This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
Dear All,
A very warm welcome back to the academic year 2024-25. I trust you all had a restful break and enjoyed some family time together.
The Preparatory School is most certainly back with a bang! I have been buoyed by the way in which the children have returned to School and the incredible start all classes have made. In each and every lesson I have visited throughout the course of the week, I have witnessed purposeful teaching and learning alongside a great deal of enjoyment too!
Each year I try to be innovative in the way in which I deliver the first assembly of the new term. This year we spoke about ‘dreams’. The difference between the dreams we have at night and the dreams we hold for our futures. The dreams we can take some control over and those which are out of our hands. Ultimately the main message of the assembly was that ‘dreams don’t work unless you do’, and I am positive that that message landed with many of the children; I listened to lots of them walking back to class, speaking about how they will achieve what they aspire for – whether it was making a School sports team, getting good GCSEs, or simply owning a summer house in Italy with a Ferrari on the drive!
Our clubs and co-curricular programme has started and already the children are flourishing in the range of activities that are on offer. Whether it be the Manchester City coaches taking football training, animation club, STEM club, or Funky Fingers craft club, the children have thrown themselves into the array of fabulous activities that are being provided by our staff.
I was delighted by the incredible turnout of our parent body on Wednesday, as we welcomed our community together for the Meet the Teacher event. I would like to put on record my sincere thanks to all of you for helping us to forge that all-important Home-School partnership, whilst also congratulating the staff on standing up in front of adults to deliver; an entirely different experience to teaching children!
The children were filled with excitement today as they discovered the name of the musical that we will be performing at the end of the Lent term. I am delighted to announce that the Prep pupils will be starring in ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Mr Holdsworth spoke to me about taking a leading role in the production – there I was excitedly thinking he was talking about Gaston but instead, he had me down as the Beast! Auditions will be taking place over the next few weeks!
Finally, the largest well done to our new pupils, whether in Reception or one of our other year groups, you have all settled into Rossall wonderfully well. I am very proud of you all! I am filled with great anticipation for what promises to be an incredible year at the Preparatory School and look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events, the first of which being the house cross country and Pre-Prep fun run next Friday afternoon.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mr M Turner
Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery
Year 6
“Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucious
Mrs Scott and I ( Mrs Kenmare) have thoroughly enjoyed welcoming Year 6 back to Rossall. The children have most certainly come back to school with joy in their hearts and a positive attitude to their learning.
We enjoyed meeting many of you on Wednesday afternoon to talk about the exciting year ahead. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions going forward.
The children have settled quickly into their new routines and have had an excellent and action-packed first week.
We have started our book, ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’ and the children have already produced some super work based around the themes that the book investigates.
In Mathematics we are concentrating on number this half term. The children have enjoyed some interactive lessons using our fabulous smart boards.
Our History topic, Peace and Conflict has already inspired some excellent discussion, debate and questions. We are all very much looking forward to learning more about World War 2.
In Science this week, we have become secret agents. Our mission was to cross a room undetected to reach the safe at the other side. The problem however was that the room was protected by a laser security system! Rest assured parents, Rossall’s treasures are safe – this was all part of our inquiry to find out how light travels. Using everyday equipment, we tested different theories before concluding and explaining that light travels in straight lines. It was an ‘illuminating’ start to our ‘Light’ topic!
Year 5
It was clear from the beaming smiles and enthusiasm to ascend to the top floor of the Prep School that Year 5 were delighted to be back at Rossall to share their exciting news from the long summer break.
It’s been an action-packed first week, with plenty of discussion about our hopes and aspirations for the new academic year. We’ve made a creative start to brighten our new classroom displays, designing a class charter and personalising kites with our termly targets; one thing is for sure – the sky really is the limit!
The children have dived into our History work on the early American pioneers, and they enjoyed learning about Christopher Columbus’ lack of geographical knowledge that led to his discovery of the Americas.
With the glorious weather, the class have relished the opportunity to explore the campus for their Art, Drama and Music lessons, as well as taking a Science expedition to the hidden Rossall pond to study the bountiful variety of life that has thrived this summer.
Our new Year 5 children are certainly a ray of sunshine, and we are delighted to welcome two new starters to the year group and to Rossall. Well done to Kitty and Bahumi, and all of Year 5 for a wonderful start to the term!
Year 4
What a first week back this has been! Year 4 have had a wonderfully busy and productive first week of the new academic year and I couldn’t be prouder of them all.
In maths, we tackled some tricky place value concepts that have involved counting past 1000, making sure we pronounce and write the numbers correctly. Using partitioning, we’ve broken some HUGE numbers down into bitesize chunks and found that even the biggest of numbers can be tackled.
In English we started working on our writing topic linked to the book Gorilla by Anthony Browne. The children produced super word banks of ideas showcasing their strengths and understanding of expanded noun phrases. We finished the week with a super narrative for the mystery character, hypothesising what has happened in the story so far.
To top off the very busy week, we also made a start on our new topic in science: the digestive system in animals and humans. We made brilliantly detailed cross sections of teeth that showed all the key parts within a tooth such as the nerves, dentine and roots.
Finally, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you all at the Meet The Teacher event earlier in the week. Again, if there are any questions, please do email me. I really can’t wait to see what this year brings for Year 4!
Year 3
Wow, what a fantastic start to Year 3! The children have settled fantastically well and the transition from Pre-Prep to Prep has gone super smoothly. We have been getting used to our new class routines and expectations – it all feels quite grown up now!
This week we have jumped straight back into our learning and the Year 3s have certainly kept their brain cells growing over the holidays, ready and raring to work hard this year.
