This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
Dear All,
What an incredible first half term! The children have spent 6 weeks loving all aspects of a Rossall Prep School education and I could not be prouder of them. Our final week has packed in the usual amount of amazing experiences and learning.
Despite the postponement of the fixtures from Wednesday, the children have still been out keeping fit and playing sport in their Games lessons, with the pupils enjoying some rugby work on the field and hockey sessions on the astroturf. The weather will not beat us!
Our Reception children thoroughly enjoyed their book character dress-up day today. Helping reading to come alive is most certainly on the agenda from an early age and I know our pupils relished explaining about their characters and why they chose them!
The Prep School wore an item of yellow apparel in support of Mental Health Awareness Day on Wednesday. We raised money for the Children and Young People’s Centre in Poulton whilst having a lot of fun in the process. The dressing up was supplemented by our Feel Good Friday wellbeing events that took place. The important message behind these events was not lost on the pupils, who commented about how important it is to feel happy and to be there for their friends. There was certainly no shortage of happiness on show!
Earlier this week, we held our first Music Assembly concert of the academic year. I am always thrilled that our pupils have the opportunity to perform in front of an audience in order to showcase their talents but also to improve confidence. Congratulations to all who took part. I was equally delighted to see that our newly formed brass ensemble made their debut; a direct result of the instrument loan and lessons that were trialled last year.
Finally, we held our House Poetry competition on Friday afternoon. Any House Competition is greeted with great rivalry but also camaraderie and an appreciation of others. Celebrating poetry as well as the House spirit, the children gave their all, working together and once again performing in front of their peers. Our thanks to Mr. Newall for judging this year’s competition – results to follow after half term!
I wish you all a relaxing half-term break and very much look forward to seeing you in person upon the commencement of the second half of Michaelmas – and the run up to Christmas – how did that come around so quickly?
Have a wonderful weekend.
Mr M Turner
Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery
Mental Health Day and Feel Good Friday
Earlier this week we observed World Mental Health Day. To honour the occasion, the children in Prep and Pre-Prep wore an item of yellow with their uniform to raise awareness for mental health. The funds raised from this are donated to Counselling in the Community, to support their new young persons mental health centre. We also had an assembly learning about mental health and what we can do to look after our wellbeing.
In keeping with the mental health theme, we ended the week with Feel Good Friday! This had a focus on wellbeing and doing what makes us feel good. Each teacher offered a different wellbeing activity that the children signed up to. We had yoga, mindful art, making gratitude jars, making self-confidence fans, games, self-regulation bottles and more! The children truly enjoyed these restful, mindful activities and it was a nourishing end to the half term!
Year 6
We have reached the end of a busy yet successful half-term in Year 6 and we are extremely proud of what the children have achieved.
In English this week have planned and written from Lydia’s point of view, based on our book ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’. We have thoroughly enjoyed combining all the grammatical and language features that we have learned throughout the term. We have also continued reading ‘Friend or Foe’ and the children have been on the edge of their seats waiting for the next chapter each day.
In maths, we have challenged ourselves with long multiplication this week. This really is a tricky skill to master but children have shown excellent perseverance and made astounding progress. Many children have realised the importance of practising their times tables and how this aids with so many areas of maths! We have also applied the skill of multiplication to problem solving and reasoning, including using the trial and improvement method.
To end our History topic work, we have learnt about the events leading to the end of World War 2. Throughout the topic, children have developed a range of skills – including organising information chronologically; using secondary sources to find information; presenting information in a variety of formats including electronically; and forming opinions about the past. We have all thoroughly enjoyed this topic!
We have also had plenty of time for extra activities this week. Rossall Rotation on Thursday was our last turn in the kitchen before we move on to a new activity after the half-term break. Friday morning saw us performing our poems in class ahead of the house poetry competition on Friday afternoon. Feel Good Friday activities linked to Mental Health Day made us smile. And amongst all that we enjoyed the end of term sunshine and crisp air outside during our break times.
We hope that all our children and families have a restful half-term break, and we look forward to hitting the ground running for our next half-term!
Year 5
The class have made an outstanding start to Year 5 and the achievements that we have made individually and collectively this first half term have been extremely rewarding.
This week has seen the class prepare and perform poems in the House Poetry Competition. Firstly in the class preliminary round, where the children loved listening to each other’s recitals of classics like ‘The Ning Nang Nong’ and ‘The Owl and The Pussy Cat’, before all taking part in the team competition, where they worked together confidently to perform on the big stage in ‘Big School’ like Shakespearean actors!
This week has given many of the children the opportunity to demonstrate their talents for the stage, and our Assembly Concert was a big hit with the Year 5 children leading the way with outstanding performances on a range of instruments, including dazzling vocals.
