Prep Newsletter Lent Term Week 9 | Rossall - Independent Boarding School

This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.

Dear All

The Year 5 and 6 children enjoyed a wonderful excursion to Manchester on Tuesday. A visit to Bridgewater Hall in the morning provided the opportunity to listen to the Halle Orchestra perform. This was followed by a quick journey across the city so that they could explore the Museum of Science and Industry. Two great trips packed into one day! Well done to all of the pupils who learnt a great deal, expanded their cultural awareness, and represented Rossall so superbly well.

Congratulations to the newest members of our Prep School leadership team. All the children across Year 6 are given a role, be it as a monitor, House Captain, or School Captain. We are incredibly proud of the journey they are on and the progress being made.

Thursday provided an opportunity for our Year 4 footballers to play in a tournament at Poolfoot. The temperature was probably similar to the iconic game at Adams Park, December 1990, as the late great John Motson wore his infamous sheepskin coat.

The children, alongside Mrs Santamera, were equally wrapped up and I received a blow by blow account of the afternoon via Whatsapp! By the time we had won five from five without conceding a goal, I was beginning to think it might be our day. However, the semi finals were a step too far, as we lost out to the eventual winners, Carlton. Congratulations to all of the team who played magnificently and displayed admirable team spirit.

The Year 2 assembly all about Spring was a ray of sunshine on a snowy morning yesterday. The children spoke about their wonderful paintings and their view of what Spring means to them. There was also a great deal of delight as many of the audience found chocolate eggs hidden under their seats in Chapel. Well done, Year 2!

Despite our initial artistic differences, Mr Quartermain and myself have finally agreed on a song choice for RGT tomorrow. We will be performing in our ‘boy’ band alongside the incredibly talented Mr Dobson, Mr Crombie and our newest member, Mr McNab. I have no doubt this will be a mostly forgettable experience for all (hopefully!) and that the real talent will be on display through our wonderful students!

Have a super weekend,

Mr M Turner

Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery

International Poster Competition

This half term, our wellbeing theme is Internationalism. To celebrate this, School Council organised an International Poster Competition, for the best poster portraying different counties. There were so many amazing entries, which are all now on display by the library in Prep. School Council judged all the posters and it was so hard to pick the winners! Well done to everyone who participated and here are the winners:

Pre-Prep:
3rd place – Rupert in Reception for his amazing poster of Italy.
2nd place – joint between Bow and Aria in Year 1 who both did wonderful posters of the USA
1st place – Lexi in Y1 for her creative canvas of Turkey and Syria

Prep:
3rd place – Jessica in Year 6 for her well-presented and detailed poster about Switzerland
2nd place – Annabel in Year 5 for her eye-catching poster about the Netherlands
1st place – Henry in Year 3 for his imaginative and original poster about Japan.

Well done everyone!

Goals Galore for Y4 at Poolfoot!

The freezing conditions on Thursday did not deter the Y4 Rossall football squad. We travelled to Poolfoot Farm to enjoy an afternoon of competitive football matches. Twenty three teams were taking part in the tournament from across Wyre and Fylde. Rossall made a phenomenal start with five consecutive wins, and not conceding a goal. The team were in fine spirits after qualifying as top of the group for the quarter finals. We knew we had a tough task ahead. Although we created a number of chances, we were unable to capitalise on them. Carleton Green proved too strong on this occasion, winning 2-0. Our Rossall camp remained positive, showing a dogged determination until the final whistle was blown. We returned to school with our heads held high, trying to thaw out with a delicious hot chocolate. Well done to the team for having such a mature attitude and behaving impeccably throughout the afternoon…true Rossall ambassadors!

Year 6

Year 6 experienced a magical week of Music and Science, and our trip to Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, and the Museum of Science and Industry was truly inspirational. The children thoroughly enjoyed listening to the world-famous Halle Orchestra (all 80 instruments!) and were taken on a musical journey of our amazing planet, from Vivaldi’s ‘Seasons’ to Zimmer’s ‘Earth’. One of the many highlights was seeing the children and teachers dancing to ‘Soul Bossa Nova’, a catchy tune that should be on everyone’s playlist on a Friday evening-Rossall has certainly got talent!

