Pre-Prep News, Friday 27 February
This week in Pre-Prep we have been thinking about something very special… JOY!
From Mrs Hall:
In our assembly, we used the film Inside Out to help us explore our emotions.
We met Joy and her friends, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, and thought about why every feeling is important. But we focused especially on why Joy is so strong.
The boys shared some wonderful ideas. Joy is strong because she helps us look for the bright side when things feel tricky. We talked about how Joy grows when we are kind, when we try our best, when we laugh together and when we remember that even sad days can lead to happy memories.
We were also especially joyful to see some beautiful sunshine this week, albeit not for long! After some rather grey, wet days, it felt wonderful to feel the warmth during playtime and outdoor learning. The sunshine certainly helped our Joy shine even brighter.
Year 2 had a fantastic time at their joint Forest School session with St Swithun's School. Everyone loved exploring, building, investigating and working together outdoors. There was wonderful teamwork, muddy hands, creative thinking and lots of smiles. A huge thank you to Mrs Walker for organising the event.
We ended the week with our much-anticipated Pre-Prep Poetry Recital, and we could not have been prouder. The boys worked incredibly hard to learn and rehearse their poems, and it truly showed in their performances. It takes real courage to stand up and speak in front of others, and every single boy showed bravery and determination throughout the week. There was so much joy in the room as we celebrated their hard work and growth. A huge thank you to Mrs Ford for the inspiration and to Mr Darlow for judging the recital.
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Save the Dates !
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Monday 2 March |
All day |
Year 2 trip to the Hawk Conservancy |
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Tuesday 3 March |
All day |
Year 1 trip to Portchester Castle |
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Friday 6 March |
All day
1800-1900 |
PPA Book Sale Reception trip to Weald and Downland Museum Pre-Prep Cathedral Assembly, all Welcome Year 1 and Year 2 Stargazing evening |
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Monday 9 March |
1600-1800 |
Year 2 Parents' Evening |
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Tuesday 10 March |
1500-1700 |
Year R and Year 1 Parents' Evening |
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Wednesday 11 March |
1500-1600 |
Christ Church visits the Pre-Prep |
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| Thursday 12 March | am |
Mother's Day in the Woods |
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Monday 16 March |
0815-0845 |
Open Classrooms, all welcome |
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Tuesday 17 March |
0815-0845 |
Open Classrooms, all welcome |
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| Friday 20 March |
1500
19:00 |
Red Nose Day Pre-Prep Celebration Assembly and term ends for Pre-Prep PPA Event: Race Night from 7pm |
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Monday 20 April |
0830 |
First day of Summer term |
Notices
Menus are available here on My School Portal.
Reminder: no food is to be brought into the school and/or given to boys at any time, especially at sign-out.
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Shell awards:
This week, the Shell Awards go to the boys in each year group who won the Poetry and Nursery Rhyme Competition:
Year R - Ilya
Year 1 - William
Year 2 - Macarthur
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Upcoming Events
FOR ALL OPEN DAY ENQUIRIES CLICK HERE
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Year 1
Welcome Spring in the Style of David Hockney
Year 1 have been celebrating the first signs of spring, taking inspiration from the vibrant iPad painting series created by David Hockney for his exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in 2020. Hockney started using iPads to paint in 2012 as he enjoyed the speed at which he could create work along with the different paintbrushes and vibrant colours available on different apps. During Lockdown in 2020, he retreated to France where he explored the arrival of spring in the trees around him and painted a series of pieces on his iPad.
After learning a little about David Hockney and his Pop Art style of painting, we looked closely at Hockney’s joyful digital artworks of blossoming trees and changing landscapes. The boys set off around the school grounds with iPads in hand. They carefully photographed trees that are just beginning to show signs of the new season: tiny buds, fresh green shoots and the first hints of blossom. The boys were wonderfully observant, noticing small but important details that signal winter is coming to an end.
This week’s photographs mark the beginning of our own springtime study. Next week, the boys will return to the very same trees to take another picture, comparing the images to see what has changed. Will there be more blossom? Brighter leaves? It will be exciting to spot the differences and track the season’s progress.
Inspired by Hockney’s bold colours and expressive lines, the boys will then begin experimenting with a similar painting app to Hockney to create their own digital artworks. I can already sense the joy this project will bring. Being outside without rain, spotting blue skies and warm sunshine, hearing bees buzzing, and noticing colourful buds and spring flowers beginning to open was uplifting in its purest form. The boys also expressed great delight in practising their photography skills, carefully composing satisfying images and learning how to zoom in and out with confidence. What an exciting start to the half term!
Mrs Victoria Ford
Year 1 Teacher
Reception
Welcome back after the half-term break! The Reception boys have returned to school full of energy and enthusiasm, and have settled back into our routines, reconnecting with friends, and with their learning quickly and confidently.
