15 JANUARY 2024 3 JULY 2023 Message from the Head of Prep
We were blessed to start the week with a visit from one of the Wintershall actors who took an assembly on Monday for Years 4 to 6 and walked them through the experience of Zebedee, father of the disciples James and John.
Tuesday saw our Upper Prep School Council gather for the first time this term to share their ideas and there was great excitement in the Lower Prep School Council meeting as they enjoyed pastries and apple juice while they put forward some sensible suggestions. On Wednesday, Lower Prep were treated to a performance by the Pied Piper Theatre Company entitled ‘Can Bears Ski?’, celebrating diversity and inclusion. In the evening, it was the turn of some of our Upper Prep pupils to perform as part of Young Voices 2024 at London’s O2 Arena. It was a spectacular occasion and my thanks go to all of the staff and parents involved with supporting the children at this memorable event.
It has been great to see our new House Captains and Vice Captains taking their responsibilities seriously and playing a part in leading House meetings. Along with a our newly appointed Library Monitors, they are setting a great example in helping others.
We look forward to a slight thawing in the weather so that our sporting fixtures can continue and we wish the best of luck to all of those involved in competitions over the weekend.
Mr Heaver
Young Voices at the O2 On Wednesday our Upper Prep pupils had an exciting trip to the O2 Arena to take part in the Young Voices performance along with thousands of other school children. They practised the dance routine and the songs during the afternoon so that they were ready to give an incredible performance to their parents in this amazing venue. There were some special guests performing as well—MC Grammar, Natalie Williams and Nandy Bushell.
Visit youngvoices.co.uk for more information.
Mr Roberts
Pied Piper Theatre Company Visit to Lower Prep The Lower Prep at Cranmore were treated to another amazing production by the Pied Piper Theatre company this The Lower Prep at Cranmore were treated to another amazing production by the Pied Piper Theatre company this week. 'Can Bears Ski?' is based on the book by poet Raymond Antrobus, who draws on his own experience as a week. 'Can Bears Ski?' is based on the book by poet Raymond Antrobus, who draws on his own experience as a deaf deaf child in a hearing world. This year, the company were joined by actors from Deafinitely Theatre. The story child in a hearing world. This year, the company were joined by actors from Deafinitely Theatre. The story was told was told through a mixture of sign language, speaking, singing and puppetry as we followed Little Bear on his jourthrough a mixture of sign language, speaking, singing and puppetry as we followed Little Bear on his journey from ney from being unable to hear, to learning to lip read, to getting his first set of hearing aids. In a gentle, child apbeing unable to hear, to learning to lip read, to getting his first set of hearing aids. In a gentle, child appropriate propriate way, the story posed the challenges with being unable to hear and also hearing for the first time. The way, the story posed the challenges which come with being unable to hear and also hearing for the first time. The children and staff were all captivated and it was a wonderful celebration of diversity and inclusion. children and staff were all captivated and it was a wonderful celebration of diversity and inclusion.
Miss Gallop
Elephant’s Toothpaste in Year 5 Everyone loves watching the classic Elephant’s toothpaste demonstration and this week Year 5 learnt that this is an example of a chemical change, which is not reversible. We enjoyed seeing the hydrogen peroxide break down to form oxygen bubbles, using a catalyst potassium iodide; pupils also learnt the correct technique to safely observe magnesium burning. This very exciting reaction produces a bright white light, which is why magnesium is used in fireworks. Year 5 will be carrying out their own investigations next week, looking for evidence of new substances being formed to determine if chemical reactions have occurred. Dr Verny-White
Wintershall Assembly On Monday, Wintershall delivered a wonderful assembly to Upper Prep. The theme of the assembly was ‘The Call of the Disciples’. Pupils were engaged throughout and even had a chance to ask the actor questions. If you haven't been, do try to go to Wintershall to see the Life of Christ in June and see the Bible stories come alive.
Mr Jakubowski
Upper Prep House Captains and Vice Captains Congratulations to our new Year 6 House Captains and Vice Captains. Thank you to those who demonstrated great leadership last term in their roles.
Upper Prep School Council News This week, the Upper Prep School Council met to discuss ideas from their fellow pupils. Amongst the suggestions were requests for new extra-curricular clubs and ideas for future fundraising events. We had a very productive discussion and enjoyed pastries and fruit juice too! Mrs Spooner
Lower Prep School Council News Our new Lower Prep School Council met for their first meeting as our new councillors elected for the Easter term. They shared some very sensible and thoughtful ideas about new clubs, special days and improving our equipment for the playground. They are looking forward to the improvements they can make this term.
Mrs Carpenter
Library News Congratulations to our newly appointed Library Monitors who have started their roles with enthusiasm this week. It has been a delight to have their help in the library this week!
Basty B
Year 4
Elliot W
Year 5
Oscar H
Year 6
Mrs Watkinson
Upper Prep Reading Challenge The Upper Prep Reading Challenge is running until May half-term and many of our pupils are already taking part. Pupils will receive a bronze certificate for reading three books, a silver certificate for four books and a gold certificate for five books. They will also receive five merits for each book they read. The pupils who have read all five books by May will be asked to vote for their favourite book and invited to take part in a special celebration during which the winning book will be announced. It is not too late to start the challenge, so if you would like your child to take part, please ask them to speak to me in the Senior Library.