Our next stop was the Museum of Science and Industry to further our knowledge on many aspects of British History and scientific innovation. The children loved the opportunity to explore the Interactive Gallery, conducting a wide range of ‘hands-on’ experiments, as well as finding out about the textile industry and watching the weaving machines in action. It was a truly memorable day, and although action-packed, the children were in fine voice on the ride home, which made the journey fly by!

Year 5

This week, we had the amazing opportunity to visit Bridgewater Hall in Manchester to watch the world famous Halle Orchestra perform. The theme this year was Earth. Our senses were immersed by the sounds of different seasons and different places, along with the scratch and sniff scents to accompany the music. We also got to visit the Museum of Science and Industry where we got to explore different sensory and scientific challenges, and watched a demonstration of how machinery worked in the cotton mills.

In English, we have continued to read more of our class book, The Darkest Dark, and found out that Chris’s special day was actually the 20th July 1969, the day of the moon landing. We have found out key facts about the moon landing and recorded these as bullet points, which we have then used to write our own piece of non-fiction writing.

In Topic, we have been learning about two of the most famous Tudor explorers, Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. We worked together to research them both and write a diary entry as if we were Sir Francis Drake on board his ship, The Pelican.

In DT, we have continued to explore cam mechanisms in preparation for creating our own space themed moving toys, completing a model version with different shaped cams to show how they can make different movements.

Year 4

Although the weather may have taken a sudden turn this week, Year 4 have been far too busy to notice the chill in the air. Instead, the children have been ferociously writing diary entries imagining they were in the Pacific Islands, far away from our 0°C weather. Clips from Moana have been our inspiration and guide into what life could have been like living in a tropical paradise 9000 miles away from Costa del Cleveleys.

In Geography, we have been busy putting together another display for the classroom! This time informing the viewer all about volcanoes. The children have been finding out how volcanoes are formed. From this, they created detailed diagrams highlighting all the key information about their features and why they erupt.

The volcanic theme continued to dominate our DT lessons this week with the children learning about the geophysics of volcanic eruptions by creating their very own mini volcano. Throughout the week the children worked their way through a mountain of papier-mâché to build their volcanoes. The children cannot wait for next week’s lesson when the volcanoes can be completed, ready for the big moment – the eruption.

Year 3

It’s been a fun-filled week in Year 3 as usual!

We have really embraced our book Big Blue Whale and we are becoming real experts in facts about Blue Whales, with our own class fact chart. We have been practicing our non-fiction writing, learning how to research facts and then write it ourselves using sub-headings and adverbs.

In Maths we have started learning about fractions, a tricky area to get to grips with but so far we are already experts in numerators and denominators!

We have done lots of Science this week, we made conclusions about our plants investigation, unfortunately the plants are looking very worse for wear after being denied their basic needs! We discovered that plants need five things to survive: Light from the sun, Air, Water, Nutrients from soil and Space (LAWNS!). We then sacrificed some more plants and did a flower dissection; we took apart parts of a flower and discovered what they are called.

In Topic, this week we focussed on Plastic Pollution. We read the book ‘A Planet full of Plastic’ and learnt about the impact plastic has on wildlife and particularly in the seas. This theme will be the focus of our trip to SeaLife in Manchester on Monday, which we are of course excited about!

In PSHE this week we learnt about rights, and how children have their own special rights. In RS, we started learning about the Easter story. Well done for a wonderful week Year 3!

Year 2

Much of our focus this week has been on preparing for our class assembly. The children decided we should talk to the Prep School about spring. As such we found out a great deal about the seasonal changes that take place and investigated several religious festivals that are celebrated at this time of year. Our favourite one being Holi as we decided we would use a bit of “silly string” to represent the tradition of throwing coloured paints.

We have also been working very hard in class, this week we have been learning about different jobs that people did in 1666, the time of the Great Fire of London and comparing the equipment of firefighters then and now. In Mathematics we have continued our work on shape, we have been learning about their properties, the different meanings of terms and sorting shapes into various categories. In English we have been completing a number of writing tasks related to our class book. The focus being the inclusion of the appropriate tense and subordinating conjunctions, the manner in which the children have picked up these concepts has been most impressive.

