This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
Dear All,
It is never dull at Rossall! During the course of this week, there have been a series of events that in years to come, the children will look back on and say, “Do you remember when…?” The memory making started as Manchester City brought in a plethora of trophies. The Premier League, The FA Cup, The European Cup, The Champions of the World Cup, and the Super Cup were all on show and our pupils most certainly enjoyed finding out the facts about the trophies and then having their photographs taken. Our new partnership with City has certainly got off to a flying start!
Whilst it might only have been a fleeting visit, Princess Anne arriving by helicopter at Rossall was definitely worth getting the bunting and flags out for! The children loved watching the helicopter approach and land on the School field, and were thrilled to get a Royal wave from the Princess.
Our Pre-Prep children were equally delighted to visit the King’s helicopter once it had landed. They had a talk from the pilot about how far it could travel, how much it cost, and found out where the Princess was heading next!
Our first rounders and cricket matches took place on Wednesday against Kirkham at Mill Farm. It was fantastic to see our children finally getting out to participate in some summer sports and I was delighted with their attitude, performances and all of the results. Congratulations to all involved in a most magnificent afternoon of sport.
My week also took a fabulous twist on Thursday, as I was invited to be the mystery reader for Pre-School. The children were ready and waiting for my arrival and I was so impressed by their enthusiasm for reading. The book of choice on this occasion, ‘The Dinky Donkey’, a story full of tongue-twisters and fun! Once we finished reading, we enjoyed learning some other favourite mouthfuls – red lorry, yellow lorry, green lorry, and she sells sea shells on the sea shore!
Year 6 delivered a wonderful assembly on Friday, teaching us all they have learned about rivers and oceans, finishing with a fantastic song about conservation. They were even joined by Jacques Cousteau, the famous French inventor and explorer, who told us all about his adventures. Class assemblies provide a wonderful opportunity for the children to bring a focus to their learning, deliver to their peers, and to grow in confidence. For many of the parents and family members in attendance, it was the final class assembly for their children in the Prep School, bringing back memories of assemblies gone by. Well done, Year 6!
Finally, for those who may not have seen our social media posts earlier this week, our Prep Ski Trip Flickr album is now available for you to view just how amazing our fantastic trip over Easter was.
Have a fabulous weekend.
Mr M Turner
Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery
School Council Pet Appeal
In honour of National Pet Day last week, our School Council launched an appeal for pet supplies donations to support Happy Pets Food Bank in Fleetwood. We were overwhelmed with all the amazing contributions! Happy Pets Food Bank were so grateful for all the donations and know they will make a huge difference to families in our local community. Thank you everyone who donated!
A Flying Royal Visit
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited Fleetwood on Tuesday in her role as patron of the National Coastwatch Institution.
Rossall proved the perfect location for Princess Anne to land ahead of her visit to NCI Fleetwood QAVS, formerly and locally known as Rossall Point. Our Preparatory School and Nursery thoroughly enjoyed being able to watch and welcome Princess Anne to Fleetwood.
Pupils in Pre-Prep are currently learning about different modes of transport and were excited to be able to see the helicopter up close and ask the pilot lots of questions.
U11 Cricketers Hit the Wickets at Kirkham!
Hooray! The cricket season has begun with a wonderful performance of batting, bowling and fielding from the Rossall cricketers versus Kirkham. The idyllic venue of Mill Farm Hockey Club was perfect for our two matches, which saw all the children have the opportunity to bat and bowl in pairs cricket.
Rossall batted superbly to set impressive totals in both matches. Kirkham matched Rossall with the bat, but it was the accuracy of the Rossall bowling that separated the two teams at the end, with Rossall winning both matches; a perfect start to the season.
Well done to all the children who represented Rossall impeccably.
Rossall Prep Rounders vs Kirkham
On Wednesday we travelled to Kirkham, to play our first rounders fixture of the season. It was a brilliant opportunity for the girls to enjoy a competitive match. The Rossall team performed extremely well, with many of the girls playing a variety of positions in the field, as well as fine tune their batting skills. Well done to all the girls that took part!
