Prep Chronicle 11 Mar 24

11 MARCH 2024

Message from the Head of Prep

Along with Mr Everitt, and on behalf of the Cranmore community, I would like to offer our sincere thanks to Mr Michael Henderson for his tireless work in supporting our school. Michael has been a Governor of Cranmore since 1994 and Chair from 2012. On the formation of the Effingham Schools Trust in September 2019 he became CoChair. He has lived in East Horsley since 1973 and is an active member of the Catholic Church in Effingham, a Council Member, is on the Executive Committee of the Catholic Union of Great Britain and was appointed a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 2005. In 2022 he was awarded Knight of St Gregory (KSG), a Papal Award for his services to Catholic education. We are delighted that Michael will remain as a patron of the Trust.

After the excitement of Book Week, we had more literary inspiration with the visit of the author Laura Mucha and Year 2’s trip to the Roald Dahl museum. We were delighted to be able to welcome Laura back to Cranmore and the children certainly loved their time with her. This week has been Science Week at Cranmore and pupils have enjoyed taking part in some fun and fascinating experiments in their Science lessons. Reception has been busy with trips to Manor House School and Pizza Express, while pupils in Year 4 were treated to a Digital Schoolhouse Esports event run by our Head of ICT and Computing, Mr Afana.

The hockey season is drawing to a close but not before we enjoyed success against Danes Hill, Homefield, KCS Wimbledon and Feltonfleet. Wednesday’s swimming gala was very well-supported and our U11 teams had great results this week, reaching the UKSA Plate Final in the hockey and only suffering one defeat in the entire Donhead rugby 7s tournament.

Good luck to all those swimming in the ESSA Relays tomorrow, those sitting their ABRSM music exams next week and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to all!

Science Week

Upper Prep pupils have enjoyed conducting some interesting and visually appealing experiments this week as we held Science Week throughout the school.

Not only is sherbet delicious, but it also makes use of a clever chemical reaction between citric acid and bicarbonate of soda. This particular neutralisation reaction is endothermic and takes in heat energy from the surroundings i.e. your mouth! That, combined with the fizzing from the carbon dioxide released, makes for a truly taste-bud impacting experience. Science Club members investigated the best ratio for the mixture of citric acid and bicarbonate of soda by measuring the drop in temperature for this endothermic reaction. It turns out you need more citric acid than bicarbonate for this to work really well. Lots of fizzing fun!

Dr Verny-White

Poet Laura Mucha returned to Cranmore on Thursday and provided highly interactive workshops for our pupils during which they co-wrote poems with her and learnt about her poetry writing career to date. Laura is poet-inresidence at Cambridge University in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care and her messages to our pupils were centred around the vitally important topic of Mental Health. The pupils responded to Laura with huge enthusiasm and left feeling inspired and more confident about writing their own poetry.

Mrs Watkinson, School Librarian

Laura Mucha Poet Visit

Author Gareth P. Jones delighted our pupils during his visit to our school last Wednesday. He performed his stories using singing, the piano and the ukulele! He made use of various puppets and kept the pupils thoroughly engaged throughout. Gareth has written fifty children’s books, many of which we have in the libraries, and it was a real pleasure to hear him talk about how he comes up with his ideas and characters.

Mrs Watkinson, School Librarian

Gareth P. Jones Author Visit

Book Week: Dressing Up

There was a colourful and imaginative display of costumes last Friday as the Prep School dressed up to celebrate World Book Day. They took part in activities and quizzes during library lessons and at break times as well as enjoying a book-themed lunch, with such delights as Bogtrotter’s Chocolate Cake!

Book Week: Dress a Potato as a Book Character Competition

Thank you to all the pupils who took part in the Dress a Potato as a Book Character competition. The entries were superbly creative and a lot of time and effort had clearly been put in. The winners will be announced next week in assembly.

Mrs Watkinson, School Librarian

Book Week: Dress a Potato as a Book Character Competition Here are more of the fantastic entries to this competition which was open to all of the Prep School.

