prep newsletter - friday 23 january
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Prep Newsletter Friday 23rd
January 2015
Dear Parents,
As part of our focus this term on our school values and the phrase,
TREAT OTHERS AS WE WOULD WISH TO BE TREATED
we have been considering our behaviour and manners. Last week I listed
good behaviours and wrote how we expect our high standards to be
maintained in school.
Encouraging good behaviour and manners is inherent through all aspects
of school life. We consistently, continuously and positively promote a
trusting and caring environment where good examples are set and where
fairness and respect are important. Our classrooms are calm, industrious
and caring environments where good behaviour is encouraged to emerge
naturally rather than demands it to be imposed. We talk with the pupils
frequently about being good role models who are trustworthy, respectful,
open, consistent and fair. Through knowing each pupil as well as we do
we enable open communication and dialogue for all.
In school we reward good behaviour in many different ways, including:
★with smiles and praise
★celebrating the good
★Commendations / stickers / stamps / cubes
★ lovely comments on work
★Award Marks / certificates
★Headteacher’s Award
★sharing good news (excellent effort / achievement) with parents
★celebrating achievement from in and out of school
We all know that children will be children
and will get themselves into a ‘pickle’ at
times, therefore it is important that we
recognise that each day is new and brings
its own fresh start. By talking through
issues we aim to elicit why the pupil
behaved in a particular way and teach her
strategies to promote self-control, taking
responsibility and being accountable for
her actions. Children need to understand
that their actions and choices have
consequences.
Thus, we return to this phrase..
Hertfordshire Chess Tournament, Year 5 + 6 Netball teams and Quiz Team
Over the next two weeks some of our girls will be participating in one or
more of the following - our valiant chess team will be participating in the
second round of the Herts County Chess tournament on next
Wednesday. Then the following week our Year 5 + 6 Netball teams have
the opportunity to shine and show off their skills and our Upper Prep
Quiz Team will be competing in the area heat of the Quiz Club. Good luck
girls, not only are we very proud of you, but we wish you all the very best
of luck too!
Congratulations to
Amisha (Y5) for passing her grade 1 piano with merit.
TREAT OTHERS AS WE WOULD WISH TO BE TREATED
Lunchtime Concert
Next week we are looking forward to our Lunchtime Concert on
Wednesday. All Upper Prep pupils were invited to perform and I am so
pleased with the number who volunteered. With pianists, violinists, a
guitarist, 2 alto sax players and a harpist the concert looks to be a
delightful treat. Parents of those girls participating will have received a
letter last Friday inviting them to attend.
Mrs C Aisthorpe
Head of St. Margaret’s Preparatory School
Commendation
CONGRATULATIONS TO…
Y3 Anya
Beatrice Maya Milly Priya Remi
Shriya Y4
Aanchale Charlotte
Y5 Nikita Saana
Y6 Anika Geeta Lily
Milly
Certificate
CONGRATULATIONS to… Nikita Y5 Milly Y6
Adverse Weather Plan At the moment the weather is quite changeable and we have experienced
some snow, albeit a light smattering that did not settle for long. If there is
adverse weather during the school day and we need to close the school,
we will contact you via the Clarion text messaging service. In the rare
event that school is closed for more than one day we will send work via
email for your daughter to complete and hand in once school reopens. If
school is closed before the beginning of the school day a decision will be
made by the School by 6.30am and a message posted on the School
website.
Lost Property
We spend a lot of time and effort trying to
return a lost item to its rightful owner. In the
event that an item of clothing is lost it will be
returned quickly to your daughter if it is
clearly named. We encourage all pupils to
take responsibility for their own property. To
help us to help you please would you ensure
that ALL items of school uniform, coats, hats,
gloves, P.E. kit etc, are clearly named. If you
have written your daughter’s name onto an
item of clothing please check after washing
as writing fades and is often illegible. If your
daughter has ‘lost' an item,she should first
look in the classrooms she has been in that
day, the cloakroom area and then in the Prep
School Office. If everything is named clearly
nothing will be lost for very long! Many
thanks for your support.
Rec
epti
on
Th
is
week w
e
ha
ve
be
en
lea
rnin
g
ho
w t
o
su
btr
ac
t.
Lo
ok
at
their
gre
at
wo
rk!
Miss K
in
g
Year 1
Year 1 have been getting to grips with their new
science topic about Materials. We are putting together
a new display which will be fabulous! We have been
thinking about the furniture and appliances in our
homes and identifying the materials that have been
used to make them.
Mrs Jolley
Year 2 had a
fabulous time in
London on
Tuesday. First
we went to St.
Paul's Cathedral
and enacted
scenes from the
Great Fire of
London. We
learned that
Year 2
Christopher Wren, the architect,
was really interested in science
and maths. Our workshop
leader told us something that
not many people know - there
are actually three domes!
Miss Pares
Then we zipped along to the National Portrait Gallery
where we saw Samuel Pepys and Charles II before doing a
whirlwind tour of fashion through the ages, studying what
people wore from Victorian times to the present day.
Some of the class were so exhausted after all the
excitement that they fell asleep on the way home. For one
young lady, the day was extra special as her first tooth fell
out! Everyone had a great day.
Year 3 This week Year 3 have been very busy painting a picture in words. With the use of vivid descriptions and lots of adjectives we wrote about the picture The Umbrellas by
Pierre Auguste Renoir.
Mrs Franklin
We looked at the picture very carefully and thought about what we could see. Using the clues in the picture there are many things that we could work out. Where is everybody going? What are they going to do when they get there? We allowed our imaginations to wander and came up with lots of ideas. The people in the foreground of the painting tell us a lot because we can see them more clearly. The expressions on their faces help us to work out
what they may be thinking. Soon our work will be on the wall for us all to enjoy. It is our first piece of work in fountain pen for a display. We are very proud of it.
In Year 4 we are learning about the 7 continents and 5
oceans of the world. We were given a world map and had
to label the continents and the oceans. We then coloured
the land green and the ocean blue. After that we put an x
to show where we were born.
Miss Smith
Year 4
The 7 continents are:
Europe, Asia, North America,
South America, Africa,
Oceania/Australia, and
Antarctica.
The 5 oceans are:
Pacific, Indian, Southern, Arctic,
and Atlantic.
Year 5 &
Year 6
Years 5, 6 and 7 have been getting to know each other better this week by working on their poetry. The three year groups met in the senior school and completed a ‘Slam Poetry’ workshop together. Their first task involved getting to know each other, which was not too difficult since the task was such fun. Each group was given a poem to learn and perform. At first it was rather embarrassing to stand up and show expression and rhythm in the performance, but by break the giggling stopped and the competition to write and perform their own slam poems began.
The girls were given the theme of animals: how they moved, their characteristics and their manners had to be taken into account.
Ms Caher and Mrs Charlesworth
The results were amazing! All girls performed their group poems in the drama studio and the teachers found two winning teams. Group 7 were voted best poetic form and group 8 best performance. Everyone seemed to benefit from the experience of getting to know each other; discovering the senior school and learning how to write slam poetry.
January
28th 1.30-2.00pm Lunchtime Concert
3.00pm Herts Primary Chess League
February
2nd 16:15-17:30 Years 5&6 Netball vs Northwood College (home)
5th 2.00-3.00pm Prep School Quiz Club Area Heat
9th-13th
Internet Safety Week
12th 3.30-5.00pm Lower Prep Valentine’s Party
12th 5.15-6.45pm Upper Prep Valentine’s Disco
13th Mufti Day
12:30-2.00pm Gordon Cake Sale
3.30/4.00 Half-term begins
23rd Term resumes
Dates
020 8416 4501