Prep Chronicle 18 September 2023

Message from the Head of Prep

It has been wonderful to see how quickly the children have reconnected with friends, after the long summer break, and are forming new friendships with those we have recently welcomed into our Cranmore family.

Years 1 to 6 were able to enjoy a beautiful New School Year Mass on Wednesday and there was a palpable sense of community as the children, parents, staff and governors joined together in one voice for our hymns and responses.

This week we have had a focus on e-safety across the EST and the children have been able to experience workshops aimed at developing safer internet use. In addition to sharing guidance around using the internet, we have also spoken about balancing screen time with other pursuits and the importance of taking time to interact with family and friends for our mental and physical well-being.

Looking ahead to next week, we are excited to be celebrating the European Day of Languages and welcoming parents from Year 4 and Year 7 to join us for an Information Evening.

Mr Heaver

18 SEPTEMBER 2023

Science Club welcomed the new members in Year 5 this term with some engineering challenges and Rainbow Test tubes.

Pupils competed to build the tallest Knex Towers with the winning design beating off competition by some distance and merits were rewarded. Our second activity saw pupils learn about Acids and Alkalis, making Rainbow test tubes using neutralisation reactions. Yellow was the hardest colour, needing a steady hand and just the right pH value (about 5).

We are looking forward to more design competitions and investigations over the term. Returning Science club stalwarts H Booth, J Hagger, T Lee, A Moustafa, L Pole, S Wilson, L Bettini, O Higham and M Holgate have set the bar high, but there are clearly Science enthusiasts in our Year 5 cohort and we are looking forward to seeing how Elliot, James, Adam and Jesse do in these challenges.

Science club is open to Years 5 and 6, taking place on Monday 3.50-5pm in S12.

Science Club News

Dr Verny-White

Year 1 Forest School Trip

We went to Forest School for the first time last Thursday and we had a fabulous time. We made pumpkins out of clay, we climbed trees, we played in the mud kitchen and we ate some cucumbers that were planted last year. They were delicious!

E-Safety Talks

On Thursday 21st September, we welcomed Mr Karl Hopwood, an independent e-safety expert, who met with all of our Upper Prep and Senior pupils. Karl is a member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety and sits on the advisory board for the UK Safer Internet Centre. He provided engaging sessions in which our pupils learnt about the current issues and risks, how to stay safe online as well as the worrying increase of cyberbullying and its consequences.

Karl has shared a list of online resources and useful links for parents regarding online safety, which will be sent out via next week’s School Post.

Summer Reading Challenge

The following pupils completed the Summer Reading Challenge which involved reading books from a variety of different genres. Congratulations to you all!

Mrs Watkinson

Name Year Level

Edmund C 5 Bronze

Charlie S 6 Bronze

Thomas C 4 Silver

Titus G 4 Silver

Ethan A 5 Silver

Michael P 6 Silver

Sebastian B 4 Gold

Charlie F 4 Gold

Luke H 4 Gold

Harry T 4 Gold

Name Year Level

Rafferty C-D 5 Gold

James H 5 Gold

Arthur W 5 Gold

Hugo B 6 Gold

Jasper H 6 Gold

Oscar H 6 Gold

Max H 6 Gold

Ayan M 6 Gold

Logan P 6 Gold

Henry T 6 Gold

Mr Afana

House Cup Winners

Congratulations to Radford House in the Lower Prep and Morton House in the Upper Prep who gained the highest number of merits this week!

Nursery News

The Nursery participated in a fun umbrella game in their yoga session. They had to be ‘Super Sitting,’ whilst listening to Mrs Rossi’s song, before selecting a Yoga pose image from the umbrella. They then demonstrated the pose to their peers! The children used the interactive whiteboard in our PSHE session to draw a picture of someone who is very special to them. We put a selection of different vegetables in the tuff tray, they enjoyed using the tweezers to pick up the peas and put them in their pots!

Ms Luke, Head of Nursery

Sport Update

U10s A Football Team Win Two Tournaments and Ski Squad Qualify for the Nationals

We hosted a fantastic Primary Schools U10 Football Tournament on Friday. The event included six schools from the local community and involved two U10 Cranmore sides. The matches were refereed by our Year 9 Sport Scholars and there was some great football played throughout the evening. The Cranmore U10A side managed to finish top of the league format and were crowned overall champions. Huge credit to our U10B side which played some A teams, producing excellent performances. There was further success for the U10A side winning the Kings House Tournament on Saturday.

We had Year group fixture blocks against RGS Guildford Prep, Kings House, Milbourne Lodge, Feltonfleet, Downsend, Hoe Bridge and Rokeby.

Our Ski Squad took part in the ESKIA qualifiers in Southampton on Saturday and all age groups successfully progressed through to the National Finals.

Sport Update

October Half-term Camps

Please see links below and flyers regarding Sports Camps taking place at Cranmore this October halfterm:

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

• Football Camp https://www.participant.co.uk/surreyfootballcoaching/event/439486/?x=1#init

Mouthguards

Please see the link below for more information regarding OPRO Cranmore mouthguards https://www.opro.com/school-custom-mouthguard.html? option=34&value=262&school_name=Q3Jhbm1vcmUgU2Nob29s

Mr Hodgson, Director of Sport

A Message from our Chaplaincy Team

Forgiveness

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.”

Martin Luther King Junior

Bible Reading

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Matthew 18

Reflection

This year we know that there will be times when we will need to forgive and be forgiven. Within the Sacrament of Reconciliation we can experience in a real way the gift of forgiveness.

Prayer

Jesus, You know that there are people in my life that have caused me pain, and I'm not sure if right now I even want to forgive. But I pray now for the grace to want to make room for Your healing. Amen

Prep Resources

Senior Resources

Visit the Relics of St Bernadette

Notices

Prep Chronicle 18 September 2023

Message from the Head of Prep

Year 1 Forest School Trip

E-Safety Talks

Summer Reading Challenge

House Cup Winners

Nursery News

Sport Update

U10s A Football Team Win Two Tournaments and Ski Squad Qualify for the Nationals

October Half-term Camps

Mouthguards

Forgiveness

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