For their Community badge projects for Endeavour, Year 5 have been designing and preparing activities for Pre-prep and Prep pupils, and this week they ran the events with considerable enthusiasm, organisation and responsibility. Well done, Year 5! They have also been busy in the DT workshop, starting to make their chosen joint for their bookends. In Science, Year 4 have been looking at food chains for different habitats and played a game of the excellently named 'nibblers and nobblers' (I think, representing herbivores and carnivores!) to illustrate how they work. Not to be outdone, Year 3 made tally charts in Maths, recording various types of tree and then used the data to learn more about pictograms and bar charts.
In assembly this week, we heard all about the amazing Victorians from Year 4 - complete with costumes and accents (not to mention dramatic flair!). Reception found time for a trip to a local farm where they pond dipped, amongst other things, and Year 4 went on a nature walk - all of which you can read about in separate articles in this Bulletin. We also enjoyed welcoming Pre-prep parents to observe an Open Swim - we hope you found it interesting, and plan to now run these termly.
With the departure of the Year 11s on their GCSE study leave, we wondered who would help accompany Pre-prep pupils up to classes from Old Hall each morning, but we needn't have worried - the Year 10s have eagerly picked up the baton, and are already firm favourites with the youngest members of the school. Thank you, Year 10! One of the most exciting moments for our pupils is when they bring together learning in different subjects, and deepen their understanding by making links across the various threads of the curriculum. Year 2 did just that this week, completing their work in Science on materials in their History lesson; tasked with making replicas of houses at the time of the Great Fire of London (from plastic, clay, play do, wood and paper), they were able to consider the relative strengths of each material, and apply it to their understanding of the materials available to Londoners in the 1600s.
Next week, we have exams in the Prep School, and we wish everyone the very best. Pre-prep have a whole department outing to Bocketts Farm on Wednesday and Year 1 and 2 parents are also invited to a Tour of the Prep School on Friday, so much still to look forward to.
Reading Certificates: Charlie Sw (Silver), Finn H and Layla B (Gold), Harry S, Charlotte P and William C (Platinum)
Values Certificates: Oliver T, Layla B, Felix Bl, Arthur M, Daisy W, Norah C and Siena dPL for Effort; Izzy W and Tildy T for Responsibility; Annabelle Sunshine T, Annabelle W and William C for Kindness
Stars of the Week
Nursery: Max for settling into Nursery life with such enthusiasm!
Charlotte for increased independence throughout the day and lovely teamwork in class.
Reception: Oscar S for splendid pond dipping skills and lovely follow-up artwork
Martha S for being such a supportive friend to her peers, you are always there to help others!
Year 1: Oscar B for consistently showing empathy to others.
Year 2: Aoife F for demonstrating great problem solving skills and team work when constructing our ‘houses’.
Eliza H for your consistently positive attitude to all areas of your learning and demonstrating such kindness towards your peers and the teachers too!
Mr Wright
We have been acknowledging Mental Health Awareness Week this week with a range of activities and talks. It was so lovely to see lots of Prep School pupils making flower arrangements at break, Pre-prep creating their community hive and Years 9 and 10 having an inspirational talk and breathing workshop with Joe Bates from Halen. With exams already starting for Year 11 and Year 10 on Friday, with the rest of the School following next week, it is good time to consider 'balance' in our lives. Yes, it is important to revise and be prepared for the exams, but just as important is taking the time to exercise, socialise and rest. This weekend, take a minute to stop, do something nice for yourself and...breathe. 
Nursery did observational paintings of daffodils while Reception hunted for patterns and 3D shapes in the School grounds. In the Prep School, Year 4 used the Burrow for inspiration to write creative story starters. Year 6 also used the Burrow to influence the haikus they were writing. One of the Year 6 maths groups used leaves to create a number line to show the equivalence between fractions, percentages and decimals. Year 3 used the outdoors in their maths lessons to learn more about fractions, and used the garden to draw and label plants during a science lesson. During Year 5’s music lesson, they used the athletics track as a musical stave! 
Meanwhile, in the Senior School, the Burrow was used for numerous lessons, like Year 8 filming news reports and Year 7 writing descriptions linked to the five senses. Years 9 and 10 decided to do their design work on the bank during their DT lessons, and Year 10 also acted out a journey using a distance-time graph on the forum in their physics lesson. 
Year 11 are now well underway with their GCSE exams and have conducted themselves brilliantly throughout their first big week. Naturally, there have been a few nerves along the way, but they should be incredibly proud of themselves. It is clear they have prepared thoroughly, with pupils revising and testing each other right up to the last moment.
