completing a range of fun challenges in their Houses.

This year’s theme was ‘baby and child’: children matched mums and babies, paired socks whilst talking on the phone and filled baby baths to raise money for local charity Stripey Stork which helps families needing additional support.

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

INTER-HOUSE CHARITY DAY

The children understood the importance of raising money for such a worthwhile local charity and really pulled together to tackle each of the challenges.

I was so proud of them.

MRS GIBB

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

TRIPS HERSTMONCEUX

Spring and summer terms are the perfect time for venturing further afield and the children have enjoyed a wide variety of school trips linked to their learning. They have investigated living creatures; visiting zoos, farms and nature reserves. Year 3 visited the Shoreham Lifeboat Centre, Year 4 experienced Victorian England at Preston Manor and Year 6 explored forces, space and electricity at Herstmonceux Science Centre.

PRESTON MANOR

During our trip to Nower Woods the children loved seeing how an app could be used outside to investigate and protect our environment.

MRS BEGLAN

SHOREHAM LIFEBOAT CENTRE

NOWER WOOD

SHOREHAM LIFEBOAT CENTRE

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

TRIPS

PRESTON MANOR

NOWER WOOD

MERRIST WOOD

EARLY YEARS - OUT & ABOUT Early Years children have been out and about not only within the wonderful school grounds but further afield too.

Green Shoots started the year letting everyone know ‘Here I am!’ bringing in some lovely photos of themselves as babies, then in the spring term their topic ‘Jolly Journeys’ took them slightly further afield with a very exciting trip to Priory Park by minibus. Kindergarten satiated their love of reading through a trip to Reigate Library and then later in the term, a visit to Bocketts Farm helped the children answer the term’s topic question ‘Do I run, flap or swim?’

In January, the Reception classes’ guidance was needed to help three very welcome, but incredibly shy, visitors find their way back to Africa; a trip to Drusilla’s Zoo then further broadened their knowledge of monkeys and other animals!

DRUSILLAS

DRUSILLAS

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

SPORTS DAY Sports Days at Reigate St Mary’s are always the highlight of the summer calendar. This year the sun was shining for the Green Shoots and Kindergarten Sports Event and Picnic; fun races were followed by a well-deserved family picnic.

After lunch, Lower School ran, jumped and laughed, cheering each other on, whilst earning valuable points for their houses.

“This year’s Upper School Sports Day was a spectacular event. The four houses took part in a number of field and track events. The day started with Year 3 ball throw, with Malcolmson winning the event. Next was javelin, where we saw Jimit break a school record with a whopping 14.1m throw! The children got a huge amount of support from their parents. Lots of other events happened in the morning like long jump, hurdles and high jump. The day finished off with some exciting relay races.”

AARUSH, Year 3

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

It was lovely to hear the Lower School children cheering for one another and to see such wonderful teamwork in the relay races.

MRS MAY

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

OUTDOOR LEARNING Learning is always so much fun outside and the teachers have made the most of the school grounds during the Spring and Summer terms by having lessons in the fresh air. RSM Mathematicians have enjoyed measuring, comparing, collecting and forming patterns, and using directions outside – a great way to bring learning to life! In English lessons, the children have enjoyed being in the school and church grounds to listen and observe and use their senses as a stimulus for writing.

I liked collecting slugs and snails (Miss Hewson does NOT like slugs!).

XANDER

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

OUTDOOR LEARNING

RECEPTION CHILDREN LOVE BEING OUTSIDE IN ALL WEATHERS…

We love visiting the pond because we find lots of things.

ESME

The first time at the pond we found frog spawn.

SIDDHARTH

The next time they had back legs.

HANNA

My favourite bit was finding the baby frogs.

THOMAS

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

CRICKET The girls have made fantastic progress in their first year of cricket. They have learnt the basics of bowling and batting and improved their fielding and catching skills, which were put to the test in regular fixtures which began in the second week of the summer term. The girls have gone from strength to strength. They have shown great enthusiasm for learning and have established a firm foundation on which to build next season.

The boys have approached cricket with enthusiasm and dedication this term helped by the Cricket World Cup. There have been some excellent skills on display, with all round improvements in batting, bowling and fielding. Not only have there been some stand out performances, but the boys have really embraced teamwork and communication which are such important elements of Cricket.

CROSS COUNTRY “On the 11th of March RSM hosted a Cross Country event at Hartswood for Year 5 and 6 children from local schools. We were all very excited and looking forward to running with and against our friends.

The course was 1.3 miles long and was tough, muddy and challenging but really very enjoyable. Everyone was tired at the end but had all loved the experience. Year 6 girls achieved a first – ‘one,two,three’ an incredible result.” OLIVIA, Year 6

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

FOSMA - Friends of St Mary’s Association FOSMA DISCOS The children had fun at the annual FOSMA discos

SPRING FAIR Despite the rain, the FOSMA team worked tirelessly to organise a wonderful Spring Fair

BALL This year, FOSMA put on a fantastic Glastonmary Festival Summer Ball

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

MUSIC It has been a busy term in the Music department…

• Ensembles Concert in Reigate St. Mary’s Church • Lower School musicians playing in assembly • Reigate and Redhill Music Festival • Informal Concert in the Recital Room at Reigate Grammar School • Interhouse Music • Giant Music Day at Reigate Grammar School • Children’s Concert at G Live • ABRSM Exams • Leith Hill Music Festival

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

MUSIC

RSM Music has been exciting and varied this year.

The children have worked extremely hard and I am very proud of them.

MRS WHITEHEAD

REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL

HOLIDAY CLUBS The RSM Holiday Club (for Reception to Year 6) continues to be a great success.

During the Easter and summer breaks, the weekly programme was packed with fun outings and activities and the children particularly enjoyed riding their bikes and the roller discos.

Green Shoots and Kindergarten children also had fun at the new Early Years Holiday Club which made good use of the school grounds for lots of exciting activities and play.

I really enjoyed making cakes and riding my bike.

Bowling was fun too and Mr Williams was so funny!

CHARLIE, Year 1

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

HOLIDAY CLUBS

FAMILY EVENTS FATHER’S DAY BREAKFAST Early Years Dads enjoyed coming to school for a special Father’s Day Breakfast with their children.

CELEBRATION EVENINGS Each year group enjoyed welcoming parents to a celebration evening in the last week of term. A wonderful finish to 2018-19!

KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH US As The Chronicle illustrates, we are a very active school with a wealth of news and activities happening throught the year. To keep up to date, visit our website or join us online:

@RSMPrepSchool @RSMLowerSchool @RSMSchoolSport @RGSChoristers

Reigate St Mary’s is an independent coeducational preparatory school for children aged 2 to 11.

For more information, log on to our website at www.reigatestmarys.org or e-mail us at office@reigatestmarys.org Tel: 01737 244880 Fax: 01737 221540 Email: office@reigatestmarys.org www.reigatestmarys.org

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