ST Teresa's Prep Weekly Bulletin 17 September 2021

Issue 2

Autumn Term

8th February 2021 17th September 2021

Message from Mrs Conrad It was lovely to see so many of you at our online safety parent information evening on Wednesday led by Karl Hopwood, an expert on this area and its influence on children and young people. Karl’s presentation was extremely engaging and gave us all much food for thought. During the day, girls from across both schools attended workshops with him where they took part in lively discussions and activities to help them understand how best to stay safe online.

This morning, I was delighted to welcome Dr McShane, Headmistress of the Senior School, to speak to our Year 6 girls about life in Year 7 and beyond. The girls really enjoyed hearing about the additional specialist lessons they would have and how a secondary timetable works, asking lots of pertinent and sensible questions. This was followed by tours of the Senior School with members of the Sixth Form who were superb role models.

The take home message was that the Senior School offers an outstanding academic education with the same values and ethos of the Prep School along with a huge emphasis on kindness and happiness – qualities which help all young people to thrive.

Key Diary Dates: Saturday 18th September

U10A & U11A Hockey tournament @ Downsend (A)

8.30 & 10.30

Tuesday 21st September

U11A&B Hockey v Notre Dame (H)

15.15—16.30

Wednesday 22nd September

Community Mass, School Chapel

16.30

Thursday 23rd September

U8A&U9A Hockey v Tormead (A) Surrey Sports Park

16.15—17.15

Friday 24th September

Bring a special snack and wear a purple and/or green hair accessory to school for Macmillan (see FOST page for details)

Saturday 25th September

Whole School Open Morning Years 3 to 6 helping at Whole School Open Morning

Friday 1st October

St Teresa’s Feast Day

Wednesday 6th October

Blessing of St Francis’ Service, with pets (more details to follow!)

8.40

Friday 8th October

Years 2 & 3 Harvest Celebration, Henderson Hall

8.30—09.15

Years 4 to 6 Harvest Celebration, Henderson Hall

14.45—15.30

10.00—12.30 8.45—12.00

This week you should have received: Whole School

Curriculum Handbook

Whole School

Community Mass letter

Whole School

Karl Hopwood eSafety talk recording and handouts

LAMDA pupils

Details of LAMDA lessons being offered to girls in Years 3 to 6

Year 6

Letter and forms for entry to Year 7 (via post)

Whole School

Effingham Cricket information

If you need copies of any of these letters please contact the School Office prepinfo@st-teresas.com

St Teresa’s Sport St Teresa's Sport now has an Instagram and Twitter page! Please do join us at sttssport on Instagram and StTsSport on Twitter for exciting Senior and Prep sport photos and news!

LAMDA Lessons LAMDA lesson times and days will be sent out via email before Monday 20th September, when the classes will start.

If your daughter is interested in taking LAMDA or you’d like a little more information about what it is. Please do contact the School Office prepinfo@st-teresas.com as there are still some slots available.

Good News!

Home Reading Challenge Evangelina enjoyed our reading challenge so much, she continued doing her own version of it throughout the summer. Well done Evangelina!

Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to create their own businesses whilst working with the team from Stride Ventures last term.

This culminated in a fair where they made a fabulous £758 profit selling their products.

After much thought, they decided to donate the money to Cherry Trees, a local charity which provides exceptional home from home care for children with all disabilities and their families. They were delighted to receive a certificate from Cherry Trees UK to say thank you!

Golden Book Well done to all of the girls in our Golden Books this week:

2EB

Lucy A for her fantastic attitude to learning, always enthusiastically participating in lessons.

Sophia C has worked with fantastic effort on her reading and writing this week, producing some wonderful work.

3RN

Olivia G for fantastic instruction writing on How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth, using time connectives and imperative verbs.

Sofia G for excellent effort and participation in our Maths lessons this week, showing a very good understanding of place value—well done.

3KC

Summer C for her wonderful set of instructions on How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth.

Poppy E for her super effort when working in maths on placing numbers on a number line.