Our focus this week has been learning more about the Lunar New Year, which took place during the holidays. The boys certainly did not miss out on the celebrations, as on the final day before the break we joined the older Prep boys in the dining hall for a very special Chinese New Year lunch. The hall was beautifully decorated with festive ornaments, and everyone enjoyed a delicious Chinese meal together. The boys also received a fortune cookie to take home, a lovely way to continue the celebrations.
In class this week, we have been exploring the story of The Great Race, learning about the animals who took part in the Jade Emperor’s challenge to cross the river and earn a year named after them. This sparked some wonderful discussion, particularly around why the poor cat was not given a year in the zodiac. The boys had some thoughtful and imaginative ideas — do ask your son what happened!
We also discussed that this year is the year of the horse and what this represents. It is said to be a year encouraging bold, independent action, movement, and overcoming obstacles. People who are born in the year of the horse are thought to be independent, sociable, cheerful, and hardworking. We discovered that in our class most boys are born in either the year of the rat or the year of the ox. The Rat being intelligent, resourceful, charismatic, and adaptable, while the ox is thought to be hardworking, reliable, patient, and honest. Which zodiac animal is your birth year matched to? Does this match your personality?
Our learning has been supported this week through a range of creative and practical activities. The boys have:
- Practised simple weaving techniques to create their own Chinese New Year placemats,
- Used folding, cutting, and stapling skills to make bright Chinese lanterns,
- Enjoyed role-playing the race story using animal figures from the tale, helping to bring the narrative to life and deepen their understanding.
Aside from our indoor learning, we have also thoroughly enjoyed the delight of seeing the sunshine this week and spending some quality time in our Reception garden. The boys have loved being back outdoors properly, and we have even spotted a few early signs of Spring beginning to appear, a wonderful reminder that the new season is on its way.
It has been a joyful and engaging week, and we are very proud of how quickly the boys have settled back into school life. Do not forget that next Friday, 6 March, we are going on our Reception class trip to The Weald and Downland Living Museum. Please refer to the separate letter that was sent via SchoolPost email on Friday 13 February for further information on this. If you have any questions, please do ask.
We look forward to an exciting week ahead.
Mrs Sarah Huntley
Reception Teacher
Year 2
We welcomed the boys back from the half‑term break looking bright‑eyed and bushy‑tailed, ready for the exciting weeks ahead.
There is much to look forward to this half term, starting with our trip to the Hawk Conservancy this coming Monday, 2 March. Please remember that the boys will need their coats, wellies and P.E. kit, as we will be outdoors for much of the day.
The boys have astounded us with their poetry recitals, and we applaud each one of them. They delivered their chosen pieces with poise and confidence—such a wonderful reminder of what they can achieve when they put their minds to something.
In Maths, we have continued our work on multiplication and division. A great way to keep these skills sharp—especially on a car journey—is with quick‑fire times tables or simple recall by rote.
In Literacy, we’ve dived into another African story - Lila and the Secret of Rain - this time whisking ourselves off to Kenya. This story links perfectly with our topic on the Maasai and has sparked plenty of imaginative ideas, curious questions, and lively discussions across the classroom.
Before half-term, the boys were thoroughly enjoying The No. 1 Car Spotter by Atinuke and had a fantastic time stepping into character for a radio station role play. They interviewed each other as if they were the famous No. 1 Car Spotter himself, chatting away in the past tense about what they had been up to—especially his adventurous trip to the market in the trusty “Cowrolla”.
Mrs Maxine Kent
Year 2 Teacher
Forest School
Spring is trying to burst into life, and the Arboretum did not disappoint us. The wonderful colours of Spring are starting to appear. So, with the boys in Year R, we decided to give Spring a helping hand by creating some bouncy Spring wands. Using pieces of willow, fir cones, ribbons and bits of wool, the boys created their magical wands and enjoyed casting spells to help Spring on its way! We even had some magical spells trying to help the sun come out!
This week, Year 1 had a go at making some natural paint. Using chalk from the ground, the boys learned how to make a paste by crushing the chalk and slowly adding water. Once a suitable consistency had been achieved, they had fun painting. All our artwork was hung up in our pop-up art gallery for everyone to admire.
Year 2 welcomed girls from St Swithun’s School to their Forest School session this week. Working in small mixed groups, they set about creating their own unique clay ‘Boggarts’. Attention was paid to detail, and natural items were used effectively, and some wonderful mythical creatures were created.
The groups were then asked to think about what their ‘Boggart’ was responsible for and presented this to the group.
Imagination was used well; some of the ‘Boggarts’ controlled the flow of the river, helped make the trees grow, as well as some making sure the blossom came out on time.
The groups were warned that they must never give their ‘Boggart’ a name, as this would result in them losing control of their ‘Boggart’! Both schools also enjoyed some free exploration with each other, whereby they got the chance to engage freely with each other.
The afternoon was a great success, full of smiles, laughter and chatter.
Mrs Fiona Walker
Forest School and LAMDA Teacher
Winchester College Events
Winchester Book Festival
