This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
Dear All,
Speaking to parents and family members of the Reception and Year 1 children after today’s assembly, I was delighted to hear how proud they were of the way in which the pupils delivered their lines with such confidence. Public speaking can be exceptionally daunting (it is for many adults) but if you just expect the children to do it, more often than not, they rise to the challenge. That was certainly the case today, as the children delivered fantastic messages about staying safe in the sun through telling a story and singing songs. I was so very proud of each and every one of them.
Staying with Reception, they enjoyed a fabulous Teddy Bears Picnic at lunchtime today. The children have been learning about bears in their lessons and were very grown up in making their own sandwiches. They carried on their ‘staying safe in the sun’ theme with hats, sunglasses and cream! I know that Reception are very keen that all pupils bring their own sunscreen and hats into School given the upturn in the weather (cue a downpour!) Congratulations to all Reception children on a fabulous week!
The cricket season is properly in the swing now, with both boys and girls from Prep playing in matches on Wednesday against Sedbergh. I was umpiring one of the games that resulted in a last-ball victory for Rossall and I know that all children involved played some wonderful cricket and had an excellent afternoon with our friends from Sebergh.
With this year being the final one in post for our Chair of Governors, Mr Chris Holt, I thought it worth mentioning the strangest of coincidences that are likely to never be repeated. Mr Holt is joined by both our Headmaster, Mr Quartermain, and myself, in all sharing our birthdays on Sunday (as well as Miss Goodes!). To have two headmasters and a chair of governors at one school sharing one birthday will surely never be repeated!
As we look ahead, I am excited by the prospect of our ‘People Who Help Us’ day next Friday – details to follow early next week…
I wish you all an enjoyable weekend.
Mr M Turner
Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery
Cricket For All At Rossall Prep School!
What a wonderful afternoon of Prep School sport this week as we welcomed Sedbergh Prep for a festival of mixed cricket. This was an exciting opportunity for forty of our Year 5 and 6 children to represent the school in four friendly matches.
The playing fields were full of action with children of all abilities developing their batting, bowling and fielding skills. There was lots to cheer for the children and spectators, with plenty of wickets, catches and runs. By the end of the afternoon honours were even with Rossall victorious in two of the matches and Sedbergh winners in two.
Well done to all those children who represented the school so admirably.
Year 6
It has been another busy and productive week for our Year 6 children.
We have thoroughly enjoyed planning and completing our final write about the inspirational Jacques Cousteau inspired by the book ‘Manfish’ by Jennifer Berne. The children have written biographies about Jacques using their new English skills including direct and reported speech; hyphens to avoid ambiguity; a range of devices to build cohesion; and colons and semi-colons in lists (see what I did there!) to name but a few. The aim is that the finished texts would match the style of the biographical writing in Alastair Humphreys’ ‘Great Adventurers’ book, and the results have shown Mrs Scott and I (Mrs Kenmare) how much the children have enjoyed this engaging and thought provoking text.
In Mathematics we have completed our learning about shape by investing the different ‘nets’ that make 3D shapes. We spent a challenging but rewarding morning drawing and making 3D shapes from nets to consolidate our understanding. We have now moved on to ratio and are discovering how to use it to show the relationship between two values.
‘Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!’ has been the theme in Geography this week. We have begun investigating ‘coasts’ and researching the many different coastal features that occur where the sea meets the land, including how coasts can be formed by erosion landforms and depositional landforms.
After recent discussions about healthy snacks, our science lessons have focused on the impact diet has on our bodies, linked to our prior learning about the heart and circulatory system. We examined different food diaries to identify the amount of sugar in foods and the impact this can have on our bodies. We were surprised by how much sugar is in some common foods like cereal bars! We also made suggestions for how to make healthier choices – for example replacing some fruit snacks with vegetables, or finding good sources of protein.
Thursday afternoon saw the start of the house singing preparations, and we are thoroughly looking forward to this at the end of this half term, as well as the many exciting events in June.
Year 5
Our Science investigation into Life Cycles took Year 5 on an expedition to the ‘secret’ Science Garden this week. For many of the class, this was a new experience, as they did not realise that nestled next to the tennis courts is a nature area and hidden pond teeming with life to explore.
