Busy Bee Autumn Term 2022

Autumn Term 2022

Headmaster’s Message

Prep schools are busy places, full of fun and laughter, and this edition of Busy Bee proves that Fettes Prep is as busy as they come!

Not every child can be good at everything they do, but they can all be good at something, and it is our job to provide them with as many opportunities as possible to find success and develop confidence. We have all had a great deal of fun this term whilst trying to find something for every child and I hope that you enjoy reading about some of the things we have been doing.

Your children are amazing and the energy and creativity they bring to each school day is infectious. Thank you for your support and I hope that you enjoy this latest edition of Busy Bee.

A note from the Editor

Looking back on the Autumn Term of 2022 there is much to be proud of. From start to finish this was a term of fun learning, new adventures, and plenty of sporting endeavour. The Prep community warmly welcomed the Minogue Family together with all the new members of the school and we rejoiced in events that bought us close together. The opportunity to enjoy occasions as a community continued to be a thrill, and highlights included the Autumn Concert, M and P Form’s Play, Saturday Chapel Services, our Act of Remembrance, Bonfire Night and some hard-fought fixtures. We are looking forward to the next action-packed term.

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Boarding Life Learning

School Life The Arts Sport

School Life

Bonfire Night

This was the first Bonfire Night for three years that both boarding and day pupils and their families were able to attend. Mr Hall added a few more sets to the usual display which made it extra special. The children then took part in a ceilidh, a scavenger hunt, traditional games and enjoyed a delicious BBQ.

Field Day

Field Day dawned bright and clear, and we were all excited to be heading out and about. Whilst 2nd Form made their way into town to look at some of the city’s historical landmarks, 1st Form went west to Glasgow for a day at the Science Centre. T Form visited Portobello Beach where they took part in a sponsored beach clean, raising over £300 for Macmillan Cancer Support and S Form caught the ferry to Inchcolm Island. M and P Forms had lots of fun at Edinburgh Zoo.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Act of Remembrance

The tradition of laying poppies on the Queen’s Lawn started for Prep School pupils in 2014, on the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I and we have continued with this impactful Act of Remembrance.

Family Bulb Planting

School Life

On a blustery and showery day at the beginning of October a group of Fettes families came together to plant 1,500 pollinator friendly bulbs on the turf bank at the Prep School. After a hearty lunch, everyone set to and in no time at all the bulbs were in the ground. The boarders had also been challenged to plant hundreds of bluebell bulbs, so we also joined in with their efforts. We look forward to having a carpet of crocuses and bluebells for the pollinators to enjoy, and for us to admire, in the spring!

The Arts

COP and Earthshot Climate Action Wall-2nd Form Tree Planting

As another important COP took place in November, we held an assembly to explain this process to our pupils and highlight some of the key environmental issues.

We focussed much of our attention on The Earthshot Prize which is designed to encourage innovative solutions to the most pressing climate problems. Each year fifteen organisations bid for five prizes of £1M to help scale up their schemes.

This time, two UK companies were finalists and very excitingly one, Notpla, sent us a personal video describing how they are replacing plastic with seaweed. Our pupils voted for their top 5 and we set up a Climate Action Wall for them to send photos of their actions for the environment. Much to the delight of us all, Notpla were winners in the ‘Create a Waste-free World’ category.

Personal, Social, Health and Economics Day

PSHE Day is an important one in the calendar, and we took a break from our usual timetables to learn and brush up on some important skills. The activities were different for each year group with the younger pupils working on First Aid, listening skills and oral hygiene as well as a Yoga and Mindfulness session.

Our older pupils had a talk from the inspirational Greig Trout, who spoke about the importance of hope and positivity when times are tough. They also joined CPR and First Aid Sessions and learnt about the value of good listening skills.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Helping others

Roald Dahl Day and Save The Children

We love dressing up at Fettes Prep and doing this to help others is even more special. Last term we held two dress up events - Roald Dahl Day and Christmas Jumper Day for Save the Children. Roald Dahl's books are loved by everyone, and it was difficult to choose which of his characters to dress as. We had a very funny assembly which included a spaghetti eating competition and some ‘marvellous medicine’ experiments. We read our favourite stories and fundraised for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity.

Christmas Jumper Day fell in the last full week of term. We wore our favourite jumpers, Christmassy or otherwise, which brightened up a chilly day and helped raise funds for Save The Children.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Boarding Life

Close to Home

Arran and Iona Houses

Whether the boarders are out on trips or taking advantage of all that is on offer on the Fettes campus, the weekends are a balance of activity and relaxation. Last term’s home and local activities included mini golf, a visit to the Fettes kitchen to make supper, an in-house Thanksgiving dinner party, trips to Murrayfield and trick-or-treating at Halloween.

Out and About Arran House Challenge, Honeypot Ceramics

Arran boys are always busy and enjoyed activities from pottery painting to their traditional Challenge weekend.