4BB

Lainey H and Scarlett M for their wonderfully descriptive and powerful sea creature personification poems.

Florence D for her consistent efforts and positive attitude towards English and Maths tasks.

4CR

Isabel R for her wonderful personification shown in her poem.

Isla B-H for her enthusiasm for Science and her effort this week.

Séarlait W for her effort on her personification poem.

5MK

Steffi C-B and Ruby G for fabulous, paired work composing a poem in the style of Roald Dahl.

Ella J and Tabitha D for their super diary entries, writing as Howard Carter as he descended the steps in the tomb of Tutankhamen

5HC

Saskia D and Olivia K for their fantastic work in Topic and English writing about the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, they listened carefully and made sure to include everything discussed.

6KH

Ruby A for enthusiasm and effort in her work this week Katerina B for striving to do her best to improve her work

6JG

Phoebe R for an excellent explanation of Polar day.

Eliza B and Erin C for their wonderful English homework.

6LD

Isabella M for following instructions carefully and for producing excellent work.

Poppy M for working quietly in class and for always listening carefully to advice.

This Week in the Prep School Year 2 Trip to Windsor Castle 2EB enjoyed a wonderful day out at Windsor Castle on Thursday. The girls were mesmerised watching the 'Changing of the Guard' ceremony before spotting features of a castle. They participated enthusiastically in their workshop and learnt more about how castles were defended. The Queen was sadly not at home, but the girls enjoyed looking around the inside of the castle nonetheless.

Eco and Gardening Club The girls in Years 3 and 4 had a wonderful time in Eco and Gardening Club this week. We discussed the safety rules when using the metal gardening equipment and taking care with our friends. During the lesson, the girls continued to weed the beds and started to dig up the soil carefully using the spades. We tried to find every single weed; some were very tricky to pull up. In the classroom, the girls researched seeds that would be ideal to plant at this time of year.

Virtual Reality Headsets In Year 3 this week, the girls had the opportunity to find out a little bit more about the Stone Age by looking at photos in detail and videos about Stonehenge and other monuments around the British Isles. The girls first found out how to look after the headsets when using them. They also found out how a Stone Age home was built and looked at some Stone Age tools. It was a lot of fun and the girls enjoyed venturing around the UK.

Chess Club Years 4 and 5 Chess Club got off to a flying start last week, with record numbers of girls coming along to try chess out for the first time or returning to improve their game.

Year 4—Poems This week Year 4 have been writing personification poems. Focusing on a chosen creature from the deep blue sea, the girls have created some wonderfully descriptive and imaginative poems, even challenging themselves to include rhyme! Here are some of their fantastic final pieces:

Music News Musicians of the Week Congratulations to the following girls who have been awarded certificates this week: Thea B-H in Year 2 for very good work in the music lesson learning a new song this week.

Sophia L in Year 3 for identifying rhythmic patterns accurately.

Stef V E in Year 4 for using very good dynamics in her group composition.

Bella H in Year 5 for very good playing of patterns on the xylophone.

Alice C in Year 6 for very good work in her piano lesson this week.

Associated Board Music Exams We are very pleased to announce that the music course will return next year from Monday 11th to Thursday 14th April. This will be the 10th anniversary of this course at school directed by Mrs Yalden. The course is open to girls and boys from Year 3-Year 6 from all schools who have passed Grade 1 on their instrument. Further information coming soon!

Sports News This week has been a busy and successful week, with our first cross country fixture of the season on Tuesday and our first hockey tournament coming up this Saturday.

Cross Country Twenty-four girls from Years 3-6 took part in the annual St Catherine’s cross-country event on Tuesday. The competition was fierce with between 8-10 Schools and 60 children in each age group. The girls were nervous beforehand, however once they started, the adrenaline kicked in and off they went! Well done to all of the girls for the effort they put in, with all of them sprinting to the finish line. Top 10 St Teresa’s placements were:

U8—Ruby S

2nd place

U8—Evie C

9th place

U9—Isabella

1st place

U10—Natalia O

7th place

U11—- Zara B

8th place

PE star class of the week for hard work and enthusiasm in PE goes to 3RN.

