Pre-Prep News, Friday 3 July

Wishing you all a wonderful Summer.

From Mrs Hall:

As we rapidly approach the end of a wonderful Summer Term and academic year, we are delighted to share some highlights from our final full week in the Pre-Prep. It has been a term filled with exciting, memorable and heart-warming moments, a perfect celebration of the boys’ learning and growth throughout the year.

Our Moving Up Morning was a great success, with all the boys enjoying time with their new class teachers. It was then wonderful to welcome parents on Wednesday evening to meet the teachers and share in the excitement for the year ahead.

Year 2 have continued their fascinating studies of Charles Darwin and the Galápagos Islands, exploring the natural world with curious minds and thoughtful discussion. Their enthusiasm for discovery has been a joy to witness, and we know they are ready to take their next big step into the Lower Prep School.

Year 1 have rounded off the term with some wonderful creative work. Alongside completing their impressive ships, the boys explored the shapes and textures of scallop shells, creating their own clay designs inspired by careful observation. Their finished pieces are full of character and show the care and imagination they have brought to their learning.

Reception ended their week with a magical Teddy Bears’ Picnic, made even more special by welcoming the new boys who will be joining us in September. The children brought in their favourite teddy bears and shared an afternoon of games, stories and a cheerful picnic. It was a gentle and happy introduction to school life for our new families, and a lovely way for our current Reception boys to show their kindness and confidence as they prepare for Year 1.

For something fun to enjoy over the holidays, we encourage the boys to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge. This can be completed either at your local library or online, and is a lovely way to keep reading whilst enjoying plenty of family time and summer fun.

As the term comes to a close, we would like to say a huge thank you to all our Pre-Prep families for your continued support, encouragement and warmth throughout the year. It has been a pleasure to watch your boys flourish academically, socially and emotionally, and we feel incredibly proud of all they have achieved.

We wish you a restful and happy summer break, filled with adventure, laughter and plenty of time to simply enjoy being together. We cannot wait to welcome the boys back in September—whether to Reception, Year 1, Year 2 or the Lower Prep School.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Hall and the Pre-Prep Team

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Save the Dates !

Diary dates for next week appear below. Remember the whole school diary is displayed on My School Portal here:

The Pilgrims' School – Whole School Diary

No commoners this week. ASC as usual Monday and Tuesday

Monday 6 July	0815-0845 1330-1500	Open Classrooms Pre-Prep Sports Day
Tuesday 7 July	0815-0845 0915-1545	Open Classrooms Pre-Prep Trip to Meon Shore
Wednesday 8 July	1500-1530 1545	Celebration Assembly, at the River Term ends for Pre-Prep (No after school care)
Christmas Term 2026
Thursday 10 September		Term Begins

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.}

Upcoming Events

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Shell awards:

Year R - Theodore, Leopold and Rudi - for working so hard with Miss Whitmore this term and making super progress with reading and writing.

Year 1 - to Henry B from Mrs Thorne. For learning to use his words, working well with others and following instructions from grown-ups. Well done, Henry.

Year 2 - to Lucas, for his determination for excellence in all that he does.

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Reception

I really don't know where this year has gone! It only seems like yesterday that I was welcoming the boys into Reception, and now we are getting ready for them to take their next exciting step into Year 1. What an amazing year we have had together.

Looking back at where we started makes me feel incredibly proud. Many of the boys arrived unsure of how to hold a pencil or recognise letters, and now they are writing independently with growing confidence and beautiful handwriting. They have become enthusiastic readers, recognising many words by sight and using their phonics skills to decode unfamiliar words with increasing independence. In Mathematics, they have progressed from learning to count to confidently adding and taking away, exploring patterns, measuring, and recognising and describing a range of 2D and 3D shapes. The progress they have made this year has been truly remarkable, and it has been such a privilege to watch each boy grow in confidence, independence and resilience. What progress!

Alongside all of this wonderful learning, we've shared so many special experiences and have made memories that I know the boys will treasure.

