Important dates for your diaries:

Permission for absences

Please could all permissions for absences of

1 day or part of a day, including for

appointments, be directed for the Pre-Prep

tosarah.leftley@winchester-house.org .

If the absence is for longer than 1 day or

includes Upper School siblings, permission

should be sought from Mrs Goldsmith via

Mrs Blake - jenny.blake@winchester-

house.org.

All schools have a legal obligation to record

any absence, along with the reason, when

children miss any part of the normal school

day.

Hair

There is an expectation for both boys and

girls to have neat and tidy hair, cut in a short

(boys) smart style, avoiding long fringes

which make children very uncomfortable

when writing and reading. Hair below

shoulder length or in a style which hangs

over the face must be tied back using a blue

or navy blue band or scrunchy. Long hair

should be tied up off the back of the neck.

General Notices Please take time to read the bulletin published each week it does contain important pieces of Pre-Prep information

that mobile phones are not used within

the building.

Bikes and Scooters

We are keen to support children who

wish to come to school on their bikes

or scooters. We have installed a bike/

scooter rack just inside the pedestrian

gate and ask that they are left here for

the day as we do not have facilities

inside the school to store them. Please

do not scoot or cycle into the play-

ground.

Child illness

If you are in doubt about whether your

child should be in school, please refer

to the Fit for School policy which can

be found in the class handbooks. It

gives advice and will help you to

understand the School’s expectations

regarding when a child should not be in

school due to illness. You can also

contact Sister Wendy in the surgery at

school.

Towels for Years 1 &2

The navy School towel embroidered

with your child’s name has been

added to the uniform list ready for

swimming in our own pool next term.

Party Invites

We ask that party invites are not given

out to children in school or put into

children’s drawers.

Collection Policy

There is a new collection policy which

is included in your year group

handbook. Please familiarise yourself

with it. The necessary paperwork will

be sent out during the holidays.

Exercise books

Exercise books have been sent home.

We are required to keep some books

back in case of an inspection. If you

have not received your child’s, it will

be returned to you at the Michaelmas

Half Term.

Mobile Phones

In the interests of courtesy and our

children's safety, we politely request,

Day Date Event

Wednesday 6th September No Pre-Prep after school clubs this week except Mini Winnies Club

Thursday 7th September Early birds begins

Monday 11th September Pre-Prep after school clubs begin

Tuesday 19th September Coffee and Croissants for Pre-Prep Parents in the Forum

Monday 26th September Pre-Prep Harvest collection for Brackley Foodbank

Wednesday 27th September 2:00pm Years 1 & 2 visit to Juniper House

Friday 29th September 12:00 noon Exeat

Tuesday 10th October 10:30am -

11:45am

Nursery "Come and Play"

Wednesday 11th October TBC Year 2 Trip

Thursday 19th October No Pre-Prep After School clubs or Mini Winnies club. Mini Winnies Plus will supervise PP

pupils and younger siblings 4.30-6.30pm.

Thursday 19th October 4:30pm -

8:30pm

Pre-Prep Parents Evening

Friday 20th October 12 noon Half Term

Monday 6th November 9:00am Term starts

w/c 20th November

EYFS come and share your child's Learning Journey - times throughout the week to be

advised

Friday 24th November 11.30am Pre-Prep Come & share for Years 1&2

Friday 24th November 12 noon Exeat

Monday 3rd December No Pre-Prep After School Activities this week. Mini Winnies club continues

Thursday 7th December TBC Year 1 & 2 Pantomime trip

Friday 8th December Pre-Prep Christmas Performance Photos

Tuesday 12th December 2:30pm Year 1 & 2 Christmas Performance in the School Hall

Wednesday 13th December 10:00am EYFS Christmas performance in the Forum followed by Craft Morning in PP

Wednesday 13th December 2:30pm Year 1 & 2 Christmas Performance in the School Hall

Thursday 14th December TBC EYFS Pantomime trip

Friday 15th December Father Christmas visits Pre-Prep

Friday 15th December 12:00 noon End of Term for Pre-Prep

Follow

@PrePrepWHS

to find out what we

are getting up to.

We also say a fond farewell to Mrs

Ashton who has been an inspiring

colleague and much loved

Teaching Assistant. She has

boundless energy and a nurturing

approach which will be sorely

missed. However we are excited

for her as she embarks on

retirement adventures together

with Mr Ashton who as well as our

gardener has been our minibus

driver, and helped us with all

manner of other things to organise

special things for the children.