In English, we started our first book of the year – Seal Surfer. We have been making predictions about the book, considering what story we would tell if we had been the author. This book relates to our Topic for the half term, ‘Our Coasts’. Which we kicked off by learning about the different seas that surround the UK.
For Maths we started by revising some of our previous skills and then moved on to our first unit on place value, counting hundreds, tens and ones.
We had our introduction to Games this week, having lots of fun trying new sporting skills across the campus and we also drew self portraits, detailed with facts about ourselves.
What a wonderful first week in Year 3!
Year 2
What an amazing first week of the new term we have had in Year 2! It has been a delight to meet all of the children and parents which is reflected in so many happy and smiling faces as they come into to school!
During our lessons, all the children have worked hard and made a brilliant first impression. We have introduced all of our new topics which including famous nurses, LS Lowry and our English text which is called Troll Swap. The children especially enjoyed noticing the matchstick people in the Lowry painting that we looked at!
Elsewhere the children have begun their PE, dance and music lessons. There was much enthusiasm amongst the group and once again they gave it their best efforts!
Finally, it has been so lovely to see many of the children attending the range of clubs both at lunchtime and after school. I know the children have enjoyed the different activities and trying things out for the first time!
Year 1
Well done Year 1, what a super start to the school year! We have been very busy sharing our holiday news, learning new routines, playing with our friends in our new classroom, and creating some solid foundations for our learning this year. We’ve worked hard in Phonics to read and write CVC words and sentences, and in Maths we have been sorting objects and counting. In English, we have written about all of the exciting things we did over the summer and thought carefully about what a sentence needs to have. It’s also been an active week for us; enjoying Drama (a new subject for this year in Year 1), PE and Music, and starting new clubs already! We are also looking forward to our swimming lessons starting next week.
It was lovely to meet so many parents on Wednesday’s Meet the Teacher event.
Reception
This week has been full of ‘firsts’ for the Reception children. The first is always the best as it marks the beginning. The start of their learning journey through Rossall School.
The Reception children have all settled fantastically well into the school routines and activities. They are quickly learning their way around school and the classroom rules. They won’t learn it in a day but we will continue to emphasize and practice for the first few weeks.
The children have had their first PE lesson, which was a big hit! On our first afternoon at the Rossall Kitchens, we made cupcakes – I hope you enjoyed eating them as much as the children did! Their first music lesson taught the children about simple rhythm and pulse. The children thoroughly enjoyed their first dance lesson and told me all about it when they got back to class. Rossall Rabbit has even been to welcome us to school. We finished off our first week joining in with assembly, where we sat very sensibly and quietly … What an action-packed, busy week for our new starters!
Please can I remind parents to bring in PE bags and swim bags on a Monday? These will then go home at the end of the week. All uniforms should be named … We have a couple of blazers, shirts and ties not named, which can cause upset for the children when they can not find their belongings and we are not sure whose is whose!
Nursery
This week the Sanderlings have welcomed some new children and the previous children have returned from their summer holidays. It has been lovely to see all the interactions and the babies exploring their new surroundings. As we still have a bit of sunshine we have been able to spend time in the garden – the sand tray is still a firm favourite. The babies have also been interested in playing with cars and have practiced using language and sounds in play. The babies are encouraged to choose their own play resources, supported by their key workers who then build on their interests. A lovely first week to start the new term.
This week in the Sandpipers room the staff have welcomed the new children with open arms and they have enjoyed getting to know them. The children have been sharing their interests, and they have been exploring confidently once they have felt comfortable. Throughout the week the children have been playing group games, and singing songs and they have been engaged in turn-taking activities. In addition, the children have also been talking about their home lives and the things they enjoy. Furthermore this month the Sandpiper children will be focusing on fairy tales stories. This week’s focus has been the Gingerbread bread man, the children have been enjoying role-playingc and creating their gingerbread houses and painting gingerbread men.
It has been a busy week in pre-school! it has been lovely welcoming the children back and getting to know all of the new children. The pre-school book of the month is Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This story has been chosen as it promotes language and communication, through describing words and repeated refrains, mathematical language of size, and morals. The children have been very engaged and can almost already retell the story. In addition, the pre-school children have been out in all weathers exploring the beautiful grounds that Rossall has to offer and on Monday they enjoyed jumping in puddles in their wetsuits and wellies!
Awards
Year 6
Emma: An excellent start to her new school
Spencer: Excellent attitude towards all aspects of school
Emily for showing resilience and a positive attitude to life at Rossall
Isla for independence and a positive start to her time at Rossall
Year 5
Kitty and Bahumi: Outstanding courage and independence in beginning their boarding journey at Rossall
Year 4
Arla – for giving 100% in all lessons and demonstrating impeccable manners.
Beau – for producing super ideas in English and demonstrating great use of exciting adjectives in your narrative.
Year 3
Millie & Lexi
Year 2
Xander – awarded for his hard work and brilliant work ethic
Francis – awarded for his positive attitude and phonics work
Year 1
This week’s awards are for Rory and Stefan for a super start to Year 1, excellent listening and working hard.
Reception
This week’s certificates of achievement go to Myles, Dalton & Leon. All children have had a fantastic start to school but also a new school too. Well done!
September Tennis Programs with Top Tennis Coaching
We have a range of tennis programs on offer for players aged 6+ happening at Rossall School this term.
Our popular Before School Programs return from Wednesday 4th September (Year 3 & 4 – Wednesdays, Year 5 & 6 – Fridays) as well as a range of after-school programs to suit all abilities.
Contact Nick Arnold for more information:
07789 956147
*Bookings are essential prior to attendance of your first session. Visit our Bookings Page for more info