Our Forest School activity in Rossall Rotation was a real treat in more ways than one with the children enjoying toasted marshmallows on the campfire in the Secret Garden; what a delicious way to end a truly delightful half term.
Well done, Year 5, have a wonderful half term!
Year 4
This was our final week learning all about the Anglo-Saxons. Year 4 turned into detectives this week as their investigation skills were put to the test in a bid to find out which King was buried at the Sutton Hoo burial site. Many different pieces of evidence were scattered around our classroom from stories, written accounts, artefacts and maps to timelines. They worked super hard to gather all of the information needed to eliminate the Anglo-Saxon Kings.
We also did our final experiment of replicating peristalsis in the gut. Who knew that a pair of tights and a banana could teach so much about the digestive system! The children engaged enthusiastically with the whole experiment and enjoyed squeezing the ‘digested food’ inside the ‘small intestine’ and finally watched in disgust as the ‘faeces’ passed at the end!
In English, we finished our novel ‘Gorilla’ and used the story as inspiration to plan and write our own stories. They had written their own version of events in the story and let their imaginations fly by adding in different characters and animals of their own. Their creative adventures have certainly been a fantastic read.
As the week comes to an end, we acknowledge Mental Health Day with our very own ‘Feel Good Friday’. All of the teachers have arranged great activities for all children to take part in to make them feel wholesome, happy and positive as we end our first half term.
We hope you all have a fantastic, well-deserved break!
Year 3
Hard to believe we are already at the final week of the half term and we have been in Year 3 together for six weeks! What a fun-filled week to end on.
In English, we completed our final writing task of the half term: writing letters to Grandad from the boy in Seal Surfer. The letters needed to include prepositions, interesting verbs and adjectives and be written in paragraphs. It was wonderful to see the progress everyone has made and the effort that was put into the wonderful writing!
In Maths this week we have been focussing on subtracting when crossing tens and hundreds. Probably the hardest concept we have covered so far this year and the children did so well with it!
We finished off our Topic posters all about different parts of the British coast and it was fabulous to see everyone’s eye-catching, colourful and fact-filled posters!
On Thursday, we had the final Rossall Rotation of the cycle with our last session of Beach schools! In honour of Mental Health Day this week, the children created beach art inspired by emotions and feelings.
The last day of the half term was extra special. Firstly we had ‘Feel Good Friday’ with the pupils participating in different wellbeing activities such as yoga and making gratitude jars. We then ended the day with House Poetry – it was wonderful to see the Year 3s performing both individually and in their houses.
Well done for a fantastic first part of Year 3, can’t wait to see you all after the half-term holiday!
Year 2
Year 2 have used the last week of this half-term to round things off in preparation for the half-term break.
In English, we have written our own stories in the style of our class book “Troll Swap”. The children enjoyed creating their own “swappingly good ideas”; we had monsters, witches, skeletons, ogres and other wonderful characters.
In Science, the class have completed their end of unit assessments, which demonstrated a wonderful understanding of animals and humans.
On Tuesday children wore a yellow accessory as part of World Mental Health Day. We held an assembly and the children learnt all about emotions and the best way to deal with these, who they can talk to and who is here to support them. As a continuation of this, the children were given the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities to finish the term with our own “Feel Good Friday”.
As always a highlight of the week was the visit of Mrs Payne for our art lesson, the children loved the opportunity to make their own trolls and will no doubt enjoy bringing them hope at the end of the week. It has been a very productive first half term for Year 2, they have worked incredibly hard and definitely deserve their break.
Rest up and prepare for another busy, action-packed and fun half-term!
Year 1
Can you believe we have completed our first half term in Year 1? We have had such a fantastic start to this academic year and I am so proud of how hard the children have worked so far.
This week we enjoyed taking part in our ‘Feel Good Friday’ activities and learning about wellbeing, feelings and our mental health.
We also had our final session of Golf in Rossall Rotation this week, and we are looking forward to baking some delicious things in the Rossall Kitchen next half term.
In Maths, we have moved on to looking at adding by using Part-Whole models and plenty of counters! It’s been interesting to learn this new concept of adding two numbers to find a whole number, but it is a concept we are securing really well.
In English, we have completed our final piece of writing and written our own versions of ‘Lost and Found’. We have had stories about lost Ewoks, snakes, crabs and unicorns to name a few! We have used the original story of ‘Lost and Found’ as our stimulus and worked hard to write in full sentences using finger spaces, full stops and capital letters.
Finally, in Science we have continued to classify and compare animals by their animal groups and learnt some really interesting, tricky vocabulary.
Reception
This term we have celebrated stories in every form. Stories teach us about the world, they allow us to step into someone else’s shoes and feel empathy, they help us to relax and escape and they can help develop essential literacy skills.