Mrs Watkinson
Nursery News In Science this week the children learnt how to melt the ice to release the polar animals. The children had different thinking patterns and demonstrated some amazing ideas. They used pipettes and water to try and melt the ice, threw ice on the floor to see if it would break and placed it on the radiator and in the sun. The children then had to predict the different outcomes and which would melt the ice the fastest. Continuing with the topic of Antarctic animals they made penguins, which focused on using different 2D shapes. They also enjoyed experimenting with coloured water, using pipettes, funnels and jugs to mix the different colours. At Forest School this week, the children took part in a Wassail Festival Tradition. This involved them blessing the orchard to ensure a good harvest for following Autumn. The children loved making a big hullabaloo and putting bread on the tree for the birds to enjoy. They all enjoyed warmed, spiced apple juice and toast made on the fire. Ms Luke, Head of Nursery
Reception News This week, Reception went looking for signs of winter. Their walk outside did not disappoint! They found lots of frost and ice and enjoyed spotting bare trees around the school. The also loved making snow angels on the astro. Mrs Prothero and Miss Hurl
Music News I am thrilled to announce that Stringfever (https:// www.stringfever.co.uk/) will entertain us at this year’s Cranmore Live Concert on Friday 1st March 7pm.
Brothers Ralph and Neal and their cousin Graham Broadbent are professional string players with a difference, playing all genres of music on electric instruments with a real sense of fun and creativity!
Pupil string players of Grade 1 standard and above from across the three Trust schools, will soon be invited to participate in the afternoon workshops and then play alongside Stringfever at the start of the evening concert.
Anyone is welcome to attend the hour-long evening concert. Tickets will cost £5 and go on sale via Eventbrite at the end of this month.
If you have any queries regarding this event, please do contact a member of the Music Department.
Mr Harris, Director of Music
This Week’s House Cup Winners
Congratulations to Radford House in the Lower Prep and Tylor House in the Upper Prep for gaining the highest number of merits this week!
Sport Update We had an U9 team representing Cranmore at the Shrewsbury House Rugby Tournament on Saturday. The team played very well against some very strong opposition. Despite losing the first match, the team went on to win two matches and draw one.
With the cold weather disrupting our fixture programme, pupils have still been very active during their PE and Games lessons. Playing racquet sports and continuing with Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) has been popular with the children. This has included using our climbing walls which is a firm favourite.
Goalkeeping Camp at Cranmore AB1 Goalkeeping Camp will be taking place at Cranmore during the February half-term. Please see flyer and link below for more information: http://ab1academy.com/horsley-camp/
Cricket Coaching at Cranmore Horsley CC are coaching cricket at Cranmore during the evenings and on Saturdays. Please see flyer for more information.
Activate Camps at Cranmore Activate Camps are taking place this year at Cranmore - please see link below. Cranmore parents are able to take advantage of a 20% discount when booking Activate Camps. The code is LAUNCH20. https://www.activatecamps.co.uk/venues/cranmore-school/ Mouthguards Please see link for more information regarding OPRO Cranmore mouthguards https://www.opro.com/school/ cranmore-school
Mr Hodgson, Director of Sport
A Message from our Chaplaincy Team
Speak Lord...your servant is listening
Bible Reading A Reading from the Book of Samuel The Lord then came and stood by, calling as he had done before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel answered, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’ Reflection In the reading we hear how God calls out to Samuel in the night. At first Samuel does not recognise that it is God speaking. In the Gospel we hear how Jesus calls Peter to be the rock on which His church is built. We may often ask ourselves what our life is about and what we are to do. In the reading this week we hear that Samuel finds his purpose and his fulfilment by living in the will of God and by serving others. Prayer We pray for all those who find themselves homeless at this time.
We pray for those who are affected by the rising cost of heating their homes. We pray for all those who continue to suffer in the Ukraine and the Middle East. St Andrew …Pray for us. St Maximilian Kolbe ….Pray for us. Amen
Notices
Notices
Menu
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Soup
Soup of the day
Soup of the day
Soup of the day
Soup of the day
Soup of the day
Main
Locally sourced pork sausages & onion gravy
Mild beef chilli con carne served in a taco & dips
Roasted pork loin with Yorkshire puddings & apple sauce
Freshly baked pepperoni pizza with Italian style salad
Traditional battered fish fillet or fish fingers
Jacket potato & beans
Plain pasta & tomato sauce
Jacket potato & beans
Plain pasta & tomato sauce
Jacket potato & beans
Vegetarian
Vegetarian style sausages & onion gravy
Quorn & bean chilli
No meat meatballs in a tomato sauce
Freshly baked cheese & tomato pizza
Mac ‘n’ cheese with chef’s salad
Sides
Mashed potato Broccoli / sweetcorn
Vegetable rice Roasted carrots / Mediterranean vegetables
Roast potatoes/ mixed vegetables
Jacket wedges/ sweetcorn
Additional
Salad bar
Salad bar
Salad bar
Salad bar
Salad bar
Dessert
Chocolate cake with chocolate sauce
Rocky road
Shortbread biscuit
Chocolate chip sponge & custard
Fruity Friday
Items in Italic - Sourced from F Conisbee’s, our local butcher
Chips/peas/ baked beans