The children were fascinated by the different organisms that were beginning to emerge after the cold weather, and we will continue to visit the garden each week to see what other life begins to thrive in this tranquil spot, and follow their life cycle.
Whilst in the Science Garden, we cleared the overgrown planters in preparation for planting, and shared our knowledge of plant reproduction using the beautiful bluebells that were abundant around the garden.
As we approach half term, we have so much to look forward to with the children preparing songs for House Singing, as well as the opportunity to meet a whole host of friends and visitors next Friday at our ‘People Who Help Us Community Day’. What a wonderful summer term!
Year 4
Another action-packed week with lots of learning before soon moving on to our new topics.
In English this week, we have been diving deeper into the heart of the rainforest through our final piece of writing. We have been crafting comprehensive information boards, packed with non-fiction features like headings, sub-headings, text boxes, and diagrams. Through this creative process, we have not only honed our writing skills but also deepened our understanding of the intricate ecosystem and burning issues of the rainforest.
Our journey into the Amazon continued in Topic as we explored the lives of the people who call this amazing environment home. Comparing their experiences to our own lives here in the UK has sparked insightful discussions and broadened our perspectives on culture, environment, and society.
In Science, our curious minds delved into life in the rainforest, focusing on endangered species and the factors threatening their existence. Through research investigations, we gained a deeper understanding of the variations among these endangered species and the critical issues contributing to their vulnerability.
The exploration of shapes started in Maths this week. From mastering how to describe turns to identifying various types of angles, we embarked on a geometric journey. We also focused our learning on triangles and quadrilaterals, uncovering their unique properties and characteristics along the way.
Year 3
It’s been a creative and fun week in Year 3!
In English this week we finished our book, Journey. Our writing focussed on the end of the story, using conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions to describe the final scene. Then we looked at describing characters using details, taking inspiration from our other class book Tilly Mint Tales.
In Maths this week we finished off our learning about Money, specifically looking at finding change and problem solving with money.
For Topic we had a focus on geographical features, looking at the difference between natural physical features and human-made features. The children sorted different famous places in Europe into natural and human-made.
In Science this week we brought a lot of our learning about plants together into the life cycle of plants. The children role played demonstrations of the plant life cycle and then drew their own representations.
We really enjoyed our first rehearsal for House Singing, with all children excited for their own House’s performance, with a healthy dose of House spirit!
In Art this week we learnt about another European artist, this time from Spain: Salvador Dali! We loved learning about Dali’s surrealist style, where he takes inspiration from his dreams and created art that is beyond reality.
Well done for a wonderful week Year 3!
Year 2
What a busy week it has been in Year 2! There have been so many discussions about seaside holidays and getting our gardens ready for summer that we have brought the sunshine to Rossall.
This week we came to an important question posed by our class book, The Last Wolf. Should the wolf and his friends eat Little Red? After a class debate where the children had to persuade the wolf to either eat Little Red or not to eat Little Red, they used this experience to help them write some very persuasive sentences. It was difficult to decide what the wolf and his friends should do, as both sides argued very convincingly but in the end it was decided that Little Red should be spared and she should share her food with them. I was so impressed with their speaking and listening skills and how they justified their reasons.
In Maths this week we are well underway with our unit on Fractions. We have been exploring quarters and thirds this week. Some of the children have been noticing equivalent fractions with halves and quarters before we have even covered it, showing a deep understanding of fractions. I have been very impressed.
In Science this week we have been making links with our text, The Last Wolf. We have been discussing how important trees and bees are for the environment and we designed our very own bee friendly garden. We even had a go at planting some bee friendly seeds to encourage the bees to pollinate our garden.
In Topic, we have continued exploring photographs of seaside holidays from the past. We ordered some photographs chronologically to showcase our understanding of how clothes, transport and entertainment has changed over the past 100 years.
Well done Year 2 on another fantastic week.
Year 1
The sun has got his hat on! Hip, Hip, Hip Hooray! We have been so busy this week preparing for our class assembly, spreading the important message about sun safety and teaching everybody else about the 5 S’s – slip, slop, slap, sunglasses and shade! The children have worked so hard on their singing and reading this week to try and put on their best performance; speaking clearly and loudly for our audience. I am extremely proud of their hard work and developing confidence to speak and read aloud in front of others. Well done!
