This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
Dear All
The children returned refreshed and rejuvenated from their half term break and have thrown themselves back into their learning. I have been into lots of lessons throughout the week and have been delighted by the enthusiasm, interest, and aptitude on display.
Reception loved their visit to Leighton Hall on Thursday. It is wonderful to see the youngest Prep School pupils out and about in the local area, extending their learning beyond the confines of the classroom. They behaved brilliantly and were exceptionally knowledgeable when discussing history; well done, Reception!
Year 6 were out and about this week, as they joined the ‘Crucial Crew’ in Fleetwood, improving their life skills and knowledge through meeting members of the emergency services. The sessions served as an excellent extension to our PSHE curriculum and it was great to hear how much they understand about the dangers of fire, water, social media, drugs and alcohol.
Shrove Tuesday allowed our pupils from Reception to Year 6 to take part in our world famous House Pancake Races. The children had a ‘flipping’ great time competing for Assheton, Clifton and Hesketh, as well as learning about the origins of Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday during their assemblies.
Thank you to all parents who have attended School this week to support events, to take part in a positive Parents’ Forum, or to come to an appointment at the first of our Lent Term Parents’ Evenings. As always, it is a pleasure to welcome you into School.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mr M Turner
Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery
Rossall Prep Hockey v Highfield Priory
On Wednesday Rossall Prep travelled over to Preston to play two nail biting hockey matches against Highfield Priory. The matches finished with a 5-3 loss and a 3-0 win to Rossall Both teams performed extremely well, with some amazing defensive skills and fantastic attacking play. Well done Rossall Prep for setting yourselves the highest standards both on and off the pitch.
Rossall Rhinos Rugby Team Dazzle Under the Rainbow!
It was a pleasure to welcome Altrincham Prep School for a taste of rugby sevens this week, and both U11 teams played some scintillating rugby to brighten the Rossall skies and excite the crowd of parents and teachers.
The Rhinos moved the ball beautifully through the hands and dazzled with some free flowing passing as well as some hard hitting tackles.
It really was the perfect preparation for our annual rugby sevens festival next week, where the team will have the chance to represent the school against teams from all over the North of England and the Isle of Man.
Good luck, Rossall!
Year 6
Still riding high from the success of our magical production of ‘Matilda’, Year 6 have returned to school in fine voice and ready for an action-packed half term. There is so much to look forward to with trips to the Halle Orchestra and the Museum of Science and Industry, learning development courses in Bikeability and Junior Life Skills, as well as inter-school events in sport and music.
This week, we have switched on the Flux Capacitor, set the date to 1837, revved up the DeLorean to 88mph and gone back in time to explore the life of The Victorians. The children have begun to learn about this era of astonishing progress and prosperity for Britain in engineering and industry, manufacturing and trade, science and medicine, and the age of an empire when Britain ruled half the world.
They are relishing the opportunity to complete a whole host of engaging class and home learning tasks; please may I draw your attention to the baking of a Victorian Sponge (Queen Victoria’s and my personal favourite!). This promises to be an amazing half term; I just wish we could jump in the time machine and slow down time as we are now halfway through the year-Time certainly flies when you’re having fun!
Year 5
We have loved welcoming Year 5 back this week ready for another busy term ahead! During the start of the week, the children took part in the famous Rossall house pancake race. This was so much fun and they enjoyed tossing the pancakes out of the pan!
In English, the children continued to finish their myths which involved creative quests, magical objects, heroes and villains. We will soon be moving onto our new book for this term, ‘The Darkest Dark’, which links with our Science, ‘Earth and Space’.
In Maths, we have still been revisiting long multiplication and the important steps to remember when completing the formal method. We have also moved onto short division along with tackling questions involving remainders.
During our Topic sessions, we are continuing to focus on the Tudors which seems to have been a huge hit with the Year 5s. This term however, we are focusing on famous Tudors and our focus this week has been on William Shakespeare. Year 5 have carried out their own research on William Shakespeare and have used their findings to take part in a fact scavenger hunt based on him.
Year 4
In the blink of an eye we are half way through Year 4 and still have plenty of exciting topics to squeeze in!
