Pre-Prep News, Friday 8 May

Almost £200 raised for charity in the Pre-Prep Plant Sale this week - well done, boys!

From Mrs Hall:

The recent Pre-Prep plant sale in support of the Blue Harbour Project was one of those wonderful moments that reminds me exactly why I love teaching so much. The boys completely embraced their roles as market sellers, proudly arranging their plants, welcoming customers, and even striking up the occasional bargain with great confidence and charm!

There was such a lovely buzz around the sale, with plenty of smiles, teamwork, and excitement throughout the morning. Watching the boys develop their communication skills, practise real-life maths, and grow in confidence, all while supporting such a meaningful project, was incredibly special. We are delighted to share that the plant sale raised almost £200 for the charity.

The boys explaining to Miss Higham all about the nicotiana and antirrhinum plants certainly made her smile too. The older Year 3 boys who popped down to purchase some plants were warmly welcomed with, “Ooohhh, I can do you a deal, buy one, get one free!” These are the moments where learning truly comes alive, and I feel very lucky to be part of it.

Thank you to everyone for supporting the boys and the charity by purchasing plants, and a huge thank you to Mrs James, who kindly donated so many plants too.

We are also looking forward to many exciting upcoming events in the Pre-Prep calendar, including our Grandparents’ Celebration Assembly on Friday 22 May, which promises to be another very special occasion for our boys and families.

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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 9 May	0800-0900 0900-1000	PPA Event: Breakfast in the Yard - for all parents Pilgrims' Parley: in the Pilgrims' Hall - all welcome
Thursday 14 May	0930-1030	Musical Shells for prospective parents and children
Friday 15 May	All day	Year 1 trip to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (details to follow)
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

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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Shell awards:

Year R - to Ilya for his excellent reading. Such great progress!

Year 1 - to Minghao for settling into his new school with growing confidence. You have made a fantastic start to our willow boat project!

Year 2 - to Willoughby for showing resilience and joy in his learning

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Upcoming Events

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Reception

This week in Reception Class we have been very busy continuing our learning all about growing and changing. The boys have loved observing and talking about all the exciting things happening in our classroom.

One of the highlights of last week was our very special delivery of caterpillars and their Butterfly Garden net home. The boys were so excited to meet our tiny caterpillars and begin learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. Every day we have carefully watched them grow bigger and bigger. We have noticed how much they have grown in both length and width already! The caterpillars are now beginning to move towards the top of their container, ready to spin their chrysalis before eventually emerging as beautiful butterflies. The children have been fascinated by every stage so far and cannot wait to see what happens next.

We have also been checking on our sunflower seeds each day with great excitement as they have grown already and the first shoots appeared after the weekend! The boys are taking their role as gardeners very seriously and are making sure the seeds have enough water, sunlight and warmth to help them grow strong and healthy. We are eagerly looking every day to spot any new changes that may have appeared.

Our duck eggs are still happily warming away in the incubator and the countdown is now on, with only 10 days left to wait! The boys are full of curiosity and anticipation as we continue to learn about how ducklings grow inside their eggs before hatching. Fingers crossed!

What a busy week it has been, sharing and exploring growing and changing in so many different ways. Next week I will be writing all about our exciting class trip to Manor Farm, another wonderful adventure for us all!

Happy weekend!

Mrs Sarah Huntley
Reception Teacher

Year 2

This week in Year 2, the boys have been busy developing their prepositional language through a dragon hunt adventure, based on the story, The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward. They worked hard to describe where the dragons were hiding using positional vocabulary such as under, behind, between, and next to. The activity encouraged lots of speaking and listening opportunities, as well as imaginative storytelling.

In Art, the children explored watercolour painting inspired by plants and flowers. Using photographs as a reference, they were encouraged to carefully observe shapes, colours, and details before creating their own artwork. It was wonderful to see the boys taking their time to look closely and develop their observational skills while experimenting with watercolour techniques.

We also enjoyed celebrating the birthday of Sir David Attenborough alongside Christopher’s birthday, with the boys learning more about Sir David Attenborough’s important work in protecting our planet and wildlife.

During Maths, the children enjoyed a variety of maths games designed to embed key skills and knowledge in a fun and engaging way. Through these games, the boys practised important mathematical concepts while also developing valuable social skills such as turn-taking, teamwork, and communication. We also focused on learning how to win and lose gracefully, showing kindness and resilience throughout their play.

After half-term, we will be starting an exciting art project to help raise awareness of ocean pollution. We would be very grateful for donations of clean recyclable plastics that would otherwise be thrown away, such as crisp packets, chocolate bar wrappers, bottle lids, can ring pulls, and the net bags that oranges and lemons sometimes come in. Thank you for your support with this important project.

Well done to all the boys for another fantastic week of learning!

Mrs Maxine Kent
Year 2 Teacher

Year 1

Year 1 Set Sail with Creativity
This week, Year 1 embarked on an exciting creative journey that combined art, thinking skills, and hands-on design. Inspired by the dramatic painting A Shipwreck in Stormy Seas by Claude-Joseph Vernet, the boys explored the power of imagination and problem-solving.

During a thinking skills lesson, the boys carefully observed the painting, discussing what they could see, feel, and wonder. They noticed the towering waves, the distressed ship, and the sense of movement and danger. This sparked thoughtful conversations about how boats are built, what makes them strong, and how they might survive rough seas.

Taking their ideas from discussion to creation, the boys then worked to design and build their own boats using willow withies. They experimented with shaping and joining the flexible branches using masking tape which showed great perseverance as it was fiddly work. We focused on making sturdy hulls first. It was really exciting for the boys to see these taking shape, and each one was utterly unique in its shape due to the boys’ thoughts and the natural materials used. We have started to discuss and explore the inclusion of tall masts to support grand sails, inspired by the ships we observed in the painting. Once our willow structures are finished, they will be covered with tissue paper to create the full structure.

Mrs Victoria Ford
Year 1 Teacher

Forest School

Year R became woodland artists this week. The boys learned how to make a natural paint out of mud, making sure that it was not too runny. The paint was used to paint some unusual minibeasts, trees and flowers, and our woodland gallery was opened for all to view the artwork.

Do you believe in dragons? The boys in Year 1 were so excited when they discovered some dragon eggs hidden in Elizabeth Meads (the Winchester College field). After carefully and safely collecting the dragon eggs, the boys returned to our log circle. Then, using a range of sticks, the boys used their imagination to create their interpretation of the dragon.

This week, Year 2 had the opportunity to learn how to make wind chimes. After understanding what wind is, the boys worked independently to create some colourful wind chimes. Knot skills were applied, and some colourful wind chimes were created. We were then able to see clearly the direction of the wind.