From Mrs Hall:

The boys have learned that friendship is about kindness, patience, understanding, and forgiveness. Friends may make mistakes, but saying “I’m sorry” or “I forgive you” helps everyone move forward together.

Our Pre-Prep message of using kind hands, kind feet, and kind words has guided the boys in being gentle, respectful, and considerate in their play.

We encourage you to keep these conversations going at home by talking about what it means to be a good friend and how your sons can continue to show kindness in all they do.

Stag Beetle Surprise

 Luckily for me, I’m not at all squeamish or afraid of minibeasts, as after lunch, I returned to my classroom to find a very special surprise waiting for me; a “gift” of a bug on my desk! The delighted boys had discovered three larvae, and after a little investigation (with some helpful information from Steve Backshall, of course!), we identified them as stag beetle larvae. What followed was a wonderful twenty minutes of research and curiosity-filled discussion — exactly the kind of moment I love most about teaching! The boys have since returned the larvae safely to their resting place, and, with the help of the maintenance team and Mrs Walker, a special wooden sign has been placed to mark the protected area. The boys now understand the importance of caring for their new stag beetle friends and protecting their habitat.

A request from Mrs Anderson (After School Clubs)
Please could parents email both Mrs Anderson (sanderson@pilgrims-school.co.uk) and your son's class teacher if your son will be staying for After School Care or Supper Club. This helps us ensure that all staff are fully informed. Please also be reassured that if you are running late for any reason, your son will be cared for until you arrive — please just let the Front Office know.

Thank you for your cooperation.

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Shell awards:

Reception: to Theodore for showing a positive attitude towards his learning, especially with handwriting!
Leopold for showing good listening and perseverance towards reading.
Year 1: to Henry B for working hard on forming his ladder letters in the correct cursive style. Keep up the brilliant work. Well done, Henry!
Year 2: to Felix S for demonstrating our Pilgrims' Values in all that he does.

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Save the Dates !

Monday 13 October	1600-1900		Reception and Year 1 Parents' Evenings
Friday 17 October			Half-Term begins at the end of the school day
Monday 3 November	08:30		Term resumes
Friday 7 November	18:00		PPA Fireworks event
Wednesday 12 November	09:30-11:30		Virtual Open Morning
Friday 14 November	tba		PPA Book Sale in aid of Children-in-Need
22-23 November			Exeat weekend
Friday 28 November	15:00 19:00		Pre-Prep Cathedral Assembly - all welcome PPA Christmas Drinks for parents and staff
Tuesday 2 December	all day		Christmas jumper day and Christmas lunch
Thursday 4 December	09:00-09:45		Pre-Prep Nativity dress rehearsal
Friday 5 December	09:45-10:30		Pre-Prep Nativity performance
Wednesday 10 December	am		Pre-Prep to the pantomime: Puss in Boots

 

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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Upcoming Events

 

Year 2 

Fantastic Storytelling from Our Imaginative Boys
This week, the boys have shown incredible imagination in their story writing. They’ve been creating traditional tales with a twist, taking inspiration from many different stories — some well-known classics and others brand-new discoveries. Their creativity and enthusiasm have shone through every step of the way, and they were further inspired after their exciting opportunity to meet author Abie Longstaff. Abie shared some wonderful advice and encouragement about the writing process. Meanwhile, Mrs Hall and I were lucky enough to meet actor Hugh Bonneville, who offered one clear and memorable piece of wisdom: “Write from what you know.”

It is clear that the boys have taken this to heart, weaving their own experiences, humour, and imagination into their stories. Once their work is finalised, the boys will have the opportunity to share their stories with the boys in Reception, building upon friendships across the school. This will also give Year 2 a chance to practise “reading like a storyteller”, while Year R boys work on developing their listening skills.

We are so proud of the originality, effort, and joy that the boys have brought to their writing — well done, boys!

