Science Week in the Pre-Prep started with a bang when Mr Guy, a chemistry teacher at the senior school, visited our assembly. He demonstrated a variety of exciting experiments involving coloured flames, foaming liquids and some very loud noises!
This year’s competition was to make a kite at home which could be entered into the category of best decorated or best flying kite. The children made a fantastic variety of kites and we had over a hundred on display around the Pre-Prep. Luckily we had sunny weather and wind on the day of the kite flying final.
Form Two had the opportunity to become teachers for a lesson in which they helped the children in Nursery Two to make paper helicopters.
The week ended with a wonderful science show put on by Mad Science. Radioactive Rose showed the children a selection of experiments involving dry ice, air pressure and friction. She also demonstrated how a hovercraft works and a volunteer had the opportunity to ride on it. The children sat enthralled for nearly an hour and loved every minute of it.
Wednesday 3rd March was World Maths Day. In the Pre-Prep we recognised this day and linked this with Science Week, the theme being air. The children in Kindergarten, Form One and Form Two were set a challenge to see how many bubbles they could blow in one minute, using a bubble solution. Heats were held in form groups with a grand final taking place on the 3rd March. There were prizes for the children in each year group that could blow the most bubbles! The children in Nursery One guessed how many bubbles Mrs McDowell could blow in one go. In Nursery Two the children guessed how many bubbles their teachers could blow before they counted to twenty. Well done to all the winners and everyone for taking part in these activities and a lot of fun was had by us all.
The pre-prep children who learn the violin showed some of their friends and teachers what they have been learning at the "Fiddle Frolics" this term.
There was great excitement at this week's Busy Bees Club as it was Showtime. We were entertained by such a variety of things. Some children were proud to show models they had made. Some brought in holiday photographs to share. There were dancers, joke tellers, a saxophonist and even Batman paid us a visit!
Well done to these Year Two children who recently won a poetry competition. They had had to write an acrostic poem describing themselves and based on the letters of their names. They all received a certificate and their poems will be published in a special book of children's poems.
One of the Pre-Prep pupils entertained her friends and teachers in assembly with a delightful performance on her violin. She had recently passed her Grade One violin examination and played the piece "Pony Ride" beautifully.
Kindergarten visit from Neil from the Really Wild Show was excellent. We met Giant African land snails called Bethany and Brian – sadly their parents had died from Swine flu! Have you ever stroked a skeleton? We have: the snail’s shell is their skeleton and some of us were brave enough to be slimed by the snails, having them on our hands! We then met Stumpy the bird-eating spider who normally lives in a burrow. Stumpy has this name because he only has 71/2 legs – one was caught in a door! Finally we met a Blue-tongued skink called Norris who really liked being perched on Elizabeth’s head!
The children were very excited about playtime in the snow on the first day back after the Christmas holiday.
The term ended with great excitement at the Pre-prep Christmas party. The children enjoyed dancing and playing games. There was delicious party food to eat and a special visit from Father Christmas.
Year One had a wonderful afternoon at Killerton House where they learned about how Christmas was celebrated during the Victorian times. To add to the occasion, the children dressed up as Victorian children. The house was beautifully decorated with Christmas trees, holly, ivy and ribbons. The fires were burning and the whole house was feeling very festive. The children learned about the toys that children would have played with, the food they would have eaten and the games they would have played. It was a very worthwhile trip and a super way to start the Christmas festivities.
The last Christmas play of the term was performed by the youngest children in the Pre-prep, the three Nursery classes. They told the story of "The Whoopsadaisy Angel". The poor Whoopsadaisy Angel kept being left out because she was no good at anything; she kept falling over and her halo was always lopsided. No one would give her an important job to do. She felt very sorry for herself until, one day, she was given the important job of leading the shepherds and the wise men to the stable to visit the special baby, Jesus. It was a delightful play with super songs; the children coped extremely well with their first experience of performing to a crowded hall packed with their parents and relatives. 
The Kindergarten children charmed their audience with their Christmas Play which was called "Fishing for Stars". The story involved a little boy fishing for the largest star he could find. The shepherds and the Wise Men see the star and also chase after it and it leads them to the stable where they find Mary and Joseph. It was a tremendous production for such young children.