One of the major highlights of the week was our visit form Mrs Payne, this week we were making our own representations of the Fire of London using collage. Unfortunately the sticky nature of this process has meant the children have not quite finished, but Mrs Payne has promised to return next week to get these completed!

Year 1

Year 1 this week have been very busy accessing all areas of their curriculum and I’m so blown away by how much they have learned.

We’ve been polishing our mental maths skills this week and it’s fabulous to see our children recalling their number bonds with speed and ease! In Maths we are adding and subtracting and answering worded problems too.

In English, Year 1 almost have sentences coming right out of their ears! We have produced a piece of writing each day and with each day that passed our sentences just got better and better- well done! We know our story well and we are really enjoying getting to know the two main characters of our story. We are also working hard to apply the Phonics sounds we have learned over the last few weeks to our everyday writing.

In Topic we have been looking at different climates around the world and what it would be like to live in the four different climate zones. We even mapped out these zones and can now say what type of climate each continent has- amazing Year 1, I can’t wait for more weeks like this!

Reception

Patterns are central to maths and children have an instinctive idea of patterns.

Research shows that children’s ability to see patterns forms the basis of early mathematical thinking. When you teach children to become aware of patterns, they will build up the skill of spotting patterns for themselves, they will see how patterns change and notice irregularities.

This week we talked about, and identified the patterns around them, so we could learn the words that describe different patterns.

As children have become more confident in making patterns and seeing connections, they have been able to talk out loud about what they have noticed.

The lovely weather this week has allowed us to create patterns in the classroom and outside in nature, using a variety of different resources. I wonder if the children could make any more patterns this weekend?

Nursery

“When we focus on the social and emotional aspect of working together on an activity. We create a balanced experience that helps children in all aspects of development.”
Ellen Booth Church

This week in Nursery we have been focusing on Personal, Emotional and Social Development.

The Sanderlings

This week the babies have been painting pictures as well as gluing and sticking. This creative activity has supported them to express their own feelings and ideas in addition to making choices. On Well-being Wednesday the babies had a yoga and relaxation session, the babies loved to take part in an active but calm time. The Sanderlings copied simple actions such as hands in the air (stretching), turning around and jumping up and down. There has been lots of group time with songs, stories and the song box which encourages turn taking and being with others. Finally, there has been lots of free play especially in the construction/small world area; the younger babies have confidently explored the sensory area.

The Sandpipers

This week in Sandpipers the children have been working on self regulation by rejuvenating their ‘calming corner’. Pillows have been added to the space as well as more fidget toys and books explaining emotions. The ‘calming corner’ has been used this week for yoga and for the children to relax, breathe and take a moment to themselves. The Sandpipers have also been learning about big emotions and how to express themselves through safe and productive means. The children thought of ideas such as jumping, squeezing a pillow or having cuddles. Mx Preston has created a positivity basket, with lots of stickers and wow banners to boost children’s self confidence in their abilities.

Preschool

The Preschool have enjoyed a lovely, calm week. On Well-being Wednesday, Miss Simms and Miss Emsley took the learning outdoors to the grass in front of the Preparatory School where the Preschool children participated in yoga. The children moved softly like the trees around them. Preschool have also been focusing on looking after one another and living things; caring for the plants in the room and even planting new ones. The preschool children have been helping one another with daily tasks, for example, putting coats and wellies on. Calming music and lighting has been on all week to encourage relaxation and promote learning. At circle time Preschool talked about their emotions and feelings, speaking about how they feel about the book of the month ‘there is a rang tan in my bedroom’. Finally, the children have enjoyed playing in the snow.

Awards

Year 6

This week our Year 6 awards go to the following pupils.

6S Awards:

Jack – Outstanding resilience and effort

Jessica – Outstanding approach to her studies

6R:

Dawood – Excellent knowledge in Religious Studies

Joshua – Excellent ability and endeavour in Maths

Year 5

This week’s 5R awards go to Sophie, for being an excellent role model, and Reuben for enthusiasm and curiosity in Science and Topic lessons, and in 5S the awards go to Nick and Millie for fantastic participation and contribution during lessons.