This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
Message from the Preparatory School Headmaster
Dear Parents,
As the calendar year draws to a close, I am reminded how thankful we should be as a School and community, for the way in which we have rallied on so many occasions. The year started with another lockdown but has ended, despite the backdrop of storm clouds and rising concerns, with a Michaelmas term that we can all feel proud of.
The children have played sports fixtures against other schools and have performed in musical concerts and drama productions. They have been on trips across the region and have enjoyed new aspects of their busy and exciting curriculum (golf has been a welcome addition!). We have launched the Prep Ski Trip for Easter 2022 and all children are looking forward to another exciting co-curricular program that will be launched in the new year.
As we break up for the holidays, Year 6 children will be busily learning their lines for the freshly announced and auditioned, ‘Oliver’, which will take place at the end of the Lent term and will involve all pupils from Y3-Y6. After the performances I have been privileged to watch this week, I have no doubt that the future of musical theatre at Rossall is exceptionally strong. Our Christmas Showcase on Monday was an absolute delight, as we were treated to performances from Y4-Y6 in their classes, as well as Chapel Choir, Prep Choir, Drama Club, and Percussion/Bells.
Monday also provided the opportunity for many of the children to sample their very first delicious Rossall Christmas dinner! We had a wonderful meal and my thanks go to our fabulous catering staff who work so hard to provide incredible food for the staff and pupils.
Tuesday was awash with activities, as the Pre-Prep (and Y3) delivered a wonderful Nativity performance that displayed just how confident our youngest Prep School children are, although I don’t remember Mary falling off a hay bale?
That was followed by the Nursery, who did not leave a dry eye in the house with their amazing singing; these are the moments that parents and family members treasure forever.
The Prep School Council took great ownership and responsibility in organising and running all the Christmas parties, although I am not sure their tactics for removing participants from musical statues were entirely fair!
Thursday saw all pupils complete the Elf Run, an annual tradition at Rossall Prep that raises much needed funds for Brian House Children’s Hospice. I am looking forward to the new year when I can announce the total raised for this very worthy charity, as we combine our monies raised from the sale of baubles, non-uniform day and the Elf Run (we currently stand at over £1000!).
Rossall has most certainly endured and thrived during a year that has been fraught with difficulties. We concluded the term with a fitting carol service where the community spirit was on display for all to see and hear. Thank you for your continued support throughout the term.
I wish you all a safe and relaxing, safe Christmas and a prosperous new year!
Mr M Turner
Headmaster of Preparatory School & Nursery
School Council
Our Rossall Prep School Council have been very busy this term. As well as organising our new paper recycling scheme, one of the big things the representatives wanted to achieve was a Christmas Disco for all their peers. And they delivered with aplomb! The School Council organise the most amazing disco, with music, games, dancing, lights adn snacks. It went down an absolute treat and all year groups had a wonderful time. Our School Council representatives took real ownership over their event and were proactive and responsible in making it happen. Thank you and well done School Council!
Anchor House Newsletter
Elf Run Gallery
Pre-Prep Nativity Gallery
Preparatory School Carol Service Gallery
Year 6
Season’s greetings to you all from Year 6. It has been non-stop festive fun this week; performing on stage at our magical ‘Christmas Spectacular’; enjoying a sumptuous Christmas Dinner; breakdancing at the Christmas party; and keeping fit and ‘elfie’ on the sponsored Elf Run to raise money for Brian House. However, the Yuletide activities are not the only source of excitement in Year 6.
Auditions for next term’s play took place and the response from the year group was incredible. Anticipation builds as the characters will be cast very soon, but one thing is for sure that with such a talented group of performers it will be a show to remember. We can’t give away too much at the moment but ‘consider yourself’ in for a treat!
Year 5
“We wish you a Merry Christmas!”
Tis definitely the season to be jolly in the Preparatory School. The Elf Run was a great success, thank you for your generous sponsorship of Year 5, they ran superbly!
We all thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Concert on Monday evening. I was incredibly proud of the Year 5 performance. Every child shone with happiness on the stage and sang beautifully.
We also enjoyed a good dance in our Christmas jumpers at the school disco on Tuesday, I must say Year 5 certainly can boogie!
Christmas lunch was a spectacular event, I worried for the Dining Hall roof as the children once again sang their socks off!
As the busiest of Terms comes to an end, I wish you all a peaceful, joyous Christmas and a very happy New Year.
See you in 2022!
Year 4
Rollup, rollup, for our final newsletter of 2021.
Monday morning began in an unusual way with an entourage of unrecognisable circus performers arriving in school. A carnival spirit of festivity filled the air. Dancers, gymnasts, magicians, strongmen and comedians all decked out in the most colourful costumes livened our classroom. The excitement and anticipation of the acts to come was palpable and it was wonderful to see all the children’s hidden talents revealed.
In English we wrote diaries pretending to be Leon entering ‘The Place Between’, and what imaginations the children have. Magical performances abounded and there was a vivid array of jugglers, rabbits and magicians all staring in the children’s inventive creations.
On Thursday the school was overtaken by a posse of elves. After days of wind and rain, a break in the weather smiled down on our Elf run as the children set off at an energetic pace in dry and sunny conditions. The Year 4 children particularly enjoyed the dance off between Santa and the Rossall Rabbit, and cheered loudly when ‘flossing’ was incorporated into the choreography.
May I wish you and yours a very happy holiday and a joyous and peaceful Christmas.
Year 3
Talk about going out with a bang! What a spectacular final week of the Michaelmas term for Year 3. Of course, we had our wonderful Nativity, and Year 3 performed with confidence and charisma in their roles as Narrators and Sheep. We really enjoyed working with the Prep-Prep children to put on this amazing show, and we are sure our families, friends, teachers and peers loved it! Here are some of our class reflections on the Nativity:
- Eryn: I felt happy about the Nativity because I was doing something brave for me!