The destination of Autumn Term's Arran Challenge was the Union Canal at Sighthill. The boys headed straight to the outdoor centre to be kitted out and before they knew it, they were on the water, paddling the 5km route to Ratho.

After lots of adventures and some super teamwork, they enjoyed delicious freshly made pizza and hotdogs. Tents were then pitched, and everyone roasted marshmallows and joined a sing-song session around the fire.

Following a quiet night, it was back into the kayaks, a tasty lunch and an afternoon of fun activities.

This was a brilliant team building adventure, enjoyed by all.

Out and About Iona House Adventure

Iona House set off to the Scottish Borders for their Adventure weekend. They went fully equipped for a night of camping with tents, sleeping bags and marshmallows! They explored their surroundings and played games then tucked into a delicious supper. Their day finished with hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows, and they prepared for what was a chilly night under canvas.

The following day they went grass sledging and for an alpaca trek, taking in some beautiful views of the Cheviot Hills. Everyone enjoyed meeting the alpacas, feeding them carrots and learning about these gentle animals.

Learning In Class

We are always very busy bees in the classroom where plenty of fun learning takes place every day. Whether it’s demonstrating science experiments, outdoor learning in the school grounds or collaboration in the classroom, every day is different, and our pupils are challenged to do their best.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

In School

Classics Day

1st Form pupils took part in the Fettes College Classics Day, joining pupils from other schools in a variety of activities including gladiatorial training with a Roman centurion and listening to a Greek tale from a visiting storyteller. They also enjoyed a Greek Theatre workshop, looked at Roman pottery and vase paintings and creating a huge collaborative mosaic. One of the highlights of the day was the Roman Feast, hosted by our fantastic Catering Department.

Learning Trips

Hopetoun House

P Form pupils took a trip back in time at Hopetoun House. The visit was close to Christmas, so they enjoyed the bonus of seeing the house decked in traditional seasonal decorations.

T Form have been learning about the Victorians, so this visit gave them a glimpse into life below stairs in a Victorian Manor House. They were given plenty of tasks to perform and enjoyed dressing up and learning how to play traditional children’s games too.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Learning Trips

Geography and Science Trip to The Pentlands

On a beautiful blue-sky day in the glorious Pentlands, T-Form spent their time exploring the landform features, putting into practice all the map work they have been learning, and using clues to identify weather systems. They also discovered more about the plants and animals that call the Pentlands home, spotting a variety of flora and fauna along the way. They particularly enjoyed looking at the Red Moss Nature Reserve and spending time together on the reservoir beaches.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

2nd Form Geography Field Trip to Aberfeldy

2nd Form headed north to Aberfeldy for their Geography Field Trip. They took part in two sessions, one on Loch Faskally where the expert instructors from Beyond Adventure awaited them and the other at the Birks of Aberfeldy with in-house experts, Dr Talbot and Mrs Muddiman.

They took to canoes to admire the landscape and learn more of the history of this stunning loch, discovering that the rivers Tummel and Garry flow into the loch, which is retained by the Pitlochry Dam and that water levels can fall and rise dramatically. Their walks at the Birks of Aberfeldy along the Moness Glen were enhanced by the autumnal splendour of the beech trees and a full and fast flowing River Tay.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Co-curricular Activities

We made the most of the light evenings during the first half of term to get out and about including regular trips to the dry ski slope at Hillend and bulb planting in the school garden. We were very excited to see a fabulous frog in one of our mini ponds and enjoyed a spot of gardening in our Roald Dahl outfits!

Post half term there was a chance to swap activities. There is always something for everyone and we enjoyed a range that included board games, Disc Golf, Minecraft for Education and Seasonal Adventures to name just a few.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

M Form had an introduction to colour in the Autumn Term, exploring primary and secondary colours, colour mixing and expressive mark making with paint. We looked at the artist Howard Hodgkin to support our work.

P Form learnt about the work of L S Lowry and they looked carefully at local architecture to develop detailed drawing and colour mixing skills.

The focus of S Form was on buildings. We sketched buildings using line only and then practised using one point perspective. We went on to draw our buildings on fabric, experimenting with rubbings and using simple stitches to 'draw' marks.

Boarding Life Learning

Co-curricular

School Life The Arts

T, 1st, and 2nd Form Art

T Form were introduced to the genre of Still Life, exploring traditional and contemporary still life artists. We did this through using the formal elements of line, shape, colour, texture, and form to help us give meaning to our work, and explore composition, foreground, background, and negative space.

1st Form studied the theme of ‘place’ through drawing in their sketchbooks with imaginative and expressive mark making techniques. The project introduced pupils to a variety of artists such as Ingrid Calame, whose work helped to inform our map like drawings, before studying the bold, charcoal architectural work of Dennis Creffield.

