This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
YEAR 6
| It has been yet another fun-filled action-packed week in Year 6. The children have thoroughly enjoyed getting involved in the “bikeability” days organised by Mrs Santamera. That coupled with hockey and cricket fixtures have meant the children have inhaled plenty of fresh air. Even with all these activities on offer; there has been no stopping the learning that has been taking place in the classroom. 6S have been down to the Science Department to learn all about electricity and 6R are looking forward to their visit next week. In Mathematics, the children have been learning about angles, some acute, but nothing is as cute as the chicks nesting outside the locker-room window! We continue to develop our knowledge and creative work in preparation for the exhibition, this will be related to different aspects of the sea and has been inspired by our class book “Manfish” which retells the life story of Jacques Cousteau. The children and teachers have embraced all the opportunities that had been unavailable until very recently; however, it has made us realise how soon the end of the year will be upon us. There are so many things we are looking forward to packing into this final term. Trips, forest days, more fixtures, bikeability, outdoor learning, sports day, prize day, house matches, and some formal education in the classroom have to be squeezed in. I think the organisation of all these events may lead to a little hair loss for some of our leadership team, but it will be well worth it! |
YEAR 5
| “Look at the stars, look how they shine for you,” sang Cold Play and that is exactly what the children in Year 5 did on Monday. An exciting trip to the Astronomy centre to explore the many wonders of our Solar System. The children were absolutely delighted and inspired by their visit. Our Topic, ‘ Enough for Everyone’ continues to inspire the children to make small but significant changes in how they behave towards our environment. From swapping to a wooden toothbrush, to stopping to pick up a piece of rubbish on the way to school, to litter picking at break. The children really have embraced this Topic. On Wednesday, we used the recycling that we have been collecting to make our latest sculptures. One group made a fabulous sea turtle who even had plastic in his stomach to highlight the problem of plastic in our oceans. I am proud that the children have realised that they need to begin to act now, as David Attenborough said, “Young people: They care. They know that this is the world that they’re going to grow up in, that they’re going to spend the rest of their lives in. But, I think it’s more idealistic than that. They actually believe that humanity, human species, has no right to destroy and despoil regardless.” Year 5 wholeheartedly agree. |
YEAR 4
| It has been an ‘out of this world’ week in Year 4 as we got to grips with our topic ‘Explorers’! We decided to start BIG with the BIGGEST thing that there is to explore …. SPACE! We had the chance to visit Rossall’s very own Astronomy Centre and quizzed Dr Lister all about space and space exploration. We learnt lots of amazing facts such as no other planets (apart from Earth) have ever been visited by humans, even though, every planet has had robots sent to explore it. We also got to look at the beautiful night sky in the Planetarium and saw some of the constellations, such as Orion and the Plough that ancient explorers would have used to help them navigate. We have now chosen space explorers and explorations to investigate and will be planning our own mission to another planet in the coming weeks. |
YEAR 3
| What a great week Year 3! In Science we learnt about pollination and how plants create new plants, including playing the “Pollination Game” to act out the process – the children enjoyed being pollen-carrying bees. In English, we have continued exploring the book “Journey” and wrote some descriptive sentences. In Maths, we have been learning about equivalent fractions. In Topic we have focussed this week on learning about inventions of Ancient Sumer, including the wheel, mathematics, writing, weapons and instruments. We finished off the week by making our own clay writing tablets like they would have had in the Ancient Sumer. And of course, the Year 3 football team won the tournament at the fixtures on Tuesday, we are so proud of their amazing teamwork, communication and skills – congratulations! |
YEAR 2
| This week we have had another fantastic week of learning! We have finished our ‘Katie and the Dinosaur’ books and are super proud of the finished product. In Maths, we have continued to learn about fractions; we now understand what a ‘unit fraction’ is and can find ½ and ¼ of a number and a shape. We have also learned that ½ and 2/4 are equivalents. In Science, we looked at fossils of ammonites and learned how fossils are formed. Today, we all enjoyed our first chapel service in the chapel and had lots of fun at the football tournament! |
YEAR 1
| This week as part of our Topic work we became archaeologists for the morning and visited the beach to hunt for fossils and prehistoric animal bones. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any but we had lots of fun looking! We also enjoyed looking at and making observations of some fossils that we have borrowed from the Science department. We had a go at guessing what they originally were. We found out that they were all millions of years old, some were animals and some were plants. In Maths we have been learning about counting in groups, arrays and finding doubles. In our class book, we found out that Teddy the baby Mammoth had escaped from the museum during the magic hour (think Night at the Museum) and Oscar and Teddy’s big brother, Toby had to help find and return him before the clock strikes one. We have written some fantastic descriptions of the museum. |
RECEPTION
| For over quarter of a century, readers have been swishy-swashying and splash-sploshing through the award-winning favourite picture book ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. This story has definitely become a firm favourite with our class and was a popular choice of book when they were asked last weekend to bring in a story about a bear! After reading the story (several times!), we followed and joined in with the family’s excitement as they waded through the grass, splashed through the river and squelched through the mud in search of a bear. A surprise awaited them in the cave on the other side of the dark forest. We were all very excited to go on our very own bear hunt! When we couldn’t go over it or under it, the children had to go through long wavy grass, a deep cold sea, thick oozy sand, the secret garden (forest) and even a swirling whirling snowstorm! We then spotted a very friendly-looking bear hiding in our wooden playhouse! Acting out a story helps a child to remember what happened in the story, a fantastic way to improve reading comprehension. Physically moving their bodies can provide a crucial bridge between real-life people, things and actions, and the printed words meant to represent them. Who knows what journey we may go on next? |
