From Mrs Hall:

The boys were buzzing with excitement as they explored, created, and played in the magical surroundings of the trees and river. Our ‘Father’s Day in the Woods’ event was a truly joyful celebration. After a heavy downpour just an hour beforehand, the skies began to clear and the sun started to shine through!

The afternoon offered a memorable opportunity for the boys to share time with their fathers and special guests in a relaxed and enriching outdoor setting. The boys moved between a variety of activity stations – from drilling wooden medals and painting pebbles to crafting clay tiles together. A real highlight of the afternoon was the incredible den-building – it was such fun watching the boys develop their engineering skills and teamwork as their creations took shape!

A heartfelt thank you to all the families who joined us and made the morning so special. We are also enormously grateful to Mrs Walker, the Catering Team, and the entire Pre-Prep staff for their energy, creativity, and dedication in making the event such a success.

Wishing you all a restful weekend after such an adventurous end to our week!

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Shell awards:

Reception: to Hammie for wowing us with the tractor and attachments he made using the woodwork bench.  Such a lot of thought, determination and care went into his creation.
Year 1: to Willoughby for such brilliant sharing of his cardboard tool kit to help the class make the Golden Hinde. Well done, Willoughby!
Year 2: to Luca, for his enthusiasm and dedication across all areas of learning.

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Save the Dates !

Tuesday 17 June	1900	Positive Parenting Talk, all parents warmly welcome
Thursday 19 June	0900	Whole School photograph Art Installation Winchester College
Thursday 26 June	1900	Year 2 to Year 3 Move-Up meeting for parents
Friday 27 June	1500	Pre-Prep Cathedral Assembly
Monday 30 June	1500	Reception only Parents' Evening
Tuesday 1 July	all day	New boys' day
Friday 4 July	1600	Pre-Prep and Junior LAMDA Showcase for parents
Monday 7 July	0815-0845 1330	Pre-Prep Open Classrooms Pre-Prep Sports Day
Tuesday 8 July	0815-0845 all day	Pre-Prep Open Classrooms Pre-Prep beach trip
Wednesday 9 July	1500 1545	Pre-Prep Final Assembly Pre-Prep end of term
Thursday 4 September	0830	Term resumes

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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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Father's Day in the Woods

Year 1

What a FANTASTIC morning we had at Portsmouth Lifeboat Station on Monday!

Brian, who had visited us at school to talk about beach safety, met us outside. First things first, it was up to the crew mess for a welcome. Then, Brian took us into the crew changing room where he showed us all the kit that the crew would have to put in at breakneck speed when called to a "shout". We decided the lifejacket was much heavier than the one we tried on with Mr Harding before half-term due to all the extra items included (torches, flares, safety lines, first aid checklists and spray hoods). Helmets included torches, flashing lights, cameras and microphones. They also had blow-up insides to ensure they fit snugly to each crew member's head. By this point, we were all sweltering as the changing room had a constant heater and dehumidifier running to make sure their kit was always dry.

Next, it was out to the lifeboats to learn about the kit found on board. We all went into the inshore rib to investigate. We were thrilled to spot the kill cord (as we knew all about that from Mr Harding!). We found a compass, a radar system, a sat nav, ropes to hold on to in rough seas, fuel tubes, the engine, anchor and parachute anchor to name a few.

We finished our morning by presenting our special cheque for £1353 to Brian, who was thrilled with the amount our Year 1 team had raised for the RNLI. The station manager overheard and came out to give the boys a special well done as well. What a successful and meaningful morning we had. The final stroke of luck was bumping into a young female crew member called Ellie as we left, who was equally thrilled to hear of our fundraising efforts.

The morning was an exciting treat for the boys for all their hard work but also a meaningful reminder of what their money was raised for. We discovered that we had certainly raised enough for one crew member to be fully dressed to save lives at sea. What an achievement!

Mrs Victoria Ford
Year 1 Teacher

Year 2 -  Making Waves with Their Ocean Topic!

This week Year 2 have continued to dive deep into their ocean topic, showing fantastic creativity, curiosity, and care for the planet. Our classroom has truly become a hub of ocean-themed learning and expression.

A standout feature of their work is the incredible 'Stop Ocean Pollution' posters, now proudly displayed for everyone to see. Each child puts a huge amount of effort into designing posters that are not only vibrant and eye-catching, but also carry a powerful message about protecting our seas. 

 

In Art, the boys have begun to create their own versions of The Great Wave, inspired by Hokusai’s famous painting.

They’ve been exploring hot and cold colours, practising colour mixing, and using their knowledge to create beautiful, expressive waves that capture the power and movement of the ocean.

 

 

In literacy, the class continued their work with the story Clem and Crab, deepening their understanding of storytelling and character. Building on this, they are now beginning to explore persuasive writing—learning how to use words to inform, inspire, and influence others. 

In Maths, Year 2 continued work on telling the time. They worked hard to read both analogue and digital clocks and are now beginning to solve problems involving time, such as knowing what time it will be in half an hour. Please continue to support your child at home by practising telling the time and extending your questions to include challenges like, 'What time will it be in 30 minutes?' or "How long until bedtime?'

Well done, Year 2, for your energy, effort, and enthusiasm in all areas of your learning. Keep up the great work!

Mrs Maxine Kent
Year 2 Teacher
 

Reception

What a variety of learning the boys have engaged with this week, amongst the sunshine and showers! 

The boys' enthusiasm towards the new woodwork bench is clearly evident in the keenness shown to create something of their choosing. We have a selection of vehicles, from cars, tractors, planes to trains, robots and pets. Such determination, perseverance, independence, and imagination have been portrayed with all boys achieving something they had set their mind to.  The workbench has also highlighted the clear use of real mathematical skills with lots of measuring, angle work, counting, direction and shape work needed, to name a few! Problem-solving is also very important as sometimes things do not work out quite as expected, so an alternative idea needs to be thought of and tried out.

The boys have also been excited to learn more about higher numbers these past few weeks.  We have been working particularly on the numbers 10-20 using the programmes Ten Town and The Numberblocks to support this. Each programme has a fun and engaging way of showing how the numbers take 10 first (Tina ten) and add to this to create a new number, so 'Tina ten' and 'Seal seven' make seventeen, from Ten Town. The boys have also been introduced to the mathematical signs for adding, taking away and altogether makes/equals and shown how 10+7=17 OR 7+10=17.  Number writing has also been a big focus for us this week.  The boys have been trying very hard to write numerals from 0-20 showing the correct formation and orientation, with little or no help. Remembering that the number 1 comes before each numeral from 12-19 has been a topic of discussion. Looking for patterns does help with this.  Further practise with this at home might be a great way of embedding this knowledge.

Well done boys!  A fun week with a great Forest School session to celebrate a special day on Sunday. Enjoy your weekend.

Mrs Sarah Huntley
Reception Teacher