Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School Newsletter – Michaelmas Term 2021 – Week 1

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

YEAR 6

‘It’s great to be back!’ was the overarching message from the pupils and teachers in Year 6 this week, and the children have thoroughly enjoyed settling into their new classrooms and sharing their exciting news from the long summer break.

It’s been an action-packed few days with plenty of discussion about our hopes and aspirations for the new academic year. We’ve made a creative start to brighten our classroom displays, designing a class charter and personalising kites with our termly targets; one thing for sure- the sky really is the limit!

We have introduced our first topic on Peace and Conflict with a thought-provoking activity, which generated a lively class debate. We have also taken advantage of the sunny weather by completing our first science investigation on light and shadows.

Our new Year 6 are certainly a ray of sunshine, and we are delighted to welcome eight new starters to the year group and to Rossall. Well done to Lizzie, Michael, Gabriel, Lukas, Zac, Henry, Asser, Eyad and all of Year 6 for a wonderful start to the term!

YEAR 5

Welcome to Year 5!

The atmosphere in the Preparatory School has been one of excitement and expectation this week. The children in Year 5 have welcomed each other back to the classroom with joy, friendship and no small amount of chattering! The children have shown great care towards the newest members of our community, helping them to find their way around the Prep School and the campus.

We have had a busy week both in the classroom and during sports lessons which have been on the field in tropical weather! As I am sure you have been told, we have worked hard on our baseline assessments (I could hear the cogs whirring!) and enjoyed meeting the Senior School teachers who will take the children for Art, Drama, Music and Spanish.

I am looking forward to working hard with the children over the course of the year, we have some exciting challenges ahead!

Have a super weekend Year 5!

YEAR 4

Monday saw enthusiasm and passion propel through the door of the Year 4 classroom with children eager to move up another year group.

The first day of the new school year is always an exciting time and more so for me commencing as a teacher new to the School.

The children appeared to take the first day of school in their stride and I could fill a page of adjectives with my first impressions of Year 4 which would include; enthusiastic, passionate, captivated, engrossed, friendly and welcoming.

After a variety of introductory sessions we started with this term’s Science subject – the digestive system; always a winner with children as it involves the fascinating subject of ‘poo’. This will lead next week to detailed discussions of the alimentary tract and the commencement of various science experiments; so be prepared for some interesting conversations.

The rest of the week saw the children bouncing from Spanish to Music, then on to Games and Drama. One has to admire their relentless energy and capacity to move between a variety of topics and then go on to engage in a diversity of after-school clubs.

I look eagerly forward to learning with your children and beginning this exciting journey in Year 4 together.

YEAR 3

What a spectacular first week for Year 3!

The class have taken the big step from Pre-Prep to Prep with gusto and enthusiasm. We’ve all settled into the new building and new routines exceptionally well.

The first week has called for quite a few assessments, but the children are extremely keen to show what they know. Additionally, we have been getting to know our new class and started all our new units: Seal Surfer for English, ‘Keeping Healthy’ in Science, ‘Our Coasts’ for our Topic, and place value in Maths.

Here is the class practising counting in hundreds!

The children have also enjoyed doing Games with the older year groups. Well done Year 3 for a wonderful start!

YEAR 2

What a super first week in Year 2 we have had!

The children have all risen to the challenge of Year 2 and have already developed a wonderful learning environment in the classroom together.

This week, we have focussed on getting to know each other and it has been great to see everyone’s confidence grow throughout the week. We have had our first Topic lesson of the year and all the children came up with brilliant and thoughtful questions to ask.

YEAR 1

In Year 1 we have been ready and raring to go. We’ve had tales about all of our summer adventures, and what a busy time we have had. We have enjoyed being back together and seeing all of our friends.

For the start of our Science work this week, we made the most of the wonderful weather to explore our different senses with a walk around our campus, which we found is filled with all sorts of sounds, sights and smells. We even found a blackberry bush and got to use our sense of taste too. We are looking forward to learning lots of new things in Year 1.

RECEPTION

This week has been full of ‘firsts’ for the Reception children. The first is always the best as it marks the beginning. The start of their learning journey through Rossall School.

The Reception children have all settled fantastically well into the school routines and activities. They are quickly learning their way around the school and the classroom rules. They won’t learn it in a day but we will continue to emphasise and practice for the first few weeks.

The children have had their first PE lesson, which was a big hit! On our first afternoon in the woodland area, we went on a treasure hunt and got messy printing with pine cones. Their first music lesson taught the children about loud and quiet sounds. The children sat very sensibly and quietly for their first assembly with the rest of the school. We finished off our first week with a Spanish lesson … What an action packed, busy week for our new starters!

Please can I remind parents to bring in PE bags and swim bags on a Monday. These will then go home at the end of the week (swimming bags will go home after our swimming lesson). All uniforms should be named – We have several blazers, shirts and ties not named, which causes upset for the children when they cannot find their belongings and we are not sure whose is whose!

NURSERY

It seems funny not having school all to ourselves and we do have to remember that we have to share the amazing outdoor space we have with all the other school children.

It has been nice, however, to see the older children waving as they walk to their lessons.

We have lots of new children starting with us this week who have settled in so quickly into their new routines, and also lots of children transitioning from one room to another as they continue on their journey through Rossall.

The weather has been amazing this week so far and so many adventures outdoors have taken place.

Preschool had a lovely afternoon on the beach using sticks to make marks, digging for treasure and wondering where the water goes as they watched the tide go out. The large lawn gave us a great opportunity to practice our yoga skills and breath and exhale the lovely fresh air.

Sandpipers enjoyed doing Tumble Tots behind the Chapel using the large space to dance like elephants and to practice their head, shoulders, knees and toes too! They all had a lovely sleep after lunch as fresh air certainly tires you out.

Sanderlings have enjoyed the shaded area near Prep School to listen to some stories and sing some songs. They love to be able to get out of the pushchairs and crawl about in such a safe environment.