News—Dorking Netball Club Dorking Netball Club have spaces for girls in Year 5 and 6 who wish to train and play competitive matches. They train on Monday/Tuesday evenings. If you are interested, please email dorkingnetballclub@hotmail.co.uk to enquire and find out the time/place of training for their age group.

Year 3+4 netball shooting club will start next Monday lunchtime from 12.50-1.15pm. This will be open to anyone in Year 3+4 and girls do not need to be in PE kit. Miss White will collect any girls keen to attend from the lower prep playground. There is no need to sign your daughter up for this club.

Upcoming Fixtures Saturday 18th September

U10A+U11A hockey tournament @ Downsend School.

Tuesday 21st September

U11A+B Hockey v Notre Dame @ St Teresa’s. 3.15pm start.

Thursday 23rd September U8A+U9A Hockey v Tormead @ Surrey Sports Park. 4.15pm start.

Friday 24th September:

U9-U11 Aquathlon @ Guildford Sport Centre. 2.35pm start.

(No spectators permitted).

Sports News Outside Sporting Achievements During the Summer, Grace and Saskia H competed in the Thorpeness Regatta in Suffolk in August and had a fantastic time. Grace competed in the Under 12 single dinghy race and won her heat but lost in the final. She plans to compete next year and win the trophy and then her name gets put on a board in the boathouse. Saskia won her heat in the under 12’s kayak race and then went on to the final. She came third in the Under 12s final. A huge well do both girls.

It sounded like you had lots of fun and I look forward to seeing the medals next year.

Ella J in Year 5 was fortunate enough to meet an Olympian called Adam Peaty. Not only did Ella get to meet him, she spent the whole day training with him. She enjoyed a swimming session with breaststroke tips from Adam himself, land training, sports psychology, and an opportunity to ask Adam questions about his recent Olympic successes. It was a very exciting and inspiring day, and a fascinating insight into the world of competitive swimming. It sounds like a fantastic experience, one which I am sure Ella will treasure for years to come.

Evangelina in Year 6 has had a great time playing tennis all Summer. Interspersed in her weekly training schedule, she has been playing friendly matches, competitive tournaments and represented Woking Lawn Tennis Club U10s in the County Team Tennis League.

Evangelina won all her County League matches, helping the team top the group. Well done Evangelina with your tennis success and we wish you a speedy recovery with your wrist.

Isabella K in Year 4 enjoyed taking part in the Brighton mini mile, as part of the Brighton Marathon last Saturday. Isabella did amazingly well and came 2nd! Her sister in the Senior School also came 2nd in her race. A successful weekend for them both! Keep up the great work!

At the beginning of this term, Mrs Rowcliffe and her family took part in a running event called, “families on track”. As a family, they managed 10km in 41 minutes. Any St Ts families are welcome to take them on next year!!!

Well done to Ruby S who got her first coloured belt (yellow) in Martial Arts this week!

A great achievement!

This Week It is significant that the disciples of Jesus asked him how they should pray. Their question is often the same as ours as we try to make good use of those periods of quiet time that we are able to find in our busy day.

Fortunately, Jesus gives us a clear and profound answer in the words known to untold millions around the world as the Our Father, the Lord’s Prayer.

While volumes could be written on the significance of this prayer, perhaps there are two important messages that we can remember.

Firstly, we need to remember that Jesus’ experience of his heavenly Father was unlike that that had ever been shared before. While all other religions, ancient and modern present an image of a distant, remote God, Jesus demonstrates that his heavenly Father is the total opposite. Indeed, the way that Jesus addresses God is in the most intimate terms. The word we translate as ‘Father’ in Aramaic appears as ‘Abba’ It is, in fact, much more like that very first utterance that a baby makes and would more accurately be translated as ‘Daddy’. The heavenly Father Jesus knows, and wants us to come to know, is an all-loving, compassionate Father who we can address in the most intimate of ways.

