Pre-Prep News 2011/12

Nursery One went on what has become an annual trip on the double decker bus from School to Tiverton Parkway. The children were delighted with all they could see from the top deck; it was worth the mamouth climb up the stairs, quite challenging for young legs. The Stagecoach drivers were marvellously accommodating; hopefully we did not delay their Number 1 service for the rest of the day!

Year One children thoroughly enjoyed their trip to St. Nicholas's Priory in Exeter where they attended a series of workshops that helped to build up their understanding of The Great Fire of London. They had already been introduced to the story of the 1666 fire during their History lessons and the workshops helped to consolidate what they had learned. They met Thomas Black, a man from that period, who told them about life in London in 1666. They learned about clothing and food; they were able to visit the parlour, kitchen and bedroom of a wealthy Tudor gentleman. The loo and the lack of proper plumbing was of great interest and entertainment! The kitchen was fascinating; the dry and wet fires, herbs hanging above the fire, chickens in an indoor cage, a dead hare hanging from the wall to name just a few of the points of interest. There was a great deal for us to notice about how life has changed so much. The day ended with the children acting out the story of the Great Fire. They had a thoroughly interesting day and a lot of fun too.

There was great excitement amongst the Kindergarten children when Neil Vaughan visited school to present his Really Wild Show. Speculation about what creatures he might bring ranged from rattlesnakes to lions! In reality the ones that he brought were just as fascinating but rather smaller and safer! The hissing giant cockroaches from Madagascar were very popular and many of the children enjoyed having one crawl up their arm. The children were fascinated to see the bird eating spider from South America and several children were brave enough to hold her. The final creature was a dragon lizard from the desert of Australia. The children enjoyed stroking the lizard and discovering what the scaly skin felt like. The children not only had a fun morning but learned plenty of interesting facts about animals as well.

We were thrilled by the response from the children to the Christmas Holiday Book Challenge. Thirty one children managed to complete the challenge and returned to school after the Christmas break with their three book reviews. They were very excited to receive a certificate in assembly in recognition of their efforts.

The Otters group enjoyed a Caribbean style dance session recently. This was a lively session with reggae music, an energetic conga and some limbo dancing. The children were shown how to limbo dance and then everyone had several turns shouting 'lower, lower' every time the bar was moved. We didn't quite match the world record of 8 inches whilst carrying a plate of cakes in each hand but everyone was very determined to get as low to the ground as they could.

We cooled off afterwards by enjoying some Caribbean style cocktails complete with fresh pineapple and cocktail umbrellas. There were a few stiff legs the next day but everyone is keen to have another attempt at that world record later in the year.

We were looking forward to the annual visit from the West Midlands Theatre Company with great anticipation. This year they retold the story of The Bluebird. It was extremely entertaining for the children who loved seeing the different characters and following the story of Prince Ivan and his pursuit of the Bluebird. Three young actors played all the different parts which involved some very quick costume changes. Children from the audience were chosen to help and were very brave to appear in front of the foot lights in front of their friends. It was a super way to end the week.

It was lovely to hear the Pre-Prep violin club playing in the final assembly; the children came into the hall demonstrating an exercise that helps them with their bowing technique. They then showed some Christmas sounds that they could make using the strings on their violins. Finally, they played three delightful pieces which included the first notes they have learned this term. It was quite an achievement considering that one or two of them have only been learning to play the violin for a term.

The sun was shining and the air was frosty as the Year One children arrived at Killerton for their annual visit to find out about what Christmas was like during the Victorian era. They were greeted in the car park by the Housekeeper who led them up to the House. Toby had to knock on the grand door and a maid answered and summoned everyone into the warm, festive hallway. The house was decorated for Christmas in true Victorian style with beautiful garlands and wreaths made out of foliage from the locality. The Christmas trees were sparkling with decorations. The group of volunteers showed the children around the house and described life for the servants and for the family who lived in the house. They were most surprised to hear that one of the maids had the job of monitoring the candles on the Christmas tree to make sure they didn't cause a fire or burn too low. They found out about the types of games that Victorians played and enjoyed playing a game of "Squeak, Piggy, Squeak" and "Blow the Feather." They met the cook who talked about the Christmas food preparations. At the end of the visit, the children congregated in the Music Room and sang carols whilst Mrs Shelbourne accompanied them on the piano. It was a lovely start to the Christmas festivities.

