Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School Newsletter – Michaelmas Term 2021 – Week 3

This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.

Message from the Preparatory School Headmaster

Dear Parents

What a whirlwind of a week! The pace of life here at Rossall never ceases to amaze me. The sheer amount of events and activities that take place on a day to day basis is simply outstanding and I often reflect on just how lucky and fortunate our children are to experience what they do.

The highlight of this week was on Wednesday when a large number of the boys represented the School in some rugby fixtures at home against Giggleswick School. This was the first occasion that many of the children had taken part in the traditional style fixtures and I was equally delighted that we were able to welcome parents to this event. It was exceptionally welcome to have the refreshments available outside; ordering some sunshine most certainly helped! Mr Condon has written some match reports with the children and I was so proud of the application and enjoyment that was on display; well done to all children involved.

The House Cross Country was also a fabulous event last Friday, as the pupils got to grips with our world-famous cross country course! Children performed admirably, both those who ran so well, but also those who, like me, are not blessed with the cross country genes. My favourite moments are always supporting those children who give everything they have for their House, despite not thoroughly enjoying what they are doing! Congratulations to Hesketh on their victory! 

A special mention this week to Gabriel in Year 6. Gabriel took part in the ISGA Junior Schools Cup, competing against seventy others including children up to the age of 14 and was victorious, claiming the overall prize. What an outstanding achievement!

With the commencement of swimming clubs, swimming lessons, golf success, Games, PE and fixtures, it has most certainly been a week of superb sport here at Rossall.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mr Turner

Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery


Rossall Rugby Players Welcome Giggleswick for a Festival of Rugby!

It was wonderful to see so many of the children from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 represent the school team so enthusiastically this week when we welcomed our good friends from Giggleswick School. 

Rossall fielded four teams, the Rhinos, Rams, Racoons and Rats at U11 and U9 level and it was non-stop action and fun throughout the afternoon.

Conditions were perfect and the friendly, competitive atmosphere between the children was perfect to help them learn new rugby skills and work together as a team. 

The Rossall teams played superbly and the level of ability and camaraderie between the boys was extremely impressive. There were plenty of tries and tackles, and it was particularly rewarding to see so many players make their debut for the school teams, showing wonderful commitment and determination.
By the end of the afternoon, everyone had made great progress and were rewarded with a tasty tea, hosted admirably by the Rossall team.


Well done, Rossall Rugby!


Gabriel Takes the Title for Rossall at Prestigious Golf Championship!

Congratulations to Gabriel for winning the Independent Schools Golf Championship this week at Sunningdale Heath, Berkshire.

His incredible performance against players four years older than him from all over the country not only won him the individual title, but also led the Rossall team to success with his playing partner Gonzalo.

This is the first time Rossall has won the prestigious ISGA trophy, and is even more amazing that Gabriel is still only ten years old!


Languages Week

This Sunday, 26th September marks the 20th celebration of the European Day of Languages, so what better way to celebrate linguistic diversity at Rossall and beyond by hosting a whole week of fun events? 

At lunchtime, pupils will be served cuisine from around the globe and they will extend their knowledge of world languages in their Spanish lessons. There will also be the opportunity to earn some prizes! There will be a languages-themed treasure hunt, a class quiz based on languages and a competition to see which pupil can say ‘Hello’ in as many languages as possible in 60 seconds! Each class will need to nominate one person and help that person to practise in advance of the competition on Friday 1st October. 

It is also not limited to School – if you want to get involved at home, please do! There are so many activities and competitions on the European Day of Languages website, from designing a T-shirt to a bake-off competition! Further details can be found here: https://edl.ecml.at/

And of course, language learning can take place at any time in your life, so if you ever feel like learning a new language, why not teach yourself online using apps such as DuoLingo or by joining an online class?


Hesketh Race to Victory in The House Cross Country

Congratulations to all the children in the Prep and Pre-Prep who ran so determinedly in the first House event of the year. The effort and commitment shown by runners of all ages was outstanding and it was wonderful to see all the children enjoying the team spirit and camaraderie of House competition.

