Prep Newsletter Summer Term Week 4
This week's newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
Dear All
Over the bank holiday weekend, I was fortunate to join a wonderful trip to Lagos, Nigeria as part of UK Boarding Schools Week. It is always great to represent Rossall School abroad and this trip provided a fantastic opportunity to meet some amazing current and prospective Rossall families. The marketing and recruitment events included a well-attended educational fair where I was delighted to be joined by some of our current Nigerian families who all spoke of the warmth and welcome that their children have experienced in our School. It was equally fabulous to be invited by the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones OBE, to a Reception at his residence in Lagos to celebrate the coronation of His Majesty the King.
Somewhat closer to home, the children thoroughly enjoyed their own Coronation event in the Hall Garden. The traditional dish of fish and chips was consumed by all members of our Prep School, as they celebrated the new King!
Our cricketers and rounders teams both played strong AKS sides on Wednesday. Both teams ran out winners, displaying admirably resilience and teamwork. Congratulations to all those who represent the School so fantastically well in our fixtures.
Today I celebrated my birthday in School and had a taste of just how special it is to be a pupil at Rossall. All children in Prep have a moment to celebrate their birthday with the whole School, as they are given a cake in the Dining Hall and enjoy a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. Today was no exception as I was joined by one of my 'birthday buddies', Miss Goodes (who was delighted to join me on stage!).
In the strangest of coincidences, I not only share my birthday with Miss Goodes, but also our Headmaster, Mr Quartermain, and our Chair of Governors, Mr Holt! I wonder how many schools hold that coincidence...and what the odds are? Many happy returns to everyone who celebrates their birthday this week!
There is something quite wonderful about the Summer Term. Seeing the pupils around and about our magnificent site, learning and playing outdoors, is magnificent. Whether it be our Reception class going on a 'Bear Hunt', or the children playing under our natural canopies, the outdoors are never far from our minds.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Mr M Turner
Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery
Year 5 Cricketers in Fine Form at Highfield Priory
Congratulations to the Year 5 cricketers for an outstanding team performance this week at Highfield Priory. They played superbly in two pairs cricket matches, batting intelligently and bowling with accuracy to guide the teams to victory.
This was the perfect opportunity for the children to enjoy playing cricket competitively with their friends, and they represented the school impressively on and off the field.
Well done, Rossall!
Rossall U11 Cricketers Defeat AKS in the AJIS Cup!
Congratulations to the U11 Cricket Team who produced an incredible team performance to beat AKS in the first round of the AJIS Cup. Facing a hostile attack, the Rossall batsmen showed exceptional focus to post an impressive score of 162. In reply, AKS found the accuracy of the Rossall bowling and blustery conditions difficult to handle, and in spite of some experienced players managed to score 123.
This victory means Rossall progress to the second round against Westholme next week.
Well done, Rossall!
Rossall Prep Rounders v AKS
On Wednesday afternoon we travelled along the Fylde coast to play against our friends from AKS. The first innings was tough, and finished 4-3 to AKS, but we didn’t give up. In the second innings the score was 4-2 to Rossall, which meant the final result was 7-6 to Rossall. Once again there was some superb decision making both in the field, and with the bat. It was a fantastic team performance against a strong AKS team. Well done to all the girls that took part!
By Jessica
Year 6
Our Year 6 are thoroughly enjoying all the responsibilities that come with being in their final year of Prep School, and every day they demonstrate leadership qualities and maturity that make their teachers proud. Our Coronation Gardern Party was an absolute treat for all the year groups from Reception to Year 6, and it was wonderful to see the older children caring for the younger year groups and helping with the organisation to make it a special event at Rossall Prep School that we will always remember fondly.
In class we have been furthering our knowledge in all areas of sustainability in preparation for our Exhibition in a few weeks, and the initiative and action the children are taking to make a positive impact is extremely rewarding. We have continued to explore the theme of the underwater world, and the class are enjoying the genre of biographical writing on the life of Jacques Cousteau. The creativity the children have shown in their descriptive writing has been superb, and they have produced some amazing artwork on exotic fish that will make our corridor look like like an underwater tropical paradise!
Year 5
This week for Rossall Rotation we visited the beach to play Beach Bingo. We looked for different flora and fauna that can be found on our beach. We even had a few unexpected finds; a possible Thornback Ray and a couple of small spotted catsharks. We also made the most of the lovely weather and went for a paddle in the sea.
In English we have found out more about the Paperbag Prince, his daily routines, his personality and how he ended up becoming known as the Paperbag Prince. We have written diary entries in role of the Paperbag Prince thinking about the key features of diary writing.
