This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
Dear All,
The sun may well be shining but it was the arrival of ducklings on the playground that was the better announcement of brighter times ahead. To great delight, the football games and playing ceased at lunchtime, as the ducklings, led by their mother, took to jumping from the top of a wall where they had been nesting. Opportunities such as these provide a wonderful chance to have impromptu lessons on life cycles and I am sure many of the children came home hugely excited about our visitors.
This week has been a quiet one in terms of activities and events in the Prep School. As a leadership team, we made a conscious decision to have a week where we simply allow the children to enjoy the delivery of our curriculum with no interruptions from trips, fixtures, Princess Anne or a collection of trophies! That said, the focused learning that has taken place around the School has been a joy to see and I urge you to take a read through the Prep newsletter to find out what some of our year groups have been up to.
Earlier today, Year 4 brought us on an exciting journey to the rainforest during their ‘I’m a Year 4, Get me Out of Here!’ assembly. They shared important facts and taught us about not only the layers of the rainforest but also the plants and animals that can be found there. Some children even had a tasty snack, just like the celebrities in the jungle! What a fantastic assembly – well done Year 4!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Mr M Turner
Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery
Year 6
‘When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself’
Jacques Cousteau
The children have had another busy week in the Preparatory School.
We are all thoroughly enjoying our text, ‘Manfish’ which tells the story of the remarkable Jacques Cousteau. The children are fascinated by the extraordinary life that he led. He was an inventor, an explorer, a writer, a cinematographer, an aquanaut and much more. This week we have been using hyphens to avoid ambiguity and thinking of some questions that we would have liked to ask him. We have read the poem ‘Swimming with Seals’ by Gillian Clark, and have been immersed in the beautiful imagery the poet creates through her careful choice of words and phrases. I have included the poem for you to enjoy.
It is all about angles in Mathematics, we have learned how to accurately calculate the angles of triangles and quadrilaterals using the many different rules of Geometry.
The sun was shining on Tuesday, prompting Mrs Scott and I (Mrs Kenmare) to venture outside to teach our Geography lesson. It was fabulous to watch the children working diligently and collaboratively to create flood defences using only what they could find in the Prep School wood. Defences were built in classroom trays, tested and often modified and improved. Future engineers in the making!
In science, we began our new topic of electricity with some ‘light bulb moments’ as we visited the Senior School Science Labs to build simple circuits. We started with just a wire, battery and bulb and once we managed to light the bulb, we progressed to testing what happened when we added more components to the circuit – first batteries, then bulbs. We really are ‘bright sparks’ when it comes to this unit of work!
Swimming with Seals
Two horizons:
a far blue line where a ship
diminishes and the evening sun
lets slip;
and submarine
where we glimpse stars and shoals
and shadowy water-gardens
of what’s beyond us.
When the seal rises
she rests her chin on the sea
as we do, and tames us with her gaze.
On shore the elderly
bask beside their cars
at the edge of what they’ve lost,
and shade their eyes
and lift binoculars.
She’s gone,
apt to the sea’s grace
to watch us underwater from her place,
you with your mask and fins,
strolling the shallow gardens of the sea,
me, finding depth
with a child’s flounder of limbs,
hauling downwards on our chains of breath.
For a moment the old
looking out to sea,
all earth’s weight beneath their folding chairs,
see only flawless blue to the horizon,
while we in seconds of caught air,
swim down against buoyancy,
rolling in amnion
like her September calf.
Year 5
The annual class photo is always a special moment and Year 5 were full of pride and big smiles as they posed for their picture with their friends and teachers to capture a moment to cherish for years to come.
We have made the most of the sunshine this week, taking our Maths investigation on 3D Shapes to the Rossall Square, where we explored the amazing architecture across the Campus. The children discovered a whole range of shapes from octagonal-based prisms to spheres perched on pentagonal-based pyramids. The children relished the opportunity to learn outside the classroom and share their knowledge of shape with their classmates.
Our English work has focused on persuasive writing, and the children have written letters of power and persuasion based on our novel ‘The Paperbag Prince’ about environmental pollution. The children have certainly perfected the art of influential writing, using rhetorical questions, emotive language and opinion, so do not be surprised parents if you receive a letter of persuasion regarding pocket money, or maybe a trip to Disney!