Well done to Hesketh for winning this year’s trophy. 


Year 6

As much as Year 6 relish the quality time they have with their class teachers, the opportunity to explore the Rossall campus with the Senior School specialists is a real treat each week.

They have been developing their performing arts in Drama with Mr Newell and Music with Miss Silverton; expanding their linguistic skills in Spanish with Mrs Hoban, and fine tuning their artistic talents with Mrs Cox in the Art Department.

It really is a pleasure to hear the positive comments from each of the teachers, and these wonderful opportunities are perfect for preparing the children for a smooth transition into senior school next year.

Their week has been full of varied learning experiences, including a trip to the Cookery Department for the Rossall Rotation, where they created some delicious Chocolate Rice Krispie treats, just for Mr Condon and Mr Rund; they were snap, crackle and pop-tastic!


Year 5

The children have enjoyed another busy week in the Preparatory School.

We have done some super writing imagining that we are standing at the bottom of Niagara Falls. “Imagine being as small as a flea, standing on a pavement next to an open fire hydrant.” That is apparently what it feels like!

The children used their senses to write some super passages imagining that they were the flea! We have enjoyed researching the Indigenous People of America and we are working hard in our groups to create information posters. 

It has been a hectic week of sport with many of the boys representing school brilliantly in rugby fixtures. The children also enjoyed their weekly swimming lesson. 

I am looking forward to seeing the totem poles that the children are designing in Art, Mrs Cox says that they are looking fabulous!


Year 4

We have been enjoying the beautiful autumn weather this week and our classroom benefitted from the low ecliptic path of the sun streaming through our windows on both sides.

The unseasonably warm weather gave us plenty of opportunities to make the most of the extensive school grounds and in particular the arrival of a Roman Centurion. He quickly signed the children up for the Roman army and began their training. The sounds of marching feet and “sin, sin, sin, dex, sin”, or “left, left, left, right, left” filled the air before a quick guide to the intricacies of swordsmanship.

We also attended a Roman diner party where the children learned about the delicacies enjoyed by the Romans; including peacock and ostrich cuisine, before finishing off with a guide to dental hygiene using the perfect kind of toothpaste – powdered mouse brains!

I am often struck by the observations of the young, and this day was no exception. ‘Did they have hair dye in Roman times?’ asked one of my young charges as he gestured toward the Roman centurion with very blond hair (as seen in the photograph). I guess the moral of this story is “it’s all in the detail” or small things are just as important as the big things! It reminds me never to underestimate the observational skills of eight year olds.

The fun did not stop there as back in the 21st century we undertook the first science experiment of the year. Who knew that a pair of tights and a banana could teach so much about the digestive system! The children engaged enthusiastically with the experiment and there was much teamwork and laughter as they worked together in groups to replicate peristalsis in the gut.


Year 3

Another fab week in Year 3, half way through this half-term and we are fully settled into the Prep school routines and ways!

We have continued reading Seal Surfer and wrote our own animal riddles using interesting verbs and prepositions. We have finished our first Maths unit on Place Value, by looking at ordering and comparing three-digit numbers. In Topic we have continued to learn about coastal features, discussing what we saw on our Beach trip last Friday, and extended our learning to the water cycle.

For Science, we have learnt about what animals need to survive and then moved on to learning about our body’s bones and skeleton. The Year 3s are all so enthusiastic about their learning and it is always great to see the energy they bring to school each day! Well done Year 3! 


Year 2

Year 2 have had a very busy week learning! We have been concentrating on place value in our Maths lessons. We are now experts at comparing numbers and spotting how many tens and ones are in a 2 digit number.

In Spanish, Mrs Hoban commented of how enthusiastic Year 2 are in their lessons; they have been practising greeting their friends as though they were characters out of cartoons! 

In our Topic lesson, we learned about Edith Cavell and we had a drama lesson re-enacting some of the stories about her life. The children all used their imagination to create hospital equipment from the classroom resources and they showed how nurturing and caring they are.

