This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
Dear All,
Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success. It is about giving children the best possible start to their early education. As part of what we plan with our curriculum in the Preparatory School, we endeavour to enhance the experience and opportunities available to the children. Furthermore, we try to teach British Values to the children by underpinning the curriculum and experiences with an understanding of what it is to be a citizen in a modern and diverse country that values our community. Democracy, Rule of Law, Respect & Tolerance, and Individual Liberty are all woven into the fabric of everything that we do. However, there are times when we can offer experiences that truly enhance both our understanding of British Values and Cultural Capital. Last term we were visited by a barrister to speak to the Year 6 children. This week, the entire Prep School has taken part in an array of ‘People Who Help Us’ experiences.
On Tuesday we welcomed PC Crowther and his police dogs, Nigel and Ebony. The children were treated to displays of how the dogs are trained and explanations of how they are used in the field.
On Thursday it was the turn of the CCF Commanders to speak about the army, how they protect us and help people all over the world. The children were also put through their paces in a series of exciting drills.
The climax of the week saw the visit of a paramedic, the RNLI, and the Fire Service. The children were delighted to be given the opportunity to experience all of the various emergency services and thoroughly enjoyed learning exactly how they all help us.
My sincere thanks to all the people who came into School throughout the week. I am positive that there is a much deeper understanding of the roles that you play in our lives and that one or two of our children have a new career aspiration!
I cannot end the newsletter without mentioning all of the teams who played sports on Wednesday. There were a plethora of matches across the School fields, including cricket and rounders. We welcomed our friends from AKS and Westholme and we were treated to some wonderful displays of skills. Special congratulations go to our U-11 cricket team who were victorious in the AJIS Softball Cricket Tournament on finals day! Fantastic batting, bowling and fielding!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Mr M Turner
Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery
Congratulations!
Congratulations to the U11 Cricket Team for winning the AJIS Softball Cup, and defeating AKS and Westholme in an exciting afternoon of sport.
The playing fields were awash with Prep School sports, and cheers of encouragement could be heard from children taking part in rounders, athletics, tennis and cricket throughout the afternoon.
The quality of cricket and the progress demonstrated by the children was extremely rewarding for all of the teachers, and the team spirit throughout the afternoon was superb.
Rossall batted, bowled and fielded superbly to win both matches by 55 and 65 runs to retain the trophy and were thrilled to be crowned AJIS Champions.
Well done to the Rossall Rhinos for their impressive cup-winning display, and also to the Rossall Rams for a superb performance against the visiting opposition.
Year 6
It has been another lively and enriching week in Year 6, filled with exploration and discovery. In our English lessons this week, we’ve stepped into the dramatic world of William Shakespeare. Our journey began with lively discussions about life in the 1590s—the era when the illustrious Globe Theatre first graced the London skyline. Drawing from intriguing visuals and videos, we pieced together insights into Shakespearean times. It’s been a midsummer night’s dream diving into this rich historical context!
We’ve also brushed up on our Shakespearean style, mastering the art of subjunctive language fit for a royal court. We penned a letter to Queen Elizabeth I, courteously requesting her esteemed presence at an upcoming Globe Theatre performance. To quote the bard himself, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”—and we’re just getting started!
In mathematics, our focus has been on the intriguing world of ratios and proportions. We have been applying these newfound skills practically, particularly in the realm of culinary arts! Some enterprising students have experimented with scaling recipes to whip up delicious smoothies at home, channelling their inner master chefs. Who knew math could be so tasty?
In our Geography lessons, we have continued to explore the dynamic world of coasts and the relentless forces of coastal erosion. From sea caves to dramatic arches and stoic stacks, we’ve unravelled the natural wonders shaped by the ceaseless dance of land and sea. We have even investigated extreme cases of coastal erosion—imagine buildings perched perilously close to the edge!
As our academic year progresses, we are already beginning to set our sights on a future event – the Year 6 Exhibition. Though our ideas remain shrouded in mystery for now, rest assured that creativity and excitement are bubbling beneath the surface. The exhibition promises to be a showcase of our diverse talents and deepened understanding, marking a significant step towards our transition to Senior School.
Year 5
ear 5 have thoroughly enjoyed a week of varied learning experiences, and our ‘People Who Help Us’ visits captivated the class with child-friendly insight into their amazing work to support our community. The Police dogs and their handlers were a big hit, especially when demonstrating their skills of pursuit and attack; fortunately, we were tucked safely behind the playground fence!
A taste of the CCF (Combined Cadet Force) gave the children an introduction to the Army, Navy and Air Force, and it really is an impressive piece of Rossall history that our school is the oldest CCF in the country!