Year 4
Now in the third week of the summer term, we are getting in shape for an action-packed agenda of activities and topics for our Year 4 learners.
In English, we have been focusing on creating paragraphs and summarising different parts of a non-fiction text. We started by gathering lots of different facts on the dangers to the rainforest along with ways in which we can support, take positive actions and help solve the issues arising. We also started looking at the features of a non-fiction book by making a ‘3-second summary’ on each of the paragraphs and then also creating sub-headings for each one too.
In Science, the children have been discovering the impact humans are having on animal populations across the globe. They have created a class book containing an abundance of facts about many endangered animals from the fluffy panda to the hefty rhino.
In Topic, we have been learning all about the different animals that live in the rainforest and have created our own independent fact files on our chosen species.
It was great to get out onto the field for our Games lesson this week. We enjoyed taking on the challenge of a catching game before playing a game of rounders.
We have also been very busy practising our class assembly this week and loved performing it and our song today.
Year 3
This week it has been feeling bright and sunny in Year 3! It has been truly wonderful to see some of the kindness that has been happening between the children this week.
We are all really enjoying our book Journey and have been learning lots of new vocabulary to help us describe the citadel and settings in the story. We did some descriptive writing using adverbs. We also role played some characters in the book and wrote dialogue between them using speech marks.
This week in Maths we have been back on our dear friends Fractions! We have been learning about adding and subtracting fractions, as well as how to calculate fractions of amounts.
In Topic this week on our European tour we have been learning about capital cities. We learnt about how capital cities are the more important cities in a country, usually where the king or queen lives and the headquarters of the country’s government. Children worked in pairs to research a chosen European capital, finding out about famous landmarks, culture and information.
In Science, we have been learning about how botanists are scientists who specialise in plants. We learnt about a famous botanist in particular: Jane Colden who was the first female botanist in the USA. We took a leaf out of her book (literally) and did some wonderful observational drawings of plants.
Finally this week we started practising for our Year 3 Assembly which we are very excited to perform next Friday! In Art we made some “bloomin’ good” accessories to use in the Assembly – we can’t wait to present it to our School and families!
Well done for a wonderful week Year 3.
Year 2
What another amazing week we have had in Year 2. We have had some better weather this week and the children have enjoyed getting outside in the fresh air and enjoying the beautiful grounds Rossall has to offer.
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 started the week by taking a walk through the forest as our main character Little Red. We imagined what she might have seen in her wolf hunts and imagined how she may have been feeling. We used our senses to explore the environment so that we could write a description of the setting.
In maths this week we completed our unit on measurement with a lesson on temperature before showcasing the knowledge we have gained over this unit in an end-of-unit assessment. The children impressed me with how they applied the knowledge they learnt in the unit to their problems. We also started our new unit on Fractions, which we are all excited to explore.
In science, the children have continued exploring how seeds disperse. This week they chose one of the ways in which seeds are dispersed and designed and made a model of a seed. They had to explain the design features and link them to the way they wanted the seed to be dispersed. They then organised and shared their learning with the class in the form of a presentation. I was blown away by how creative the children were and how they applied their knowledge of seed dispersal to this task.
In Topic, we researched when seaside holidays became popular and discovered how different seaside holidays were in the past. The children couldn’t believe some of the bathing suits that were worn. They all decided they were glad to have been born in the modern era.
Well done Year 2 on another fantastic week.
Year 1
This week in Science, we have been out and about the school campus looking at different plants and trees. We observed and discussed the changes that come with the changes in the seasons. We found a range of spring flowers and new buds on the trees. We compared flowers to see how they are the same or different and shared ideas about what we wanted to find out about plants.
In English, we created our own Fairy Tale City. We have been learning about capital letters for place names and made up our own places in our cities that Little Bear might visit. We have also worked hard on describing settings this week and thought about using our senses to describe the sights and smells of the city. In the story, we read that Little Bear has entered Snooty Towers and found his way into somebody’s apartment. We wonder who it might belong to! We have written descriptions of the things that Little Bear has found in the apartment to see if it will give us any clues.
Linking in with the buildings you might find in the city, we have started looking at Places of Worship in RS. We thought about the question ‘What is a place of worship?’ The children had some excellent ideas. We will continue to look at different places of worship throughout this term.
In Maths, we have started our unit on Multiplication and Division and have started by counting in 2, 5 and 10s.