In English, the children have been faced with a big mystery… What is our new book for this half term? All will be revealed next week. In the meantime the children have put on their detective hats after receiving a number of clues to help them make predictions about our new book. Using these clues the children have written their very own adventure stories. They were given the challenge of creating a dramatic ending – and they did not disappoint. Their stories had more twists and turns in them than the ‘Big Dipper’ at the Pleasure Beach. Two themes particularly stood out in their stories, some ended in romance others in tragedy.
In Maths, we saw the return of Carry, Barry, Larry and Harry. This time they were back to help the children solve multiplication problems. Carry, in particular, was a great help guiding the children to solve more difficult problems.
Having seen the power of the wind this week and its effects locally we began our Topic for the term – Natural Disasters. This resulted in an animated discussion about the influence of nature on our planet and the environment. With much enthusiasm the children came up with the following questions they would like to find answers to:
– Why do earthquakes happen?
– When was the last volcanic eruption?
– Are there volcanoes in the UK?
– What is the deadliest natural disaster?
With only six weeks to cover the above questions we are going to have an intense and dramatic time.
Year 3
We’ve had a lovely start to the half-term in Year 3 after a well deserved break! Of course it’s the start of all new units and topics. First off our new book for English is The Big Blue Whale, and we have started our class Blue Whale Fact File! We also learnt about the four different types of sentences: commands, questions, exclamations and statements. This book links to our new Topic: Protect our Planet. This week we read the Lorax, learnt about deforestation and discussed the positives and negatives. In Science we have started our first 12-week unit all about Plants. We started off looking at some plants in the classroom and learning about the different parts of the plant and their functions. In Maths we are continuing to learn about money, this week looking at adding and subtracting with pounds and pence. Of course we loved the traditional Pancake Race on Tuesday and had a lot of fun! Thanks for a great week Year 3!
Year 2
Year 2 have started this half term with their usual enthusiastic and eager approach to all aspects of school. In Mathematics we have continued our work in statistics, the children have been creating and interpreting tally charts and pictograms. In English we have started our new class book Major Glad, Major Dizzy. The class thoroughly enjoyed writing about their favourite toys, one or two even took the opportunity to write about their Captain America figures, which brought a smile to my face.
On Tuesday we celebrated Shrove Tuesday with the annual House Pancake races, this caused the usual levels of excitement, with Assheton winning both the Pre-Prep and Prep competitions, though I am sure Mr Condon had used a little glue in the Hesketh pan! Wednesday was National Yoga Day, the children took the opportunity to consider their wellbeing, as such we spent a little time stretching our bodies and focusing our minds.
If all this was not enough we have also started our new topic, The Great Fire of London, we have looked at the differences between London of 1666 and today. The children were able to make numerous observations including architecture, clothes, transport and changes in technology. As part of this we have also been considering fire safety, the class are now fully aware of what to do in case of a fire. If you are unsure of the best course of action, then don’t hesitate to ask the Year 2 experts.
Year 1
It has been a fabulous week working with our children in Year 1, and they worked so hard each day!
We have started our new topic of ‘Down in the Jungle’ and we are really excited about our new story in English; ‘The Lion Inside’. It’s been interesting hearing the predictions we created when thinking about what might happen to the lion and to the mouse in the story. Great ideas, Year 1!
In Phonics we have been polishing our skills and testing our ability; we loved doing this in our Phonics swat game and it really helped us to quickly recall our Phase 3 phonemes.
In Science this week we are talking more about animal classification; what exactly makes a reptile a reptile? We gathered lots of information and we sorted all the animals and information into the correct class. It was super interesting and it really got us thinking.
And how about our pancake relay race? Well, Year 1 did spectacularly well at running with a pancake filled pan and flipping it too; I had so much fun watching and cheering you on and I know you had fun too.
Reception
On Thursday, Reception were very excited to venture out for the day to Leighton Hall near Carnforth. This is the ancestral home of the world-renowned Gillow furniture family. The home is still lived in today and we were warmly welcomed into their home and enjoyed a full tour of the house by our friendly and enthusiastic tour guide, Pam.