The RNLI, our local paramedic (Jake, an Old Rossallian), and the Fire Service all gave the class a wonderful taste of their work, and it was rewarding to see the class so enthused by all the different service individuals we had the pleasure of meeting.
Life Cycles, Climate Change, Recycling Artwork, 3D Shapes and Playscripts have all been covered in the class this week, and it is a pleasure to see the children interacting and supporting one another in their learning. Well done Year 5 for an amazing week of learning!
Year 4
What a thrilling start to our week it has been in Year 4 as we embarked on our ‘People Who Help Us’ week! We were delighted to welcome Lancashire Police to Rossall, who brought along some furry friends to demonstrate their incredible skills in catching criminals and sniffing out explosives and lost belongings. We were captivated by the demonstrations and had the opportunity later on in the week to engage with various emergency services including the RNLI, CCF, Ambulance Service, and the Fire Service. It was an enriching experience for all, fostering a deeper appreciation for the vital roles these heroes play in our community.
In Topic this week, we’ve launched into our new exploration of the Iron Age, building upon the foundation of knowledge we acquired in Year 3 about the Stone Age. We’ve delved into the concepts of prehistory and history, exploring their definitions and differences to set the stage for our exciting journey into ancient civilizations.
In Science, we delved into the electrifying world of electricity! We pondered life without this essential energy source and unanimously agreed that it would be quite a challenge. Through discussions, we investigated electrical appliances in the home and compared them to their non-electric counterparts, gaining a deeper understanding of the impact of electricity on our daily lives.
Our English journey took an exciting turn with our new book, ‘Blue John,’ leading us into the depths of a dark cave in pursuit of a precious mineral. Inspired by the author of the book, Berlie Doherty, we crafted vivid descriptions of the sights, sounds, and sensations experienced by the character ‘Blue John’ during his exploration of the cave.
Year 3
Week 6 has been a busy one and hard to believe we are on the countdown to the Summer! We have had loads of fun enjoying ‘People Who Help Us’ this week. We loved meeting police dogs, paramedics, and firefighters as well as visits from the RNLI and CCF. A great celebration of the heroes in our community!
This week has been our last week for a lot of areas of learning before we start new units next week. To finish our English unit on Journey the children completed their final writing task to write their own versions of the story. The children really challenged themselves and the quality of their writing was highly impressive. With similes, conjunctions and detailed descriptions, the stories have been a joy to read! The children should all be proud of themselves and their progress in writing.
In Maths this week we have started learning about telling the time. This is a tricky concept no matter what year group you are in! We looked at Roman numerals, then told the time accurately to five minutes and one minute. The children are really persevering with this and it’s great to see their confidence building even after just one week.
Our final week on our plants unit in Science saw us completing a Kahoot quiz to review our amazing knowledge – and we are still using the famous Flower Rap to help us remember the vocabulary!
We finished off our topic on Modern Europe this week by the children picking a European country to research and create a poster about. We applied our computer skills using Canva to make the posters. The results are eye-catching and information-filled!
We also enjoyed our final Rossall Rotation of Golf, and very much looking forward to the next half term’s Cookery!
Well done for a great week Year 3!
Year 2
What a fantastic week it has been in Year 2! We have had ‘People Who Help Us Week’ and we have been visited by paramedics, police and their police dogs, RNLI, CFF and the Fire Service. The children all listened carefully to how the different services help us and asked some very thoughtful questions.
This week in English we finished our story, ‘The Last Wolf’ and we have been planning a letter to write to the Prime Minister to persuade him to plant more trees. The children researched the importance of trees so they can add lots of facts into their letters. They have worked really hard on this to ensure they come up with lots of great reasons that more trees should be planted.
In Maths this week we have explored unit and non-unit fractions, equivalent fractions and we have found three quarters of amounts. The children have really impressed me with their use of mathematical language especially, denominator and numerator, which can be quite tricky to say.
In Science this week we monitored the progress of our beans growing in our hydro farm, which are coming along nicely. The children also planted their own cress, which we will watch grow over the week, ready to make into sandwiches for our beach picnic next week.
In Topic, we have compared holidays from the past and holidays in the present. The children are all experts at spotting the clues in old photographs, which tell us when they were taken. They were fascinated to learn that people got changed in bathing machines. They also created some beautiful postcards and wrote about their seaside holidays.
Well done Year 2 on another fantastic week.
Year 1
What another busy week we have had this week. We have had lots of visitors this week to help us learn about People Who Help Us; PC Crowther with Ebony and Nigel, his police dogs, CCF telling us all about the military and how they help us, Jake the paramedic talking to us about what his job is like, the fire brigade along with a fire engine and the RNLI to tell us all about the important work they do. The children have shown a keen interest and curiosity, asking lots of interesting questions.