- Sebastian: There were a lot of people and it was exciting!
- Lara: I liked the Nativity because all the Pre-prep joined up with Year 3 to do it!
- Ethan: I loved the Nativity because everybody had a part to play and I got to meet new people from Pre-prep!
This week, we also finished our English unit by writing our own fantasy stories. In Science, we presented our finished magnet games to the Year 4 pupils who loved having a go, and Year 3 shared their magnets knowledge confidently. We have also loved the Elf Run, Christmas jumper day, Christmas lunch and of course the wonderful discos organised by the School Council.
Well done for a brilliant term Year 3, you all rock! Have a wonderful Christmas holiday and well-deserved break!
Year 2
This week has we have been busy practising the nativity, singing our nativity songs and practising a bit more of the nativity! We have also written our lists to Father Christmas this week. We had lots of fun creating our own special Christmas stamps, writing Father Christmas’ address on our envelopes and we will be sending them off in the post next week. In our Topic lesson this week, we learned about the continents of the world and looked at what the world looked like when the dinosaurs were alive. We created our own super continent ‘Pangea’ and had so much fun singing along to the ‘continent song’!
The Angel Who Nearly Missed It All
This year’s much anticipated Pre-Prep and Year 3 Nativity charmed parents, staff and other pupils alike with its wonderful acting and superb singing!
The plot centres on an Angel being late and missing the Angel Chorus fly off to tell the Shepherds the ‘most wonderful news’, trying to catch the Wise Men to make sure they kept ‘following the star that was so tricky to follow in the daytime’, and eventually ending up in a ‘lowly cattle shed with only a couple of animals for company’. Unbeknown to the Late Angel, she was actually in exactly the right place at exactly the right time!
The overall message of the production was to teach the children about peace and love, as well as the real meaning of Christmas.
Pre-Prep and Year 3 held two main performances to parents on Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th December as well as an extra performance to staff and other pupils. Well done to everyone who worked so hard to ensure that this year’s Nativity was such as success.
Year 2’s Reflections of the Nativity
- Larry – It was amazing! It was so nice that my mum and dad came to watch.
- Roman – It was scary but once you get used to being on stage it is so much fun.
- Emma – I loved it! I think it went very well and it was really good. My friends were really great too!
- Sophie – When people laughed and clapped in the audience it made me feel happy.
- Abrianna – Everyone looked nervous but when we went on stage we were very brave.
Year 1
Year 1 reflections of the Nativity:
“I was a little bit scared, but really happy that I was chosen to be Mary.” Josephine
“I loved being a shepherd. I am glad I remembered my words.” Alicia
“I hope that all the mummies and daddies enjoyed watching it and I’m glad that I didn’t forget my lines.” Junior
“It was fantastic!” Oskar
“I was surprised to be picked for one of the wise men, and I practised really hard to remember my lines. When I saw Mummy and Daddy and Nanny and Grandad watching I felt really nervous.” Fox
Reception
The children have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in our nativity play which has long been a tradition in schools up and down the country. Based around the traditional story of the first Christmas, this play has given the children the opportunity to get involved in a production and try their hand at performing in front of a big crowd of parents and peers. The confidence that the children have gained out of being a part of a performance such as this, is the kind of thing that can benefit a child for life.
Here are some of the children’s reflections on their performance…
- “I liked dressing up as a sheep”.
- “My favourite song was ‘Sing it Loud’ “.
- “I felt nervous on the stage”.
- “I was a bit scared”.
- “I kept waving to my Mummy and daddy when I saw them”.
- “I loved every bit of it”.
- “It was a bit hard to see with the bright lights in my face but I loved being on the stage”.
A perfect end to their first exciting term in School! Happy Christmas from everyone in the Reception Class!
Nursery
Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star
Tuesday was a day so many of us look forward to: our Nursery Nativity! Our little Sparrows put on an excellent show and we hope you all enjoyed it. The children did so well remembering their lines and singing all of the songs, although some of the children were singing more quietly on the day than in rehearsals. A Nativity is a brilliant way to end the year and lead into Christmas, and it gives the children an opportunity to build their confidence, take on a new challenge and work within a group for a shared purpose. I think you will all agree they did a fantastic job!
Sparrows room has had a very cheeky visitor this week. Our little elf has been up to all kinds of mischief, including riding through the nursery on a train, hanging from the decorations and drawing on the chalk board! The elf also got us some magic chocolate coins, for doing so well in our nativity. I wonder what he will get up to next week?
Sandpipers room have been getting into the spirit of Christmas as well, by introducing Christmas songs into the famous ‘song box’. The children love to get out their song box at group times and take turns selecting a song to sing. I wonder if you’ve heard any of these songs at home?
The children have also enjoyed exploring a range of sensory playdough this week, enhanced with different scents and textures. Play dough is a brilliant way to allow your child to experience sensory play, develop their fine motor skills and build on their imaginative play. Plus it doesn’t leave behind too big of a mess, hehe. If you’d like to have a go at making play dough with your child at home over the Christmas break, please speak to a member of staff for our extra easy recipe!
In our Sanderlings room the babies have been exploring all things messy, glittery and gloopy. Miss Healy made the children some cloud dough to explore earlier in the week, following on from their enjoyment of the story ‘Silly Snowman’. The children used their hands to try to mould and form their own snowmen. However some preferred tasting the snowman or even throwing the cloud dough into the air. The Sanderlings have also incorporated Christmas themed stories and songs into their group time… we are all so excited for Christmas!