I think we might have some future medical professionals in the class!


Year 1

This week, in Year 1, we have been making predictions about what we think will happen in our class book ‘Lost and Found’. We have had some very imaginative ideas. 

A penguin arrived in our class and was very sad. He was lost and couldn’t find his way back home, so we have been helping the penguin. We have helped him find his way from the Pre- Prep building to the beach, where he will hopefully be able to find a boat to take him back to the South Pole. We have drawn a map to help him find his way there.

We have also been thinking about what would be the best kind of boat to help him get back home. We have looked at and compared different types of boats and what they are made from to give us ideas when we build our own model boats.

In Maths, we have been working hard to find one more and one less, and comparing and ordering numbers. We enjoyed learning the ‘Greater Gator’ song.


Reception

This week we have started our phonic lessons, which is the beginning of your child’s journey, when they train their ears to listen to sounds and to discriminate between different sounds. It focuses on sounds we hear in everyday life and lays the essential foundations on which to build the learning that follows.

It is extremely important that your child can identify individual sounds in the everyday world  e.g. a car horn, a boiling kettle, a dog barking and also tell the difference between them. This ability will help them begin hearing the separate sounds that make up words. During our first lessons the children have also developed their speaking skills, talking about and describing the sounds they have heard, increasing their vocabulary and understanding of language.  

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the beach, where we described what we could hear and see: boats, kites, seagulls, waves, the wind, and lots of dogs! We even heard the crunching of biscuits as we enjoyed a little snack after our long walk.

We have learnt about the syllables in our names, created our own alliterative characters and played lots of rhyming games. The children have also learnt about the 26 letters of the alphabet. This teaches the children that each letter has a name (as in the song), but that it also has a sound that we use to work out how to read and spell words.


Nursery

Autumn is well and truly on its way and our youngest Rossallians are having so much fun exploring all the changes they can see in nature!


Sanderlings have enjoyed visits to the woodland space, where they have delighted in crawling through the crunchy leaves. It is also wonderful to see the babies react to an unexpected gust of wind, with big smiles and giggles. They have also put their cosy all in ones to good use when crawling and toddling around the playing fields. 


Sandpipers have started their Autumn floor book, enjoying gluing, sticking and exploring Autumn materials collected on their walks around the school campus. The children have developed their fine motor skills, creating Autumn wreaths and using crayons to experiment with mark making. 


Both Sandpipers and Preschool have enjoyed a den making activity in their weekly forest school session, the children were able to use tools and materials to create a fantastic enclosure. During forest school sessions the children are supported to explore risk and challenge with adult guidance. 


Preschool have also been actively enjoying the outdoors this week, for Move it Monday the children took to the fields to experiment with gross motor movements and to learn about how their body may feel different after exercise. On Well-being Wednesday the children went on a nature walk, observing their changing environment and also tree-hugging to really feel at one with nature. The children took deep calming breaths, worked together and enjoyed just being out in the fresh air. 


Award Winners

Year 6

Our certificate winners this week are:

6S Ruby- Outstanding Creative Writing and Betsy- Positive contribution in all class activities.

6R Charlotte- Excellent Perseverance in Maths and Eyad- Challenging himself in Maths

Year 5

This week awards went to Jessica for fabulous work in Topic and to Dawood for excellent work in Mathematics.

Year 4

This week’s certificates are awarded to Mia and Thomas for their outstanding enthusiasm in science.

Year 3

This week’s certificates go to two children who have persistently challenged themselves in Maths: Lara and Ben.

Year 2
Our awards this week went to Stanley for wonderful instruction writing on ‘how to be a good troll’ and Ryan for having a super attitude and never giving up!

Year 1

This week’s awards were for Rocco for excellent effort in Maths, and Alicia for excellent effort in all our lessons and for being a good helper.

Reception

This week’s certificates of achievement go to Lena and Darcey.

Lena for being very brave during this week’s swimming and took an active part for the whole lesson.

Darcey for taking an active part in all class discussions this week.