7th December 2020
Message from Mrs Conrad This week, the first week of Advent, we have been thinking about how we are all counting down the days to Christmas and preparing our houses and homes for all the wonderful festive celebrations that lie ahead. It is indeed a very exciting time! But alongside all that, we remember that our Advent wreath and calendars are helping us count down to the birth of the Christ child and that this is a time to prepare our hearts for His coming. During this Advent, perhaps more than any other, may we find the time to stop and pause and reflect on what really matters. I am sure our infant nativity and carols by candlelight next week, will give us all the opportunity to do just that and I look forward to 'seeing' you all online at these special events.
Message For Year 6 Parents If you wish to accept the place for your daughter to join the Senior School in September 2021, please return your completed Form of Acceptance to Mrs Charles as soon as possible, but no later than Monday 7th December 2020 in order to guarantee the place.
Christmas Post Box We will be running a Christmas post service for the children from 1st December. If they would like to send cards to their friends please may this be within their bubbles only. They should write the name of the recipient clearly on the front of the envelope. The post boxes will be in the girls’ classrooms.
Key Dates Thurs 10th Dec
Years 1 and 2 Nativity, 9.30 Years 3 to 6 Carol Service, 14.15
Friday 11th Dec
Wear a Christmas jumper (optional) Prep School Christmas lunch (this date has been amended from Thursday) No morning or After School clubs. Term ends, 16:15 There is no after school care provision after 16:15 Buses will run as usual.
Monday 4th Jan
INSET Day
Tuesday 5th Jan
School Resumes
Christmas Jumpers—Friday 11th December We would like to invite the children to wear a ‘Christmas jumper’ with their school uniforms (if they would like to) on Friday 11th December. This is the last day of term and the day of our Christmas lunch so it should help us all to get into the festive spirit!
Years 3 to 6 Carol Service Invitation—10th December The Headteacher, staff and pupils have great pleasure in inviting you to our virtual Carol Service on Thursday 10th December at 2.15pm. We will record the service for any parents who are unable to watch at this time.
Years 1 and 2 Nativity Invitation—10th December The Headteacher, staff and pupils have great pleasure in inviting our Lower Prep parents to this year’s virtual Nativity performance on Thursday 10th December at 9.30am. We will record the performance for any parents who are unable to watch at this time.
Swimming Lessons Mrs Farrier will be running swimming lessons over the Christmas holidays on 14/15/16th December between 9-12. All lessons are 1 to 1 or 1 to 2. Please email Mrs Farrier for booking or details—making.waves@hotmail.co.uk
Reading Challenge Next week we will be launching a Reading Challenge for Years 4 to 6 which is also being undertaken at Cranmore. Children will be challenged to read the following fantastic books over the course of the next 4 months: The Castle of Tangled Magic by Sophie Anderson
(book chief - Mrs Conrad)
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High Rise Mystery by Sharna Jackson
(book chief - Miss Hilder)
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The Night Bus Hero by Onjali Raùf
(book chief - Mrs Canning)
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The Girl who Stole an Elephant by Nizrana Farook
(book chief - Mrs Kearley)
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The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman (book chief - Mrs Gibson)
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Once the children have finished a book they need to arrange to see the 'book chief' for that book (see above), who will ask them some questions about what they have read. They can then go on to the next book. The girls will receive 5 merits for each book they read. When they have read all of the books, they will vote for their favourite. The deadline for reading the books will be the end of the Easter holidays. The girls must commit to the whole challenge, so need to think carefully before signing up. We have 5 copies of each book in school for the girls to borrow, but you may want to buy some of them for yourselves to keep. The girls need to let their class teacher know next week if they wish to take part. Happy reading!
Golden Book Well done to all of the girls in our Golden Books this week: 1BB
Jessica Abbott for her consistently positive attitude throughout the week within all aspects of school life.
2EB
Evie Crowther for great improvement in her mental maths. Isabella Morris for her fantastic acting in the nativity rehearsals this week.
3DI
Clemmie Hartley for her fabulous effort in improving the quality and presentation of her written work. Emilia Zujic for her kindness in the playground to others this week. SĂŠarlait Watkins for super focus when writing about the seagull's 'Nutty Day Out'.
3KC
Amaya Hastoy for rewriting the story of The Seagull's Nutty Day Out from the seagull's point of view in the Iron Man. Isabella Kotcheff for showing real enthusiasm with her reading at school.
4RN
Paris Campbell for working exceptionally hard at home on her Science presentation. She spoke clearly and confidently about swamp habitats, well done! Tabitha St Gallay has a fantastic attitude to her learning and is always willing to contribute her ideas to our lessons, listening very carefully to what is expected of her. Emma von Ey has worked very hard in maths this week, learning a new concept and listening very carefully to the method. Well done Emma!
