Habs Weekly
Pre-Prep and Prep School edition Friday 13 May 2022 Summer Term
Acting Head of Prep School’s Message Mr G Thomas I’m sure that you would agree that there is something rather special about children playing music. My colleagues and I are lucky to be surrounded by this on a frequent basis, and whether in singing lessons, hymn practices, as part of the instrumental scheme, or in Pre-Prep assemblies, it never fails to make me feel a great sense of joy. One of my highlights of this week, therefore, was walking into the Prep Hall after school and observing six Year 5 pupils, having the time of their lives rehearsing for the forthcoming battle of the band competition. They were completely lost in the happiness of independently collaborating, performing, and seeking ways in which they could fine tune their ‘jam’. It was wonderful. These musical experiences are just some of the many activities going on at the Prep and Pre-Prep this week. I have loved hearing about how much the Pre-Prep pupils benefitted from their wellbeing day and the positive reports about the performances of pupils in the cricket fixtures against Highgate. With assessment week, residentials and Pre-Prep transition days to come for the pupils, I have encouraged them to continue to be diligent, reflective and demonstrate courage in all that they do. By so doing, they will make the very most of these experiences. I hope you and your family have a lovely weekend.
Important Information Year 6 Bugsy Performance REHEARSALS AND FINAL PERFORMANCE Rehearsals for our Year 6 Bugsy Performance will take place from Monday 20 to Saturday 25 June, 9.15am to 5.15pm. We will provide a light tea and drink for all pupils from Monday 20 to Friday 24 June along with a hot lunch on Saturday 25 June. If your child is unable to attend on Saturday 25 June for religious reasons, please email prepoffice@ habsboys.org.uk. Please note, parking and pick up during the week and on Saturday is from the North Drive. While we will provide most of the props and costumes for the production, we may request some items of costume to be provided from home. Please individually label your child’s items and keep them in a named bag which will be put on your child’s classroom peg. A list of items will be provided soon.
FINAL PERFORMANCE T U E S D AY 2 8 J U N E 9.30AM AND 7PM Each family will have four tickets in total. These must be split across the two performances, two tickets for the morning performance and two for the evening performance. The link to book tickets will be available from Friday 13 May on your child’s OneNote on their iPad. Closing date for booking tickets will be Thursday 26 May.
Year 4 Aylmerton trip M O N D AY 1 6 T O W E D N E S D AY 1 8 M AY Please ensure your child is able to carry their bag by themselves - do not make it too heavy or too large. A packed lunch will need to be provided (no nuts and no sesame seeds) and ensure that you bring any outstanding medication (clearly labelled) for your child and give them to staff at the coach park.
Tooled Up SUMMER ASSESSMENTS With the summer assessments taking place next week for Years 3, 5 and 6, we thought that the below resources from Tooled Up may be of use over the weekend. In particular, the resource entitled, ‘How did I do?’ is a fantastic activity for pupils to complete, that allows them to reflect on the process as a whole and highlight targets for them to work towards. As always, please do contact your child’s form teacher if you have any questions. Raising a resilient learner - resource Evaluating my learning - resource
Important Information The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee NOTICE The Pre-Prep will be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Friday 27 May. We have lots of fun activities planned as well as a special picnic lunch. The pupils may come to school dressed in red, white and blue or as a member of Royalty. Pupils will be involved in outdoor activities during the day so please ensure that they are dressed appropriately. Please note, due to the Staff Inset Day taking place at the Prep and Senior School, Year 2 swimming will not take place.
JHC Masterclasses
Andorra Ski Trip 2023 Current Year 4 and 5 pupils INTEREST CHECK Parents and guardians of current Year 4 and 5 pupils, please click here for a letter regarding a ski trip to Andorra in April 2023. Please note, this is only for those currently in Years 4 and 5.
SOFTBALL AND CRICKET JHC Masterclasses will be held at Habs over the half term from Monday 30 May to Wednesday 1 June. Run by Mr James Hewitt at the Senior School, book a place for your child now.