NURSERY
| Preschool this week have been putting their maths skills in place what they have learnt during circle time. On a walk around the school, they put their tallying skills to the test by spotting certain birds and marking down what they saw. It was no surprise to find that seagulls were top of the list. They have also been identifying risks whilst on a walk to the frog pond. The children were asked what dangers they could see. They all suggested that if they sat down it would reduce the risk of falling forward. Our little green-fingered children have been busy again planting this week. The windowsill is full of seeds germinating and our strawberries have been planted outside. As we all know children like instant results and kept asking when the strawberries were going to be ready so we watched a video to show the children the plants growing over a period of time. In the garden, the children have been doing some large scale construction whilst practising their Spanish ‘Si por favour’ and ‘no gracias’. Sandpipers have been building up their muscles in their hands by emptying and filling containers. They love transporting rice from one pot to another and from one side of the room to another! They have also made their own playdough, measuring out the flour and water and mixing it together. Having sticky playdough on their hands causes so much amusement when they are trying to take it off. Sanderlings have used foam as part of their sensory this week. They have enjoyed smelling it and squashing it between their fingers. Watching their faces when the foam disappears is so wonderful if only they could tell us what they thinking. On their daily walks, they have been listening to lots of environmental sounds such as the birds, the lawnmowers and the waves. |
INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS
| At Rossall Preparatory School, all pupils have the opportunity to receive one-to-one instrumental tuition. Whether students wish to learn purely for fun or to achieve ABRSM/Trinity/Rock School qualifications, we have a dedicated team of expert teachers to support and guide them along the way. Lessons take place before, during and after the school day (subject to availability). Students who take instrumental lessons will have the opportunity to participate in co-curricular clubs and perform in school concerts and external events. We offer tuition in: Piano, Organ, Singing, Guitar, Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn, Flute, Bassoon, Oboe, Saxophone, Clarinet, Drums, Violin and Cello. Lesson packages of 10 one-to-one sessions (30 minutes each) cost £210. In the Summer Term, we are launching shared 30-minute violin lesson packages for students who are interested in playing the instrument. The loan of a violin, equipment and music is all included in the cost of the package, which is £105 per child for 10 sessions. Please click here to apply for instrumental lessons. All fees are subject to periodic increase in accordance with Rossall School’s Terms and Conditions. Please note that a half-term’s notice is required to cancel lessons. If you have any questions regarding instrumental lessons at Rossall Preparatory School, please contact Mr Adam Dobson on [email protected]. |
AWARD WINNERS
| RECEPTION – This weeks certificate of achievement go to Kaxshaan and Valencia. Kaxshaan has been trying very hard with his independent writing and will happily attempt most writing tasks asked of him. We have been learning about repeating patterns and Valencia has been amazing at spotting patterns in our environment. She has also created some lovely repeating patterns in class using a variety of resources.  YEAR 1 – Anthony for determination and perseverance in the swimming lesson this week, and Emma for super listening during swimming.  YEAR 2 – Ben for superb writing in Literacy and Nilanth for being helpful and kind.  YEAR 3 – During our learning about pollination in Science this week, two of our Year 3 scientists really stood out in their use of technical vocabulary – well done Huxley and Caitlin!  YEAR 4 – Michael for being knowledgeable and answering lots of questions during our Astronomy Centre visit, and Freddie for being knowledgeable about decimals in Maths.  YEAR 5 – Alicia Quartermain for her excellent performance in the hockey fixture, and Harry for his excellent performance in the cricket fixture.  YEAR 6 – Blossom for taking action linked to our topic (Beach Clean), Annabel for outstanding progress in Writing, Esteban for determination and progression in cycling, and William for determination and progression in swimming.  |
Well done to Jack in Year 4 who won an award for player of the week at Fleetwood Rugby Club. |
GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE REVIEW
We were recently visited by the Good Schools Guide who commented that: “The pupils love it here and they achieve very well. The excellent staff and pupil retention rates speak of a very happy community as does the increasing popularity of the school.” You can read the full review here: https://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/schools/rossall-nursery-pre-prep-and-preparatory-school-fleetwood/0591A6A#tab_review |
SPORT
| U10/11 Hockey v AKS at Rossall This Wednesday it was Rossall’s turn to host the hockey matches against our Fylde neighbours AKS. We had two teams that were made up of girls from both Year 5 and Year 6. Many of the girls were making their Rossall debut. Rossall Reds looked like scoring on a number of occasions, (having one goal disallowed) but it was not meant to be. We defended with dogged determination throughout the match, putting AKS under a lot of pressure. Although the final result was 3-0 to AKS, many positives can be taken from this experience and built on in next year’s hockey season. Rossall Whites were dominant throughout the match, which was fabulous, as many of our girls were representing Rossall for their first time. It was fantastic to witness our teamwork, skill and passion which all contributed to a superb 2-1 Rossall victory! We are already looking forward to the Hockey season 21/22!  Rossall Cricketers Hit Their Way to Victory! After two weeks of intense training in front of Prep School and in their Games lessons, the Year 5 and 6 cricketers travelled to AKS for their first match of the season.  Although the conditions were a little chilly, the team rallied in the field and bowled consistently in both matches to limit the opposition scoring. Morale was high and the support both Rossall teams gave each other as we chased the AKS total was rewarding to see.  There were plenty of big hits, wickets and catches for both schools but by the end of the matches, Rossall was victorious in both, Year 6 winning by 11 runs and Year 5 by 9 runs.  This was a wonderful start to the season and the progress shown by the children in all areas was outstanding. Well done, Rossall! |