We heard lots of funny and fascinating tales and the family’s ancestry meant there were plenty of pieces of furniture and paintings to enjoy. The children loved guessing what the unusual artefacts and objects were around the home. They behaved impeccably and asked lots of questions.
The Main Garden, Walled Garden and Woodland walk offered the chance to explore, with plenty of space and a play area for the children to enjoy and let off steam. The Woodland walk took us through carpets of snowdrops, a hide, funny tree faces, stepping stones, sculptures and we even had a game of Limbo!
The children thoroughly enjoyed their trip and can not wait to find out what we will learn on our next adventure in the Summer Term.
Nursery
“Enabling environments mobilise the energy, attention, curiosity and focus of the children”
Howard Gardner
The Sanderlings have enjoyed looking at lots of books and stories this week. The babies have independent access to the books and are encouraged to look at books together. This week they have taken an active interest in this resource and have been using the books as a point of interest throughout the day, Miss Heatley has also encouraged the children by reading them their favourite books. To enhance the gross motor skills of the babies, Miss Schofield has created a physical activity area in the room involving soft play items to encourage the children to stack, climb and balance. The babies have been exploring mark making with their hands and feet, using chalk on a chalkboard and chunky wax crayons on paper. All of the mark making equipment was available in a low tuff tray so the smaller children also had direct access and enjoyed creating lines in different directions on the paper and boards.
The Sandpipers have been excited by an activity designed by Miss Sumner – a volcanic, dinosaur tuff tray. To create their volcano the children (with support from Miss Sumner) poured lemon juice into bicarbonate of soda to create a volcanic eruption, it was then a race against time to get the dinosaur to the safety of a neighbouring hill; luckily the Sandpipers children helped all of the dinosaurs just in time. Miss Southern took the children on a walk with magnifying glasses to make observations of different natural objects such as leaves, grass and bark – it is amazing what you can see and talk about when you are looking closely. During teacher time the children have been working on colour matching as well as number recognition, the children have done an amazing job at identifying numbers one to five. This week one of the learning intentions in The Sandpipers room has been to practise independence and self help skills. The children have tried to put on their coats themselves using the Montessori method. At lunch time the children now actively participate in self serving their own meals, they are doing a fantastic job and there are not many spills.
The Preschool has celebrated Shrove Tuesday, engaging in a pancake day themed tuff tray. The children had a go at making eachother pancakes using playdough and were supported to describe the shapes they had made. On Wednesday, the children investigated primary colours (red, blue and yellow); paint was added to the tuff tray and then covered with shaving foam and the children were encouraged to use their hands to reveal the colours underneath before mixing them together to experiment with making new colours such as orange, purple and green. Miss Emsley took the children on a walk to the beach to explore the different sounds that we can make as this was one of the Preschool’s learning intentions. Miss Ward and Mrs Gaynor have also taken children out and about on the school grounds on a number walk, the children were challenged to find as many different numbers as they could within the school grounds and give the number the correct numeral name.
Awards
Year 6
6S Award winners:
Grigoriy for Outstanding Communication Skills.
Rio for Outstanding Thinking Skills.
6R Award winners:
Ava and Daisy-Excellent participation in Dance.
Year 5
Certificates this week go to Caitlin in 5S for superb commitment and determination in hockey and Cara (5S) for excellent writing in her English.
In 5R, Holly for fantastic efforts and commitment in hockey and Jude for having such a positive attitude to school and settling in well.
Year 4
This week in Year 4 our certificate winners are Eryn for outstanding effort in Maths and Alfie for outstanding effort in English.
Year 3
The year 3 certificates this week go to Felix for great engagement in his learning and clubs, and to Matilda for always being helpful, responsible and proactive!
Year 2
Certificates go to Oskar and Aidan for fantastic listening skills and participation in discussion.
Year 1
In Year 1 this week’s Achievement Certificates go to:
Max for his super speedy and accurate application in Phonics all week.
Hugo for being so enthusiastic in Science, and sharing his knowledge of animals when classifying them.
Reception
This week’s certificates of achievement go to Tabitha and Xander. During our trip to Leighton Hall both children asked and gave some amazing answers to lots of questions throughout the day.