Year 6
In our English lessons this week, we embarked on an immersive journey into the fascinating underwater realm of the oceans, guided by the intrepid explorer Jacques Cousteau. Through the pages of “Manfish,” we delved deep into Cousteau’s life and adventures, gaining insight into his remarkable explorations. Exploring the author’s language choices, we used a range of relative clauses in our writing, providing vivid descriptions of Cousteau’s expeditions.
In Maths, we began learning about shapes and angles. Armed with mathematical tools and problem-solving skills, we calculated missing angles, whether nestled around a point, within a right angle, or along a straight angle. Additionally, we applied the knowledge that angles within a triangle sum up to 180 degrees to solve complex angle puzzles.
Our Geography lessons led us to the study of rivers, where we used digital maps to trace the course of the River Wyre from its source to its mouth. Along the meandering path, we discovered captivating features and gained a deeper understanding of the intricate dynamics of river ecosystems.
In science, our Evolution topic culminated in an investigation centered on the diverse beak sizes of finches. Armed with everyday equipment, we engaged in a practical task simulating the feeding habits of finches to find out which beak adaptations were most effective in procuring seeds and ‘insects.’ Through this, we gained a greater appreciation for the drivers behind evolutionary adaptations.
We thoroughly enjoyed our class assembly this morning. We were delighted to share some of our learning with you and embraced the opportunity to be on stage again.
Year 5
What a week of excitement it has been! Firstly, having the opportunity to feel like football stars as we enjoyed the Manchester City silverware, and then cheering her Royal Highness Princess Anne, as she landed on the Rossall playing fields by helicopter!
Being at Rossall School is an experience like no other, and Year 5 thoroughly appreciated these unique events, moments that they will remember fondly for years to come.
In the classroom it has been equally fascinating with our Science investigations into plant reproduction generating a whole range of interesting questions. The daffodil dissection captivated the children, and they relished the opportunity to scrutinise all the parts of the flower; the classroom floor was a sea of yellow!
Our Topic work has focused on Climate Change, with the children learning about the Greenhouse Effect, Ozone Layer and the effects of Global Warming. This has connected perfectly with our Literacy work on persuasive writing, where the children are developing their ability to influence through the power of their words.
With a trip to the beach for Rossall Rotation, this has been a wonderful week of learning. Well done, Year 5, it has been a pleasure to enjoy all these experiences together.
Year 4
Another fun-filled time in Year 4 this week! Our week started with a spontaneous and exciting visit to Rossall grounds by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne where we watched from afar.
In Art, we used oil pastels to focus on rainforest animals, particularly the eyes. Pastels enabled us to use an array of intense colours commonly found in the vibrancy of rainforest animals to really appreciate the way animals have adapted their appearance to their environment.
Our English lessons have taken a move onto our new non-fiction book all about the rainforest. We began the week learning about the use of dictionaries and we created our own rainforest themed glossaries for the class text ‘100 Facts Rainforest’. By the end of the week, we became rainforest explorers and put our apostrophe knowledge to the test in order to create a rainforest adventurer’s packing guide. We also had the opportunity to channel our inner David Attenborough. After watching extracts from wildlife documentaries, our budding presenters were given the task of rewriting the voiceover to create even more suspense and drama about the wildlife events. Once written, we had the challenge of performing our piece in real time, alongside the wildlife clip.
In Topic, we have been learning all about the different layers of the rainforest. We have put our design skills to the test to create a lift-the-flap fact sheet informing our readers all about the unique characteristics of each layer based on differing levels of water, sunlight, and air circulation. We wrote all about the different environments and the variety of plants and animals that can be found in each layer.
Year 3
The sun is starting to shine over Rossall this week and it has been a bright week for Year 3!
