Prep Newsletter Friday 23rd

January 2015

Dear Parents,

As part of our focus this term on our school values and the phrase,

TREAT OTHERS AS WE WOULD WISH TO BE TREATED

we have been considering our behaviour and manners. Last week I listed

good behaviours and wrote how we expect our high standards to be

maintained in school.

Encouraging good behaviour and manners is inherent through all aspects

of school life. We consistently, continuously and positively promote a

trusting and caring environment where good examples are set and where

fairness and respect are important. Our classrooms are calm, industrious

and caring environments where good behaviour is encouraged to emerge

naturally rather than demands it to be imposed. We talk with the pupils

frequently about being good role models who are trustworthy, respectful,

open, consistent and fair. Through knowing each pupil as well as we do

we enable open communication and dialogue for all.

In school we reward good behaviour in many different ways, including:

★with smiles and praise

★celebrating the good

★Commendations / stickers / stamps / cubes

★ lovely comments on work

★Award Marks / certificates

★Headteacher’s Award

★sharing good news (excellent effort / achievement) with parents

★celebrating achievement from in and out of school

We all know that children will be children

and will get themselves into a ‘pickle’ at

times, therefore it is important that we

recognise that each day is new and brings

its own fresh start. By talking through

issues we aim to elicit why the pupil

behaved in a particular way and teach her

strategies to promote self-control, taking

responsibility and being accountable for

her actions. Children need to understand

that their actions and choices have

consequences.

Thus, we return to this phrase..

Hertfordshire Chess Tournament, Year 5 + 6 Netball teams and Quiz Team

Over the next two weeks some of our girls will be participating in one or

more of the following - our valiant chess team will be participating in the

second round of the Herts County Chess tournament on next

Wednesday. Then the following week our Year 5 + 6 Netball teams have

the opportunity to shine and show off their skills and our Upper Prep

Quiz Team will be competing in the area heat of the Quiz Club. Good luck

girls, not only are we very proud of you, but we wish you all the very best

of luck too!

Congratulations to

Amisha (Y5) for passing her grade 1 piano with merit.

TREAT OTHERS AS WE WOULD WISH TO BE TREATED

Lunchtime Concert

Next week we are looking forward to our Lunchtime Concert on

Wednesday. All Upper Prep pupils were invited to perform and I am so

pleased with the number who volunteered. With pianists, violinists, a

guitarist, 2 alto sax players and a harpist the concert looks to be a

delightful treat. Parents of those girls participating will have received a

letter last Friday inviting them to attend.

Mrs C Aisthorpe

Head of St. Margaret’s Preparatory School

Commendation

CONGRATULATIONS TO…

Y3 Anya

Beatrice Maya Milly Priya Remi

Shriya Y4

Aanchale Charlotte

Y5 Nikita Saana

Y6 Anika Geeta Lily

Milly

Certificate

CONGRATULATIONS to… Nikita Y5 Milly Y6

Adverse Weather Plan At the moment the weather is quite changeable and we have experienced

some snow, albeit a light smattering that did not settle for long. If there is

adverse weather during the school day and we need to close the school,

we will contact you via the Clarion text messaging service. In the rare

event that school is closed for more than one day we will send work via

email for your daughter to complete and hand in once school reopens. If

school is closed before the beginning of the school day a decision will be

made by the School by 6.30am and a message posted on the School

website.

Lost Property

We spend a lot of time and effort trying to

return a lost item to its rightful owner. In the

event that an item of clothing is lost it will be

returned quickly to your daughter if it is

clearly named. We encourage all pupils to

take responsibility for their own property. To

help us to help you please would you ensure

that ALL items of school uniform, coats, hats,

gloves, P.E. kit etc, are clearly named. If you

have written your daughter’s name onto an

item of clothing please check after washing

as writing fades and is often illegible. If your

daughter has ‘lost' an item,she should first

look in the classrooms she has been in that

day, the cloakroom area and then in the Prep

School Office. If everything is named clearly

nothing will be lost for very long! Many

thanks for your support.

Rec

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Year 1

Year 1 have been getting to grips with their new

science topic about Materials. We are putting together

a new display which will be fabulous! We have been

thinking about the furniture and appliances in our

homes and identifying the materials that have been

used to make them.

Mrs Jolley

Year 2 had a

fabulous time in

London on

Tuesday. First

we went to St.

Paul's Cathedral

and enacted

scenes from the

Great Fire of

London. We

learned that

Year 2

Christopher Wren, the architect,

was really interested in science

and maths. Our workshop

leader told us something that

not many people know - there

are actually three domes!

Miss Pares

Then we zipped along to the National Portrait Gallery

where we saw Samuel Pepys and Charles II before doing a

whirlwind tour of fashion through the ages, studying what

people wore from Victorian times to the present day.

Some of the class were so exhausted after all the

excitement that they fell asleep on the way home. For one

young lady, the day was extra special as her first tooth fell

out! Everyone had a great day.

Year 3 This week Year 3 have been very busy painting a picture in words. With the use of vivid descriptions and lots of adjectives we wrote about the picture The Umbrellas by

Pierre Auguste Renoir.

Mrs Franklin

We looked at the picture very carefully and thought about what we could see. Using the clues in the picture there are many things that we could work out. Where is everybody going? What are they going to do when they get there? We allowed our imaginations to wander and came up with lots of ideas. The people in the foreground of the painting tell us a lot because we can see them more clearly. The expressions on their faces help us to work out

what they may be thinking. Soon our work will be on the wall for us all to enjoy. It is our first piece of work in fountain pen for a display. We are very proud of it.

In Year 4 we are learning about the 7 continents and 5

oceans of the world. We were given a world map and had

to label the continents and the oceans. We then coloured

the land green and the ocean blue. After that we put an x

to show where we were born.

Miss Smith

Year 4

The 7 continents are:

Europe, Asia, North America,

South America, Africa,

Oceania/Australia, and

Antarctica.

The 5 oceans are:

Pacific, Indian, Southern, Arctic,

and Atlantic.

Year 5 &

Year 6

Years 5, 6 and 7 have been getting to know each other better this week by working on their poetry. The three year groups met in the senior school and completed a ‘Slam Poetry’ workshop together. Their first task involved getting to know each other, which was not too difficult since the task was such fun. Each group was given a poem to learn and perform. At first it was rather embarrassing to stand up and show expression and rhythm in the performance, but by break the giggling stopped and the competition to write and perform their own slam poems began.

The girls were given the theme of animals: how they moved, their characteristics and their manners had to be taken into account.

Ms Caher and Mrs Charlesworth

The results were amazing! All girls performed their group poems in the drama studio and the teachers found two winning teams. Group 7 were voted best poetic form and group 8 best performance. Everyone seemed to benefit from the experience of getting to know each other; discovering the senior school and learning how to write slam poetry.

January

28th 1.30-2.00pm Lunchtime Concert

3.00pm Herts Primary Chess League

February

2nd 16:15-17:30 Years 5&6 Netball vs Northwood College (home)

5th 2.00-3.00pm Prep School Quiz Club Area Heat

9th-13th

Internet Safety Week

12th 3.30-5.00pm Lower Prep Valentine’s Party

12th 5.15-6.45pm Upper Prep Valentine’s Disco

13th Mufti Day

12:30-2.00pm Gordon Cake Sale

3.30/4.00 Half-term begins

23rd Term resumes

Dates

020 8416 4501

prepoffice@smbushey.com