4CR
Ruby Gaskell for her effort to improve her work and her consideration of others. Peyton Sobey for her conscientious attitude and positivity when tackling problems in Maths. Natalia Odogwu for her positive attitude and for slotting beautifully into 4CR after her time working over Teams.
5MK
Isla Norris for coming up with a fantastic idea for a Moon Myth to explain why the moon is so far away and for being able to plan it in 5 parts. Jemima Pinsent for writing a fantastic character description using figurative description to good effect. Zara Bushell for having a fantastic attitude to learning, always working to the best of her ability, sharing her ideas with others and asking questions to further her understanding.
5HC
Frankie Bryan and Summer Chan for their excellent moon myth creative writing in English which included many examples of figurative language. Sofie Sherazee and Erin Curtis for working hard to improve their presentation and handwriting and for always contributing thoughtful opinions to class discussions.
6KH
Georgie Staples improved by 2 seconds in front crawl to make her joint third fastest in the year group. CĂĄitlin Watkins improved by 8 seconds in breaststroke and 4 seconds in her backstroke.
6JG
Ava Harrison for her positivity and contribution this week. Lucia Meneghin for her wonderful origami creations. Ariadna Lopez Sostres for her perseverance.
This Week in the Prep School Year 3 Jesse Tree Year 3 created a Jesse Tree in RE. A Jesse Tree is one way to help prepare through Advent for the great Feast of Christmas. In some ways it is a lot like an Advent Calendar. We enjoyed designing and creating each one, finding out the meaning behind the pictures and of course decorating the tree!
Year 4 Presentations In Year 4, the girls have been studying different animals and identifying food webs involving the creatures that live there. For their homework, they have all created a presentation to show what they have learnt. Putting aside their nerves, the girls have been giving the presentations to their classes showing great enthusiasm. There have been a range of habitats and we have all learnt a lot about the different ones around the world. Well done Year 4!
Year 1 Advent Wreaths Year 1 have really enjoyed learning all about Advent Wreaths this week in RE and have had some lovely thoughts about what we do and what we enjoy during this period of waiting. The girls then put their craft hats on and produced some beautiful Christmas Wreaths! Well done girls!
This Week in the Prep School Year 3 Table Etiquette This week in PSHE, Year 3 learnt about table etiquette before lunch and then showed what they had learnt during lunch. They learnt how to hold and place their cutlery, using 'please may I' and 'thank you' when asking for or receiving food. The children realised that talking with their mouth full was not a good idea and how it is polite to wait for their fellow diners to finish before clearing their plates. The class also briefly discussed food waste and how they should only take what they are going to eat.
Music News Musicians of the Week Lower Prep:
Sophie Bernesi for her contribution to the singing in the Nativity Play. Zara O’Donnell for her contribution to the singing in the Nativity Play.
Upper Prep:
Emma Jordan for an excellent first term of playing the piano. Ella Johansson for resilience and determination when drumming for the Carol Service. CĂĄitlin Watkins for working particularly hard on the Grade 2 pieces for her piano exam. Felicity Studholme for working hard with her flute playing and making good progress. Mrs Kearley for her clarinet playing in the Year 5 carol recording!
Upper Prep Congratulations to all the girls in Upper Prep who have worked so hard to learn their Christmas carols for the Carol Service recordings. You sound amazing!
Lower Prep Well done to all the Lower Prep girls who have worked very hard to learn their Nativity Play songs. We look forward to watching your performance.
Music Activities Next Week Please note, there will be no Year 4 Music Club on Monday and no Year 5 Music Theory on Friday morning.
Sports News •
What a festive week we have had in PE. Years 3-6 took part in their Splash and Dash and they all recorded their Christmas dance. The Christmas dances are looking amazing and we can’t wait to put them together for everyone to view.
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Next week, we are looking forward to our annual Santa Run! The Year 6 Santa run has been changed to Tuesday 8th December. Everyone remember your Christmas accessory!
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Please can all girls make sure they have a coat in school with them, especially when they are swimming as it is getting very cold!
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Reminder– Pick up from netball club is outside the netball courts. Miss Roberts trains the girls by the tennis academy and will then walk them up. Please wait in your car and she will dismiss the girls. Thank you!
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No sports clubs on Friday 11th December.
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No Year 6 Netball Club Wednesday 9th December.
Inspirational sports woman of the week by Tabby Herman This week’s inspirational woman in sport is a runner called Dame Kelly Holmes. She was a 800m and 1500m Olympic gold medallist. She joined the British army in 1990 and left in 1997 to become a full time athlete. She became a Dame in 2005. One of her quotes are “ I was 12 when I started and 34 before when I achieved my dream that
Splash and Dash results! Well done to everyone that took part in the Splash and Dash this week. It was lovely to see everyone with their Christmas accessory and it has made us all feel a little more festive! Year 4– the winning house was St Ignatius which included Olivia K, Saskia D, Peyton, Elin, Tabitha St-G, Olivia L and Allie. Well done girls! Year 5—the winning house was St Dominic which included Phoebe H, Zara, Rosie, Eloise, Bella, Evangelina, Amy, Grace, Frankie and Kay. Well done girls! Year 6—the winning house was St Dominic which included Kacey, Katie, Tabby, Xanthe, Stella, Emily, Lucia, Lucy, Jasmine, Georgie, Pascale and Emma. Well done girls!