From our exciting class trips to 'Show and Tell'; from the magic of watching our ducklings hatch to our busy morning activities; fun games, endless giggles and all the little moments in between, every week has brought something new to learn and enjoy.

It is these moments, as much as the big milestones, that have made this year so special.

This week has also been lovely as we welcomed our new Reception families into our school community. It was wonderful to meet the boys who will be joining us in September. I know they are going to have a fantastic time with us all. Our current Reception boys have also risen brilliantly to the occasion, proudly taking on the role of being the 'older boys'. They have shown such maturity and excitement as they look ahead to the new adventures and challenges that await them in Year 1.

Although it is always a little sad for me to say goodbye to my year group, it is also exciting to see just how much the boys have grown over the past year. They leave Reception as confident, kind, inquisitive learners who are ready for the next stage of their education, and I could not be prouder of everything they have achieved.

I hope you all have a wonderful, restful summer, whatever you may be doing, filled with fun, laughter and precious family time.

Happy holidays!

Mrs Sarah Huntley
Reception Teacher

Year 2

Well done to all the boys on completing their final full week in Year 2. We are incredibly proud of each one of you and all that you have achieved this year.

It has been a real joy to look back over the last three years in Pre-Prep as the boys reflected on and wrote about some of their favourite memories from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. It was lovely to hear them reminiscing about special trips, memorable learning experiences and the friendships they have made along the way. Some even popped in to see Mrs Ford to check the details of particular Year 1 trips and events, determined to make sure their memories were as accurate as possible!

It was wonderful to see so much positivity and enthusiasm as we spent the morning in the Year 3 classroom. The boys embraced the experience with confidence, settling quickly into their new surroundings and enjoying a taste of what awaits them in September.

After returning to the Year 2 classroom, we listened intently and asked thoughtful questions during a fascinating talk about the Galápagos Islands by Miss Whitmore. They were captivated by the stories and photographs from a trip taken a few years ago, and their curiosity and engagement were a pleasure to see.

We are also looking forward to sharing the boys' Ocean-inspired artwork with you at this evening's Art and DT Exhibition. We hope you enjoy seeing the creativity, care and imagination that has gone into the beautiful pieces.

Mrs Maxine Kent
Year 2 Teacher

Year 1

From Observation to Clay
Following our investigations into the scallop shell featured in A Muse (Calliope?) by Cosimo Tura, the boys became artists this week as they created their own clay impressions of a real scallop shell.

They carefully pressed the shells into the clay to capture every ridge and groove before leaving them to dry. Once hardened, the boys observed the real shells closely, paying particular attention to the subtle colours, patterns and textures that nature has created. Rather than simply choosing colours they liked, the boys were encouraged to look carefully and paint what they could actually see, developing their observational skills and appreciation of the natural world. It was wonderful to see the concentration and care with which they worked, producing a collection of unique shell sculptures inspired by their own close study of these fascinating seaside treasures.

Come and find these beautiful creations, along with our withie boats, in the River Garden at tonight's Art and DT Exhibition - it's on until 7pm!

Mrs Victoria Ford
Year 1 Teacher

Forest School

It’s such a lovely time of year for spotting butterflies, but have you ever seen a butterfly as large as the ones Year R made? After trying to spot some butterflies, we chatted about how the wings are symmetrical. The boys used items from the forest floor to create the wings, and then, when someone became the body of the butterfly, our butterflies seemed to come alive!

Following on from last week’s lesson, where the boys learned about the structure of a flower, our focus became the insects that visit the flowers. We chatted about how bees are important pollinators and had great fun making our own bees using fir cones. The boys in Year 1 enjoyed visiting all the flowers with their bees and some of the boys even built some mini bee hives!

With our beach day planned for next week, Year 2 wanted to design some pirate flags that we could place on the beach. Recalling a skill learned in Year R, the boys enjoyed making some mud paint and used their paint to stencil some pirate images onto their flags. It was lovely to hear the boys chatting about their designs, and I look forward to seeing the flags on the beach.