Pre-Prep Cathedral Assembly – Harvest Celebration
Last Friday, we enjoyed a wonderful Cathedral assembly led by Canon Andrew on the theme of Harvest. He brought along a colourful selection of fruits and vegetables to show and discuss, helping us reflect on the abundance and variety of the world around us. The assembly concluded with a joyful song, “Thank You Lord for This Fine Day,” with some of the fruits and vegetables cleverly woven into the verses! Canon Andrew left us with an important message — that God told us, “Everything is good,” and reminded us of the importance of sharing what we have with those who are less fortunate. It was a meaningful and uplifting way to celebrate the season of Harvest. Thank you all who were able to join us. 

Mrs Maxine Kent
Year 2 Teacher
 

Year 1

English – Poetry Writing
Last week, for National Poetry Day on Thursday, the boys wrote free verse poems. These were from the perspective of an alien zooming through space towards our planet, feeling so interested in what they saw that they had to get a closer look.

As a class, we looked at satellite images of Earth taken from space, which inspired creative WOW words to be used to describe our planet. We also watched some drone footage from Planet Earth, the nature documentary, to provide further ideas. The boys created wonderful poems that captured the beauty of our planet. These poems were put together in a class poetry anthology.

This week, Mr Darlow, our Head of English, made the boys feel like real published authors when he visited us to read and perform each of their poems out loud to them. They were thrilled to see their work in a class anthology and to hear their own poems performed so captivatingly. The joy on their faces says it all!

 

Reception

Wassily Kandinsky was an artist who loved colours, shapes, and music. He was born in Russia in 1866 and became one of the first people to make abstract art—paintings that don’t try to look like real things but instead show feelings through colours and lines.

Kandinsky thought that art could make people feel emotions just like music does. He often said that colours had their own sounds—yellow might feel bright and happy, while blue could feel calm or quiet.

He became a teacher at a famous art school called the Bauhaus, where he encouraged students to be creative and experiment. Today, Kandinsky’s paintings are known for their bold colours, playful shapes, and energy—and they still inspire artists and children all over the world to see art in new ways.

This has been one of the Expressive Art and Design focuses this term for the boys in Reception. The boys have enjoyed learning more about Kandinsky and listening to his story The Noisy Paintbox by Barb Rosenstock.  We looked at and discussed many of his abstract paintings and learnt how art makes people feel differently for different reasons.  What one person may like, another may not, and that is okay.  

We spent time exploring two of his paintings in particular, Concentric Circles and The Tree of Life. The boys could identify colours that Kandinsky had used and how perhaps he had mixed colours together to create other colours.  They were also able to talk about the shapes and patterns they could see.  

Using Kandinsky as an inspiration, the boys had a go at creating Trees of Life of their own over several sessions. Firstly, colour mixing primary colours to create secondary colours, secondly, transforming a plain trunk and branches of a tree into a hub of different brown bases, followed by lastly, adding beautiful concentric leaves in different colours and shades.  

What fantastic final masterpieces were created!  Super work boys, well done!  We hope you enjoy seeing these over the next few weeks.

Maybe you would like to share some more of Kandinsky's artwork with your son at home or have a go at some abstract art together.  It is great fun! Have a restful weekend.

 

Forest School

I always enjoy teaching knot skills to the boys, as they are so useful in many of our Forest School sessions. This week, the boys in Year R were introduced to an open clove hitch knot, which is a knot we use a lot in our sessions. Once the boys had become familiar with the knot, we used it to create a log dog pet. With the lead attached, the boys decorated their little pets with wool, took them for a walk, and even had a go at performing tricks with them!

Again, the wonderful, colourful autumn leaves were our inspiration. Year 1 learned how to tie a stopper knot using a piece of string. This piece of string then became a super threader, and the boys were able to thread a fabulous selection of leaves onto the string. Once completed, the super threaders were turned into stunning autumnal pieces of jewellery! The boys proudly modelled their crowns, necklaces, bracelets and belts!

This week, Year 2’s session linked in with their science curriculum. We used the environment to help us identify different materials and explore how materials are used in the wider world. We also chatted about the suitability of the materials and why they might be used in certain situations. Some of the boys enjoyed making a conker run using different materials.

Mrs Fiona Walker
Forest School and LAMDA Teacher