Pre-Prep News, Friday 15 May

Another busy week in the Pre-Prep!

From Mrs Hall:

Being away at a Pre-Prep conference this week has been a valuable opportunity to step outside our daily routines and see what is happening more widely in the world of education. It has been inspiring to hear from colleagues from other schools, share ideas, and reflect on the many exciting ways young children are learning and thriving. These opportunities always bring fresh thinking, and I look forward to bringing back ideas that will continue to enrich the experiences we offer in our Pre-Prep.

As we look ahead to the end of this half-term, we are very much looking forward to our special celebration afternoon on the final day (Friday 22nd May). This will be an opportunity for the boys to share their school experience with grandparents and other special people in their lives. We are very conscious that not every child has grandparents able to attend, and so we wanted to make this a wider celebration of those important people beyond parents who play such a special role in the boys’ lives. If grandparents or special guests are unable to attend, parents are, of course, very welcome to join us instead.

The afternoon celebrations will begin at 2.30pm, with time to visit classrooms, explore the boys’ learning, and enjoy some games together, before finishing with afternoon tea. Some of the treats will have been prepared by the boys themselves, although we hope that won’t put anyone off joining us!

Have a lovely weekend.

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Save the Dates !

Diary dates for this half-term appear below. Remember the whole school diary is displayed on My School Portal here:

The Pilgrims' School - Whole School Diary

Saturday 16 May	0900-1130	Whole School Open Day
Thursday 21 May	0930-1030	Musical Shells for prospective parents and children
Friday 22 May	1430-1530 1545	Pre-Prep Grandparents' Tea Half-Term begins
Monday 1 June	0830	Term re-starts
Tuesday 2 June	all day	Pre-Prep Drama Workshops
Saturday 6 June		PPA Walk
Monday 8 June	all day	Year 2 trip to Dell Quay

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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Year 1 are currently raising money for the RNLI by completing the Mayday Mile
This is a fundraising initiative led by the charity to complete a mile-a-day each day in May to raise vital funds to save more lives at sea. We are completing the challenge as a Year 1 team. The boys have come up with lots of different ways that they plan to complete this distance each day, from skipping, hopping and jumping through to egg and spoons, wellies, rolling hoops and fancy dress. We have a fundraising page which the boys are HUGELY excited about. If you were able to support us with the odd pound, the boys would be so grateful.

We currently have our sights a total that would provide some kit for the crew. A lifejacket costs £620, a thermal suit £150 and a helmet £350.

RNLI - Victoria Ford

Thank you from all of Year 1 🙂

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Shell awards:

Year R - to Arthur for super progress with his writing and also to Yi for all of his kindness and adaptability to support a friend in Year 1.

Year 1 - to William for showing kindness, patience and friendship. Your caring and supportive attitude has made a real difference to those around you.

Year 2 - to Maximilian for showing great improvement in handwriting stamina and developing stronger focus and concentration in his work.

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Upcoming Events

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Year 2

This week in PSHE, the boys explored how germs can spread and why good hygiene is so important. We learned about simple hygiene routines, such as effective hand washing, and discussed how vaccinations can help protect us from certain illnesses; Skerdi was particularly knowledgeable in this area.

The boys especially enjoyed our practical activity where they passed around “germs” using brightly coloured paint and shook hands with one another to see how quickly germs can spread from person to person! This fun experiment helped the children understand why washing our hands regularly is so important in keeping ourselves and others healthy.

In English this week, we continued our exciting work on dragons. The children created detailed maps showing where dragon tails and dragon models had been discovered around the Pre-Prep playground and classrooms. We were very impressed with the care and attention that went into their work — some of the maps were incredibly detailed, with a few budding architects clearly in the making!

The children also wrote advice for George, based on the story The Dragon Machine, using the words could, would and should in their sentences. The boys came up with some wonderfully creative ideas, from giving George backpacks to hide those pesky dragons in so they would go unnoticed by the grown-ups, to feeding them sweets to keep them occupied and stop them from making everywhere untidy.

We are now looking forward to unleashing the boys’ imagination next week as they write their own dragon stories.

Mrs Maxine Kent
Year 2 Teacher

Year 1

English – Exploring Stormy Seas
This week in English, Year 1 explored the scene in How to Find Gold when Anna and Crocodile dive into the water on their hunt for gold. After investigating the illustrations in the book, we decided they must have faced strong whirlpools, flashes of lightning, towering storm clouds, angry seas, bubbling water and even flying fish! We listened to a dramatic piece of music to spark our imaginations even further. Whilst listening to Benjamin Britten’s Sea Interlude, the boys used oil pastels to illustrate the storm scene. They later used their artwork to help create descriptive sentences, bringing the storm to life through exciting adjectives and onomatopoeia. Here is a flavour of what we wrote.