Enjoy your retirements Mr and

Mrs Ashton but we hope to see

you again when we need a little

help!

Miss East leaves us after 12 years,

to embark on a new career in

accountancy. She has been a much

valued and integral part of life in

Pre-Prep, taking on a number of

different roles over the years and

been a big part of many children’s

lives. We wish you every success

for the future and please come

back and see us!

Pre-Prep would also like to

recognise the huge contribution

Mrs Marsh has made to us over

many years, both as Head and then

behind the scenes supporting and

leading on teaching and learning.

We wish you well as you move on

to further ventures and some well

deserved rest and relaxation!

All that remains is to say thank you

if you are leaving shoes behind(!),

do have a look over the Maths

presentation handout if you

haven’t already for activity ideas

over the holidays and thank you

for all your support. Have a won-

derful Summer!

The academic year may pass for

us in a blink of an eye, but our

children really have made the

most of every minute! Looking

through the previous Mini

Winnies for the year, the children

have had so many learning

opportunities and fun along the

way.

As we go to print, we can hear

delightful squeals of the children

having a splashing good time at

their water topic Fabulous

Finishes in paddling pools, water

slides and our outdoor pool. As

long as we exercise safety around

it, water really is great fun.

The General Election seems a

long while ago already. We held

an election of our own as

choosing the colour of the new

trikes for the playground was a

decision the staff did not feel

they could make alone.

Fortunately there wasn’t a hung

parliament when the vote was

held and ’Blue’ was the chosen

colour. We look forward to

taking delivery for the start of the

new year.

We have enjoyed our after

school activities this term. The

Wild About Art group learnt

new techniques and skills based

on famous artists to produce

some sensational pieces of work.

It’s been a tasty term on a

Thursday afternoon in Fun with

Food. Our mouths have been

watering with all the lovely

smells from the kitchen. The

children took responsibility for

all aspects of the cooking

process, including preparation,

food hygiene and tidying away.

Obviously, eating their creations

was the highlight - especially

when they made ice cream!

This has been a wonderful term

of welcoming people to our Pre-

Prep family. Congratulations to:

Mr and Mrs Angus on the birth

of Freya, Mr and Mrs Patey on

the birth of Edward and William,

Mr and Mrs Pyper on the birth

of Toby and Mr and Mrs

Godber on the birth of Isla.

We also have some farewells.

Our Gap students have been a

real asset to us with their keen

and nurturing interest in our

children. We will miss Mr Ward,

Miss Hammond, Mr Wood and

Miss Wilford, but wish them well

in their next chapter.

Mini Winnies

Issue 2016-2017 #9

Date July 2017

P A G E 1

Moving on...

The Year 2 children have spent time this Half

Term exploring the Upper School. They

have visited the Chapel, Sister Wendy in the

San, the changing rooms and also had a

buddy read with children in Seligman.

The Moving on Ceremony was a wonderful

tribute to all that Year 2 have achieved in

their Pre-Prep journey. We wish them all

every success as they move in to Year 3. For Abigail, Alex, Eoin, Joseph and Kiran,

this will mean a new school. We are going to miss you all very much, but wish you

well and hope you will keep in touch!

Tales from the River Bank

In Year 1 this term, we made new friends in Ratty, Mole and the delightfully

mischievous Mr Toad. The Wind in the Willows inspired us to write some wonderful

kennings about the characters. Along with Year 2, we

had a wonderful day at Stoke Bruerne and got to

operate a lock. We wrapped up the term with a

banquet fit for a toad in the Secret Garden.

You may like to know that there is a production of The

Wind in the Willows currently running at the Palladium

Theatre in London. More details are at thewind-

inthewillowsthemusical.com

P A G E 2

Splish, Splash, Splosh! After reading The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch the Nursery children spent a glorious

day in the Secret Garden with Mr Silman thinking about how they could

transport a lunch, a bucket of water and even Mrs Goldsmith (using a model in

her place). They had a great time using pulleys and ropes to move the items around.

All the Early Years children had a fantastic finish to their topic with their paddling pool fun

Water Day.

P A G E 3

Sports Day 2017 We had wonderful feedback abut our ‘new feel’ Sports

Day. There was a buzz of real enjoyment on either

side of the track and the picnic lunch

afterwards was a real celebration of the

children’s sporting achievements, in every sense

of that word. Thanks to Mrs Corthine and Mrs

Dawes for taking the photos for us.