Fire! Fire! Workshop Sparks Interest in the Great Fire
Children from Pre-Prep have set their imagination ablaze following an interactive workshop into the Great Fire of London. Pre-Prep pupils from Cundall Manor School were treated to a day of activities including a 17th Century fire-fighting workshop and investigating the role of the plague doctor in 1666 London. The workshop was led by Real History Alive’s Russell and Dawn Bark. The Derbyshire husband and wife, showcased one of their ten historical and science educational workshops to the youngsters. Schools and museums across the country have joined in the 350th anniversary commemorations of the great fire. Dawn said: “The activities we offer are hand’s on. They get the children to immerse themselves in history and give them a feel for how it was to live in 1666.” The day began with a 45 minute performance which introduced the Great Fire and some of the century’s celebrities including Samuel Pepys, whose memoirs helped detail the fire. Pupils from the school had the exciting task of dressing up in clothes from the era and learning a market square dance. Pre-Prep teacher, Kylie Potter, organised the event. She said: “The children had a great day learning all about the great fire. It was wonderful to get them dressed up and involved in the activities.” Among the other activities enjoyed by the children included recreating medieval London through map making.
World Book Day in Pre-Prep
What wonderful costumes our Pre-Prep students and teachers have chosen for World Book Day, inspired by their favourite books.
Study finds “Early Years Education is the key to success”
Study finds graduate-led Early Years education is the key to success for school leavers. A study by the Institute of Education for Save the Children found 21% of pupils who struggled with language as they began school, failed to meet the expected standards in national tests when they left. Children with poor language skills at age five are significantly more likely to struggle with Maths and English at age 11, the BBC reported on February 17th. The researchers said poor language skills had an effect on all children, regardless of family background. Academics at the Institute of Education analysed the progress of 5000 children using data from the Millennium Cohort Study and the National Pupil Database in England. Gareth Jenkins, from Save the Children, says the research demonstrated the most crucial determinant of success in Sats tests is how well children can communicate when they start school. The charity suggests ensuring nurseries are led by a graduate teacher is the key to improving quality. “The most important thing we could do is to see every nursery led by an early years graduate teacher, because the research is really clear that this helps improve the quality of the activities,” he said. Amanda Kirby, Joint Head at Cundall Manor School in North Yorkshire, says graduate-led nursery care is a vital foundation of the school’s early years’ provision. “While it is important that all early education is achieved through play, an experienced graduate teacher is able to ensure the foundations of learning are solid before children move into Reception. Language, communication and fine motor skills need to be firmly established in the early years. In particular sound and letter recognition and pencil grip are key skills which are very hard to relearn if established incorrectly”. Amanda adds, “Graduate teachers have a knowledge of education beyond the nursery and it is this broad knowledge which helps them to take each individual child through the stages of learning at his or her own pace. Their higher level study also arms them with a range of strategies to be able to tailor learning to each and every child. Children then begin Reception and progress through our school with confidence. ”
Pre-prep trip to York
Pre-Prep Explore York In January PP1 braved the cold weather to visit York. First they became archaeologists at DIG, by excavating Victorian, Viking, Medieval and Roman ruins. Then they explored various bones and rubbish left behind by the Vikings including some poo! After a yummy packed lunch they made a quick trip down the Shambles to look at the various buildings. After a short walk they stepped back in time to explore Victorian Britain at the Castle Museum. PP1 attended a Victorian school, got locked in prison and visited a Pharmacy. The children all agreed that houses have changed a lot over the years and would not want to live in a house with an outside toilet! What a fabulous trip with lots to see and learn.
Roald Dahl Week in Pre-Prep
Can you spot the stories? PP2 loved learning to write like Roald Dahl last week! What will they get up to for World Book Day in March…?
Pre-Prep Discover Fun at Eureka
Eureka! On Friday 5th February the children of Reception, PP1 and PP2 headed off for a day out at Eureka, in Halifax. The children had the most fantastic day exploring the different areas of the museum. They changed tyres in the garage, made deposits and withdrawals at the bank, weighed and posted the mail at the Post Office and even did the weekly shop in Marks and Spencer! Their favourite area was ‘All About Me’. Here they learned about how we grow, had the opportunity to climb inside a large set of teeth and some were even brave enough to peer up the giant nostrils!
Pre-Prep’s Literary Guest
Mr Richards, one of our school governors, and his book illustrator Mrs Gleaves, visited PP2 last week to share with the children their new story book Benji goes to the Seaside. The children were thrilled to enjoy the story with its author, and loved searching for Sally the Seagull with the artist who drew her. It’s a very sweet story with the important message to stick by friends during difficulties, and also that behind everything and everyone there are adventures which we can only guess at. Copies of the book can be bought via school if parents would like.
Children in Need
A huge thank you to everyone who remembered to bring in their donations and got dressed up for Children in Need on Friday. We saw some fabulous ‘Hero’ costumes around school, including sports personalities, policemen, firemen, armed forces members and plenty of comic book super heroes. Special mention must go to Form 3’s Oscar Fenby who emulated his cycling hero Chris Hoy by spending the day sweating it out in bubble wrap! Oscar’s inspired costume drew the attention of Sir Chris himself who retweeted the Fenby’s Tweet on the day! Thank you also to all the children in Reception who boosted the Children in Need coffers with their bun sale on Friday. The total raised by the whole school currently stands at a wonderful £456!
Pumpkin Competition
A huge thank you to everyone who submitted their wonderful entries into this year’s pumpkin competition. We had a bumper crop of entries in both Main School and Pre-Prep, with prizes awarded as follows: Pre-Prep: Largest pumpkin: James Craig Smallest pumpkin: Gabe Collier Ugliest pumpkin: Ram Pisharody Best Decorated pumpkin: Annabel Mindenhall Main School: Largest pumpkin: the Wilkinson Family Smallest pumpkin: Freddie Marston Ugliest pumpkin: Cian Armstrong Best Decorated pumpkin: Hannah Barker
Scarecrow Festival
Congratulations to everyone who came and joined in our inaugural scarecrow festival just before half term. The fabulous fruits of their labours added an extra dimension to life around the school grounds (there were several double takes to check whether these unfamiliar characters on the premises were in fact real!) in the run up to the half term break.