A spinning whirlpool sucks fish into its depths. Whoosh! (Rufus)
A glorious storm! Pop and zap! (Henry R)
A huge murky whirlpool spinning like a circus carousel. Whoosh. Pop! (William)
Storm cloud zap the blue ocean (Henry B)
A fizzy whirlpool spins around in the dark. Crash! (Ralph)
The electric sea is crashing and bubbling around the rocks. Bang, crash, pop! (Joshua)
A cold whirlpool spins fast crushing everything as it goes. (Maxi)
Lightening cuts the sky. Bang! (Hammie)
A vicious whirlpool swirled like a circus top. (Artie)

The class also had thoughtful discussions about bravery and determination, particularly when considering Anna’s character and challenging stereotypes about who can be adventurous and courageous. This linked to recent conversations the boys have initiated about women who disguised themselves as men to gain access to pirate ships. Through their research into famous pirates, they concluded that some of the most fearless and successful pirates were women. They were especially fascinated by Ching Shih, who commanded a fleet of around 1,800 ships, far more than Blackbeard’s four!

Mrs Victoria Ford
Year 1 Teacher

Reception

Reception Class had an excellent day out at Manor Farm last Friday. The boys were full of excitement from the moment we arrived and thoroughly enjoyed exploring everything the farm had to offer. Ali, our guide for the day, led us around the farm and spoke to us about all the different aspects.

We saw so many different animals throughout the day, including highland cows, ducks, chickens, goats, pigs, seven adorable piglets, horses, donkeys, geese, guinea pigs, sheep, rabbits and alpacas. The boys were especially lucky to have the opportunity to feed the goats, pigs, chickens and guinea pigs. What a joy it was to hear the boys giggle as the goats tickled their hands while nibbling the food from them! Some of the animals also looked very funny with their fancy hair do's or horns.

After exploring the farm and animals, the boys took part in a fun animal game where they had to place an egg onto an animal that they thought laid eggs from a selection of different animals. This sparked an excellent discussion about mammals, birds, amphibians and more. Everyone was clearly very knowledgeable, as this year no one placed an egg on a horse or a pig!

Just before lunch, we planted sunflower seeds, finding it fascinating how small pots can be made from newspaper. We hope to see if these grow and change in the same way as the ones we have planted at school, as they are a different type. After this activity and journeying through the cottage growing garden, we had a well-deserved picnic lunch, which the boys thoroughly enjoyed.

In the afternoon, we were able to explore the old cottage, pantry, washing room, outside toilets and Victorian schoolroom. The boys were fascinated by spotting chamber pots underneath the beds for nighttime use and did not like the idea that it could be their job to empty these in the morning if they were a child living in this house! They learnt that many children shared the same bed, as pillows were placed at both ends, and spotted that there was no heating nor indoor water taps in those days, meaning no modern washing machines, televisions or electric lights.

A key learning opportunity during the day was stepping back in time inside the old Victorian schoolroom. We compared it to our classroom at Pilgrims’ and were amazed by the differences. There were no toys, only wooden desks with ink pots and feathers to write with, and even a naughty hat for anyone who was not behaving as they should! I was impressed with the boys' knowledge of life in the past and how much they spotted.

It was a wonderful day filled with laughter, learning and memorable experiences for all the boys. I would definitely recommend this working farm if you have not visited as a family.

Manor Farm | Things to do in Hampshire | Hampshire County Council

I hope you have a super weekend.

Mrs Sarah Huntley
Reception Teacher

Forest School

Magic was in the air during Year R’s Forest School session. Summer is not too far away, so the boys decided to help summer on its way with a magical summer wand. Choosing carefully from the forest floor, the boys created some wonderful wands that helped the flowers bloom, the bees buzz, and the leaves grow.

Protecting our woods are some very unusual woodland guardians! Each guardian is responsible for protecting different things in nature.

After deciding what their guardian was going to protect, the boys in Year 1 created a small clay figure with features that connected it to the natural object it protected.

Protecting our woods are some very unusual woodland guardians! Each guardian is responsible for protecting different things in nature. After deciding what their guardian was going to protect, the boys in Year 1 created a small clay figure with features that connected it to the natural object it protected.

Can you imagine a world without colour? After listening to the story about the dragon who stole all the colours from our world, the boys in Year 2 decided it was their mission to try and return those colours to the world. Using a stick and double-sided tape, the boys collected as many different colours from the forest floor as possible to add to their rainbow stick, so that the colourful harmony of our world could be restored.