A new venture has been launched this term in the Pre-Prep; in an effort to encourage pupils to read more during the holidays, a "Holiday Book Challenge" has been introduced. The children will have the opportunity to borrow books and audio books from the library which they can then read and review during the holidays. They will receive certificates for their efforts and achievement. Hopefully, many of them will choose to continue with the challenge throughout their time in the Pre-Prep in order to gain bronze, silver and gold awards. Here is a photo showing excited children with their first selection of books.

It was hard to believe how young the children in the Kindergarten were when they performed their Christmas Play this week. They acted and sang with such confidence and cheerfulness and the audience was spellbound. It was a play called "The Sleepy Shepherd"; one of the shepherds kept falling asleep. He even found it difficult to count his sheep because he kept feeling so sleepy! One night he was awoken by the angels who told him about a special baby being born in the stable. He rushed down to Bethlehem to find Baby Jesus in the manger. The children sang some super songs and there were one or two solos as well. They all remembered their words and spoke out clearly. It was a charming retelling of this very special story.

The children in Year One entertained their friends and families with a delightful retelling of the story of "Baboushka". They all joined in with the singing and the narration of the story.

The play told the story of Baboushka travelling to find the New King, Baby Jesus. She stopped several times on her way there to help other needy travellers and, when she arrived in Bethlehem, found that she had nothing left in her basket to give the baby. She felt sad about this until she realised that it was enough to give her heart to the baby. The children looked as though they were thoroughly enjoying themselves on stage and the audience could hear every word that was spoken.

On the 28th and 29th November Form 2K were lucky enough to welcome two visitors to help them with their geography and history topic about Christmas around the world. Mrs Fields lived in Germany as a child and has only been in England for ten years. She told the children about the exciting street markets in Germany and even baked some German biscuits for us to try.

Mrs Cronkshaw came in on Tuesday. She was born in New Zealand but has also lived in Australia. She brought a picnic blanket for the children to sit on as many families in Australia and New Zealand have picnics at Christmas. The children were fascinated to hear that Christmas falls in the summer holidays there and that many Christmas cards still have snow scenes on them! On both occasions the children were able to see similarities and differences about how Christmas is celebrated around the world. They really listened carefully to our speakers and we were very grateful that they gave up their time to talk to us.

This year, Year Two's Christmas Nativity Play was called "Witnesses". It provided a modern adaptation of the story of Jesus's birth. It involved two reporters interviewing the different characters who appear in the story; There were three very important Kings, three sparkling stars who behaved like true modern day celebrities, three angels, two shepherds and, of course, Joseph and Mary. They sang their songs beautifully and spoke their words with confidence and expression. It provided a super start to the Christmas season!

The children joined in the Children in Need celebrations this year by wearing spotty and stripy clothes. They were very excited and managed to raise lots of money for this very worthwhile charity. Some children brought in spotty cakes which were greatly enjoyed at snack time too.

On Friday 18th November there was much excitement in Form 2K. Not only was it 'Children In Need' day, and they had all donated money to come to school in spots or stripes, but we went over to the Food Technology kitchen and made some mincemeat shapes. The children listened very carefully to Mrs. Watson and they even enjoyed washing-up.

The mincemeat shapes were made to sell at the Christmas Bazaar, which was the following day. All the children made a special Pudsey Bear each and they were able to eat this with their snack. We had a fun morning and Form 2K are excellent chefs!