A second point refers to the language that we use throughout the remainder of the prayer.

References to ‘thy’ suggest a somewhat antiquated style of language, out of date with what we imagine to be more enlightened times. Of course linguists would remind us that while other languages preserve both the more formal pronoun,’ for example ‘vous’ in French for elders, authority figures and those we are not familiar with, and the more intimate form, again, in French, ‘tu’, for those who we know well and have a close relationship with, in English we are today restricted with just the one word. The prayer we use retains the old, intimate version of ‘thy’ to reinforce the closeness that we are invited to participate in, a closeness that Jesus himself experienced. Perhaps, as we pray those words of Jesus, we too can come to know that closeness with our heavenly Father.

Support for Macmillan On Friday 24th September, all girls are invited to bring in a (nut free) confection for their snack, and/or to wear a purple and/or green hair accessory for a donation to Macmillan.

Please make a donation to this worthy cause by clicking on the link https://thyg.uk/buu004704071 (or copy and paste into your internet browser) and following the simple instructions.

FOST Fridays Our first casual morning coffee/tea will take place post morning school drop off on Friday 8th October – all welcome, venue tbc!

Uniform Please note that we are having some challenges with the iZettle invoicing and payment system used in the Uniform Shop. Please bear with us as we rectify the situation, especially for those already paid. If you have an outstanding payment to settle, you are welcome to leave a cheque made payable to FOST in an envelope marked for FOST, Attention: Camilla Pinsent/Deborah Whipple with either Senior or Prep school reception desks.

See the FOST page of the school website for details of opening hours, new location, etc.

Classlist Thanks to those parents who have joined us on Classlist (https://app.classlist.com/). This is a great platform for secure communication between parents. For existing parents, please check & update your details. If you are new to the school, please ensure you create a profile for yourself including your daughter/s details & class.

FOST on Instagram Please follow us on FOST insta account: @fost_st_teresas_effingham This account keeps you up to date on everything FOST are doing throughout the year!

E-mail equestrian@st-teresas.com Call

01372 750257

Visit our website www.st-teresas.com/ equestrian Or find us on Facebook “St Teresa’s Equestrian”

Booking System st-teresas-equestrian.ecpro.co.uk

We’ve loved seeing you all back this week for our first week of lessons for the school term!

You may have noticed that the new horses Sandy and Mouse have joined the other ponies in the barn this week. Please make sure that you’re nice and quiet if you want to say hello as they are still settling in and Mouse, the bay mare on the window side, in particular is still quite nervous.

Over the next week could our termly riders, who haven’t already been asked, come 5-10 minutes early to their lessons so that we can record what they’d like to aim for in their lessons for this coming term.

We are running another After School Club on Tuesdays at 4pm to 5pm for Prep students and have three spaces left. The club allows students to learn how to care for a pony and topics such as parts of the horse, feeding, grooming and more! If you would like to book on, please contact the office.

We will see you all next week, have a lovely weekend!

October Half Term Pony Days Dates are not out yet for the half term. We will send an email out to everyone one they are up on the system ready to book.

NSEA Competition Reports Members of the NSEA team have joined the BSJA’s (British Show Jumping Association) Just for Schools membership and went to their first competition on Saturday 4th September.

In the 60cm class, the team – Jackson B, Lottie B and Sofie S – came 1st with Jackson placing 1st, Sofie 2nd and Lottie 3rd as individuals!

In the 70m class, Sofie S competed as an individual and came 7th, while the team – Antonia S, Jackson B, Lottie B and Lulu S – unfortunately didn’t get a team placing. However, as individuals Lulu came 3rd, Jackson 5th, Lottie 6th and Antonia 8th!

In the 80cm class, Lulu S placed 3rd as an individual and Antonia S placed 6th!

A big well done to everyone and we look forward to hearing how you get on at other BSJA events!

We have some NSEA teams heading out to compete on the 25th and 26th September. Good luck!

Menu—w/c Monday 20th September Hot lunches include a selection of family favourites and suitable alternatives for children with allergies and intolerances.