In RS we have been thinking about commitment, how we can set ourselves goals and the commitment we need to make to help us reach them.
In Science we have continued to look at reproduction in mammals and were surprised to learn that monotremes, such as the platypus and the echidna, which are mammals but unlike other mammals actually lay eggs.
Year 4
Although this week has been slightly shorter than usual, we have still packed plenty in! English this week brought a variety of activities. We began the week learning about the use of dictionaries and the children created their own rainforest themed glossaries for the class text ‘Where the Forest Meets the Sea’. By the end of the week, the children became rainforest explorers and put their apostrophe knowledge to the test in order to create a rainforest adventurer’s packing guide.
In Topic, the children have been learning all about the different layers of the rainforest. They have put their design skills to the test to create a lift-the-flap fact sheet informing their readers all about the unique characteristics of each layer based on differing levels of water, sunlight, and air circulation. The children wrote all about the different environments and the variety of plants and animals that can be found in each layer.
Rossall Rotation brought another round of cookery for Year 4. The children excitedly headed toward the Year 2 classroom where their inner chefs were due to be unleashed. Closely linked to our rainforest topic, the children learned all about the fruits that grow in tropical rainforests before putting this knowledge to good use by making (and eating) delicious fruit salads.
Year 3
In Year 3 we seemed to have crammed 5 days worth of learning into 4 this week! After the fantastic coronation celebrations of the weekend many children had wonderful stories to share.
In English this week we have continued reading Journey, with it's beautiful illustrations and exciting story, the children have so many ideas and thoughts to discuss. We learnt about how to show changes in atmosphere in our descriptive writing. We also wrote some diary entries using time adverbials such as 'Moments later' and 'All of a sudden'.
In Maths we have been continuing with fractions and looked at adding and subtracting fractions, before moving on to fractions of amounts. We know the importance of checking that the denominators are the same when adding and subtracting fractions!
In Topic we started to look at the different climates in Europe, exploring the weather in some different countries, and planning what we need to pack if we visited those places! If only we could do our own European adventure, we would be well-prepared for it!
For Science this week we learnt about a famous botanist called Jane Colden, the first female botanist in America. We took a 'leaf out of her book' and did some beautiful observational drawings of plants for our Art this week.
We also had fun at Rossall Rotation with our second go at golf!
Well done for a fabulous week Year 3!
Year 2
The bank holiday has meant it has been a shorter week than normal, however, the children have still managed to pack a great deal in. On our return to school our seeds had germinated and many had sprouted leaves. They will be getting potted this week and soon there may well be some runner beans for the children to refuse to eat!
We started the week finishing off our masks, the class created wolf, beer or lynx masks in order to complete a role play activity related to our book “The Last Wolf”. We used this to then help write our own description of one of these characters incorporating adjectives.
Our new unit in Mathematics is time, the children have demonstrated a good understanding of o’clock and half past the hour, we are now working with the concept of quarter past and quarter to. The class is working hard to come to terms with this, we will continue to deepen our understanding of this, and hopefully our continued focus on this won’t “wind anyone up”!!
Year 1
Year 1 have been flying through their Maths topic this week, learning and consolidating the skill of counting up in 2s, 5s, and 10s as well as making groups of different amounts! We’ve even noticed patterns within 100 squares when we are counting up and it has helped us to remember counting up in 2s, 5s and 10s even better. We can also spot groups of amounts and make groups of amounts; it was fun when we had to put ourselves into groups of different amounts and the teamwork we needed to do it was so collaborative. Great job, Year 1!
This week we have also been busy sounding and blending ‘Alien words’. ‘Alien words’ are words that are completely made up but even though they’re fake we can still read them! We’ve been playing lots of games to help us secure our Phonics knowledge which is really helping us to spell correctly in our writing.
In Art this week we have been looking at different ways to fold, bend, and curl paper and soon we will create a new type of collage with 3D elements to it- how exciting! Well done for a fabulous week Year 1, you’ve all worked so hard!
Reception
Mealtimes are an important aspect of family life. The earlier children familiarize themselves with utensils, the sooner they will be able to self-feed, which alleviates a lot of frustrations and allows them independence. Self-feeding is a very complex task and it is common for children to have difficulty using cutlery to feed themselves. It usually takes until a child is 7 years old before they can successfully use cutlery to feed themselves without being too messy. By 5 years a child is learning to spread and cut with a knife.