In English we have continued to read our book Journey. This week we wrote a letter from the girl’s perspective, telling her family how she feels before setting off on her adventure! We also used expanded noun phrases to describe a forest setting.
In Maths, we finished off our unit on volume and capacity, looking at equivalent measures, comparing volumes and adding and subtracting with volumes.
In Science this week we focussed on pollination! We acted out the pollination process and also played a game called ‘Busy Bees’. This helped to reinforce how the pollen travels from one flower to another to create a new seed.
For our topic this week we are continuing our voyage around Europe! We looked at the mountain ranges and rivers of Europe. The children used factfiles to research facts about different European mountains and rivers.
We loved our first Rossall Rotation of this half term, Golf! The children loved exploring the golf academy and learning new golfing techniques.
All in all a fabulous week, well done Year 3!
Year 2
What another amazing week we have had in Year 2. We had the excitement of a royal visitor and a helicopter landing on our school field on Tuesday. The children were incredibly lucky to have had this experience. They were talking about it all week.
This week we have continued on our learning journey and I have been impressed with the level of focus and commitment to learning this week. In English we were surprised to find that our main character Little Red is actually a wolf hunter. We had to give her lots of instructions using the conjunctions ‘so that’ in order to tell her what to take on her hunting missions and why. The children came up with some very interesting ideas. The children really impressed me with their use of contractions and use of apostrophes when writing a list of rules for Little Red as her mum. Don’t come back to the house with muddy shoes because I have just cleaned the floor, was a favourite of mine.
In maths this week we have continued with our unit on measurement. This week we have focussed on capacity and volume and had some interesting discussions about the difference. The children used problem solving and reasoning to explore worded problems using millilitres and litres. I have been impressed at how well the children are working together and are able to explain their methods and strategies.
In science the children have been exploring how seeds disperse. We read Eric Carle’s ‘Tiny Seed’ which told the journey the tiny seed went on in order to become a beautiful flower. The children even made their own helicopter seeds and investigated how they travelled through the air. This caused much excitement in the classroom.
This week the children enjoyed their new placement at the farm in Rossall Rotation they came back with stories of all the amazing animals they saw.
Well done Year 2 on another great week.
Year 1
This week, we have started our new book ‘Goldilocks And Just The One Bear’ by Leigh Hodgkinson. The story looks at life after Goldilocks is scared away from the Three Bears cottage. First, we revisited the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and wrote the story in our own words. We then predicted how life may have changed for the characters and read about Little Bear getting himself lost and finding himself in the big city. We looked at images of the city and listened to the noises Little Bear may have heard. We used the -ing suffix, adverbs and adjectives to describe the sounds.
In Maths, we have continued learning about measures. This week we moved on to weight, mass, volume and capacity. We have learnt lots of new vocabulary, compared and used practical equipment to weigh and measure.
We started our new Rossall Rotation for this term. We are visiting the secret garden to take part in Forest School activities. This week we collected natural objects and compared them, then learnt about ways we can protect the forest environment.
Reception
We want young children to engage with numbers and to see how to use them in their everyday environment for labelling, quantifying and calculating: in other words, giving children the tools to help them to develop a better understanding of the world in which they live. Our continuous provision has plenty of opportunities for the children to use and develop these skills, from counting out ingredients to make a cake in the role play area to working out what they could build if they only had ten bricks.
The activities covered in class will help to provide the children with the skills they need to support further learning and inquiry, giving them the confidence to ‘have a go’ and to develop their understanding and skills. Over the last week the children have explored number bonds to 10 using real objects in different contexts and built 10 using two, three or more parts. We have used tens frames, numicon and number tracks to help us with the composition of ten. We have even begun exploring the concept of doubling and odd and even numbers.
When confident the children actually found it quicker to use all the new mathematical vocabulary and mentally work out answers to problems. We have also begun to work with larger numbers and the children have naturally gravitated to known resources to support their learning but already have a positive attitude, saying ‘I know that!’