Parking outside the Prep school
Click here for more information.
NOTICE
Coach pick-ups
Please can parents and guardians who collect their child at the end of the school day refrain from driving up the North Drive, over the bridge and parking directly outside the Prep School. Can you please park in the designated areas either in the North Drive or the astro turf pitch. This is in the best interests of pupil, parent and staff safety.
POLITE REMINDER Pupils who use the coach service must be met by a parent or guardian at all times.
Important Information: Reminders Academic timeline I N F O R M AT I O N Assessment Week for Years 3, 5 and 6: Monday 16 to Friday 20 May We would like to remind pupils to bring into school a complete list of stationery i.e. pack of pens, pencils, rubber, ruler, highlighters.
Consent Forms NOTICE Year 5 parents: please click onto the Evolve Pay link to confirm consent of your child’s medical information for their trip. We would also request that any remaining balance for the trip is paid.
Year 1 Picnic with Habs Girls W E D N E S D AY 2 5 M AY We are delighted to be having a picnic with the Year 1 Girls’ School pupils in the Rose Garden at the Senior School. After the picnic, the children will have time to explore the Soilai Woodland Trail and enjoy playing outdoor games. The school will provide a packed lunch for all pupils and will return to the Pre Prep in time for the end of day. This is a great opportunity for our pupils to come together with our sister school and enjoy the outdoor environment together.
Year 4 parents: please return all Consent Forms for medication, if any, to be taken by your child(ren) on the Aylmerton Trip by Monday 9 May. Mrs Law will collect medication at the Coach Park on Monday 16 May.
Important Information: Reminders Year 6 Leavers L E AV E R S ’ V I D E O We are in the process of compiling a video for the Year 6 pupils who will be leaving us at the end of the academic year as a memento of their time at the Pre-Prep and Prep. We would be grateful if you could find any photos of your child from this period, either individual or with other peers from the two school. Please email photos directly to Mrs Newfield on newfield_m@habsboys.org.uk Thank you in advance for your support.
Warm weather P L E A S E B E AWA R E With the weather forecast continuing to look increasingly warm over the next few weeks, please do provide your child with a water bottle during the school day. They can fill their water bottle up at school once it is empty. Please also do provide your child with sun cream and a hat as appropriate, that they can apply at playtime. If you have any concerns, then do contact your child’s form teacher.
Drama
Perform Drama Workshop On Tuesday 10 May, Perform came into school to run a drama workshop for the children. They unearthed their hidden superhero powers as they went on a top secret mission to save the world on a superhero adventure. Flying off on a supercharged adventure to cool down Earth, they rocked out with Rocket Girl and sung along with Brainio as global warming threatened the planet. But did they make it to Partyland in time to restore order?
School Community Year 3 World War II learning
On Friday 6 May, Year 3 visited the Imperial War Museum. They had a great time learning about evacuation, shelters and rationing, as well as seeing many planes from WWII. The pupils also learned about life as a child who had to be evacuated. They had the opportunity to listen to the first-hand experiences of Mrs Pat Taylor, who visited the Prep and spoke to the pupils about her journey during the evacuation. The pupils all listened attentively and asked her questions, finding out about the village she was evacuated to.
School Community Pre-Prep Wellbeing Day
On Monday 9 May, the Prep-Prep enjoyed a series of activities on Wellbeing Day. We spent time reflecting during our outdoor story telling where we heard folk and fairy tales, myths and fables. These traditional tales have been told through the ages not just to entertain but to explain the world we live in and teach us about ourselves. Yoga and traditional dancing focused their minds and exercised their bodies. We are looking forward to seeing their ‘Polka Dot Polka’ during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations later this term. The pupils also made some spectacular crowns which they will wear to the festivities too!