Reception
Reception have been practising their gardening skills over the last few weeks. We have planted some flowers and are taking part in a ‘Grow your own potatoes’ campaign for schools. The children have noticed some slugs and snails coming to visit our plants. Slugs, snails and gardening might seem like an odd combination as advice is often aimed at excluding these natural neighbours. Reception have been keen to find out more …
Slugs in particular have a bad reputation, but there are lots of slugs who act as garden helpers. Along with snails, they form an important part of the garden ecosystem. They recycle waste and are a food source for many other species, from birds to beetles. Learning to live alongside them is the best way to a balanced garden.
There are about 150 species of slugs and snails in the UK, with even more including the ones in our seas. For instance, did you know there’s a hedgehog slug, a leopard slug, a hairy snail and even a strawberry snail? Only a small handful of these cause any problems for gardeners – and can we really blame those few for enjoying a tasty treat?
The children have enjoyed a slug and snail safari this week to see how many different species they could discover in the garden. We will continue to look for different varieties until we find the rare ghost slug! Perhaps you can help us find some more varieties this weekend by going on your own slug and snail safari?
Nursery
This week in Nursery we have focused on Communication and language.
This week the staff in the baby room have continued to build on the babies communication and language development through songs, stories, and running commentaries. Peppa Pig stories have been a favourite this week and the babies are beginning to recognise many of the characters in the stories. In addition, the babies have enjoyed playing with sensory resources of different textures. The staff have introduced the babies to new words to describe different textures to build on their vocabulary.
This week the focus in the sandpiper room has been communication and language. The Sandpiper staff have introduced a puppet theatre to encourage communication and language through the use of puppets. The children have used the puppets to retell familiar stories and to also create their own. Furthermore, the children have also been introduced to a role-playing tuff tray with familiar characters from a variety of traditional fairy tales such as The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Billy Goats Gruff. The children have again been really involved and engaged in using the characters to reenact and remember traditional tales. In addition, the Sandpiper staff have focused on helping the children to understand ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’ questions in order to further their communication and language development. A favourite in the Sandpiper room at the moment is the ‘song box’, the children request this on a daily basis and seem to really enjoy circle time singing. Singing helps children to make sounds, talk, move, listen, follow directions and remember new words especially when repetition and actions are part of the song. These are all integral to creating the foundations of children’s communication and language development.
This week the pre-school children have been building on their communication and language development by taking part in many group time activities that have encouraged the children to talk and share past and present experiences with each other. In addition, some of the children have also been spending time with Mrs Trippier to share their talking tins with the class which again builds on the child’s confidence and communication skills. Furthermore, The pre-school children have taken part in an outside activity that involved rolling a ball to each other while sharing their feelings and giving positive comments, which again builds on communication and vocabulary. The children in pre-school have also been involved in a yoga session with Miss Simms. Yoga has emotional benefits for young children but it also promotes attention, flexibility, balance, strength, coordination and posture.
Awards
Year 6
6R
The certificates this week were presented to Rhiannon for excellent independence and perseverance in English and Mia for thoughtful responses in PSHE.
6S
This week’s certificates go to Arabella for positive contribution to classroom environment and Sebastian for consistently demonstrating excellent critical thinking skills in lessons.
Year 5
Our certificate this week goes to Seb Horabin for Outstanding level of achievement and determination and Oleg for outstanding grasp of the English language.
Year 4
Our certificate winners in Year 4 this week go to Sophie and Hope for their dedication and commitment to School and all of their learning.
Year 3
This week our Year 3 certificates go to Alicia and Khaled for both putting in loads of effort in Maths this week with finding fractions of amounts!
Year 2
Yuha for being very helpful in class and using his initiative to support others.
Teigan for fantastic focus in lessons for being a great team player.
Year 1
This week’s awards go to Joshua, for improved confidence and resilience in Swimming and Xander for being an excellent example of what a Rossall pupil should be.
Reception
This week’s certificate of achievement goes to Stefan and Rafferty.
Stefan has written some great sentences this week. He is also able to confidently read what he has written to his peers.
Rafferty has a confident and positive attitude to all aspects of his work. He especially enjoys completing his ‘Rainbow Challenges’.
Star of the Week
Arla wins the star of the week certificate for great singing practice for her LAMDA exam in June.