This week has been all about sharing in Maths. We have been learning all about making doubles, and division by making equal groups by grouping and sharing.
We have been planting in Science, and making cress heads. We have been surprised how quickly our cress seeds have grown. Some of them already need a haircut!
Reception
This week Reception took part in their first class assembly about Sun Awareness. National Sun Awareness Week is a campaign led by The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD). From 3rd – 9th May 2024, the campaign aims to highlight the dangers of exposure to the sun. Alongside Year One, our assembly offered guidance on how we can all enjoy the sun safely through a story about George the ‘Sun safe Superstar!’
Our assembly explained that whilst the sun gives us light and makes things grow, the sun also sends out invisible rays that can burn your skin on sunny days! Spending too long in the sun, or not being adequately protected from the sun, can have a negative impact on our health. From heatstroke to sunburn, it’s not worth the risk. Plus, sunburn can be unpleasant, but the lasting impact of excessive sun exposure can be much worse.
In Reception we love warm and sunny days. It’s good for us to spend time playing and exercising outdoors, but it’s important we enjoy it safely. Please remember the tips on how to help keep safe from too much exposure to the sun’s harmful rays and always provide your child with a navy/black sunhat and sunscreen (if they can’t use our sunscreen) to wear in school. And don’t forget…SLIP, SLOP, SLAP, wear a t-shirt, sunscreen and a hat!
Nursery
This week in Nursery we have focused on Maths.
This week the babies in the Sandeling’s room have been doing a variety of activities that have had maths as a focus. Some of these activities have included stacking objects of various shapes and sizes, attempting to match shapes with the shape sorters, and inset puzzles and learning basic counting through number songs and rhymes. Furthermore the team in the baby room have continued to model language and introduce new words daily. This week the babies have begun to gain an understanding of mathematical language through words such as lots, more, big and small.
This week the children in the Sandpiper room have been focusing on mathematical development. The children have enjoyed learning about weight and measure through the use of weighing scales and cereal. Throughout this activity the children were introduced to mathematical language such as balancing, heavy, light, more, less, empty and full. They have also been engaged in water play, where tipping and pouring using a variety of resources seemed to have been a favourite activity. The Sandpiper team have also taken part in lots of counting songs and activities. Furthermore the children in Sandpipers have been on a shape and number hunt around the ground. This allows children to understand that maths is all around them; it encourages a mathematical mind and curiosity which are the foundations for mathematical development.
This week the children in pre-school have enjoyed all things Maths related! The children have been engaged in a range of activities that have included creating shapes with natural resources such as pine cones and sand, both on the beach and in the Rossall grounds. In addition the children have been introduced to a number matching game with playing cards and an electronic game on the large screen that encourages the children to subitise numbers. Furthermore, during teacher time the children have taken part in activities that help with number recognition and matching numerals to quantity.
Awards
Year 6
6S – Nicholas for completing all tasks to a very high standard this week, and Monty for challenging himself in all lessons.
6R – Grace for excellent work in mathematics this week, and Kyell for applying himself fully in his learning
Year 5
Spencer: Outstanding positivity and appreciation of others.
Olivia: Outstanding positivity and appreciation of others.
Year 4
Our Year 4 certificate winners this week are Anthony and Henry for their wonderful effort, hard work and knowledge whilst creating a rainforest information board.
Year 3
This week our Year 3 certificates go to Rex for his wonderful contributions in our English lessons and to Josephine for her wonderful ideas in English.
Year 2
Lexi – for being committed to her learning in the classroom and at home and for creating an amazing TV advert about Cleveleys.
Hugo – for being an amazing musician when learning to play the violin for the very first time
Year 1
This week’s certificate winners are Rupert, for showing a fantastic attitude to learning in Dance, and an excellent performance in our class assembly, and Kennedy, for demonstrating perseverance, commitment and having a can do attitude towards her learning.
Reception
This week’s certificates of achievement go to Eliza and Rory.
Eliza has been confidently counting larger groups of objects this week and has demonstrated fantastic number formation too. Rory has enjoyed learning about the artist, Gwen John. He listened carefully, learning all about her techniques and then painted a fantastic portrait of a lady in a similar style.