Sport
Year 5 Cricket and Tennis fixtures All the pupils in Year 5 played cricket or tennis against Highgate on Monday. The cricketers had a great time and there were some impressive performances. The A team (pictured) won by three wickets chasing down 83 runs with five balls to spare, the B team enjoyed a comfortable victory and the C team lost by one run. The pupils who took part in tennis had great fun playing a doubles ladder tournament against Highgate. Well done to all those who participated. It was fantastic to have them all involved and we look forward to repeating the fixture later in the term at Habs.
Parkour Club We’re excited to have started our Parkour club! Pupils from the Prep are welcome to come to the Medburn Centre to have a go at Parkour on Thursdays at lunchtime. Parkour is a fantastic activity that encourages us to adapt and overcome to manage an enormous variety of scenarios, building a mindset that is transferable to many situations in life. You can contact Mrs Pullen (h_pullen@habsboys.org.uk) for more information.
PRE-PREP IMPORTANT DATES
PRE-PREP IMPORTANT DATES
T U E S D AY 1 7 M AY Year 1 watch Year 10 children’s
W E D N E S D AY 1 5 J U N E Pre-Prep Sports Morning
theatre show W E D N E S D AY 1 8 M AY Year 2 watch Year 10 children’s theatre show W E D N E S D AY 2 5 M AY Year 1 picnic with Habs Girls’ pupils F R I D AY 2 7 M AY The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations End of Term - Pre-Prep open Please note - no ASCF at Prep School M O N D AY 3 0 M AY T O F R I D AY 3 J U N E Half term - Pre-Prep closed M O N D AY 6 J U N E Staff development day Pre-Prep open Please note - no ASCF at Prep School M O N D AY 1 3 J U N E 7+ Parent Induction Evening 7+ Taster Afternoon
Please note the Pre-Prep School will remain open for the staff development days on Friday 27 May and Monday 6 June
T U E S D AY 2 1 J U N E Year 2 Whipsnade Zoo trip F R I D AY 2 4 J U N E Year 1 Knebworth House trip T H U R S D AY 3 0 J U N E Pre-Prep Summer Production Dress Rehearsal F R I D AY 1 J U LY Pre-Prep Summer Production T H U R S D AY 7 J U LY End of term
PREP IMPORTANT DATES
PREP IMPORTANT DATES
M O N D AY 1 6 M AY
M O N D AY 1 3 J U N E 7+ Taster Afternoon 7+ Parent Induction Evening Years 3 to 4 Cricket and Tennis fixture Years 5 to 6 Cricket and Tennis fixture
Year 5 Cricket and Tennis fixture M O N D AY 1 6 T O W E D N E S D AY 1 8 M AY Year 4 Aylmerton trip T H U R S D AY 1 9 T O F R I D AY 2 0 M AY Year 3 overnight camp M O N D AY 2 3 T O T H U R S D AY 2 6 M AY Year 5 Foxlease trip T H U R S D AY 2 6 M AY Year 3 Cricket fixture M O N D AY 2 7 M AY Staff development day Inset day M O N D AY 3 0 M AY T O F R I D AY 3 J U N E Half term M O N D AY 6 J U N E Staff development day T U E S D AY 7 T O F R I D AY 1 0 J U N E Year 6 Portland trip T H U R S D AY 9 J U N E Year 3 Tennis fixture (invite only)
* Selected pupils will be contacted directly.
W E D N E S D AY 1 5 J U N E 11+ Induction evening Year 3 to Year 6 Class photographs * Year 3 to Year 6 Battle of the Bands T H U R S D AY 1 6 J U N E Year 3 Hazard Alley trip Year 6 Welcome Day - Senior School M O N D AY 2 0 J U N E Year 3 and Year 5 Instrumental Scheme concert T U E S D AY 2 8 J U N E Year 6 Bugsy performance W E D N E S D AY 2 9 J U N E Year 3 to Year 6 Sports Day M O N D AY 4 J U LY Year 3 to Year 6 Swimming gala W E D N E S D AY 6 J U LY Year 6 Leavers’ Prize Giving Year 3 to Year 6 Summer Concert T H U R S D AY 7 J U LY End of term