These lessons provide an important start in life that will help to overcome the fears and reluctance to engage in mathematics that adults will often admit to. It will help to turn an ‘I can’t‘ attitude towards mathematics into the more positive ‘I can and I do.’
The overall aim is to stimulate and engage children’s interest and joy in numbers, in ways that inform and secure their learning. While the mathematics of number is vast, the early ideas are the all-important blocks that form the structure.
Nursery
This week in Nursery we have focused on outdoor learning.
This week the babies in the Sanderling Room have used their outdoor space as much as possible. They have had plenty of opportunity to free flow indoors and out to enable them to make choices of where they would like to play. While outdoors, the children have enjoyed reading books in the sunshine, building sand castles and developing their gross motor skills on the ride on toys, the slide, and on the soft play equipment. Outdoor learning is a great way to encourage children to have an active and healthy lifestyle whilst encouraging them to explore and experience the outdoors.
This week the children in the Sandpipers Room have taken their learning outside! The Sandpiper staff have continued to link the book of the month ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ to the children’s learning. The children found ‘wavy grass’ and they had to go through it, and on one of the windy days the children pretended to get caught in a ‘snowstorm’ and they enjoyed singing the song as they went along. In addition the children have been on a trip to the forest. While exploring the forest, the children enjoyed smelling the flowers, hiding between the trees and using the magnifying glasses, tweezers and bug catchers to hunt for bugs and insects. Throughout the week the children have linked the outdoors to their learning by recognising what they saw outside in books and recalling things they have observed such as birds, flowers, trees and leaves in their drawings. To further their learning the children have learnt about birds and their habitats and made bird feeders to hang outside in the Rossall garden.
The children in Pre-School have been trying to make the most of the unpredictable weather by taking their learning outside as often as the weather has allowed. The children have been encouraged to notice shapes in their environment on a ‘shape walk’, especially noticing the variety of different shaped windows and doors on the buildings around School! In addition the children have taken part in lots of physical exercise on the playing field and they have helped Miss Simms practise her football skills ready for the staff football match that she is taking part in. Furthermore, the children have taken part in ‘Taste Education’. They have enjoyed the story ‘Each, Peach, Pear Plum’ by Janet and Allen Ahlberg. The children have tasted peaches, pears and plums and have been encouraged to build on their language to describe the taste and textures of each fruit.
Pre-School had great fun with Mr Turner when he visited as their ‘mystery reader’. Mr Turner engaged the children in a fun and interactive story that the children really enjoyed.
We also had the very exciting opportunity to see Princess Anne arrive in her helicopter on the school field, where she landed ahead of her visit to NCI Fleetwood. The children and staff were all very excited!
Certificates of Achievement
Year 6
Our Year 4 certificate winners this week are Larry and Wyatt for showing excellent mathematical knowledge and perseverance during our Maths lessons.
Year 5
Harry – Outstanding progress in creative writing and presentation of work.
Archer – Outstanding interest and progress in Maths and Science.
Year 4
Our Year 4 certificate winners this week are Larry and Wyatt for showing excellent mathematical knowledge and perseverance during our Maths lessons.
Year 3
In Year 3 the certificates this week go to Junior for brilliant scientific knowledge and to Darius for coping so amazingly with his arm in a sling!
Year 2
Bow for her commitment to home learning. She completed several of the extended challenges and was able to talk through her learning with confidence.
Millie for her learning in English this week. She challenged herself to extend her sentences with rhyme and similes.
Year 1
This week’s awards go to Clark, for excellent listening and working hard, and Chika for excellent effort and helping others in PE.
Reception
This week our certificates of achievement go to Leo and Lucas.
Leo has applied what he has been learning about in Maths and has been working independently on his number bonds to ten in areas of our continuous provision.
Lucas is always keen to complete activities and especially loves the rainbow challenges. It is great to see his confidence growing when applying the skills he has learnt in different contexts.
Well done to both children!
Personal Achievements
Well done to those who shared their personal achievements this week.