Remembrance Day was particularly special for the Pre-Prep this year; the children and staff went up to the Prep School and joined in a very special service to remember the sacrifice made by so many during wartime. Each child and member of staff made a poppy that was then "planted" into a wreath. The Head Boy and Head Girl did a reading and The Reverend Tim Hunt lead everyone in prayer. Members of the Senior School C.C.F. attended and the service ended with members of the Blundell's Wind Band playing "The Last Post" and "Reveille."

During the first half of term there has been a Story Writing Competition running in the Pre-prep. When the author, Jon Blake, visited the Pre-prep on Book Day he set us a challenge to write a story about a visit to a pet shop. The competition was open to children in Years One and Two. There were some super entries; they were so good that Mrs Nash had to read them to the whole of the Pre-prep during an assembly time. The children thoroughly enjoyed the stories and so did the staff. They were so good that it was hard to decide upon just one winner. However, after a great deal of deliberation, Lucie Spencer's story about a boy called Simon buying a pet giraffe was chosen to receive First Prize. She was awarded with a certificate and book token. There were three runners up who received prizes and certificates for being "Highly Commended". They were awarded to Shea Clark, Louisa Chambers and Elizabeth Honey. Well done to everyone who took part and particularly to the winners. There are some very talented story writers coming up through the school.

Book Day was a great success again this year. The children loved coming to school dressed as their favourite book characters. There were pirates, princesses, witches, wizards, cats, dogs and many other wonderful creations. The costumes were inspired and our thanks go to the parents who put so much effort into organising their children's outfits for the day.

The younger children enjoyed listening to Amy Sparkes's latest book, "Hodge the Hedgehog." They made book marks and puppets with Amy after her story. The children in Years One and Two had the opportunity to listen to Jon Blake talk about his life as an author. He read them his most popular book, "Daley B." He also encouraged them to write their own stories which hopefully some of the children will do over the next few weeks.

After lunch the children chose a story time session that appealed to them. All the teachers "advertised" their books and the children were able to choose which teacher they went to listen to. Mr Southgate was a very popular option this year!

Book at Bedtime was the highlight of the day. The children returned to school in the evening wearing their pyjamas and clutching their teddies, pillows and sleeping bags. The teachers read them bedtime stories by candlelight while they snuggled up together in the hall.

It was an exciting, worthwhile day which gave us the opportunity to focus on the pleasure that can be found in books.

Year Two presented a lovely Harvest Assembly today to the friends and families who were able to attend. They acted out the story of "The Enormous Turnip" and then each child told us about the importance of plants that grow on our planet. Many children had brought in produce for the Harvest table; the food will be given to a local charity called CHAT, Churches Housing Action Team, which provides help for families who are experiencing difficulties in finding a place to call home. During the Christmas period, the food will be put into carrier bags and distributed amongst those most needing help. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this worthy cause.

It was exciting to welcome our new Head Master, Mr Southgate, to his first assembly this week. He had two helpers from Year Two who had to draw pictures of themselves using shaving foam! Quite a challenge for them. They coped admirably well and helped to reinforce an important message about being kind to others.

On Thursday 15th September Year 2 set off on a coach to Budleigh Salterton. The children looked at many of the local features including the beach huts, the promenade, plants and the estuary. We were lucky enough to meet a friendly fisherman who kindly showed us all the different fish he had caught. We then carried on and walked towards the river Otter where we saw the river meeting the sea. We then did some sketches of all the things we had seen. The weather was gorgeous, so we ate our picnic on the beach and took in the sea view. We then travelled to Exmouth, where due to the Tour of Britain cycle race, we had to leave the coach a long way from the beach! After a trek through the streets of Exmouth we finally reached the seafront in time to have an ice cream or an ice lolly and a quick paddle before trekking back! We noticed lots of interesting things in both seaside towns and the children were able to remember lots of things for our geography, history and science lessons this term. The children were very well behaved and many passers-by commented on this. Well done Year Two.