From Mrs Hall:

First and foremost, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the parents who joined us for our Positive Parenting Evening on Tuesday. It was a joy to welcome you, and we are so grateful for your continued support. Once again, Sarah Cobb delivered a thought-provoking and insightful session, shining a light on specific strategies that support the developmental needs of our boys. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we hope you found it both reassuring and empowering.

Mrs Huntley and I have also spent some time this week attending specialist EYFS briefings. These opportunities to engage with national developments and current research are invaluable, and, as always, they leave us with a deep sense of gratitude for the unique and nurturing environment we have here at Pilgrims’. The main focus of the briefing was on the importance of writing, particularly for boys – a timely reminder of how we can continue to support our learners in purposeful, meaningful ways. We also discussed the integral role of reading and oracy, reinforcing the power of talk and storytelling in laying the foundations for confident communication and future learning.

As we move into the final few weeks of the term, I would encourage everyone to double-check the calendar of events. These last weeks are full of special moments and celebrations, and we don’t want anyone to miss out!

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Shell awards:

Reception: to William for making excellent progress with his independent writing.
Year 1: to Skerdi for making brilliant choices in his learning all around the classroom – from independent jobs to teacher-led activities. Well done, Skerdi!
Year 2: to Kip-for showing curiosity and engagement.

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Save the Dates !

Wednesday 25 June	0930		Reception trip to The Watercress Line
Thursday 26 June	1900		Year 2 to Year 3 Move-Up meeting for parents
Friday 27 June	1500		Pre-Prep Cathedral Assembly, all welcome
Monday 30 June	1500		Reception only Parents' Evening
Tuesday 1 July	All day 1900-2000		New boys' day Meet your son's new teacher; all parents in Reception and Year 1 warmly welcome (Pre-Prep Hall)
Friday 4 July	1400-1500 1600		New September starters - Teddy Bears' Picnic and EYFS Presentation to parents  Pre-Prep and Junior LAMDA Showcase for parents, all welcome
Monday 7 July	0815-0845 1330		Pre-Prep Open Classrooms Pre-Prep Sports Day nb: no commoners this week
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 (No after school care)
Thursday 4 September	0830		Term resumes

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.}

For further details on LAMDA, please contact Fiona Walker
fwalker@pilgrims-school.co.uk

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Year 2 

Stretching Minds and Muscles in Year 2!

Year 2 have had a fantastic week full of creativity, curiosity, and clever thinking. One of the highlights was Stretch and Sketch — held on one of the hottest afternoons this week! Despite the heat, the boys stayed focused and enthusiastic as they took part in bilateral drawing, engaging both sides of the brain while creating mirror‑image masterpieces. They were each incredibly proud of their drawings — and just as impressed with one another’s artistic efforts!

In Maths, the boys transformed into young statisticians. Armed with tally charts and plenty of enthusiasm, they set off to survey anyone and everyone who passed through the Pre‑Prep doors. Topics ranged from favourite seasons and ice‑cream flavours to much‑loved animals.

Later, they turned their collected data into colourful bar charts and pie charts using Purple Mash, working independently and confidently with their IT skills. It was fantastic to see how well they combined maths, technology, and creativity.

Exciting times lie ahead as preparations for the transition to Year 3 are now underway. The boys were thrilled to welcome Miss Erasmus, who joined us for a guided reading session and will be making further visits over the coming weeks. They’ll also be visiting the Year 3 classroom ahead of their official Moving Up Morning on Tuesday 1 July. This is a wonderful way to build confidence and curiosity for what’s to come.

Well done, Year 2 - a week of stretching, sketching, and statistics to be proud of!

Mrs Maxine Kent
Year 2 Teacher
 

Reception

This week the boys in Reception Class have coped very well with the heat and changes to their normal daily routine.  They have had the pleasure of working with Mrs Ford, Mrs Kent and Mrs Pleming while Miss Whitmore and I went out to visit new families and boys ready for their start in September.  I can not quite believe that it is a whole year ago that we did this for your boys!

In class, the boys have been introduced to a new 'Challenge Job Board'.  The aim of this is to help the boys focus on their learning in a more structured way.  It is expected that the tasks are completed by the end of the week as independently as they can.  At the moment, the boys can choose when they are going to complete the tasks, but are guided.  They are beginning to realise that if they leave all the tasks until Friday, they have a lot to complete all in one day.  It is much better to spread the tasks out over the week and plan their learning a little more. Challenge tasks will always include an independent writing task, a construction task and one other task, which will vary depending on outcomes from the previous week.  Once tasks have been completed, the boys tick next to their name and the task to show this 'job' has been completed.  

This week in Art, the boys were shown how to use a water colour paint palette.  I was impressed with how well they got to grips with applying a little water, stroking the colour block with the brush and painting careful lines in their Art Sketch books. They soon learnt how to make their colours more vibrant and what happened if the palette got flooded with water. Super results were shown.  We will be using this new skill to paint animal skin patterns.

Well done boys!  A hot yet fun week. Have a great weekend.

Mrs Sarah Huntley
Reception Teacher

 

Year 1

Continents and Oceans
This class loves a good puzzle! They work brilliantly together to solve (and resolve and resolve and resolve!) all the puzzles that they come across, never seeming to tire of the activity, even if they have done it before. Lots of different puzzles have been out in the past few weeks, all about the continents and oceans of the world. As well as the boys enjoying themselves, they have learnt so much about the different continents, oceans and countries that make up our world. This week, one of their independent challenge jobs, has been to build their own puzzle of the world, including the seven continents and five major oceans. The boys had to focus on careful cutting and organisation before the final challenge of sticking them down in the right place.

Elsewhere in the classroom
We have been studiously practising our counting from 50 to 100 and solidifying our knowledge of multiplies of 10. The boys have been carefully transferring their Paul Klee boat designs onto canvas ready for painting, which has required some very careful ruler work. And, we have collaborated with the PPA on signs for the fête on Saturday. Do come and visit the Year 1 stall involving fruit, vegetables and sheep!

Mrs Victoria Ford
Year 1 Teacher

Forest School

This week the sun was out, the weather was calm, so we took advantage of the conditions, and all three year groups enjoyed a fire pit session. This is always a popular session as the boys recall their fire safety skills, help to build the fire as well as making popcorn and cooking toast on the open fire. This time, the boys in Year 2 learned how to make bread twists and enjoyed cooking those over the fire. Lots of smiles all round.

Mrs Fiona Walker
Forest School and LAMDA Teacher

Reception photos

Year 1 photos

Year 2 photos