In the classroom we have finished our class book ‘Goldilocks And Just The One Bear’ and have created our own stories featuring a new main character and a new setting. The children have been thinking about how they can use story language from the book and adding descriptions to make their writing even better. I have been so impressed with their wonderful ideas.
In Maths, we have started our unit on Fractions, learning about halves and quarters of shapes, objects and quantities. We have found that learning our doubles has really helped us with our new learning this week.
During our last Rossall Rotation session for this term, we created nature collages using flowers, leaves, twigs and other natural objects.
Reception
Most young children are interested in what adults do and will often try to incorporate what they have learnt into their role play. Last week the children pretended to be everything from a parent feeding a baby to a vet examining a sick animal.
While we could focus on traditional roles such as firefighters, doctors and police officers, there are plenty of other occupations that fall under the umbrella of ‘people who help us’.
This is a wide ranging topic with plenty of opportunity to make connections between people and places. It includes every aspect of the local community, from friends to childminders and from shopkeepers to fire fighters. Inviting adults who fulfil helpful roles to visit can bring the topic to life for children. It is also ideal for discussing how we can help others. This week we have welcomed the police, CCF, RNLI, firefighters and a paramedic into school.
Learning about adults’ jobs provides children with many learning opportunities, especially as there have been plenty of activities this week to watch or participate in some way. The children have developed their vocabulary, with many occupations using words or phrases that are specific to tasks. The children have also used language to ask questions and make links between their own experiences and what they have seen or heard. Many of the roles that we have looked at will have some meaning for children. By looking at such occupations, children increase their sense and understanding of their world. Finally, learning about adult occupations and roles can be enlightening for some children and, who knows, may prove to be a source of inspiration, at least one child in the class now wants to be a police officer and another child wants to drive a fire engine.
For many parents, things such as having a key cut, waiting for a bus or having a boiler serviced may not seem very notable but you may not realise that watching these things happen can increase your child’s vocabulary and knowledge of the world. If you talk to your child about what they have found interesting this week, you may start to find some hidden learning opportunities that exist as part of family life.
Nursery
This week in Nursery we have focused on physical development
This week the babies in the sanderling room have been working on their ball skills on the field. The babies have been practising kicking, throwing and catching the balls.
During song time the babies have been encouraged to participate and join in with actions and imitating movements. Furthermore, the babies have been building on their fine motor skills through practising to hold the crayons and chalks and to make marks in sensory resources such as sand and shaving foam, using their hands and different objects like sticks and paint brushes.
This week the children in the Sandpiper room have been talking about the human body and the different body parts in order to make links to their own bodies. In addition, the children have also matched body part pictures to a large-scale body, which enabled them to learn the words of the body parts and establish where they go. Furthermore, the children have spent plenty of time outside which has allowed plenty of opportunity for the children to develop their gross motor skills. The children have been practising their ball skills, pedalling skills, balancing, running and much more! Towards the end of the week, the children have also taken part in lots of other physical activities such as ‘Tumble tots’, ‘Wake up and shake up’, and dancing. After doing physical activities the children were encouraged to notice the changes to their bodies. They noticed that their hearts beat faster and they felt warmer. The Sandpiper team talked about looking after their bodies and the importance of keeping hydrated.
This week the children in the pre-school room have been learning about healthy food and the impacts that healthy food has on the body. To support this the children took part in a ‘taste education’ session that allowed them to explore and taste a variety of green fruits and vegetables. While outside the children practised running, skipping, balancing and jumping off objects and also experimenting with their own ways of moving. In addition the children have been practising their fine motor skills and pencil control through a variety of activities. Furthermore the children have been discussing feelings and personal boundaries.
Awards
Year 6
6S – Eleanor for her contributions to a happy and respectful classroom environment, and Cara for applying herself in her learning, showing resilience and perseverance.
6R – Jude for excellent independence and courage during a lesson on Ratio, and Reuben for showing resilience and perseverance during Mathematics
Year 5
Hattie: Outstanding confidence and ability performing playscripts
Alfie: Outstanding creativity with artwork
Year 4
Our certificate winners this week are Zach and Ryan for their fantastic hard work and effort in their Spanish lesson with Mrs Hoban
Year 3
Our certificates this week go to Anna and Rupert who have both been putting superb effort into their writing.
Year 2
Jaxon- for asking thoughtful questions in the ‘People Who Help Us’ demonstrations.
Lena- for always challenging herself in everything she does and being a helpful member of Year 2.
Year 1
This week’s awards are to Isabelle, for fantastic fraction work and Clark, for being a kind and caring friend.
Reception
Rafferty for using several strategies to count larger groups of objects correctly.
Celia for perseverance and independence in her written work.
Extra Awards
Arla – Headmasters Award for writing