Santa Run The Santa Run is back! It might look a little different this year as we won’t be able to invite parents or have the whole year group running at the same time, but we have a plan B! The girls will be running in their year group, during their PE lesson, spotting the reindeers along the way and they can wear a Christmas accessory! Year 1– Wednesday 9th December at 1:15pm Year 2– Wednesday 9th December at 1:45pm Year 3—Monday 7th December at 2:15pm Year 4– Wednesday 9th December at 11:15am Year 5—Tuesday 8th December at 11:15am Year 6– Tuesday 8th December at 1:15pm
Prep Christmas Performances
Years 1 & 2 Nativity—Thursday 10th at 9.30am Years 3 to 6 Carol Service—Thursday 10th at 2.15pm
Please join via the Teams link that will be sent to all parents.
This Week We are surrounded with all of the features of the festive season—trees, tinsel, turkeys!! These are all important, especially this year when we all need some cheering up! But this week we remembered that you can do all of that, but not actually be celebrating Christmas. As the saying goes, ‘Jesus is the reason for the season.’ In all the hustle and bustle, we are reminded to leave space for Jesus. And two ways to do this is to support our Shoebox Appeal and to join us for our Service of Nine Lessons and Carols!
Visit our website www.st-teresas.com/ equestrian
E-mail equestrian@st-teresas.com Call
01372 750257
Or find us on Facebook “St Teresa’s Equestrian”
We hope that you are all staying safe. A reminder that we will not be returning to our usual timetabled lessons until next term. When the lockdown ends, we will be organising ourselves to get ready for the adhoc and catch up lessons that are booked in for the week commencing Monday 7th December, and our lessons and activities for during the Christmas holidays.
For those who are not able to ride, we have a list of all their missed lessons during this time which can be used towards bookings made in December and/or will be credited towards the Spring Term riding fees.
Christmas Pony Afternoons For those who have booked in for the Christmas Holidays, please bring your own hat and boots to ride in as we are not lending out equipment until it is deemed safe to do so.
Reminder on dates! Adhoc lessons: w/c Monday 7th December Adhoc lessons: w/c Tuesday 5th January Spring Term Riding starts on: Monday 11th January
NSEA Reports The NSEA competitions have opened up and our riders will be out competing at Felbridge on Saturday 5th December! Good luck everyone!
Menu—w/c Monday 7th December Hot lunches include a selection of family favourites and suitable alternatives for children with allergies and intolerances. The girls will still need to bring a healthy snack/s into school for break time/s.
Monday
Main
Chicken Fajita’s
Chef’s Trolley Chef’s salad
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Traditional cottage pie
Locally sourced pork Pasta Bolognese sausage in a soft roll
Chef’s salad
Chef’s salad
Friday
Traditional Christmas lunch served with all the trimmings
Chef’s salad
Vegetarian
Fresh vegetable fajita’s
Lentil & vegetable Lincolnshire style bake vegetable sausage in a soft roll
Macaroni cheese
Roasted vegetable & mozzarella cheese filo parcel
Sides
New potatoes Broccoli
Mixed vegetables
Jacket wedges Carrots
Crusty bread Sweetcorn & peas
Roast potatoes Honey roast carrots & parsnips Brussels sprouts
Additional
Jacket potato & beans
Jacket potato & beans
Jacket potato & beans
Jacket potato & beans
Jacket potato & beans
Marble cake
Rocky road
Rice Krispy slice
Ginger cake
Chocolate orange brownie or Xmas pudding & vanilla sauce
Desert
Items in Italic - Sourced from F Conisbee’s, our local butcher
Thank you all so much for your incredible support during the Christmas fair week!! We are in the process of rounding everything up and will have a full breakdown for you in next week’s newsletter.
Winners: Senior School Best Christmas Bake 1st Place Phoebe W 2nd Place Mary M 3rd Place Olivia S Prep School Best Christmas Bake 1st Place Freya C 2nd Place Georgie M Joint 3rd Place Matilda R with Jasper and Imogen H Best Dressed Gingerbread 1st Place Apollonia and Rafferty C-D 2nd Place Phoebe and Isabel R 3rd Place Jadwiga K-L Best International Christmas Bake 1st Place Vanessa D A 2nd Place Eliza B 3rd Place Felicity S Best No-Bake Christmas Treat 1st Place Chloe C 2nd Place Felicity S 3rd Place Arabella C