Book Week: Usborne Book Fair and Library Activities

On Thursday last week, our Prep pupils were able to visit a book fair brought to us by Nicki, an Usborne Books representative. Nicki commented that she doesn’t think that she has ever seen so many children who are enthusiastic about reading in one school! I would concur that it was wonderful to see the children so passionate and excited about the lovely books on offer. The books which have been ordered should arrive towards the middle of next week, a little longer than anticipated due to many schools celebrating World Book Day at the same time thank you for your patience! Also below are some photos of a speed dating with books activity which Year 5 enjoyed on Friday.

Mrs Watkinson, School Librarian

Congratulations to Stokes House in the Lower Prep and Borelli House in the Upper Prep for gaining the highest number of merits this week!

This Week’s House Cup Winners

Year 4 Esports Tournament

Year 4 boys recently showcased their gaming talents at the Junior's Esports tournament, featuring Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch, as part of our school's collaboration with The Digital Schoolhouse - UKIE. Amidst the excitement of racing, they delved into the diverse career roles within the gaming industry, from game development to marketing. Beyond the screen, they exercised their creativity by crafting unique logos for their teams, blending artistic flair with strategic thinking. These experiences not only fostered a deeper understanding of technology but also ignited their passion for innovation, setting the stage for future leaders in the gaming world.

Mr Afana, Head of ICT and Computing

Year 5 History

As a treat following their Spring Term written assessment, Year 5 pupils enjoyed playing with their Roman Emperor Top Trump cards which they designed for their homework. Well done, Year 5!

Mrs O’Mahony

Year 4 History

Year 4 have worked in mixed groups to create some Greek temples out of recycled materials in their History lessons. They made sure to check that the features of the original temples were included in their designs, for example; a triangular roof, cornices, Ionic/Doric/Corinthian columns, large inside space, steps leading up and down and a precinct area for sacrifices. They then named them after some famous Gods and Goddesses. Well done, Year 4. We are very proud of you all!

Mrs O

Reception News

Reception had a fantastic morning with their counterparts at Manor House this week. They had organised a music session for us, lots of Easter crafts, a delicious snack and an Easter Egg hunt. The children had a brilliant morning and are looking forward to visiting again soon!

Reception also had a wonderful morning at Pizza Express. They were shown around the restaurant, saw all the ingredients, learnt about the history of Pizza Express and learnt how to make their own delicious pizza. What a fabulous treat!

Mrs Prothero and Miss Hurl

This week, hockey matches took place against opposing schools including Danes Hill, Homefield, and Kings College Wimbledon. The U11A team were successful at the UKSA hockey tournament last week when they were Plate finalists. The U11A rugby team played at the Donhead 7s last Friday, only losing one match in the whole tournament.

There was an U11 basketball game yesterday against RGS Prep and there are more hockey matches this afternoon for our U8s against Feltonfleet.

Sport Update

Best of luck to our U11 swim squad, also made up with Year 5 pupils, who are swimming in the ESSA Relays on Saturday evening at the Guildford Spectrum.

Easter Camps taking place at Cranmore

Surrey Football Coaching

https://www.participant.co.uk/surreyfootballcoaching/event/465006/?x=1#init

Activate Camps

https://www.activatecamps.co.uk/venues/cranmore-school/

Goalkeeping Camp

https://ab1academy.com/horsley-camp/

Mr Hodgson, Director of Sport

A Message from our Chaplaincy Team

Chaplaincy

"Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society."

~ St Francis of Assisi

Reading

Reflection

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

Amen

‘The Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him.

Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life.’

Reflection

This week we hear Jesus speaking those famous words to Nicodemus: ‘God so loved the world.’

Take some time this week to learn a Biblical verse off by heart.

The Word of God is powerful and dynamic, it supports us when we feel weak, it gives us faith when we need encouragement. If you haven’t yet watched the series The Chosen, give it a try.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus, your only Son, into the world to save us. Help me to grow in knowledge of how much you love and value me. Amen

St Andrew …Pray for us.

St Maximilian Kolbe ….Pray for us.

Notices

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Soup

Main

Prep Chronicle 11 Mar 24

Message from the Head of Prep

Science Week

Mrs Watkinson, School Librarian

Book Week: Dressing Up

Book Week: Dress a Potato as a Book Character Competition

Book Week: Usborne Book Fair and Library Activities

Mrs Watkinson, School Librarian

Year 4 Esports Tournament

Year 5 History

Year 4 History

Reception News

Sport Update

A Message from our Chaplaincy Team

Chaplaincy

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