2nd Form explored the theme of 'Natural Structure'- looking at the environment around them. They tried a number of drawing techniques and media experiments including the use of watercolour, acrylic paint and collage.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Music Informal Concerts

Once again we ran a series of Informal Concerts, with pupils of all ages and levels of musical experience playing and singing a piece of music of their choice. The concerts provided the perfect opportunity to perform in front of an audience, and the breadth and variety in the performances was extremely impressive. The children demonstrated considerable skill, musicality, confidence, and bravery, bringing music alive for our school community.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Music Canongate Concert and the Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland

The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland

We were delighted to welcome The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland to the Prep School who came to rehearse with our Chamber Choir in preparation for the Armed Forces’ Carol Service at Canongate Kirk. The rich sonorous wash of brass blended beautifully with the bright youthful voices of the children. The Band then performed an engaging concert for all the children, introducing the different brass instruments and sent us on our way with a spring in our step to some lively Christmas classics!

Canongate Concert

The Band musicians were resplendent in formal military uniform with instruments polished and we were so proud to join them.

The children sang their hearts out with clarity and conviction, and their rendition of ‘The Angel Choir and the Trumpeter’ with solo piccolo trumpet was a beautiful highlight. Our Fettes Choral Society gave a strong, arresting performance of ‘O Holy Night’, augmented by brass and organ and we all left feeling uplifted from the experience of this very beautiful, dignified service.

Boarding Life Learning

Co-curricular

School Life The Arts

Music Autumn Concert

The children shone from the beginning to the very end of the Autumn Concert, demonstrating talent, confidence, real versatility, teamwork, and lovely joie de vivre in performance!

The range of styles and genres in the mix was breath taking, from traditional Pipes & Drums, improvised solos from Jazz Band players, a Calypso from Jordan Singers and West African Drumming. The String Group gave us a haunting folk song and the Orchestra played a Mozart masterpiece. The Gallery Choir sang a four-voice part Australian ballad with great gusto and our soloists all performed with real poise and musicality.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

M and P Forms' Play – Production

In what was a wonderfully collaborative Christmas production, M and P Form pupils worked with passion, creativity and insight over the Autumn Term. They created characters, developed ad-libs and suggested many fabulous ideas to enhance their performance of ‘Hooray in A Manger’.

A team of parents, staff and pupils helped with costumes and choreography, whilst the 1st and 2nd Form techie team added to their growing expertise in sound, lighting and make-up.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Drama

M and P Forms' Play – Preparations

So much goes into the making of a school production and this is never truer than for the M and P Forms’ Play! This time around it was all hands-on deck to make puppets, design costumes and create a set that worked within the performance space in Chapel. The older pupils particularly enjoy helping their younger friends and it was uplifting to see the dedication they put into getting everything ready for the big day.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Sport Hockey

It was a busy term for our girls on the hockey pitch with 52 fixtures played in total. In games sessions all our pupils had access to the specialist hockey coaches from the senior school which was really helpful for their individual skills development.

The Under 9s enjoyed some super festival hockey, where all of them were involved in mini game play with another school. The Under 10s grew in confidence over the term and showed determination in their final match to come out with a win. All the Under 11s started the year off with a history and sports trip to York where they played fixtures against St. Peters 8-13. The Under 11 A finished 3rd in both the IAPS regional qualifier and the Cargilfield 7s tournament, playing some great team hockey.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Hockey

The Under 12 and 13 teams had a busy term of fixtures, with great improvement in team play across the board. The Under 12 A team won the St. Leonard’s tournament and enjoyed a trip to Bristol to play in the National Finals at Clifton College. The Under 13 A team headed to Repton for their IAPS qualifier, reaching the quarter-final of the cup. We had six girls representing the Saltires in matches against the Thistles and Caledonians at St Mary’s School.

The term finished with some incredibly competitive House matches. Potts were Under 9 winners, and Bryce were first in the Under 11 age group. In the Under 13 tournament every game was a draw, so on that day Hockey won!

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

T Form Tour

T Form were hugely excited to board a train heading to York for their two-day mini tour of the city. In addition to rugby and hockey fixtures, they had a wonderful time exploring the Shambles, seeing the old walls of the city on an evening walk, and visiting the beautiful York Minster. No tour is complete without delicious food, and they tucked into tasty pizzas at a local restaurant before heading back to their hotel for an early night. On their second day, they took part in matches against St Peter’s School.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

The Under 9s came on in leaps and bounds in their understanding of the game and the basic principles of tackling and passing. The Under 8s enjoyed a season full of fun and learning and the contactless games allowed for development of evasive running and passing skills.

School Life The Arts

Boarding Life Learning Sport

Co-curricular

Rugby

The U13s had a very enjoyable season. Much improvement was made throughout the term, and in both training and matches skills were gained and high standards set. Eight boys represented the Saltires who won the IAPS tournament in Melrose.

The Under 11s had another good season. Fettes rugby teams are always striving to play wide and fast, and they worked on moving the ball into space, playing great rugby in the process.

We hope you have enjoyed the latest version of the Busy Bee and we wish everyone a healthy and happy 2023.