From Mrs Hall:

This week, we have continued our discussions about caring for the environment, with a particular focus on ocean conservation in recognition of World Ocean Day, which takes place on Sunday 8 June. Monday’s assembly centred on this important event, and it has sparked some thoughtful and meaningful conversations across the department.

We are also looking forward to next week’s special event, Father’s Day in the Woods. We do hope you’ll be able to join us for this much-loved celebration. Please could the boys bring a small special teddy bear with them on Thursday to share in the fun.

Would you like to host George the Tortoise this summer?
We’re looking for kind volunteers who might be happy to give George the Tortoise a little holiday of his own during part or all of the summer break. He’s easy to care for (he loves dandelions and leisurely strolls!), and we’ll provide everything you need, along with plenty of tips and guidance. If you’d be interested in looking after our slow-and-steady friend, please do let us know, George would be ever so grateful! 🐢

Wishing you all a restful weekend.

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Shell awards:

Reception: to Henry R for his motivation, politeness and general super focus this week at school.
Year 1: to Justin for his focus and attention to all classroom jobs this week. What a great attitude!
Year 2: to Guy for being extremely thoughtful about our oceans, creating a fantastic ‘Save Our Oceans’ poster.

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Save the Dates !

Monday 9 June	all day	Year 1 visit Portsmouth Lifeboat
Thursday 12 June	1330	Pre-Prep Father's Day in the Woods event
Tuesday 17 June	1900	All parents warmly welcome
Thursday 19 June	0900	Whole School photograph
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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Reception

Welcome back to the last half term in Reception Class. I hope you all had an enjoyable half-term holiday with your children. The boys have enjoyed telling us all about their fun experiences with you.

We have got lots of exciting learning opportunities planned for the boys this term, including a class trip to The Watercress Line on Wednesday 25 June. Our theme for the term is going to be split between a continuation of 'Animals around the World' then moving on to 'Journeys' looking at transport in particular.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed exploring our new woodwork bench this week. So far, the boys have been taught how to use safety glasses, hammers, nails, pull saws, hand drills, screws and vices. They each measured a 10cm piece of wood, secured it in the vice and cut it to length using the pull saw successfully.  

Next week, having all had a go at using the tools, the boys will be able to add loose parts to use with their piece of wood to create anything of their choice. If you do have any items at home that would supplement our supplies, they would be greatly received.  Lids of any sort, beer bottle tops, beads, buttons, old CDs and log slices would be ideal! Many thanks in advance!

Enjoy your weekend.

Mrs Sarah Huntley
Reception Teacher

Year 1

What a lovely week it has been with all the boys back in the classroom after the half-term break. We have collaborated with our classmates on jigsaw puzzles of the world, building pirate ships, creating flags and rigging, large-scale colouring and making fractions of shapes and amounts out of Playdough. We have also been posties and delivered our thank-you letters to members of staff who sponsored us for our Mayday Mile. The excitement of getting to go into parts of the school that we wouldn’t normally need to go to has been huge! We have also started our art project for this half of the term in preparation for the whole school Summer Exhibition on Friday 4 July.

Paul Klee
The boys really enjoyed their introduction to the Cubist artist Paul Klee. We had an enriching discussion about what Cubism was, as a style of art, through looking at his work. We found various shapes that Klee used to create his ideas and enjoyed his vivid use of colour. One holiday that Klee took to the French seaside, he was inspired to paint some sailing boats he saw there. We talked about the similarities and differences we found with Alfred Wallis, the Cornish fisherman, sailor and painter that the boys learnt about last half term. Interestingly, Klee was painting at a similar time to Wallis but in Switzerland rather than Cornwall. Their styles are remarkably different to each other and provide a rich basis for debate. The boys came to this conversation with a mature mindset.

We experimented with using shapes to recreate a boat in the style of Klee. Once feeling a little more confident to keep it simple and use a few shapes to give the idea of a boat rather than add in lots of detail, we then had a go at using a ruler to draw a boat in the style of Klee. It was hard to stick to just using a few shapes, maybe four or five, but we certainly found the simple designs were the most effective. The boys loved this activity and are really excited about working on a design on a real canvas next week.

Mrs Victoria Ford
Year 1 Teacher

Year 2

Welcome back to the final half term in Year 2!
We are delighted to welcome the boys back for their final half term in Year 2. It has been a joy to see how much they have matured over the break. They have clearly embraced their role as the eldest in the Pre-Prep, showing leadership, responsibility, and a thoughtful attitude towards their learning and behaviour.

This week has been an excellent start. The boys have shown tremendous motivation and focus across all areas of the curriculum - an encouraging sign for a strong final few weeks.

In Maths, we are working on telling the time. This learning consolidates and builds on the boys’ experiences in Year 1, as they further develop their understanding of o’clock, half past, quarter past, and quarter to. To support this learning, we encourage you to ask your sons to tell you the time at various points throughout the weekend - it’s a great way to reinforce these new skills in a fun and practical way.

In English, our learning has tied in perfectly with World Ocean Day. We’ve been reading Clem and Crab, a beautifully illustrated story that highlights the issue of beach pollution and its impact on marine wildlife. The boys have engaged thoughtfully with the book, discussing how small actions can make a big difference in caring for our environment.

As part of this theme, the boys will be creating a final piece of art using recycled materials. If you have any clean items at home, such as plastic lids, crisp packets, chocolate bar wrappers, or netting from oranges and lemons, we would be very grateful if you could send them in. Thank you in advance for helping us bring this project to life!
Mrs Maxine Kent
Year 2 Teacher

Forest School

This week, Year R enjoyed learning about the different types of minibeasts that live in our microhabitat. We chatted about where these little invertebrates might live and why and spent time seeing which minibeasts we could find. The boys carried out a careful search and learned how to treat the little animals with respect.

It’s a lovely time of year when flowers are bursting into life. The boys in Year 1 were introduced to the concept of wildflowers, and we chatted about some of the most common examples. Armed with this information along with a wildflower ID chart, the boys went on a hunt to see how many different wildflowers they could find in the Pilgrims’ and Deanery Garden. They became quite the little experts towards the end of the session. Whilst having our hot chocolate, we had some rather unexpected visitors join us!

Year 2 received the terrible news that a wonderful goblin village had accidentally been destroyed by an overly friendly dragon, and that was why the boys no longer saw any goblins at school. The boys suggested that we could rebuild the village. In small groups, they decided what they would like to have in their new goblin village. Watch out-the goblins might be returning now they have a wonderful new home!

Mrs Fiona Walker
Forest School and LAMDA Teacher

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Pre-Prep for Pre-Schoolers and Pre-Prep Open Days