Once upon a time, long ago, people would inscribe their stories on the walls of caves. These included animals, humans, and other intriguing as-yet-unidentified objects. Of course, scientists believe storytelling has existed in some form or another since the development of languages, and the earliest evidence we have are these cave drawings. The children have enjoyed listening to the story ‘Cave Baby’ by Julia Donaldson and even had a go at doing their own cave paintings this week.
Over time, stories changed to incorporate modern inventions. Photographs, video recordings, and television became new ways to tell stories. In the 21st century, people can explore stories in any form they choose and enjoy any kind they want. The children have explored many ways of storytelling this term, including through roleplay, puppets, music, books and cartoons. It has been lovely to observe them retelling stories and making up their own stories in every area of the classroom. They have even become storytellers themselves and written some of their own stories together. I think we may have some budding authors in the class, as their imagination was amazing!
Our first term ended with an exciting ‘Book Character’ dressing up day. We enjoyed lots of stories, hot chocolate and Gingerbread Men, of course! A perfect end to an amazing first term for Reception!
Have a well-deserved half-term break, everyone!
Nursery
“Play gives children a chance to practise what they are learning” – Fred Rogers
This week in the Nursery we have focused on Literacy.
The Sanderlings
We have been encouraging the children to draw using chunky crayons and pencils this week and, where possible, the children have been talking about what they have drawn to help them understand the cause and effect of mark making. The Sanderlings team have been encouraging the children to use musical instruments to practice making noise by banging the instruments together to explore sounds.
Finally, The Sanderlings have really enjoyed exploring our new sensory room. There are lots of sensory resources for the children to see and touch to explore different textures. There are lots of multi-coloured lights, sensory toys and a bubble fish machine which has definitely been a favourite for the babies.
The Sandpipers
The Sandpipers have been learning about their book of the month ‘We’re going on a Pumpkin Hunt’ which follows a similar story to the well-known book ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’ by Micheal Rosen. The children have loved learning about all the characters and joining in with key words and phrases. The children have been really focused on the book and they can even recall the story back to one another and predict what happens next. The children have also been to the library to look at all the wonderful books and have taken time to look at the books independently. The children wanted to sit and read to their friends and teachers by using their imagination throughout the book using the pictures as a base.
The Sandpipers have also been mark-making using different tools to enable them to feel confident with their pencil grasp and dominant hand.
Finally, the children have also been creative with lots of Halloween and autumn crafts and talking about what they want to dress up as for Halloween.
Pre-School
Pre-School have also explored the new sensory room, the children looked at the new lights and listened to calming music whilst they played a game together. We are incorporating mindfulness into our daily routine as we support the children with the regulation of their emotions. This week the children have really enjoyed reading along to their new book of the month ‘The Room on the Broom’ by Julia Donaldson. Linked to this, Pre-School have loved mixing potions and creating spells in the tuff tray using water and chalk. They also had a go at writing down their potions on large sheets of paper on the floor using chalks.
Finally, there have been lots of birthdays to celebrate this week! The children have loved eating yummy birthday cake and having parties with their friends!
Awards
Year 6
From 6R, Mia won a certificate for fantastic independent learning skills, especially with her Prep work this week; and Rhiannon for her Prep work, which demonstrated excellent independent learning skills.
In 6S, Sam earned a certificate for sharing and collecting good ideas in English and using them in his writing, and Archie was recognised for producing good quality independent writing, combining the features we have learnt this term.
Year 5
Our awards this week go to Eryn for excellent confidence and belief in her own ability, and Benjamin, for excellent standards and support of others.
Year 4
Our Year 4 certificate winners this week go to Matilda for going above and beyond with her Home Learning tasks and Henry for showing fantastic resilience and hard work in Topic.
Year 3
The certificates in Year 3 this week go to Rupert and Sam for challenging themselves in their learning!
Year 2
This week, our certificates go to Nektarios, for outstanding creative writing and Aria for being a kind and caring friend.
Year 1
This week’s awards go to Theo, for making good choices and trying his best, and Jasper, for excellent discussion and questioning in Science. Well done!
Reception
This week’s certificates of achievement go to Leo and Eliza. Leo has shown increased confidence when sharing his ideas and opinions with peers. Eliza is very kind and helpful, especially when her friends are finding something challenging.
Rossall Christmas Markets 2023
We’re delighted to share that our Christmas Markets will be returning and will be held this year on Sunday 19th November. We would love to see as many of you there as possible.
Lancashire Music Society Presents: Blackpool Symphony Orchestra with Martin Roscoe
Join us for a beautiful evening as Blackpool Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by the talented Martin Roscoe, takes the stage, hosted by Lancashire Music Society.
180th Anniversary Ball
In 2024, Rossall Celebrates its 180th anniversary. To mark this we will be holding a ball on Saturday 1st June. Tickets will initially be sold as tables of 10, at £80 per person. Booking now open – buy your tickets here. Please contact [email protected] for more information.