It is often not until they are around 7 years of age that a child can use a knife and fork together to cut up food and are truly independent with self-feeding. Each dinner time we sit with the children and encourage them to use their knife and fork to practise this essential skill and we regularly practise using a knife in the Rossall Kitchen to spread things and recently to cut up fruit.
A good way to teach your child new skills is to break down each task into small steps and teach them one step at a time (chaining). Teach them the first step and then teach the second step and so on until your child has mastered all of the steps.
For cutting with a knife and fork the following steps may be appropriate:
Get your child to stab the food and keep it still while you cut with the knife.
Get your child to stab the food and saw with the knife.
It is important to remember that children learn in different ways so you might need to vary your approach. Give your child opportunities to practice every day. Learning a new skill takes time so persevere with giving support until you feel that the child is making progress.
Nursery
“Without mathematics, there’s nothing you can do. Everything around you is Mathematics. Everything around you is numbers”
Shakuntala Devi
This week in the Nursery we have focused on Mathematics.
The Sanderlings
The Sanderlings have had a lovely week with musical instruments; using drums, tambourines, maracas and bells to see what different sounds they make. The babies then used the instruments in their song time where they also listened to some Greek nursery rhymes. In The Sanderlings garden the babies have participated in outdoor play using balancing equipment and cars. The babies had fun using different sized cars, which they used to roll down the ramps to see which car was the fastest. Miss Schofield has created a loose parts area which the babies have enjoyed exploring.Using loose parts enhances the children's ability to think imaginatively and see solutions so it was a great way in further enhancing Mathematical thinking. Resources in the loose parts area include cardboard boxes, pine cones, wooden bricks and jam jar lids.
The Sandpipers
The Sandpipers have also been focusing on our Mathematics. The children have been learning all about shapes. With the support of Miss Chapman and Miss Southern the children can now identify triangle, circle, rectangle and square. In further shape exploration The Sandpipers have been on shape hunts in the School grounds before coming back to their room to draw and paint their own shapes. The children have been counting up to 10 during circle time, each day the children have been encouraged to count one another to see the total amount of children each week day. During focused teaching time The Sandpipers have been counting objects and enjoy learning new counting songs such as five little speckled frogs and five cheeky monkeys. The children have also been looking at real money, identifying any numbers they know and talking about the times they would use money in everyday life. Finally, The Sandpipers have also been exploring different ways to mark make in their new writing station, exploring their new construction bench with loose parts for counting as well as looking at the people who help us.
Pre-School
This week Pre-School have had so much fun learning and playing with their friends. The children have investigated the Rossall grounds on a Nature hunt looking for natural found objects, ticking off each item on their checklist and then counting how many items they could find. They found two puddles, three pine cones and too many leaves to count!
Pre-School were excited to discover a new Maths resource this week involving dinosaurs. The children have loved sorting all the dinosaurs into their co-ordinating colours after they had all jumped out and mixed themselves up all over the table. The children used tweezers to pick the dinosaurs up so they didn’t bite their little fingers and placed them in the right coloured bowl. Over the weekend Pre-School have been growing our very own magic beans. They are “Gigantic” as many of our Pre-Schoolers say! Our magic peas are also growing, however, when comparing both plants together the children have noticed the peas are much smaller than the beans.
Awards
Year 6
6S Awards:
Jessica- Outstanding listening skills and initiative
Jack- Outstanding creativity and effort in Home Learning activities
6R:
Joshua- Excellent effort in Home Learning
Finley- Excellent perseverance and curiosity in Maths
Year 5
This week's certificate winners in 5R are Hollie, for fantastic writing in our English lessons, and Rhiannon for excellent work in Maths and English and always trying her best, and in 5S Arabella, for creating a fantastic Coronation fact file and Annabel for being a supportive and kind friend.
Year 4
In Year 4 our certificates this week go to Henry for outstanding work in English and Ralph for excellent sportsmanship.
Year 3
The certificates in Year 3 this week go to Roman for challenging himself in Maths and to Abrianna for amazing scientific drawings.
Year 2
This week’s Certificate of Achievement in Year 2 go to:
Khaled for excellent understanding of time.
Alicia for being caring and considerate.
Year 1
This week’s Certificate of Achievement in Year 1 go to:
Jessica for having a superb ‘can-do’ attitude in Maths this week!
Anand practising his handwriting each day with great care and concentration!
Reception
This week's certificate of achievement go to Francis and Isabelle
Francis is trying hard in aspects of school life, especially with his reading and writing.
Isabelle always demonstrates good listening and participates fully in every Music lesson.