This year's Year One Nativity play was full of colour and sparkle. The play was called "The Bossy Christmas Fairy" which involved a very bossy fairy organising all the decorations on her Christmas tree. A few of the decorations were rather old and tatty and were rejected by her; she even wanted to reject the Nativity figures underneath the tree. By the end of the play, she learns what is really important about Christmas. There was some wonderful singing and dancing and the play provided great entertainment for all the mums, dads and relatives who came to watch. 
The Year Two children heralded in the Christmas season of Nativity plays with their production of "Born in a Barn." It was a delightful retelling of the story of Jesus’ birth from the point of view of the animals. There were mice, camels, sheep, pigs, cows, a donkey, a dog and a cat and a very fine cockerel. All the children had words to say; some children sang solos and there were groups of singers too. It was a wonderful entertainment.
There was a great deal of fun and laughter in the preprep when the Midlands Theatre Company came for their annual visit this week. The younger members of the school listened to the unravelling of the story of "Wicked William" with bated breath. Some of them had the opportunity to join in and help the actors and actresses on stage.
Mrs. Gray came to talk to Nursery 2 today about her role as a nurse. She told them how important it is for them to eat fruit and vegetables to keep healthy. She also reminded them about washing their hands to keep them clean and about using a handkerchief when they cough or sneeze.
Senior pupils joined the preprep for a special musical assembly this week. The children learnt about different brass instruments and how to play them.
Colour mixing in the Pre-Prep using powder paints. The children are encouraged to make their own colours by mixing the powder paint to make Autumn colours to then paint their own leaves.
There has been great excitement in the Pre-Prep due to the arrival of six eggs that were about to hatch. To the relief of Mrs. Connolly, they all hatched successfully. The chicks have been very patient whilst being visited several times by all of the children although they looked quite tired by Friday afternoon! Year Two has been thinking about "Change" as part of its' science curriculum and have been observing the changes that have taken place in the chicks.
The children in Form 1P celebrated National Poetry Day this week by reading out poems they had written about autumn and the senses during their assembly.
Two children were presented with tee shirt prizes for cycling the most laps around the school car park at last week's "Cycle Sunday." It was a sponsored event in aid of the "Head South" Appeal. It was a lovely sunny day and many children enjoyed taking part.
The annual Book Week has arrived again. This year's theme is animal stories, poems and rhymes. The children in Year Two gave the PrePrep a special assembly about their favourite animal stories and poems. The younger children had the opportunity to visit the local library to find out about what services it provides and to look at the books.
There was great excitement and tension in this year's Book Quiz as the three teams battled their way to victory by answering some quite challenging questions about books, authors and poets. After a fierce competition, the red team won by only a few points.
During the week, the author and illustrator, Shoo Rayner, visited and talked to all the children about his work. He read some of his stories and showed how he illustrated his books. He brought his sketch book which showed some examples of the different characters he has written about. His talents extended to story telling; the children were spellbound as they learned the truth about how the whale got his throat. He also gave them some ideas about how to draw funny illustrations.
During Book Week each child had the opportunity to write an animal story which was on display in the hall. We were very fortunate to be visited by the author, Shoo Rayner, who read them all and judged the winning stories. It was a tough decision and he was impressed by all the children's efforts but managed to select a winner in each class. This photo shows the winning children who received books as prizes for their achievements.
On the last day of Book Week, everyone, even the teachers, came to school dressed as an animal book character. There were some amazing creations and the parents and children had put much effort into their costumes.
The week ended with "Book at Bedtime" on the Friday night. The children returned to school in their pyjamas clutching their sleeping bags, pillows and cuddlies. They snuggled up while the teachers read them some of their favourite bedtime stories in the candlelight. They then enjoyed a warm mug of hot chocolate with a homemade cookie.
Mr. Folland, with the help of the Year Two children, led the Pre Prep Harvest assembly this week. It was well supported by parents and the children enjoyed taking part. Many children donated gifts of food; at the end of the week, these gifts will be taken to St. Petrocs in Exeter to be shared out amongst the homeless. I am sure it will be very gratefully received.
In Year One the children are finding out about old Teddy Bears in history. They have created a timeline of the bears that they brought in to show the oldest and the newest bears. The oldest bear was seventy years old!
Form 2C and Form 2K had a super trip to Budleigh Salterton and Exmouth on Thursday 17th September 2009. The sun shone and the children learnt many interesting things about both the seaside towns, as part of their work on seasides for their geography, history and science lessons. We all had lots of fun too.